Tucson Rising Stars: Quick Hits

May 9, 2023
Shea Sbranti
Arizona Scouting Director

On Saturday, May 6th, Prep Baseball Report Arizona hosted the Tucson Rising Stars at The University of Arizona’s Reid Park. The Tucson Rising Stars is an open event to all prospects in the 2027-2028 classes. Giving the players the chance to showcase their skills in front of the PBR Arizona Staff using state-of-the-art technology on field.

Today, we’ll start by giving you the Top Performers from the Tucson Rising Stars, which we like to call Quick Hits. In Quick Hits you will be able to see how these players tested and were evaluated by the PBR Arizona Staff throughout the showcase. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more post event coverage.

FULL EVENT COVERAGE

Lincoln Demmons 3B / C / Basha, AZ / 2027

The 2027 grad had the strongest workout of the day at the Tucson Rising stars event with a 5-foot-10 160 pound strong athletic frame. Demmons worked out at virtually every position on the day showing versatility. In the infield he showed clean polished actions with an 80mph arm across the infield, in the outfield showing the ability to move side to side with strong and accurate throws. However, behind the plate is where Demmons really stood out with a 2.0-2.1 accurate arm to second base. At the plate Demmons had a fast bat at 72mph with a max exit velocity of 95mph driving multiple balls over the left field fence.

27’ C/MIF Lincoln Demmons
(Basha)

Impressive workout from the 27’ grad. 5-10 160lb strong athletic frame. Showed high level bat speed for age at 72mph with 95mph EV.

Showcased multiple POS. Behind the plate had 2.0-2.1 pop with strong accurate arm. #BESEEN ll @PBRArizona pic.twitter.com/HRzBo2KmbL
— Shea Sbranti (@SheaSbranti) May 8, 2023

Israel Hernandez SS / 2B / Salpointe Catholic, AZ / 2027

2027 Tucson Native was a standout at this springs Phoenix ID and continued to impress this past weekend at the Tucson Rising stars. Hernandez has put on some great size physically since the last time we saw him at 5-foot-8 135 pounds. Up the middle is where Hernandez has shown to be a separater with crisp actions with the glove and the footwork. At the plate Hernandez has a slightly open stance with short to it long through it stroke. As Hernandez continues to get stronger we look forward to seeing balls jump off his bat into the gaps.

27’ MIF Israel Hernandez
(Salpointe)#TucsonRisingStars⭐️ Overall standout at the event with high level skill set with the glove up the middle.

Showed middle of the field approach at the plate with 70% sweet spot in 4 rounds. #BESEEN ll @izzyhernandez_k pic.twitter.com/9wFkUPBaEJ
— PBR Arizona (@PBRArizona) May 8, 2023

Tristan Cruz 3B / N/A, AZ / 2028

Making his debut to the PBR world is corner infielder 2028 grad Tristan Cruz. Cruz made his first big impression in the defensive portion of the day with quality range for size and always seemed to find the pocket when fielding. At the plate Cruz had a slightly open stance with a direct flat path working to the big part of the field. Cruz had one of the top EV of the day with a TM max of 88mph.

28’ MIF/C Tristan Cruz #TucsonRisingStars⭐️ putting together some quality rounds Saturday afternoon. Showed flat path with good direction to the middle of the field. #BESEEN pic.twitter.com/cG9aa34kBT
— PBR Arizona (@PBRArizona) May 8, 2023

Tanner Sultan SS / RHP / Catalina Foothills, AZ / 2028

A standout from this past weekends Tucson Rising Stars is 2028 grad Tanner Sultan. Tanner showcased a clean glove up the middle with a quick first step and showed the ability to read the correct hops. With added size and strength we will see an increase in Tanners arm strength across the infield. At the plate Sultan starts with his hands outside the front of his body over the plate, he has a light leg lift load while bringing his hands back in a good loaded position. His path works flat to slightly uphill through the zone with a fly ball to line drive profile.

28’ MIF Tanner Sultan #TucsonRisingStars⭐️ future Catalina Foothills attendee. Put together mature rounds of BP. Flat path that produced 84Mph EV.

In the field showed confidence in the glove, clean footwork and avg arm across. #BESEEN ll @TannerSultan pic.twitter.com/NE7HCqwNE5
— PBR Arizona (@PBRArizona) May 8, 2023

Carlos Davila 3B / 1B / Salpointe, AZ / 2027

Carlos Davila was a standout at this past weekends Tucson Rising Stars, showcasing a tall athletic frame. At the plate Davila has a tall slightly open athletic stance with his hands just outside his head, he has a light hover load with a flat to slightly uphill path that produced hard line drive (88EV) and deep fly balls. Defensively Davila had athletic actions with the glove and the ability to move side to side.

27’ CINF Carlos Davila#TucsonRisingStars⭐️ tall athletic frame. Was at the top of the leaderboard in multiple categories, with a max EV of 88mph and max distance of 312ft. In the field had fluid actions and confidence in the glove. #BESEEN pic.twitter.com/XZQa8wNCu0
— PBR Arizona (@PBRArizona) May 9, 2023

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
2023 PBR CA-NV-AZ-UT ProCase (Invite Only)	AZ	06/04	University of Southern California - Dedeaux Field
Top Prospect Games: Class of 2026 & 2027	AZ	06/06	Legacy Sports Complex
Top Prospect Games: Class of 2025	AZ	06/12	Brewers Spring Training Fields - Phoenix, AZ
Top Prospect Games: Class of 2024	AZ	06/13	Brewers Spring Training Fields - Phoenix, AZ
Scottsdale Open	AZ	07/11	Scottsdale Stadium - Scottsdale, AZ
PBR Junior Future Games	NATIONAL	07/25	LakePoint
2023 PBR Future Games (Arizona Invite)	AZ	07/26	LakePoint Sports - Cartersville, GA
Tempe Open	AZ	08/27	Arizona State University - Phoenix Municipal Stadium