Prep Baseball Report

St. Louis Preseason Prospect Showcase: Best of the Rest Upperclassmen



Earlier this week we brought you the top upperclass performers from the St. Louis Preseason Prospect Showcase. There were many other impressive performances, and here are the best of the rest of the upperclassmen (Classes of 2013 and 2014).

Pitchers:(in alphabetical order)
Sam Acker, LHP, Kirkwood HS, Class of 2014:
The left handed throwing Acker has a loose arm with regular effort delivering his pitches. The 6-foot, 180-pound lefty comes from a high ¾ arm slot with a heavy fastball that topped at 77-mph with arm side movement. His breaking ball had sweeping motion and was thrown 61-64 mph. He also showed a 60-65 mph change up that stayed down in the zone with some arm side run and fade, perhaps his best pitch. 

Alec Beuttel, LHP, Jersey HS (IL), Class of 2014:
Beuttel is a 6-foot, 165-pound LHP who showed feel for two pitches. Coming from a ¾ arm slot, Buettel has a quick, loose arm delivering fastballs in the 78-79 mph range, topping at 80-mph with good arm side run and some fade. He also showed a 74-75 mph change up with near fastball arm speed and arm side movement. He had the tendency to drop his elbow a bit on his change up, when he kept it up, the pitch was much more consistent. 

Dalton Scaggs, RHP/OF, Francis Howell North, Class of 2014:
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Scaggs is a two way player who has a strong lower half. On the mound, Scaggs comes from a high ¾ arm slot with long arm action. His fastball was thrown 73-75 mph, topping at 76-mp. He also showed a 55-60 mph breaking ball and a 64-66 mph change up with some arm side run and fade. In the outfield, Scaggs gives a max effort to get to the ball, with momentum toward his target and accurate throws. His top throw was 78-mph. Offensively, Scaggs has a balanced stance with good rhythm, a smooth load, and a short stride. His bat takes a short path to the ball with the ability to make consistent contact hitting the ball between the gaps. He had a top exit velocity of 80-mph off the bat.


Position Players:
(in alphabetical order)
Kyle Anders, OF/LHP, St. Charles West HS, Class of 2014:
Anders is an athletic 6-foot-1, 185-pound outfielder who showed quick footwork to the ball with a clean exchange. He showed quick arm speed and a top throw of 80-mph. Offensively, Anders shows a repeatable left-handed swing, with good rhythm, loose hands and good bat control. He takes a short path to the ball with extension through contact driving the ball gap-to-gap. Anders also had a to exit velocity of 86-mph off the bat.

Paxton Harmon, OF/RHP, Warsaw HS (IL), Class of 2013:
Harmon has a strong 6-foot-4, 205 pound frame and showed athleticism getting to the ball in the outfield. He kept his momentum toward his target while playing through the ball with all throws on a line (top throw of 83-mph). At the plate, Harmon is a front side hitter and showed ability to use all fields. Harmon also pitches (was not able to do so at the showcase due to basketball), and at past PBR events has sat in the low 80s with his fastball.


Sean Huggins, OF, Rock Bridge HS, Class of 2014:
Huggins is an athletic and solidly built 5-foot-6, 155-pound outfielder who showed ability to quickly get to the ball, with all throws on a line to his target. At the plate, Huggins shows quick hand speed and a good weight transfer while attacking the top half of the baseball, with the ability to use all fields. As we have seen in past events, Huggins has speed (ran a 6.65 60 last summer). He posted a 4.69 home to first with a slip out of the box.

Tyler Jennings, OF, Rockwood Summit HS, Class of 2013:
Jennings is an athletic 6-foot, 170-pound outfielder who showed quick and controlled footwork to the ball, while getting in good position to throw, playing through the ball, and delivering accurate throws to his target. His top throw was 76-mph. At the plate, Jennings has a balanced stance with good rhythm. He showed some hand speed through the zone with a long, level swing the produced gap-to-gap line drives. There is some power in his swing as evidenced by his 84-mph exit speed off the bat. 

Auggie Mense, MIF, Clayton HS, Class of 2014:
Mense has a lanky 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame and shows to be a consistent fielder. Mense has quick, fluid footwork and sure, quick hands with a short arm action from a high ¾ arm slot that delivers accurate throws across the diamond (top throw of 78-mph). He had the tendency to stab at the ball every now and then, but was overall a sound fielder. At the plate, Mense has an athletic stan]ce with a smooth load and short stride. He showed good use of his lower half with hard hip turn that brought his hands through the zone quickly. His swing stays on a level plane and he showed the ability to be a consistent hitter. 

Evan Milner, C/3B, Montgomery County HS, Class of 2014:
Milner has a solid 6-foot, 183-pound frame and showed ability in all facets of his game. Behind the plate, he showed ability to stick balls in all parts of the zone with a stiff wrist. His feet worked quickly out of the crouch, with a short, quick release and a top pop time of 2.12. In the infield, Milner has soft hands and gets the ball out of his glove quickly. Offensively, Milner uses a strong lower half and looseness in his swing to create some bat speed and drive the ball to all fields. At times he got out in front, when he stayed back he was much more consistent. Milner also had a top exit velocity of 82-mph off the bat.

Matthew Scheibel, OF, Marquette HS, Class of 2014:
Scheibel is a physically imposing 6-foot-3, 200-pound player who showed some impressive power at the plate. The left handed hitting Scheibel has a strong lower half with strong hands and looseness in his swing; the ball jumps off his bat with backspin carry. Scheibel showed the ability to hit the ball to all fields, with pull side power. He recorded the top exit velocity of the event at 91-mph. In the field, Scheibel showed fluid movements to the ball, getting in good position to throw. He did not throw due to surgery a few months back, but should be ready for the start of the high school season. 

Evan Siegler, SS, CBC, Class of 2014:
Siegler is a undersized but athletic 5-foot-6, 155-pound shortstop. In the field, he showed a good approach to the ball with quick, fluid footwork and smooth fielding mechanics. His arm worked quickly with accurate throws across the diamond (71-73 mph). At the plate, Siegler has a balanced stance with a long stride. He takes an economical path to the ball staying level through contact and working the middle part of the field.

Blake Strebler, MIF/3B, Vianney, Class of 2014:
Strebler is a lanky 5-foot-8, 145-pound player who showed to be a sure handed fielder, with a clean exchange and range to his glove hand side. His throws come from a high ¾ arm slot, accurate across the field with a top throw of 76-mph. At the plate, Strebler showed ability to make consistent contact. When he kept his weight back, he was able to hit the top half of the ball effectively.

Connor Wardlaw, MIF, DeSmet, Class of 2013:
In the infield, Wardlaw showed athletic actions to the baseball with range to both his backhand and glove hand sides. He showed to have soft hands, with a quick transfer and short, quick arm action while playing through the ball. His throws were in the 72-75 mph range. Offensively, Wardlaw has very little wasted movement, with good rhythm and a short compact swing. He showed the ability to barrel up the ball and use all fields.

Marshall Willingham, C, Hickman HS, Class of 2014:
Willingham is a 5-foot-10, 180-pound catcher with a strong, solid frame. From the crouch, he reached a top velocity of 76 mph with pop times ranging from 2.02-2.25. At the plate, he starts with a balanced stance. He uses his strong upper half well in his swing, with a fluid rhythm. With more use of his lower half he may find some more consistency and power potential.

Tyler Wood, C, Marquette HS, Class of 2014:
Wood has a solid 6-foot-1, 200-pound catchers frame and showed ability to frame pitches in all parts of the zone with a firm wrist and soft hands. He also looks to have a good presence behind the plate, with the pitchers feeling comfortable throwing to him with never working together before. From the crouch he delivered a top pop time of 2.03, showing a clean transfer and short arm action. At the plate, Wood uses his strong lower half and strong hands to create barrel whip through the zone and ability to drive the ball. He got under the ball a bit at times, but when he squared it up, hit it hard with a top exit velocity of 82-mph.