Prep Baseball Report

PBR Louisiana 2023 Future Games Recap: Standout Offensive Performers


Alex Armand
Louisiana Scouting Director

The 2023 Future Games have come and passed again, and this year's event was as successful as ever.  Our famous tagline is #BeSeen and the prospects that were in attendance this year were definitely seen, as there was a total of 378 college coaches in attendance.  The week started on Wednesday July 26, 2023 with all prospects participating in a pro-style workout, followed by one game a day from Thursday July 27, 2023 through Saturday July 29, 2023.  This year's Louisiana group finished the Future Games with a 2-0-1 record, earning wins against Alabama and Mississippi, and a tie against Tennessee.  Below, we take a look at some of the top offensive performers.  

 

STANDOUT PERFORMERS (OFFENSE)


+ 2025 OF William Patrick (St. Frederick HS)

Exactly one year ago, Patrick left the Lakepoint Sports Complex having competed in last year's Future Games as an underclassmen, but it wasn't under ideal circumstances, as he had to miss the last day of the event due to running a 103 degree fever that he had to fight through the entire week last year.  This year, the St. Frederick HS product showed up locked in from Day 1 and has now firmly cemented himself as one of the nation's premier uncommitted prospects in the 2025 class.  He kicked things off with a bang on the workout day by turning in a 6.42 laser-timed 60 yard dash, which was good for second best at the event, only trailing his teammate Noah Lewis.  Patrick also took a quality BP round, showing power to each gap with a max exit velocity of 98 mph.  He also flashed well above average arm strength from the outfield with a 92 mph positional velocity.  As good as he was during the workout, he was even better during gameplay and announced his presence at the Future Games in Game 1 against Alabama.  Patrick drew a 12 pitch walk in his first at-bat and everyone in the park could tell that he was dialed in, as he had to fight off multiple tough pitches, but more importantly, his takes were confident, showing that he was seeing the ball extremely well.  His second at-bat, however, was where the fireworks went off at the Lakepoint Sports Complex.  After working the count to 1-1, Patrick unloaded on a fastball up in the zone for a no-doubt 3 run home run that registered at 98 mph off the bat.  In Game 2 vs. Tennessee, he didn't show any signs of slowing day either, as he blistered a 3-2 fastball to the RCF gap for a stand up triple, where he was able to to show off his elite speed rounding the bases.  Patrick collected another single in Game 3 vs. Mississippi to finish the week 3-4 with a HR, 3B, 5 RBI, 3 SB, 4 BB, and 0 K's. William Patrick proved to the entire country last week that he's an elite athlete and a true 5 tool prospect.  His best baseball is ahead of him and we can't wait to watch the rest of his story unfold.

+ 2025 OF Noah Lewis (Catholic BR HS)

The Catholic BR HS product set out to make a name for himself last week on the national stage, and he did exactly just that.  This year's Louisiana team was one of the most athletic that we've ever had at the Future Games and Lewis was at the forefront, as evidenced by his ridiculous 6.35 laser-timed 60 yard dash time that he turned in on Wednesday, which was good for best at the entire event.  He also showed solid arm strength from the outfield at 88 mph, which translated in game, much like his speed as well.  Offensively, Lewis finished the week a "modest" 2-6 at the plate with two singles in 8 plate appearances with 2 walks, a stolen base, and 0 K's.  Much like Patrick above, Lewis never chased out of the zone at the plate last week and although he didn't collect an XBH, his approach looked like one of a future table-setting centerfielder.  Defensively, I'm not sure that I saw a prospect play as well as Lewis did last week in the outfield.  He ran down multiple balls with 90+ mph EV's with grace and ease, and he was also able to show that he's got the arm strength to go along with the speed as well.  Against Mississippi, Lewis got behind a fly ball in right field and threw an absolute frozen rope to third base to get a would be baserunner out.  He also turned a key double play during the game, as he tracked a ball down in the LCF gap, before planting his foot in the ground and throwing a bullet to second base.  Lewis is another premium athlete with tons of upside, who came away a major winner from this year's Future Games.

+ 2025 MIF Casey McCoy (Dutchtown HS)

The 6'0" 175 lbs. shortstop performed all spring for the Griffins, so it's of no surprise to us that he performed at the Future Games.  Before we get to McCoy's in-game performance, we want to highlight his BP round at Wednesday's workout.  The Dutchtown HS product turned in a personal best 100 mph max exit velocity, but what was more impressive was his 94 mph average exit velocity, which was good for a Top 10 finish at the entire event.  McCoy has an innate ability to keep his weight back during his forward move, and he's able to get his barrel on-plane early and it stays on-plane a long time, hence why he's been super successful.  For the week, he finished 4-7 at the plate with a 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, and only 1 K, as he also showed a really good understanding of the strike zone with little to no chase.  Defensively, he wasn't given the opportunity to make many plays, but he did make a couple of nice plays, specifically at second base.  Against Tennessee, he was in the middle of a nice 6-4-3 double play, and he also made a nice bounder play at second base during Game 3 against Mississippi.  McCoy's a solid defender and a future top of the order bat, who was able to show on a national stage that he belongs.  

+ 2025 OF Ryan Darrah (Brother Martin HS)

The reigning Catholic League Hitter of the Year had to start his 2023 Future Games a little later than expected, as his plane had a malfunction, which caused him to miss the workout day on Wednesday.  The Brother Martin HS product didn't let that faze him, as he was constantly on time and on the barrel last week in Georgia.  Darrah finished the week going 4-6 at the plate with a 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, 2 BB, SB, and 0 K's.  It's a quiet and "boring" set-up and approach at the plate without a lot of moving parts.  He keeps his hands tight and works with an inside-out path through the baseball.  What was most impressive about Darrah's offensive performance was his ability to hit and drive the ball to the opposite field, as all of his hits were from CF to RF.  There's also more power to come as he continues to fill out his long and lean 6'3" 175 lbs. frame, which in turn will likely allow him to pull the ball with more authority as well.  He's also versatile defensively, as he spent time at 2B, 3B, and each of the 3 outfield spots last week.