Preseason High School Preview: Liberty - Wentzville
March 9, 2023
The Missouri high school baseball season is set to kick off shortly, with ‘Opening Day’ set for March 17th. Over the next two weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2023 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications.
Perennially, we’ve submitted a Preseason Questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.
Our 2023 preseason coverage continues today.
Team: Liberty - Wentzville
2022 Record: 14-20
Conference: GAC Central
Classification: 6A
Head Coach: Mark Reeder
X-FACTOR
Seth Benes, RHP, 2023, Indiana commit: Benes is a true frontline arm, perched atop this rotation as one of the best pitchers in St. Louis, regardless of class. Built at 6-foot-2, 210-pounds with big league bloodlines and pedigree, Benes throws three pitches for strikes consistently, starting with an upper-80s to low-90s fastball. Both his secondaries are polished, and he’s comfortably throwing them around the zone in all counts, effectively keeping hitters off balance. Benes was excellent for the Eagles last spring, punching out 80 batters with a 1.79 ERA over 47 innings of work. Aside from his all-state type of talent on the mound, Benes led the Eagles’ offensively in 2022, slashing .370/.463/.620 with 17 extra-base hits and 26 RBIs. He’s a proven performer on both sides of the ball that gives Liberty a chance to win each time he takes the rubber, and is certainly on our preseason shortlist for ‘Player of the Year’ candidates.
NEWCOMER TO WATCH
Jake Greer, C, 2025: Few sophomores impressed our staff more this winter than Greer, who’s loud skill-set was on full display at two different events. At 6-foot, 185-pounds with strength, Greer generates explosive bat speed from the right side, squaring balls up with authority as a result. He regularly averaged upper-80s exit velocities in BP, peaking at 96.2 mph, and launching his furthest ball 361 ft., while averaging nearly 300 ft. per batted ball. Greer’s physicality shows behind the plate with arm strength and natural carry, peaking at 79 mph on his hardest throw from the chute, accurately popping below the 1.90 mark consistently. Capable of impacting the game in multiple ways, Greer will look to make an impact for the Eagles in his first taste of varsity action.
OUTLOOK
The Eagles showed promise in head coach Mark Reeder’s first season at the helm last spring. They finished with a 6-4 record in a tough GAC Central after a shaky start, and they finished the season winning seven of their final nine contests. Bringing back an experienced senior class, most of which played last year, and surrounding that group with talented newcomers has Liberty entering 2023 with promise.
Aside from Benes, the Eagles have a few strong arms they’ll turn to for innings this spring. RHP Tyler Holman (2024) and RHP Brayden Schnurbusch (2024) are two juniors that can positively impact this staff. Holman stands at a highly projectable 6-foot-4, 175-pounds with a low-to-mid-80s fastball, peaking at 87 mph at the Top Prospect Games last June. He backspins it at 2400+ RPM, averaging 20 inches of vertical carry, and compliments it with a 64-68 mph curveball that also spins at 2400+ RPM. Schnurbusch was another big winner from our winter circuit, and the 6-foot-5, 180-pound junior appears to be gaining more comfort with his lanky stature. We saw his fastball climb up to 90 mph at the Midland Bandits Scout Day, landing a slider for strikes, and turning over a changeup to the arm-side on occasion, too. Though talented, this duo is inexperienced, having logged less than 15 innings of varsity action between themselves. Production from these two will be paramount, and could ultimately be the driving factor behind Liberty’s success this season.
Returning offensively are a handful of pieces that can slot in and contribute. LHP/OF Aidan Cole (2023; St. Charles CC) succeeded in limited action last spring, batting .345 and logging a handful of innings on the mound, too. C/1B Peyton Braile (2023; St. Charles CC) swings a physical middle-of-the-order right-handed bat that brings experience behind the plate, having appeared in nearly every game last season. OF/RHP Cohen Waldren (2024) will contribute on both sides of the ball, coming off a productive sophomore season, and running his fastball into the upper-80s at one of our events this winter. Three other names that’ll contribute are OF Mason Young (2023), INF Austin Capizzi (2024), and INF Jacob Robinson (2025).
BOTTOM LINE
Liberty has a true frontline arm in Benes, and multiple other pieces on their roster that head into this spring with momentum. They’ll look to make some noise in the GAC Central in coach Reeder’s second year running the program.
Follow along @PBRMissouri for complete coverage of the 2023 high school season.
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