Prep Baseball Report

Chicagoland Open: Outfield Analysis



By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

The Chicagoland Open took place on Sunday, August 21st at The MAX in McCook, IL.  Following the event the PBR scouting staff compiled all of the notes from the workout and over the next week we will break down the event position by position.

Yesterday we began the analysis of the event taking a look at the catchers in attendance. Today we analyze the outfielders from the day.

2019 Kyle Hetherington was the lone underclassman to make the top five. Hetherington is an athletic left/left prospect with athletic defensive actions and fluid rhythm at the plate.

Top Outfield Prospects

1. Ronald Applewhite, OF/INF, Rich East, 2017
6-foot, 160-pound outfielder, lean lanky frame, live loose body. 6.77 runner in the 60. Defensively showed athletic actions and range, footwork is quick and fluid, showed soft athletic hands. Arm action is loose and quick, carries well, 85 mph from the outfield, 84 mph across the diamond. Right-handed hitter, balanced setup with short stride. Spray line drive type hitter, loose hands, gets on top of the baseball, short path. 88 mph exit velocity from the tee.

2. Thomas Farrell, OF, St. Laurence, 2017
University of Illinois-Chicago commit. 6-foot-3, 190-pound left-handed hitting outfielder. Offensively hits from a squared setup, slightly wider, no stride approach, heel lift load. Loose hands, level path with extension, line drive type hitter. Showed bat speed, 87 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm action is long and over the top, played at 83 mph from the outfield. Plays through the baseball, smooth actions, 7.02 runner.

3. Kyle Hetherington, OF/LHP, Crystal Lake South, 2019
5-foot-9, 155-pound left-handed two-way player. Defensively arm action is long and loose, over the top slot, highly accurate to his target, ball carries, 83 mph from the crowhop. Athletic actions, moves through the baseball aggressively and in stride. 7.30 runner in the 60. Left-handed hitter, open stance, short stride, good balance. Loose hands work well, spray contact hitter, line drive approach. 80 mph exit velocity from the tee.

4. Marco Escobar, OF, Plainfield South, 2017
5-foot-10, 175-pound outfielder, stocky build with strength. Right-handed hitter, squared stance, short stride, maintains good balance. Swing is compact, produced hard contact, level path with bat speed, gap to gap type. 81 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm action is long and over the top, 81 mph from the outfield. Plays through the baseball, aggressively in stride. 7.19 runner in the 60.

5. Ernst Coupet, OF/INF, Homewood-Flossmoor, 2017
6-foot-1, 170-pound outfielder, lean lively frame. Quick twitch athlete, 6.78 runner in the 60. Right-handed hitter, open stance, short stride back to even, good balance. Loose hands, showed bat speed, athletic hitter. 84 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively played multiple positions, showed raw athleticism at both, longer strided actions. Arm action is loose played at 79 mph from the outfield, 75 mph across the diamond

Best of the Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Cecil Archbold, OF, Homewood-Flossmoor, 2020
6-foot, 165-pound outfielder, strong athletic frame for his age. 7.14 runner in the 60. Right-handed hitter, balanced setup, minimal stride, heel lift load, hands load back while lifting back elbow. Path works slightly uphill, hits off back side. 80 mph exit velocity from the tee. In the outfield arm played at 73 mph, short over the top slot. Firm actions, clean transfers.

Will Connors, OF, Waunakee (WI), 2018
5-foot-11, 200-pound outfielder, solid stocky build. Right-handed hitter, slightly open stance, loads hands back, short stride. Showed some bat strength, 85 mph exit velocity from the tee, path works uphill, occasionally two-piece, pull side approach. Defensively arm action is short and over the top, 86 mph from the outfield. Stays deep on the baseball, 7.59 runner in the 60.

Antwain Danner, OF, Simeon, 2018
5-foot-6, 143-pound outfielder. Advanced runner, 6.72 in the 60. Right-handed hitter, tall balanced setup, toe tap stride. Average bat speed, loose hands, late timing. 78 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively uses a short arm action, over the top slot, 80 mph from the outfield. Uses two hands through the baseball, tends to sit back on it.

Alberto Garcia, OF, Hersey, 2017
6-foot-1, 190-pound outfielder, stronger/firm body type. Right-handed hitter, open stance, arm bar load, lift and hang stride. Loose bat long path, showed bat speed. 88 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm plays short and over the top, 70 mph from the outfield. 7.81 runner in the 60.

Corey Graham, OF/INF, Crete-Monee, 2018
6-foot, 160-pound outfield/infielder. Right-handed hitter, slightly open stance, shorts stride, hands load back. Loose hands on level path, flashed bat speed, 79 mph exit velocity from the tee. Ran a 6.89 in the 60. Defensively arm played long from a high ¾ slot, 83 mph from the outfield, 79 mph across the diamond.

Jalen Lemons, OF/INF, Simeon, 2017
6-foot, 185-pounds, squared stocky build. Right-handed hitter, open stance, smooth loading action, leg kick trigger. Bat strength, above average bat speed, occasional hard contact, pull side hitter. 83 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm action is short, over the top slot, flashed carry from the outfield, 84 mph, 79 mph across the diamond. Corner type defender, 7.30.

Carlos Martinez, SS/RHP, Grant, 2019
5-foot-4, 126-pound two-way player, smaller body type. Defensively projects at second base,  showed actions on the infield, some body control, and quick release. Arm plays from a high ¾ slot, flashed quick release, 73 mph across the infield, 77 mph from the outfield. 7.52 runner in the 60. Right-handed hitter, balanced stance, short toe tap stride. Singles contact, path is level, some length, 73 mph exit velocity from the tee. On the mound fastball has slight run, 71-75 mph, touched 76 mph. Curveball has short 11/5 shape, 63-67 mph. Changeup played at 68-70 mph, fades. Flashed a cutter at 72-74 mph.

Jack McCullough, LHP/OF, Warren, 2017
Army commit. 6-foot-4, 185-pound left-handed two-way player. On the mound delivery repeats and shows feel for three pitches. Arm action is loose, high ¾ slot. Fastball has slight run, showed control of the zone, 80-81 mph. Curveball has 2/8 sweeping action, ability to control. 68-72 mph. Slider is similar to curveball, sweeps, 70-71 mph. Changeup is straight, thrown with arm speed, 75-76 mph with control. Left-handed hitter, balanced stance, short stride slightly dives. Low effort swing, dive/pull hitter, 85 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm played at 83 mph from the outfield, high ¾ slot. Clean exchange, average hands. 7.54 runner in the 60.

Justin Rios, OF/LHP, St. Laurence, 2018
5-foot-6, 150-pound two-way player. On the mound arm works from a high ¾ slot, short arm action. Fastball showed arm side run, 76-78 mph. Curveball has 1/7 shape, showed feel for the zone, 63-66 mph. Changeup thrown with fastball arm speed, straight action, 68-72 mph. Left-handed hitter, leg lift stride. Path works uphill, loose hands, fly ball contact. 80 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm played similar to that on the mound, 80 mph from the outfield and across the infield. Active and aggressive footwork in the outfield, 7.56 runner in the 60.

Austin Verhaeghe, OF/RHP, Sycamore, 2018
5-foot-11, 155-pound two-way player. Right-handed hitter, tall narrow setup, arm-bar load, reverse tap stride. Swings with effort, creating bat speed on slightly uphill plane. 79 mph exit velocity from the tee. 7.43 runner in the 60. Uses crow-hop through the baseball in the outfield, plays through with two hands. Arm action has length, over the top slot, 80 mph. Fastball sat 76-78 mph, slight run to arm side. Curveball has 11/5 shape, 61-62 mph. Changeup sinks, 71-72 mph. Also showed a knuckleball at 61 mph.

Nathan Wantland, 2B/OF, Morris, 2018
5-foot-7, 145-pounds, lean frame. Right-handed hitter, wide setup, short stride, simple setup and approach. Spray contact, worked gap to gap, 79 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm played 69 across the infield, 70 mph from the outfield, short high ¾ slot. 7.75 runner in the 60. Defensively showed infield type actions, uses two hands, deep defender at times.

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