QUICK HITS

The PBR Utah Fall Prospect ID took place on November 20th this past weekend with over 50 athletes in attendance. The Fall I.D. gives players the opportunity to update their PBR Profile during the fall recruiting season. We will also use this event to invite players to future invite-only events such as the Utah Preseason All-State, Top Prospect Games, West Coast Games, and the PBR Future Games. 

The following QUICK HITS reports, identify those players that stood out at the event and punched their ticket to the Preseason All-State event at Desert Hills HS on March 5, 2021. 

Check out the full stats page here.

2022 

Mitchell Dalton, OF, 5-11 180, R-R (Spanish Fork HS)

Dalton was a surprise breakout bat at the event. We only wish we would of seen him previously. Mitchell took a controlled professional BP, with a balanced well prop stance and setup. His hands work well into and from the launch phase, and takes a soft, short stride at foot strike and fires his hands inside and through the baseball the swing shows strength and didn't sell out for metrics, but just took an easy stroke that produce EV's as high as 97.1 and featured a repeatable online hitting stroke, that squared the ball up consistently. The ball jumped off his bat on a line and there's a base level of talent to suggest he will only get better. Playing for one of Utah's storied programs, the "Dons" of Spanish Fork are the defending 5A State Champions. I expect Mitch to garner further attention as the spring approaches and look for a solid senior campaign. 

2023

Wyatt Falk, RHP/OF, 6-1 185, R-R (Carbon HS)

A lean tall athletic build with strong legs and thickness through his thighs. Gathers well through a high kick to compact delivery. Med to full compact HTQ arm stroke with a loose wrist to finish pitches. Needs to get better ext over his front side at follow through, but looks to have not received much instruction, which lends itself to further overall mechanical and velocity development. The FB 80-84 and sat at 82. The CB 63-65 feathers and flips into the zone with loose rotation. Needs to throw it harder and more conviction. Shows shape and depth, though that’s a start in spinning the baseball. Has a solid year at the 3A level with 42 K outs in 30 IP’s with a 2.77 ERA in leading Carbon to a 3A runner up finish. Want to see more to see where his development is down the road! 

Cohen Strickland, 2B/RHP, 6-0 175, R-R (Orem HS)

Strickland was another surprise, and the big thing that stood out, was his athletic look, and HUGE hitting metrics from Trackman and Blast Motion. With an EV of 88.4 that can definitely improve, as he squares the ball up more consistently, as the hand and bat speeds were off the charts at 26.7 and 87.8!! It was a controlled easy hitting stroke. Defensively a primary 2B, shows soft hands and plays below the baseball with flashes of glove actions. Needs to sync his feet and hands a bit better, but the base is there to improve. The throwing stroke is short and compact, with more of a short flip type arm stroke of a 2B'man. Playing for a quality coach in Carl Hermansen and with other college level prospects on the roster, Cohen is surrounded by a baseball culture and environment to get better and improve. 

Sam Johanson, CF, 6-2 195, R-R (Hurricane HS)

Showing vast improvement and exhibiting a more relaxed approach in an event setting, Johanson took his best BP of the year at a PBR event. Over the past 3-4 months, Sam's body which has quality muscle tone and definition, has taken another step forward, as he looks to have added 10-15 Lbs of chiseled muscle and really looks the part now. The swing is more controlled and easy, though he does have a tendency to leak and jump at the baseball, yet toned it down somewhat in this look. The hand and bat speeds of 24.3 and 74.8 have steadily jumped over the past 6 months and showed an EV high of 97.1. A bit behind others in his class, Sam had a fantastic summer at the American Legion level and looks to take that next step in the upcoming spring HS season. 

Maddox Jarvis, 3B/SS, 5-8 160, R-R (Payson HS)

Another surprise at the Fall Prospect ID, Jarvis showed a clean fluid easy hitting stroke and didn't sell out for metrics and yet produced hand and bat speeds of 26.2 and 75.2. The stroke is online and was repeatable with plane accuracy of 85%. Shows pound for pound strength for his size with flashes of glove actions with soft hands and fairly educated feet. There is some boxiness to the actions, and would be best suited for 2B, with his short ball to ear arm stroke, yet the arm is accurate and he fields GB's clean, despite some fringy feet. The base is there to improve, as he is in the '23 class and quality instruction will help. Keep an eye on this young man.  

2024

Keaton Stinson, CF/MIF, 5-11 165, R-R (Cottonwood HS)

Stinson was one of the best  two players at the Fall Prospect ID and it wasn’t close. A surprise in that he attended the Summer ID and for some reason slipped through my line of sight. However he is squarely on my radar now! Features a lean athletic strong build and projects even more size and strength at maturity. A young 15 yr old bat with tons of potential, as he posted an EV of 99.8 and looked the part of a hitter, with a slightly open semi crouched stance and his weight distributed 55/45. Stinson gets to a deep load and then fires the bat with hand speeds of 25.2 with an event best bat speed of 82! All of these are elite level metrics! From the OF, he shows soft hands and comes thru the baseball, and shows some low elbow MIF type arm stroke, and his throws have some tail, yet are online and carry with one hop accuracy at 81 mph. A 6.94/60 completed his tool package. At the Summer ID he took GB’s at SS and showed natural feel out front with his hands and plays thru the baseball with educated feet. Shows a medium arm stroke and his throws have carry. Has put himself on the map as a short list candidate for the PBR Future Games next July, if he stays uncommitted!

Luke Taylor, C/1B, 6-0 185, R-R (Skyline HS)

Commitment: Utah

Taylor is one of the top 2 hitters in the Utah class of ‘24. A Future Games alum, Luke went off in BP with 3-4 deep drives to the pull side for HR’s and has shown an advanced feel for his age, regarding his setup at the plate. He starts with his hands cocked and in the firing position and rocks back and lifts his front foot and sets it down softly and fires the bat with an elevated plane to drive and lift the ball. With an EV of 98, it won’t be long before Luke is breaking the 100 mph barrier, with 3 years of HS competition in front of him!

Hayden Smith, C, 5-9 160, R-R (Snow Canyon HS)

A young 14 yr old with plenty of room for growth, weight and physical development moving forward. The base is there to develop into a solid baseball player. The catching end shows potential and his pop times are in the 2.2 range and should improve to avg as he continues to add strength with years on his side. The exchange is clean and he’s accurate with carry at times. The intriguing part is he showed some glove actions with proper footwork at SS and fields from the ground up and out front. He has some educated feet and sets up nicely to get off strong accurate throws across the diamond. The bat shows solid potential as he gets quality separation with his load and lower ½ synced up. The bat is fluid and has some uphill to it, and should develop some pull side power potential as he matures. Will be interesting to follow and see his development over the next 4 years. 

2025

Austin Park, CF, 5-11 145, R-R (Juab HS)

Austin is a tall skinny athletic kid, with considerable upside and wiry overall strength. Showed well for a 14 yr old young player and doesn't turn 15 until summer '22. One of the better players at the Fall Prospect ID, which earned him an invite to the Preseason All-State event. A freshman at a very strong 3A HS program, Park has the ability to leave the park to the pull side and plays in the summers for the UCBA Barons Head Coach, Jeremy Thomas (Former 12 yr pitching coach at Dixie State/BYU). Austin has big hands and feet, with considerable room for another 30-40 lbs at maturity. Defensively showed educated feet in his approach to the baseball, with a loose, clean and fluid arm stroke. Can one hop his target now and should have an avg to abv avg arm from CF in short order. Offensively he has a clean pure RH hitting stroke, that gets to a solid position at launch, while driving his hands inside and through the baseball. The swing is on line and takes a direct path to the baseball, with a repeatable stroke. A 3 sport (Football, Basketball, Baseball) athlete, that should develop into a quality player, possibly a D1 player within the next couple of years. Definitely keep an eye on this kid! 

Miles Layton, RHP, 5-11 155 (Brighton HS)

The cleanest delivery of the event. A young 14 yr old with solid upside to throw harder and look for a 10 mph increase over the next 4 years of HS. The delivery is a little paint by the numbers and is methodical, but once he reaches the apex of his knee kick, he breaks clean and separates over the rubber. The HTQ arm stroke is clean with avg ext out front. The arm strength hasn’t kicked in as of yet. Does seem to feather his pitches into the zone, instead of reaching back and giving it his best bolt. The CB is low in velo and needs to throw it harder and with his FB arm speed. With this added arm speed, he needs to be on the mid 60’s with the pitch. Everything lines up for a late bloomer type arm to catch up to the cleanness of the delivery and arm stroke. Will be interesting to see where he is come next summer after a year of HS baseball. 

Andrew Wilson, C, 5-9 160, L-R (Desert Hills HS)

Wilson has bloodlines, as his father was also a catcher at Dixie State in the early 2000's. A solid catch and throw package with a LD hard contact LH bat, that shows considerable potential, even as a '25 to projs beyond the HS level. Shows some quick active feet, with a clean short EZ arm stroke, with online accurate throws, and has a natural feel behind the plate. The bat shows considerable potential, with an online flat through the zone hitting stroke and the ball jumps off the bat with hand and bat speeds of 23.8 and 72.4. The EV high of 92.6 is impressive for an incoming HS freshman and I would like to see him further, as he will be playing for a state power in my backyard at Desert Hills HS. 

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