Dane
Sowards

2/17/19

Body Type: 5-foot-11, 190 pounds. Athlete with sturdy build.

Swing Mechanics: Showed a balance stane in the box producing a leg kick in his loading process. Slight uphill bat path shown as he goes to make contact.

Hit: Contact made was made more solid on middle-opposite field hits.

Power: 72 mph exit velocity. More left in his tankas he develops further.

Offensive Projection: Multiple.

Run: 7.85 seconds 60-yard.
Field: Fields it out of a wider stance with footwork improving in mobility and quickness. Fielding actions showed well as he worked his glove.

Throw: 75 mph across the infield on the bag.
Defensive Projection: Third base.

2/17/19 Pitching
Body Type: 5-foot-11, 190-pound physical frame.
Mechanical/Delivery Notes: Right-hander that works exclusively from the stretch. Slower tempo delivery that requires some effort. Quick arm through high-¾ slot.
Fastball: 76-78 mph. Comes out well. Pitch stays mostly true through the zone.
Curveball: 65-68 mph.  11/5 spinner that has some depth to it. Tight spin on it, making it harder for hitters to pick up.
Changeup: 70-71 mph. Playable offering stuff, just need to be in the zone more consistently.
Pitchability: Fastball, breaking ball guy with developing feel for the changeup.
Additional Comments: Quick arm righty with high spin rate on the fastball, making the pitch play up velo wise.

1/26/19
Body Type: 5-foot-11, 190-pound physical frame.
Swing Mechanics: Upright setup from the right side. Small leg lift load as barrel travels to a vertical launch.
Hit: Compact, level stroke that stays inside the baseball nicely. Quick swing that plays up the middle of the field. Sprayed line drives in BP.
Power: 79 mph exit velocity. Line drive guy with more to come as he adds strength and oft to stroke.
Offensive Projection: Middle of Lineup potential.
Run: 4.88 H-1st.
Field: Knows what he’s doing at third base. Feet work well, creates angles and plays through with rhythm. Soft hands with above average ball skills.
Throw: Enough for third base with more to come. Topped at 75 mph across the infield.
Defensive Projection: 1B/3B.

1/26/19 Pitching
Body Type: 5-foot-11, 195-pound, RHP with big physical pitching frame.
Mechanical/Delivery Notes: Throws from a low ¾ slot. Tempo is slow and then casually builds when he gets into his leg kick. Shoulders stay pointed at the target with good weight transfers
Fastball: FB (77-80) is heavy with some sink.
Curveball: CB (69-71) has a little depth with hard 11/5 late break.
Changeup: CH (70-72) has good depth and has hard late break at the end.
Pitch ability: All pitches are heavy and stay low in the zone
Role: Starter/Reliever
Additional Comments: A lot of movement with his pitches, and can command them well. He might have a little more in the tank later on.

1/21/19 Pitching

Body Type: 5-foot-11 190-pound prospect.

Mechanical/Delivery Notes: Threw from a ¾ arm slot with a slow, controlled rhythm to his delivery.

Fastball: 75-78 mph fastball showed some good sink and fade to the arm side.

Curveball: 68-69 mph breaking was a somewhat loopy pitch but he showed good command of the breaking ball.

Changeup: 70-71 mph changeup showed some late life with some sink and even cutting action at times.

Pitchability: Pretty good command of all three of his pitches, particularly of his breaking ball.

Role: Good command of three pitches and his fastball and changeup pairing well together with their similar downward actions would make him probably a starter type at the high school level. Velocity would need to tick up to continue starting at the next level.

1/21/19
Body Type: 5-foot-11 190-pound prospect.

Swing Mechanics: Tall stance. Goes with a leg kick timing trigger with simple hands through load.

Hit: Balanced swing on a level path. All fields hitter with regular line drive output. Caparable natural tools through the zone with a balanced offering of strength/speed.

Power: 76 mph exit velocity. Line drive pop with occasional gap abilities.

Offensive Projection: Middle Potential.

Run: 7.64 60-yard dash.

Field: Worked out at third base where he played with fluid feet and the ability to create angles. Ball skills are on par for class and he plays with rhythm.

Throw: 76 mph arm strength across the diamond. Loose, clean arm that should support added velo. Accurate thrower.

Defensive Projection: Corner Infielder.

2/18/18
5-foot-11, 195 pound third basemen with a stocky build to him showed an average glove with nice ability to come through the ball and take momentum towards is target at first base. Footwork is average and developing in speed and angles taken when attacking the ball. Displayed a stronger arm with accuracy from third with a 76 mph velocity across the diamond. Slower paced tempo as he goes through a chest high leg lift into drop and drive load. Arm action is long back and compact through an over the top slot. Fastball comes out with some effort with some run and sink to it at 77-78 mph. Spins an 11/5 shaped breaking ball that has bigger action with some depth at 67-69 mph. Locates the offering well, using it to both sides. Maintains arm speed on the changeup that has run and dive to it at 73-74 mph. Slider, which sat at 72-73 mph, come through same slot as fastball but shows more spin than break at present. Curveball is his best secondary offering. In the box he gets things started with a leg lift timing mechanism, barrel flows through load incorporating a bat tip movement, swing is level/compact. Generates above average natural tools through the zone and squared up line drives regularly in BP. Very solid performance.
60-yard dash: 7.8
Infield Velocity: 76
Exit Velocity: 77

1/27/18

5-foot-11, 195 pound infielder has a good frame with strength. Sowards has a good swing path, but needs to work on getting better extension through the baseball. He recorded a 78 mph exit velocity which will improve over the next couple years. He came up at times win his swing rather than rotating through the ball which caused some inconsistency in barreling balls. Still saw some good signs offensively. In the infield, his hands were good and did a fine job fielding it but could do better by staying low and working from the ground up. His velocity was 77 across the diamond which was one of the better ones for the ’20 class. Had good intent for each rep hitting and fielding which is another plus for his age.

1/15/18

On the hill the right-hander has a slower paced tempo that requires regular effort. Goes with a high leg lift prior to his drop and drive load. Creates solid energy with his lower half, working in line to home plate. Arm action is longer and he works through a near over the top slot. Tosses a four seam and a cutter. Four seam is mostly true through the zone at 75-77 mph. Maintains velocity on the cutter that has tight, late action to it. Breaking ball travels on an 11/5 plane with gradual break to it at 65-67 mph. Changeup was his most impressive secondary offering. Maintains arm speed on the pitch that had a fastball look out of the hand before downward action late in the zone at 69-72 mph. At the plate he is a right-handed hitter that starts in a tall setup. Goes with a leg kick to get things started prior to his aggressive stride forward. Hands are simple prior to launch with barrel triggering from a near vertical setup. Strength is apparent at contact and bat has some quickness to it. Has feel for finding the barrel, and creates consistent backspin to the middle of the field. Topped out at 75 mph off the tee. At third base he uses controlled, direct footwork in his approach. Tends to play from heels at times. Ball skills are developing. Arm looks to play on the left side, showing 74 mph arm strength across the infield. Ran a 7.91 60-yard dash.

6/28/16
5-foot-10, 180-pound physical build. The right handed pitcher reaches back and comes through a high ¾ arm slot with short arm action. Repeats his delivery and sufficiently uses his lower half. Three-pitch mix. His 70-72 mph fastball features arm-side run. Cutter shows flashes of being an out pitch at 68 mph; heavy with late movement in the zone. Also mixes in a 60-61 mph breaking ball. Ran a 7.96, 60-yard dash. At the plate he starts in a wider setup before using a knee pinch load to get his lower half started. Hands stay loose and fluid throughout the load before taking a level path to the ball. Solid whip through the zone. Ball came off his bat well in batting practice. Showed flashes of batspeed on pitches up in the zone and reached a top exit velocity of 76 mph. At first base he moves off the bag well and has good feel for the position. Hands are above average at this stage. Threw across the infield with 65 mph arm strength.