— First and foremost thank you and much appreciation to all of the scouts in the Midwest Scouts Association for putting on such a good event year in and year out.
Kyler Proctor (Oklahoma HS 2023, SS) (DOB:7/7/2004)
I first saw Proctor at the 2021 Oklahoma State Games event in Stillwater and came away very impressed, so it was nice to get a look at him this year. Proctor has a slight build at present at 5’10/170lbs, and with that comes a very quick twitch athlete who controls his body well on the defensive side and has an advanced hit tool along with more juice in the bat than you’d expect from his frame. Proctor is a plus runner, and turned in a 6.6 sixty at the event.
Proctor does exceptionally well at utilizing his lower half throughout his swing and generates most of his juice from that component of his stroke. His bat path is compact, efficient, and has some natural loft through the zone. Proctor has aggressive intent in his hacks and rarely gets cheated in his passes. He’ll flash average raw to the pull side as well as spray hard contact to other parts of the diamond during BP, and as the frame’s strength continues to develop, the raw juice will as well.
The hands work well on the dirt and Proctor ranges well to both sides of his body and projects to easily have enough arm for the left side of the infield. I’m very high on Proctor, and while he doesn’t have an eye-popping tool, there’s also not a weakness in it. I like his actions on both sides of the ball and if the physique continues to develop, Proctor is an absolute must follow player for the 2023 season.
Avery Ortiz (Oklahoma HS 2023, SS) (DOB: 6/9/2005)
Ortiz has a lean, projectable frame, and his bat is what stuck out most in this event to me, although he did show a plus arm from SS too. He uses a leg kick to generate leverage and he hits into his legs well throughout his swing. There’s significant loft in the path and he shows easy bat speed. In BP Ortiz flashed pull side raw to the pull-side gap, but his swing is geared towards elevating and his frame leaves plenty to project on. Ortiz’s game-action AB’s didn’t stand out as much as his workout swings did, but there were not overly concerning traits of said AB’s either.
Ortiz has a very quick-twitch oriented build and he turned in a 6.5 second sixty at the event. I haven’t seen enough of him in game action at shortstop to have a very confident feel for his abilities there, so that will be the aspect of his game I keep a very close eye on.
Cole Eaton (Nebraska HS 2023, OF) (DOB:7/14/2004)
Eaton didn’t run or throw at the event, but I caught him at a PG event in 2021 where he was mid-90’s on his throws from the outfield. Given that he’s healthy, it’s an easy plus arm. Eaton has some looseness in his swing along with quality bat speed. He hits out of a generic, upright square stance and his path has significant loft in it. There’s some timing issues, but given my brief and limited looks at him, it’s just something I’m going to keep in mind in future looks rather than writing him off now.
Jeremy Comer (Kansas HS 2023, OF) (DOB: 8/4/2004)
Long, lean, and projectable frame. Bat speed didn’t blow me away, but he consistently elevated with authority and flashed above-average juice pull side. I’ve had very few looks at Comer, but his juice during BP was what stood out at the event. For a guy with juice it’s a simple and repeatable stroke, but from this brief look I have some questions as to whether the bat speed and hit tool will hold up against seeing plus velocity on a regular basis. He showed a 40 arm on his throws in the outfield portion. Comer has plenty to like in the offensive profile and is a name I want to follow.
Camden Kozeal (Nebraska HS 2023, INF) (DOB: 11/11/2004)
First live look at Kozeal for me. Very repeatable swing operation that is still capable of generating loud, extra-base contact. Minimal stride and unnecessary movement overall with a fluid hand load and high-slot entry. The swing is under control and compact but not so much that it sacrifices any sting. There’s just very obvious feel for hit here. I have some early questions about other parts of his game, but the hit tool is not one of those. The glove didn’t blow me away and the 7-second sixty isn’t what you want to see, but given it was my first look I’m not going to push him too far down the defensive spectrum until I get another look at least.
Addison Smith (Missouri HS 2023, SS) (4/8/2004)
First look at Smith as well, who is a switch-hitter who showed similar strokes from both sides, but with a lower hand setup on the LH side. Smith has a high-slot entry from both sides and a very adjustable path that obviously contributes to some advanced bat-to-ball skills. He sprayed hard contact enough to all-fields to catch my eye and I look forward to tracking down some of his games in the future.
The underwhelming sixty and very brief glove work I saw from him in the workout make me think he’s hot corner or keystone position bound. Either way, he’s a follow for sure.
