By Chris Valentine
PBR Michigan

Below, we have recapped the participants from the classes of 2016, 2017, and 2018 at the PBR Michigan Kickoff Showcase on January 4th. In the coming days, we will breakdown the classes of 2014 and 2015 as well as identify the top participants from the event. To view the complete statistical results from the event, please click here. 

Andy Mizerowski, C, Novi HS, 2016 

5-foot-8, 145-pound catcher with smallish frame. Starts in wide base. Stays low, but needs to continue to improve speed of his footwork. Short arm action with top velocity of 66 mph from the crouch. Pop times between 2.19 to 2.28. At the plate, the right-handed hitter uses a compact, rotational based swing. Minimal movement with his hands in his load. Slight uphill path. Opposite field production n his swing. Needs to continue improve rhythm to his swing as well as overall strength. Registered a top exit velocity of 70 mph. Ran a 8.03 60.  

Blake Dunn, C/RHP, Saugatuck HS, 2017

5-foot-10, 155-pound prospect athletic frame. Showed the ability to play multiple positions. On the mound, he shows a steady tempo to his delivery with some quickness in his arm. His fastball sat at 82-83 mph and bumped to 85 on a couple of occasion. Good direction, but requires some effort. He showed command of a 65-66 mph curveball with some depth as well as a 73-75 mph slider. Also displayed a 70-72 mph changeup with some arm side run. Behind the plate, he shows balance in his stance with some quickness in his hands and feet. Uses short arm action. Reached a top velocity of 70 mph from the crouch with pop times between 2.00 to 2.13. In the infield, he projects best as a second base type, but with continued physical development, he could play on the left side. Throws from low ¾ arm slot with top velocity of 73 mph across the infield. Shows some softness in his hands.  At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts in a wide stance. Doesn’t use a stride. Rotational type hitter with his lower half. Small load with level to slight uphill path. Generated solid, consistent contact. Top exit velocity of 75 mph. Ran a 7.07 60.

Blake Verbeek, 1B/RHP, Calvin Christian HS, 2018

6-foot-5, 145-pound prospect with tall, lanky frame and long legs. Shows average actions around the bag at first base with good reach. At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts in an athletic stance. Shows a good rhythm to his swing with a simple upper half load. Takes uphill path to the ball. Power will increase as he incorporates more use of his lower half. Reached a top exit velocity of 73 mph. Ran a 8.45 60. On the mound, he displayed long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot. Showed straight action on a 68-70 mph fastball. Will improve velocity as he continues to incorporate his lower half. Breaking ball showed late 11/5 action at 57-58 mph while he showed a developing changeup at 62-63 mph.

Carter Macias, IF/OF, Brandon MS, 2018

5-foot-5, 118-pound infield prospect with small, athletic frame. Displayed actions in the field and at the plate advance for his age. Excellent instincts. Likely projects as a middle infielder with excellent footwork. Creates path to the ball. Shows softness in his hands. Quick and clean transfer. Showed present velocity of 67 mph across the infield, but will improve with physical maturity. Also showed the ability to play in the outfield. Plays through the ball and little wasted time in transfer. Reached a top velocity of 74 mph on his throws. At the plate, he swings it with confidence from both sides of the plate. From the left side, he starts with a slightly open stance. Uses compact wing with fluid rhythm. Solid line drive contact with some power. Needs to firm up front side.. Similar mechanics from the right side, but tendency to dive a bit. Needs to maintain balance and stay upright.

Cass Phillips, 1B/3B/RHP, Milford, 2018

6-foot-6, 170-pound prospect with tall, lanky frame and plenty of room to fill out. Shows some quickness in his feet for his size at both corner spots. Some quickness in his transfer with short arm action. Likely projects best as a first baseman, but has potential to play both spots. Reached a top velocity of 68 mph across the infield. At the plate, he starts with an open stance from the right side. Uses a small leg kick. Tendency to wrap in his load. Takes uphill path to the ball. Overall pull tendencies in his swing. On the mound, he sat in the high 60’s and bumped up to 72 mph. Breaking ball sat at 52-53 mph with 11/5 action and changeup was straight at 54-55 mph.

Clay Boak, SS/2B, Fowlerville HS, 2016

5-foot-8, 145-pound middle infield prospect with small, athletic frame. Showed good natural actions in the field with some quickness in his feet and transfer. Reached top velocity of 66 mph with short arm action. Aggressive to the ball. Hits from the right-side with a choppy rhythm to his swing. Starts with a closed stance. Minimal load. Will improve power by consistently achieving extension. Reached a top exit velocity of 69 mph. Registered a 60 time of 7.57.

Eric Donabedian, RHP/3B, Detroit Catholic Central, 2018

5-foot-10, 170-pound infield prospect with average frame.  Uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Average hands and feet. Needs to continue improving footwork and create angles to the ball. Reached top velocity of 61 mph. At the plate, the left-handed hitter starts with a balanced, athletic stance. Takes a short path to the ball. Reached a top exit velocity of 65 mph. Ran a 8.65 60-yard dash. On the mound, he uses a slow tempo. Throws through a high ¾ arm slot. Fastball sat 64-66 mph with some run to it. Breaking ball sat 53-54 with gradual 11/5 break. Changeup was straight at 59-63.

Gray Christensen, C/2B, Spring Lake, 2018

5-foot-5, 125-pound prospect with small frame. From behind the plate, uses short arm action through high ¾ arm slot. Uses long arm action. Wide base. Needs to improve balance and posture. Pop times between 2.64 to 2.96 with a top velocity of 55 mph from the crouch. At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts with a slightly open stance with a short stride. Short path with average bat speed. Top exit velocity of 61 mph. Ran a 9.25 60-yard dash.

Justin Charron, C/IF, Patrick Henry, 2018

5-foot-9, 155-pound prospect with smallish frame. In the infield, he throws through a low ¾ arm slot. Accuracy will improve as he consistently closes up the front side. Needs to continue improving footwork and playing through the baseball. Reached a top velocity of 60 mph across the infield. From behind the plate, he showed pop times between 2.45 to 2.87 with a top velocity of 66 mph out of a low ¾ slot. Will improve as glove to hand exchange quickens. At the plate, the right-handed hitter takes a level path to the ball. Needs to improve use of top hand. Shows partial use of lower half. With improved use, power should increase. Registered top exit velocity of 67 mph. Ran a 7.68 60 yard dash.

Sam Goodnight, RHP/OF, John Glenn HS, 2016

6-foot-2, 195-pound prospect with big, solid frame. Posses a strong lower half. Projects as a corner outfield type. Plays through the baseball. Throws through a low ¾ to ¾ arm slot with some quickness. Will improve accuracy as he creates a higher slot and better angle for his throws. At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts in athletic stance with a slight crouch. Uses a small stride. Showed some quickness in his hands with a slight uphill path to the ball. Showed solid contact with some power in his swing. Registered a top exit velocity of 81 mph. Ran a 8.04. On the mound, he sat 74-77 mph through a ¾ arm slot with short action. Fastball showed some sink to the arm side. Breaking ball sat at 64-66 mph. Will improve as he maintains arm speed with the pitch. Also uses a 68-70 mph changeup.

Spencer Schorling, IF, Lakeland HS, 2017

5-foot-9, 140-pound infield prospect with smallish frame and long legs. Uses short arm action through ¾ arm slot in the field.  Reached a top velocity of 65 mph across the infield. Feet tend to be a bit flat. Will improve as he consistently plays through the ball. At the plate, the right-handed hitter uses a small leg kick to trigger his swing. Tall, narrow stance that starts closed. Linear type hitter. Lower-half  base has room for improvement. Doesn’t completely get lower half through. Flat path to the ball. Reached top exit velocity of 68 mph. Ran a 7.97 60.

Steve Mann, OF, Detroit Country Day, 2017

5-foot-11, 185-pound outfield prospect with physically impressive build. Aggressive to the ball in the outfield. Uses short arm action with some quickness in his arm. Reached a top velocity of 80 mph. Will improve velocity and accuracy as he firms up his front side. Projects as a corner outfield type. At the plate, the right-handed hitter displays an aggressive swing. Uses a big load with leg kick trigger. Hands start high but get into loaded position. Big time raw power with carry off the bat. Pull tendencies in his swing. Top exit velocity of 90 mph off the tee. Ran a 7.07 60.

Stuart Weber, C/3B, Dexter HS, 2016

6-foot, 180-pound catcher with strong, athletic frame. Uses short arm action from behind the plate. Reached a top velocity of 67 mph. Transfer shows some quickness. Needs to consistently square up front side to improve accuracy. Pop times ranged between 2.19 to 2.35. At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts in a tall, upright stance. Uses a small leg kick in his trigger. Takes short path to the ball. Creates pull power in his swing. Top exit velocity of 82 mph off the tee. Ran a 7.9 60.

Thomas Brumfield, LHP, Bishop Foley HS, 2016

5-foot-10, 150-pound southpaw with average, athletic frame. Showed command of multiple pitches. Uses quick tempo to his delivery. Throws through high ¾ arm slot with regular effort to his delivery.  Maintains balance and keeps direction throughout delivery. Fastball sat 79-81 mph with some natural cut. Curveball showed gradual depth at 60-61 mph with two-plane action while slider showed tighter action at 68-70 mph. Changeup was thrown near fastball arm speed at 71-73 mph with good sinking action.

Tyler Kukla, OF/LHP, Troy Athens HS, 2016

5-foot-7, 125-pound prospect with smallish frame. Uses long arm action through high ¾ arm slot in the outfield. Reached a top velocity of 69 mph. Will be aided by keeping his feet moving and playing through the ball. At the plate, he starts with a closed stance and a slight crouch. Tendency to wrap in his load. Bat speed with improve with simplified load. Reached top exit velocity of 71 mph. On the mound, the southpaw sat 66-69 mph through a ¾ arm slot. His breaking ball sat at 57-58 mph with 2/8 action while his changeup sat at 53-54 mph.

Tyler Weck, OF/RHP, Marshall HS, 2016

6-foot-2, 148-pound prospect with tall, lanky frame. From the outfield, he threw through a high ¾ to over the top arm slot with long arm action. Reached a top velocity of 63 mph. Showed some quickness in his feet and was aggressive to the ball. At the plate, the right-handed hitter starts with a slightly open, upright stance. Uses a leg kick to trigger his swing. Bat speed will increase as he eliminate baring in his load. Reached a top exit velocity of 75 mph. On the mound, he uses a slow rhythm to his delivery. Throws through an over the top slot. Sat 64-66 mph with straight action to his fastball. Breaking ball showed some spin at 54-55 mph while changeup sat at 61-62 mph. Will continue to improve as he creates better direction in his delivery.