By Doug Hall
Tennessee Director of Scouting

The PBR Tennessee Unsigned Senior Games event took place on September 28 at Rose Park in Nashville.  The event included 35 uncommitted seniors still looking for a place to continue their education and baseball careers.  The following is analysis of all Team Gray position players from the event.  This is position player analysis only.  Those players who also pitched for Team Gray at the event will be featured in a subsequent article.

Middle Infielders

Christopher Johnson, SS/RHP, R/R, LaVergne HS, 2015

5-foot-9, 165-pound prospect posted an event best 6.97 60-yard dash and 84 mph exit velocity. Johnson is an athlete with natural baseball instincts, rangy with soft hands, quick and clean exchange compliment quick and springy feet, throws to first base showed life with a top velocity of 86 mph across the infield with short, ¾ arm action and consistent accuracy. Hits from slightly open stance, consistent smooth load, bat path has tendency to get long, natural uphill path, gets barrel through the zone quickly, achieves good extension, shows the ability to drive the ball to all fields and can display gap power. Could stay on the left side of the diamond, but is versatile enough to play multiple positions. Finished game play 1-for-3 with a hard hit single up the middle, has committed to Columbia State since the conclusion of the event.

Andrew Clark, SS/RHP, R/R, Harpeth HS, 2015

5-foot-11, 155-pound prospect posted a 7.17 60-yard dash and 65 mph tee exit velocity. Displayed solid defensive skills during the infield portion of workout, moves well laterally, takes a good first step, short arm action, ¾ slot, 73 mph across the field to the bag with accuracy, shows athleticism and good instincts, Offensively, hands drop, tends to collapse on backside, was held hitless in game play, shows line drive ability when he makes solid contact.

Sheldon Cox, 2B/MIF/3B, R/R, Harpeth HS, 2015

6-foot-2, 155-pound prospect posted a 7.38 60-yard dash and 69 mph exit velocity. Medium arm action with high-3/4 arm slot, shows good movement on the glove side and soft hands when fielding backhand, exchange is clean, throws were accurate at 64 mph across the infield, room to improve foot speed and arm strength, flashed quick hands at the plate, balanced stance, tendency to load early causing loss of rhythm and power from the lower half, shows line drive ability when he’s able to square the ball. Recorded a single in four plate appearances on the day.

Corner Infielders

Ben Smith, 1B, S/L, Hendersonville HS, 2015

6-foot-1, 195-pound prospect posted a 7.74 60-yard dash and a showcase best 91 mph exit velocity from the left side and 88 mph from the right side. Strong body, impressed with quick, natural instincts in the field especially around the bag, Arm strength was 75 mph with long over the top action and consistent accuracy. Offensively, switch hitter with similar swings from both sides of the plate, subtle bat wrap, good lower half torque and bat speed, opened eyes at the plate with solid round of batting practice, displayed line drive ability with a gap to gap approach. Intriguing prospect with upside and potential to be a power bat at the next level. Collected two hard hit singles in game play.

Brandon Donathan, 3B, R/R, Roane Co. HS, 2015

5-foot-10, 185-pound prospect posted a 7.65 60-yard dash and 81 mph exit velocity. Moves well, flashed soft hands, though velocity was 73 mph across the diamond he has a quick release to go with a short action and ¾ slot and was consistently accurate on throws. Offensively has a balanced hitting set-up, slight drop of the hands, tends to get long, power guy with plenty of room to improve, sprayed ball during batting practice. Was 3-for-4 on the day with a 3B that was smoked to right-center gap and lined out hard.

Tyler Vandagriff, 3B/OF/C, R/R, Eagleville HS, 2015

5-foot-9, 200-pound prospect posted a 8.16 60-yard dash and 77 mph exit velocity. Interesting player who can play multiple positions, showed the most potential at 3B and behind the plate, plays corner outfielder as well, solid defender, good baseball instincts, short, ¾ throwing mechanics, quick clean release make up for arm strength that has room for improvement, 74 mph in the infield, 77 mph from the outfield and 70 mph at catcher, 1.98-2.09 pop time, accurate throws. Offensively he shows the ability to make consistent contact, tends to bar arm, solid batting practice round where he showed gap to gap power. Turned in a strong day at the plate. Finished 3-for-4 and even picked up a stolen base. Should pick up interest with a good senior campaign on the diamond. Versatility to play multiple positions and hitting ability are added bonuses to his skill set, would like to see improvement in speed.

Jordan Durham, LHP/1B/OF, L/L, Gallatin HS, 2015

6-foot-2, 185-pound prospect posted a 7.79 60-yard dash and 80 mph exit velocity. Long arm action with over the top arm slot, shows some hesitancy in the field, clean exchange, arm shows some line carry on throws from 1B, 79 mph arm in IF, 77 mph from OF.  Offensively, hits from a balanced setup, tends to be bottom hand dominant, takes an uphill path that gets long at times, showed line drive ability when he connects, still needs improvement in mobility and hitting approach. Went hitless in game play.

Lane Taylor, 1B, L/R, Middle Tennessee Christian, 2015

6-foot-0, 225-pound prospect posted a 9.02 60-yard dash and 71 mph tee exit velocity. Big frame body type that will hopefully continue to mature, long arm action, over the top slot, needs to develop arm strength, 54 mph across the infield, showed accuracy, fielded the ball consistently, needs to improve footwork and lateral agility.  At the plate he showed a power hitter approach, hands start high, difficulty getting hands down into hitting zone. Was hitless in game play.

Outfielders

Dylan Moore, OF/RHP/MIF, R/R, South Gibson County HS, 2015

5-foot-8, 150-pound prospect posted a 7.21 60-yard dash and 82 mph exit velocity. Athletic fielder, quick first step, soft hands, gets ball out of glove and to bag quickly and cleanly at 83 mph across the infield and 83 mph from the outfield with accuracy, plays thru the ball, and shows natural instincts, throws with short, ¾ arm action. At the plate, shows quick hands, open stance, short stride, good rhythm, tendency to take uphill path to ball, good extension, took solid round of batting practice where he showed line drive ability. Impressed in game play where he went 3-for-4 with a double and stolen base. Versatility to play multiple positions with good athleticism.

Fulton Johnson, OF/LHP, L/L, Collierville HS, 2015

5-foot-10, 170-pound prospect posted a 7.33 60-yard dash and 83 mph exit velocity. Instinctive defender with good mechanics, plays thru the ball, gets behind balls in the air, quick, clean exchange with consistently accuracy on throws to the bag to go with a strong arm, posted 85 mph arm velocity from the outfield, medium arm action, over the top arm slot, line carry to the bag. At the plate, shows good hitting approach, open stance, squares front side with short stride, good lower half usage, ball jumps off his bat, demonstrated power potential during batting practice, collected one hit in game play with several hard hit balls.

Austin Brown, OF/LHP, L/L, Hendersonville HS, 2015

6-foot-0, 200-pound prospect posted a 7.69 60-yard dash and 81 mph exit velocity. Showed a decisive first step in the field, long, over the top throwing action with line carry to the bag and consistent accuracy, 79 mph arm strength, fields and gets rid of the ball quick and cleanly, feet get choppy at times on balls on the ground. At the plate, flashed power potential during batting practice and game play, starts from a slight crouch/open stance, short stride, long, uphill swing path, creates some lift, finished 1-for-4 on the day with a double that was smoked to left-center.

Stephen Smith, OF, R/R, Blackman HS, 2015

5-foot-9, 165-pound prospect posted an exit velocity of 78 mph, did not run the 60, his strong arm from the outfield was on display during the defensive portion of his workout where he recorded 84 mph arm velocity from the outfield, long arm action, over the top arm slot with line carry to the bag and consistent accuracy, tends to chop feet on ground balls, gets behind fly balls well. At the plate, hits from an open stance, short stride, shows line drive ability with pull-side power, went  2-for-4 with two singles in game action.

Catchers

Jacob Lewis, C/RHP, R/R, South Warren HS (KY), 2015

6-foot-2, 180-pound prospect posted a 7.45 60-yard dash and 88 mph exit velocity. Solid defensive skills behind the plate, good lateral movement , high-3/4 arm slot, though arm action is a bit long for a catcher Lewis flashed a quick release and a good first step on throws to second base, posted 1.94-2.06 pop times that was best at the event, accuracy was erratic on early throws but he made the necessary adjustments to finish with several on target throws.  At the plate, open hitting stance, slight bat wrap and arm bar but showed power spraying several balls in the gaps during batting practice. Hit the ball hard during game play going  1-for-4 on the day.

Rob McMasters, C, L/R, Giles Co. HS, 2015

5-foot-10, 180-pound prospect posted a 7.97 60-yard dash and 74 mph exit velocity. Shows raw defensive skills, has a shorter arm action and a high-3/4 slot, transfer tends to be choppy with the arm not catching up to the lower half, posted 2.14-2.21 pop time and 69 mph arm velocity that could see improvement, made accurate throws on the bag.  Offensively, starts from a spread stance, takes a short stride, gets good extension, showed pull power during batting practice round, went 1-for-4  in game play at the plate with a single over third base.

Jake Blevins, C, R/R, Farragut HS, 2015

5-foot-10, 185-pound prospect posted a 8.02 60-yard dash and 83 mph exit velocity. Arm action is short, arm slot is high-3/4, should see improvement to 2.40-2.48 pop time with quicker exchange and increased arm strength (67 mph arm velocity). At the plate, shows line drive approach with good extension, good usage of lower half, good approach and rhythm. Took solid round of batting practice and carried into game play. Finished 1-for-4 with a hard hit double to left-center gap and picked up an RBI on a fielders choice.