Brenden
Heiss

Mechanically, Heiss isn’t picturesque by any stretch. He works across his body with varying degrees of a closed landing. The times when he was off the plate was mainly when he landed way across his body and pulled the ball down to the gloveside. And despite a big wrap on the backside, his supreme athleticism and arm speed enable him to get extension out front with consistency. At times you can’t help but wonder how he is able to consistently find the same release point, but he manages it. Jacobs coach Jamie Murray said Heiss had a similar dominating performance in his first outing of the season, too.

6/23/15 - The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Arkansas recruit continues to prove that he possesses one of the most electric arms in the country. At the ProCase, Heiss sat 92-93, topping at 94, with late arm-side life. His arm is extremely athletic with some unconventional mechanics going on, especially on the backside. He lands closed and works across his body, which makes for an even more uncomfortable at-bat for hitters. Nevertheless, he filled up the strike zone with his fastball and slurve/slider, which ranged between 75-80 mph. Heiss retired the side in order, including a pair of strikeouts.

6/8/15 - 6-foot-1, 200-pound, right-handed pitcher with a strong, mature build.  Currently ranked No. 4 in the Illinois Class of 2016, No. 16 in PBR Overall ranks. Arkansas commit. Saw his first game action on the mound since late April. Faced three batters walking two and striking out one. Fastball sat 90-92 topping out at 93 mph with a live arm. Scouts will be out in force to see him this summer getting ready for the 2016 MLB Draft.

4.8.15 - 6-foot-1, 200-pound, right-handed pitcher with strength in the lower half. Works from a high ¾ arm angle with a short quick arm action with a wrap in back. Crossfire delivery that can be tough on right-handed hitters. Crossfire more severe out of the stretch. Works over the font side well with a good follow thru. Showed better control out of the windup. Walked 4 and hit 2 in 4 innings of work. Fastball sat 88-91 mph in his first inning of work. Settled into the 87-89 mph range over the next 3 innings. Curveball sat 75-76 topping out at 78 mph early. Curveball showed slurvy action, showed the ability to throw it for strikes when he needed. Armspeed would play better with a slider. Absolutely brutally cold day, more velo to come when it warms up.

8/2/14 - Heiss started Game 1 and showed electric stuff on back-to-back days, consistently pounding the zone with his 90-92 mph heater.  In two innings pitched over the two days, Heiss allowed only one hit, and was extremely efficient, producing weak contact with several ground ball outs.  His 73-74 mph palm ball behaves like a curveball at times, and if he finds a harder breaking ball over the next few years, he could become a high draft pick.  He shows great arm speed in the bullpen on his 79-81 mph two-seam changeup, but did not have to use it often in games.   Heiss hit 95 mph on the stadium gun that was setup on day two, but another gun next to it read 92.  He did not throw a fastball under 90 mph in his two appearances.  Regardless, the 6-foot-1, 200-pound righty has electric stuff and is garnering national recruiting attention. 

6/19/14 - 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-handed pitcher, average athletic frame. Heiss has one of the strongest arms in the class of 2016. Delivery works across his body, regular effort, delivery shows timing and athleticism. Electric arm, combination of arm speed and strength saw his fastball sit at 90-92, showed experienced fastball command well beyond his age, late heavy feel, arm side run. Shows feel for changeup, deceptive arm action, showed sink and control of the zone. 79-80 mph. Curveball has 11/5 action, 69-70 mph, showed feel for the pitch, slurve type action, occasional back up action. Heiss projects as a high level arm in the 2016 class with a plus potential fastball. His feel for three pitches is highly advanced for his age and Heiss loos to be one of the more coveted arms in the class.

4/19/14 - Currently ranked No. 5 in Illinois’ 2016 class, No. 15 overall. High-level national prospect. In his third varsity start of his career on Saturday, Heiss was, in a word, electric. In 10 years of scouting Illinois prospects, I cannot recall another sophomore in high school sustaining his high fastball velocity, equally from the windup and stretch, as Heiss did. He opened the game sitting 91-92, 90-91 from the stretch. In the second he was 90-91; third inning 89-91; the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, 88-90, with more 90s that 88s. The scary part is, you watch Heiss throw – the athleticism, the acceleration without much effort, the rawness of his mechanics – and you can’t help but think he’s only scratched the surface of his potential. Because there’s plenty to improve on, and he has the athleticism and proportional strength to achieve it, naturally. The fact that he was pitching at 90-92 isn’t a surprise, because he did that at the Underclass Invitational in January. The big question surrounding Heiss after the event was whether he could sustain it and, more importantly, throw the strike pitch on a consistent basis. Although he currently doesn’t command his fastball, he throws enough strikes and is around the plate enough for hitters to chase balls out of the zone. But he certainly threw his share of strikes on Saturday. He walked three batters in the game (two coming in the fifth inning), and hit one. He has a tendency to miss up, gloveside, when he isn’t around the plate. Mechanically, Heiss doesn’t regularly repeat his delivery; he works across his body, landing closed to varying degrees. Heiss throws a palm ball, which behaves much like a curveball, only it has more erratic action, in the 72-74 range. When it’s good, it has late 11/5 bite and gets swings and misses. He offered a few changeups during the game at 82 mph as well. Indoors, his changeup had late arm-side dive. Athletically, he stands 6-foot-1, weighs 190 pounds and has wide shoulders and a sturdy lower half. Heiss’s athleticism shined in the game. He has extremely athletic feet, evidenced by his five putouts he made, including one on a slow-roller down the third-base line in which he got to it in a blink, stopped on dime and threw a strike to first to edge the runner and get out of the inning. He also has a quick pick-off move to first base. Final line of game: 6 IP, 7Ks, 3H (one was bunt), 3BB, 0ER.

1.19.14 - One of the premier power arms in Midwest, if not nation. Athletic 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame, wide shoulders, proportional strength. Set Illinois Underclass Invitational five-year record by topping out at 92 mph. Fastball sat 90-91 mph throughout bullpen session with late arm-side life. Advanced arm speed, long, loose, athletic arm action, high ¾ slot, ball explodes out of hand. Achieves velocity without much effort; likely more in tank. Secondary stuff consists of palm ball and changeup. Palm ball has sharp, erratic action – some have more slider/slurve action, 11/5 steep break; others had late 12/6 dive – either way, pitch ranged between 70-72 mph and has true swing-and-miss potential at next level. Throws pitch with conviction. Changeup ranged between 76-78 mph, has tendency to slow down arm action and get underneath pitch. In all, Heiss should quickly become one of the most coveted right-handed pitching prospects in Midwest. Electric overall stuff.