By Matt Byrd
Tennessee Director of Scouting

The West Tennessee Prospect Games took place on August 16 at USA Baseball Stadium and afforded close to 50 players from around the state to showcase their abilities in a combination showcase/game play event. The following is a look at the Team Royal pitchers from the event. This is pitcher analysis only. Those pitchers who also participated as a position player at the event had their positon player performance featured in a previous article.

CLICK HERE to view the stats of all players in attendance.

Ladrius Williams, 2016 Brighten High School, LHP
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound lefty shows an agile athletic frame and strong legs. Throws from a high-¾ arm slot, repeats delivery well with a short rocker step into balanced delivery. His fastball sat at 80-82mph with cutting action.  Likes to work fastball in on the hands of right-handed hitters. Showed a 1/7 curveball that sat at 68-69mph with late sharp break. Changeup at 69-70mph with good arm side run and deception. He threw one perfect inning with one strikeout at the event.

Josh Smith, 2016, Bartlett, RHP
The 6-foot-4, 175-pound tall lanky righty throws from a side arm slot. Smith shows good movement on all of his pitches with good feel for his running fastball that appeared to be a problem for hitters to pull the trigger on. His fastball sat at 74-75mph and topped out at 76mph with very good arm side run. His changeup sat at 67-68mph with fading action. Curveball had late lateral break at 63-64 mph. He pitched one inning allowing two singles with two strikeouts. Arm slot and frame make him an intriguing prospect at the next level.

Blake Osborne 2017, Davidson Academy, RHP
The 5-foot-9, 145-pound righty had a solid outing. Osborne showed good command of his pitches with a great feel for his very effective curveball which stood out as one of the best at the event.  Throwing from an over the top arm slot with regular effort in delivery, his fastball sat at 77-78mph topping out at 79mph with good arm-side run. Fastball appeared to get on hitters quick and has some downward tilt. His curveball had sharp break that varied between 11/5 and 12/6 trajectory with tight spin and good depth at 67-68 mph that produced several swings and misses.  Also showed a changeup that sat at 70-72 mph with nice sinking action. Osborne pitched one inning giving up one hit and struck out two.

William Huey, 2018, Columbia Academy, LHP
The 5-foot-11, 150-pound athletically built lefty had a solid outing in the West Tennessee Prospect games. Huey throws from the ¾ angle with good tempo in delivery. Arm action is clean and loose. Fastball sat from 75-77mph topping out at 79mph with occasional run. Spotted up very well with his 1/7 curveball at 62-63mph. Changeup was sitting from 66-68mph with  late diving movement. Huey threw two innings giving up two hits while striking out one. He showed the ability to consistently throw strikes.

Benton Garrison, 2016, Evangelical Christian School, LHP
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound athletically built lefty did a great job on keeping hitters off balance in the West Tennessee Prospect games. Fastball sat from 74-75mph topping out at 76mph with late run. Curveball was varied between 12/6 and 1/7 trajectory with late break at 64-65 mph. Hitters appeared to have a difficult time picking up the curveball from the over the top arm angle. Changeup sat 64-65mph that resembled fastball while approaching the plate. Garrison threw 1.1 innings with three strikeouts while giving up a hit.

Drew Bell, 2019, Martin Westview High, RHP
The 6-foot, 140-pound  lanky righty showed good control at the West Tennessee Prospect games. Throwing from the high- ¾ arm angle, his fastball sat at 72-74mph topping with a good late running action. Curveball was from the 11/5 trajectory with gradual break.. Curveball sat consistently at 62mph. Changeup also consistent at 65mph with gradual running movement into the right handed hitter.  During the showcase Bell went two complete innings giving up just one hit and did a great job of getting consistent ground ball outs. His arm works with minimal effort and he should have no problem adding velocity as he continues to physically mature.

John Dowless, 2017, Mt. Juliet High, LHP
The 6-foot, 175-pound lefty works through a high-3/4 to over the top arm slot with regular effort in up tempo delivery. Struggled some with overall command as tended to be quick with lower half leaving pitches up. Showed a heavy fastball with late sinking action when he got out front. Dowless’s fastball sat from 77-78mph topping out at 79mph. Curveball from the 1/7 trajectory with a sharp downward break at 69-70 mph. Dowless had five walks and allowed two hits with one strikeout in two innings of work.

Nathan Ruble, 2017, Harding Academy, LHP
The 6-foot, 190-pound lefty works through a high-3/4 arm slot with regular effort. Has a deliberate delivery.  Ruble’s fastball sat from 77-79mph, topping out at 80mph with occasional run. Curveball from 62-66mph with 1/7 trajectory with a sharp downward break. Ruble’s changeup was another effective pitch with a sharp, late diving action when it approached the plate at 71 mph. He threw two complete innings giving up three hits with one strikeout.

Zach Stephens, 2018, Middle TN Christian, RHP
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound strong, athletic righty throws from the ¾ arm angle with long arm action. Tends to open hips early and land open. Stephens’ fastball sat from 73-74mph with good run approaching the plate. Curveball from the 11/5 trajectory with a quick, sharp break sitting from 64-65mph. Stephens had three walks on three hits in two innings pitched.

Braden Mileham, 2018, University School of Jackson, RHP
The 5-foot-10, 155-pound righty has a lanky athletic build. Throwing from the high-¾ arm slot with shorter arm action, Mileham displays a repeatable delivery with minimal effort. Showed some arm-side run on his fastball sitting at 75-76mph. He has room to develop physically with his slender body build. Mileham cruised through his outing only showing a fastball with a shutout inning on three pitches.

Hunter Davis, 2018 Gordonsville, RHP
The 5-foot-9, 145-pound righty shows a lanky frame. Throws from a ¾ arm angle with long arm action and regular effort in delivery. Occasionally gets quick with lower half and lands open. Showed good feel for his fastball spotting it on both sides of the plate, fastball sat at 74-76mph, topping out at 78mph with run. Hitters seemed to struggle on the movement of the fastball as it would run back into the strike zone. Throws an effective slider at 72 mph with sharp sweeping action. Davis pitched one complete inning giving up one hit and no runs.

Baylor Jones, 2019, Grace Christian Academy, RHP
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound righty throws from a high-¾ arm angle with shorter arm action. Fastball sat from 71-73mph with consistent running action. Curveball seemed to be his best pitch with 12/6 break and some depth.  Curveball sat from 59-60mph and changeup from 66-67mph with some fade and sinking action. Jones threw one inning giving up one hit and no runs.