It’s the last days of more than a half-century in and around Colorado high school baseball, but it’s not too late for Marc Johnson to witness something he’s never seen before on the mound.
The Cherry Creek coach has seen three prep pitchers recently throw in the mid-to-upper 90’s as the local velocity revolution continues to unfold.
On Wednesday, it was Mountain Vista senior Grant Shepardson, who hit 96 mph in a 2-1 victory over Johnson’s Bruins. The week before, it was Valor Christian ace Athan Kroll, who was sitting around 93 but has gotten as high as 96.8 in practice. And last year, Johnson got a glimpse at the unicorn: Coronado senior Trey Gregory-Alford, who’s hit 99 in a game.
All three right-handers are redefining high school heat on the Front Range, especially Gregory-Alford, who topped out at 101.4 in a bullpen session in January at THROWformance in Castle Rock.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Johnson said. “There’s been guys in the low 90s over the past several years, but the closest I ever saw to (this year’s trio) was Roy Halladay, and in high school, and he was probably 92-93, touching 94. And he’s a Hall of Famer. That will give you an idea of (the rarity) right there. This is not something you normally see.”
All three hurlers are headed to play Division I baseball. That is, if they don’t begin their pro careers instead.
Gregory-Alford, a Virginia commit, is the No. 87 draft prospect, according to MLB.com, and has been in communication with several clubs. That’s included a home visit from Rockies scout Emily Glass. Shepardson (University of San Francisco) and Kroll (Dallas Baptist) are also generating serious interest ahead of the MLB draft that starts July 14.
For the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Gregory-Alford, his rise up draft boards has come in tandem with a significant gain in velocity over the past year. He’s earned All-American nods from Perfect Game and Baseball America, and pitched for the USA Baseball 18U National Team last fall.
“He was at 93 when I started working with him last offseason, but there was a lot of stuff still untapped and left to clean up (in his delivery), which is exciting when he’s already that good,” said Sean McCourt, the owner of THROWformance. “He had a super high ceiling.”
McCourt, who trained other notable local pitchers now in the pros, including Case Williams, Quinton Low, Pierce Johnson and Ty Blach, explained how they adjusted Gregory-Alford’s arm action by changing the angle of his elbow at his release point.
“He was very long with his arm action, and it was an inverted W at foot-strike and then (his elbow) never closed inside of 90 (degrees),” McCourt said. “It was kind of a big red flag especially for guys who throw hard and land that way at foot-strike — it’s a matter of when you’re going to break, not if you’re going to break. We’ve been able to get that cleaned up, and stay on top of his (deceleration) pattern.
“We get lots of guys who are up eight miles per hour in a year, but eight miles per hour from 93 to 101 is a different animal. That’s a huge jump.”
This past offseason, Gregory-Alford put on about 20 pounds, while also sticking to a structured weight and throwing program for the first time. His athletic genes have no doubt helped, too: His dad, Robert Alford, was a semi-pro tennis player, while his uncle Tony Alford was a CSU football standout and is currently the running backs coach at Michigan.
Aside from his big league fastball, Gregory-Alford’s arsenal features a two-seam, slider, slurve and changeup. The way he’s tracking in bullpen sessions — he had an eye-popping 106.9 mph running throw at THROWformance — hitting 100 mph in a game appears inevitable.
“I’m not too worried about it if I hit (100) or not this season, but it’ll come eventually I think,” Gregory-Alford said. “I still need to work on my command, and just have some fun with it this spring. At the end of the day, I’m blessed to be able to pitch like this, so I’m just going out there and trying to enjoy myself.
“Right now, the plan is to go to college, but if that (professional) opportunity comes up in July… of course the first or second round would be really tough to turn down.”
Shepardson is taking a similar approach. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder hit 98 against Grandview a couple of weeks ago, and is sitting between 93 and 95. He pairs that fastball with a two-seam, slider, curveball and changeup. He’s added about five miles per hour to his fastball over the last year. Like Gregory-Alford, he’s been working with a private trainer to fine-tune his mechanics and gained 25 pounds.
About 10 clubs have been in contact with the Golden Eagles’ star, including Glass and the Rockies.
“I just look at it as I have two great opportunities in front of me,” Shepardson said.
Meanwhile, Kroll is fully healthy after he hardly pitched in 2023 due to a back fracture suffered from diving for a flyball. He’s been around 92-94 this year, but hit a couple miles per hour above that during live batting practice on Feb. 29. With a curveball, changeup and sweeper also in his repertoire, he could help carry Valor Christian in the Class 5A playoffs, as Shepardson might do with Mountain Vista.
About 15 clubs have been in consistent contact with Kroll, with the Dodgers and Mets showing the most interest in the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder.
“I think it’s going to be a tough decision (come July), but I’m most likely leaning towards going to DBU,” Kroll said. “Hopefully I can get out there and immediately contribute as a freshman.”
Underpinning the discussion of high-velocity prospects such as Gregory-Alford, Shepardson and Kroll is the recent epidemic of arm injuries at the highest levels of baseball.
All three have avoided elbow issues so far, but the startling numbers of Tommy John surgeries — at the end of last season, 35.7% of all pitchers on MLB rosters had undergone the operation at least once — have become a major talking point in the majors. In the last month alone, the Braves’ Spencer Strider and Guardians’ Shane Bieber joined the long list of UCL injuries.
The trickle-down effect of elbow injuries from the bigs is well-documented, with more high school and college pitchers needing the surgery than ever before. The root of that, says renowned arm surgeon and Tommy John expert Dr. James Andrews, is the increase in velocity at the lower levels of the sport.
“These kids are throwing 90 miles per hour their junior year of high school,” Andrews recently told MLB.com. “The ligament itself can’t withstand that kind of force. We’ve learned in our research lab that baseball is a developmental sport. The Tommy John ligament matures at about age 26. In high school, the red line where the forces go beyond the tensile properties of the ligament is about 80 miles per hour.”
Obviously, Colorado’s top trio — as well as all the draftable high school pitchers across the nation — are well past that threshold. And a significant number of varsity pitchers hover around 85 miles per hour, according to Johnson, an opinion three other local coaches agreed with. Johnson’s Bruins have several hurlers that can hit the low-90s.
All of that is why Johnson watched with part amazement, part apprehension, as Shepardson diced up his Bruins earlier this week in “one of the best games I’ve ever seen pitched at the high school level.” The longtime coach and former scout couldn’t help but feel conflicted about the path that the pitchers are on.
“(The Tommy John epidemic) is a backstory to all this, and it’s a little scary,” Johnson said. “All these (top pitchers across the country) are doing A.V.T., arm velocity training, at a young age. My pitching coach was telling me that he coaches a 14-year-old USA Prime National Team in the summer, and last summer he had a kid close to 96 who was 14. It’s literally crazy.
“All along, the emphasis has been how many pitches a kid is throwing, so that’s why we went to a pitch count. Well now, there’s a fair conclusion that it’s not just pitch count. It’s velocity and continual max-effort pitching. … And for these three guys this year, I hope what they’re doing is sustainable.”
All three have been on early-season pitch counts and believe they are taking the proper precautions with respect to arm care, rest and workload management.
“I see it as, your (arm) is a bank account, and you can add and subtract from it,” Shepardson said. “Adding money into it would be taking your nutrition seriously, your sleep seriously, your throwing workload seriously, getting a good workout in.
“Taking out of it would be the super-long games, not sleeping well. If you can avoid those (subtractions) as much as you can, you have a pretty good shot to stay healthy, but at the end of the day you can’t guarantee you’re not going to get hurt at some point. You have to do what you can control to stay healthy and on the field.”
Colorado high school pitchers in the draft
A look at Colorado pitching products selected in the first three rounds of the MLB Draft straight out of high school.
Roy Halladay, Arvada West, 1995 — Round 1, No. 17 (Blue Jays)
Jayson Peterson, Denver East, 1994 — Round 1, No. 15 (Cubs)
Scott Elarton, Lamar, 1994 — Round 1, No. 25 (Astros)
Mike Schiefelbein, Chatfield, 1990 — Round 2, No. 56 (Rangers)
Jeff Seale, Fairview, 1988 — Round 2, No. 51 (Mets)
Brian Fisher, Hinkley, 1980 — Round 2, No. 29 (Braves)
Brock Burke, Evergreen, 2014 — Round 3, No. 96 (Rays)
Ryan Warner, Pine Creek, 2012 — Round 3, No. 128 (Rockies)
Tyler Sample, Mullen, 2008 — Round 3, No. 80 (Royals)
Shawn Chacon, Greeley Central, 1996 — Round 3, No. 86 (Rockies)
David Spykstra, Cherry Creek, 1992 — Round 3, No 87 (Dodgers)
Tyler Green, Thomas Jefferson, 1988 — Round 3, No. 72 (Reds)
Clint Zavaras, Mullen, 1985 — Round 3, No. 61 (Mariners)
Dean Martinez, Pueblo East, 1978 — Round 3, No. 75 (Phillies)
Mike Madden, Palmer, 1976 — Round 3, No. 69 (Pirates)
Rodney Scheller, Greeley West, 1975 — Round 3, No. 72 (Dodgers)
Paul Zobeck, Pueblo Central, 1971 — Round 3, No. 49 (White Sox)
John Schmidt, Denver Lutheran, 1970 — Round 3, No. 64 (Red Sox)
Colorado high school baseball players to watch
As conference play gets underway across the state, here’s 50 players to keep an eye on this spring.
Trey Gregory-Alford Coronado Sr RHP
Hudson Alpert Regis Jesuit Soph RHP/SS
Carson Munroe Chaparral Soph RHP/SS
Athan Kroll Valor Christian Sr RHP/CF (Dallas Baptist)
Easton Miller Fossil Ridge Sr RHP/OF (Air Force)
Dane Most Broomfield Sr 3B (Nebraska)
Austin Bowker Rock Canyon Sr RHP
Andrew Bell Regis Jesuit Sr SS (Duke)
Wyatt Rudden Cherry Creek Jr RHP (Michigan)
Mitch Haythorn Eaton Sr RHP (Oklahoma)
Hunter Smolinski Fruita Monument Sr SS (Grand Canyon)
Gunnar Duncan Eaton Sr C/2B
Ethan Zufall Broomfield Jr RHP (BYU)
Thomas Stewart Mullen Jr RHP/INF (Virginia)
Blake Anderson Eaglecrest Soph C
Cade Collins Dakota Ridge Sr INF (Wofford)
Sean Togher Fort Collins Sr UTL/RHP (Cal Baptist)
Cole Jenkins Chaparral Sr SS (Air Force)
Trevor Gottsegen Highlands Ranch Jr OF/2B/RHP (Iowa)
Connor Larkin Cherry Creek Jr 1B/OF (Oklahoma)
Carter Wilcox Cherokee Trail Jr LHP/OF (Iowa)
Sean Goldy Cherry Creek Jr SS (West Virginia)
Owen Morgan Fossil Ridge Jr INF (Oregon)
Tate Deal Arvada West Jr SS
Christian Lopez Regis Jesuit Jr LHP/OF
Tyler Houston Legend Soph RHP/OF
Aaron Jaquez Falcon Soph RHP/1B/OF
Maddox Burnett Erie Soph UTL/RHP
Silas Meuli Legend Soph CF/1B/LHP
Gunnar Garrison Eaton Soph RHP/1B
Grant Shepardson Mountain Vista Sr RHP (San Francisco)
Brady Snow Chatfield Sr RHP/1B (Wofford)
Brody Chyr Regis Jesuit Sr OF (Loyola Marymount)
Eddison Esquivel Cherry Creek Sr OF (San Francisco)
Sloan Steimel Thomas Jefferson Sr C (Chapman)
Andrew Torres Pine Creek Jr RHP/OF (Cowley CC)
Ethan Fillinger Windsor Jr RHP/SS
Logan Reid Cherokee Trail Sr LHP/1B (Houston)
Will Niles Mountain Vista Sr RHP (Mines)
Kirin Lawing Rocky Mountain Sr RHP/OF
Ryan Falke Cherry Creek Jr RHP (Washington State)
Mason Scott Cherry Creek Jr 3B (Army)
Paul Hughes Cherry Creek Sr RHP (Miami University)
Finn Royer Denver South Sr RHP/3B
Daniel Esparza Far Northeast Sr RHP
Parker Feagans Valor Christian Sr SS (Fort Scott)
Brian Herrera Vista Peak Sr RHP/UTL (Hastings College)
Max Feierstein Thomas Jefferson Jr RHP
Noah Mortenson Heritage Jr RHP/1B
Tony Crow Grandview Sr SS (William Jewell)
