On October 7-8, a group of Kentucky players embarked to Oxford, Alabama for the 2023 Southeast Unsigned Seniors Event held at Jacksonville State University and Choccolocco Park. Those players showcased their skills in order to enhance their opportunity to play at the collegiate level. All the players from Kentucky represented themselves well, but a few really stood out, and their names were littered all over the leaderboards for Saturday’s showcase event, as well as game play on Sunday. Let’s take a look at some of those standout players from the event.

Mark Nowak, the 5-10, 175 pound OF from Cooper High School, stood out with a loud batting practice round along with the top OF velocity of 90 mph and the second best 60-yard time at the showcase with a blazing 6.65. Nowak carried it over into game play on Sunday notching four hits and a walk with multiple stolen bases. He has impressed each time we see him, and he committed to Northern Kentucky University following the event.

Kelly Robertson, Jr. was all over the event leaderboards with his quick hands and bat speed. Robertson had a max distance of 358 feet during batting practice with a max exit velocity of 96.2 mph. He has been timed in the 60-yard dash at 6.64, and shows plenty of arm (90 mph) from his shortstop position showing that he is capable of staying at that premium position. Robertson also jumped on the mound while in Alabama running his Fastball to 84 mph with a max spin rate of 2459 while ripping off a succession of vicious curveballs in the 70-72 mph range with a max spin of 2619. Robertson remains uncommitted.

Gunner Massey impressed behind the plate with pop times in the 1.97-2.13 range on throws of 76 mph. Massey possesses electric hand and bat speed as well, as evidenced by the eye-popping numbers he posted during batting practice. He posted the top exit velocity of the event at 99.5 mph while landing in the top five for average exit velocity at 87.2 mph. He also lit up the Blast leaderboard with the top hand speed of the event at 30.2 and top average rotational acceleration at 27.8. That hand speed/rotational acceleration combination gives him a split-second longer for pitch recognition than most players, an obvious benefit when facing live pitching.

Scout Moffatt is another player that was a big winner over the weekend as he notched multiple hits during game play and narrowly missed a long home run. He has the potential to be a true shortstop at the next level that plays with a high motor and understands the game. He also jumped on the mound with a fastball up to 87 (top 3 at the event) with a tight, late-action slider and a changeup that he killed down to 1526 rpm.

Ian Milliner is an arm that certainly popped on Sunday as the 6-foot-4, 210 pound right-hander from St.Xavier HS worked an 83-87 mph fastball with some arm-side run and carry. He also featured a swing-and-miss slider that was a tight, late-breaker garnering multiple whiffs. Milliner’s frame and durability project him as a starter at the next level. His velocity has been on a steady uptick over the past year.

Zander Smith, a RHP/1B from McCracken County HS, averaged the highest overall exit velocity of the event at 90.1 mph in his round of batting practice. That translated into game play as he hit a monster, no-doubt home run. Smith manned the hot corner just fine and also worked up to 83 on the mound with an above average breaking ball when landed. Standing at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, Smith is certainly one to get eyes on.

Chase Moore, the switch hitting middle infielder from Tates Creek HS, was a show stopper on Sunday during game play. Moore was comfortable in the box against higher level arms and did not flinch. He had multiple hits from both sides of the plate and was on barrel all weekend long. Moore is certainly worthy of a long, hard look and plays with a very big baseball IQ.