Prep Baseball Report

CLASS OF 2018

OF

Levi
Usher

Louisville
Cedar Rapids Prairie (HS) • IA
6' 1" • 195LBS
L/R • 23yr 9mo
Travel Team: PG Select

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2018 National

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2018 State

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2022 DRAFT Royals ROUND 10 PICK
2019 DRAFT Angels ROUND 37 PICK

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5/15/22

A fourth Cardinal could also be considered for the top 10 rounds based on his athleticism, tools and his status as a fourth-year junior, making it more likely to sign for below slot value. Center fielder Levi Usher was tremendous on defense, robbing the Hokies of several extra base hits throughout the weekend. His toolset has been well-documented over his college career with 70-grade speed, plus arm strength and plus raw power to his pull side. His top EVs this weekend included a 104.5 mph line drive double, 103.6 (F8), 102.6 (GO) and 99 (F8). However, in my several looks over the past four years which includes one year at Kirkwood JC (Iowa), Usher has also struggled finding a consistent swing path, as well as identifying and producing against off speed pitches. His career strikeout rate at Louisville hovers around 27%. Regardless, there are not too many 6-foot, 205-pound top of the scale athletes with his type of tools in any draft and late in Day Two is his likely landing spot.

3/13/22

Coming off the abbreviated 2020 campaign where he was slashing .411/.484/.571 when play halted, lofty expectations were placed on the talented, but raw Usher heading into 2021. He struggled to get it going with the bat, however, posting a .664 OPS with nearly twice as many strikeouts (47) as walks (26). He more closely resembled the 2020 version in my look against Michigan this past weekend, going 7-for-12 with two doubles, a triple, a homerun, six RBI and five stolen bases. Brimming with athleticism, Usher's best tool is his plus-plus speed, evidenced by a 3.76 home-to-first time a jailbreak bunt, and he was 4.02 down the line on a fielder's choice, both of which in frigid temperatures. The wheels play on the bases and in the grass, where he shows enough closing speed to run down balls in either gap. He took away extra bases with a leaping catch against the wall in the series opener, and showed a plus arm in I/O. The bat has been the question mark with Usher, but he provided some encouraging answers last weekend. While there was some swing and miss on breaking balls down and in, he squared up lefties this weekend, pulling a changeup into the gap for a triple and going inside out on another changeup for an RBI single. A left handed hitter, he did most of his damage on outer half fastballs that he drove the other way, including a line drive home run off a 93 mph Willie Weiss fastball. A streaky hitter, he was struggling once again to open the year prior to breaking out last week. If he can find a semblance of consistency at the plate, that'll go a long way towards boosting his draft stock this summer. (Granger)

3/15/21

A plus athlete with a plus-plus run tool, the 6-foot-1, 190 pound left handed hitter has already swiped 15 bases in 15 attempts this spring. Defensively, he profiles to center field where he’s a plus defender and uses his speed for gap-to-gap coverage of the outfield grass. In the past he has shown a better than average to plus arm, but he did not in this series. Most of his throws were in the average to slightly above category. Where it matters the most, in the batter’s box, Usher appeared to be making progress with his swing path last spring upon my look at Wake Forest. However, on this recent look, he failed to make adjustments, consistently hitting around the baseball as he did his freshman season in junior college. His lofty preseason ranking was influenced by an improvement in his bat path that I witnessed at Wake just before the covid shutdown last spring. During that series, Usher stayed much more connected and used all fields with some authority. On this recent look he did show above average raw power to his pull side during batting practice, but he failed to drive anything the other way. The game results were a 1-for-8, three strikeout series with his only hit a bunt single. At the end of the day, Usher is athletic enough to again find his stroke, but maintaining the improvements he once showed is looking to be a challenge.

8/15/20

After playing just a single season at Kirkwood CC, IA in 2018, Usher impacted the D1 level as a sophomore last spring, beginning his Louisville career by leading the Cardinals in batting average at .411 while slugging .571 and stealing 11 bases in 12 attempts. Strong and quick twitch, Usher has very good tools across the board. He runs easy with plus-plus speed and shows an above-average-to-plus arm from right field where he’s an above average defender with plus range. At the plate he shows very good hand/eye and plus raw power to his pull side, and he’s working hard to correct what was once solely a hooking swing. During most of his at-bats on our looks last spring, he had an opposite-field approach, trying to stay inside the ball, but did revert back to his tendency to hit around the ball during a couple of late at-bats in the series. He also seemed to struggle with left-handers during the Wake Forest series, but further experience at the D1 level should cure what ails him in that department. Usher has all the tools to become a first-round pick, but with limited time at the four-year level,he must perform once again this spring to pass the analytics test most teams now embrace.

3/10/20:Strong and quick twitch, Usher has very good tools across the board. He runs easy with plus-plus speed and shows an above-average-to-plus arm from right field where he’s an above average defender with plus range. At the plate he shows very good hand/eye and plus raw power to his pull side, and he’s working hard to correct what was once solely a hooking swing. During most of his at-bats on this look, he had an opposite field approach, trying to stay inside the ball, but did revert back to his tendency to hit around the ball during a couple late at-bats in the series. He also seemed to struggle with left-handers on this look, but experience at the D1 level should cure what ails him in that department. Usher currently leads the Cardinals with a .417 batting average, while also stealing eight bases in nine attempts. He is a high round prospect for 2021. (Seifert)

10/2/18:Top level tools across the board. Appears fully recovered from broken leg suffered during senior football season. Proven plus runner. Did not give opportunity to get a true time down the line on this look, but is moving well. Plus arm that may have a chance to become plus-plus with continued development; registered 102 mph outfield velo at scout day. Shows present strength and impressive raw power in box. Will need to continue refining swing to tap into that power more often in game action. Uses a short hand load and doesn’t create much separation. Barrel can enter/exit zone quickly with swing becoming hooky. High level draft follow. (Banfield)

8/01/16

6-foot-1, 175-pound left-handed hitting outfielder. Most athletic outfielder in event. Lean fast twitch build. 6.7 runner. Open stance, controlled leg kick trigger to square, strides inline, clean bat path, line drive approach, works mid/pull side of field, above avg. pop in bat, 86 mph exit velocity. Light on his feet, easy athletic actions in field, above avg. arm speed, good carry and accuracy to target. 87 mph arm strength.

8/04/15

6-foot, 165-pound left-handed hitting outfielder. Athletic build. 6.85 runner. Open stance. Strides across. Good hands in swing. Ability to drive ball to oppo gap. Some lift in swing. Will improve more with better use of lower half in swing. 82 mph exit velocity. Solid actions in outfield. 2 hand fielder effects momentum and balance on throws. Very good arm. Above avg. carry with plus accuracy to target. Clean arm action producing 88 mph throws. High Follow in 2018 class.

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