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Naturals Scout Day: Quick Hits

February 6, 2024
By: Diego Solares
Central Region Media Director, Scouting

On Friday, February 2nd, the PBR Missouri staff traveled to the Bud Dome in St. Louis, MO, to host the Naturals Scout Day with players from the Naturals travel program. This event featured nearly 50 players from the 2025-to-2027 high school classes in the Naturals’ program. 

Those in attendance participated in a pro-style workout in front of our staff, gathering unrivaled data and measurables through the help of our tech partners. To see what our events offer, click HERE.

Today, after combing through our notes from the day, we’ve compiled some of the event’s standouts within these ‘Quick Hits’. Read below to learn more about more than 10 names that popped to our staff from yesterday’s event. 

QUICK HITS

+ Perhaps the day’s biggest standout was RHP/INF Max Jones (Seckman, 2027), who’s a physical 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete to follow on both sides of the ball. He flashed some bat strength from the right side of the plate in BP, working mostly to the pull-side from a long, level swing, and he led the event in max infield velocity (87 mph), too. His highest ceiling may ultimately be on the mound, however, where Jones pumped his fastball for strikes with consistency at 84-86 mph. Jones turned over a true swing-and-miss changeup that showed late fade at 74-75 mph, and his breaking ball had depth to it at 70-72 mph. Headed into his freshman year at Seckman, Jones should be a high follow prospect in Missouri’s 2027 class. 


+ Another underclassmen to follow from this event is C Oren Miller (Rockwood Summit, 2026). The 5-foot-11, 177-pound backstop took one of the day’s more polished rounds of BP, barreling line drives consistently to the pull-side from a flat right-handed swing. Miller was on the bag with accuracy from the chute defensively too, peaking at 76 mph and popping in the 2.01-to-2.14 range. 


+ OF Adler Crask (Lindbergh, 2025) was another standout offensive performer from this event. Crask holds lean strength within a 6-foot, 170-pound frame that showed throughout his round of BP, as he barreled one of the event's firmest balls (98.4 mph) and also sent his deepest batted ball 331 feet. He swings a level left-handed barrel that creates some leverage through contact and worked mostly gap-to-gap as a result.


+ From Illinois, CIF Cash Bailey (Columbia, 2025) produced hard contact with regularity throughout his round of BP. It’s something we’ve become accustomed to seeing from the 5-foot-9, 200-pound uncommitted junior, who has shown advanced bat strength and bat speed the last few times we’ve seen him in-event. On Friday, Bailey averaged 96.1 mph per batted ball, peaking at 103.9 mph, and his furthest ball traveled an estimated 361 feet, per TrackMan. His raw power continues to trend upward and Bailey will be one to watch this spring as he looks to make an impact for a Columbia squad that’s made back-to-back trips to the IHSA 2A state playoffs. 


+ RHP Gabriel Sieve (Rockwood Summit, 2025) is a strong-bodied 5-foot-11, 195-pound uncommitted junior to follow on the mound from this event. His fastball played around the zone with some jump out the hand at 83-85 mph. He complimented it with two breaking balls, each of which played at 2300+ RPM on average; a curveball at 65-66 mph, and a more firm, laterally spun slider at 69-73 mph. 


+ 3B/RHP Connar Lucas (SLUH, 2027) popped up at our Missouri Fall Underclass Games in September and he showed above-average strength on both sides of the ball in this look as well. Lucas squared up one of the day’s hardest batted balls at 96.8 mph and was also up to 81 mph on the mound. 


+ RHP/3B Tristan Loehr (Westminster Christian, 2025) was another uncommitted junior that had a strong showing on both sides of the ball from this event. In BP, Loehr showed line drive feel to the middle of the field from a level right-handed swing throughout his round. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound right-hander hopped on the mound afterwards and pitched at 81-83 mph with his fastball while showing a curveball/changeup mix. 

+ RHP Preston Roberts (Lindbergh, 2026) spun one of the day’s better breaking balls and is an upside follow on the mound from this event. A clean, simple, and athletic mover with a quick arm, Roberts’ breaking ball played with sharp downer spin at 64-67 mph and he was able to land it for strikes while also spotting it beneath the zone. His fastball peaked at 80 mph and he flashed feel for a running changeup (21.6” HM avg) at 72-73 mph. 

+ At 6-foot, 145-pounds, RHP Grant Boland (Oakville, 2026) is an easy, fluid, and controlled mover down the mound that should continue to add velocity as he fills out his frame. Boland’s fastball played with natural arm-side run at times throughout his ‘pen and he was able to spin his breaking ball around the zone for strikes while showing a changeup at 69-72 mph as well. 

+ Perhaps one of the best sliders we’ve seen to date this winter belongs to RHP Ben Usry (Pattonville, 2025). The 6-foot-1, 145-pound junior ripped off a tight sweeper with true horizontal swing-and-miss spin at 64-66 mph. He showed a low spin, low lift changeup at 69-71 mph with late fade, and worked his fastball to the arm-side corner of the plate. 

+ A pair of uncommitted junior arms worth a highlight are RHP Luke Steiner (Lindbergh, 2025) and RHP Colton Marty (Oakville, 2025). Steiner stands at a lanky, lean-limbed 6-foot-4, 145-pounds with a fastball that played at 81-83 mph and 68-69 mph curveball that spun off an 11/5 plane. Marty’s a more physically built 6-foot-1, 195-pound athlete that threw his fastball at 82-83 mph with three secondaries, his best being a split-changeup that worked down in the zone. 

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