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Leagues  | Story  | 4/30/2024

Iowa Spring League Notebook No. 4

Tyler Kotila     
Jordan Woodhouse (2025, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) has been solid this spring on the mound, and he capped things off with a solid outing on the mound, paired with a couple of knocks at the plate as well. Woodhouse has a taller 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame with length throughout and a good feel for the mound. He repeats his delivery well and works down the slope with a clean and fluid release. Woodhouse worked the low-80s on the fastball with great command of it. The pitch has plenty of arm-side sink that proves problematic for right-handed hitters. He paired it with a diving changeup and a bigger breaking ball in the low-70s. He threw 3 and ⅔ innings, striking out 8 opposing hitters, allowing 1 earned run on 3 hits, and walking no one. The uncommitted talent added a couple of knocks, including a double on the day, helping his team finish off Spring League undefeated.

After Woodhouse departed the game, it was Mason Bechen (2025, Walker, Iowa) who came on in relief. Bechen works from a higher slot using his 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame well as he moves down the slope with a good feel for the delivery. He hides the ball well and has a shorter, compact release, allowing his fastball to get on hitters quickly. The uncommitted right-hander was effective, working up to 87 mph on the fastball, holding the low- to mid-80s on the heater throughout the outing. The pitch had some angle and good life to it. Bechen mixed in a slider with good tilt and sweep to it, being able to land it for strikes. He showed a changeup in the mix as well. Bechen threw 3 and ⅓ innings in relief, walking 1, allowing 2 hits, and striking out 2, while holding the opposition off the board en route to a win. 



Jackson Hatler (2026, Davenport, Iowa) was really impressive this spring, and he put together another quality outing on Saturday for Iowa Select McNeal. He threw 4 and ⅓ innings, allowing 3 hits, walking 2, and punching out 6 opposing hitters. Hatler has a long and lean 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame. He works from a three-quarters slot with good arm speed through release that projects for added velocity down the line. Hatler works in the low- to mid-80s on his fastball and was up to 85 mph in this outing. The fastball has running life to it that makes for a tough at-bat. He pairs it with an upper-60s breaking ball that has good depth to it. Hatler shined this spring with a 0.78 WHIP and 2.30 ERA over 15 and ⅓ innings of work during Spring League. 

Another player who impressed this spring was Lincoln Dalton (2026, Bettendorf, Iowa), and he churned out another consistent day of games on Saturday. The right-handed pitcher delivered another quality outing on the mound and swung it exceptionally well from the left side. Dalton worked up to 86 mph on the fastball and commanded the zone well. He showed his usual 12-6 breaker and more horizontal breaking slider with some tilt to it, varying speeds, and mixing pitches. Dalton threw 4.0 innings, allowing 1 hit, walking 3, and punchout out 8 opposing hitters. He got it done at the plate, too, using his 6-foot-4, 227-pound frame exceptionally well. The left-handed bat leveraged well and produced some loud impacts with strength off the barrel. He performed to the tune of a 5-for-7 day at the dish, bringing his Spring League average up to .378 with a .452 on-base percentage. 

Colton Duerling (2025, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) had himself a great weekend at the plate. The left-handed bat put together some good swings from the left side of the dish. Duerling’s got a medium frame and build in a 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame with some strength in the swing. He’s got a spread base with even hands, getting the barrel on the ball using a leg lift trigger for timing. He had some good turns through it, being able to connect and drive the ball well. Added a couple of hits to his credit, including a home run.  

Myles Gardner (2025, Waterloo, Iowa) had some really loud swings on Saturday, finding the barrel often for the Iowa Select Schulte squad. Gardner’s an uncommitted outfielder who showed off plenty of strength in his physical 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame. The right-handed bat starts with a spread and open base, with higher hands. He uses a leg lift trigger to get on time for pitches and do damage. He lifted the ball well a couple of times. It’s an inward move to contact, and there’s the ability to impact it well and bat speed to barrel it up well when he’s in-sync. He was 4-for-6 with a couple of extra-base hits, including a home run and 4 RBI to his credit. 

The battery mate in the Iowa Select Schulte lineup was Trey Franck (2024, Newhall, Iowa), who continued his red-hot stretch during PG Spring League. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound DMACC commit handled the bat exceptionally well this past weekend, once again. Franck starts with a slightly open stance, with higher-set hands deeper in the stance. He whips the hands through the zone and is able to drive the ball well with real good impact off the barrel. He lifts well and often and has annihilated some talented opposing pitching throughout Spring League. Added 5 more hits, including a double and 2 home runs on this weekend, making him 10-for-15 this spring, with 5 home runs and 17 RBI to his credit — plenty to like from the committed outfielder. 

Luke Baker (2026, Dubuque, Iowa) got it done in the batters’ box for the Iowa Select PG Renegades this past weekend. He has a bigger frame with some thickness to the build, showing strength at the plate. He impacts well and is able to put some good swings on the ball, producing some well-struck barrels. He was able to pick up some quality barrels on Saturday with a couple of base hits working pull-side and a home run working backside. 

Gavin Barber (2026, Bettendorf, Iowa) had himself quite the weekend at the plate. The compact and medium-framed middle-infielder looked the part. He’s got a really simple and short swing from the right side that yielded some real quality results on Saturday. He starts with a spread base and even hands with quickness to launch. He’s direct and quick working through the swing, being able to impact well. He launched a couple of balls deep and beyond the fence for home runs this past weekend; Barber has looked great at the plate this spring, carrying a .472 average and a .525 on-base percentage for his squad. 

Talon Young (2025, Iowa City, Iowa) has been great this spring on both sides of the ball. The bigger framed RHP/C has been able to churn out quality outings on the mound and handle the bat well, too. Young added 4 more hits on Saturday, including a double and a home run, showing off the simple and strong right-handed stroke. He’s able to lift the ball and impact it well in the air to do damage. He also took to the mound and was his usual self, attacking the opposition well. Young threw 5.0 innings, allowing 2 hits, walking 1, and punching out 6 opposing hitters, surrendering just 1 run — capping off spring in a great way, on both sides of the ball.

Owen Hicks (2025, Iowa City, Iowa) was dominant on both sides of the ball this spring, looking incredible on the mound as well as his usual self at the dish. The right-handed pitcher worked in the low-80s through his last outing, getting up to 84 mph. The heater has sinker traits to it and pairs well with his slurvy breaker. He struck out 3, while allowing 2 hits and walking 1 in the appearance. Hicks had 5 Spring League appearances on the mound, pitching to a 0.90 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He walked 8 and struck out 25 over 15.2 innings of work. At the dish, he was equally impressive, working at-bats well as he did in my looks last fall. The right-handed hitter uses the long levers in his lean 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame, putting the bat on the ball with ease. Hicks has hit .333 this spring with a .429 on-base percentage, adding some more hits this past weekend as well.

Gavin Zihlman (2027, Tiffin, Iowa) pieced together a good day at the dish on Saturday. He showed off some good swings, with a feel for the barrel a feel to impact, and he was able to generate some good results. Zihlman’s got a lean and compact frame with room to keep filling out and some athletic traits that show. He has a simple stroke with a good weight shift into it, being able to connect and do damage working pull-side. Zihlman added 4 hits to his credit on Saturday and has hit .400 with a .571 on-base percentage this spring. He’s got projectable traits in the batters’ box moving forward with some athleticism on the infield as well.

Luke DeGabriele (2024, Cedar Falls, Iowa) shined once again as he capped off his PG Spring League performance this past weekend. He delivered a scoreless inning on the mound, working the mid-80s on the fastball, striking out an opposing hitter, attacking early in counts. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound frame moves well on the mound with some strength in his move down the slope. He’s got an 11-5 shhaped curveball in the mix as well, allowing him to keep hitters guessing. DeGabriele finished with a 0.00 ERA and a .082 WHIP over 7 and ⅓ innings of work. He allowed only 2 hits, walked 4, and struck out 15 opposing hitters. He handled the bat well at the dish too, with a couple more hits in both games. It’s a leg lift trigger-driven swing with strength to impact. DeGabriele hit .406 with a .578 on-base percentage this spring. The uncommitted two-way talent added 3 doubles, 3 triples, and a home run to his credit throughout the spring, looking the part. 

Jaxton Schroeder (2025, Iowa City, Iowa) put together a really impressive outing on the mound to close out his PG Spring League performance. Schroeder toed the rubber for 2.0 innings, keeping the opposition at bay while striking out 4 opposing hitters. He used his 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame quite well, getting the job done on the mound, pitching from a higher three-quarters arm slot. He repeated the delivery well and was able to work up to 85 mph on the fastball from the left side. He dropped in an upper-60s/lower-70s curveball with a big 1-7 depth to it as well, pulling the string on it for strikes as needed. Pitched well and filled the zone in his outing. 

Dylan Mangler (2024, Maquoketa, Iowa) finished out PG Spring League strong this past weekend, putting together some good performances on both sides of the ball. Mangler used his 6-foot-6, 175-pound frame quite well. Mangler worked up to 87 mph with a mid-80s attack throughout his outing. He showed a low-70s slider in the mix as well, attacking hitters and getting it done. The Southeastern CC commit throws from a higher slot that creates some downhill angle that makes for a tough look. Mangler finished the spring with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP, striking out 30 while walking just 6 opposing hitters. He handled the barrel well this past weekend as well, adding some more hits to bring his spring average to .343 with a .452 on-base percentage. He’s got a wider base in his stance, with a minimal weight shift and quick hands to work to the ball with some speed. 

William Litton (2027, Iowa City, Iowa) showed off some projectable traits to like on the mound this past weekend. He used a longer and lean 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame with plenty of room to keep filling out moving forward. Litton threw 3.0 scoreless, allowing just 1 hit, and striking out 4 opposing hitters along the way. He worked up to 81 mph on the fastball from a higher slot that created some downhill plane that opposing hitters struggled to pick up on. Litton had plenty of life to the pitch and used a heavy barrage of fastballs to handle the opposition. He threw 71.0% strikes in a dominant outing.

J.P. Elbert (2027, Dubuque, Iowa) took over on the mound later in the game. Elbert worked up to 83 mph on his fastball, holding around that 80 mph on the pitch throughout his outing. He also showed a slurvy 11/5-shaped breaking ball that blended to be more horizontal at times. The breaker worked in the low-70s. Elbert has a longer and lean 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame with a really long and loose release. Plenty of projectability moving forward here. Elbert threw 2.0 innings of scoreless ball for his team, striking out 3 opposing hitters along the way. This outing capped off a dominant spring for Elbert, who had a 0.70 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP with 3 hits, 4 walks, and 14 strikeouts over 10.0innings of work. 

- Tyler Kotila
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