Sean McGrath
Scouting Director, New Jersey

The Buzz

The Lauk brothers, Ryan & Eric, are members of the Rawlings Prospects NJ travel program, one of the best up-and-coming programs in the state. The Lauks highlight a very solid group of 2016 & 2017 graduates who make this team one to watch this summer. These two have flown under-the-radar per say, but they have not flown under PBR’s radar and PBR New Jersey is a big fan of Ryan and Eric. In my opinion, they are both in the top three uncommitted prospects in the 2016 class at their respective positions; RHP & OF. Both are also excellent hockey prospects as well.

Name: Ryan Lauk
High School: Clearview High School
Travel Program: Rawlings Prospects New Jersey
Position: RHP

Scouting Report

Ryan is about 6-foot-2 and has a very athletic frame which will be maximized in the weight room. He has great rhythm and tempo on the mound and has a long and loose arm action. He rides down the mound well and consistently gets over his front side. He is very directional, rarely missing because of a mechanical flaw. In his 2:15 outing against Locked In Baseball, Lauk sat largely 85-87 miles-per-hour with a very heavy fastball. Besides a five pitch stint in the sixth inning where his velocity dropped to 83-84 MPH, every fastball in the last two frames came in at 87.

He also mixed a late breaking curveball at 70-73 miles-per-hour and a straight changeup at 77-78. His most intriguing pitch was his cutter/slider that he has been developing. Early in the game, it acted as a true cutter between 78 and 80 miles-per-hour. Later in the game it turned into a true tilted slider which was a definite out pitch that ranged between 75 and 78 miles-per-hour. He did occasionally get on the side of this cutter/slider pitch but from my understanding, it is his newest pitch. Ryan broke 3 bats in his complete game outing, one with a heavy fastball in and a pair with the cutter. He projects for more velocity and is a definite division-one prospect.

Name: Eric Lauk
High School: Clearview High School
Travel Program: Rawlings Prospects New Jersey
Position: OF

Scouting Report

Eric is about 5-foot-11 and has a very similar build to his brother but uses his athleticism in different ways. He is a righty thrower and left-handed swinger and plays a high level of defense in CF. He showed great range and instincts. His arm strength was not tested much in this game but I will get another look at him today.

Eric has a ton of upside offensively. He hits from an even stance and gets low into a wide base. He has a quiet and repeatable load and consistently gets into a good launch position. He has plus bat speed and a flat swing path. He showed a pull approach in this game but he did not face any type of premium velocity. He did occasionally pull off the fastball placed middle-away looking to pull it. He scorched a very impressive foul ball down the right field line that registered 94 miles-per-hour off the bat on my radar gun. He also beat out an infield single to the shortstop and ran a 4.31 to first base. He is another definite division-one prospect who should earn himself plenty of college options. I’m excited to see more of his abilities today.