Pre Season ID Showcase Players Hitting Their Stride
Thu January 30, 2020
Matt Miller
State Director
Our annual Preseason Invite Only Showcase took place this past weekend at Smith Wills Stadium in Jackson. The event featured over 100 of Mississippi’s top up and coming prospects.
Here’s a look at some of the top statistical performers in a few different categories….
Seven players turned in sub-7.0 60 times! Ashton Johnson (Clinton, 2022) led the group at 6.68 followed by Blake Pierce (Central Hinds Academy, 2021) at 6.74, Logan Forsythe (D’Iberville, 2022) 6.89, Jake Reeves (Parklane, 2022) 6.90, Hayes Puckett (Madison Ridgeland Academy, 2021) 6.94, Adam May (Magee, 2021) 6.95, and Adam Francisco (St. Aloysius, 2022) 6.99.
There were some exciting arms featured this weekend with 13 pitchers reaching 84 mph. Logan Forsythe (D’Iberville, 2022), a Mississippi State commit, recorded the days top velocity at 89 mph. Cole Smith (Florence, 2021) was right behind him at 88 mph, followed by Jackson McCoy (Booneville, 2021) and Manning Miller (Brookhaven, 2022) at 85 mph. Adam May (Magee, 2021), Hayden Nored (Sumrall, 2021), Blake Loper (Lafayette, 2021), Blake Gollott (D’Iberville, 2022), Jackson Cheek (Nettleton, 2022), Turner Leathers (Tupelo, 2022), Justin Robinson (Pearl River Central, 2022), Austin Tommasini (Madison Central, 2022), Cooper Cooksey (Bay, 2021) and Patrick Spencer (Washington, 2023) all peaked at 84 mph.
Plenty of prospects were on display behind the dish as well with Hayes Puckett (Madison Ridgeland Academy, 2021) turning in a showcase best 1.92 pop time. Ross Highfill (Madison Central, 2022) followed with a 1.93. Four other catchers recorded 2.05 or better times including Manning Huffman (Oak Hill Academu, 2021) 2.01, Elisha Merkle (D’Iberville, 2022) 2.01, Karson Evans (Taylorsville, 2022) 2.02, and Tristan Wilbanks (St. Aloysius, 2022) at 2.05.
Lots of pop showed up as a total of 11 players reached 90 mph in exit velocity led by sophomore Jackson Cheek’s (Nettleton) 95 mph! Landon Hayes (Magee, 2020), Karson Evans (Taylorsville, 2022) and Ross Highfill (Madison Central, 2022) recorded velocities of 93 mph. Stanford commit Braden Montgomery (Madison Central, 2021) was 90 mph from the right side and 92 mph from the left. Mississippi State commit Jackson Parker (Stringer, 2022) also touched 92 mph. Blake Pierce (Central Hinds Academy, 2021), Cole Smith (Florence, 2021), Ryan Davis (Homeschool, 2021), Logan Forsythe (D’Iberville, 2022) and Powell Ingram (Northwest Rankin, 2023) all added velocities of 90 mph.
On defense, a total of 8 infielders topped the 82 mph mark led by Brayden Montgomery’s (Madison Central) 86 mph. Mississippi State commit Jackson Conn (Jackson Academy, 2021) and Ross Highfill (Madison Central, 2022) both were at 84 mph. Manning Miller (Brookhaven, 2022) and Adam May (Magee, 2021) recorded velocities of 83 mph, and Cole Smith (Florence, 2021), Ryan Davis (Homeschool, 2021), and Logan Forsythe (D'Iberville, 2022) were all at 82 mph.
Brayden Montgomery (Madison Central, 2021) also led all outfield arms throwing lasers at 92 mph. Jackson Cheek (Nettleton, 2022) came in in at 87 mph. Justin Robinson (Pearl River Central, 2022) was up to 84 mph, and Austin Robinson (Florence, 2021), Blake Gollott (D’Iberville, 2022), and Caleb Dyess (Pearl River Central, 2023) all topped 80 mph.
Videos and evaluations on all players from this event will be posted soon and keep an eye out for information on our next scheduled event.
Looking forward to a great spring and be on the lookout for Prep Baseball Report - Mississippi at your game soon!
Scouting Report
Braden Montgomery: OF/RHP, (2021) Madison Central, MS. 6-foot-3, 196-pound athletic frame. At the plate, the switch hitter showed his power ability with an exit velocity of 92 mph on both sides. Very similar from both sides of the plate, beginning in a balanced athletic stance with a smooth load, then used a small leg kick to start his swing. Bat speed was above average, and he had good extension on his finish. He found lots of barrels with loud contact. Gap to gap approach. In the outfield, he showed a plus arm and had life on his throws with a position velocity of 92 mph. Above average in the infield, had a live arm with throws that topped out at 86 mph; clean exchange. Had an-over-the-top slot with a loose arm action. Recorded a time of 7.18 in the 60-yard dash. Can take over a game on multiple levels!
Madison Central, 2021, 6’2” 189lb, OF/RHP At the plate Montgomery showed a similar swing from both sides. Using a very subtle and short stride with controlled aggression into contact, he displayed a 90 mph exit velocity from each side. From the outfield he displayed an above average arm with velocity reaching 92 mph.While on the mound he showed lots of maturity with a very synced up and repeatable delivery with a fastball reaching 91 mph. Showed good feel and movement with a plus slider that stayed in the 77-79 mph range.
Braden Montgomery: Germantown High School, Class of 2021; 6-foot-2, 189-pound projectable frame; OF/RHP. At the plate, the switch hitter clocked an exit velocity of 87 mph. In the infield, his best throw was registered at 79 mph. He made strong, efficient throws to second at velocities up to 75 mph. While catching, he had pop times of 2.10-2.10;