San Antonio Preseason ID: Quick Hits

SAN ANTONIO, TX - The last event of the Prep Baseball Report Texas Preseason Showcases took place on Monday, January 21st at Cornerstone Christian School. Over fifty players from around the south and central Texas area showed up. Here is a quick look at what we saw.

2020 OF/RHP Aaron Munson (Johnson HS) was all business on Monday, and he posted some of the best numbers of the event in multiple categories. He ran a 7.08 60-yard dash, posted a 93 mph exit velocity off the tee, and threw 90 from the outfield. The left-handed hitter has a balanced setup starting from a neutral, stacked stance. Loads back smooth as he triggers his hands, then whips the barrel through the zone with a plenty of lag on plane and a loose finish. Barreled it up with gap power and more to come. Plays through the ball quality tempo and an athletic crow hop where he threw bullets to the dish with plenty of carry and accuracy. On the mound, Munson’s fastball was 82-85 with arm side life. He works from a high slot with a quick arm swing and long stride down the mound. Throws a 12/6 curveball with tight rotation at 68-73 mph, and maintains arm speed on his changeup at 74-77.

2021 C/3B Gabriel Herrera (Reagan HS) has natural baseball actions behind the plate and on the infield. High-waisted, athletic frame at 6-foot-2, 175-pounds, he is a long stride runner (7.16) with plenty of room to add strength in the future. The swing works with easy rhythm and loose-quick hands. We have seen him multiple times as a catcher, but after watching him take ground balls, it's not too far fetched to think he could fit in on the infield on days he doesn't catch.

2020 RHP Brandon Beckel (Antonian Prep) stands 6-foot-3, 190-pounds with a strong lower half and smooth delivery. The right-hander works from a high-¾ slot a clean arm swing. His fastball was mostly 87, dropping only a couple of times to 84, and 85. Curveball has 11/5 shape at 72-74 and he can spin it for a strike. Changeup was 77-79 mph.

Uncommitted 2019 RHP Hutch Hornfischer (Austin HS) stands 6-foot-7, 210-pounds with a super projectable frame. Working from a high slot with a long arm swing, he creates tilt on his fastball at 82-84 mph. Showed good feel for offspeed for strikes with a 70-72 mph fastball and a 75-76 mph changeup. As far as uncommitted arms go, Hornfischer should get a ton of attention this spring, sooner rather than later.

2021 OF/3B Gage Wakefield (Bullard HS) ran the fastest 60 of the day with a 6.67. The right-handed hitter has quick hands at the plate and delivers the barrel with authority, using a short leg kick and transferring his weight through contact with ease. Took a solid round of BP, hammering balls through the middle of the field with loud contact.

2020 OF Zane Raba (Reagan HS) ran a 6.82 60-yard dash, hammered the ball to the pull side gap during BP with strength in the barrel and a leveraged hack with natural lift. Feel like he is primed for a big junior season as he has gotten a lot stronger in the past 12 months.

Big 2021 LHP Joshua Coleman (Johnson HS) needs to be on the list of 6-foot-5 arms for college recruiters to follow closely. He creates a ton of tilt to his glove side on his fastball at 80-81 mph, and throws a 1/7 curveball for strikes at 68 mph.

2020 RHP/1B Marshall Durham (Churchill HS) posted a top exit velocity of 91 mph, and uses his long-limbed 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame to generate a a leverage swing with loose-quick hands. 

2021 SS/3B Rowdy Hoadley (Georgetown HS) has the makings of a young player with a bright future. He appears taller than his listed height of 6-foot, 160-pounds with a high-waisted frame. Switch hitter with natural rhythm, strong hands, and the ability to finish the barrel from both sides of the plate.

2021 C Ryan Ruff (Smithson Valley) showed some of the best skills behind the plate of any catcher in attendance. He posted pop times of 1.97-2.09 with a top velocity from the crouch of 74 mph. Really solid receiver behind the plate with quality feel for his position at a young age. Athletic blocker, plays with a bounce in his step. Arm works well with a quick exchange and smooth footwork.

2020 LHP/1B Walter Maeker (Pearland HS) has a broad shouldered frame at 6-foot-2, 240-pounds. The left-handed hitter has an aggressive hack with polished rhythm using a leg kick to generate smooth leverage with pull side juice and a top exit velocity off the tee of 92 mph.

2020 OF/RHP Jarek Wells (Smithson Valley HS) has a long-limbed frame at 6-foot, 190-pounds. The right-handed hitter pound the baseball around the yard during BP, showing off quality bat speed (90 mph off the tee) and juice to the middle of the field. The arm strength is there in the outfield as he posted a top velocity of 90 mph, and ran a 7.04 60-yard dash. Although he was only 82-83 off the mound later in the day, I could see him being a guy that makes a jump in the next couple of months with his arm strength and overall athleticism. His fastball has movement and he can spin a slider.

2020 SS Jonathan Kutsch (Central Catholic HS) showed quality feel for the shortstop position, playing light on his feet with a quick first step and rhythm through the catch. Can make the one handed play with a quick exchange in the midline, can start the double play, and uses directional shuffles as he throws across the diamond. The right-handed hitter uses a reverse leg lift to load as he triggers his hands down and back, then slots the barrel in the zone with tilted shoulders. Strong hands work on an upward plane, creating lift to the pull side, including a home run foul in BP.

2020 RHP Joshua Bain (Johnson HS) has a wiry, quick twitch frame at 6-foot-1, 160-pounds. The right-hander works from an over the top slot with a quick arm and an athletic lower half down the mound as he gets out over his front side and uncoils his hips. His fastball topped out at 85 mph, sitting mostly 82-84. Curveball was only 63-65 mph with 12/6 shape, but once he figures out how to maintain the same lower half finish I would expect that pitch to tighten up a bit more.

2020 RHP Andrew Houdeshell (Our Lady of the Hills) topped out at 86 multiple times with a max effort delivery, sitting 84-86 mph.

2021 OF Cooper Duennenberg (Kerrville Tivy HS) ran a 6.83 60-yard dash and took a nice round of BP. His barrel gets on plane early, working on an uphill path through contact with lots of hard contact through the middle of the field.

2022 RHP/C John Michael Ramirez (Brandeis HS) drove the ball well during BP, showing off strength at a young age with a top exit velocity off the tee of 87 mph. But he really caught our attention when he hopped on the mound at the end of the day. The right-hander has an athletic delivery with a short arm circle and high-¾ release. Hi fastball topped out at 83 mph, sitting mostly 78-82 mph. Spun his curveball from 70-73 with depth, and threw his changeup with same arm speed and arm side depth at 73-75 mph.

2020 C Jimmy Hutson (Prosper HS) throws with a ton of arm strength from behind the plate and top velocity from the crouch of 78 mph and pop times ranging from 2.0-2.16. Strong left-handed hitter with pull side power, his barrel stays in the zone a long time and he posted a top exit velocity of 91 mph off the tee.

2021 LHP Coleson Abel (Kerrville Tivy HS) topped out at 80 mph, and showed the ability to spin the ball for strike with both his curveball at 66-67, and his slider at 66-69 mph. He works from an over the top slot as he separates his hands early, creating some deception in his delivery.

2021 SS Landon Pyles (New Braunfels Canyon HS) has the footwork, hands, and quick first step that allow him to play through the ball with rhythm and tempo, not to mention he has great energy about him. The right-handed hitter has twitchy hands that generate solid bat speed given his 5-foot-7, 141-pound frame. He uses a leg kick load for timing and leverage, and works uphill through contact with lift from the middle to pull side.

2021 RHP Cohen Feser (Reagan HS) has a young, wiry frame at 6-foot, 145-pounds. With coiled hips at the top of his delivery, he gets down the mound landing slightly across his body. The arm works well from a high-¾ slot with a medium circle. Fastball topped out at 81 a couple of times, and he spun a big bender curveball at 63-64 mph.