Prep Baseball Report

East Tennessee Preseason Preview Corner Infielder Evaluations



Adam Akin
Director of Scouting



The 2017 PBR Tennessee East Tennessee Preseason Preview took place on Sunday, January 29 at Chattanooga Sports Complex, in Hixson, Tennessee and included a position player workout, followed by pitcher bullpens.  Players were afforded the opportunity to showcase their abilities in front of the PBR Tennessee staff and college coaches in attendance. The following is our evaluation of every corner infielder that participated in the event.

 

Jack Cooper, 3B, Edwardsville (IL), 2019
Home-1st: 4.61, Position Velocity:  IF-78, Exit Velocity: 87
6-foot-1, 190-pound, RHH was on the way home from a college visit and decided to attend our East TN event, hit from a narrow and closed stance but used a loose and athletic leg kick and stride with smooth hand movement to get loaded, lower half is engaged early and gets through to create some separation, swing plane is slightly up through the zone and can create some lift, showed the ability to drive the ball with some gap pop.  Defensively, showed good hands and fluid footwork around the bag, played through the ball very well with confidence, exchange was efficient and led to a short and loose arm action through a high ¾ angle with accuracy.

Jacob Shamblin, 3B, McMinn County, 2018
Home-1st: 4.89, Position Velocity:  IF-72, Exit Velocity: 82
5-foot-10, 175-pound, RHH hits from a wider and even stance with relaxed hands just above his back shoulder, uses a short stride that moves some weight into his backside with a smooth movement back of his hands to get loaded, lower half fires his hips through and keeps him strong and well-balanced, swing plane is flat to slightly up through the zone and creates some lift on balls up in the zone, produced consistent and solid contact to all fields in BP.  Defensively, showed pretty good hands and footwork at the corner with the ability to play through the ball with some confidence, exchange took an extra step at times and led to a short arm action through a high ¾ slot.

Dawson Perry, RHP/3B, Mount Juliet Christain Academy, 2018
Home-1st: 4.62, Position Velocity:  IF-76, Exit Velocity: 89
5-foot-11, 210-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance with some quiet but subtle hand movement to stay loose, uses a pretty generic stride with a slight barrel tilt to get loaded, lower half snaps through quickly and suddenly but stays balanced, bat path is flat to slightly steep through contact, gets a little muscly, stays up the middle for the most part.  Defensively, showed good hands and footwork around the bag, put himself in some good positions around the ball, exchange was efficient and led to a short arm action through a ¾ to high ¾ slot. 

Collins Poole, 1B, Signal Mountain, 2019
Home-1st: 4.77, Position Velocity:  IF-63, Exit Velocity: 83
6-foot-4, 185-pound, RHH has a long and lanky frame that could continue to develop, hits from a balanced stance with some slightly open alignment, uses a pretty generic stride with a very slight lowering and movement back of his hands to get loaded, lower half gets through and stays pretty balanced but can sometimes drift forward, swing plane is mostly flat but can get steep on balls down in the zone, likes to pull the ball. Defensively, showed above-average hands and footwork around the bag, could a little more efficient playing through the ball, used a shorter arm action that came through a high ¾ release point. 

Andrew Jones, 1B, Sequoyah, 2017
Home-1st: 5.14, Position Velocity:  IF-63, Exit Velocity: 80
5-foot-7, 185-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance with some higher initial hand positioning and a good amount of weight on his back leg, uses an abbreviated leg kick and short stride with a slight movement back with his hands to get loaded, lower half is active and fires through but is a little cut off by his closed front foot, bat path can be a little steep into the zone because of his high hands but tends to flatten out some near contact, at his best when he stays middle.  Defensively, showed above-average hands and average footwork around the bag, could’ve been smoother playing through the ball, arm action is short and a little stiff from a near over-the-top slot.

Layne Atkins, RHP/1B, Morristown East, 2019
Home-1st: 4.85, Position Velocity:  IF-66, Exit Velocity: 74
6-foot-0, 165-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance with slightly high hand positioning to begin, uses a short and simple stride with hardly any movement in his hands to get loaded, lower half gets through and even over-rotates at times but keeps him very tall with a straight back leg, swing plane is pretty flat, can get handsy, a lot of low line drives and ground balls in his round.  Defensively, showed above-average hands and footwork around the bag, could’ve played through the ball more smoothly, arm action is a little longer through a high ¾ slot.

Logan Gann, 3B, White House Heritage, 2020
Home-1st: 4.81, Position Velocity:  IF-73, Exit Velocity: 82
5-foot-11, 185-pound, LHH hits from a very narrow and even stance with front shoulder tilted up around his eyes, uses a long stride with a movement back and a lowering of his hands to get loaded, lower half drifts to pull his body forward and attempts to snap his backside through a little late, muscles up with a bat path that usually comes up through the zone but keeps his hands below the barrel, gets tight and cuts himself off on contact, pull approach.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork at the corner, didn’t really get through the ball, exchange was long and led to a long arm action through an over-the-top slot.