By Ethan Silverman
Missouri Scouting Director

Unknown prior to the Kansas City Prospect Showcase, RHP Austin Knight from Lebanon certainly made a name for himself showing a big arm and lots of upside. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Knight has D1 written all over him, and won’t fly under the radar for much longer. 

Right out of the chute, Knight showed a live, quick arm and delivered an easy 88-mph fastball, and sat in the 86-88 mph range, with a majority of the pitches he threw in the 87-88 mph range. Knight pounded the strike zone with his fastball that had late arm side run.

As impressive as his fastball was, Knight continued to draw our attention to his off-speed pitches. Knight showed a power 12-to-6 breaking ball with near fastball arm speed in the 70-71 mph range. He threw it with confidence and has the potential to be a legit out pitch. He also showed a 80-82 mph change up with some arm side run, a pitch we expect to see him continue to develop over the next two years. 

As a junior this year, Knight should expect to draw some interest from D1 schools, for he is a pitcher we now view as a top 20 player (with room to move up) in a strong very strong Class of 2014 group.