Prep Baseball Report

UC Games: The Top 16 Prospect from the Class of 2014



On July 31st and August 1st, PBR Ohio held the inaugural Top Prospect Games at Ohio State. Below, we recap the top 15 prospects in the Class of 2014 from the event.

1. Chris Martin, RHP/IF, Mason HS, Class of 2014
6-foot, 170-pound prospect. Good delivery. Repeats well with downward tilt plane. Upper 3/4 moderate arm slot. Gets good lower body torque. Fastball shows some late life in zone, ranging 83-86 mph (showed 86-89 mph at the MWFG a few days later). Shows feel for downward tilt curveball with some depth (72-75 mph).  Changeup shows some decent arm action. As a left-handed hitter, he uses a wide base. Makes contact well but needs to enhance lower half torque. Registered a 7.18 60-yard time. Displays good infield skills with arm strength (83 mph). Likely best suited for third base or offensive second baseman.

2. Nick Longo, OF/LHP, St. Ignatius HS, Class of 2014
5-foot-10, 165-pound outfield prospect. Excellent next level prospect with obvious baseball sense and skills. Runs impressive 6.75 60-yard time that should translate to baseball speed. Has feel for stealing bases and good gap-to-gap coverage defensively as a center fielder. Good jump off bat defensively with plus arm strength (85 mph) with some carry. Hits from wide base. Squares barrel on ball with chest level trigger. Good bat speed and finish. Repeats delivery as lefty hurler, fastball ranges 82-84 mph with feel of change and cutter. Moderate upper 3/4 arm slot.

3. Nick Pauley, RHP, Thomas Worthington HS, Class of 2014
6-foot-4, 200-pound right-handed pitching prospect with projectable body. Repeats delivery well with downward plane. Moderate arm speed through upper 3/4 slot. Good delivery with finish. Fastball ranges 84-87 mph with some run. Two types of breaking balls; slower shows some downward feel at 72-75 mph and quicker slurvy type with bite that ranges 78-80 mph. Shows good arm action on change at 75 mph with some arm side run.

4. Zach Logue, OF/LHP, Moeller HS, Class of 2014
5-foot-11, 155-pound prospect with excellent two-shot potential for next level. Runs 7.09 60 yard dash with excellent arm strength (87 mph) from corner outfield. Good hitting skills. Uses open stance. Squares front side in swing. Quick into hitting zone with long finish. Lower half is good, but needs to be more consistent clearing front side. On the mound, shows good delivery with moderate arm speed through 3/4 slot. Fastball shows some cut action, ranging 82-85 mph. Shows feel for off-speed; curveball has some downward tilt feel at 69-71 mph along with 75-76 mph change.

5.Tyson Schnitkey, RHP, Archbold HS, Class of 2014 
6-foot-3, 175-pound pitching prospect with lanky, projectable body. Plenty of room to fill out. Shows moderate arm speed through upper 3/4 slot. Gets arm extension with solid lower half. Needs to improve balance throughout delivery. Shows easy arm action with a solid fastball that ranges 84-86 mph (more to come); has some life in zone. Two types of breakers, slower one shows some spin (69-70 mph). Harder is better with slurvy tilt (73-75 mph). Change ranges 78-70 mph but basically straight.

6.Wes Noble, RHP/OF, Lebanon HS, Class of 2014
6-foot, 180-pound athletic player who projects best as a pitcher. Aggressive on the bump. Repeats delivery with quick arm speed through upper 3/4 slot.  Fastball shows some run action, ranging 85-88 mph (top once at 89 mph). Also has cutter with some late bite (81-83 mph). Shows some downward spin on curve. Ran 6.96 60 yard dash. Has wide base. Shows flat hitting plane with one hand finish. Needs to improve trigger and use of lower half.

7.Cole Proia, IF, Moeller HS, Class of 2014
5-foot-11, 175-pound prospect with athletic, solid build. One of the top middle infield prospects in his class. Shows plus skills in several areas. Registered a 7.00 60-yard dash. Defensively, shows excellent range and good footwork. Aggressive to the ball with quick transfer and arm action. Reached a top velocity of 86 mph across the infield. At the plate, he shows a smooth, easy load with shoulder trigger. Good bat speed into the zone with line drive production.

8. Nick Fabian, OF/RHP, St. Ignatius HS, Class of 2014
6-foot-2, 170-pound prospect. Shows good physical projection with skills best serve as a hitter on next level. Has good power bat potential with wide base stance. Squares barrel on ball well with low hand set. Gets good lower half torque and finish. Ran excellent 6.7 60-yard dash. Also displays arm strength (84 mph) with some carry from corner outfield. On the mound, his fastball sits 80-83 mph and his curveball shows at 64-65 mph.

9 .Zac Carey, RHP/OF/IF, London HS, Class of 2014
6-foot-3, 165-pound two-way prospect. Good raw skills, ran 6.9 60-yard with decent arm strength (76 mph). Reaction type infielder (3B-2B) or corner outfielder. Hits with upright stance with batspeed and power potential. Could improve with more lower half torque. Good mound presence as a hurler. Has balanced delivery with moderate arm speed from 3/4 slot. Good arm extensions. Fastball shows some late life, ranging 82-84 mph. Excellent arm action on changeup (73-74 mph) with some arm side run. Curveball has downward spin, ranging 65-68 mph.

10. Derek Turner, RHP/OF, Defiance, Class of 2014
6-foot-2, 165-pound prospect. Two position player that presently projects best as a pitcher. Lanky body with physical projection. Could be another of long line of Defiance hurlers. Repeatable delivery with good arm extensions and lower half finish. Struggles with some balance issues at times, but easily correctable. Quick arm speed through 3/4 slot. Aggressive with fastball. Shows cut action ranging 83-86 mph with more to come. Has good feel on downward two plane curve ball at 68-69 mph. Didn’t show a  changeup. Ran 7.3 60 yard dash. Likely projects as a corner outfield. Shows quick arm action with top velocity of 80 mph. Squares barrel on ball well with good finish. Timing could be improved by shortening or controlling stride.

11. Deonte Settles, MIF, Canton South HS, Class of 2014
5-foot-7, 160-pound infield prospect. Athletic player with outstanding baseball skills, running a 6.85 60-yard time that should translate into baseball speed. Solid middle infielder with good actions, range and solid arm strength (84 mph) from all angles. Line drive bat with good shoulder hand trigger. Shows good hand finish in swing with lower body torque. Raw skills overall, should improve skills such as enhanced defensive footwork and base stealing, which he should acquire with maturity.

12. Kyle Casserly, OF/1B/LHP, Pickerington Central HS, Class of 2014
6-foot-2, 180-pound versatile prospect. Solid position player at the next level. Has physical projection in his lanky body. Good raw skills base that included 6.86 60 yard time. Shows good defensive ability as first baseman and corner outfielder. Has arm strength (84 mph) with carry from outfield. Also shows range around bag and handles throws well. Has upright hitting stance with some bend in back knee. Triggers hands well with bat speed. Squares barrel of bat on ball well with hand finish and lower body torque. Has power bat potential.

13. Daniel Kirchner, OF, Olentangy Liberty HS, Class of 2014
5-foot-10, 165-pound athletic, quick-twitch prospect. Excellent raw skills with 6.94 60-yard time and solid arm strength (86 mph) with carry. Shows the versatility to play the corner outfield and infield. Good power potential as a hitter. Displays good bat speed that is quick into hit zone with longer swing finish. Good lower half torque. Solid player with plenty of potential at the next level.

14. Jarod Yoakam, 1B/3B, Marysville, Class of 2014
6-foot-1, 175-pound prospect. Likely best suited as a first baseman or left fielder at the next level. Registered a 7.15 60-yard time. Best tool is his best. From the right side, he uses a slightly open stance with a smooth load and short stride. Makes good use of his lower half with line drive production. Shows some gap-to-gap power. Reached top exit velocity of 91 mph off the tee.

15. Justin Mott, C/RHP, Amherst Steele HS, Class of 2014
5-foot-9, 150-pound catching prospect. Good athletic player with smallish frame body. Has some baseball sense and skills, running a 6.94 with solid arm strength (79 mph) from behind the plate. Has good lower body lateral movement and frames well. Needs to enhance his glove to hand exchange, split time is 2.01 to 2.05. Hits from open stance. Takes long swing path into zone but makes contact. On the hill, has quick arm speed from 3/4 arm slot. Fastball shows some arm side run. Fastball ranges 84-86 mph. Still needs to develop 2nd pitch.

16. Grant Schuermann, LHP, Lakota West, Class of 2014
6-foot-1, 205-pound southpaw with solid frame. Shows some rhythm to his delivery. Doesn’t require much effort. Uses above average arm action through ¾ arm slot. Three pitch guy that shows the ability to keep hitters off balance. Fastball sat 78-80 mph (but showed consistent low 80’s at the MWFG a few days later). Curveball sits 64-65 mph with late 1/7 break and some depth. Changeup is his best off-speed pitch at 76 mph. Uses good arm action and some fade to the pitch.