Adam Akin
Director of Scouting


The 2016 PBR Tennessee Underclass Games took place on Tuesday, July 26 and Wednesday, July 27 and included a position player workout, followed by two 7 or 8 inning games each day. Players were afforded the opportunity to showcase their abilities to the PBR Tennessee staff and many college coaches in attendance. The following is our evaluation of every pitcher that was assigned to the Black Team in Wednesday’s action.

 

Travis Odom, SS/RHP, Blackman, 2019
Max FB: 86, FB: 82-85, CB: 68-70,
6-foot-1, 156-pound, RHP was one of, if not the most athletic player at the entire event, Odom initially showed his athleticism as a shortstop and was then able to bring it to the mound, good tempo and fluidity through his motion leads to an aggressive stride and release toward the plate, stays smooth and in line and almost always finishes well balanced with the occasional drift toward 1B, long and loose arm action through a high ¾ slot is natural and shows a lot of projectability.  Fastball was firm and showed some occasional late cut, breaking ball can be really powerful with 11/5 shape when thrown correctly. Odom struck out 4 hitters in his 2 innings of work and earned himself a spot on Tennessee’s Future Games team with his performance.

Matthew Steidl, RHP, Pope John Paul II, 2018
Max FB: 85, FB: 83-85, CB: 70-71, CH: 72-73,
6-foot-4, 170-pound, RHP is a tall, lanky, and athletic presence on the mound that commands immediate attention, smooth and connected motion gathers at the top before really coming hard toward the plate, uses his length and athleticism to get way down the hill and release the pitch as close to the hitter as possible, pitches with a purpose, stays mostly in line but will occasionally fall slightly toward the 1B side on his finish, long and loose arm action comes through a high ¾ release point and comes at the plate on a downward angle.  Fastball showed good life with some late run, curveball showed 11/5 shape and is consistently thrown for strikes, changeup is a good change of pace with a little fade at the end.  Steidl had 3 K’s in his 2 innings and earned himself a spot on Tennessee’s Future Games Team with his performance.

Corey Wilson, RHP, Houston, 2018
Max FB: 84, FB: 83-84, CB: 73-74,
5-foot-11, 160-pound, RHP uses an efficient and compact delivery that seems to be very easy for him to repeat, starts with a quick rocker step but eases into his leg lift with some very slow movement at the top, gets his front hip closed and explodes toward the plate with intent, Wilson strides in line and finishes well balanced and under control, every pitch looks the same, quick arm through a high ¾ slot.  Fastball showed some slight run and was painted on the corners for consistent strikes, curveball can be the difference maker with sharp and late 11/5 break with fastball arm speed. Wilson struck out 4 hitters in his 2 innings of work and earned himself a spot on Tennessee’s Future Games team with his performance.

Jacob Tate, LHP/1B, Christian Academy of Knoxville, 2019
Max FB: 82, FB: 79-82, 63-64 SL
6-foot-6, 190-pound, LHP is a big kid that has quite the presence on the mound, Tate is athletic and uses good rhythm in his motion and approach to the plate, starts tall and finishes lower and with a bent back as he does his best to get out front and reach toward the plate, strides a little closed and will tend to fall toward the 3B side on his finish, long and loose arm action comes from a ¾ slot and can be very tough to pick up.  Fastball was firm and showed some hard run at the plate, slider was sweeping and even though he slowed his arm a tad, it had enough movement to be very effective.  Tate struck out 5 hitters in 2 innings of work.

Cameron Hansen, RHP, Hendersonville, 2019
Max FB: 83, FB: 80-83, CB: 63-66,
6-foot-3, 205-pound, RHP was very much the same as we saw him at the Top Prospect Games, polished and under control, used good tempo throughout his delivery as well as his approach on the mound, kept everything in sync and remained efficient with his movements, pretty athletic and good sized kid should have more in the tank down the road, pretty long and quicker arm action comes through a high ¾ to over-the-top slot.  Fastball seemed heavy through the zone and showed some good run in on the hands of righties, curveball can be thrown for a strike in any count and showed sharp 11/5 shape with fastball arm speed.

Gavin Pulliam, C/RHP, Franklin, 2018
Max FB: 82, FB: 80-82, CB: 69-70, CH: 76-77,
6-foot-0, 185-pound, RHP uses a lot of rhythm throughout his motion and creates some good momentum headed toward the plate, works quick and with good tempo to keep the game moving at his pace, athletic movements on the mound gather him at the top of his leg lift with a closed front hip and some good shoulder tilt, strides in line but finishes with enough effort to pull him toward the 1B side on his follow through, shorter but loose arm action comes through a high ¾ release point.  Fastball seemed heavy and pretty firm through the zone, curveball was much sharper than we had seen from him at the Top Prospect Games and had some big time 11/5 shape, changeup showed good run and was able to be thrown for strikes. 

Jared Culp, LHP, Karns, 2018
Max FB: 77, FB: 75-77, CB: 63-66,
6-foot-3, 155-pound, LHP is a lanky lefty that has a lot of moving parts in sync and coming at you with good rhythm and pace, typically does a great job of staying in line and finishes balanced and under control, gets a little ahead of himself at times and forces his arm to become a little stiff right before release, works with pretty good tempo and did a good job of missing barrels, longer arm action through a high ¾ release point. Fastball stayed pretty straight but hit a lot of corners, curveball has the potential to be a really good pitch with its 1/7 shape and powerful movement through the zone.  Culp had 4 K’s in his 2 innings of work. 

Brannan Hackett, RHP, Smith County, 2018
Max FB: 78, FB: 73-78, CB: 62-63,
5-foot-11, 152-pound, RHP uses a pretty standard motion but starts out slow and controlled and builds that into more aggressive movements the closer he gets to delivering the pitch, sometimes gets ahead of himself and rushes at the end to make himself miss to his left, stays pretty well in line but occasionally falls a little toward 1B, stays tall and keeps his back straight throughout, gets good shoulder tilt with a long arm action through a ¾ slot.  Fastball stayed mostly straight and velo jumped around a lot, curveball showed gradual 11/5 to 10/4 shape through the zone.

Matthew Johnston, 1B/RHP, Mt. Juliet, 2019
Max FB: 76, FB: 73-76, CB: 60-61,
6-foot-1, 175-pound, RHP uses a very slow and collected delivery that sees him gather with a closed front hip and some good shoulder tilt at the top of his motion, Johnston quickens his pace once he heads toward the plate and really jumps at the hitter, athletic build, strides very slightly closed but stays balanced, very long arm action comes through an over-the-top release point and creates a downward angle toward the plate.  Fastball stayed mostly straight but showed some slight run at times, curveball had 12/6 shape but was buried a couple of times.

Austin Wells, RHP/SS, Eagleville, 2018
Max FB: 75, FB: 74-75, CB: 66-67,
5-foot-10, 165-pound, RHP uses a fairly simple delivery that seems easy for him to repeat, consistent pace and rhythm throughout, stays in line and showed a very controlled finish and follow through, relies on some athleticism in parts of his delivery, uses some effort but remains connected, arm action is a little longer and comes through a high ¾ slot.  Fastball was mostly straight but was able to be thrown for strikes, curveball showed pretty good 11/5 action through the zone with some gradual movement on its way to the plate.