Prep Baseball Report

Top 10 Stories of 2016 Countdown- No. 9: Breaking Down the Uncommitted ProCase Players



By Mike Maerz
Director of Florida Operations/Area Scout

As we continue the countdown of the Top 10 stories in 2016, the Breaking Down the Uncommitted ProCase Players article comes in at the ninth spot. 

Five of the seven uncommitted players mentioned have now committed to play at the next level which includes Miami, Santa Fe, Jacksonville, Tulane, and Central Florida. These commitments are listed in bold in their scouting report below.

Here is a re-post of that story that ran on Tuesday May 17, 2016.

#9 Breaking Down the Uncommitted ProCase Players

We are now only a few days away from our ProCase at IMG Academy. This event is mainly for the top 2017 prospects in Florida who have a chance of being picked in the draft next year and while most of the players are already committed, there are a few who are uncommitted despite the fact they have showed they are capable of being next level players.

Today we will highlight those ProCase players who are still uncommitted and break down why they will help a quality program win at the next level:

Oakley Albinson, RHP, Indian Rocks Christian (2017)
Albinson stands at 6-foot-6 220 pounds with a tall, lean, and projectable body with long arms and legs. He has a short, over the top arm action and gets a good downward plane on his fastball. His fastball sits in the upper 80s and he possesses an above average curveball for his age that has good depth and shows sharpness when he stays on top of it. He is a durable, workhorse-type pitcher who has proven to be able to throw seven innings and maintain his velocity throughout the game. With his frame and projectability, we should not be surprised if Albinson touches 90 mph in the near future.

Willy Escala, SS, South Dade HS (2017)
(Committed to Miami) 5-foot-11, 165-pound shortstop who has a lean, loose, and athletic frame with live actions that he shows all over the field. He has proven to be able to consistently square up the ball at the plate with a quick and compact stroke. He possesses good power for his size and can drive the ball with authority to all fields. In the field he shows advanced footwork with the actions and arm strength to stay at shortstop.

Andrew Eyster, OF, Forest HS (2017)
(Committed to Santa Fe) 6-foot-3, 190-pound outfielder who has a long, lean, athletic, and projectable body. He shows loose and natural actions in the outfield with an advanced arm that is able to produce accurate throws that have good carry. At the plate he has an advanced approach and gets very good leverage in his swing. He stays inside the ball well and laces hard line drives to all fields. Look for Eyster to gain more power with added strength and maturity.

Duncan Hunter, OF, Jesuit HS (2017)
(Committed to Jacksonville) Hunter is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound outfielder who has a strong, physical, athletic, and projectable body. He has good range in the outfield and gets good carries on his throws. At the plate he has good rhythm and possesses some raw bat speed that allows him to drive the ball with authority to both gaps. Hunter has the body and tools to become a 2017 draft but he will need to become more consistent, which will almost certainly come with more reps.

Drew Martin, RHP, Jesuit HS (2017)
6-foot-7, 230-pound righty who has a tall, athletic, and projectable body with strength. Martin has probably been the most consistent pitcher for Jesuit over the past two seasons. He has proven to be able to throw strikes with three pitches and he really knows how to keep his off speed down in the zone. He has a ¾ arm action that has lengthened out over the last year which has given him some extra velocity and a better downward plane on his fastball. What is even more promising is that his fastball has gone from 81-84 mph in 2015 to 86-89 mph in 2016. He possesses an advanced curveball that is tight and shows occasional sharpness at 75-77 mph. Look for Martin to continue to add velocity with added strength and maturity.

Frank Niemann, C, Lake Mary HS (2017)
(Committed to Tulane) Niemann stands at 6-foot, 195 pounds with a strong, athletic, and physical frame. He is one of the better uncommitted catchers in the state and swings the bat well for a catcher. At the plate he has loose hands with good bat speed and he has proven to be able to drive the ball with authority to both gaps against quality pitching. Behind the plate he is a 2.0-2.1 throwing down to second and has plenty of arm strength to play there at the next level.

Dalton Wingo, OF, Plant City HS (2017)
(Committed to Central Florida) Wingo stands at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds with a lean, athletic, and projectable body with strength. He shows live, quick twitch actions all over the field with some advanced tools. He may in fact be the top uncommitted player at this event. He is an above average runner, has advanced bat speed, and can drive the ball out of the park on a fairly consistent basis. As of now, Wingo projects as an offensive-minded center fielder who has a solid average arm and above average speed.

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