By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

Previously we released the complete statistical analysis from the 2013 Top Prospect Games.

Team Royal featured some impressive performances over the two-day event.  Three layers ran a sub 7.0 60 yard dash led by Kylan Nelson who tied for an event best 6.56.  Connor O'Neil followed with a 6.78, and Adam Atkinson ran a 6.90 to round out the Royal sub 7's.  Logan Banks and Bo Saunders weren't far behind with 7.00 and 7.03 respectively.

Nelson also flashed impressive arm strength from the outfield at 88 mph.

Ian Bach recorded the top pop time for the Royal team at 2.03.

Maxx Mahon led the team with a 92 mph tee exit velocity followed by Nelson and Aaron Hedgecock at 90 mph.

Several pitchers stood out with Josh Exton and Aaron Ochsenbein topping out at 86 mph with impressive breaking balls and Cameron Shryock sitting 85-87 mph touching 88 with big projectability.

The following is a complete analysis of Team Royal.

Justin Stinson, 2B, North Bullitt HS, 2014
5-foot-8, 140-pound prospect, shows athletic infield actions, solid footwork and a quick exchange, shows the ability to throw from different arm angles accurately, 74 mph arm strength across the infield.  At the plate, hits from open setup, big load, squares frontside, long stride, big use of lower half torque creates bat speed through the zone, tee exit velocity jumped 11 mph from previous winter event to 87 mph, took solid round of BP, ran 7.41 60 yard dash, very solid defensive second baseman.

Hunter Miner, C, West Jessamine HS, 2015
6-foot-1, 155-pound prospect, lanky build, shows good receiving and blocking skills behind the plate, throws registered 73 mph from the crouch and pop times ranged from 2.32-2.50, a lot of room to improve pop times with quicker footwork, glove to hand exchange and release.  At the plate, balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, good balance throughout, slight uphill path to the ball, cuts off lower half at times, ran 7.53 60 yard dash, showed moderate bat speed with 84 mph tee exit velocity.

Jackson Gooding, SS, Bowling Green HS, 2016
5-foot-10, 160-pound prospect, plays through the ball well, quick exchange, 76 mph arm strength across the infield, showed well defensively in game play.  At the plate, hits from balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, hands show some quickness, short path to the ball, solid swing mechanics, gets some lower half involved in swing, will benefit from added strength, ran 7.07 60 yard dash, 74 mph tee exit velocity, good young prospect.

Bo Saunders, SS, Scott County HS, 2015
6-foot, 165-pound prospect shows fluid footwork, good lateral movement, plays through the ball well and is able to throw from all angles, slight improvement in arm strength from previous event at 77 mph across the infield.  At the plate, uses a tall setup, smooth load, short stride, uses lower half to generate bat speed through the zone, gap to gap type hitter, shot path to the ball, ran 7.03 60 yard dash, registered 84 mph tee exit velocity, solid 2015 MIF prospect.

Logan Banks, OF, Lexington Catholic HS, 2015
5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect moves well in outfield, plays through the ball, arm strength at 78 mph with good accuracy.  At the plate, uses a balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, good lower half involvement in swing, short path to the ball, hands show some quickness, line drive hitter with some gap to gap power, squared the ball up consistently in BP, hit well in game play and used all fields with two solid singles and beat out an infield single as well, ran improved 7.00 60 yard dash, 83 mph tee exit velocity.

Connor O’Neil, 2B/OF, Lexington Catholic HS, 2015
5-foot-11, 175-pound prospect, shows fluid footwork, plays through the ball well, moves well laterally with good body control, accurate arm at 75 mph across the infield, 78 mph arm strength from the outfield.  Hits from a balanced/athletic setup, smooth load, short path to the ball, good use of lower half to generate bat speed through the zone, consistently finds the barrel, good round of BP, good balance, solid swing mechanics, runs well with a 6.78 60 yard dash.

Kylan Nelson, OF,Lafayette HS, 2014
5-foot-10, 175-pound prospect with athletic build, shows good footwork, good routes to the ball, clean exchange, strong/accurate arm with carry at 88 mph.  At the plate, hits from balanced setup, quiet approach, tendency to drop hands in load triggering hands from chest level, somewhat long swing path to the ball, hands have quickness, gap to gap type hitter, very athletic prospect, ran event best 6.56 60 yard dash, showed bat speed with 90 mph tee exit velocity, potential to be elite level prospect with continued development of offensive skills.

Blake Rose, 3B, Tates Creek HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 184-pound, left-handed hitting prospect with athletic build, shows fluid footwork, good lateral movement, soft hands, good body control, accurate arm at 73 mph across the infield.  At the plate, hits from open setup, squares frontside, smooth load, short swing path to the ball, gets some lower half involved in swing, ability to hit to all fields, line drive type hitter with good balance and fluid rhythm.  Rose shows solid leadership skills, gritty/gamer type player, ran improved 7.32 60 yard dash, 83 mph tee exit velocity.

Ian Bach, C, Covington Catholic HS, 2014
5-foot-9, 180-pound prospect, good setup behind the plate, solid receiving and blocking skills, strong legs, quick feet and glove to hand exchange, 70 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.03 – 2.10 and has shown improvement at each event he has attended.  At the plate, hits from slightly open, crouched setup, short stride, line drive type hitter, short path to the ball, shows some bat speed with 82 mph tee exit velocity (up to 85 at previous event), solid defensive abilities behind the plate.

Justin Warren, 3B, Henry Clay HS, 2014
5-foot-10, 180 pound prospect shows good infield actions and lateral movement, solid footwork, soft hand, good body control, 75 mph arm strength across the infield (77 at previous event), made several nice plays in game play showing lateral movement and accurate arm.  Hits from a balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, shows some hand quickness and a short path to the ball, good balance, showed some gap power in game play with a double to left-center, ran a 7.13 60 yard dash, 80 mph tee exit velocity (83 at previous event).  

Wes King, RHP, South Warren HS, 2015
6-foot-2, 160-pound prospect with lanky build, projectable frame, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, good balance in delivery with easy effort, fastball sat 78-79 mph with good arm side run, curveball showed gradual 11/5 action at 67-69 mph thrown with near fastball arm speed, kept curveball down in zone, good projectability on this 2015 prospect, expect more velocity to come.

Blake Hacker, RHP/OF, Woodford County HS, 2015
6-foot-3, 178-poubnd prospect with long build and projectable frame, shows tentative approach to the ball, good footwork on fly ball, 81 mph arm strength from outfield.  At the plate, hits from balanced/tall setup, good rhythm, smooth load, short stride, can get more consistent lower half in swing, short path to the ball, hands show some quickness, solid round of BP finding the barrel consistently, ran 7.37 60 yard dash, 79 mph tee exit velocity.  On the mound, uses medium arm action, high ¾ arm slot, fastball shows some arm side run at 80-82 mph, curveball shows some slight late break at 71 mph, projectable body on the mound, expect more velocity to come, pitcher to follow from 2015 class.

Zachary Barker, LHP/1B, Western Hills HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 180-pound, left-handed hitting prospect with strong lower half, shows medium arm action through a high ¾ to over the top arm slot, fastball is fairly straight at 80-82 mph, touching 83, drops down occasionally to high ¾ slot to get some run on fastball, kept curveball down with 1/7 action at 67-68 mph, showed the ability to throw strikes consistently.  As first baseman, shows good hands and feet, good arm strength at 82 mph.  Hits from balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, good use of lower half torque in swing, made solid contact in BP, ran 7.94 60 yard dash, 84 mph tee exit velocity.

Josh Exton, RHP, North Bullitt HS, 204
6-foot, 189-pound prospect with strong legs, smooth rhythm in delivery, long and loose arm action, through high ¾ arm slot, repeatable mechanics, fastball shows arm side run at 84-86 mph, not afraid to pitch inside, curveball shows sharp 11/5 action and good bite at 70-73 mph when he stays on top, left a few up in the zone that he got around but swing and miss pitch down in the zone, struck out the side in his first inning of work (4 batters), good mound presence, attacks hitters well.

Aaron Hedgecock, RHP/1B, Butler HS, 2015
6-foot-2, 190-pound prospect, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, on line mechanics, fastball sat 77-79 mph, 2-seamer showed some arm side run, curveball sat 65-66 mph and showed some late 11/5 action.  As first baseman, room for improvement in hands and footwork, accurate arm at 77 mph.  Hits from a tall, open setup, smooth load, good rhythm, good lower half torque in swing creates bat speed, shows a pull approach, has some power potential, has a tendency to pull off the outer half pitch, ran 7.58 60 yard dash, showed good bat speed with 90 mph tee exit velocity.

Cameron Shryock, RHP, South Warren HS, 2015
6-foot-2, 150-pound prospect with lanky build, good rhythm and balance in delivery, long and loose arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball sat 85-87 mph and touched 88, 2-seamer shows some arm side run, curveball shows sharp 11/5 action and sat 70-74 mph, struggled some with command of curveball burying some, big projectability and upside, high-level 2015 pitching prospect with more velocity likely as frame fills out.

Aaron Ochsenbein, RHP, Paul Laurence Dunbar HS, 2014
6-foot-4, 195-pound prospect with good projectability, shows repeatable mechanics, long and loose arm action. Easy effort in delivery, on this occasion velocity sat 82-86 mph, have seen velocity up to 87, fastball shows some arm side run, shows excellent command  one of the top curveballs from the 2014 class at 71-75 mph with tight spin and sharp 11/5 action.  You can’t have a conversation about top 2014 arms in Kentucky without Ochsenbein being early in the discussion, consistently pounds the strike zone with all pitches.

Jonathan Thrasher, 1B/RHP, Butler HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 220-pound prospect with strong legs, moves well at first base, shows soft hands, arm strength at 78 mph.  Hits from tall, open setup, smooth load, short stride, fluid rhythm in swing, uses strong lower half to create bat speed, shows some power potential, singled up the middle in game action, ran 7.71 60 yard dash, registered 89 mph tee exit velocity. On the mound, uses long arm action through a ¾ to high ¾ arm slot, some stiffness in delivery, fastball sat 73-76 mph, curveball sat 65-68 mph, dropped arm slot down on curveball causing him to get on the side of it.

Maxx Mahon, RHP/1B, West Jessamine HS, 2015
6-foot1, 230-pound prospect with strong lower half, shows soft hands and good feet around the bag at first base, good arm strength at 82 mph.  at the plate, hits from balanced setup, smmoth load, short stride, explodes with lower half to create barrel whip through the zone, short path to the ball with good extension, good barrel awareness, consistent hard contact in game play and showed the ability to hit to all fields with a single to right-center, power potential, ran 7.47 60 yard dash, 92 mph tee exit velocity.  On the mound, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, shows good command of all pitches, fastball is straight at 81-83 mph touching 84, curveball shows sharp and late 11/5 action at 68-72 mph, throws a splitter with some sinking action at 77 mph, very good two-way prospect in 2015 class.

Adam Atkinson, OF, Covington Catholic HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 165-pound prospect with athletic build, moves well in outfield, good footwork, plays through the ball well with clean exchange, arm strength at 83  mph with carry.  Hits from a balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, hands show some quickness, gets some lower half involvement in swing, line drive swing plane, ran 6.90 60 yard dash, 77 mph tee exit velocity.

Michael Hall, RHP, Bryan Station HS, 2014
6-foot-3, 210-pound prospect, uses long arm action through high 3/4 arm slot, arm shows some looseness, good rhythm in delivery, fastball sat 80-82 mph with good arm side run, showed very good command of 75 mph curveball with sharp 11/5 action, pounds strike zone with all pitches and shows good confidence in throwing secondary stuff at any count.