PBR Super 60 Spotlight: RHP-Brayden Marx

I first laid eyes on Marx at the PBR Preseason All-State at Hurricane HS on March 6th, 2021, a week before he was to begin his sophomore season at Pleasant Grove HS. At the time, Brayden showed the exact same delivery, with the ability to repeat his delivery and the delivery hasn’t changed since that time. Standing 5-11 160 at the time, the FB was 83-85 and he showed the ability to throw 3 pitches and had a feel for them all. The main weapon that was evident from the get go, was the ability to spin the CB with a high spin rate for a young 15 yr old kid. 

One thing that stood out was his mound demeanor and his advanced approach to pitch, with a confidence about him that said “I’m here to show my stuff and to beat you” type aura about him. 

As the spring of 2021 was unfolding, Marx was the main arm on the JV team and was getting a few varsity innings here and there. With about 7-8 varsity frames under his belt, and a high-profile matchup between undefeated teams, American Fork and Pleasant Grove were both 18-0 and 19-0 I believe, heading into a crosstown showdown of the top 2 teams in the state, going into a crucial 3 game Region 4 matchup. The first and third games were at Pleasant Grove and the middle game at American Fork. Pleasant Grove fell behind 5-2 at American Fork in the 4th inning and I noticed the young RHP headed down to the bullpen to start warming up. What struck me the most, was the Vikings players have their names on the back of their jerseys, and Brayden did not, being a JV player. Marx came into the game in the 4th inning and proceeded to spin 2.2 innings of one hit ball, not allowing a run on one walk and one strikeout. His FB was 84-87, a few ticks above his March PBR event. He was focused and was facing a team that had and would have 7 D1 commits in the Caveman lineup and would go on to win the 6A State Title with a final national ranking of #6 and a won-loss record of 30-1. 

This outing earned Marx more innings down the road as the season was moving toward state playoff time. The next week vs Skridge on the road, Marx earned the start and went 6 innings, scattering 6 hits with 5 BB’s and 4 K outs. In the state tournament vs a powerful Jordan lineup that featured 1B-Cole Kershaw (Utah), LF-Hunter Gatti (USU Eastern), CF-Stockton Mathis (USU Eastern) and C-Cade Nalder (Utah Tech), Marx was the starter and went 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing 7 hits, 3 BB’s and 6 K outs! 

Marx would head into the summer, ready to compete against the best rising Sophomore and Junior uncommitted players in the country at the PBR Future Games. Brayden was dominant as his FB was now 86-88 and froze hitters with his signature high spin CB. Recruiters started to take notice and over the next 9-10 months, Brayden received an offer from every in-state D1 program, except one. Also holding an offer from a WAC school in CA, Marx now had 5-6 offers on the table and was taking visits to each of the schools and attending the various prospect camps of those schools. 

Now headed into his junior year, Brayden was now the staff ace, and started off slow with a ERA over 5 after 2 starts to his season. But with the warmer weather and better field conditions of southern Utah, Marx shut down Nevada powerhouse Palo Verde 5-0 over 6 full innings on 3 hits, no runs, 1 walk and 9 K outs and didn’t look back from there en-route to a 6A 1st Team All-State campaign. Marx saved his best for his last regular season start of the year, heading into the state tournament with a bye week the next week, before the 6A tourney kicked off at BYU. 

Marx went up against vaunted American Fork once again for all the marbles. Both teams were tied atop the standings in Region 4 play, with the winner getting the #1 seed headed into the state playoffs. With about 8-10 MLB scouts in town to watch a prospect from American Fork and 3 D1 recruiters in the stands, with 2 being WCC head coaches, Brayden spun a gem over 6.1 innings, only to leave the game with a 4-1 lead and having reached the state mandated 110 pitch count. Marx was masterful as he allowed only 3 hits and one run on 2 BB’s and 9 K outs. American Fork would get to the Vikings pen and take the 7-6 victory in an extra inning affair, but Marx was now 88-92 with the FB and his last pitch in the 7th inning was 91. 

That coming weekend, Marx took a recruiting trip, headed into the 6A bye week, that landed him in Honolulu to visit the U of Hawaii. Marx left the island with an offer he couldn’t refuse and now was ready to commit, but had unfinished business in leading the Vikings to a 6A playoff run. Things fell short for the Vikings and the following week, after the completion of his junior year, Brayden committed to Hawaii. 

Marx was now set to try out in June for the prestigious Area Code Team, and he did all that he needed to do, in firing his FB from 91-94 mph, with a couple of guns registering 95. Brayden made the Reds Area Code Team and competed in San Diego, last August against 200 of the top players in the country. Marx was 90-93 in his looks and now headed into the fall with some other events and the BYU Fall League before shutting things down on Oct 5th with his 5 inning, 14 K out outing, headed into the winter. 

With the time off this winter, it looks like from some recent footage, Brayden has passed along, that he is primed to show his stuff on Feb 5th at “The Max” in Chicago this coming Sunday at the prestigious PBR Super 60 to kick off his senior season with MLB scout evaluations! 

Brayden Marx RHP / Pleasant Grove, UT / 2023 Rankings  State Rank: 1 / POS: 1 Overall Rank: 128 / POS: 40  Signed NLI: Hawaii  2022 1st Team All-Region 4 2022 6A 1st Team All-State 2022 Area Code Team - Reds (Four Corners)  w 5/11/22 Marx recently committed to the U Hawaii on 5/29/22, but on this day in front of a big crowd, in a cross town marquee matchup for the 6A Region 4 title, Marx was on his “A” game as he K out 9 hitters over 6.1 IP and left in the 7th with his team up 4-1, before the bullpen gave up the lead. With 3 D1 recruiters in the ballpark and a half dozen scouts, to see American Fork ‘22 MLB draft hopeful, it was Marx who stole the show and put himself on the map with the scouts. The one college that was in attendance got what he was hoping for, as Hawaii left the park with a campus visit offered and a subsequent offer was made on the trip that was too good to pass up! Marx was in complete control over his 110 pitches, before having to leave the game due to the state pitch count max. The FB 88-92 was sneaky and played up as he was working the CB/SL combo in front and backwards counts. The CB 74-76 had ridiculous spin of 2750-2990! The SL 79-81 (2500-2618) baffled hitters and missed bats frequently. He didn’t throw one CH, though it’s a potential weapon, giving Marx a 4 pitch starters mix. I expect Marx to have a coming out party this summer with MLB scouts and solidify himself as the #1 arm in the state. 10/5/22 Update: Marx showed his best FB velocity to date, last June at the Area Code Games in San Diego, as the FB was 91-94 with some guns reaching as high as 95. At the Top Prospect Games, last July, Marx was 90-93.4 with his best CB spin rate to date, as he reached as high as 2990. Brayden pitched a game in October, at BYU (BYU Fall League) as his last game, before shutting down for the winter, where he threw 5 innings, giving up one hit, walked 2, and struck out 14 of the 15 outs. If you look at that further, Marx only had 2 balls put in play the entire outing. The FB sat 91-93 T94. He missed 2 immaculate innings twice that night with two 10 pitch innings. Remarkably, Marx's last of the night was a 93 mph FB for a called 3rd strike, for his 14th K of the evening! VIDEO IS BELOW...