Prep Baseball Report

2.17 Preseason All-State - Kansas HS Pitchers Analysis



By Sean McCann and Rob Fleeup
Prep Baseball Report - Kansas

On President’s Day, Monday, February 17, 2014 Prep Baseball Report Kansas and Missouri hosted the first ever Pre-Season All-State Showcase, an invite-only event for area class of 2015 prospects and some 2016's that weren't able to make the Underclass Invitational in January. The overall talent level was very good with a high number of the top juniors from Kansas and Missouri participating. 

Below are the scouting reports on the 18 pitchers from Kansas high schools that took part in the bullpen workouts.  We had several two-way players (pitcher + position player) at this event, but keep in mind that the evaluations below are based solely on pitching performance. 

Next week we will post the scouting reports on all of the position players, a group that will also include the 2-way players.  When we do our state player rankings we take the overall player into account.

To see video of a pitcher's performance (subscriber-only content) click on their name and you will be directed to their profile with scouting reports and video(s).

Top pitching prospects

1. Ryan Cyr, RHP, Blue Valley HS, Class of 2015
The strong, athletic 6-foot-3, 190-pound righty throws from a high ¾ slot with clean arm action and excellent body control throughout his delivery.  His fastball ranged from 84-86 most with controllable hard sinking action.  He also features a late breaking 70-74 knuckle-curve and 76-79 sinking change-up.  He demonstrated command of all three on Monday.  Even though he has yet to throw a pitch in his junior season, Cyr has already established himself at the high school level as he was the only sophomore named to the All-Eastern Kansas League First Team last spring, an impressive accomplishment when you consider how strong that league is.  Cyr was the top pitching prospect at the event and is one of the top uncommitted 2015 pitchers in the Midwest.

2. Jesse Steinbring, RHP, Manhattan HS, Class of 2015
Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing 180 pounds, Steinbring is a right-hander that throws from a ¾ arm slot.  He has good balance and a very simple, repeatable delivery allowing him to throw down in the zone with ease.  He worked mostly mid-80’s with his fastball but did spike up to 89 once, the top pitching velocity recorded at this event.  His fastball, at times, had hard downward sinking action at the bottom of the strike zone and he commanded this pitch well.  His breaking ball has slurve-type action to it at 70-72 and he threw a 76 change-up with arm side run. 

3. Zach Hanna, LHP/OF, Mill Valley HS, Class of 2015
The strong, athletic-framed 6-foot-2, 190-pound Hanna throws from a high ¾ slot with excellent body control throughout his delivery.  His fastball was clocked in the 82-86 mph range, his control of it early was shaky but gained command of it towards the end of his bullpen squaring up the catcher a number of times.  His breaking ball has hard late breaking stuff to it.  He also threw a 76-77 change-up.

4. Brock Mason, RHP/IF, Blue Valley HS, Class of 2015
Mason is an athletic 6-foot-1, 170-pound right-hander that throws from a ¾ arm slot with some effort.  His delivery is very simple and repeatable.  It starts off slow and controlled and becomes explosive late.  His fastball ranged from 85-88 mph, a jump up from the fall when we saw him.  His fastball has hard sinking action at times and he threw a good number of strikes with it.  He also flashed a hard, late breaking slurve at 73-76 and 74-77 change-up with similar sink to his fastball.

5. Casey Kelley, RHP/OF, Shawnee Mission Northwest HS, Class of 2015
The very athletic 6-foot-1, 165-pound Kelley throws from a ¾ slot using a drop and drive type of delivery.  His fastball ranged from 82-86 mph with his command of it improving significantly towards the end of his bullpen.  His 70-71 curveball is sharp at times and he also showed a 71 change-up.  Kelley is also a rock star in the classroom with a 4.80 GPA, 3/402 class rank and 31 ACT.

6. Austyn Gooch, RHP, Olathe South HS, Class of 2015
Gooch is a large 6-foot, 219-pound right-hander with excellent body control throughout his delivery that throws from a ¾ arm slot and consistent out-in-front release point.  He showed command of an 85-87 mph fastball that at times had very late, hard sink nearly knocking the catcher’s glove off.  He also features a 69-71 mph 12/6 curve ball with good spin to it and a 78-79 change-up.

7. Shae Stephens, LHP, Mill Valley HS (KS), Class of 2015
Stephens is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound left-handed pitcher that throws from a low ¾ slot.  He has a methodical delivery and excellent body control overall.  His fastball was clocked in the 80-82 mph range jumping up for one pitch at 85.  His fastball has lots of arm side movement making it difficult to stick in the strike zone at times.  He also throws a 69-73 breaking ball that has good shape to it.  His 72-73 change-up has late, bottoming out sink to it and he commanded it very well.  Seeing Stephens is a great reminder why if you are a college recruiter and need left-handed pitching in the next few years you might want to check out Mill Valley HS as they have stable of them, unlike any other program in the state.

8. Max Sanborn, RHP, Shawnee Mission East HS, Class of 2015
A thin 6-foot-1, 160-pound right-hander Sanborn throws from a high ¾ arm slot with quick, clean arm action.  He has an energetic presence to him and an athletic delivery with balance and rhythm.  He threw his fastball at 80-83 mph with some arm-side run.  His 69-71 curveball has late breaking action and he sells his 74-75 change-up well with fastball arm speed and it had similar run to it as his fastball.  He threw all three pitches in the strike zone at a rate as high as anyone in camp.  With his athletic delivery and quick arm he’s a great candidate to jump up velocity-wise as he begins to fill out physically.

9. Miller Hogan, RHP, Blue Valley Southwest HS, Class of 2015
Hogan is a 6-foot, 170-pound right-handed pitcher with simple, repeatable delivery.  He has long-ish arm action and throws with some effort but hides the ball from the hitter well.  His fastball was clocked at 81-84 mph and he peppered the bottom of the strike zone with it as much as anyone in camp.  His breaking ball was clocked in the 69-73 range and also showed command of a 70-72 change-up.

10. Brylie Ware, RHP/IF, Sedgewick HS, Class of 2015
A sturdy-bodied, 6-foot, 195-pound right-hander, Ware throws from a ¾ slot.  His delivery is methodical and controlled.  His fastball registered in the 83-86 range and, at times, had arm side run.  His command of this pitch improved towards the end of his workout.  He showed a 68-71 curve ball with 12/6 spin and a 75-78 change-up with arm side run.

Best of the rest

Keller Agre, RHP, Blue Valley North HS, Class of 2015
Agre is a 6-foot-1, 189-pound right-handed pitcher that throws from a high ¾ arm slot.  He showed good early balance and direction and threw with loose, clean arm action.  His fastball was clocked at 80-83 mph, up from October when he topped out at 80.  His breaking ball was 66-68 with good bite when he got out in front with it.  His 73-74 mph change-up stood out – it’s controllable sinking pitch likely to cause problems for left-handed hitters as it runs away from their bat late.  Overall he’s trending in the right direction and with his frame and arm action this is likely to continue.

Will Brennan, LHP/OF, Blue Valley HS, Class of 2016
The 5-foot-11, 165-pound lefty really stood out on the mound this fall at our Underclass Prospect Games event throwing a very high percentage of strikes and showing advanced feel for his off-speed pitches.  On Monday, he wasn’t nearly as sharp, however he did make a velocity jump throwing all ten fastballs in his bullpen at 82 mph, up from the fall when he topped out at 79.  He has an athletic delivery with good balance and rhythm.  His arm action is simple and clean and he throws from a ¾ slot.  As a Class of 2016 product, he was the youngest Kansas high school pitcher at the event.

Jordan Dingman, RHP/IF, Wichita Northwest HS, Class of 2015
Dingman is a tall, athletic 6-foot-4, 185 right-handed pitcher that throws from a high ¾ slot with long arm action and some effort.  His delivery is deliberate and under control early.  His fastball was clocked at 78-80 mph with arm side run at times.  He also showed a late breaking 71-72 slurve and 69-72 change-up.  He threw strikes with all three pitches.  Dingman is also a prospect as a switch-hitting infielder, but considering he has an MLB pitchers frame in the making he will be followed closely on the mound too.

Grant Hoppock, RHP/IF, Olathe East HS, Class of 2015
Hoppock definitely has the pitching prospect frame part of the equation down at 6-foot-3, 180-pounds.  He throws from a ¾ slot with easy arm action and simple delivery that’s built to repeat.  The tall right-hander also dropped down from the side for a few pitches.  His fastball ranged from 79-81 mph on Monday, although with his size, arm action and delivery an increase in velocity is inevitable if he stays healthy.  He also threw a 70-73 breaking ball and 72-73 change-up. 

Zakary McAlister-Klausner, RHP/OF, Lawrence HS, Class of 2015
McAlister-Klausner has a strong, athletic 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame and throws from a low ¾ slot with slinging type arm action.  His fastball has some arm side run to it and was clocked from 79-80 mph, an increase from the fall.  He also showed a 69-71 knuckle-curve and 71-73 change-up.

Brant Millorborg, RHP, Blue Valley Southwest HS, Class of 2015
Millorborg is physical, wide-shouldered 6-foot-2, 215-pound right-hander that throws with slinging type arm action from a ¾ slot.  He has good early balance and rhythm to his delivery.  His fastball was clocked at 79-81 mph.  He also flashed a 72-75 slider with late, left turn action to it and a 71-73 change-up.

Sean Reardon, RHP/IF, Blue Valley HS, Class of 2015
Reardon is a 6-foot, 190-pound right-hander that throws from a high ¾ arm slot. He showed good early balance with a simple, vertical knee lift.  His fastball was clocked in the 73-75 mph range and he threw a very high number of strikes with it.  He also features a 65-68 breaking ball and 70-71 change-up.

David Tudhope, LHP, Mill Valley HS, Class of 2015
Tudhope is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound left-handed pitcher that throws form a high ¾ slot.  He has a balanced and rhythmic delivery and threw his fastball in the 76-79 mph range.  This pitch has controllable arm side run to it.  His 60-64 curve ball has good spin and shape to it and his 71-72 change-up runs away from right-handed hitters as it approaches the plate.  

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