By Matt Byrd
TN Director of Scouting

The PBR Tennessee Unsigned Senior Games took place on October 11 at Vol State and afforded uncommitted seniors from around the state the opportunity to showcase their abilities in a combination showcase/game play event.

CLICK HERE to view the full statistics from the event.

The following is a look at the Team Maroon catchers and outfielders who participated in the event. This is position player analysis only. Those players who also participated as a pitcher at the event will have their pitching performance featured in a subsequent article.

Catchers

Chase Smith, 2016, Oakland, C
The 5 foot 9, 170-pound prospect posted a 7.41 60 time and had a 76 mph position velocity from behind the plate. Defensively Smith shows short arm action with a quick release, has good arm strength, footwork stays online, posted 1.90-2.03 pop times, solid catch-and-throw ability. Offensively, Smith has fast bat speed from the right side and had an 83 mph exit velocity off the tee. Smith hits from an open setup, has a short stride, uses his lower half, has good overall balance, has a good approach with a level swing, shows fluid rhythm and is a line drive type hitter. Smith had a good round of BP and went 1 for 4 during game play.

Outfielders

Baylor Steelman, 2016, LaVergne, OF
The 5 foot 8, 145-pound prospect posted a 7.19 60 time and had an 85 mph position velocity from the outfield. Defensively Steelman throws from an over the top arm slot that produces good online carry on throws, good arm strength, soft hands, fluid footwork with athletic actions, clean exchange and natural outfield instincts. Offensively from the right side Steelman shows fast bat speed and had an 80 mph exit velocity off the tee. Steelman hits from an open setup with a leg kick and aggressive stride, uses his lower half, level path, aggressive approach, loose hands, makes hard contact to all fields. Steelman went 0 for 3 during game play.

Kirby Simpson, 2016, Father Ryan, OF
The 5 foot 9, 150-pound prospect posted a 7.66 60 time and had a 75 mph position velocity from the outfield. Defensively, Simpson has average arm strength with long arm action and high-3/4 release, accuracy on throws, soft hands, long/clean exchange, average footwork. Offensively Simpson has average bat speed from the left side and had a 79 mph exit velocity off the tee. Simpson hits from a balanced setup with a leg kick involved, uses his lower half, has good overall balance, has a level path and shows ability to use all fields, line drive type hitter. Simpson went 1 for 4 during game play.

Graden Strang, 2016, Smyrna, OF/3B
The 6 foot 1, 180-pound prospect posted 7.31 60 time and had an 85 mph position velocity across the infield and an 83 mph position velocity from the outfield. Defensively Strang looks more natural from the infield showing good arm strength that plays well on the left side of the infield, fluid footwork, soft hands, accurate throws from a ¾ release. From the outfield Strang shows good arm strength, some accuracy, fluid footwork, slower exchange. Offensively Strang shows some strength generated bat speed from the right side and had an 81 mph exit velocity off the tee. He hits from a balanced setup, has a short stride, shows average balance, aggressive approach, level path that works uphill at times, can get more consistent use from lower half, has some pop off the bat, has good overall strength and is a line drive type hitter that likes to go the other way at times. Strang went 1 for 3 during game play with a stolen base.