Houston Underclass Trials: Infield Analysis

Reece has a projectable, long-limbed, high-waisted frame at 6-feet, 165-pounds. The right-hander works from a high-¾ slot with a long arm stroke. He shows good feel for the strike zone with both his fastball and slider. His fastball ranged from 77-79 mph with heavy action to his arm side as he turns the ball over. His slider has a short, sharp downward 11-5 break at 66-68 mph. The right-handed hitter has a tall setup and gets started with as smooth load and easy leg-kick, landing with his hands back and ready to hit. Although his exit velocity was only 84 mph, Reece transfers his weight through contact with good balance and showed strength at contact and power to the pull side during batting practice. Positionally, Reece threw 85 mph from the outfield with rhythm and athleticism coming through the ball. On the infield, Reece showed athleticism and the ability to play the left side of the field. With his projectable, strong frame and ability to play multiple positions, look for big things from Reece this summer.

At 6-foot-2, 230-pounds, Brown already has a strong frame for a rising sophomore. The right-hander works from a high-¾ slot with a long, quick arm stroke. His fastball shows life to his arm side, ranging from 77-79 mph. His curveball 11-5 shape with downward action at 70 mph. His changeup was 74-75 mph. Brown, a two-way player and right-handed hitter, Brown took an outstanding round of batting practice with a natural, fluid swing, barrel awareness and strength at contact. He starts from a tall relaxed stance and angles the bat into a strong launch position as he loads with natural rhythm and an athletic leg kick into a short stride. He uncoils his lower half with a strong lower half, short hand path, and explosive bat speed. Brown has already present power with balance and strength at contact, driving balls deep into the gaps during batting practice. The rising sophomore does an outstanding job of finishing the barrel with his top hand and maintaining leverage throughout his swing. Although he has slower feet on the infield, he is an accurate arm at 77 mph across the infield. Look for Browns foot-speed to increase as he continues to develop. Brown is an exciting bat to follow in the 2020 class.

5-foot-9, 130-pound, long-limbed, wiry frame. The right-hander works from a high slot with a long arm stroke. His fastball ranged from 73-76 mph at the top of the strike zone. He throws a 12-6 curveball at 54-58 mph. He throws his changeup for strikes at 65-68 mph. A two way player, Azua ran a 7.19 60-yard dash and runs with long, athletic strides. Offensively, the right-handed hitter has a tall setup and smooth rhythm as he lands in a balanced launch position. He has a gap-to-gap approach and back-spun the ball in the middle of the field, keeping his head still, while finishing the barrel with an easy finish. At shortstop, Azua showed an accurate arm with fundamental, choppy footwork, average hands and exchange for his class.

6-foot-1, 180-pound, sturdy frame. The right-hander works from a high-¾ slot with a long arm swing. Throws a straight fastball at 76-78 mph. His curveball has gradual break at 64-65 mph with 11-5 shape, while his changeup was 67 mph. A two-way player and right-handed hitter, Baggerley has a tall setup, slightly rocks back into his load, and uses a flat path to drive the ball to the pull side with strength at contact. His exit velocity was 80 mph off the tee. At first base, Baggerley plays low as he attacks ground balls with his nose over his toes into a good fielding position, and throws with a long arm motion at 72 mph.

5-foot-11, 150-pound, lean frame. The right-hander works from a high slot a long arm swing and repeatable, directional, tall-and-fall delivery. He has good command of a four-seam fastball that ranged from 71-75 mph. His curveball was 60-63 mph with 11-5 downward action, while his changeup was 70 mph. As a right-handed hitter, Grimes starts from a slightly open stance before loads with a low, knee-to-knee leg kick as he dives toward the plate with average balance. He showed a contact-gap approach during batting practice with a short path to contact. At shortstop, Grimes gets the ball out of his glove with clean exchanges and threw 73 mph across the diamond.

5-foot-10, 170-pound, sturdy frame. The right-hander works from a high slot with a medium arm stroke. His fastball ranged from 73-77 mph. He throws a 12-6 curveball at 62-65 mph, and a 69 mph changeup. Kelly, a two way player and right-handed hitter, has an athletic setup with quick rhythm. He loads into his back leg, raising his hands as he lands with a short stride. Gap-to-gap approach produced line drives during batting practice, stayed on top of balls at the top of the zone. Exit velocity of 78 mph off the tee. On the infield, he has some rhythm in his footwork, does a nice job shuffling to get online with his target, and made accurate throws 75 mph.

The 5-foot-9, 145-pound Wattinger, has a still developing frame and a young face, but the freshman has elite receiving skills for his class, while his pop times ranged from 1.97-2.08 with a clean exchange and accuracy. The right-handed hitter has a balanced setup, easy rhythm with a leg kick into a short stride, flat swing and easy hand path as he finishes the barrel. Wattinger took one of the better rounds of batting practice, driving the ball through the middle of the field with the ability to back-spin the baseball to the backside of the field. On the infield, he handles the ball in the midline of his body and throws with accuracy at 77 mph. With Wattingers fundamentals and all around feel for the game, look for big things from him in the future.