Prep Baseball Report

Unsigned Senior Showcase: Position Player Analysis



By Matt Byrd and PBR Tennessee staff

The PBR Tennessee winter Unsigned Senior Showcase took place in December at Showtime Sports Academy and  produced several solid performances from some of the top uncommitted seniors in the state. All of the players below remain uncommitted with the exception of Matthew Andrews who committed to Lee University following the event.

The following is an in-depth look at the position players who participated in the event.

Middle Infielders

Dalton Ney, 2016, Franklin Road Academy,SS
The 5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect posted a 4.38 home to first time and had an 81 mph position velocity across the infield. Defensively, Ney shows short arm action, some accuracy on throws, good arm strength, soft hands, fluid footwork, clean exchange, and plays through the ball with athletic actions. Offensively, Ney shows good bat speed from the right side and had a 90 mph exit velocity off the tee. Ney hits from a balanced setup with a mid-length stride, uses his lower half well, has average overall balance, shows an aggressive approach and looks to attack the baseball, has gap to gap power potential at the next level.

Matthew Harnish, 2016, Blackman HS, SS
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound prospect posted a 4.54 home to first time and had an 81 mph position velocity across the infield and a 77 mph position velocity from behind the plate. From the infield, Harnish shows short arm action with a quick release and mostly accurate throws, fluid footwork and solid hands. From behind the plate Harnish shows short arm action, made consistently accurate throws to the bag, has room to clean up footwork which tends to drift significantly into right-handed batters box, showed solid 1.90-2.00 pop times. Offensively, Harnish shows above average bat speed from the right side and 83 mph exit velocity off the tee. Harnish hits from an open setup, has a short stride, does a good job staying quiet and getting the barrel through the zone with an aggressive approach, has a level path, is a line drive type hitter who showed a middle to pull approach in his round of BP.

Charles Harris, 2016, Cookeville HS, SS
The 6-foot-1, 160-pound prospect posted a 4.69 home to first time and had a 77 mph position velocity across the infield. Defensively, Harris shows some accuracy on throws with long arm action, average arm strength, solid hands, fluid footwork, slower exchange leaves room to improve getting rid of the ball more efficiently. Offensively, Harris shows some bat speed from the right side and had an 83 mph exit velocity off the tee. Harris hits from a balanced setup, has a short stride, maintains very good balance through contact, swing path can work uphill at times, shows some quickness in hands, line drive type hitter squared several balls up in BP.

Jorden Dennis, 2013, Warren County, SS
Dennis graduated from high school in 2013 and is looking to get back in the game. The 6 foot, 190-pound prospect posted a 4.88 home to first time and had a 75 mph position velocity across the infield. Defensively, Dennis shows short arm action, some accuracy on throws, average arm strength, soft hands, and has a quick ¾ release. Offensively, Dennis has average bat speed from the right side and had a 75 mph exit velocity off the tee. Dennis hits from a balanced setup with a slight leg kick involved, shows average overall balance, tends to wrap in his load, has a level path, and is a line drive type hitter.

Corner Infielders

Charles Alvis, 2016, LaVergne HS, 1B
The 6-foot-6, 209-pound prospect posted a 4.78 home to first time and had an 85 mph position velocity across the infield. Defensively, Alvis shows shorts arm action, accuracy on throws, good arm strength, soft hands, and moves athletically for his size. Offensively, Alvis showed a slightly more crouched stance than at previous events, showed improved use of lower half resulting in several hard hit balls in his round of BP, short swing path and shows flashes of power, size and power potential make him and intriguing right-handed bat.

Outfielders

Brandon Mason, 2016, Chattanooga Christian, OF/2B
The 5-foot-10, 168-pound prospect posted a 4.29 home to first time from the left side and had a 77 mph position velocity across the infield and 85 mph from the outfield. Defensively, Mason shows loose arm action, good overall arm strength, soft hands, quick footwork, clean exchange, and quick instincts. Mason has the ability to play multiple positions at the next level. Offensively Mason shows fast bat speed from both sides of the plate and had an 85 mph exit velocity from the left side and 86 mph from the right side (big jump from previous event). Mason has a similar approach from both sides of the plate, hits from a balanced setup, has a short stride, shows good overall balance, level path, fluid rhythm, and is a line drive type hitter with flashes of gap power.

Jordan Jackson, 2016, Central Magnet, OF
The 5 foot 11, 173-pound prospect posted a 4.44 home to first time and had an 86 mph position velocity from the outfield. Defensively, Jackson shows loose arm action, with good arm strength from a high-3/4 release, moves well with athletic actions while playing through the ball. Offensively, Jackson has fast bat speed from the right side and had an 89 mph exit velocity off the tee. Jackson hits from a balanced setup with a slight leg kick involved, short stride, shows quick hands, flat bat path that produces line drive contact. Jackson is an intriguing athletic prospect with solid tools across the board.

Baylor Steelman, 2016, LaVergne HS, OF
The 5-foot-8, 148-pound prospect posted a 4.69 home to first time (4.51 previous best) and had an 85 mph position velocity from the outfield. Defensively, Steelman throws from an over the top arm slot, has accuracy on his throws, shows good overall arm strength, soft hands, fluid footwork, and a quick release. Offensively, Steelman shows fast bat speed from the right side and had an 86 mph exit velocity off the tee. Steelman hits from an open setup with a leg kick involved, uses his lower half well, brings an aggressive approach to the plate and has quickness in hands, shows the ability to make hard contact to all fields.

Bailey Baker, 2016, Sycamore HS, OF
The 5-foot-10, 160-pound prospect posted a 4.41 home to first time and had an 83 mph position velocity from the outfield. Defensively, Baker throws from an over the top arm slot, shows good arm strength, soft hands, fluid footwork, clean exchange and plays through the ball well. Offensively, Baker shows solid bat speed from the right side and had an 86 mph exit velocity off the tee.  Baker hits from a balanced setup, has a short stride, flat bat path that produces line drives with a gap to gap approach.

Issac Robertson, 2016, Beech HS, OF
The 6-foot-1, 165-pound prospect posted a 4.50 home to first time and had an 85 mph position velocity from the outfield. Defensively, Robertson showcased god arm strength from a high-¾ release, fluid footwork and plays through the ball. Offensively, Robinson shows good bat speed from the right side and had an 85 mph exit velocity off the tee. He hits from a narrow/open setup, gets to square with a toe tap and aggressive stride, hands start high and drop slightly to trigger swing, creates occasional lift and shows some pop to the pull side.

James Coleman, 2016, East Robertson HS, OF/SS
The 5-foot-10, 155-pound prospect posted a 4.57 home to first time and had a 74 mph position velocity across the infield and a 79 mph position velocity from the outfield. From the outfield ,Coleman shows an over the top arm slot with average arm strength, attacks and plays through the ball well. From the infield, Coleman shows average arm strength, accuracy on throws with a long over the top release, average hands. Offensively, Coleman registered an 83 mph exit velocity off the tee. He hits from a slightly closed stance and uses a toe tap with minimal stride, shows some looseness in hands and hit several line drives in his round to the middle of the field.

Catchers

Matthew Andrews, 2016, Lebanon HS, C/3B
The 6-foot-3, 196-pound prospect posted a 4.75 home to first time and had an 85 mph position velocity across the infield and 81 mph from behind the plate. From behind the plate, Andrews shows good arm strength with accurate throws, 81 mph velocity, has fluid footwork, clean exchange, had 1.91-2.00 pop times. From the infield, Andrews shows accuracy on his throws, good arm strength, average hands, fluid footwork. Andrews has the ability to play both positions at the next level. Offensively, Andrews has fast bat speed from the right side and had an event best 94 mph exit velocity off the tee. Andrews hits from a balanced setup, has a short stride, shows good overall balance, has an aggressive approach at the plate, has a short path with good extension, and is a gap to gap type hitter with power potential. Andrews committed to Lee University following the event.

Luke Stevens, 2016, Bolton HS, C/2B
The 5-foot-7, 160-pound prospect posted a 4.47 home to first time and had a 69 mph position velocity across the infield and from behind the plate. From behind the plate Stevens shows short arm action, accuracy on throws, average arm strength, quick footwork that stays online, clean exchange, and had consistent 2.03-2.04 pop times. In the infield, Stevens showed short arm action, accuracy on throws, average arm strength and hands. Offensively, Stevens has average bat speed from the right side and had a 77 mph exit velocity off the tee. Stevens hits from a wide base, loads back and uses no stride, line drive type hitter with a level swing path.