The Bi-State Showcase held Wednesday June 26th at John A. Logan College produced some quality performances, despite heavy rain and storms that blew through the area as the event began. With pitching and hitting moved inside, we saw some strong arms on the mound and bat speed from hitters in the cage.

Aaron Cheatham, RHP/3B, Herrin HS, Class of 2015:
Cheatham is a strong bodied, 6-foot-1, 219-pound two way player. On the mound, Cheatham comes from a high ¾ arm slot with a short, quick arm and controlled mechanics. His fastball was thrown in the 71-74 mph range, breaking ball in the 59-61 mph range with 11-to-5 shape, and change up in the 66-69 mph range wqith sime arm side run. Cheatham also shows a slider from a low ¾ arm slot thrown 67-68 mph. At the plate, Cheatham has strong, quick hands that create some barrel whip through the zone. He drives the ball had, showing some pull side power. His top exit velocity off the bat was an event best 83-mph. In the field, Cheatham has a good approach to the ball, fielding everything out in front with accuracy across the field

Mitchell Enyart, RHP/MIF, Herrin HS, Class of 2015:
In the field, the 5-foot-7, 150-pound Enyart showed to have fluid footwork to the ball with sure hands and a clean transfer. He moved well to his glove hand side, showing some athleticism in the field. Enyart has short arm action with some accuracy, recording a top throw of 74-mph across the field. At the plate, Enyart displays quick bat speed with a short, level swing and extension through contact. On the mound, Enyart has a loose arm and quick arm speed. His fastball was thrown 72-76 mph with some arm side run, breaking ball 66-69 with late 11-to-5 movement, and change up 67-69 mph.

Gavyn Gosha, RHP/MIF, Harrisburg HS, Class of 2016:
Gosha is a 5-foot-9, 160-pound two way player. On the mound, Gosha comes from a high ¾ arm slot with quick arm speed. His fastball was thrown in the 72-76 mph range with slight arm side run. He also showed a sweeping 61-64 mph breaking ball and a 70-75 mph change up that stayed down in the zone. At the plate, Gosha has a slightly uphill bat path showed ability to make consistent contact and use all fields.

Robert Wade Haire, C, Anna-Jonesboro HS, Class of 2016:
Behind the plate, the 6-foot-2, 208-pound Haire has a firm base and showed displayed ability to receive with a firm wrist. While throwing to second, he showe good footwork and a clean transfer, recording pop times in the 2.14-2.24 range. At the plate, Haire showed ability to make consistent contact. With some more use of his lower half and keeping his hands back, Haire has the strength to drive the ball with some consistency.

Gabe Jelley, RHP, Zeigler-Royalton, Class of 2014:
Using a strong lower half, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Jelley showed ability to command three pitches on the mound, with a good mound presence and repeatable mechanics. Coming from a high ¾ arm slot, Jelley’s heavy fastball topped at 86-mph with late arm side action. He also displayed a sharp, late breaking 11-to-5 breaking ball (66-69 mph) thrown with near fastball arm speed as well as a 69-72 mph change up down in the zone with arm side run. 

Jordan Kelly, RHP/1B, Carbondale HS, Class of 225:
Kelly is a long 6-foot-6, 225-pound two way player. On the mound, Kelly comes from a ¾ arm slot with a loose arm and some effort in his delivery. His fastball sat 77-80 mph, toppjng at 81-mph with arm side run and sink action. He also showed a late moving 10-to-4 breaking ball thrown 66-69 mph and a 68-72 mph change up with some fade. With a longer stride for a player of his size, he should be able to get some more momentum toward home and see an uptick in his velocity. At the plate, Kelly has some looseness in his swing and creates fast bat speed with a long, uphill path to the ball. Kelley drives the ball hard to the pull side. In the field, Kelly looks to be a sure handed first baseman, with good footwork around the base, sure hands, and a quick release in turning double plays. 

Noah Niswonger, MIF/OF/RHP, Perryville HS, Class of 2016:
Niswonger is a lanky 5-foot-11, 140-pound multi-positional player. In the outfield, Niswinger moves well to the ball, fielding it cleanly with a smooth transfer, delivering a top throw of 70-mph. In the infield, Niswonger displayed a good approach to the ball, fielding everything with his hands out in front, and some accuracy across the diamond in his throws. Offensively, Nisownger has a long, level swing and showed the ability to hit the ball to the opposite field. When he was able to barrel up the ball, he drove it with some authority. On the mound, Niswonger threw a 66-71 mph fastball with slight arm side run, a gradual breaking 11-to-5 breaking ball (56-58 mph) and a 62-65 mph change up that appeared to be his best pitch, with some run side run and depth. 

Matthew Phipps, INF/RHP, Harrisburg HS, Class of 2015:
Phipps displayed good athleticism as a two way player. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Phipps has a deceptive delivery on the mound, with short, quick arm speed and good rhythm. His fastball was thrown down in the zone with arm side run in the 76-78 mph range, topping at 80-mph. He also showed a 66-69 mph breaking all that had 11-to-5 shape with tight spin and two plane break. Phipps also threw a 67-69 mph change up with some sink. In the field, Phipps showed fluid footwork and sure hands while playing through the ball. His throws across the diamond were accurate, with a top throw of 77-mph. At the plate, Phipps has loose hands and takes a uphill path to the ball, showing ability to make consistent contact, with a top exit velocity of 77 mph off the bat. Phipps also had one of the top 60 times, running a 7.06.

Kyle Reeves, LHP, Collinsville HS, Class of 2014:
On the mound the 5-foot-9, 165-pound left handed throwing Reeves showed ability to command all of his pitches. Coming from a ¾ arm slot with max effort, Reeves fastball had some cut action and was thrown in the 69-72 mph range, topping at 73-mph. His breaking ball has 1-to-7 shape and stayed down in the zone thrown with near fastball arm speed and his change up was thrown in the 62-64 mph range with good movement to the arm side. 

Bailey Schrimpf, OF, Zeigler-Royalton HS, Class of 2014:
Schrimpf is an athletic 5-foot-10, 155-pound outfielder who showed some speed and arm strength. He posted the fastest 60 time of the event, a 6.75. In the outfield Schrimpf shows good footwork to the ball, fielding it cleanly with long arm action and a top throw of 80-mph. At the plate, Schrimpf has good rhythm and little wasted movement with a smooth, controlled wing the produced consistent line drives. 

Bryce Styniger, OF, Nashville HS, Class of 2014:
Styniger is a solidly built 6-foot-1, 205-pound outfielder. In the field, Styniger finds the ball quickly and fields it cleanly while playing through the ball with some accuracy on his throws. His top throw was 72-mph. At the plate, Styniger takes a short bat path to the ball, and does not get cheated on his swings. He has fast bat speed and produced hard line drives, showing some ability to pull with power. 

Noah Vallette, OF/RHP, Harrisburg HS, Class of 2016:
At the plate, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound Vallette showed ability to keep his hands back and barrel up the ball consistently. His has a good weight transfer, generating some bat speed, taking a slightly uphill path to the ball with extension through contact. In the outfield, Vallette has short arm action and some accuracy on his throws, with a top throw of 80-mph. He also ran a 7.04 60, showing some speed that translates to his quickness in the outfield. On the mound, Vallette comes from a high ¾ arm slot with long arm action. His fastball was thrown in the 74-76 mph range with both arm side movement. He also showed a 11-to-5 curveball (64-67 mph) and a 10-to-4 slider (66-67 mph), as well as a 67-71 mph change up that when it stayed down in the zone, looks to be an effective pitch.