Prep Baseball Report

Underclass Invitational Middle Infield Analysis





By Jeff Markle
Assistant State Director
The Prep Baseball Report’s Underclass Invitational took place January 31st at Slammers South. 63 prospects showed up and strutted their stuff in a pro-style workout. Over the next several days the PBR Scouting staff will roll out position-by-position rankings of the event.  

Click Here to view complete statistics from the event in PDF format.

We also broke down the Top Tools of the event. Click Here to view the Top Tools based on various commonly used scouting criteria for analyzing prospects.

We finish our break down of the Underclass Invitational by looking at the middle infield position.

Middle Infield Analysis:  Best of the Best

Nick Merone, SS/3B, Rock Canyon High School (2018)
5-foot-11, 170-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.39 home to first.  At the plate he hits from an open crouched stance with a short stride to get square.  Good hip rotation and long arms through the zone produce an 87 MPH exit velocity.  He finishes high with one hand.  In the field he shows good feet and range.  He has smooth glove actions and gets rid of the ball quickly.  He showcased an 82 MPH arm with accuracy. He was identified as the most fundamental player at the UCI.

Jake Haze, SS/RHP, ThunderRidge High School (2018)
5-foot-8, 165-pound switch hitter who ran a 4.43 home to first. At the plate from the right side he stand open and dives into the pitch.  He has good extension with his arms through the zone.  From the left side he is more balanced with a short stride for timing.  He fires his hands and hips together and over rotates the finish.  He had an 85 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he moves well on balls to his glove side he has a quick strong release and delivers an 83 MPH ball with accuracy.  On the mound he delivers from a slight sink and drive position.  He throws from a ¾ arm slot and lands in-line with the plate.  He falls off to the first base side on his finish.  He featured a 78 MPH fastball with good command and added a 63 MPH curve with 11/5 action and a 69 MPH change.  He was identified as the complete player at the UCI.

Jacob Barr, SS/3B, Mullen High School (2018)
5-foot-8, 185-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.23 home to first.  At the plate he hits from a balanced stance with a short stride for timing.  He has good arm extension on the swing and gets good lower leg drive.  He had an 86 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he does a nice job of staying square and fielding through the baseball.  He has a quick release and an accurate 79 MPH arm.

Best of the Rest: Listed Alphabetically

Jake Bielat, SS/OF, Mullen High School (2018)
5-foot-6, 155-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.13 home to first.  At the plate he hits from a crouched stance with an early stride for timing.  Hips and hands fire through the zone and he hits against a firm front side.  He had an 81 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he shows smooth actions on balls at him and glove side.  He throws from a high ¾ arm slot and delivers a 75 MPH ball across the diamond. 

Elias Borjas, 2B/SS, Lakewood High School (2019)
5-foot-9, 135-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.61 home to first.  At the plate he hits from a slightly open balanced stance.  A slight leg kick brings him square and hands and hips sweep through the zone.  He had a 78 MPH exit velocity.  He finishes with good extension and high in the zone. In the field he showed quick feet and smooth glove actions.  He gets the ball in and out of his glove quickly.  He had a 68 MPH arm velocity with accuracy.

Blake Mackintosh, SS/RHP, Cherokee Trail High School (2018)
5-foot-10, 145-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.53 home to first.  At the plate he hits from a balanced stance with a slight leg kick on the pitch.  Hands and hips fire through the zone with good extension at contact.  He had an 81 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he stays square through the ball and gets rid of it quickly.  He featured an 87 MPH arm.  On the mound he stand tall with a high leg kick and then sink and drive actions to the plate.  He lands in-line and delivers from a high ¾ arm slot.  He showcased an 84 MPH fastball along with a 69 MPH curve with sharp 11/5 break and a 75 MPH change with good downward movement. He was identified with the best change up at the UCI. 

Zack Medina, SS/RHP, Highlands Ranch High School (2019)
5-foot-9, 180-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.63 home to first.  At the plate he hits from a balanced stance with a high leg kick and load to his backside.  He has an uphill swing path with good extension at contact.  He had an 85 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he covers good ground and gets square on the baseball.  He throws from a high ¾ arm slot and delivers a 78 MPH ball with accuracy.  On the mound he is simple to the plate.  He sinks and drives from balance and lands in-line with the plate.  He finishes in good square position.  He throws from a high ¾ arm slot and featured a 76 MPH fastball with good command in and out.  He added a 66 MPH curve with sweeping 11/5 break and a 65 MPH change.

Zach Rush, SS/RHP, Fruita Monument High School (2019)
6-foot-3, 190-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.5 home to first.  At the plate he stands tall and balanced.  He has a short quick stride and quick hips through the zone.  Long arms keep the barrel in the zone on a good swing plane and he showcased an 86 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he shows good feet and soft hands.  He moves well to his glove side and throws from a ¾ arm angle with a 74 MPH arm.  On the mound he stands tall and gets good drive to the plate.  He has good extension on the delivery and lands in-line with the plate.  He showcased a 77 MPH fastball with good command inside and a 67 MPH curve with 10/4 break.  He finished with a 64 MPH change down in the zone.  He was identified with the best hitting approach 2019 at the UCI.

Nick Salay, 2B/SS, Mountain Vista High School (2018)
5-foot-7, 125-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.53 home to first.  At the plate he hits from a wide balanced stance.  He shows good leg drive and hips through the ball.  He had a 75 MPH exit velocity and good pull power.  In the field he stays square through the baseball with soft hands and quick feet.  He stands up straight on his delivery and throws from a high ¾ arm slot.  He featured a 75 MPH arm. 

Zachary Thill, SS/RHP, Columbine High School (2019)
5-foot-4, 120-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.9 home to first.  At the plate he hits from a wide balanced stance with a lift and place stride.  Backside collapses on the swing and he features an uphill swing path.  He had a 72 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he moves well to the ball and gets rid of it quickly.  He showcased a 69 MPH arm with some accuracy.  On the mound he has a quick motion to the plate.  He drives from balance and lands in-line with the plate.  He has a high leg kick on his finish.  He throws from a high ¾ arm slot and features a 70 MPH fastball, a 60 MPH curve with sweeping 10/4 break and a 59 MPH change. 

David Velasquez, SS/2B, Brighton High School (2018)
5-foot-8, 170-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.3 home to first.  At the plate he hits from a balanced stance with hands held high.  A high leg kick brings his weight forward on the swing.  He has quick hands and good extension at contact.  He had an 82 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he shows quick feet and smooth actions with his glove.  He throws from a high ¾ arm slot and delivers a 75 MPH accurate ball. 

Brandon Wilson, SS/OF, Highlands Ranch High School (2018)
5-foot-7, 182-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.63 Home to first.  At the plate he hits from a balanced stance with a short stride for timing.  Hips and hands move together through the zone.  Gets trapped on the backside a bit and needs more weight transfer.  He had an 82 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he shows good range and hands.  He gets rid of the ball quickly and showcased a 73 MPH arm. 

Ryan Windham, SS/RHP, Castle View High School (2018)
5-foot-11, 155-pound right hand hitter who ran a 4.73 home to first.  At the plate starts balanced and uses a quick stride to close off slightly at the plate.  He has good lower leg drive and extension at contact.  He had an 82 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he was square to the ball and showed good hands both left and right.  He stands up to throw and delivers a 78 MPH with accuracy.

 

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