Prep Baseball Report

Best of the Rest 2014 Prospects from the Last Showcase of the Winter



By Chris Valentine and Cory Valentine
PBR Ohio Scouting Director and Assistant Scouting Director


Today, we break down the Best of the Rest from the Class of 2014 at the Last Showcase of the Winter at Owens Community College. Previously, we broke down the Top Prospects from the Class of 2014 at the event. To view the complete statistical analysis, please click here.

Austin Pratt, RHP, Cardinal Stitch HS

6-foot-3, 185-pound right-handed pitcher with long frame. Throws with average, stiff arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Delivery requires some effort. Shows command of straight 75-76 mph fastball. Uses a 67-68 mph curveball with gradual sweeping action. Tends to slow down arm speed on 62-65 mph changeup that has a bit of sink to it.

Clay Tefft, RHP/3B, Wauseon HS

6-foot-1, 178-pound with average build. In the infield, he shows short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Reached top velocity of 73 mph on his throws. Uses quick transfer. Shows some softness in his hands and good glove work. At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts with a wide base. Tendency to bar his arm in his load. Takes level path to the ball. Shows some quickness in his hands (80 mph exit velocity). On the mound, the righty shows above average arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Smooth, repeatable delivery. Good use of lower half. Fastball sits 80-81 mph with some run to it. Curveball shows 12/6 break at 64-65 mph with late break to it. Changep sits at 75 mph. Very interesting follow this spring if the velocity jumps.

Devin Dubbert, OF/2B, Perkins HS

6-foot, 185-pound with athletic build. Ran 7.43 60 on slow track. From the outfield, he shows long arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Reached top velocity of 80 mph on his throws. Needs to continue improving footwork and playing through the ball. At the plate, he uses short stride. Tendency to bar his arm and wrap during his load, which creates some length. Still, he shows some quickness in his hands (85 mph exit velo).

Drew Otten, 2B/SS, Coldwater HS

5-foot-7, 160-pound with solid frame. Ran 7.5 60 on slow track. Projects as second baseman or third baseman. Uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Reached top velocity of 72 mph across the infield. Needs to continue improving footwork. Tends to get flat and field deep at times. Hits from both sides at the plate. Shows contact, slappy type swing from both sides. From the right side, he shows level path to the ball. More will increase with better use of lower half. From the left side, he starts closed. Shows backside tendencies with line drive production.

Garrett Siefer, LHP/OF, Maumee HS

6-foot, 150-pound lanky prospect. Uses short arm action through over the top arm slot. Plays through the baseball. Reached top velocity of 78 mph on his throws from the outfield. At the plate, he starts with a narrow setup. Shows some stiffness in his swing. Takes short stride. Needs to better incorporate lower half. On the mound, the southpaw throws through a high ¾ arm slot. Fastball sits 69-72 mph with some natural cut to it. Curveball shows 1/7 movement at 64-65 mph but tends to be a bit erratic. Tendency to slow down his arm on his changeup with 64-65 mph. Knuckleball shows some tumble at 68 mph.

Grant Peters, RHP, Eastwood HS

6-foot-3, 210-pound lanky right-handed pitcher. Throws through over the top arm slot with short arm action. Tall and fall type pitcher with slight inward turn. Needs to keep his lower half moving. Fastball sits 78-81 mph with some run to it. Curveball shows good 11/5 break with depth at 71-72 mph. Will be effective out pitch. Changeup is thrown near fastball arm speed with 72-73 mph with similar movement to his fastball.

Jacob Miller, 2B/OF, Pickerington North HS

5-foot-9, 194-pound prospect with thick build. Uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Reached top velocity of 76 mph from the outfield with good accuracy. Needs to continue to improve foot speed. In the infield, he is a third base type. Reached type velocity of 74 mph across the infield. Footwork and route to ball needs to continue to improve. At the plate, he starts with a wide, open stance. Tends to wrap during his load. Takes level path to the ball. Line drive type production. Reached top exit velocity of 76 mph.

Jeremy O’Brien, 3B/RHP, St. John’s Jesuit HS

5-foot-10, 165-pound two-way prospect. Uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Shows accurate throws. Needs to speed up his exchange. Reached top velocity of 79 mph across the infield. At the plate, he starts with a slightly closed stance. uses short stride with toe tap. Takes slight uphill path to the ball. Line drive type production. On the mound, he showed off a 77-78 mph fastball with arm side run. Will improve velocity with more inward turn and use of his lower half. Curveball shows slurvey type movement at 68-70 mph. Tends to slow down arm action on 68-69 mph straight change up.

Jordan Bostater, 1B/3B, Bryan HS

5-foot-11, 200-pound prospect with strong, athletic build. Moves well in the infield. Could play either corner spot. Uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Reached top velocity of 76 mph with quick transfer. At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts with a wide, balanced stance. Uses a short stride and rotational mechanics. Shows some quickness through the zone (82 mph exit velocity) while using a level path to the ball.

Matt Kramer, C, Coldwater HS

6-foot, 180-pound prospect that looks the part with strong, athletic build. Catchg and receive skills are his strongest tools at present. Shows quickness in his hands. Uses short arm action with top velocity of 74 mph from the crouch. Footwork will only gets better as he shortens up width of his stance and improves directional issues. Still shows quickness in his feet. Recorded 2.17-2.36 pop times. At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts with a slightly open stance. Uses minimal upper half load. Doesn’t achieve extension. Takes level path to the ball. Will add power with better use of his lower half.

Maxwell Baker, C, Canal Winchester HS

5-foot-11, 158-pound catching prospect. Uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Shows some quickness in his hands, but still needs to improve glove to hand exchange.  Showed 2.17-2.28 pop times with 74 mph arm strength from the crouch. At the plate, he starts with a wide stance and high hands. Uses leg kick trigger with short stride. Shows raw strength at the plate. Pull tendencies in his swing.

Nick Whitaker, OF, Mason HS

6-foot-2, 185-pound outfielder with long, solid build. Ran a 7.89 60 on a slow track. Shows long arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Shows accuracy on 78 mph throws. Good use of crow hop and lower half. At the plate, the right-handed hitter shows a balanced approach. Tendency to bar his arm in his load. Shows some quickness in his hands with 82 mph exit velocity off the tee. Takes level path to the ball with line drive production.

Pete Burkett, 1B, St. John’s Jesuit HS
6-foot-4, 200-pound first baseman with plenty of potential. Shows good athleticism around the bag. Shows good arm strength (80 mph), but needs to quicken his transfer. Registered 7.72 60 on a slow track. At the plate, he has the makings of a power bat. Tall, narrow setup. Uses short stride. Takes uphill path through the zone. Hands tend to drift away from the body. Pull tendencies in his swing.

Robbie Gilliland, RHP/OF, Hilliard Davidson HS

6-foot-4, 170-pound two-way prospect with long, lanky build. Uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Doesn’t use crow hop. Reached top velocity of 76 mph on his throws with more to come if he uses more of his lower half. At the plate, he starts with a tall, narrow setup with a long stride. Hands get away from his body in his load, which creates some issues with his bat path. Big, lanky prospect with raw tools. On the mound, the right-handed pitcher is still learning how to use his long, lanky frame. Uses short arm action through high ¾ slot. Doesn’t get extension. Fastball sits 73-76 mph. Tends to slow down arm speed on 60-61 mph curveball that shows 10/4 break. Changeup sits between 60-65 mph and knuckleball shows some tumble at 65-67 mph.

Shiloh Turner, Jr, OF/SS, Charles Brush HS

5-foot-11, 145-pound lanky, athletic build. From the outfield, he uses short arm action with high ¾ arm slot. Plays through the ball, but doesn’t consistently square up his front side on his throws, which effects accuracy. Reached top velocity of 76 mph. In the infield, he is a second base type. Needs to improve his glove work and route to the ball. Reached top velocity of 73 mph. At the plate, he uses a big leg kick and short stride. Shows big overall load. Power will increase with better use of lower half. Contact type hitter at this stage with some line drive production.

Thomas Huettner, IF/RHP, Wooster HS

6-foot-2, 185-pound infield prospect with strong, physical build. Ran a 7.44 60 on a slow track. Uses short, slingy arm action through ¾ slot. Needs to quicken transfer by eliminating glove tap. Shows some softness in his hands. Footwork has room for improvement with routes to the ball. At the plate, the left-handed hitter starts with a slight a crouch. Takes level path to the ball. Consistently squares up the baseball. Has potential for more power with his size and frame.

Tristen Knight, LHP, Pleasant HS

6-foot-4, 157-pound left-handed pitcher with thin, lanky build. Uses a slow, deliberate delivery. Fastball sits 72-73 mph with straight action out of a high ¾ arm slot. Velocity will increase with better use of his lower half and speeding up his delivery. Changeup shows similar action at 59-60 mph while curveball shows some spin at 57-58 mph.

Tyler Clutter, LHP, Niles HS

6-foot, 165-pound southpaw. Uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot with average arm speed. Delivery shows regular effort. Shows command of 72-75 mph fastball with some run to it. Curveball shows gradual 1/7 break at 62-64 mph. Tendency to slow down arm action on 63-64 mph changeup, which tends to be erratic.

Zach Fielder, C/3B, Napoleon HS

6-foot-2, 215-pound catching prospect with strong, physical build. Ran 7.4 60 on a slow track. From behind the plate, he uses short arm action through a high ¾ arm slot to reach a top velocity of 74 mph. Needs to improve quickness of his exchange. Pop times between 2.13 to 2.27. Will get better as footwork improves.  At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts from a slightly open stance. Tendency to bar his arm in his load. Uses leg kick trigger. Shows definite power in his swing. Will only get better as he makes small adjustments to stride and load. Showed big time bat speed with 90 mph exit velocity off the tee.