Hunter Pence Scout Day: Quick Hits

Toby Bicknell
Texas Scouting Director

Twitter: @PBR_Texas
IG: @pbr_texas

Saturday, September 30, 2017

CYPRESS, TX- Throughout the fall, PBR's staff will be on the road covering baseball across Texas. Games, workouts, practices, camps and more.  The "boots on the ground" philosophy of PBR is well represented with the coverage throughout the Fall of 2017. Here are some Quick Hits on players that had standout performances at the Hunter Pence Scout Day.

2018 OF/LHP Tre Jones (Jersey Village HS) may be one of the best available position players, with the highest upside. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound, left-handed hitter has a strong, high-waisted, athletic frame. He ran a 7.13-second 60-yard dash on a slow track, threw 89 mph from the outfield, registered an exit velocity of 97 mph, and bumped 88 on the mound. Jones has loose hands and easy rhythm at the plate, and consistently barreled up the ball during batting practice. Our staff also saw Jones in action two weeks ago in Tomball where he also swung the bat well.

2018 RHP Joe Kibbe (Cinco Ranch HS) opened some eyes when the 6-foot-3, 175-pound right-hander pumped 87-88 mph, touching 90 one time. Kibbe works from a high-¾ slot with some funk in his delivery and hides the ball well. Breaking ball was 74 mph, changeup was 77 mph. Also worth noting, Kibbe is a left-handed hitter and showed some strength during BP when he left the yard to right field.

If anyone is still looking for a left-hander that can spin a breaking ball, 2018 Bryce Toney (Cypress Ranch HS) may be a good fit. At 5-foot-11, 160-pounds, Toney works from a high-¾ slot with a long arm stroke and downward tilt on his 82-84 mph fastball. He has good feel for a 69 mph curveball with good downer shape and depth. Changeup was 76 mph.

2018 SS Elliot Ranson (Cypress Christian HS) showed solid actions at shortstop, with a quick release and accurate throws. Ranson has a lanky frame and long strides at 6-feet, 165-pounds, with plenty of room to add strength as he continues to develop. The right-handed hitter had a solid round of batting practice, then roped a double over the left-fielder’s head during the game.

2018 OF Cole Payne (Cuero HS) is a right-handed hitter that should find a home soon. Payne appears larger than his listed 6-foot, 175-pound, strong, high-waisted frame with broad shoulders and plenty of room to add strength. Payne projects as a corner bat at the collegiate level. The right-handed hitters has smooth rhythm and a simple swing with leverage. The barrel stays in the zone a long time and the ball jumps off his bat.  

2018 RHP Tripp Sealy (Cypress Fair HS) is an intriguing arm with a projectable 6-foot-3 frame. Sealy works from a high slot with his fastball ranging from 81-83 mph.

A pair of Louisiana-Lafayette recruits 2019 RHP/OF Justin Barnes and 2019 SS/RHP Jake Combs both stood out on Saturday. Combs has been committed to ULL for a while, and is an all-around athletic player with smooth actions, quick footwork, and fast hands at shortstop. On the mound, he has a quick, clean arm stroke from a ¾ slot with his fastball in the 82-84 mph range, and a 70-73 mph sharp slider with 10-4 shape. A more recent commit, Barnes was electric in one inning of work, sitting 86-88 mph with a swing and miss 75-76 mph slider. Also worth noting is that Barnes threw 92 mph from the outfield and registered an exit velocity of 91 mph.

Several players from John Cooper HS had to leave the event before the games started, they had a football game to play in Austin, TX. 2019 LHP/1B Evan Godwin (Texas Tech recruit) threw a bullpen with his fastball sitting 84-86 mph, and a sharp curveball at 73-76 mph. Uncommitted 2019 SS Evan Minarovic ran a 6.93-second 60-yard dash (slow track), then showed off fast twitch actions at shortstop and threw 85 mph across the diamond. Minarovic has solid actions at shortstop, makes the play on the run and has a long-limbed frame at 5-foot-10, 160-pounds, with plenty of room to add strength.

Recent Oklahoma State commit, 2019 OF J.T. Mounce (Cypress Christian HS), who played football the night before for Cypress Christian HS, continued to show why he is one of the top players in the Texas 2019 Class. Mounce is a superb, fast-twitch athlete and left-handed hitter with a bright future in college baseball.

2019 J.J. Goss (Cypress Ranch HS), a Texas A&M recruit, ranked No. 8 in the Texas 2019 Class, worked a clean inning with his fastball sitting 88-90 mph. His slider is swing and miss at 80 mph, while he also throws his changeup with fastball arm speed at 78-80 mph.

2019 RHP/OF Reed Smith (John Cooper HS) is a Pepperdine commit that can pitch from different arm slots with good feel for both his fastball and breaking ball. His fastball sat 84-86 mph, but topped out once at 89 mph. His breaking ball ranges in shape and depth, depending on his slot, but the junior throws it with confidence and conviction at 75 mph.

With the recruiting landscape moving faster than in years past, there were several 2020 grads that college recruiters will want to watch closely. 2020 RHP Jackson Blue (The Woodlands HS) is a 6-foot-3 right-hander that topped out at 83 mph. 2020 LHP/OF Rhett McCaffety (Cypress Fair HS) is a two-way player with good athleticism that topped out at 84 mph and registered an exit velocity of 87 mph. 2020 SS Hunter Cramer has a projectable, athletic frame and an aggressive right-handed swing. Cramer made a great play on a hard shot up the middle. After breaking to his left, the ball ricocheted off the pitcher’s glove. Cramer change direction, snagged the ball by diving to his back hand side, then gunned the ball over the first base. Another name to remember in the 2020 class is Mitchell Andrews (Cypress Fair HS). The sophomore is a jack-of-all trades with an athletic, projectable frame and high upside. Andrews has easy actions and a loose arm, both on the infield and outfield. The right-handed hitter has loose hands, barrel whip, and repeats his swing with an exit velocity is 87 mph. His velocity on the mound was only 73-78 mph, but he has a loose arm stroke from a high-¾ slot, and spins a sharp breaking ball with depth at 63-65 mph. 2020 OF/LHP Tyler Douglas (John Cooper HS) is a left-handed hitter with good rhythm and loose hands at the plate. Douglas is a long stride runner and has good moxy in the box.