John
Howard

6/19/13: Howard is an athletic 6-foot, 180-pound two way player. We believe his future is on the mound, where he displays repeatable mechanics with good tempo, and the ability to consistently throw strikes. Howard had one of the top arms, with his fastball topping at 85-mph with late life and hard arm side run. His breaking ball (66-69 mph) had 10-to-4 shape with tight spin and late two plane break thrown with fastball arm speed. Howard’s change up could be his out pitch, throw in the 70-73 mph range with late arm side movement and producing plenty of swings and misses. In the field, Howard shows some athleticism and sure hands. He has a strong, quick arm (81-mph across the diamond) and accuracy. Behind the plate, Howard’s top pop time was 2.03 with a velocity of 78-mph and he showed ability to receive and block, all in all showing good fundamentals. At the plate, Howard has looseness in his hands and quick bat speed. His swing is long and level with extension through contact and ability to hit the ball to all fields.

7/18/12: The top overall performer of the event, Howard shows to be one of the top prospects in the class of 2015. On the mound, Howard comes from a high ¾ arm slot with quick arm speed and loose arm action, while throwing all three pitches for strikes. His 81-83 mph fastball had arm side run with late sink. Howard also throws a 11-to-5 breaking ball (68-71 mph) with late movement and fastball arm speed, as well as a 73-mph change up with some depth. Howard also impressed at shortstop, with quick footwork and range while showing soft hands and a fast glove to hand transfer with accurate throws across the diamond. Behind the plate, Howard fired a top pop time of 1.98. Offensively, Howard has an open stance with a short, compact and level swing that produced line drives to al fields.