Prep Baseball Report

Midland Bandits Scout Day: Quick Hits


By: Diego Solares
Area Scout, Illinois & Missouri

On Sunday, February 12th, the PBR Missouri staff traveled to the Midland Bandits facility in St. Louis, MO, to host the Midland Bandits Scout Day. More than 70 players representing the 2023-to-2026 grad classes from the Bandits' program participated in this event, displaying their talents throughout a pro-style workout to our staff. Participants collected measurables throughout the day and unrivaled data with the help of our tech partners, too.

To see a full list of all the players that attended this event, click HERE.

Shortly after the event’s conclusion our staff put together several statistical leaderboards to highlight the names that put up numbers and paced their peers. We created those within our ‘Stat Story’, which you can find by clicking HERE.

Today, after compiling our notes and digesting the day as a whole, we’ve put together these ‘Quick Hits’ to shine some light on some of the day’s top performers. Below you’ll learn more about which players really stood out at this year’s GBA Scout Day.

QUICK HITS

+ Fresh off an impressive look at the Preseason All-State, RHP Brayden Schnurbusch (Liberty, 2024) put together a louder ‘pen at this event. A 6-foot-5, 180-pound uncommitted junior with square shoulders, Schnurbusch’s fastball played in the upper-80s, peaking at 90 mph from a long, loose arm path and tempo’d delivery. He threw his changeup around the zone with feel for the lower quadrant, sitting at 76-79 mph, and he also landed his slider for strikes at 71-74 mph in this look. He’s a high ceiling arm with long, lanky, and projectable levers, and his performance on the mound this spring will be key to Liberty’s success.


+ Another Liberty product, OF/RHP Cohen Waldren (2024) put together an all-around explosive showing at this event. At 6-foot-2, 170-pounds, Waldren’s frame offers plenty of future projection, and the ease in which his arm works with on the mound suggests even more velocity is yet to come down the road. Waldren’s firmest bullet peaked at 89 mph, sitting in the mid-to-upper-80s throughout, and he spun a 68-71 mph curveball with gradual action to pair off it. Waldren’s arm strength translated to the outfield, where his 94 mph high paced the entire event in throwing velocity, regardless of position. He also ran the day’s fastest 30-yard dash at 3.86 seconds and reached an event-high peak run speed of 18.9 mph. Waldren’s a name-to-know uncommitted junior from the St. Louis area that’ll almost certainly rise up our rankings come the next update.

+ RHP Sean Phillips (Elsberry, 2024) was a winner from the Missouri Fall Upperclass Games last September, and the wiry 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior showed well at this event too. Phillips ran his fastball up to 86 mph, holding mid-80s velocity throughout his ‘pen from a loose, quick right-handed arm. Phillips spun a mid-60s breaking ball with more gradual shape and action, adding a firm high-70s cutter to his arsenal over the winter. He also mixed in a 72-74 mph changeup to round out his arsenal. Still on the market, Phillips has the arm talent and stuff to complement it to play a key role on Elsberry’s pitching staff this spring.

+ C Luke Hewlett (Francis Howell North, 2024) had a strong showing behind the plate during his defensive workout. A proportionally strong 6-foot-1, 190-pound athlete, Hewlett’s quick catch and throw skills stood out, and he consistently popped in the 1.98-to-2.05 range, topping at 75 mph on his highest throw. Offensively, Hewlett recorded a 91.9 mph exit velocity and 286 ft. peak distance, per TrackMan.

+ RHP Connor Henke (Fort Zumwalt South, 2024) pitched in the low-to-mid-80s with his fastball at Sunday’s event, topping at 85 mph on his highest mark. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound uncommitted junior works with relative ease from an athletic ¾ arm slot, spinning a 68-71 mph curveball with slight sweeping action while turning over a 75-77 mph changeup as well.

+ A dual-sport athlete at St. Dominic, OF Connor Beerman (2024) showed athleticism at the plate and generated some of the day’s hardest contact. Beerman, who stands at a strong 6-foot-1, 190-pounds with broad shoulders, recorded the day’s second hardest hit ball (94.7 mph) and his average mark (84.5 mph) was third amongst participants. He also ran a 3.96 30-yard dash and was 81 mph from the outfield.

+ RHP Mason Mitchell (Francis Howell North, 2024) is a lean 6-foot, 175-pound athlete with wiry arm strength who’s fastball topped at 84 mph at this event, sitting in the low-80s. He threw a 75-76 mph changeup at arm speed and swept a 68-70 mph slider, too.

+ RHP/OF Camden Lohman (Fort Zumwalt North, 2025) came away as the event’s biggest winner after a standout showing on the mound. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound highly projectable sophomore first debuted to our staff at the St. Louis Open in the fall, where he showed a clean, easy operation and projectable fastball up to 85 mph. Lohman greatly improved upon that mark in this look, holding upper-80s heat with his fastball throughout this ‘pen, while topping at 91 mph on his firmest bullet. Lohman’s arm strength showed from the outfield as well, topping at 91 mph on his hardest throw home. He mixed in a shorter wrinkle breaking ball with depth down in the zone, and also featured a 77-78 mph changeup in his ‘pen. Still fully learning how to control his body downhill, Lohman’s upside on the mound is obvious, and he’ll certainly be one to follow throughout the spring and summer circuit.


+ A member of Team Missouri at the Junior Future Games, CIF Jaymeson Forest (Gateway Legacy Christian, 2026) showed the loudest raw power in attendance. Built physically at 6-foot-2, 210-pounds, Forest generated the day’s highest max exit velocity (96.9 mph) and average (87.5 mph), while also barreling the furthest batted ball (322 ft.) of the event. He did so from a loud left-handed bat with easy hand speed and inherent strength, one that we saw play well in-game at LakePoint last August. Forest peaked at 82 mph across the infield during his workout, and his firmest fastball topped at 81 mph on the mound, too.


+ A projectable follow on the mound from this event: RHP Jimmy Taff (Lindbergh, 2026). Taff’s fastball topped at 80 mph, a number that should climb over the years as he continues to fill out his lanky 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame. He also spun a 66-68 mph curveball with some depth and limited lift on a 69-72 mph changeup, too.

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