a high-strikeout lefty who once dominated prep hitters, but his 2026 Sam Houston sample is tiny
Ballard’s appeal is the arm-side upside: at Spring Hill High School in 2022-23 he posted a 1.07 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 91.2 innings, a .164 batting average against, and a .990 fielding percentage, showing real bat-missing ability and polish[2]. His Sam Houston 2026 line is too small to judge meaningfully—just 0.2 innings with eight hits allowed and one strikeout—so the current read is more about projection than production[1]. He profiles as a fit for teams betting on a left-handed strike-thrower with proven high-school dominance and room to translate that stuff at the college level[2][1].
