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Kansas City Preseason ID: Quick Hits

February 27, 2024
By: Eliott Wilk
Midwest Operations Director

On Sunday, February 18th, the PBR Kansas staff traveled to Natural Baseball Academy in Olathe, KS, to host the first annual Kansas City Preseason ID. This event was open to all 2024-to-2027 prospects with 40+ names in attendance.

All of our events offer players the opportunity to update their recruiting resume and showcase their talents in front of our staff. We also use these events as identifiers for future invite-only events, like the Preseason All-State, our summer Top Prospect Games, and the prestigious Prep Baseball Future Games that takes place at the tail end of the summer. To see what our events offer, click HERE.

Today, after combing through our notes from the day, we’ve compiled some of the event’s standouts within these ‘Quick Hits’. Read below to learn about more than 20 names that popped to our staff from Sunday's trip to Olathe.

QUICK HITS

+ A top-15 nationally ranked player, CIF/RHP Beau Peterson (Mill Valley, 2026; Nebraska commit) continues to show loud tools in every aspect of his game. Peterson started off the day posting an event high 104.7 mph exit velo with a powerful stroke from the left side; averaging 92 mph on the day. His strength also showed off in the field with a 96 mph bullet across the diamond. Peterson then hopped on the mound and pitched at 89-92 mph with his fastball with an average spin of 2444 RPM, paired with a slider at 79-81 mph (2527 RPM average spin) and a changeup at 84 mph. On top of all that, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound sophomore ran a 6.76 60.

+ RHP Jack Dilley (Olathe West, 2024; Barton CC signee) was a must see arm on the mound from this event. A strong-bodied athlete at 6-foot-4, 216-pounds, Dilley produced effortless velocity on the mound, pumping his fastball at 90-92 mph, and reaching 93 mph at peak. Aside from his velocity, which led the event, Sanders’ fastball played with natural carry, averaging 20.6 inches of vertical break. He showed feel to land a 78-80 mph slider with depth for strikes, and also turned over a low-spin changeup at 81-82 mph.

+ RHP Dennis Leonard (Grain Valley, 2025) had a loud showing on the mound in his PBR debut on Sunday. With plenty of physicality at 6-foot, 206-pounds, he showcased an easy, downhill delivery with a quick arm to pair. Leonard pitched at 89-92 mph with his fastball, averaging 2383 RPM, with a peak spin rate of 2468. His best secondary pitch looks to be his curveball which he threw at 71-73 with tight spin at 2414 RPM, while also showing a changeup at 74-76 mph.

+ RHP Trent Gallagher (Knob Noster, 2025) emerged as a live arm athlete to know. Gallagher is an aggressive mover down the mound, sitting at 88-90 mph with his fastball, with a peak spin rate of 2590 RPM. The 5-foot-10, 149-pound uncommitted junior also mixed in a curveball/changeup mix for strikes at 77-78 mph and 79-81 mph respectively.

+ RHP Cole Hayden (Pittsburg, 2026) caught our attention on the mound in his Prep Baseball event debut on Sunday. The 6-foot-1, 214-pound sophomore showed feel to land a three pitch mix for strikes, pitching his fastball at 83-85 mph with natural run at times. Hayden paired that with a curveball at 70 mph with tight spin (top 2495 RPM) and a low-spin changeup at 79-80 mph.

+ RHP Ayden Newton (Kearney, 2025) showed impressive feel for the strike zone at this event. The 6-foot, 160-pound uncommitted junior’s fastball played at 83-84 mph with some natural carry. He also spun his curveball for strikes consistently at 70-71 mph with 2395 peak RPM.

+ The top infielder in Kansas’ 2026 class, Keaton Neal (Spring Hill) once again had his loud tools on display at Sunday’s event. Neal possesses a compact, repeatable swing with fluidity and effortless power. The physical 6-foot-1, 187-pound athlete had an explosive round of BP, barreling the furthest ball of the day at 367 feet with a 94 mph max exit velocity. That explosiveness transferred to the defensive side of the ball where he posted a 94 mph bullet across the diamond. Neal also posted a 6.69 60 time - the top time at the event.

+ OF/RHP Kamden Dick (Mill Valley, 2026) showed plenty of upside with room to add on to a 6-foot-1, 163-pound frame. The sophomore swung a quick (71 mph bat speed), long-levered right-handed barrel with natural lift to post a top exit velocity of 93.6 mph. Those long-levers played in the field as well where Dick fired a top mark of 88 mph from the outfield and ran a 6.98 second 60 as well.

+ INF Addison Miller (Lee’s Summit West, 2025) was on the barrel throughout his BP round with a short, simple, swing that produced line drives through the middle of the field and a max exit velocity of 91.2 mph. He sent his furthest ball 319 feet - a top four mark at the event. Defensively, Miller topped 89 mph across the infield and also ran a 6.71 60 to pair.

+ At 6-foot-1, 170-pounds with plenty of room to add on, C/INF Carter Jeffries (Summit Christian) emerged as a name to follow in Missouri’s 2026 class. Jeffries found the barrel often during his BP round, staying through the middle of the field with an average exit velocity of 86.6 mph, peaking at 91.6 mph. Behind the plate, he showed a quick, clean transfer, finishing top-3 amongst catchers at the event in both pop time (1.93-1.97) and velocity (74 mph)

+ Another all-around strong showing came from a top-20 prospect in Kansas’ 2026 class in OF Benjamin Burton (Olathe East). Still developing power which should come as he adds strength to his frame, the 6-foot-4, 178-pound sophomore sprayed line drives from gap-to-gap during his BP round, producing a top exit velocity of 88.6 mph. His arm played true from the outfield, peaking at 82 mph on his loudest throw. Burton wrapped up the day by running a 6.83 60 - top 5 at the event.

+ 2023 Future Games participant Easton Phillippe (Staley, 2025; Wichita State commit) once again had another strong showing on both sides of the ball at this event. Behind the dish, Phillippe was consistently on the bag with his throws, posting a 1.86-1.93 pop time with a 78 mph velocity to pair. At the plate, the lefty used an easy, polished swing to spray line drives to all fields with a top exit velocity of 89.4 mph.

+ C/CIF Isaac Sauder (Mill Valley, 2025) is an uncommitted junior to keep an eye on this spring. Sauder showed off his offensive skill-set from the right side of the plate, displaying a compact stroke and a top exit velocity of 91.5 mph. Defensively, he showed well behind the plate with a clean transfer and a pop time of 1.94-2.13. 

+ OF Andrew Young (Webb City, 2025) flashed upside in a 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame. Full of athleticism, Young ran a 6.74 second 60 and posted a 29.7” vertical jump - both top-4 at the event. At the plate, he used a repeatable, inside-out swing to square his hardest ball up at 94.2 mph. Young finished the day by throwing 76 mph from the outfield.

+ C Christian Anders (Staley, 2025) is another uncommitted junior to follow. Listed at 6-foot, 166-pounds, Anders put together a loud, consistent round of BP, peaking at 96.7 mph exit velocity with a max bat speed of 73 mph. His long, level swing drove backspun line drives from gap to gap. Anders also posted a top ten 60 time with the mark of 7.10. Defensively, he threw 76 mph from behind the plate with a 1.93-1.97 second pop time

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