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2022 Top Prospect Games: Quick Hits

June 23, 2021
Brett Thorney
State Scouting Director

On Thursday, June 17th PBR Arizona had a chance to hold its annual Top Prospect games for the Class of 2022. This invite only event is held at the beginning of the summer and gives our staff & scouts an opportunity to see some of the improvements players made over the course of the spring season as well as who to look out for over the course of the summer & fall. The annual event has developed into an event coaches & players will want to have on their schedules going forward. It provides players an opportunity to showcases themselves next to similar high caliber players, many uncommitted. It also gives scouts the chance to see many prospects compete and show off their skills all in one place. This event featured some of the top prospects left on the board in the 2022 grad class from all around the state of Arizona. 

We want to thank all of the players who were in attendance as they battled the heat that reached up to 117 degrees during the day. The event at Central Arizona College included 60 + players and over 25 pitchers that participated in a showcase + simulated game play. As always, we gathered loads of valuable information on players that will live in player profiles that include Trackman & Blast data as well as 60-yard dash, positional velocities and much more. Scouts will use this information along with video to start to narrow down potential recruits in the future. 

Today, we will be highlighting some of our first impressions from the event in our Quick Hits. This is not a top prospect list but some of our initial takeaways. Be sure to follow us on social media where we will continue highlighting the event & some of these players.

*More video will be added to this post

To view the full event stats click here.

+ 2022 LHP/OF Stephen Hernandez (Perry)- long athletic frame, room for more strength. Has made some big improvements since we first saw him at our Preseason All-State where he showed some future upside. Should be one of the more followed two-way players this summer. He recently showed why at our West Coast Select tournament and much of the same at our 22 TPG. The left-handed hitter sets up in an unorthodox, tall narrow stance while ending up in a solid launch position. He creates natural loft his swing with hard contact while showing power potential as he keeps adding strength. He also shows potential on the mound, sitting 83-86 while working up to 89mph with slutter action breaking ball. 

 

+ 2022 RHP/SS Cezar Fernandez (Buena)- balanced athletic frame with some quick twitch actions. Fernandez attended our pre-tournament workout for the West Coast Select a little over a week ago. He impressed in our first ever viewing & again at our Top Prospect Games. His arm should be one of his carrying tools as he moves forward. He threw an event high 91mph across the diamond while displaying a short quick arm on the mound. His FB worked 85-87 while working up to 88mph with some ride/run through the zone. He has two different versions of his breaking, both with slider action as well as a CH that he cuts a bit. Offensively, he has a consistent LD swing with efficient path, working the middle of the field. Fernandez's athleticism & arm make him a strong follow on both sides of the ball.

+ 2022 C/RHP Henry Chabot (Brophy)- big wide bodied frame, strong lower half. Chabot is another player where his arm is currently his biggest tool as he threw 81mph from behind the plate and worked up to 87mph on the mound. It will be interesting to see whether he will stick behind the plate or his arm strength will take him to the mound. Right now, Chabot is a more than serviceable two-way player at teh HS level that attended the PBR Future Games in 2020. He also has above average pop at the plate, logging up to 100mph exit velocities using his natural raw strength in his swing. 

+ 2022 RHP Jackson Simmon (Pinnacle)- Simmon battled an injury over the last year so this was the first time we were able to see him in person in quite some time now. He's recovered nicely so far showing some upside as a right-handed pitcher. FB worked mostly 82-84 while topping at 85mph while throwing with short arm action. He also has some feel for a CV that he spun well averaging 2357 rpm with 11/5 shape at 70-72mph. 

+ 2022 3B/SS Keaton Walker (Corona Del Sol)- strong physical build. Walker moved to AZ from Colorado earlier this year. We were able to see him at an event before the spring season began where he showed off his strength & powerful actions. The right-handed hitters physicality stood out once again especially in his round of BP where he is able to produce a powerful aggressive swing with plenty of bat speed. He can be somewhat violent at times but produced exit velocities up to 102mph via trackman. If he can control his movements and find the barrel consistently there is no reason Walker shouldn't see plenty of extra bases in the future. Walker also has some quickness defensively, running a 7.10 60-yard dash combined with a strong arm with some effort. 

+ 2022 RHP Ryne Palmer (Sunrise Mountain)- young wiry frame, projectable body, high waisted. Palmer was one of the more interesting arm in attendance at our 22 TPG and has pretty high upside. He was used as a started this year for Sunrise Mountain who placed 2nd in 5A. He uses an athletic delivery with long levers to create rhythm & extension down the mound. Palmer put three quality pitches on display in his appearance while showing the ability to throws strikes with some feel to pitch. His FB sat 86-87, topping out at 88mph via trackman with some ride through the zone. His off speed pitches are currently above average with some swing & miss potential. He located his CH pretty well with some armside movement at 77-78mph. He also wasn't afraid to throw his SL inside to RHH that as some gloveside break at 8.7in. Palmer is a strong follow with upside on the mound.

 

+ 2022 RHP Dale Fry (Northwest Christian)- Fry's body stoodout at 6-5/190-pounds with long levers and showed as an intriguing pitching prospect. We had saw him pitch the week prior at our West Coast Select  for the AZ Thunder where he pitched at 82-84mph. He uses an athletic delivery, landing tall through his finish. Throws from a L3/4 arm slot, varying his release pointe at times with short arm action. His FB was thrown for strikes with consistency at 83-86mph with some potential for more in future. His SL had average movement profile at 73-75mpj that had some gyro makeup at times. He also mixed in a splitter at 75-76mph that was a tough pitch for hitters down in the zone. 

+ 2022 3B/RHP Kyle Justice (Horizon)- large athletic frame at 6-3/195-pounds with long legs. Justice had one of his best showings with us to date especially on the offensive side of the ball. He arguably had one of the top BP rounds of the day. The left-handed hitter sets up in squared, moderately spread out base while using a small knee turn leg lift to transfer energy to the back side. He used a short well connected swing with tight turn to produce consistent LD contact, peppering deep CF in his round. Justice hit 8 balls over 94mph (98mph max) in his sessions while working to 364ft. On the mound, he pitched at 79-82 while topping at 83mph. He also threw his CV that displayed some depth at 67-70mph. 

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