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Colorado Year in Review: 14th Most Viewed Story of 2015

December 15, 2015

By John Cackowski 
State Director

We're looking back at the Top 15 most viewed stories on our website from the year of 2015. On August 8th and 9th we had our 2nd annual Top Prospect Games. This was an invite only event for the best 2017 and 2018 players in our state. We ended up hosting 90 of the best players in the state at Cherry Creek High School.  Our 14th most viewed story in 2015 was 2017 and 2018 Top Prospect Games Players to watch which gained 872 total views. 


By John Cackowski
Director of Scouting

The Prep Baseball Report’s Top Prospect Games event will take place this Saturday and Sunday August 8th and 9th.  This premier event will feature the best Class of 2017 and 2018 prospects from the state of Colorado. The event will take place at the Historical Cherry Creek High School Baseball Field. These classes will come together in a pro-style workout to strut their stuff in front of the PBR scouting staff.

Lets take a look at some of the top 2017 and 2018 players who are registered for the event.

Austin Chouinard (Regis Jesuit) 
Currently ranked No. 3 in the 2017 class. 5-foot-11, 180-pound right handed projectable shortstop.  Both hands and feet are very developed for this 2017.  Gets behind the ball very well and takes natural angels to balls both left and right.  He also threw well, gets the ball out of his glove quickly using a ¾ arm slot to make accurate throws with a top velocity of 72 mph.  At the plate he starts with a tall set-up and balanced stance.  He has a simple stride, inline with the pitcher and simple, smooth hand load.  Bat path long through the hitting zone with good pop and a quick lower half fires through the swing.  Demonstrated good power gap to gap.  In Underclass Invitation last January registered the 4th highest exit velocity of the event at 86 mph.  Ran a 4.38 home to first. Hit in the top of the Regis lineup consistently all spring.

James Notary (Broomfield) 
Currently ranked No. 5 in the 2017 class. Very projectable right-handed pitcher, 6-foot-2, 180-pounds, but you see how much his upper body is still going to grow. Tall delivery and at times falls to first base. Has easy effort, good balance throughout, but sometimes lands slightly opened, keeps everything in line and closed, high front side, athletic finish, can get more extension. Arm action is long, clean, high ¾ slot. Controls fastball at 82-84 mph, good action. Breaking ball has gradual action on 11/5 plane, near fastball arm action, 72-73 mph. Changeup sat at 73-74 mph. Showed feel of three pitches, Notary is a highly projectable, and as his frame continues to fill out he could see a high velocity jump in the future. 4.0 GPA.

Luke Kuberski (Green Mountain) 
Currently ranked No. 6 in the 2017 class. Athletic build, advanced physicality, 6-foot-1, 185-pound outfielder, has  advanced overall strength with power potential in bat. Offensively hits from a tall athletic stance, short stride, high hands and back elbow setup. Strong swing, very muscular, shows power potential in bat with great good extension through the ball. Line drive type hitter, occasionally lifts the baseball, 91 mph exit velocity off the tee. Defensively plays through the baseball, shows athleticism. Ran home to first in 4.41 seconds which for a big player is not bad. Arm played well from the outfield with a short over the top slot, with accuracy, at 75 mph. 4.1 GPA.

Jonah Jenkins (Chaparral) 
Currently ranked No. 10 in the 2017 class. 5-foot-11, 165-pound right-handed hitting catcher, strong lower half, hits from a balanced setup, with strong lower leg drive, fluid rhythm, hands load back, gets foot down early, long, slightly uphill bat path, 79 mph exit velocity. Defensively, pop times ranged from 1.99-2.02, short, over-the-top arm slot, consistent accuracy on the bag, feet work well coming out of the chute, one of the top defensive backstops at the Underclass Invitational.  Ran a 4.6 home to first. 

Tanner O'Tremba (Cherry Creek)
No 28 Overall 2018. 5-foot-11, 200 pounds. Bats and throws right. First freshman to start for Cherry Creek and hit clean-up since 1997. Slightly open stance, right handed hitter.  Has a big load, powerful leg kick.  For a freshman he flashes exceptional hip torque on swing.  Quick hands to the inside pitch but also shows the smarts to get his hands to and through an outer half pitch, taking it to the opposite field.  Has good power for a freshman and has the potential to become a consistent big threat at the plate these coming years.  When we watch Tanner he is a raw and rugged throwback player.  Not concerned with looking good, just makes the plays and plays hard.  Had an outstanding freshman year for Creek hitting .406 with 5 homeruns and 21 RBI's. We also have had him as high as 87 mph on the gun. O'Tremba will be a force on the mound for the Bruins next spring.

Abraham Apodaca (Wheat Ridge)
5-foot-8, 145-pound left handed hitting catcher, a 60-40 stance with good leg drive through the ball.  High hands create a slight upslope swing through the hitting zone.  Short compact swing allows for good plate coverage and gap-to-gap power that produced a 79 mph exit velocity off the tee. Behind the plate, Apodaca showed good hands and feet and had the second best pop time of 2.11. Did a good job of sticking the low fastball.  He moves well to cover bunts and delivers a strong accurate throw to all bases. Ran a 4.56 home to first.

Brock Bernall (Pomona) 
Bernall is an athletic looking sophomore that stands at 5-9, and weighs 155 lbs. Bernall ran a 7.06 60 in our event last summer.  Bernall looked good as a catcher with a 2.10 pop time, but on the mound is where he left his mark.  Brock topped out at 77 with his fastball and added a 64 mph curve and a 68 mph change with late downward movement.  At the plate, Bernall has good power to the left side and up the middle, his exit velo topped out at 78.

Jake Bielat (Mullen)
5-foot-4, 130-pound right-hand hitting MIF.  Good set up and feet allow him to get balls left and right, quick hands get the ball out early.  His throwing velocity was clocked at 68 mph.  At the plate he stands tall and then goes into a slight crouch on the load.  He has a smooth load and line drive, gap-to-gap approach with bat speed, registered an 75 mph exit velocity.  Time will help Jacob continue to develop as a player.  Ran a 4.5 home to first.

Dalton Chandler (Lamar)
6-foot-3, 180-pound RHP. Chandler impressed the PBR staff in our June Prospect Program Program Tryout. Chandler was impressive throwing consistently in the lower 80's with a ton of projectability with his size and frame. Chandler could not only be the top pitcher in the state at the 3A level but also the state. 

Noah Kuzma (Valor)
Kuzma is a 5-foot-10, 185-pound sophomore catcher who showcased 2.03-2.05 pop times on throws of 73 mph out of the crouch. He ran a 7.56 60-yard dash and displayed a 74 mph bat exit velocity. Kuzma had a solid round of batting practice in Denver Metro Prospect ID squaring the baseball consistently to left field.  He hits from a balanced stance that begins with a hard load, solid weight transfer at contact with a slight upward path through the hitting zone.

Jordan Medina (Highlands Ranch)
6-foot, 180-pound catcher/right-handed pitcher. Behind the plate, we have had in the lower 70's with pop times ranging between 1.99 to 2.05. Hits from a open, balanced setup. Hands drop in load and has a long stride which makes him jump out towards ball. On the mound we have had as high as 82 mph in games. Jordan made the Highlands Ranch varsity team this last spring as a freshman. Good looking young prospect.

Luke Ziegler (Valor)
6-foot-1, 165-pound, third base and right-handed pitcher.  Well put together and athletic.  Defensively, he shows good feet and a quick arm produced 66 mph velocity across the diamond.  As he grows his arm will get more whip which will increase velocity in the field.  At the plate he hits from a straight balanced upright stance, gets his front foot down early with a long stride.  Hits against a firm front side with nice lower leg drive through the zone.  Exit velocity was 81 mph at the invitational and showed good plate coverage.  Time will help Luke continue to grow and develop.  Ran a 5.22 home to first. Ziegler was also mentioned in our top tools article as 2018 player at event who shows most projectablity.

With over 80 players registered, there will be several unranked prospects sure to impress and shake up the 2017 rankings, and after the event the first PBR Colorado 2018 rankings will be published. To see who has registered click here

It's going to be a packed house on both days, and on display will be most of the best high school baseball talent Colorado has to offer.

Top Prospect Games prospects who did not receive an invite to this event can still get in front of the PBR Scouting Staff this fall,winter, and spring.

We will be releasing the schedule and rosters of the Top Prospect Games event this week along with players to watch and players flying under the radar.

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