2008 Under Armour Pre-Season All America | Top Ten Seniors - Scouting Reports
1/27/2008
Staff
Team One Baseball

1. Matthew Ramsey | C/RHP | R/R | 5'11/195 | Farragut HS (TN)
Ramsey was without question the most talented all around player at the event. If you can think of something to use a stopwatch or a radar gun for, he will wow you with his results – he ran 6.73 in the 60-yard dash, threw between 1.78 and 1.90 to second base during workouts, and hit 96 mph twice in his game outing on the mound. To call his defensive actions quick twitch and lively would be an understatement. At the plate, he took aggressive cuts and once again showed a lot of quickness and life in his stroke. On the mound, he attacked the zone with his fastball, which was mostly straight and tended to be up in the zone. When he got the ball down, it had occasional arm side run. He pitched between 88-91 mph, and touched every notch between 92 and 96 at least once in three innings of work. His 71-74 mph breaking ball had tight spin and sharp downward action, with his best ones grading out in the near Major League average range. The combination of a 5-foot-11 frame and a tendency for his shoulders to get a little uphill did not allow him to get much plane on his fastball, and likely robbed him of him of some snap on his breaking ball. Even with all the big measurables and obvious physical ability, there is room for improvement in terms of skills both as a position player and on the mound.

2.Garrison Lassiter | SS/3B | L/R | 6'3/195 | West Forsyth HS (NC)
Of the four middle infielders on this list, Lassiter was the most physically projectable and the only one that hit from the left side. Those items alone certainly do not make a prospect, but in this case there is plenty more in the package. His actions, both with the glove and the bat, were easy and fluid. During the workouts it appeared as if the game came very easy to him. His feet worked pretty well and his exchange was excellent. He never really cut loose any throws, though we suspect has more than the near Major League average arm he showed. At the plate, he maintained excellent balance and repeated his launch very well. His stroke was loose and easy through the zone, and the ball left his bat with great life. He worked the bat head through the hitting zone very well, allowing him to hit backspin line drives from gap to gap. During games, he showed the ability to slow the game down – his overall demeanor did not waver from calm and relaxed. He ran 6.85 in the 60-yard dash, giving reason to believe he can turn the dial up if needed.

3. Niko Vasquez | SS | R/R | 6/175 | Durango HS (NV)
Where Lassiter got the nod on future projection, Vasquez without question showed the most usable present ability among middle infielders (and arguably among any player at the event). Though his 7.24 60-yard dash is short of some expectations, it would be very difficult to find another glaring shortcoming. His actions were smooth in the infield, and his hands were soft. Though he wasn't overly quick or rangy, he kept his feet under him very well and made accurate throws. His throws had good carry across the infield, with his arm showing mostly in the near Major League average range. At the plate, he showed a knack for getting the good part of the barrel to contact. In addition he showed good bat speed and appeared to see the ball well in game at bats. His lower half worked well – he kept his legs under him and rotated well through contact allowing for a full move out front. More than likely he will end up on the other side of the bag, where he certainly seems to fit the mold of an offensive second baseman player at the college level and beyond.

4. Justin Koehler | RHP/3B | R/R | 6'1/180 | Buchach HS (CA)
Koehler continues to impress and improve. Last year he showed excellent low 90's FB velocity, but it was somewhat straight. This year, Koehler showed the same velocity, but he has worked on creating more plane and run and it has worked. His current FB runs hard arm side with sink action. He also features a excellent change up that he threw knee to knee for strikes. His breaking pitch is well above the HS avg, but he can still work to develop that more. Koehler is going to cause hitters fits at the next level.

5. Jaff Decker | OF/LHP | L/L | 5'10/185 | Sunrise Mountain HS (AZ)
Decker returned after his stellar performance a year ago at the UA AA and did not pitch. He did participate in workouts as an OF. His approach at the plate was probably the most advanced at the tournament. He displayed plus power in a balanced, fluid approach at the plate. He is also an excellent OF with a plus arm that carries through the target. He can improve his foot speed some, but his other tools will surely keep him in the middle of the lineup. Don't forget that we saw him in the low 90's last year from the mound, so he should be a potential two-way guy at the collegiate level.

6. Tommy Collier | RHP/1B | R/R | 6'2/195 | Cy-Fair HS (TX)
Collier's futures lies on the mound with a big, strong body. He came out and his first 4 pitches were 91 mph, while he topped at 92 mph for the day. His FB has some arm side run and his 11/5 curve ball showed tight spin and good depth. His CH was solid, but he tends to slow arm occasionally. Tommy was sound with his delivery, body control, and direction. He is also no slouch as a position player where he showed good explosion and pop at the plate with smooth actions and plus arm strength at 1st base. Tommy is a potential two-way player in college and is a pro prospect from the mound. His value should only improve as he continues to fill out his large frame.

7.Andy Burns | SS/3B | R/R | 6'1/185 | Rocky Mountain HS (CO)
Burns showed some present physical strength on his solid frame, giving him an athletic overall look. He ran 6.87 in the 60-yard dash, further evidence of his athleticism. He showed good actions and fielded the ball out front with soft hands during the defensive workout, and showed an average Major League arm as well. At the plate, he maintained good balance from launch through contact – allowing him to generate good bat speed through the hitting zone. The ball got off his wood bat with life, and he showed the ability to get the bat head out front with little trouble. In a brief appearance on the mound, he threw consistent strikes with an 84-86 mph fastball.

8. Tommy Richards | 2B/SS | R/R | 5'11/178 | Bend HS (OR)
Richards is an exciting young scrappy MIF that has a very bright future. Defensively he is fun to watch and he always seems to be positively involved with plays. He plays defense at near a major league avg and his arm is easy and fluid with plenty of strength for the left side of the INF. At the plate Tommy had several good at bats and was consistently squaring the ball up. He showed an advanced hitting approach as well with plus bat speed, balance, & barrel accuracy. Richards biggest deficiency is foot speed although he moves very well laterally in the INF. He has gotten consistently better since we first saw him in Summer 2007.

9. Nathan Fawbush | RHP | S/R | 6'6/185 | Union Grove HS (GA)
Fawbush has a long, lean frame without the appearance of much present strength. His delivery had good rhythm, and he maintained his balance fairly well. His arm worked easy both out of the glove and out front. Only a slightly inconsistent move with his glove side elbow and shoulder caused him some trouble with his direction. In addition to an average Major League curveball (77-80 mph) with downward action, he threw what appeared to be a near average slider up to 81 mph. His fastball topped at 89 mph and sat mostly around 86-87 mph from his high three quarters arm angle. The present quality of his breaking pitches indicates quickness and looseness in his wrist and arm, both of which should eventually help add to the future velocity of his fastball as he gains physical strength. To our knowledge, as of his appearance at this event he had yet to make a college decision.

10. Ryan Curl | OF/RHP | R/R | 6'2/190 | St. Francis DeSales HS (OH)
Ryan has three outstanding tools – foot speed, arm strength, & raw power. He has a body comparable to Mike Cameron with long limbs and large hands. Curl's ceiling is about as high as a ceiling can be. At the plate he showed leverage, bat speed, and pop with well above HS avg. raw power. He will need to improve overall approach at the plate to have success at the next level. As an OF, he showed quickness and an impressive arm that had life and carry. He threw a runner out at 3rd with a perfect one-hop throw. He also pitched and topped at 87 mph. He showed the ability to produce ground balls from heavy arm side sink. Ryan has a huge upside, but will need to polish up his defensive and offensive approaches.