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MN Class of 2015 Identification Showcase: Pitching Analysis

October 9, 2014

mn-unsigned-10-19-14

By Rob Allison
Minnesota State Director

The Minnesota Class of 2015 Identification Showcase  brought almost 45 prospects to be evaluated by PBR Minnesota and showcase themselves to colleges in attendance in the one day event held at Ames Field located on the campus of Dakota County Technical College. Over the week we've continued to unveil our analysis of the top players at their respective positions.

Our next analysis focuses in on the pitchers. Our evaluation is comprised of present ability, future projection, and ability to help team's win games at the college level.

TOP pitching PROSPECTS

1. Parker Hanson, RHP/1B, Hawley, 2015
6-foot, 170-pound 2 way player. 6.84 60 time. Right-handed hitter. Balanced setup. Starts hands out front to trigger deep load. Flat line drive swing plane. Stays on ball to and through contact. Good gap to gap approach. 78 mph exit velocity. Very athletic for first base. Moves well laterally. Quality glove and able to start double play. 76 mph across infield. On the mound, has rhythm and is balanced. Creates good direction to home. Body is loose and athletic. Short finish out front. Average extension to plate. All pitches show late action from high ¾ slot. Fastball has cut at 82-85 mph. Curveball shows 11/5 break with depth- 70-74 mph. Slider is more of a cutter type pitch. Late flat break at 75-79 mph. Quick twitch athlete who has chance to develop on the mound. Throws 3 pitches for strikes. Fastball has life and maintains arm speed on secondary pitches.

2. Alexander Glick, RHP, Anoka, 2015
6-foot-3, 245-pound right handed pitcher. Big bodied pitcher. Simple delivery. Complicated front leg. Lands open. Minimal extension out front and finishes tall. Over the top slot. Arm works ok. Fastball is 84-87 mph with sink and is heavy for strikes. Shows quality 12/6 breaking ball when he stays back and doesn’t rush at 68-72 mph. Slot fluctuates on changeup effecting command. Overall has arm strength. Showed ability to make adjustments and is capable of throwing 2 pitches for strikes. One of better un-committed 2015’s available.

3. Tyler Johnson, C/RHP, New Prague, 2015
6-foot-4, 190-pound 2 way player. 7.6 60 time. Right-handed hitter. Open stance. Rotational load with shoulders. High leg kick stride and trigger. Lands open and stays open. Pull approach. 78 mph exit velocity. Has flexibility behind the plate. Receives with thumb underneath and high elbow. Gets to ground quickly; needs refinement in blocking mechanics. Tends to fall backwards away from second base effecting exchange and accuracy of throws. Has arm strength. 2.07-2.24 pop times at 77 mph. On the mound, projectable body. Gets to good balance point. Long arm action to start- begins to shorten before release. Over the top slot with good direction to home. Shows downward plane on fastball. Fastball is straight at 79-84 mph. Slider tended to spin with below avg break at 77-78 mph. Usable changeup at 77-79. Overall with an adjustment in arm slot; present velocity on breaking ball; and long body- would be an interesting project on mound. Chance to be a 90 mph arm.

4. Mitchell Kurth, OF/RHP, Hutchinson, 2015
5-foot-10, 175-pound 2 way player. 7.15 60 time. Right-handed hitter. Minimal load. Easy front heel turn and stride trigger. Limited momentum through contact with stiff legs. Line drive swing plane. Consistent solid contact to middle of field. 84 mph exit velocity. Good actions in outfield. Works through balls. Has energy and feet/ glove work well. Throws from high slot with level shoulders. Arm has quickness. Above average throws with accuracy. 86 mph from outfield. Has athletic actions on mound. Average rhythm. Leaks early to plate from balance point. Shoulder tilt. Has enough arm speed to compensate. Quality downhill plane on fastball from over the top slot. Fastball was 78-81 mph. Wraps breaking ball early effecting velocity and depth. 12/6 break with gradual action at 66-69 mph. Changeup was 71-73 with sink and down in zone for strikes. Good 2 way prospect with chance to develop into major contributor.

5. Jack Atkinson, RHP, St. Cloud Apollo, 2015
6-foot-5, 210-pound right handed pitcher. Simple delivery with rhythm. Good balance point with good direction to plate. Lands slightly across body. Arm works well from high ¾ slot. Projectable body. Average extension to home- tends to cut follow through short and stays tall on release. Fastball was 77-82 mph with slight sinking action for strikes. Curveball showed 11/5 late break at 70-71 mph. Ability to keep pitch middle-away to right-handed hitters. Cutter had firm late action at 75-77 mph. Inconsistent with pitch but has possibilities. Also threw a change-up at 71-72 mph. Tended to leave pitch arm side, up in zone, with flat action.

6. Cole Williams, LHP, Minneapolis Southwest, 2015
5-foot-9, 210-pound left handed pitcher. Simple rock and turn delivery. Rushes out of balance point. Hides ball. 2 piece slingy arm action. Fastball and changeup show good life. Late ASR on both pitches. Struggled to repeat with breaking ball. Spins off mound. Everything is down. Throws strikes with 2 pitches. Competes well on mound. Quick arm. Fastball was 78-81 mph. Curveball was 69-71. Change at 74-75.

7. Benjamin Johnson, 2B/RHP, Elk River, 2015
5-foot-10, 165-pound 2 way player. 7.21 60 time. Right-handed hitter with open stance. Strides to square and stays inline. Deep load into swing. Hands drop in swing creating uphill swing plane. Transfers weight well into contact. Short finish. 83 mph exit velocity. Defensively fields the ball up to down. Moves well laterally. Tends to field balls deep and flat footed. Throws from ¾ arm slot across infield. 75 mph arm strength. On the mound uses simple delivery. Good balance point and direction to home. Effort in release from high ¾ arm slot. Short compact arm stroke. Fastball showed heavy sinking action for strikes at 79-82 mph. Curveball had 11/5 break; tended to leave arm side with gradual action. 68-70 mph. Did not throw changeup.

8. Kyle Davis, RHP/3B, Hopkins, 2015
6-foot-3, 190-pound 2 way player. 7.81 60 time. Right-handed hitter with hitchy load. Lacks rhythm but has ability to square up baseball. High leg kick trigger. Short to contact. Very simple with upper half. Downhill swing plane with leverage. Has strength. 90 mph exit velocity. Defensively has projectable 3B body, moves well enough laterally, and glove works. Uses lower half in throws. Arm works well from high ¾ slot. 76 mph across. Raw player with ability. Interesting project for 4 year school. On the mound uses a turn and tuck delivery. Hides ball well. Mostly inline and lands open. Arm works smooth and clean with average extension out front. Fastball was 75-78 mph with late cut. Curveball had 11/5 break with late action. Changeup was flat and tended to be up in zone at 73-75 mph. Easy effort.

 

BEST OF THE REST (LISTED ALPHABETICALLY)

Brennan Beese, C/LHP, Elk River, 2015
5-foot-11, 185-pound 2 way player. 7.53 60 time. Right-handed hitter. High hand set with minimal load. Slightly open stance with short stride into contact. Minimal weight shift in narrow base. Unbalanced swing. Downhill swing plane with ability to get on top of baseballs. 77 mph exit velocity. Defensively has good flexibility behind the plate. Is an aggressive receiver with ability to keep balls in the zone. Average blocking ability with below average quickness. Showed above average accuracy to second. Exchange and arm slot were inconsistent. 67 mph velocity with 2.15-2.21 pop times. On the mound uses two piece arm action from high ¾ slot. Tends to travel across rubber effecting balance point. Leaks open early with stiff front side. Stays tall on release with little extension to home. Fastball was straight at 74-76 mph. Curveball was 65-68 mph with early gradual 10/4 rotation and break. Changeup had cutting action 64-67 mph.

John Bird, RHP/SS, Cretin Derham Hall, 2015
5-foot-11, 165-pound 2 way player. 7.28 60 time. Right-handed hitter with simple load and inline stride. Flat swing plane with ok extension through contact. Very simple efficient swing. 85 mph exit velocity. Defensively uses choppy steps to field. Hands are usable and makes routine plays with glove. Low ¾ arm slot effects accuracy across infield. Average rhythm while fielding. 74 mph across infield. On the mound uses big rocker step into balance point. Inconsistent balance with crossfire delivery from low ¾ slot. Lands hard across body. Arm works ok. Tends to leave hand underneath baseball on all pitches. Slight cutting action on 75-76 mph fastball. Tends to be underneath breaking ball; creating spinning flat action on pitch at 62-63 mph. Changeup had near FB arm speed with sinking action- best secondary pitch.

Joshua Hewett, 2B/RHP, Shakopee, 2015
6-foot, 165-pound 2 way player. 7.34 60 time. Right-handed hitter. Stiff load. Balanced base with good direction. Rotational upper body with flat swing plane. Limited weight shift and momentum into contact. 71 mph exit velocity. Defensively moves with short steps. Tends to play up to down fielding the ball. Limited front side and lower half on throws. ¾ arm slot. 69 mph across infield. On the mound, simple delivery. Has good balance point and direction to home. 2 piece arm action. Repeats well. Throws strikes with 3 pitches. Fastball was 70-74 mph. Curveball 61-64 mph. Changeup 64-68 with ok ASR.

Ben Kleist, LHP/1B, Mankato, 2015
6-foot, 195-pound 2 way player. 9.1 60 time. Left-handed hitter. High hand set with minimal load. Starts and finishes square. Simple pick up and put down stride. Stiff legs. Uphill swing plane. 72 mph exit velocity. At first base works ground up and has soft hands. Able to make routine plays. 69 mph velocity across infield. On the mound uses simple rocker step and gets to good balance point. 2 piece arm action, stabs in back, and throws from low ¾ arm slot. Turns everything over on release. Fastball was 58-62 mph. Slider was 51-52 and changeup was 51-52.

Jacob Kraft, LHP, Hutchinson, 2015
6-foot-1, 175-pound left handed pitcher. Slow deliberate motion. Inconsistent balance point. Will collapse with lower half. Head jerk with effort from over the top arm slot. Lands open. Tends to leave balls arm side. Would benefit from lower arm slot. Arm does work clean. Fastball had sink away from right-handed hitters at 72-76 mph. Threw 12/6 breaking ball for strikes at 61-64. Changeup was down in zone consistently for strikes at 63-66 mph.

Dominic Schleif, OF/LHP, Shakopee, 2015
5-foot-11, 165-pound 2 way player. 7.69 60 time. Left-handed hitter. Low hand position. Deep load and long inline stride to contact. Good weight shift through contact. Best when on/ on top of baseball and swing stays level. Middle of the field approach. 80 mph exit velocity. In the outfield shows ok actions and works to get behind fly-balls. Field balls off the ground cleanly. ¾ arm slot with below avg. carry. 78 mph from outfield. On the mound uses simple step and turn delivery. Good balance point. Low hand set. Stabs down with 2 piece arm action. Short over the top slot. Fastball cuts and sinks varying with release and hand placement. Curveball showed 2/8 shape with late break. Changeup had flat toppling action. Fastball was 73-76 mph. Curveball 66-68 mph. Changeup was 64-68.

Dakota Tilton, 2B/RHP, Elkhorn Area(WI), 2015
6-foot-3, 145-pound 2 way player. 7.22 60 time. Right handed hitter. High hand set with long swing. Hands drift down. Slight uphill swing plane. 76 mph exit velocity. Defensively moved tentatively. Short funky arm action. Tall in fielding position working down to ball. On the mound showed controlled balanced delivery. Good balance point and direction to home. High hand set. Arm starts long and shortens up at ear. Fastball was 70-74. Curveball was 64-68. Changeup 62-66 mph.

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