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By the PBR Colorado Staff

There was plenty of good baseball on display on Saturday May 10^th.  We scouted many good players and wanted to highlight those who stood out and along the way we found a few new faces to add to the Prep Baseball Report Colorado scout blog. 

Seniors

A.J. Jones: Senior ThunderRidge. B.Y.U. Commit.

Velocity was down a little on Saturday. Mostly 84 and hit a couple of times. ¾ arm slot with long, loose motion. Square delivery to the plate.  Has a very competitive attitude on the mound. Gets most out of his 6-0 175 lbs body. Throws off two feet. Has thrown as high as 90 in the past, and had lived in the upper 80’s through a game. Curve Ball on Saturday was 70 and Change up was 77. Throws all three for strikes.  Also hits clean up for ThunderRidge, and plays first base when not pitching.

Tyler Loptein: Senior.ThunderRidge High School. San Diego State Commit. 

A 6-0, 170 pitcher with velocity that has been as high as 88 but on Saturday lived around 83. Could be because he recently dislocated knee-cap. Hides the ball extremely well. Ball explodes out of hand. Throws across his body a little, but that also makes him effective with a deceptive delivery. Curve ball is sharp and falls off table at last second at 73 mph. Hitters cannot lay off it and is a great strikeout pitch. If he sees you crowding the plate to take away outside curve ball he will bust you in with fastball. Has a great demeanor on mound.

Brody Westmoreland: Senior, ThunderRidge High School. San Diego State Commit.

As always, very athletic at 6-3, 185. Taking a ton of charge in the infield and will back pick anyone at any base when he gets a chance. Plays the game very hard. Sprints on walks. Teams that don’t traditionally play ThunderRidge are not even pitching to him.  In game against Northglenn on Saturday didn’t see a lot to hit and walked twice. In second game against Horizon chose to pitch to him and he produced 2 home runs the opposite way, and had a stand up triple down the left field line.

Jacob Hernandez: Senior Chaparral High School

A 6-2 225lbs left handed pitcher with strong command of the strike zone.  Fastball lives between 82-85 consistently for 6+ innings.  He also has two complementary pitches, a change-up 75 and curve ball 70-72.  He is not afraid to throw any of these pitches anywhere in the count.  Hernandez had a fine performance on Saturday, using both sides of the plate on his way to an 11 strikeout performance against Prairie View. 

Brody Hagel-Pitt: Senior, Arvada West High School.  Iowa Western Commit

Huge presence at plate at 6-5, 205.  Big strong kid. Came up big in the bottom of 7^th down 5-3 against Horizon and hit a double with no outs to cut lead to 5-4. Arvada West could not break through from there. If he stays a little taller for leverage when he swings he will drive more balls out of park instead of fouling straight back. Could also use lower half more, and it will be scary when he does that consistently. Will have plus power in college when he puts all of his physical strengths together. Good footwork at first base, and also dug two balls out of the dirt he made look easy.

Justin Jeronimus RHP Senior, Cherry Creek High School. 

84-87mph consistently.  Top out at 88mph.  72-73mph slider.  67-69mph splitter. 

Works down in the zone well.  Smart pitcher, has a good feel for situational pitches.  Slight movement on his fastball into RH hitters.  CB  has decent bite from 12 to 7.  Splitty is a good outpitch for him, that has decent break just before the plate.  Left the splitter up in the zone a few times, and it got him into trouble.  Works fast on the mound, showed grit throwing a complete game and sending the Bruins to the State Tournament.

Grant Farrell OF: Senior- Cherry Creek High School, Creighton Commit

Tall athletic, slim build 6-3 180lbs with plenty of room to grow physically.  Flashed good speed in the outfield, running down some balls hit in the gap.  Above average arm strength, his ball has some tail on it when letting it loose, rather than a straight flight with carry.  Stands tall in the box, slightly open stance, hands high.  Quick hands to the inside pitch.  His timing was off today.  Has ability to drive the ball to the opposite field gap with power.  Long follow through on the swing.

Blake Weiman: Senior Columbine High School, Kansas Commit

A tall lanky 6-4 190lbs left handed pitcher whose frame and delivery get the ball on you very quickly.  Consistently 83-85 from start to finish with his fastball, which has great movement away from the right handed hitter.  His best pitch is his curveball which moves between 60-63 depending on it’s purpose.  This pitch had hitters off balance all day on Saturday and helped to make his fastball that much quicker.  When needed, he will throw a change up 73-75, but this pitch was not used often.  This is a great looking pitching prospect as he continues to grow and fill out.

Wes Martin: Senior C, Pueblo East
The No. 5 hitter enjoyed a solid 3-for-4 day, hitting the ball hard all four times, driving two inside pitches for doubles down the left-field line and an outside pitch up the middle. Balanced at the plate with quick hands and lays off pitches out of the zone. Drove in all three runs in a 4-3 9-inning loss. Solid behind the plate and gets in front of pitches in the dirt and keeps them in front of him. Has an average arm with a quick release. 

Austin Anderson: Senior Columbine High School, UNLV Commit

Solid middle infielder who stands 6-0 185lbs, plays shortstop well at this level, could move to either of the other infield positions at the next level.  Separates himself from the rest of the competition at the plate.  Lightning quick hands on the inside pitch and good power to the opposite field.  An aggressive heads up base runner that can turn a single into a double.  He had a monster first game in districts with three hits and 5 RBI.

Donny Ortiz: Senior Columbine High School, Lamar CC Commit

A 5-8 165lbs solid middle infielder that plays the second base position very well, tremendous range to his right and left.  Ranged deep in the hole this weekend to make a couple of great diving plays and threw the runner out with ease.  At the plate, a strong two hole hitter.  Good understanding of what hitting in that position means.  Willing to sacrifice and hit the ball the other way in most situations.  A nice frame that will benefit with age and strength. 

Lucas Gilbreath: Legacy High School Minnesota Commit

A tall 6-4 thick athletic pitchers who uses his motion to hide the ball well from hitters.  Gilbreath delivers a fastball straight over the top and it gets on the hitters in a hurry.  On Saturday, he was consistently 86-88 through the first five innings.  Curveball works between 72-75, but the fastball is his out pitch.  A power pitcher who struck out 115 hitters this year.

Jordan Jones: Senior Prairie View High School Oklahoma Christian Commit

A right-handed pitcher with a good 6-6 frame that will allow for some additional growth.  Jones has a very smooth delivery witch allows him to keep velocity up late into games.  Saturday Jones lived between 83-85 on both sides of the plate.  To go along with his fastball, Jones displayed a change 73-75 and a sharp breaking curve 70-72. 

Justin Akiyama: Green Mountain, C (Hastings, Neb. commit)

A solid 5-foot-8, 165-pound build with a great knowledge of the game. Oftentimes talks to pitcher and isn't afraid to communicate. Above average arm with accuracy to second base. Always is in throwing position. Bats in the 2-hole and beat out an infield single in the first inning with above average speed as a runner. Sacrificed twice in the late innings with good bunts when his team needed to move runners. 

Ryan Robb:  Senior, Cherry Creek, 2B. 

Average height and build at 5-10 160lbs for a second baseman. Good foot work, has the ability to move quickly laterally, forward and back.  Has decent range, but better instincts.  Flashed quick hands turning a few double plays.  Ball transfer from glove to hand is smooth and has some carry on his ball.  Has the ability to field bad hops, but also puts himself in a good position on ground balls.  Good bat control, keeps his hands inside the ball and drives the ball well with pop.  Had a nice 2 run single up the middle that almost took the pitchers head off.  Looks to have quick hands, and keeps the bat through the zone nicely.  Needs to develop more on seeing and adjusting to breaking balls, keeping his hands back when he gets fooled. 

Impact players this year and the years to come:

Michael Tait: Junior, Columbine High School

Above average outfielder with room to grow at 5-10 170lbs as he continues to gain experience at this level.  Nice range into the gaps and an above average arm.  His arm strength and angles will improve this summer and have him playing at a high level come next spring.  Excellent plate presence, willing to go the other way with comfort, good opposite field power, with one homerun this weekend to the right center gap.  A threat to steal once on base, steals third base very well.

Tommy Gillman: Sophomore, Columbine High School

A 5-10 170lbs sophomore catcher who plays well beyond his age and experience.  He calls the game from behind the plate and puts the pitcher in the right counts to succeed.  A solid defensive catcher who does everything well.  His pop times of Saturday were 2.0-2.1 consistently; his best weapon is a quick snap throw from his knees to first base.  At the plate he is a switch hitter with a swing that mirrors itself.  Good balance from both the right and left side and quick hands that allow him to utilize the gaps.

Josh Ramirez: Junior,  P/OF Green Mountain,  (2015)

Good lengthy 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame that has room to grow. Smooth delivery as a pitcher with effective change of speeds with his curve ball and change up. Throws in the lowers 80s with a tailing fast ball that he uses all around the plate. Keeps hitters off balance and isn't afraid to use off-speed stuff to start a count. As a hitter, went 1-for-3 on the day with a double into the right-center field gap and used above-average speed to get to second base. Walked once and took an 0-2 curve ball in the left shoulder that drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning.

Wyatt Cross: Legacy High School North Carolina Commit

A tall 6-3 190lbs athletic catcher with good skills behind the plate, Cross showed good lateral movement when blocking pitches.  An above average arm with pop times consistently hovering around 2.0.  A left-handed bat at the plate with plenty of power to right and center field, when called upon, will hit the ball the other way.  

Jared Crockett: Junior Legacy High School

A left-handed lead off hitter with exceptional speed both at the plate and in the outfield.  Clocked at 6.4 in the 60, Crockett puts pressure on the defense on the most routinely hit balls.  At the plate he has a short compact swing designed to get the ball in play and get him off and running.  Currently playing right field, he will probably move over one spot for his senior season.  Crockett was a nice surprise find on Saturday and is a player to keep eyes on this summer and next spring.

Clay Davis: Junior Prairie View High School 

 A very athletic 6-4 looking catcher, tall and agile.  Davis moves well to balls in and out and does a nice job of smothering balls in the dirt.  His pop time on Saturday was 2.1-2.2 and accurately on the bag.  At the plate Davis hits from the right side, he has good balance and drive with his lower half and good hands with power into the allies.  The ball seems to make a different sound coming off his bat compared to others. 

Carter Hogan Junior Prairie View High School

Tall athletic 6-4 looking first baseman that also spends time on the mound.  Hogan looked good at the plate facing an above average fastball and off-speed pitch.  He hits with a slightly open stance, which allows for good power to the left center gap. 

Jake Eissler: Sophomore ThunderRidge

Strong, thick, body with more room to fill out at 6-1 195lbs.  Pounds the strike zone with 85 mph fastballs from ¾ arm slot,  and on Saturday reached as high as 87. Works at a fast pace, and throws off a solid two-foot base and is very square to the plate. Change-up was 77-78 mph and Curve ball was 73. Threw all three for strikes. As he gets bigger and stronger with age could be a consistent 90 plus kid. Also plays the field. Shows strong arm from outfield and infield. Bats right-handed. Has good plate discipline and gap-to-gap power. Went 3 for 4 on the day with 2 walks and a double. Good Student.

Cole Shetterly: Junior, SS, Green Mountain (2015)

A solid 6-foot 165-pound frame. Moves well to ground balls and keeps the ball in front of him. Made five putouts with a couple from deep short with an above-average arm that was accurate. Hits in the 3-hole and earned respect with three walks. Very solid player with big upside.