footmaster

Nice job, Ramey...

Big win for Panthers! Nice job.

Nice win for Bellevue...

Yep, this weather sucks! I know several teams that haven't even played 5 games yet....

The weather has kept the talking to a minimum IMO. Most teams haven't played very many games... And the games they have played have been played in poor conditions. So, it's hard to talk about how teams look until the weather allows them to get in a rhythm... Even practicing outside has been hard to come by.

Yeah, I didn't see this one, but heard from a few people that Ludlow made several mental and physical errors in this one. Early in the year, so hopefully they'll tighten things up and have another good season.

Did Bellevue get their injured players back yet?

I believe Ludlow goes up against Conner this week... I'm interested to see how the Panthers compete with one of the area's better teams. I know it's still really early in the season, but it's still a great measuring stick game for Ludlow and Coach Gray.

That's a good match up... I would like to see them play in good weather later in the year.

Well, Dixie lost a lot....but they always reload with solid talent... St. Henry has the new coach in place, so they'll be interesting to watch. No idea how Lloyd stacks up this season, so someone feel free to chime in. Villa isn't playing Varsity this season... So yeah, if Ludlow stays healthy and sticks to good fundamental baseball...they should be right there all season.

Good start for the Panthers... I think I heard they beat Holmes 18-3 in their first win. Some good players at that small school for sure.

Ethan Doty has a bright future...

This weather stinks!

Nice win for the new coach...

Yeah, that was slick...

I can totally buy into what you said here... But if the author's opinion doesn't include a kid like Ziegelmeyer, then he needs to get out to more baseball games and/or do more research. Again, no argument from me on any of the kids he mentioned, but there were some glaring omissions. That being said, I'm just glad that baseball season is upon us and people are writing about it.

Agree with all these names... I was a bit baffled that the article didn't include all of the schools in NKY. I understand you can't list every good player at every school... But, at least one "key" player should have been mentioned from each school IMO.

Just saw this from PBR's twitter feed... According to PBR, Highlands is pre-season number 10 in State... Here's the PBR pre-season top 25: Rank Team Record 1 st. xavier 0-0 2 mccracken county 0-0 3 Hopkinsville 0-0 4 lexington catholic 0-0 5 daviess county 0-0 6 madison central 0-0 7 elizabethtown 0-0 8 tates creek 0-0 9 eastern 0-0 10 highlands 0-0 11 north oldham 0-0 12 ballard 0-0 13 lafayette 0-0 14 north bullitt 0-0 15 west jessamine 1-0 16 south oldham 0-0 17 south laurel 0-0 18 beechwood 0-0 19 grayson county 0-0 20 butler 0-0 21 bourbon county 0-1 22 south warren 0-0 23 prp 0-0 24 hazard 0-0 25 covington catholic 0-0

Mike is a great character...

Agreed... Not only were a lot of kids left off the list, but so were a lot of schools... Just off the top of my head: Bellevue, Cooper, Dayton, Holmes, Holy Cross, Ludlow, Newport, New Cath, Ryle, and St. Henry were all skipped over. That being said, it's early. I think several kids from a lot of these schools will get plenty of recognition as the season goes on. I like all the players that did get mentioned.

More from PBR's twitter feed: Jake Ziegelmeyer, RHP/1B, Ryle HS, 2016 6-foot-3, 205-pound RHP with strong frame that projects well at the next level, continues to show an increase in velocity, arm is quick and works through a high-3/4 slot, up tempo delivery with a tendency to rush occasionally, fastball sat 86-88 mph and touched 91 mph on last fastball of the day, fastball shows good arm-side run and late sink through the zone, throws a power-type curveball at 73-76 mph with sharp 11/5 action, changeup is solid and thrown with good arm action at 77-80 mph with good sinking action, also throws a hard slider at 79-80 mph with some bite that has potential to be a very good pitch at the next level, high-level Class of 2016 pitcher who continues to make velocity gains. Jeffrey Purnell, RHP/SS, Boone County HS, 2016 6-foot-3, 175-pound RHP with frame that projects well at the next level, uses short arm action and works through a high-3/4 to over the top arm slot, has some effort in delivery, arm is quick, good downward tilt on 84-86 mph fastball that touched 87 on one occasion, throws a 71-73 mph curveball with sharp 11/5 action and shows good feel for it, throws changeup with good arm action at 76-77 mph, also flashes a 76-77 mph slider with some bite, good upside on the 2016 prospect. Ricky Raisor, RHP, Highlands HS, 2016 6-foot-1, 175-pound RHP showed a significant increase in velocity from last summer, uses shorter arm action and works through a high-3/4 slot, fastball sat 82-84 mph topping at 85 with some late arm-side life, curveball has really evolved as he showed one of the best of the day with sharp 11/5 action at 67-71 mph, throws 71-72 mph changeup with good arm action and has good deception off the fastball, stays behind the changeup well as it displays good arm-side fade and sink. Raisor is one more velocity jump away from developing into a high-level prospect on the mound. Kyle Fieger, RHP, Beechwood HS, 2016 5-foot-11, 165-pound RHP uses short arm action through a high-3/4 arm slot, regular effort in delivery, good direction with lower half, fastball sat 79-80 mph touching 82 on one occasion, fastball shows good arm-side run, 66-68 mph curveball tended to be up as he was getting around it, changeup showed to be his best present secondary pitch 72-73 mph with good fade, throws changeup with good arm action and shows good deception off the fastball. Drew Borman, OF/RHP, Conner HS, 2016 5-foot-11, 170-pound RHP showed an increase in velocity since last summer, uses short arm action that comes straight back from the glove, works through a high-3/4 slot, regular effort in delivery, fastball sat 78-81 mph topping at 82 and was mostly straight, 62-64 mph curveball shows 11/5 action and was thrown mostly for strikes, showed a 69-72 mph changeup that is mostly straight and showed the ability to locate it down in the zone, 64-67 mph slider tended to be flat, curveball is best secondary pitch at present.

Unfortunately, you could be right.

They had an awesome season... Congrats Ludlow!

From PBR: Drew Borman, OF/RHP, R/R, Conner HS, 2016 5-foot-11, 170-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, line drive type hitter, showed improved bat speed from last summer with 85 mph exit velocity, slight uphill swing path, slight improvement in speed with a 7.40 60-yard dash. Defensively, plays through the baseball, average footwork, short arm action with a high-3/4 release, showed 79 mph arm strength from the outfield with average carry.

Heard that Ludlow's 7th grade girls won the small school tournament and finished undefeated for the season... Nice job!