Tre Hondras/Terre Busse Jr. (John A Logan)

Still no home games here at Indiana University, so no live looks. I wanted to put something on here though, so I added couple Follow reports on two players I saw that I liked at John A Logan last fall, Terry Busse Jr and Tre Hondras. Hondras has gotten off to a solid start, my only concern is his OBP is hovering around .300. I noted in my follow that the hit tool was a concern, specifically swing and miss, so this is concerning. Terry Busse has gotten knocked around a bit which is also concerning. He is one of these north south pitchers who may have been a bit more popular a few years ago, but now that people have caught on to the fact that steep vertical approach angle is not good for swing and miss (one of the few things I felt I was early on), it hurts him. Still, I like his slider and think there are some interesting traits.

Name: Terry Busse Jr

School: John A Logan-JC

Commit: Rice

Date of Report: 9/17/21

Position: RHP

HT/WT: 75/195

B/T: R/R

Arm Slot: OTT

Tool	Velocity	Present	Future
Fastball	90-95	5	6
Changeup
Curveball
Slider	80-84	5	6
Control		4	4

Physical Description: Strong build, broad shoulders, little physical projection left.

Mechanics: Stretch only. Med-high leg kick, shorter arm circle, elite scapular rotation, pulls down front shoulder hard, front leg braces well, near true over the top arm angle.

Abilities: Good arm speed, strong body. Plus FB velo, has tail on it that plays well with his release point. Hard, late bite to the SL, with gyro break, plays well off of FB. Short arm action makes it hard to pick out ball at release.

Weaknesses: Rough around the edges with command. Lacks a third pitch. Very steep angle on his pitches which limits S&M on FB.

Summary: Busse is a north south pitcher with a live arm. FB works well up and down the zone and SL is a good put away pitch for both righties and lefties. Limited to the bullpen due to aggressive mechanics and below average command but will be able to pick up high leverage innings due to FB/SL combo. Would be interested to see if he can throw a splitter, think his current repertoire would pair nicely with a split and fit his arm action. Catcher in high school, this only his second year on the mound so more room for improvement than the typical college pitcher.

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Name: Tre Hondras

School: John A Logan (JC)

Commit:

Date of Report: 9/17/21

Position: 2B/OF

HT/WT: 72/185

B/T: R/R

Tool	Present	Future
Hit	3	4
-Plate Discipline	3	4
Power	3	5
-Raw Power	5	6
Run	5	5
Throw	5	5
Defense	4	5

Physical Description: Short, wiry frame, close to physically mature.

Mechanics: High hands above the head with elbow near mouth. Back foot at 45 degree angle toward 1B, back knee turned in with most weight on it, front leg sticks out and has a wider stance. Back shoulder collapses as he swings. Work to be done here.

Abilities: Has plus raw power and makes hard contact. Plus bat speed, solid pitch recognition. Good instincts on basepaths, gets quality jumps off of contact. Fairly twitchy and is a solid athlete.

Weaknesses: Lots of moving parts in swing, can be inconsistent. Has swing and miss issues, can get beat up high. Fringy defender at second, makes the routine plays but not the difficult ones.

Summary: This was my first look at Hondras. His BP was impressive and showed the power in game, despite having a smaller frame. Makes consistently hard contact when he swings. Some concerns with swing and miss, but this looks like a function of mechanics issues rather than poor pitch recognition, so less worried about that. Did not see him in outfield despite being listed there. Will prioritize seeing him early in the spring, want to look for any changes in swing and how he handles off speed, but this is an interesting player and a potential early Day 2 pick.