By Mike Penn
Michigan Director of Scouting

Today we continue our positional breakdown of players who attended the East Coast Prospect Showcase.  Next up are the outfielders. 

 

Top Prospects

1. Nick Palmer, OF/C, Cousino HS, 2015
5-foot-10, 170-pound outfielder from Cousino HS.  Medium build with room to grow. Quick footwork and good motor. 7.11 Runner.  High back elbow with shorter arm action. H3/4 slot. 80+ from the OF.  Ball ran a bit.  At the plate Palmer keeps it simple.  Easy, repeatable stroke.  Good shoulder trigger. Nice hands with good bat speed.  Follow.

2. Brandon Gillen, OF, Salem HS, 2015
Junior outfielder with good skill set. 6-foot, 170-pounds.  7.23 runner.  80+ from the outfield with on-target throws.  Worked through the ball well.  Soft hands. Seems to have natural instincts.  Good, long arm action and four seam rotation.  At the plate was balanced and athletic.  Smooth load with short stroke.  Developing power.

3. Nolan Butcher, OF/RHP, Gull Lake HS, 2015
Good athlete. 7.15 runner.  Quick arm from outfield.  Best arm strength at the showcase from the OF (83mph).  Worked through the ball well.  Definitely something to work with.  Strong kid with strong lower half.  Smooth load at the plate. Should see more pop with improved lower half.  Works uphill a bit.  On the mound fastball ranged between 75-76mph.  Quick arm.  “Bugs bunny” change (63mph).  Breaking ball needs to improve consistently.

 

Best of the Rest (Alphabetically)

Brendan Arena, OF, Dakota HS, 2015
Smaller, 5-foot-10, 140-pound, junior outfielder.  Has room to grow.  Lanky build.  Long arm action. 76mph from outfield.  Long levers worked well.  Accurate and online throws. Kept the ball low.  Some looseness in the swing.  Showed good bat speed.  Should more pop as he fills out and matures.  Good foundation.

Austin Graham, OF, Riverview HS, 2015
Big kid.  Long legs and broad shoulders.  Arm strength needs to improve (73mph).  Over the top slot. Narrow base in outfield. Played through the ball well.  At the plate is a sit-and-spin hitter.  Starts in closed stance.  Should see more pop as he improves lower half.

Joe Maura, OF, Divine Child HS, 2015
Lanky outfielder from good program.  5-foot-10, 150-pounds.  77mph from OF.  7.46 runner.   Shorter arm action (pulled from the glove).  ¾ arm slot.  Sit-and-spin hitter.  Good path.  Bat speed should improve with strength and maturity.

Connor Pawlak, OF/RHP, Livonia Churchill HS, 2015
Lanky 6-foot-2, 145-pound athlete.  Strength and maturity will greatly increase skill set.  Longer arm action. Gets underneath throws (72mph).  Solid accuracy.  At the plate has closed stance.  Bars out front arm.  Drops hands during swing and works uphill.  On the mound, fastball ranged between 64-66mph.  Utilizes slidestep in stretch.  Gradual break on breaking ball (57-59mph)

Drew Pence, OF/RHP, Lansing Catholic HS, 2015
Big-bodied outfielder from Lansing Catholic.  8.10 runner.  Came through the ball well. 71mph velocity from outfield needs to improve.  Left-handed hitter with some power potential. Good path. Pull hitter.  On the mound is 73-76mph with his fastball. Command needs to improve. 

Jeffery Sands, OF/LHP, Dakota HS, 2016
Good athlete.  5-foot-11, 160-pound sophomore. Above average runner at 6.85.  Should get faster.  Wider shoulders and good frame should be able to add plenty of strength and weight. Arm needs to improve from the outfield (72mph).  Cuts himself off a bit.  Left-handed swing works well.  Short stroke with steeper path.  Little to no stride. Sit-and-spin.  On the mound,  fastball ranged between 68-71mph. Slurvy breaking ball.  Slower tempo. Needs to speed it up a bit to smooth it out and gain consistency.