Brendan
Koester

10/15/16 - Max Fastball: 89, Fastball: 87-89, Slider: 76-79, Changeup:
Koester burst out at the Battle of the Borders throwing what looked like pellets from a short, power arm stroke.  His fastball consistently sat 87-89, and looked harder than that with strong leg drive and a long stride.  The baby-faced Koester stands 6-foot-1, 185-pounds with a solid frame already, and the way the ball jumps at the plate shows signs of more velocity to come.  Coming out of a high ¾ slot, Koester showed feel for a hard slider thrown with fastball hand speed at 76-79 with tight spin and late break.  He didn’t need the pitch on the day, as his fastball was dominant, but it shows signs of being a very good put away pitch in the future. Koester pitched two perfect innings, striking out 5 of the 6 batters he faced.

9/24/16 - 60 Time: 7.51, Position Velocity: IF-87, Exit Velocity: 89
6-foot-1, 185-pound RHH hits from a balanced stance and loads back with front foot into an aggressive stride, gets maximum use of strong lower half, strength generated bat speed produces pull side power, showed ability to consistently square the baseball in BP. Fluid and athletic actions at 3B, soft hands play well, plenty of arm strength across the infield from a shorter high-3/4 release. Overall, Koester is an athletic 3B with pop in the bat.