07/24/2024 - Baseball Factory Teams - Southwest Championships 18U
John Melrose is a 2027 C/1B prospect. He has an athletic body frame and shown vast improvement in several categories including personal best in the 60-yard dash, 5-10-5 shuttle, and grip strength. At catcher he has an over-the-top arm slot, and with long toss, throwing program work, he should be able to improve on his pop time as well. John sets up from the right side in a squared athletic batting stance. He seems to have good rhythm and is very controlled in the box. John was 2 for 9 and just missed getting a 3rd as he had a hard line out to the pitcher.
01/19/2024 - 2024 Baseball Factory Rookie Pre-Season All-America Tournament
John continues to show as a prospect at the Preseason Rookie All American showcase. Behind the dish, he presents a soft/sure mitt showing great pocket awareness sticking pitches. He uses his body through the blocking process, centering balls well out front. Pop times showed in 2.44 range with accuracy on his throws. Times will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. He plays hard and takes command behind the dish. At the plate, he shows an open setup. Hands are quick (84 mph exit velocity) and work through an aggressive swing path. He has strength in his swing and makes consistent hard contact through a line drive approach with power showing best to the pull side. Power will increase as he utilizes his lower half more efficiently.
12/20/2023 - Baseball Factory Christmas Camp & Tournament at Pirate City - Session 1
John continues to impress with improvements in his baseball abilities at the Pirate City Christmas tournament. Foot speed has improved as he ran his best 60 time to date. Behind the dish, he presents a soft/sure mitt showing pocket awareness sticking pitches. He uses his body through the blocking process, centering balls well out front. Pop times have improved as he threw his lowest time to date at 2.25. Times will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. At the plate, he continues to shine through an athletic setup. Hands are quick and work through a level swing path. He stays inside the ball, utilizing all fields with power showing best to the pull side. Lower half works well through the swing with an aggressive hip turn. Mental makeup is a plus as he has a great personality, is very coachable and works hard to be the best player he can be.
08/13/2023 - National Showcase - Bowie, MD
John continues to shine with his baseball abilities. Behind the plate he shows a squared setup and tracks the ball well with soft glove. He utilizes his body well through the blocking process but needs to work to get body down sooner. Pop times showed in the 2.40 range with accuracy on his throws. Times will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. At 1B, he shows smooth / fluid actions. He displays proper footwork around the bag and is a quality receiver. Hands are clean but needs to present more out front. Range will increase as he improves foot quickness. At the plate, he shows an open setup. Hands are quick and work through an aggressive swing path. He stays inside the ball, utilizing all fields through a line drive approach. Lower half works well through an aggressive hip turn.
05/14/2023 - National Showcase - Bowie, MD
John continues to show improvements in his baseball abilities and has a promising future on the diamond. He did show at 1B for the first time at the event. Foot speed has improved as he ran his best 60 time to date. Behind the plate he shows a squared setup and tracks the ball well with soft glove. He utilizes his body well through the blocking process but needs to work to get body down sooner. Pop times have improved as he threw his lowest time to date at 2.39 with accuracy on his throws. Times will continue to improve as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. At 1B, he shows smooth / fluid actions. He displays proper footwork around the bag and is a quality receiver. Hands are clean and presents out front. Range will increase has he continues to improve foot quickness. At the plate, he shows a tall setup. Hands are quick and work through a level swing path. He stays inside the ball, utilizing all fields through a line drive approach. Lower half works well through the swing with an aggressive hip turn.
07/16/2022 - Baseball Factory National World Series at IMG Academy - (MS)
John is a 2027 C/1B prospect who worked hard on his skills during the National World Series. Behind the plate, John presents a low target, with an easy sit, and has athletic actions. He creates good blocking angles, with his chin tucked, and works to keep balls in front of him. At the plate, he hits from an athletic and square stance with comfortable hands. Has an on-time load, with natural strength in swing, and has an explosive barrel through the hitting zone. Good barrel control as he hit balls into both gaps with a bat exit velocity up to 72mph. During the event, he reached base 4 times with 2 singles, a walk, and reached on an error. With 5 years of continued growth and development, we foresee John making huge strides on the baseball field.
01/14/2022 - 2022 Baseball Factory Pre-Season Prospects Tournament (MS)
John is a coachable C/1B in the class of 2027 out of Bradenton, FL. Behind the plate, he works with good direction on his throws and allows the ball to travel to create cleaner exchanges. He receives the ball with soft hands and gets his thumb underneath the low pitch well. John worked hard to get in front of pitches in the dirt keeping his chin tucked and centering his body to the ball. At the plate, he uses an athletic set up with loose hands to find rhythm. He works to a firm front side with his lower half and takes a direct path to the baseball. He makes consistent contact with power to the pull side. John continues to improve from event to event and we are excited to see what his future has in store for him on the ball field.
08/21/2021 - Summer Pro Training Experience - MD (MS)
John is a soid 2027 graduate that plays C/1B. Behind the plate, John shows a solid primary stance with a confident glove as he tracks the pitch in. Fundamentally sound secondary stance and will see great improvements as he quickens up his feet. From a throwing standpoint, John gets rid of the ball efficiently with a clean exchange. Blocking, John shows good feel here and tries t center the ball and keep it in front of his body. Hitting, he starts with an athletic and tall stance showing good rhythm with the pitcher with his load. John has showed continual improvement every time we see him and is a hard worker on and off the field.
07/22/2021 - Baseball Factory National World Series at Pirate City - Session 2 (MS)
John is a C/1B in the graduating class of 2027. At the plate, he starts in an even and athletic set up with comfortable hands. Does a good job taking a simple load that activates his lower 1/2. Shows quiet actions with centered balance. His lower 1/2 works efficiently helping him get his barrel on plane early. Also shows an advanced approach with a line drive focus. Behind the plate, he shows good actions. He does a good job getting his feet in line to throw down to 2B. Pop times were as low as 2.98 seconds. Does a good job of centering the baseball. Receives well and has feel for the strike zone. John is a good prospect that we expect to continue to develop with maturity.
06/23/2020 - Official Player Development Membership - Frederick, MD
John is a C prospect who will graduate in 2026. Behind the plate, John is agile moving to block and keeps the ball in front of him. He sits in an athletic stance and receives with soft hands. Getting rid of the ball quicker on his throws to 2B can help John improve defensively. At the plate, this RHH sets up in an athletic stance and takes a short stride. He gets into his load well and gains good extension through the ball, producing loud contact and solid raw pop. John can improve as a hitter by driving his lower half more. With six more years to develop, John has the time and potential to further progress his skills on the field.