Prep Baseball Report

LA Top Prospect Games Quick Hits - Uncommitted 2023's


Alex Armand
Louisiana Scouting Director

Our biggest in-state summer event, the Top Prospect Games, was held at the University of Louisiana on Wednesday June 15, 2022.  The invite-only event featured some of the top uncommitted prospects, from across the state, in all high school classes.  Our staff was able to get another look at familiar faces and bear down on guys that we had not seen or maybe only had a look or two at prior to the event.  We started off the day by breaking up into two groups, with the outfielders and catchers getting in their defensive work, while the infielders ran their 60’s.  Then, we switched and the infielders got in their defense and the outfielders and catchers ran their 60’s.  We finished off the showcase portion of the day with batting practice and players also had their vertical jump measured in between hitting groups.  By 12:30 PM, we were finished with the pro-style workout and the first pitch of Game 1 was thrown at 1 PM, followed by Game 2, which began at 4 PM.  Today, we continue our post-event coverage with another edition of “Quick Hits”.  This edition focuses on some of the standout uncommitted 2023 prospects from Wednesday’s event. 

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Uncommitted 2023's

Kennedy Drexler SS / OF / New Iberia Senior, LA / 2023

Athletic 5’9” 145 lbs. frame with plenty of room to continue to add strength.  Heading into the Top Prospect Games, we had only had a couple of in-game looks at Drexler, so it was good to see him up close.  He started his day off by showing his run tool, posting a 6.71 in the 60 yard dash.  A switch hitter, Drexler has a simple approach from both sides of the plate with a flat path and level extension, that plays well with his run tool.  There’s more on the way too for Drexler, as he should continue to gain more physicality and he can also play the OF, offering positional versatility for a program at the next level.

James Reina SS / C / St. Louis Catholic , LA / 2023

The uncommitted MIF out of St. Louis Catholic HS has been a familiar face over the last year and he had another good showing on Wednesday.  Reina has average tools across the board (7.09 60 Time, 84 mph INF Velo, 87 mph OF Velo), but the tools play up in game, thanks to his hard-nosed, “get the job done” style of play.  The uncommitted prospect takes good AB’s and fields his position well at any of the three infield spots and the consistency that he brings, day in and day out, should be appealing to college recruiters looking for an infielder in the 2023 class.

Braylon Guerin OF / 2B / Liberty Magnet, LA / 2023

Athletic 5’9” 155 lbs. frame.  Guerin was an intriguing prospect at Wednesday’s event.  First off, he’s an excellent runner and explosive athlete with a ton of twitch, and showed that he can run by recording a 6.65 in the 60.  Offensively, the swing is still a bit raw with some length to it, but he was able to display quick hands and a flat path to contact.  During gameplay, Guerin took a couple of nice at-bats, squaring up a couple of balls on a line. 

Garrett Walker SS / RHP / Grand Lake, LA / 2023

The uncommitted SS from Grand Lake was the model of consistency for the Hornets this spring, as they finished as the Class 1A State Runner Up.  Walker fits the bill of a prototypical Louisiana middle infielder.  Quality defender with athletic footwork, soft hands, and a quick release.  Understands how to position himself to create good hops, catching them in rhythm with accurate throws across the diamond.  Offensively, it’s a repeatable stroke that gets on plane early with slightly uphill extension and present gap to gap power.  He’s another guy that should be on college recruiters radars, as we head into the second half of the summer season.

Andrew Sieta SS / OF / Brother Martin, LA / 2023

Athletic 5’7” 160 lbs. frame with present lower half strength.  This was the first time we had seen Sieta in over a year at one of our events and he showed improvement in several categories.  He improved his 60 time to a 6.87 and exit velocity to 85 mph.  Sieta profiles as a second baseman at the next level and showed during Game 1 that he can not only make the routine plays, but also has the ability to make the tough plays.  He made a diving stop in the four hole on a ball that was smoked, popped right up and threw a strike to first base, that was one of the highlight defensive plays of the day.

Jackson Hawsey RHP / SS / Ovey Comeaux, LA / 2023

The arms that were in attendance were really good on Wednesday and Hawsey was one of the more interesting ones.  Athletic 5’11” 170 lbs. frame that should add some strength as he continues to mature.  The uncommitted right-hander is an athletic mover down the slope, releasing the ball from a high ¾ slot that created good downward tilt.  He sat 85-88 mph with his FB, running it up to 89 mph, which tied as the best fastball velocity on the day.  His 72-73 mph SL is a developing pitch at the moment, however his 77-78 mph CH was definitely an above average offering, as he was able to see a couple of swings and misses on the pitch, and is comfortable landing it to both RHH and LHH. 

Ashton Quiller OF / Barbe , LA / 2023

The Bucs seem to always have one player, each year, who steps up as a senior and becomes productive in their lineup.  This past spring, that player was Blake Moss, who recently committed to Nunez Community College, and Quiller could be the next guy to produce similar results.  Coming off of an arm injury a year ago, Quiller showed above average arm strength from the OF by posting an 89 mph positional velocity and his throws to home were accurate as well.  Offensively, his path is straight to contact and he stays balanced throughout his swing.  Gap to gap type of hitter that posted a personal best max exit velocity of 94 mph.  During Game 1, Quiller made several nice plays in the OF on balls in the gap, showing that his speed (6.74 60) plays in game

Triston Hargrave SS / 2B / Airline, LA / 2023

5’10” 155 lbs. frame with a strong lower half.  Hargrave is a really good overall athlete who started his day off by posting a 6.89 in the 60.  There were several quality BP rounds on Wednesday and Hargrave was definitely in that group.  Starts off in a balanced and athletic stance, using a leg kick load and stride to get to center.  Once he lands, Hargrave uses his lower half to aggressively turn to contact, but is able to maintain balance from start to finish.  It was a loud BP round, as he found the barrel often and recorded a max exit velocity of 90 mph. 

Cooper Devall C / 1B / Sulphur , LA / 2023

The 5’10” 195 lbs. backstop was a member of our 2020 Future Games team and unfortunately, his sophomore season ended early in 2021 after an arm injury, but he was fully recovered before this spring and saw a ton of time behind the plate for the Tors, catching one of the state’s better arms in 2023 LHP Jake Brown, a LSU commit.  Devall recorded a personal best 92 mph exit velocity on Wednesday, showing some present power to the pull-side.  From the crouch, he posted accurate pop times on the second base bag of 2.06-2.15.  Programs looking for a quality catcher in their 2023 class should take a hard look at the Sulphur product.

Grant Trahan OF / RHP / Barbe, LA / 2023

Physical, lean, and athletic 6’1” 175 lbs. frame.  Trahan was an everyday staple in the Barbe lineup this spring and he may have had the best overall tool set at Wednesday’s event.  An adequate runner for a corner OF spot, he posted a 7.03 in the 60.  Trahan started his day off by showing off a really good arm from the OF, recording a 92 mph positional velocity, which was second best on the day.  There’s some length in his swing, but there’s no denying the present pull-side power, as he launched several balls during BP and recorded a max exit velocity of 95 mph.  On the mound, is where Trahan probably showed his most upside, even though he just started pitching for Barbe this past spring.  After a full workout, the FB still jumped out of his hand at 86-88 mph with ride and life through the zone.  When he stayed on line and on top of the baseball, his 74-77 mph SL (2400-2500 RPM) was sharp with late break down in the zone.  

Dillion Bird 3B / 1B / Sulphur, LA / 2023

Bird has been a starter for the Tors since his sophomore year and was in the middle of their lineup this spring, as they made a run all the way to the Class 5A semifinals.  With Bird, the bat is what stands out and the present power to the pull-side gap that we were able to see this spring.  He hits from a taller set up and uses a strong lower half to turn a heavy barrel to contact and creates natural lift to the pull-side gap.  He profiles as a corner INF at the next level with first base being his likely landing spot.  Again, the bat is his carrying tool, as we saw Bird consistently square balls up against some of the best pitching the state has to offer in Class 5A

Jackson Legg LHP / LHP / Calvary Baptist, LA / 2023

Physical and imposing 6’3” 200 lbs. frame with a strong lower half.  Legg has been a staple in the Calvary Baptist lineup for a few years now and was a big part of their state title run this past spring.  He plays a good first base and understands how to move around the bag, as well as how to position his body to pick errant throws from infielders.  His BP round was one of the better one’s on Wednesday too.  Legg starts in a slightly upright stance with the bat laid back some at shoulder height.  He keeps his head still, as he delivers the bat head straight to the ball with slightly uphill extension.  Gap to gap type hitter with the ability to hit the ball the other way.  Legg carried over a good BP round to the game, where he was on time in nearly every at-bat, recording a couple of hits on the day.

Samuel Marsh RHP / 1B / Neville, LA / 2023

 Projectable 6’4” 208 lbs. frame with long limbs and room to fill out as he continues to mature.  We were unable to see Marsh during the regular season, so we were excited to get to see him on Wednesday.  Smooth delivery and hides the ball well with a strong front side, striding slightly across his body which creates some deception.  He sat 85-88 mph with his FB, that had some heavy, sinking action at times, which tunneled well with his 73-76 mph CB.  Marsh is a big bodied right hander with a durable frame that projects as a starter, which should make him an interesting follow moving forward for college programs looking to add to their 2023 class. 

Landon Graves OF / RHP / Ouachita Christian, LA / 2023

Much like Trahan above, Graves was another uncommitted 2023 prospect who showed several promising tools on Wednesday. He showed off big time arm strength from the OF by recording an event best 93 mph positional velocity from the OF and his throws were accurate with backspin and carry. An excellent runner, Graves posted a 6.77 in the 60 and got good jumps and reads off the bat in the OF showing he can play all three OF positions.

 

 

 

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