Prep Baseball Report

Introducing The Vault: 2017 Class



Western Review

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By Jerry Shank
Virginia Scouting Director

The Vault is a periodic series that takes a look back at some of the top talent across the state that have been part of PBR. In our first edition, we look at the 2017 class top tier that have been at events and then where they are now.

Tanner Morris SS Miller School 
Virginia Commit
Current VA Rank:
No. 2
Current Overall: No. 192
PBR Draft 100

Event Scouting Report (Pre-Summer Trials - 5.22.16)
5.22.16:  Hits from a balanced, athletic stance that is slightly crouched. Slight load back with a toe to heel stride that stays on line and controlled. Explosive drive to the ball that maintains balance. Bat exit velocity of 89 MPH with wood. Advanced approach to the round.  Short, level swing path that stays through the ball. Line drive hitter with gap power.  Advanced hitter with hands that can spray the ball around the park. Throws from a three-quarters arm slot. Arm has life. Positional velocity of 88 MPH. Soft hands with quick, fluid footwork that plays through the ball. Athletic defender.

110Mikey Polansky 3B Hickory
Virginia Tech Commit
Current VA Rank: No. 4
Current Overall: No. 183

Event Scouting Report (Preseason All-State - 2.22.15)
2.22.15:  Hit from a balanced, athletic stance that stood tall.  Hands started in an unorthodox position and bared on load, but was able to get the barrel to the ball violently.  Stride was long and stayed on line.  Maintained good balance.  Lower half exploded to the ball.  Showed a great approach to the round, driving balls consistently.  Swing path was short.  Line drive stroke with power that should find the gaps consistently.  In the field, threw from a 3/4 arm slot with a loose arm action.  Throws were accurate.  Had clean footwork but waited on the ball at times.  Hands were soft.  Had an Positional Velocity of 76 mph.

110Tyler Soloman C Battlefield
Vanderbilt Commit
Current Va Rank: No. 5
Current Overall: No. 140

Event Scouting Report (Northern VA Open - 9.23.15)
9.23.15: Solomon has an athletic 6-4 frame that is very projectable. He has decent speed for his size, running a 7.40 60 yard dash. Solomon is a switch hitter, and from the right side he has an upright stance, a leg kick stride, and a bit of a wrap to his load. He has a long path but an explosive lower half and a very fast bat and he gets good extension through the ball. From the left side, Solomon has an athletic stance, a big leg kick and a smooth back load. He has good rhythm and balance throughout his swing. He has an explosive lower half and is short to the ball with explosive bat speed. He has legit home run power and posted and exit velocity of 95. Behind the plate, Solomon throws from a high three-quarters arm slot with a short arm action that is very loose, hitting 77 on his throw downs. He has a quick release and gains ground as he works through the ball. He showed decent accuracy on his throws and all of his pop times were between 1.97 and 2.00.

110Kyle Whitten RHP Osbourn Park
Virginia Commit
Current VA Rank: No. 9
Current Overall: No. 193

Event Scouting Report (Underclass Invitational - 2.15.15)
2.15.15 Whitten has a lanky frame and throws from a high three-quarters slot. He has a short, loose arm action and a very quick armstroke. He has drop and drive mechanics with a smooth rhythm. His shoulders are uphill and on line, and he creates good angle on his pitches before falling off a bit at finish. Whitten’s four seam fastball sat at 84 mph with little movement and his two seamer sat 82 mph with good action to it. He threw an outstanding, sharp slider with full armspeed that ran 70-74 mph. He also threw a fading change-up with full armspeed that ran 75-77 mph. Whitten threw all of his pitches with outstanding command.

110Toma Shigaki-Than RHP Oakton
Duke Commit
Current VA Rank: 10

Event Scouting Report (Fall Top Prospect Games 10.31.15)
10.31.15 - Lanky frame with room to add strength at 5-foot-11, 150-pounds. Controlled delivery with nice pace. Gets hips loaded into lift with excellent backside drive through release and legs. Longer sound arm action with fast arm speed through finish. Throws from a high /34 arm slot with square finish and slight roll to first base side becasue of his great back leg drive. Fastball has slight run on the pitch up to 86 mph. Breaking ball is a plus pitch, sharp action with fastball arm speed. Knee buckler. Change up has nice fade on the pitch with fastball arm speed.

110Will Liverpool RHP Bishop O'Connell
West Virginia Commit
Current Va Rank: No. 12
Current Overall: No. 263

Event Scouting Report (Underclass Invitational 2.15.15)
2.15.15 Liverpool has an athletic frame and throws from a three-quarters arm slot. He has a bit of wrap to his arm action, but otherwise his action is loose and he has a lightning quick arm, generating easy velocity. He has simple mechanics and his shoulders are closed and slightly downhill at footstrike. He has good direction and comes to an athletic finish. Liverpool’s fastball hit 86 mph repeatedly and ran 83-86 mph with late sink to it. His slider needs work, but had 10/4 action to it and ran 69-71 mph. His change-up was inconsistent and he slowed his arm down on it a bit, but it has potential and ran 68-70 mph.

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