Prep Baseball Report

Complete Analysis of West Michigan Open ID



By PBR Staff

Several impressive performances were turned in at the West Michigan Open ID earlier in July.  Here is a complete breakdown of the event complete with scouting notes.  Freshman Keegan Kenny took top prospect honors for his performance that included touching 85 mph on the gun.

 

Top Prospects

1. Keegan Kenny, RHP/OF, Traverse City West HS, 2016

 Kenny was impressive at the West Michigan Open ID.  He came in completely unknown and left garnering Top Prospect honors.  The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Kenny worked out both in the outfield and on the mound.  Kenny ran a 7.19 to start the day and threw an explosive 87mph from the OF.  The ball carried well and was online.  At the plate he muscled the ball a bit and works uphill looking to lift.  

His best upside is on the mound.  Kenny displayed an easy 83-84mph fastball and touched 85mph.  For his age, he showed an advanced breaking ball with tight spin. It had downer action and swing and mis potential (74-75mph). He also showed good feel for a change at 79mph.  

2. Ryan Caldwell, OF, Ezell-Harding HS (TN), 2015

Extremely athletic switch-hitting OF.  6-foot-2, 175-pounds. High waist and long legs.  Ran well with 7.02 in the 60.  Arm needs to improve to be considered elite (78mph).  Played through the ball well.  Accurate online throws.  Quick natural instincts.  Switch hitter at the plate.  Balanced hitter with gap-to-gap pop.  Generated good backspin and the ball carried quite a bit.  Definite follow.  Plenty of time to fill out and refine skillset.  Has a good start.

3. Jeff Timko, C, Brother Rice HS, 2016

Timko has gotten bigger and stronger.  Impressive bat speed with pop.  Balls jumped to the gaps with ease.  Good hitter.  Nose for the ball behind plate.  Wasn’t his best throwing day behind the plate but still performed well.  Soft hands and good receiver.  2.17 was best pop time.  Have seen it better. High follow.

4. Brennan Vaughn, OF/C, Schoolcraft HS, 2014

6-foot, 175-pound athletic OF/C with good actions.  Arm is above average 89 mph from OF.  Sollid runner 7.33.  Corner outfielder.  Ball carried extremely well.  Soft hands and plays through the ball well.  Behind the plate arm strength is impressive.  Pop times were good at 2.04 at his best.  Stands up a in transfer. Balanced at the plate with line drive stroke.  Strong. 84mph exit velo. Seems to have natural instincts

5. Dillon Groover, RHP, Spring Lake HS, 2014

Good body 6-foot-1, 165-pound RHP.  Has upside.  Arm works well.  Plunges a bit in the back but is loose and gets back out front.  Sat 82-84mph.  Good armside run.  12/6 breaking ball.  Needs to keep hand speed up.  Change was down in the zone.  High ¾ slot.  Definte follow.  Should add more velo.  Projects to be 83-85mph next spring touch 86-87.

 Best of the Rest (Alphabetically)

Casey Bennett, C/OF/RHP, Jenison HS, 2014

Bennett has come as a catcher before but decided to show his versatility by working out in the OF and on the mound.  Threw the ball well from OF.  Has a strong arm.  Played through the ball well.  Accurate throws.   On the mound, bumped 80mph on time.  Mainly sat between 75-78mph.  Kept breaking ball down.  Smooth rhythm.  Needs to refine secondary pitches.

Jay Brandt, MIF, Grandville HS, 2016

5-foot-10, 140-pound lean athlete.  Has good room to grow in wiry frame.  Softer hands but weaker arm (62mph) Will project as a second baseman right now.  Athletic setup at plate with smooth load.  Slap hitter with heavier front side.  Physical maturity overtime will make his stock rise.

Danny Carrasco, 3B, Calvin Christian, 2014

Carrasco continues to improve as well.  Body has leaned up and gotten better. 6-foot-1, 205-pounds.  Not a great runner but serviceable (7.6).  Arm was solid across the diamond at 77mph.  Throws accurate and consistent.  Soft hands with smooth transfers.  Moved fine laterally.  Natural instincts.  Sit and spin hitter but with some pop.  Fast bat with uphill plane.  Should hit a smaller school.  Helped lead team to state finals appearance.

Chase Coselman, RHP/3B, Fenton HS, 2017

Coselman has plenty of time but has laid a good foundation to start.  5-foot-9, 163 pound RHP/3B.  Offensive minded player. Doesn’t get cheated at the plate with aggressive mentality.  Faster bat.  Looks to drive the ball.  Long arm action in infield.  Softer hands.  On the mound, fastball sat primarily between 70-72 mph but touch 75 at the end.  Breaking ball and secondary stuff needs to continue to improve.  In line delivery. Has a tendency to push a little bit causing him to get under.  Once he gets on top and downhill he will see more velocity.

Brennan Cummings, C/RHP, Grand Ledge HS, 2014

Very interesting player.  Lanky frame. Liked him the most on the mound.  Side winder. 77-79mph. Good movement even cut sometimes.  65mph breaking ball with Frisbee spin.  Quick arm.  Needs some instruction but has a chance if he can figure out how to repeat.  Behind the plate, has same side arm action.  Pop times between 2.25 and 2.26.. At the plate is a pull hitter. Hands close to his body. Shorter stroke.

Sam Curran, 3B/RHP, Mona Shores HS, 2015

5-foot-10, 150-pounds.  Projects best to be a 3B at the next level.  Footwork indicated 3B.  Longer arm action with accurate throws. Arm strength needs to continue to improve.  High hands at the plate with open stance.  Pull hitter.

On the mound touched 74 sat primarily between 71-71.  ¾ slot with smooth rhythm.  Open front side should see velocity jump if he stays closed longer.

Matthew DeWyse, C/1B, Hudsonville HS, 2014

DeWyse is an athletic 6-foot-1, 180-pound C/1B.  Good baseball instincts.  Threw well behind plate. Arm was a little long behind plate but times should improve as it shortens.  2.11 was his best pop time on the bag.  At first base picked everything in sight.  Good rhythm at the plate.  Bars arm out a touch leading to some drag.  Short strider.

Mark Dieterle, MIF/RHP,  Hudsonville HS, 2014

Dieterle looks the part.  6-foot-1, 180-pound MIF with solid actions.  Whippy arm action in the infield. 78 mph across the diamond.  Accurate throws.  Soft hands and good feet. Has been well-coached.  At the plate was quick twitch with athletic stance.  Smooth load.  Has some occasional pop but seems to make good contact. Solid runner 7.1 in 60.  Also worked out on mound.  77-80mph with his fastball.  Quick arm.  Kept his secondary pitches down.  Very solid utility player.

David Gnegy, LHP/1B, West Ottawa HS, 2015

Smaller LHP/1B at 5-foot-8, 155-pounds.  Longer loose arm action at 1B (71mph). Threw the ball accurately. Imrpoving.  A lot of moving parts in the swing.  Did find the barrel well.  Works uphill.  On the mound was 70-73mph.  Still young and has time to add weight and strength. 

Zach Gordon, MIF, Rochester HS, 2015

Gordon impressed once again and continues to improve.  Arm strength improved to 75mph across the diamond.  Played well through ball.  Arm was accurate and consistent.  Comortable throwing from different angels.  Well coached. At the plate swing has tightened up.  More pop in bat.  79mph exit velo now.  Coming along. 

Connor Grimes, 1B, Grand Haven HS, 2014

6-foot-4, 180-pound lanky big frame first baseman.  Can put good pounds on him.  7.52 runner.  Soft hands.  Big target at 1B. Sit and spin hitter.  Get some extension.  Power potential with big long levers.

Ben Hill, C/MIF, Northpointe Christian HS, 2014

Hill had a solid day.  7.57 runner for a catcher.  Shorter arm action with 2.12 pop time as his best.  A little inconsistent at times.  Softer hands with short arm action.  Blocked the ball well.  At the plate shows to be a proficient hitter.  Has some pop in the bat with good bat speed.

Kyle Hoppenworth, 3B/1B, Mattawan HS, 2014

6-foot-1, 185-pound third baseman.  Longer arm action.  Seems very comfortable at 3B. Footwork was fluid and hands were soft. Arm is a bit lite at this point (73mph). At the plate backspun the ball well and got some good carry.  Open stace with high hands finish.  Bat speed needs to continue to improve but made consistent contact.

Logan Hudson, SS/MIF, Caledonia HS, 2016

6-foot-1, 175-pound freshman.  Interested to see how he develops.  Stronger arm for class 77mph across diamond.  Some carry across diamond.  Soft hands.  Seems to have natural instincts.  At the plate was willing to go the opposite way.  Was athletic in the box. 79mph exit velocity for a freshman.

Christian Keller, RHP/1B, Grand Ledge, 2013

6-foot-3, 200-pound athlete.  Improved 60 to 7.87.  Good feet defensively at first.  Picked everything.  Soft hands.  Longer arm action.  One of the best rounds of BP on the day.  Smooth load with short stride.  Line drive stroke with fast hands.  On the mound topped out at 79mph. Reportedly has been higher in the past.  Threw breaking ball for strikes. 64-65.  Has 11/5 shape.  Change was good. Kept it down.  Good differential from FB.  H3/4 slot with everything on time.  Some effort but overall should be a low to mid-80’s pitcher when it is all said and done.

Brendan Kelly, MIF/RHP, Grandville HS, 2014

Kelly had a good day overall.  Like his demeanor and actions.  7.36 runner.  Soft hands in the infield.  Took his time to gather.  Projects better as a 3B at next level.  Athletic at plate.  Fluid swing.  Would like to see more aggressive hack.  But consistent contact.  On the mound he kept the ball down well.  Smooth rhythm 75-78mph.  Overall a small school kind of player.

Ethan LaCourt, OF/MIF, Rockford HS, 2015

Smaller compact player 5-foot-8, 170-pound athlete.  Solid runner 7.3 in 60. Strong lower half.  Definition of a ballplayer.  Adds versatility. Short arm action from OF.  Throws were accurate. Played through the ball well.  At the plate was balanced and athletic with good demeanor at plate.  Used the whole field.  Consistent hard contact.  Carried himself well.

Austin Leven, C/OF, Grand Ledge HS, 2015

5-foot-10, 195-pound bigger bodied catcher. Footspeed needs to continue to improve behind the plate to see better pop times. (2.42).  Showed some offensive signs of life.  Shorter swing with gap-to-gap potential.  Faster bat.  Time is on his side.  Still young.

John Malbone, MIF/OF, Saline HS, 2014

Smaller compact player 5-foot-8, 160-pounds.  Good athlete. Ran 7.29 in 60.  Good motor and natural instincts. Played through the ball in the infield.  Quick exchanges with ok arm.  Best projects as small school 2b.  At the plate hands worked well.  Short compact easy stride and swing.  Line-drive contact hitter.  Overall has above-average motor and good instincts.

Kyle Peets, RHP, Spring Lake HS, 2016

Only a freshman.  Has plenty of time.  Should be a late bloomer.  Fastball 70-72mph.  Kept the ball down with some arm side run.  11/5 breaking ball with gradual bite.  Worked from ¾ slot. 

Noah Robart, C, Whitehall HS, 2014

Smaller catcher at 5-foot-8, 172-pounds.  Short arm action with consistent throws.  Consistent and accurate.  Quick feet behind plate.  Had a good round of BP.  Made consistent hard contact.  Had some swagger at the plate.  Potential gap pop. 

Cole Ryther, RHP, Spring Lake HS, 2015

Submarine pitcher who throws strikes.  Everything stayed down in the zone with sink.  68-71mph.  Threw a knuckleball from underneath. A few of them were really good.  Time and maturity will bring velocity up.  Offers a different look. Like something about him.

Casey Shinaberger, SS/MIF, Portage Central HS, 2014

5-foot-10, 165-pound smaller infielder.  Projects at 2B. Ran 7.3 in 60.  Showed good lateral range in the infield.  Played through the ball well.  Natural instincts.  Open stance short stroke with line drive results.  Will be attending Unsigned Senior Games.

Nate Silvey, LHP, Northpointe Christian HS, 2014

Silvey is best suited as a lefty specialist out of the pen at this point.  77-78mph fastball.  Breaking ball acts like a slider.  Tighter spin with sweeping action. Mechanically doesn’t have any flaws.  On time and inline.

Andrew Stone, MIF/3B, Portage Northern HS, 2014

5-foot-11, 140-pounds good body.  Lean and wiry.  Short arm action with 71mph velocity across the diamond.  Solid runner 7.3.  Oppo hitter at the plate from left side.  Got down the line well. Small school kind of player. 

Joe Studzinksi, SS, Traverse City St. Francis, HS, 2015

6-foot-1, 160-pound athletic infielder.  Ran well 7.03 in 60.  Picked it well at short and threw from multiple arm angles.  Good feet but does ocasionally sit down at last second. Whippy arm action. 74mph across diamond. Open stance at plate with a lot of moving parts.  Potential gap pop.  Fast hands.  Follow.

Tyler Waslawski, RHP/OF, Traverse City St. Francis HS, 2014

5-foot-10 lanky RHP/OF,  Room to grow.  Ran 7.57  Arm strength needs to improve (71mph).  Some bat speed at the plate.  Quick delivery on mound with long arm action.  Fastball sat between 73-74mph.  Has a tendency to get underneath the baseball a bit causing the ball to be up.

David Williams, C/3B, Holland Christian HS, 2016

Young catcher with big frame. 6-foot-3, 174-pounds.  Short arm action.  2.56 pop time.  Solid bat speed.  Line drive swing. Time is on his side.  Arm strength needs to continue to improve.

 

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