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AZ Fall Review: Quick Hits

December 8, 2020
Brett Thorney
State Scouting Director

AZ FALL REVIEW: QUICK HITS

On Sunday, December 6th,  PBR Arizona had a chance to wrap up its fall season with its Fall Review showcase. This event was an open event featuring 2021-2024 grad prospects. The event took place at Arcadia High School in Phoenix, AZ which can be regarded as one of the top HS venues in the state of Arizona. Once again, we were able see many new faces up close as well as get updates on players that we have seen in past coverage. We were able to see kids all across the state of Arizona as well as some prospects from California, Colorado and New Mexico in attendance. There were several players will solid performances on the day that one will want to pay attention to moving forward. This event has become a popular event as the Fall Season starts to wrap up while transitioning into the offseason.

Today, we will continue our post event coverage by taking a look at some first impressions from the event. This isn't a top prospect list but rather some things that stood out on the day. Be sure to stay tuned over the next few weeks for more post-event coverage. 

CLICK HERE to view all event statistics. 

Quick Hits

+ 2023 OF Cooper Holtorf (Mountain Ridge)- While there is still some maturing left, Holtorf sports an athletic compact frame at 5-foot-7 145-pounds. He put in one of the cleanest days across the board on both sides of the ball. He has pretty fundamentality sound actions as baseball player. Offensively, he uses a simple approach with quiet movements. Short swing with quick hands. Defensively, he showed easy footwork in the OF with a quick release and some carry on his throws. Should improve across the board as he physically matures.  

 

+ 2022 1B Braeden Schnabel (Corona Del Sol)- Schnabel came to his first PBR event almost a year ago now. At that time, he was 6-1/150-pounds in a long thin frame with minimal strength. Over the course of a year, he has grown to 6-foot-4 170-pounds with obvious added strength with plenty of room to add more. The improvements and added physicality was evident in his round of BP where he hit a ball at 98mph down the LF line. Clean footwork defensively with confident actions. Fields ball out in front with soft hands. 

 

 + 2023 3B Nico Rijo-Berger (Sandra Day O'Connor)- Although there was some rawness to his process, the strength & leverage at the plate stood out for Rijo-Berger. As a 2023 grad, he already stands at 6-foot-3 190-pounds with even more projectable strength to come in the future. Offensively, Rijo accelerated on plane quickly thanks to his advanced hand speed.He hit several balls in the mid to upper 90's, topping out at 101.3 mph via trackman. He looked to drive the baseball in the air with an aggressive approach. If he can stay connected and clean up a few things, he has some real power potential going forward. Defensively, he showed capable actions as a young third basemen but could transition over to 1B in the future. 

 

+ 2022 RHP Kade Newman (Williams Field)- Newman attended a PBR event back in October at Northern Colorado but this was the first time our staff in Arizona had a chance to see Newman in person. He showed some two-way potential on the day but especially stood out with upside on the mound. Newman has a long athletic frame with some present strength at 6-foot-2 180-pounds. Throws with some quickness from a fluid delivery, 3/4 slot with long arm action. FB sat 81-83, topping out at 84mph with sinking action. His breaking ball was tight with 2400rpm. The CH showed plus potential with good action at 75-76mph. 

 

+ 2022 C Aidan Bever (Mountain Ridge)- Bever was top catching prospect that worked out with us at the Fall Review. At 5-foot-10 160-pounds, there is plenty of room to add weight and strength to his thin athletic frame. He shows some feel behind the plate with above average flexibility in his staggered stance. Bever possesses some ability to stay below pitches to receive the borderline low strikes. His arm is quick and accurate, logging 2.06-2.14 pop times. His 71mph arm strength should continue to improve with his strength and maturity. Offensively, Bever hit with a balanced athletic setup with slightly open stance. Used a pull-approach, looking to hit the ball in the air with an uphill swing, 91mph exit velocity. Upside behind the plate & development should be followed into the spring & summer. 

 

+ 2021 RHP Austin Puett (West Ranch, CA)- Uncommitted, Puett is a big strong athlete at 6-foot-4 205-pounds with broad shoulders, good strength & some durability to build off. He logged the top velocities on the mound of the day. Uses a tall athletic delivery with higher effort. Throws with quickness from an over-the-top slot with extremely high release & long arm action. Lands square with a balanced athletic finish. FB sat 87-88mph with occasional downhill, cutting action with firmness. Slider with cutting action has plus potential at 78-79mph. CV was thrown at 70-72mph. Frame & natural arm strength should give him some upside.

 

+ 2022 3B Ricky Rodenberg (Murrieta Valley, CA)- Rodenberg sports a wiry athletic frame with some present strength at 6-foot-2 180-pounds. He arguably had the top BP round of the day, showing off some consistent pop with a pull-approach. Had some of the top metrics as far as Blast and Trackman goes. He accelerates on plane quickly and efficiently with a slightly uphill swing. Using a simple process, he possesses above average bat speed and advanced hands. He hit a couple balls over the LF fence, working in the upper 90's on trackman. Defensively, he showed good feel & rhythm at third base. Displays arm strength across the diamond with soft hands. Upside should be followed. 

 

+ 2021 SS Taehyung Kim (Ironwood Ridge)- Uncommitted, Kim is an under the radar prospect that we haven't seen or heard much about in the past. He was hitting 3rd in the lineup and playing shortstop for Ironwood Ridge before the season was shutdown. His left-handed bat and hands defensively stood out to our staff. Offensively, he hits from a relaxed but powerful base, using a gathered leg kick. Showed a middle pull approach with some length to his uphill swing. He seems to have some strength to his frame but could build the bat speed to give him some extra pop in the future. Defensively, he showed an advanced glove with soft hands and quick release. His speed could move him to a corner in the future where his glove would play. Development should be followed into spring. 

 

+ 2021 INF Adrian Jones (Centennial, NM)- Uncommitted, Although the consistency finding the barrel at the plate could have been a bit better on the day, Jones showed some upside. Jones sports a long levered, athletic frame & projectable body to go along with some twitchy athleticism. As a left-handed hitter, he hit from an athletic setup with narrow base, falling into front foot strike. Gets out of the zone early. Defensively, he displayed quick & clean footwork, fielding the ball out in front with soft hands and carry to the bag. Jones' above average athleticism & upside should be followed.  

 

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