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Tournaments  | Story | 9/29/2018

Kernels Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Patrick Ebert
Kevin Schuver
Taylor Weber
Photo: Will Frisch (Perfect Game)

2018 WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship Daily Leaders

Kicking things off at Veterans Memorial Stadium at Perfect Game Field on Friday afternoon, Adam Schneider (2019, Altoona, Iowa) of Iowa Select Black 2019 displayed good feel and control for the barrel at the plate with a smooth, line drive plane. The 2019 grad created good plate coverage with the ability to work to all fields with ease. The Minnesota State commit proved to be a difficult out at the plate, collecting two hits in two at-bats including a walk. The No. 3 2019 shortstop in the state of Iowa projects to fit nicely as a high contact, top-of-the-order hitter for Minnesota State.

Tate Kuehner (2019, Marshalltown, Iowa) got the start for Iowa Select Black 2019 in game one showing a smooth, repeatable delivery. The uncommitted lefthander released from a clean three-quarters arm slot generating good downhill tilt with run to his arm side in the low=80s. Kuehner displayed very good feel for the zone and easily worked to each edge of the plate with his fastball. The uncommitted prospect also effectively mixed in his 2-to-7 breaking ball and showed the ability to land for strikes to the bottom of the zone in both positive and negative counts. Kuehner, who was the Most Valuable Pitcher for Iowa Select Black in the 2017 Midwest Underclass Qualifier, worked four innings, allowing only two hits and striking out three batters.

Rian Yates (2019, Oskaloosa, Iowa) closed things out for Iowa Select Black 2019 in game one. The 6-foot 4, 170-pound righthander worked in the mid-80s with his fastball producing steep downhill tilt through the zone. The uncommitted prospect looked to challenge in the zone with his fastball and also showed the ability to pitch backwards utilizing a 10-to-5 curveball that generated tight spin out of his hand with late, hard depth to the bottom of the zone.

Iowa Select Black 2020 gave the starting nod to Tyler Tscherter (2020, Reinbeck, Iowa) in a nightcap matchup against Game 7 Legacy. Tscherter shows an athletic 6-foot-1 frame on the mound and projects to add more strength while maintaining athleticism. The 2020 grad displayed good arm speed through extension with his fastball offering, creating late run to his arm side in the mid- to upper-80s, topping out at 87 mph. He looked to get ahead of hitters early with his fastball and turned to slider as a put-away pitch. Tscherter’s slider produced tight spinning action out of his hand with late, hard tilt to the glove side in the upper-70s. The uncommitted prospect effectively stayed off barrels throughout his two innings of work, striking out three batters and allowing no hits.

At the plate, the Iowa native also picked up two hits in three at-bats during the game showing a balanced, smooth swing plane with all fields contact. Tscherter’s continues to show very athletic actions all over the field and projects as an interesting two-way prospect to follow closely.

Andrue Henry (2020, Dubuque, Iowa) hammered a three-run home run to cap a four-run fifth inning for Iowa Select Black 2020. The top-ranked 2020 first baseman in the state of Iowa shows very projectable raw power with a naturally lifted swing plane. Not only does the 2020 prospect show good power, but he also displays the barrel control to shorten his swing and work to all fields.

Pierce Jones (2019, Chicago, Ill.) of Chicago White Sox ACE 2019 displayed impressive barrel skills at the plate. Jones utilized a naturally leveraged swing plane and showed plus bat speed through extension. The baseball explodes off the Chicago native’s barrel, producing very good carry to all fields when squared. The Northern Illinois commit put on a show during batting practice at the 2018 Great Lakes Prospect Showcase and proved that the raw power and natural barrel skills can transition into live game situations. The No. 4-ranked 2019 outfielder in the state of Illinois picked up an RBI double that short-hopped the fence in deep left field.

Damon “DJ” Gladney (2019, Richton Park, Ill.) displayed a very balanced approach at the plate. The 2019 grad shows very good plate coverage with the barrel control to work to all fields with ease. Currently ranked as the 152nd prospect nationally in the class of 2019, Gladney produces consistent hard contact to all parts of the hitting zone. The Eastern Kentucky commit has the barrel control and raw power to be an impact bat at the top of the lineup at the next level. Gladney pickup up two hits, driving in three runs while scoring another two of his own.

Chicago White Sox ACE 2019 sent 6-foot-3 righthander Brandon Laux (2019, Frankfort, Ill.) to the mound to open up their first-round game. The uncommitted prospect turned in a gem working 6 1/3 innings, allowing only two hits and striking out seven batters. Laux consistently worked to the bottom of the zone showing very good feel to each side of the plate with a fastball that sat in the low-80s. The Illinois native hides the baseball very well at take back that generated very good jump out of his hand on hitters. Laux looked to work quickly and get ahead of hitters before turning to a 10-to-5 breaking ball and fading changeup. The changeup appeared to be his best off-speed offering generating late sink to the bottom of the hitting zone. The uncommitted prospect showed plenty of room his in frame to add strength and projects for a continued rise in velocity.

Will Frisch (2019, Stillwater, Minn.) was dominant on the mound for the Minnesota Blizzard Blue 2019. Frisch, an Oregon State commit, showed a very heavy fastball that generated steep downhill plane and hard running action up to 92 mph. The 6-foot-1 righthander consistently pounded each edge of the plate, easily getting ahead of hitters. Frisch flashed a 9-to-4 slider offering that created some late, tight life to his glove side, but utilized the changeup as his primary off-speed offering. Frisch matches his arm speed very well with his changeup creating late, hard sink to the bottom of the zone. The Minnesota native projects to be a workhorse on the mound with the ability to maintain velocity deep into outings. The 110th-ranked prospect nationally only needed 44 pitches to complete four scoreless innings while striking out nine batters.

University of North Carolina commit Ryan Sleeper (2019, Lakeville, Minn.) closed out the last three innings on Saturday morning at Central City High School for Minnesota Blizzard Blue 2019. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound lefthander utilized a full overhead windup and released from a three-quarters slot. His fastball jumped out of the lefty’s hand very well generating steep, heavy plane through the zone in the mid- to upper-80s. Sleeper creates very good extension out front with his delivery that produced extra jump through the zone on hitters. He matched his arm speed and arm slot very well with a curveball offering that created sharp 2-to-8 shape to his glove side. The top-ranked 2019 lefthanded pitcher from the state of Minnesota shows a very projectable frame that should support additional strength with ease.

– Kevin Schuver





2018 PG All-American Nathan Stevens (2019, Waunakee, Wis.) is known for two very good tools: his arm strength behind the plate and his power potential. He didn’t get the opportunity to show his arm off in-game action, but did record POP times in the 1.85 to 1.95 second range in between innings. Playing for the Reds Midwest Scout Team in their first game of the tournament Saturday morning, Stevens had a walk and a pair of base hits in a winning effort over DuPage Training Academy. The first was a hard hit single hit to the opposite field in left-center, the second was a two-run single hit through the hole on the right side of the infield. He did a nice job staying with both pitches to drive them where they were pitched while squaring them up. Stevens is committed to play for Arkansas.

Reds’ leadoff hitter Brody Harding (2019, Moline, Ill.) scored three of the team’s 12 runs spanning a pair of games on Saturday, doing an excellent job working the count and exhibiting a very selective approach. And that came after he led off the first game with a triple, looking middle-away to drive the ball oppo to the gap in left-center field before turning on the jets. Harding is a fun player to watch as his first-step quickness and instincts serve him well both offensively and defensively. While he’s not overly physical or toolsy he’s the type that could make an immediate impact at the college level, should he make it to Illinois, where he’s committed.

The No. 2 hitter for the Reds is another Big Ten commit, Clark Elliott (2019, Barrington, Ill.), who has pledged to play for Michigan. Elliott played the outfield for the Reds in both of their games on Saturday and has a lean, wiry-strong frame at a listed 6-foot, 165-pounds that has plenty of room for added strength moving forward. A lefthanded hitter, he has a quick swing and obvious quick-twitch athleticism to his actions. In one at-bat he did a great job keeping his hands in and serving an inside fastball to the pull-side gap in right-center for a bases-clearing triple. He finished the day with a pair of base hits, a pair of walks and five driven in.




A member of the inaugural 14u PG Select Baseball Festival in 2016, Benjamin Wiegman (2020, Antioch, Ill.) continues to establish himself as one of the top prospects in his class. He looks like a power pitcher with a balanced 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame that produces easy upper-80s heat thanks to an equally balanced delivery. He hides the ball well before it’s released from his hand, seemingly coming out of his ear, a pitch he does well to command to the outer halves of the plate. Wiegman uses his size well to generate downhill angle and the opposing batters really had difficulty catching up with his 85-89 mph fastball. His big overhand mid-70s curveball gave him a second established offering that he did a really nice job to get batters to swing right over the top of.

Wiegman’s brother, Andrew Wiegman (2019, Antioch, Ill.) is a similarly built prospect, although he’s a primary infielder who continues to add strength to his frame, which is listed exactly the same as his younger brother’s. The elder Wiegman shows impressive lightness to his feet on the infield, playing second and third base for the Reds and has a pair of base hits in their early morning game, the more impressive of which was a run-scoring double he ripped over the left fielder’s head. Both Wiegmans have committed to play for Louisville.




Prior to matching up with the Reds, the South Bend Cubs got four strong innings of relief from Jose Mendoza Nieves (2020, Elkhart, Ind.) to help carry them to the next round of the single elimination event before losing to the Reds in Iowa City. Mendoza has obvious arm strength, pumping 85-87 mph fastballs in the zone that the opposing team had no chance catching up with. While his breaking ball, a slider, needs work in both its break and command, he does show feel for it and can at times throw it for strikes, or at the very least around the zone. For now he can dominate with his heater, and given his tightly wound and athletic 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame, there’s plenty of reason to believe he’s nowhere close to reaching his potential. He is currently uncommitted.

In one of the better matchups of the day, the Twins Cities Baseball Academy suffered a tough-luck loss to Iowa Sticks Scout early Saturday afternoon. The game moved onto extra innings in a scoreless tie as Mac Horvath (2020, Rochester, Minn.) and Sam Young (2019, Urbandale, Iowa) each went at least seven frames, striking out nine and eight batters, respectively.




Horvath went seven innings before giving way to the bullpen in extra innings, once again showing why he is one of the highest ranked players nationally in his class. With a lean and athletic 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame, Horvath resembles a young Zack Greinke in terms of stature, which may be an appropriate overall comparison given the two-way talents of both players at the same stage of their careers. While Horvath currently stands out more as a potential five-tool shortstop, he generates easy upper-80s heat, touching the low-90s, while still sitting at 86-88 mph in the seventh inning. His 71-73 mph curveball gives him a second secondary offering, and in this contest he did a really nice job getting outs early in the county by throwing strikes with a quickly-paced tempo.

The game was ultimately won by Iowa Sticks when Nathan Steenblock (2019, Des Moines, Iowa) hit a ball to deep left field that kept slicing away from TCBA’s left fielder, plating the game-tying and winning runs in walk-off fashion.

– Patrick Ebert


It was a pitcher heavy beginning of the game in the first matchup of the Kernels Foundation Championship between ABA Majestic Town and the MN Icemen 18u. The first hit didn’t come until the fourth inning for either team but it was a loud one. Jaidan Quinn (2020 Gardner, Kan.) of ABA got things going with a double into the right-center field gap. He would collect another single later in the game on a ground ball through the right side. Quinn is very physical in the box and he’s able to use his strength well. Standing at 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, Quinn has the makings of a power bat in the order. He hits best when working towards the pull side of the field as his quick hands allow him to turn on pitches well.

Though they would eventually suffer a tough loss in extra innings, MN Icemen would draw first blood with a hard RBI double from Drew Grandahl (2019 Duluth, Minn.). Grandahl utilizes a simple approach with a flat path that allows him to easily stay on the ball through the hitting zone. He shows a mix of contact and power skills with line drive contact throughout the game. His ability to move well on the bases also plays a key role to his skill-set.

After getting settled in through the first inning, the pitchers for both Cangelosi Sparks 2021 Black and MN Blizzard Blue 2019 were untouchable for most of the game. Heading into the second inning Cangelosi nabbed a 2-1 lead. That lead wouldn’t change again until the final half inning of the game.

On the mound for Cangelosi was lefthanded hurler Ryan Kraft (2021 New Lenox, Ill.). Standing at 6-foot-3, 180-pounds, Kraft is very projectable on the mound with a clean arm action into a solid release of the baseball. He’s able to stay long and loose through extension creating sharp angle to the plate on the fastball that was sitting in the low-80s and topping out at 82 mph. Kraft was able to use a sharp 12-to-6 curveball on his way to collecting six strikeouts over his four innings of work.

Working against Kraft on the mound was Trent Schoeberl (2019 White Bear Lake, Minn.). The 6-foot-5, 175-pound righthander is just as projectable and was just as untouchable after the first inning. The Minnesota commit also went four innings collecting nine strikeouts. Shoeberl’s fastball was explosive out of the hand and showed hard life through the zone. His curveball shows sharp downward action and went with a changeup on occasion with sink. He was able to keep hitters off balance and mixed pitches well enough to generate a ton of swing-and-miss in his outing.

Doing the heroic duties for MN Blizzard by driving in the tying and go-ahead run in the bottom of the seventh was No. 6 hitter Jakob Kouneski (2019 Minneapolis, Minn.). Kouneski had two hits in the game but none bigger than his two-run double into the right-center field gap. He has present strength throughout the frame standing at 6-foot-1, 200-pounds. He utilizes a line drive path through the zone and barrels up the ball more times than not.

One of several pitching duels on the second day of the event occurred between Thundercat Baseball Black and Chicago Scouts Association. On the mound for the Thundercat team was lefty Adrian Montilva (2019, Madison, Wis.). Montilva showed the ability to get stronger as he went along adding more and more feel to his pitches. He was able to maintain velocity well on the fastball sitting 80-84 mph throughout the day. He releases from a longer three-quarters slot and gets hard downward action on the curveball. The lefty’s one weakness was the slow start where he walked several batters through the first few innings. His pitches can be tough to square up so if he can figure out a way to start out with better command he should be a solid option from the left side.

On the mound for Chicago Scouts Association was Micah Gouwens (2020 Lansing, Ill.). The 6-foot-1, 160-pound righty has a long and clean delivery that he’s able to repeat with ease. The ball comes out of a three-quarters release well with some plane to the plate. He’s able to add and subtract well with the pitch and is even able to creep up on the velocity as the game continues. He mixes in a sharp 11-to-5 curveball that worked as his put-away pitch as hitters weren’t able to pick it up all game.

Caleb Heuertz (2020 San Angelo, Texas) tossed four innings of shutout ball for the Minnesota Blizzard Elite Black on their way to a 3-1 victory. Heuertz is a 5-foot-11, 175-pound righthander who can run his fastball up to 85 mph with late life over the plate. He relies heavily on a sharp 11-to-5 curveball that helped him on his way to four strikeouts while allowing just one hit.

– Taylor Weber
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