11.3 Prospect ID: Pitchers Analyis

November 9, 2013

By Sean McCann
Prep Baseball Report - Kansas

On Sunday, November 3, 2013 Prep Baseball Report Kansas hosted a Prospect Identification Showcase at the Bettis Family Sports Complex in Topeka, Kansas. The event was open to high school baseball players, all grade levels, and was capped at 40 participants, including 17 pitchers.

Below we analyze each pitcher that attended the event:

Top Prospects

1. Brandon Gomer, RHP, Shawnee Mission Northwest, Class of 2015: We’ve seen Gomer multiple times this fall and he continues to impress. It’s hard to miss the wide-shouldered 6-foot-4, 175-pound right-hander – if you look up “pitcher with projection” in the dictionary there is a picture of this guy. He shows good balance throughout his delivery with an athletic finish. The right-hander throws from a low ¾ slot that he raises slightly on his glove side fastball and slurve. His arm works and its loose – everything about his delivery is easy. Gomer’s fastball ranged 81-86 mph with sinking action consistent with his low arm slot. His slurve-ish breaking ball was clocked between 69-73 and in the strike zone - every time we see him he shows command of this pitch, a rarity at the high school level. He threw his sinking change-up in the 74-78 range. Gomer also won the inaugural “5 Fastball Strikes” competition dialing in 4 out of 5 strikes beating out a group tied at 3. He’s already getting attention from major college baseball programs and is a velocity jump away from being an elite pitching prospect.

2. Miller Hogan, RHP, Blue Valley Southwest, Class of 2015: Hogan features a sturdy 6-foot, 185-pound frame and mid 80’s fastball. He has a compact delivery with good deception as his arm works behind his body until the very end hiding the baseball from the hitter. He throws from a high ¾ slot and has some effort to his delivery but it doesn’t impede his ability to throw strikes. Hogan’s 70-73 breaking ball is a true 12-6 curveball and it showed late break at times. The right-hander also has feel for a change-up with arm side run. The Blue Valley school district has produced a number of right-handed pitchers that have touched 90 in the last several years – don’t be surprised if Hogan does just that this spring.

3. Ethan Griswold, RHP, Liberty HS (MO), Class of 2015: The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Griswold is a lanky, long-legged right-hander with a live arm. His fastball was clocked at 82-87 mph from a ¾ arm slot. He throws with a somewhat long slinging arm action that produces arm side run on his fastball. Griswold throws across his body some resulting in him falling off the 1B side. His 69-72 breaking ball was late and sharp at times – a potential plus pitch down the road. The tall righty is definitely a pitcher to follow in the 2015 class.

4. AJ Shaw, LHP, Hayden HS, Class of 2017: The class of 2017 Shaw was the youngest pitcher in the event and more than held his own. The athletic 5-foot-11, 140-pound left-handed pitcher throws from a high ¾ slot. He has good balance and rhythm early in his delivery but falls of to the 3B side at finish. His fastball already tops out at 78 mph even though he has yet to play his first game at the high school level. His 12-6 breaking ball was clocked at 61-63 and change-up 68-72. He has the current skill set and athleticism that forecasts an elite pitching prospect down the road.

5. Nathan Croner, LHP, Truman HS (MO), Class of 2016: Croner shows a combination of “right now” feel for 3 pitches for strikes as well as projection – standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 155 with plenty of room to add weight. The class of 2016 long-legged lefty has excellent balance and body control throughout his delivery. He throws from a ¾ slot with a loose arm. His fastball was clocked at 72-76 mph and showed consistent arm-side sinking action as did his 65-67 change-up. His breaking ball registered 60-63 on the radar gun with slurve type action consistently taking a late right turn.

6. Jared Marolf, RHP, Shawnee Mission Northwest HS, Class of 2016: The thin, athletic Marolf has a very simple, efficient delivery that should lead to future high-level pitch command. The 6-foot-1, 165-pound right-hander throws from a ¾ slot with clean arm action. His fastball registered in the 74-78 mph range with arm side run. He features a 63-67 slurve type breaking pitch and has command of a 68-72 change-up with fastball arm speed and late sink.

7. Treston Rook, LHP, Olathe Northwest, Class of 2016: The athletic 5-foot-9, 140-pound Rook features a simple vertical knee with good balance throughout his delivery making throwing strikes look easy. He has clean arm action and throws from a ¾ slot that produces good arm side sink on fastball and change-up. His fastball was clocked at 70-76 mph. He throws a slurve type breaking ball, a number of which were late breaking sharp pitches. His change-up was 63-64 mph. He has above average skill as a pitcher now and only being a class of 2016 product has plenty of time to grow and pick up velocity.

Best of the rest (listed alphabetically)

Jarred Collom, RHP, Shawnee Heights HS, Class of 2015: Collom is a 5-foot-8, 132-pound right-hander with a simple, rhythmic delivery. He keeps his shoulders level throughout and throws from a high ¾ arm slot. He employs a drop and drive approach with good direction to the plate. His fastball was clocked at 68-72 mph, breaking ball 52-54 and change-up 59-63.

Griffin Jones, LHP, Eisenhower HS, Class of 2014: The 5-foot-8, 170-pound left-hander showed excellent balance throughout his delivery. He throws from a high ¾ slot with a 72-76 mph fastball with arm side sink. He throws a 12-6 breaker at 60-65 and sinking change-up 64-68 selling it with fastball arm speed. Jones is around the plate with all of his pitches using lively yet repeatable delivery. His sinking fastball and change-up are likely to give problems to the standard right-handed hitter that pulls off.

Riley Mason, RHP, Shawnee Heights HS, Class of 2016: The 6-foot, 165-pound Mason throws from a high ¾ slot producing consistent arm side run on his fastball. He has a simple delivery from the wind-up and pitches from a near slide step from the stretch. Mason keeps his shoulders level early in his delivery and strides inline with the plate. He has clean arm action. His fastball was 68-73 mph. He also throws a 63-64 mph curve ball and 65-67 change-up.

Zakary McAlister-Klausner, RHP, Lawrence HS, Class of 2015: The strong, athletic framed 6-foot-1, 175-pound right-hander showed an upper 70’s mph sinking fastball from a low ¾ slot and loose arm. His breaking ball was 67-69 mph with slider action to it. He also showed 70-72 change-up with good arm speed. McAlister-Klausner has a quick knee lift and throws across his body some, occasionally causing him to fall off to the 1B side and affecting his command.

Hunter Post, RHP, Blue Springs HS (MO), Class of 2015: The thin 6-foot, 135-pound Post throws from a low ¾ slot producing arm side run on his 74-77 mph fastball. He throws with level shoulders from a tall balance point. He throws 66-70 slider and 67-70 change-up. It will be interesting to see what the loose-armed right-hander will look like when he gains more strength in the next year.

Vincent Ramos, RHP, Shawnee Heights HS, Class of 2014: The strong-bodied 5-foot-11, 180-pound Ramos throws with a high ¾ slot. He works slightly uphill and short, simple arm action. He has early rhythm to his delivery and has good direction to the plate. His fastball was clocked at 82-85 mph with a 70-74 breaking ball and 68-71 change-up

Kellan Richards, LHP, Olathe East HS, Class of 2014: Richards is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound boxy-bodied left-hander. He has a very simple delivery with excellent body control throughout allowing his long arm action to deliver a high number of strikes. He throws slightly across his body that assists in his deception but had no effect on his ability to locate his pitches. He throws from a high ¾ slot with a fastball ranging from 78-82 mph with some arm side run. He features a 60-61 curveball and a 72-73 slider. His change-up was 70-72. Richards has good feel for all his pitches

Jared Robbins, RHP, Rockhurst HS (MO), Class of 2015: The athletic 6-foot, 160-pound Robbins works off a bent back leg and uphill throwing motion. His arm slot is high ¾ and he throws with some effort. He strides consistently inline with home plate. The right-hander's fastball was clocked at 78-80 mph with some sinking action when he worked down in the zone. He also features a 60-64 breaking ball and 70-72 change-up.

Devin Rodriguez, RHP, Topeka HS, Class of 2016: Rodriguez is a 5-foot-9, 133-pound right-handed pitcher with short, easy arm action. He pitches with a low knee lift and strides inline with home plate consistently. He throws from a ¾ arm slot which produced a high percentage of strikes. His fastball was clocked at 65-68 mph. He also threw a 56-60 breaking ball and 63-64 change-up.

Joey Verstegen, RHP, Newman Catholic HS (IA), Class of 2015: The long-legged, athletic-framed 6-foot-1, 170-pound Verstegan throws from a high ¾ slot with a fastball clocked at 75-78 mph. His 12-6 breaking ball was 65-67 and also showed command of 67-69 sinking change-up . He has a balanced knee lift and demonstrated body control throughout his delivery. He lowers his back leg some and has good direction to the plate.

11.3 Prospect ID: Pitchers Analyis

Top Prospects

Best of the rest (listed alphabetically)

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