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Quick Hits : Northeast Indiana Preseason ID

February 19, 2025
Cooper Trinkle
Indiana Scouting Director

Our third stop on our Preseason ID tour took us to Huntington University this past Saturday. The event was held in the Foresters' spacious indoor facility located on campus, allowing 25-plus prospects from the Fort Wayne area to showcase their abilities in front of our staff. We had a couple of upperclass prospects walk away as winners, with another group of freshman emerging as follows for our staff...

Find the full stat breakdown, here. 

+ '26 RHP/1B Connor Diehm (Homestead) was one of my favorite 'pop-ups' we've seen during the winter showcase season. For me, a pop-up is a prospect new to our staff, generally attending one of our events for the first time. Diehm immediately checked boxes with his long, wiry, projectable, 6-foot-4, 175 pound frame. His highest ceiling was shown in his 'pen, where the Homestead righty appears to be just scratching the surface. I really liked how the arm works and it allows for future velo projections. It is a long, full arm swing with present arm speed shown, resulting in a 84-87 mph fastball that played with 16" of arm-side run. He got down the mound with a raw, athletic delivery, as the fastball played with 6'3" extension. It is an athletic delivery, though he lands open toed and there is still room for mechanical refinement that could play the velo up even higher. His best off-speed pitch was his mid-70s changeup, playing with arm-side fade. He spun an average slider at 72-75, though showed feel to land it. Speaking to his athleticism and rotational capabilities, Diehm also showed as one of the better hitters at the event with a levered right-handed swing that reached a peak exit of 96.7 mph.

+ '26 LHP Jacob Erb (Homestead) was another junior arm that walked away as a winner. A sturdy-bodied, 6-foot-3, 215 pounder - Erb showed positive development trends that are encouraging, a plus 3-4 mph tick compared to his bullpen at the same event last year. Erb pitched with a lower intent level, showing a simple, repeatable leg-lift delivery that is paired with a shorter, loose arm action. The southpaw pitched in the low-80s and touched 84. His secondaries, specifically his breaking ball, showed good shape and he was able to manipulate it on occasion. Erb also showed a change at 66-68 that played with over a foot of arm-side fade. 

+ '28 RHP Caiden Pohler (Huntington North) showed the makings of a future prospect with a high-waisted look and well-executed bullpen. Young for the class (still 14) - Pohler pitched at 77-79, reaching into the low-80s when he wanted (t 82). The delivery is athletic as it gets for the age, with sequencing likely cleaning up with maturity and strength. The arm swing is loose and easy, making future velo gains a sure bet as the ball shows some jump out the hand presently. He showed solid shape on a 65-67 mph breaking ball and 67-69 mph changeup, as well. I am bullish on this young righty because he shows several traits we look for in identifying young arms. Its a loose and easy arm paired with an athletic delivery, and he showed the ability to command the baseball. The fact that he is young for the grade is another box checked, as is the athleticism he showed in testing - taking a top 3 (1st amongst his '28 peers) finish in the 60-yard dash, 30-yard dash, and the 10-yard split. Projecting young arms is difficult to say the least, but current Indiana commit and '26 RHP Collin Marcum is the comp that continues to pop into my head when watching Pohler. 

+ '28 C Cooper Nichols (Carroll) was my favorite position player at this event, showing some traits that warrant a follow. There is premium projection in the 6-foot-2, 170 pound frame. The operation in the box is raw presently, using a big back shift with a later hand load that does create separation. There is a lot going on, but he was able to repeat his exits, reaching a peak of 90.7 mph while averaging 88 mph off the bat. Despite being one of the youngest players at the event, Nichols had the highest average exit of the day. He showed athleticism and mobility in the crouch during pens, while also showing above average catch and throw skills for the age, reaching 76 from the crouch with his quickest pop registering at a 2.18 on the watch.

+ '28 RHP Dylan Chism (Norwell) brought an interesting look in his bullpen with really solid fastball velocities for this young freshman class. A stocky, 6-foot, 180 pounder - Chism used a slower-tempo delivery with a shorter lift and high hand break. The arm action is super short, almost catcher-like, with a deceptive slot at release as the ball appears to come out from just outside of his right ear. His fastball jumped out with evident arm strength, sitting 82-85 and touching 86 on his best bullet. He got around his 69-71 mph breaking ball on occasion, though he flashed the ability to stay though it & it showed sweeper shape in these instances. The changeup was shown, but it still in the development stages at this point. Chism is a no-doubt follow for this class with some of the better raw arm strength we've identified in the class thus far. 

+ Six more position players stood out for various reasons and are highlighted below :

+ '27 OF Lucas Taylor (Heritage) showed a short, simple, playable swing during batting practice. The lower half is stable and paired with a short hand load and he lands in a good position to hit with above-average separation. The path is short and on-plane allowing for line drive ball flights. Taylor shined most in the athletic testing, burning a 6.86 60-yard dash with a 1.71 10-yard split and 3.86 30-yard split, all bests for this event. 

+ '27 3B Jeremy Haynes (Dwenger) is an interesting follow, standing at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds and hitting from the left-side. It is a rotational swing that played with the best bat speed of the event (79 mph peak, 75 mph avg.) allowing a peak exit of 93.3 mph. The swing works level through the zone with abv-avg gap to gap strength for the age. His arm is an interesting tool, working on a long path with looseness to the arm action. Haynes was 82 mph across the infield and worked into the low-80s on the mound. 

 + '26 3B/C Elijah Zolman (Westview) showed up built like a linebacker with his ultra-physical, 6-foot-2, 220 pound frame. He showed the best arm strength of any prospect on the day, reaching 90 mph across the infield, along with an 80 mph arm from the crouch. The arm is the best tool and would likely translate to the mound, as well. Offensively, Zolman showed present above-average bat speed with a short, uphill swing that flashed pull-side pop. 

+ '26 OF/1B Maddox Moon (Columbia City) showed loose movement patterns throughout the day. His batting practice was controlled, beginning in a relaxed stance with a short, on-top, left-handed swing that was geared towards low-line drive contact. His best ball came off the bat at 90 mph and he showed solid hand speed per Blast Motion. Defensively, Moon showcased easy glove-to-hand at both positions with on-time footwork. His arm showed fringy strength, but he showed the ability to use multiple arm slots and his arm action is athletic. 

+ '26 C Ethan Hall (Plymouth) showed best in the right-handed batters' box. The strong, physical, 6-foot-3, 215 pound primary backstop setup in a grounded stance and used a small leg kick stride before getting his front foot into the ground earlier. The swing is intentful and plays with present above-average bat speed. Hall showed pull-side pop with a peak exit of 95 mph.

+ '26 3B Zane Wirges (Homestead) impressed with athletic/body comp improvements compared to his last event in 2024. Wirges brought a leaner, more athletic, 6-foot, 190 pound frame to this event and turned in a 6.98 60-yard dash, a near 0.4 second improvement in less than one calendar year. The swing features a heavy backshift load before getting the front foot in the ground early. He turns the barrel with some bat speed to produce a 92.9 mph exit, while also placing second in the event in average hand speed and max distance. 

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