Austin Brice

Righthander Brice was the big mover in North Carolina's prep ranks this spring, and area scouts and crosscheckers converged on his small high school to see him face Matt Roberts and Graham High. As the spring went on, Brice had thrown some 93-94 mph fastballs, attracting attention after he sat in the upper 80s earlier. Roberts took Brice deep in that matchup, and Brice's velocity wasn't at its best. His secondary stuff is raw, with his curve ranking ahead of his nascent changeup. Brice has a good pro body at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, with a quick, loose arm contributing to projections that he'll show his good velocity more regularly in the future. He's a solid athlete who could be a good college hitter (as a third baseman) and is at least an average runner, if not a tick above. He's an Appalachian State recruit, but scouts said they wouldn't be surprised if he ended up Pitt CC, the state's best junior-college program.