Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Phoenix Preseason ID: Quick Hits

January 25, 2022
Paul Panaccione
Arizona Scouting Director

On January 23, Prep Baseball Report Arizona held the Phoenix Preseason ID at Grand Canyon University. The Phoenix Preseason ID is an open showcase accessible to the class of 2022-2025 players in the state of Arizona, granting players the opportunity to be evaluated by the PBR Arizona staff while their tools were analyzed by state-of-the-art technologies on-site. 

Today, we’ll begin to publish our findings from our first event of the year in the form of this Quick Hits post. In no order, we will state some of our initial takeaways and highlights from Saturday’s showcase. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more post-event coverage.

+ CLICK HERE for full event stats

 

Quick Hits

RHP/3B Hunter Heeringa (Valley Christian, 2023)

6-foot-2 170 pounds, Hunter Heeringa joined us at the Phoenix Preseason ID as a pitcher only. Heeringa is a physical right hander with size and a quick arm action. Starting from the middle of the rubber with good rhythm and tempo, he's got a simple leg lift with a direct stride to the plate. He lands softly on his front side and compresses into his release at a high 3/4 slot. Heerenga's FB showed some promise, sitting 81-83 mph with high spin and IVB numbers. He had a max spin rate of 2231 rpm and an IVB 17.6. These numbers tell us that Heeringa's FB has some ride at the top of the zone and stays on plane well, being tough for hitters to square up this pitch. His breaking ball sat 66-69 mph with downward break. Showing the shape of an out pitch with good command. His CH sat 70-73 mph and showed as more of a straight CH. Hunter Heeringa will be a follow for us through the spring as we expect him to get some good innings for Valley Christian with some project-ability and upside. 

 

RHP/1B Parker Linnig (Saguaro, 2025)

6-foot 170 pounds, Parker Linnig is a 2025 prospect that joined us at the Phoenix ID, getting in front of PBR staff for the first time. As a 2025, Linnig showed a strong build for his age with great ability to command the zone. He was painting the corners his entire outing this day with all pitches. Linnig seems to be a right hander with great pitch-ability. Working from the stretch only, Linnig starts from the 1B side of the rubber with a balanced and easy leg lift that is direct to home plate. Moving down the mound with good pace, his arm works with good hand break and a fluid take away into ball release from a high 3/4 slot. His FB sat 73-76 mph, with great HM numbers at 15.4". The SL showed some promise with a frisbee action sweeping across the plate with -19.2" of HM. The CH sat 66-67 mph with 15.9" of HM and good command. Parker Linnig is a follow for us in the 2025 class on the mound, with a good build and great ability to command the zone. 

 

RHP/1B Dillon Roberts (Cactus Shadows, 2023)

6-foot-1 220 pounds, Dillon Roberts showed well at the Phoenix ID, and proved to be one of the top performers at the event. Roberts has some upside on the mound, and showed some promise with the bat as well. On the mounds, Roberts starts from the 1B side of the rubber with a closed hybrid type windup. Easy into leg lift. Good direction to home plate. Plus separation and gets down the mound aggressively. Rotates well into foot strike and lead leg blocks well. He possesses a clean arm action with good athleticism from a high 3/4 slot. The FB sat 83-85 mph with great IVB and HM. With an IVB of 20.1 and HM of 15" he has the ability to pitch at the top of the zone and bare his FB in on RHH hands. SL sat 70-73 mph with -15.2" of HM. CH sat 74-78 mph with great arm side action. His horizontal movement was recorded at 17.3" and command of the zone. At the plate, Roberts is quiet in the box with some strength and bat speed. He was at the top of the charts for exit velo and max distance on the day with a high rate of line drive contact. Dillon Roberts will be a high follow for us through the spring as an uncommitted 2023 prospect, and we're excited to have him out at Preseason All-State Games next week. 

 

 

 

C/OF David Daniels (Horizon, 2025)

5-foot-7 135 pounds, David Daniels was an exciting 2025 prospect out at the Phoenix Preseason ID. He possesses above average athleticism and has versatility to his game with the ability to play multiple positions at a high level. He has a small build, but the actions are clean, and with added strength this will be a follow in the 2025 class. No eye popping numbers from him at this event, but the actions and athleticism stood out most to our staff as a high upside player. From the catcher position, his best pop time was a 2.13 with clean mechanics and a quick arm. At the plate, his bat path is direct and inside the baseball. With a high rate of line drive contact and barrel awareness, Daniels' max exit velo on the day was 84 mph. Line drives were sprayed to the gaps with backspin flight. David Daniels is another great athlete over at Horizon High School, a swiss arm knife type player with room to grow, we will be following his development. 

 

RHP/C Cohen Baack (Centennial, 2025)

5-foot-8 138 pounds, Cohen Baack stood out as another versatile 2025 prospect at the Phoenix ID. He possesses a smaller build with some twitchy athleticism and wiry strength. He's got an athletic build with room to grow. The tool that stood out most to our staff was his arm. From the outfield, and on the mound, Baack's arm showed life. On the mound, he starts from 1B side of the rubber slow deliberate kick into leg lift. Good direction and gets down the mound aggressively. Rotates well with good extension and a good lead leg block. Quick arm with some length in the back but quickly gets into a good position. Lower 3/4 slot that creates some sink on the FB. Baack's FB sat 73-76 mph with 16" of HM. The SL was commanded well, sitting 69-71 mph with -19.3" of HM. And the CH was firm, without much differential to his FB, sitting 71-72 mph. Offensively, Baack's max exit velo was 80 mph. He still has much room to grow in all parts of his game, but with added strength to the athleticism that he already possesses, Cohen Baack could be a name in Arizona's 2025 class that we are following down the road. 

 

SS/2B Ben Richards (Paradise Valley, 2023)

5-foot-10 140 pounds, Ben Richards was a standout at the Phoenix ID as a SS with clean and athletic infield actions, and a balanced hitter that works through the middle of the field. Richards has a slim build with a high waist, room to add some strength. Although he lacks the size right now, Richards does not lack the athleticism. He sets up with a wider base at the plate and uses a small and direct stride. Does a good job keeping his weight back and hitting from a strong position. His bat path is direct to the ball producing a high rate of line drive contact to the middle of the field. This approach plays best to his profile. Where Richards stood out most was in the infield. He possesses a quick first step and ranges to balls laterally with ease. He's got some give into the body with his glove, showing some soft hands while fielding, with a quick timing to release. With a quick arm action, he gets the ball across the diamond with true 4-seam ball flight and accuracy. We're excited to continue following Richards through the spring season and his physical development. 

 

 

SS/2B Liu Rodriguez (Chaparral, 2025)

5-foot-8 150 pounds, Liu Rodriguez showed advanced actions for a 2025 graduate. The switch hitting infielder possesses a good athletic frame with much room to grow. His skills were shown at the Phoenix ID with both the bat and glove. As a natural LHH, he uses a no stride approach hitting from a strong base. Rodriguez showed the ability to pull the hands in and get inside the pitch down and in, as well as take the pitch on the outer half to the opposite field. His approach at the plate was advanced for a hitter of his age. From the right handed box, there is a little more stiffness to the swing, but with reps and added strength we expect Rodriguez to be a skilled switch hitter. Defensively, Rodriguez has high awareness for his body positioning and playing himself into good hops. His feet are active and glove work is advances. Liu Rodriguez is a slick fielding, switch hitting SS that we will definitely be keeping our eye on in the 2025 class. 

 

 3B/RHP Steve Solorzano (Las Cruces, 2023)

6-foot 185 pounds, Steve Solorzano joined PBR Arizona at the Phoenix Preseason ID from Las Cruces, New Mexico. We've had a few players come across state lines to join us through January, and Solorzano could be the most interesting New Mexico prospect we have seen in our preseason events. He possesses an above average build with strength throughout the body. Solorzano stands with good presence and posture in the box. Using a medium sized leg kick, Solorzano hits from a strong position and creates a good amount of bat speed. He likes to get the barrel out front, posting an event high exit velo of 99 mph, and max distance of 378 feet. Solorzano also showed that one of his strongest tools is his arm strength. He posted event highs in infielder velo at 87 mph, and FB velo at 89 mph. Solorzano is headed to New Mexico state in the 2024 season as a two-way prospect. He will be given a chance to see if the skills can play on both sides of the ball at the college level, as he has a high upside both on the mound and in the batters box. 

 

 

 

SS/2B Caden Truman (Desert Ridge, 2024)

5-foot-10 155 pounds, Caden Truman showed some skill and upside at the Phoenix Preseason ID last Sunday. Truman was a standout in all three portions of his workout, he ran a top 60 yard time, had some of the cleanest actions in the infield, and showed some promise swinging the bat from both sides. As a 2024, Truman showed some smooth and rhythmic actions throughout his game. He always seems to be in control of his body. He ran a 6.82 60 yard to begin the workout, proving to be the best speed on the day. He took rounds of BP from both sides of the plate, right handed being his natural side. The right handed swing was definitely more polished as expected. From the right handed batters box, we saw a loose swing with more direction through the middle of the field. His best bullet was recorded at 90 mph and 300 feet. The left handed swing showed there could be something there. With more reps and added strength, we expect the rhythm and direction of his right handed swing to come over to the left side. Defensively, the trend stayed the same for Truman, as he was smooth and under control. The footwork and glove work is there, and the arm can play from the left side with added consistency to his accuracy. Truman is a 2024 that we will be following through the remainder of his time at Desert Ridge High School. 

 

 

Related Content

Upcoming Events

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Preseason All-State Games: Underclass (Invite-Only) AZ 01/29 Apollo High School - Glendale, AZ
Preseason All-State Games: Upperclass (Invite-Only) AZ 01/30 Apollo High School - Glendale, AZ
Super 60 Pro Showcase NATIONAL 02/06 The MAX - McCook, Ill.
Phoenix Rising Stars ID AZ 02/21 Desert Ridge High School - Phoenix, AZ