Tuesday, December 27^th, was dedicated entirely to the preliminary round of the Home Run Derby as 91 hitters took their cuts at Chase Field trying to qualify for the championship round Wednesday afternoon.  Only five were invited back and Kyle Carter, an outfielder/pitcher from Columbus High School in Georgia, would end up wearing the crown after a spectacular seven-home run performance in the final.

But the week was about much more than home runs.  There were three games played Wednesday at Chase Field, then full-scale pro workouts on Thursday at Goodyear Ballpark, the spring training home of both the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians.  Scouts and fans were able to see these young men show all aspects of their game.

The pro workout day was split into two sessions on Thursday, a morning with underclassmen and an afternoon involving the high school seniors.

Both sessions began with the 60 yard-dash.  The three fastest times among the underclassmen belonged to juniors: Oregon-bound Dane McFarland (JSerra Catholic HS, CA) ran a 6.90, J.P. Crawford (Lakewood HS, CA), who’s headed to Southern California, ran 6.91, and LSU-commit Charlie Yorks (Barbe HS, LA) finished in 7.03 seconds.

It was, understandably, a slower group than the seniors who also benefitted from an afternoon track without the morning dew the underclassmen had to battle.  Nick Williams (Galveston Ball HS, TX) was far and away the fastest, blazing the 60 yards in 6.62 seconds.  A distant second was Cort Brinson’s (Oak Grove HS, MS) 6.78 run while three others tied at 6.83.

The 60 yard-dash was followed by full defensive workouts for outfielders, infielders, and catchers, before each player took their swings in a pro-style batting practice on the field at Goodyear Ballpark.

The value of playing among some of the world’s best prep players was not lost on any of the young men in attendance, nor was the thrill of doing it on major league facilities.  Perhaps a number of these teenagers will come back to Chase Field or Goodyear Ballpark as major leaguers in years to come and recall the exciting week they enjoyed playing in the Power Showcase back in December of 2011.

We close with a ranking of the Top-10 Prospects from the Power Showcase.  This includes only 2012 draft-eligible players and is purely subjective, based on Power Showcase scout Anup Sinha’s notes.  Much will change from here on out, but this is where Sinha sees these players looking towards the upcoming draft and beyond.  Performance at the Power Showcase is important, but past observations are very much  taken into account.  So even though the #1 prospect was unable to play in the game portion of the event due to a hand injury, he was still ranked because he’s potentially the highest pick among the group in the 2012 Draft.

TOP-10 PROSPECTS AT 2011 POWER SHOWCASE (2012 GRADS ONLY)

1. Nick Williams, OF, Ball HS (TX)  *University of Texas

One of the nation’s top power/speed threats, the lanky 6’2”, 185 lefthanded hitter was unable to display his bat due to the hand injury but still ran the fastest 60 yard-dash (6.62).  Very athletic with all-around potential, scouts just want to see him get better reads in the outfield and throw more accurately.  With some polish, Williams could be 1^st-round pick in June.  Recruited by premium programs as a quarterback in football, but plans to concentrate on baseball at next level.

2. Tanner Rahier, SS, Palm Desert HS (CA)  *University of San Diego

Athletic shortstop with size (6’1”, 190 lbs) and big bat-speed at the plate.  Rahier showed his power by finishing in a tie for second in the HR Derby and then displayed slick defensive skills during the game and workout.  Rahier has a chance to stay at shortstop at the highest level or move and become an above-average fielder just about anywhere else. 

3. Kyle Carter, OF/LHP, Columbus HS (GA)  *University of Georgia

The Home Run Derby champ is an all-around star who can hit, play a very good outfield, and also pitch.  UGA will get a lot of bang for their scholarship bucks.  The 6’0”, 200 lb Carter is lefthanded all the way with an advanced bat that could move him quickly through a farm system.  Lack of physical projection is the only detractor for Carter to go high in the draft.  Former Little League World Series hero still seems to come up big in big games.

4. Clint Coulter, C, Union HS (WA)  *Arizona State University

A physically imposing 6’3”, 230 lbs, Coulter is an advanced hitter with power from the right side.  He also shows solid receiving skills.  Coulter’s arm is a little below-average by MLB standards but he has enough athleticism and quickness in his feet to make up for it in the long haul.  Coulter ranks among the nation’s top backstop prospects for the 2012 Draft.

5. Avery Romero, 3B, Menendez HS (FL)  *University of Florida

Romero’s bat ranks among the best in the nation and he shows a strong arm and very soft hands for the infield.  Lack of projection on his solid 5’10” frame hurts him some in the eyes of pro scouts as does a lack of pure speed.  The bat and the intangibles rate so high that he can still go early in the draft next June.  Romero, like Rahier above, could end up a very good infielder-to-catcher conversion down the road.

6. Chris Chinea, C, Gulliver Prep HS (FL)  *Louisiana State University

Nobody hit the ball better and harder in the games and Chinea also showed the best throwing arm from behind the plate, registering workout pop-times in the 1.85-1.90 second range.  Chinea is an instant impact freshman for Louisiana State and a likely middle-order hitter in the SEC.  His tools will get serious pro attention, though a lack of projection on his thickly built 5’10” frame will concern scouts looking forward.

7. David Graybill, OF/RHP/1B, Brophy Prep HS (AZ)   *Arizona State University

Graybill is all about projection and it goes for both his pitching and his hitting.  Graybill is mostly an 86-88 MPH fastball guy now, but with a loose arm, athletic delivery, and sturdy strong 6’4”, 230 lb frame that will surely fill out.  He shows the makings of a big league curveball.  At the plate, Graybill shows a compact righthanded hitting stroke with big power potential and he’s also an average runner despite his size.  Of all the seniors at the event, he’s the one farthest from his ceiling and that tends to excite scouts.

8. Austin Dean, OF/2B, Klein Collins HS (TX)  *University of Texas

Dean proved to be one of the nation’s most advanced hitting prospects.  A rangy-built 6’1”, 185 lb righthanded hitter, Dean doesn’t have big power but is blessed with a quick swing, loose hands, and the ability to work counts.  He’s shown he can run well and has the athleticism and instincts to become a solid-average big league defender at 2B/3B/OF. 

9. Kayden Porter, RHP/1B, Spanish Fork HS (UT)   *University of North Carolina

Porter didn’t perform particularly well at the event, but the 6’5”, 240 lb powerhouse is a potential early-round pick both as a slugging first baseman and as a pitcher.  Unusually athletic at his size, Porter has a rifle arm on the infield that throws in the low-90s on the mound (though he did not pitch in Phoenix).  Porter needs to polish up his hitting approach and defensive skills to be a high pick in June. 

10. Cristian Munoz, C, International Baseball Academy (PR)   *Bethune-Cookman University

Munoz has lefthanded bat-speed and power to defy his size (5’10”, 185) and running speed to defy his position (catcher).  There’s not much projection on Munoz’s mature frame, but his present-day tools are so impressive that scouts will take a long look at him in the spring.  Munoz can become a competent big league receiver and thrower in due time. 

MA-Justin Bellinger - IMG Award Winner

AL-Jordan Ebert

6th Annual POWER SHOWCASE RESULTS:

PRELIMINARY ROUND:

MB HR – 7

CONSECUTIVE – 2

LD – 447′

TOTAL HR – 7 ]]> http://www.power-showcase.com/archives/5335/feed 0 http://www.power-showcase.com/archives/5360 http://www.power-showcase.com/archives/5360#comments Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:39:27 +0000 powershowcase http://www.power-showcase.com/?p=5360

CA-Tanner Rahier

Hitters each had five outs with wood and 15 with aluminum during the preliminary round on Tuesday with the top five sluggers advancing to Wednesday’s championship.

It all started early Tuesday morning at Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  The power was slow to come on as none of the first 34 hitters would slug enough homers to finish in the Top-5.  But there were still fireworks from the fourth hitter, Rowdy Tellez, a junior first baseman from Elk Grove High School in northern California.  The 6’4”, 230 lb left-handed hitter hit one way out with wood (421 feet), then three laser shots with aluminum including back-to-back blasts.  Tellez’s farthest was measured at 462 feet, sailing high over the right field stands.

The hitter before Tellez, Joseph Duffin (Villa Park HS, CA) hit five homers, all with aluminum.  Three of them came in a row and the farthest went 459 feet.  The powerful 6’1”, 205 lb righthanded hitter (committed to UC-Santa Barbara) held the lead as thirty more hitters took their cuts only for his five jacks to get obliterated by the 11 hit by Corbin Weeks (Evangelical Christian HS, FL), who hit them all with aluminum.  Weeks’s bounty included four in a row and a 457 foot launch.  Standing at 5’10”, 180 lbs, Weeks was hardly a favorite coming into the event but left spectators gasping with his performance.  He’s committed to NAIA Southeastern University.

It took until the 56^th hitter for someone to tie Weeks and that was Tanner Rahier (Palm Desert HS, CA).  The righthanded hitter, committed to the University of San Diego, is better known to scouts as a slick-fielding shortstop but he showed another impressive dimension to his game on Tuesday.  Rahier had a stretch of three consecutive aluminum bat bombs and his longest blast was measured at 466 feet.  Three of his homers crashed the Friday’s Front Row section in the upper deck in left field.

Justin Bellinger (St. Sebastian’s HS, MA), a mere sophomore, hit a 477 foot bomb among his five home runs in the preliminary round.  The 6’6”, 220 lb left-handed hitter is a tower of power, committed early to Vanderbilt, and one who’s early on the draft radar for 2014.

Kyle Carter (Columbus HS, GA) qualified for the Top-5 by hitting seven total homers in the preliminary round.  The University of Georgia-bound two-way player hit one out with wood, then six more with aluminum including a 487-foot bomb to right field that measured as the event’s longest home run.  Carter, Weeks, and Rahier would eventually be joined in the championship round by Auburn-bound Jordan Ebert (Baldwin City HS, AL) and junior Ryan Sullivan (Hopkinton HS, MA).

Sullivan, the only underclassman to make the Top-5, started out like gangbusters by hitting four home runs with wood, the most at the event.  He hit three more with metal to advance.

There were no opposite field homers, understandably, and Chris Chinea (Miami Gulliver Prep HS, FL) was the only one to go long to center.  Chinea’s 433-foot blast went over the “413 ft” sign just to the left of straightaway.  Chinea has committed to Miami.

Though he only hit one homer, sophomore outfielder Gerard Hernandez (Pinnacle HS, AZ) showed perhaps the best left-handed bat-speed at the event.  The 5’9”, 195 lb powerhouse is one to watch, both as a prospect and as a home run derby participant in the coming years.  Hernandez creams his line-drives and just needs a little more lift to put them over the fence.

Wednesday afternoon was all set for the championship round as Tanner Rahier, Corbin Weeks, Ryan Sullivan, Kyle Carter, and Jordan Ebert stepped in one at a time to settle the score.

For the championship round, each player swung metal and was given 15 outs.

Rahier, Weeks, and Sullivan took their cuts first and each of them hit only a single homer.  This set the stage for Kyle Carter’s dramatics, when he proceeded to launch seven homers including three-in-a-row.  They all went to right field, several of which were majestically towering fly balls.

Jordan Ebert was the final hitter after Carter and he hit one homer to finish in a four-way tie for second place in the final round.

Kyle Carter not only won the derby but was also given the Babe Ruth Award for the longest home run (487 feet) as well as the award for Most Home Runs Overall (14) over the two rounds.

The IMG Award for The Top Underclassman went to Ryan Sullivan for his total of 8 homers as a junior.  He also received the Chandler Wood Bat Award for most homers swinging wood (4).  Clint Coulter, an Arizona State-bound senior catcher from Union HS in Washington, was awarded via tiebreaker for Most Consecutive Homers with Wood (2).  Corbin Weeks received the Most Consecutive Home Runs Award (4) with aluminum while Tanner Rahier got the honors (via tiebreaker) for hitting the Most Homers in a Round by slugging 11 in the preliminaries on Tuesday.

Finally, Sophomore Justin Bellinger was given the Colossus of Clout Award as the underclassman with the farthest home run (477 feet).