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PBR Future Games: Loden Sports Testing Leaders

August 3, 2021
By Andy Sroka
Illinois & Wisconsin Assistant Director

On Wednesday at the 2021 PBR Future Games, we welcomed Loden Sports to conduct their sports testing evaluation that they first orchestrated at a PBR event back at the Super 60 in February. This week, Loden Sports measured all Future Games players for Power, Speed, and Quickness to provide each an overall ‘Loden’ score, measured on a 0-12 scale.

Today, we’re sharing their insights, while highlighting the top players in attendance, with intel from state scouting directors who have witnessed these players’ advanced athleticism firsthand.

LODEN SPORTS PRIMER

TESTING

The evaluation consisted of a counter movement jump test (vertical jump) and a 30-yard sprint. The Loden Score System provides an overview of how the athlete is wired - it is a non-sport specific evaluation. Each of the below metrics is correlated to performance in the competitive sport environment.

  • POWER: Think impact with the lower half – throw hard, hit hard – and do it easy.

  • QUICKNESS: Think twitchiness or ability to change direction. Certain sports require an athlete to not only move with power, but to do so quickly. 

  • SPEED: Think top-end speed potential. Some athletes tap into their top-end speed potential, others may not tap into their top-end speed potential due to the physical requirements of their position, however, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t in there.

  • LODEN SCORE: A weighted conglomerate of the Power, Quickness, and Speed Scores that yields an “overall” score.

RESULTS

The Loden scores have been found to correlate to exit velocity, throwing velocity, and top-end running speed. Additionally, they can be helpful in making inferences on projection and positional profiling. The Loden Score is a measure of raw athleticism. Consider the Loden Scores to be the fuel for the tools.

See below for positional averages for elite MLB Draft prospects. Middle and Corner position-types had the  highest average Quickness, Speed, and Loden scores. Middle position-types had the highest average  Quickness scores by a considerable amount, but also had the lowest Power scores. Pitchers and Catchers  are a mixed-bag. See the bar chart below for a visual position-by-position representation:


LODEN LEADERBOARD

RANK   NAME POS. STATE POWER QUICKNESS SPEED LODEN SCORE
1 Avery Ortiz SS Team Oklahoma 8 9 10 10
2 Walker Martin SS Team Colorado 8 8 9 9
T-3 Dominic Moats* OF Team Mid-Atlantic 7 6 10 8
^ Luke Diekmann OF Team Indiana 6 6 10 8
T-4 Drew Culbertson SS Team Indiana 5 8 9 7
^ Joshua Jones OF Team Mississippi 6 7 9 7
^ Carson Garrett OF Team Texas 5 7 9 7
^ Brayden Bakes OF Team Illinois 6 6 9 7
^ Andrew Edrington SS Team Ohio 6 8 8 7
^ Rhyder Poppell OF Team Florida 6 8 8 7
^ Drayk Bowen SS Team Indiana 7 7 8 7
^ Easton Breyfogle OF Team MN-IA-NE 6 7 8 7
^ Armani Guzman SS Team New York 6 7 8 7
^ Colton Coates SS Team Mississippi 6 9 7 7
^ Tanner Recchio SS Team MN-IA-NE 5 9 7 7
^ Josh Och SS Team MN-IA-NE 6 8 7 7
^ Conlan Daniel OF Team Ohio 6 9 6 7
^ Clayton Campidilli CIF Team MN-IA-NE
 9 6 6 7

+ SS Avery Ortiz (Team Oklahoma): In the traditional baseball setting, Ortiz starred at LakePoint right away. He caught the attention of our national team on Wednesday’s workout day, including that of Shooter Hunt, who had this to report in his Rapid Reaction: “Unassuming with a quiet confidence, Ortiz turned in one of the better all around days. That included a smooth operation at shortstop, a 6.73 60-yard dash time and a batting-practice performance that was both presently efficient and exciting in terms of his future potential…”

And Ortiz wasn’t just a winner at the Team Oklahoma showcase, he also garnered praise from the Loden Sports team, having turned in a stellar all-around performance that earned him a ‘Loden Score’ of 10, an elite total. Ortiz’s premium athleticism has been nurtured by his parents with nutrition and strength training backgrounds, according to PBR Oklahoma Scouting Supervisor Andy Urban, and it all translates in-game, too, raising the prospect stock on one of the overall winners at the PBR Future Games.

+ SS Walker Martin (Team Colorado): While Ortiz was the lone player to earn a double-digit Loden Score, Martin tailed behind him closely with an overall score of 9. The Eaton HS shortstop entered the Future Games ranked nationally, and he’s exiting it with a head of steam. During his Loden evaluation, Martin demonstrated a top-of-the-scale combination of power and speed, as one of three players to score an 8 or higher Power score, while also scoring an 8 and 9 in Quickness and Speed. He swings a quick-twitch left-handed bat that generated noteworthy strength on impact for a lean 6-foot-2, 180-pound player with room to add significant muscle as he matures.

+ OF Luke Diekmann (Team Indiana): Diekmann’s tools have earned him high-follow status in Indiana’s 2023 class for some time now, with game-changing speed and athleticism, and he showed as one of the top athletes in attendance at the PBR Future Games, per Loden Sports. His overall Loden Score of 8 surrounded him among an elite tier of athletes, with Quickness and Speed scores of 9 and 9, respectively. In the Team Indiana workout, he ran a 6.52 and reached a 91 mph high from the outfield. Offensively, he’s a right-handed hitter with budding strength, having measured a max exit speed of 97.1 mph at LakePoint.

+ OF Dominic Moats (Team Mid-Atlantic): Moats caught the eye of Shooter Hunt days before the PBR Future Games, where his athleticism and raw strength burst out of the batter’s box, and he maintained that momentum for Team Mid-Atlantic in the week that followed. Moats’ Loden Score of 8 was the tops among Class of 2024 players, and he was one of four to earn a 10 Speed score – and only the aforementioned Ortiz generated a similar Power score in conjunction with that Speed mark. He ran a 6.62 in the workout while averaging an exit speed of 92.1 mph, with a 97.0 max. In-game, he utilizes his opposite field well, and he demonstrated an all-around profile to continue to classify as one of Pennsylvania’s top incoming sophomores.

+ SS Drew Culbertson (Team Indiana): Indiana’s squad produced two top-20 finishers in the Loden Score, as Culbertson’s 7 overall mark tied him with 16 other athletes. Here’s a recent report on Culbertson, pulled from the July 14 edition of the Hotlist: “Lean and athletic at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, Culbertson shows range with above-average footspeed on defense. He’s confident with a well-above-average glove and shows 87 mph arm strength across the diamond. Offensively, the right-handed hitter displays a line-drive swing with a knack for finding the barrel. He has good plate coverage and instincts. He has a top 60 time of 6.69.”

MORE STANDOUT PERFORMANCES

+ CIF Clayton Campidilli (Team MN-IA-NE): This Iowa native scored the highest Power mark (9) at the PBR Future Games, and generated above-average Quickness (6) and Speed (6) scores, especially for his thick/strong 6-foot-1, 230-pound stature. Campidilli swings a physical right-handed bat that produces elite bat speed marks which results in one-of-a-kind impact. His top Power score was substantiated in batting practice, where he averaged an exit speed of nearly 100 mph, with a 105.1 mph max, and his best ball travelled 383 feet.

+ SS Colton Coates (Team Mississippi): Coates’ prospect stock appears to be on the up and up, after turning in an excellent showing at the PBR Future Games, both in the showcase setting and in game. During the Loden eval, Coates was one of just a handful of players to score a 9 in Quickness, while also scoring at least a 6 in Power as well. Here’s his most recent report, taken from the July 14 edition of the Hotlist: “On defense, Coates shows good range, excellent footwork and a strong arm with carry across the diamond. A switch-hitter, he shows pop from both sides of the plate, spraying the ball to all fields…” 

+ OF/LHP Alfredo Velazquez (Team Michigan): Velazquez is recognized as one of the top players in the nation, ranked inside the national top-400, as well as the top-10 inside Michigan’s 2023 class. At the PBR Future Games, he also showed as one of the top two-way players in attendance. During his Loden Sports tests, Velazquez scored a 9 in Quickness, a 7 in Speed, and a 6 in Power and each of those tools appeared on the diamond. In Team Michigan’s workout, he ran a 6.72, reached a 91 mph high from the outfield, and notched a 97.2 mph max exit speed from the left side, resulting in a couple of BP home runs. Velazquez went on to sit in the upper-80s during his outing on the mound, touching 90 mph from the left side.

+ OF/RHP Jacob Faust (Team Utah): Faust was one of four players to earn a Speed score of 10, helping Team Utah generate some of the event’s biggest buzz among college coaches monitoring the complex. For Faust specifically, his elite Speed score suggests he’s only just tapping into his potential as an athlete, considering his 6.94 time in the 60-yard dash doesn’t fully encapsulate the impact his foot speed has on the game. Faust’s athleticism also promotes a higher ceiling from the mound, where he was up to 85 mph this week.

+ OF Brayden Bakes (Team Illinois): Bakes is built at a robust, muscular 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, and his compact strength combines with explosive athleticism that helped him produce a Loden Score of 7 at the PBR Future Games. As one of 16 players to earn a 9 or higher Speed score, Bakes’ foot speed helped him burst to the event’s top 60-yard dash time, a 6.45 measurement. He went on to average an exit speed of 90.3 mph, with a 101.3 mph max, crafting a must-see left/left profile with a lofty ceiling.

MORE LEADERS

POWER LEADERBOARD

RANK   NAME POS. STATE POWER QUICKNESS SPEED LODEN SCORE
1 Clayton Campidilli CIF Team MN-IA-NE
 9 6 6 7
T-2 Avery Ortiz SS Team Oklahoma 8 9 10 10
^ Walker Martin SS Team Colorado 8 8 9 9
T-3 Dominic Moats* OF Team Mid-Atlantic 7 6 10 8
^ Drayk Bowen OF Team Indiana 7 7 8 7
^ Tim Schuler 1B Team Pennsylvania 7 6 7 6
^ Grant Smith RHP Team Arizona 7 4 7 6
^ Liam Willson SS Team Mid-Atlantic 7 6 6 6
^ Andrew Dunford 1B Team Georgia 7 6 5 6
^ David Rodriguez Jr.* RHP Team Pennsylvania 7 7 3 6
^ Daniel Jacobs RHP Team Pennsylvania 7 2 3 3

QUICKNESS LEADERBOARD

RANK   NAME POS. STATE QUICKNESS POWER SPEED LODEN SCORE
T-1 Avery Ortiz SS Team Oklahoma 9 8 10 10
^ Luke Diekmann OF Team Indiana 9 6 9 8
^ Colton Coates SS Team Mississippi 9 6 7 7
^ Alfredo Velazquez OF Team Michigan 9 6 7 7
^ Conlan Daniel OF Team Ohio 9 6 6 7
^ Tanner Recchio SS Team Team MN-IA-NE 9 5 7 7
T-2 Walker Martin SS Team Colorado 8 8 9 9
^ Andrew Edrington SS Team Ohio 8 6 8 7
^ Rhyder Poppell OF Team Florida 8 6 8 7
^ Josh Och SS Team MN-IA-NE 8 6 7 7
^ JT Kelenic OF Team Wisconsin 8 6 6 6
^ Caleb Karll OF Team Wisconsin 8 6 5 6
^ Drew Culbertson SS Team Indiana 8 5 9 7
^ Ethan Hindle SS Team Wisconsin 8 5 7 6
^ Ryder Kirtley* SS Team Ohio 8 5 6 6
^ Reese Dean OF Team Louisiana 8 4 8 6

SPEED LEADERBOARD

RANK   NAME POS. STATE SPEED POWER QUICKNESS LODEN SCORE
T-1 Avery Ortiz SS Team Oklahoma 10 8 9 10
^ Dominic Moats* OF Team Mid-Atlantic 10 7 6 8
^ Jacob Faust OF Team Utah 10 4 6 6
^ Noah Rodriguez SS Team California 10 1 2 4
T-2 Luke Diekmann OF Team Indiana 9 6 9 8
^ Walker Martin SS Team Colorado 9 8 8 9
^ Drew Culbertson SS Team Indiana 9 5 8 7
^ Joshua Jones OF Team Mississippi 9 6 7 7
^ Carson Garrett SS Team Texas 9 5 7 7
^ Brayden Bakes OF Team Illinois 9 6 6 7
^ Dylan Schlaegel OF Team Texas 9 5 6 6
^ Griffin Cameron OF Team Kentucky 9 4 6 6
^ Micah Dean SS Team Texas 9 4 6 6
^ Ty Durham SS Team Arkansas 9 4 6 6
^ Everett Johnson SS Team Mississippi 9 4 6 6
^ Nolan Miller RHP Team Utah 9 3 5 6

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