Prep Baseball Report

Scout Blog - Kennedy Catholic at Lakeside


Dan Jurik
Scouting Director - Pacific Northwest

Seattle, WA - The strength of the 2019 graduating class in Washington has been well documented. It’s a banner year for the Evergreen state, which features 9 players in our latest top 500 national rankings. Throughout the course of all the national events and scouting opportunities Prep Baseball Report has been at to evaluate players, one name has always been at the top of the rankings for Washington.

Corbin Carroll.

Currently rated as the top HS player in Washington and #3 overall in the country, Carroll possess a dynamic combination of physical tools to go along with his baseball skill and acumen. After a strong showing on the national circuit in 2018, the UCLA commit has played his way into 1st round consideration for the MLB Draft in June. Scouts will be out in full force to get a look at the speedy outfielder this spring.

With the HS season beginning on Monday, we finally had our first chance to see Corbin take the field with his HS teammates at Lakeside as they battled visiting Kennedy Catholic.

‘19 Corbin Carroll, OF, L/L, UCLA
5-foot-10, 165 pounds with a toned, athletic build and strength throughout his frame. Above average runner, especially underway. Showed smooth, easy strides in the OF during pre-game. Combines quality reads with first step quickness. Clean footwork when getting around and working thru the ball. Fluid exchange funneling into throwing motion. Clean, loose arm action from high ¾ slot. Throws show consistent carry with true ball flight. Projects to have at least average big-league arm strength. Sets up in a narrow, upright stance at the plate. Slightly open to the pitcher. Subtle back wiggle to establish some rhythm before initiating low leg kick. Keeps front shoulder in with hands back as he gets into his landing. Head stays quiet throughout. Barrel gets into the zone deep and gives him a chance to produce hard contact to all fields. Uses lower half and hips to generate above average bat speed with minimal effort. Hits against a firm front side with full hip rotation after contact. Also shows consistent extension from his top hand. Put 3 balls in play on this look. All had backspin, showing he does an exceptional job of keeping his barrel behind the ball. Hits with a quality approach and has the ability to recognize spin. High baseball IQ. Perhaps the most telling play of the entire game was watching him hustle to back-up RF on a routine ground ball. The ball ended up getting past the RF'er, Carroll quickly tracked it down and fired it back in to stop the runners from advancing further. Although it wasn’t a highly productive day on offense for him, Corbin Carroll continued to prove why he belongs towards the top of the list of the best amateur baseball players in the country.


One of the best things about local players garnering national attention from the scouting community is that it brings out everyone else’s best effort during the game. Here are a few other names who stood out during game action.


Lakeside

‘20 Julian Sanders, 3B/RHP, R/R Uncommitted
Started the game at 3B and then came into the game to relieve Lakeside's starter. 5-foot-11, 190 pounds with an athletic frame and some present strength. Wide, sloped shape to upper body that projects well. Average actions on 3B defensively. Quiet game at the plate on this look but shows a quality approach with a balanced, level swing. Came on in relief and starting filling up the zone with FB’s between 82-84. Peaked at 85. Also mixed in a quality, 11/5 CB at 68-71. Very simple, repeatable throwing actions. Clean arm action coming out of high ¾ slot. Intriguing arm to keep an eye on moving forward.


‘21 Jack Potter, INF, R/R Uncommitted
Lean, projectable build at 5-10, 150 pounds. Currently starting at SS for Lakeside and will be a player to follow moving forward, especially as he gets stronger. Balanced, controlled defensive actions with compact throwing motion. Maintains tempo and balance while fielding. The bat needs to develop but the actions are there from the right-side. Level swing, capable of producing gap-to-gap power down the road. Hard-nosed type player.

Kennedy Catholic

Strong, developed frame at 5-9, 175 pounds. Noticeable strength in lower half. Proportionally built between upper and lower body. Light on his feet defensively. Maintains wide, balanced stance while funneling ball in. Low ¾ slot with whippy arm action across the diamond. Very active on defense in-game. Aggressive LH swing at the plate. Barrel stays on plane thru the zone. Showed the ability to backspin a ball to his pull-side gap. Uses hips well and stays within his legs thru contact. Looks to do damage early when he gets strikes he can handle. Committed to Everett CC. 

‘19 Garrett Kollar, INF, R/R, Tacoma CC
Athletically built with a strong frame at 6-foot, 165 pounds. Plays the game with an aggressive, confident approach both on defense and at the plate. Shows long, easy strides in the OF. Moves well as he covers ground. High ¾ release point that plays in the OF. At the plate, flashed quality bat speed with easy effort. Hands stay tight to the body and keep barrel inside of the ball. Level finish after contact. Gets to top speed out of the box quickly. Maintained a high level of energy throughout the game. Committed to Tacoma CC. 

‘21 Michael Snyder, C, R/R Uncommitted
Strong, sturdy frame at 5-foot-10, 190. Maintains a compact and low set-up behind the dish. Showed quickness getting out of crouch and transitioning into throws. Short, compact arm action. Ball flight stays true out of hand. Overall actions play well at C and should continue to improve. At the plate, hits from a balanced, relaxed stance. Barrel works short and quick to the zone while keeping hands inside of the ball. Drove a ball to back-side gap for a 2B in-game. More power to come as he gets stronger. Overall, solid looking backstop whose bat should develop nicely.