Preseason All-state (upperclass): QUICK HITS

The high school baseball season in Arizona is coming up quickly with many prospects around the state gearing up for their seasons. PBR Arizona had a chance to hold its annual Preseason All-State on January 30th, which is one of the biggest events of the year in Arizona. The two-day invite only event features some of the top prospects from around the state coming from the 2021-2025 grad classes. The event was broadcasted live in order for coaches, scouts and fans to see the action all over the country. This invite only event continues to be a huge identifier of prospects in Arizona and to get quality prospect updates on players we have seen in the past. This event has also played a big role on which prospects will secure their invitation to represent Team Arizona at the PBR Future Games later in the summer.

The Preseason All-State Games featured over 65 prospects from the 2021-2022 grad classes from all across the state of Arizona with a few players trickling in from border states and even Hawaii. This event has become a must attend event as players go into their high school seasons. 

Today, we will be taking a look at some of our first impressions from the event. This isn't a top prospect list but rather some things that stood throughout the day. 

To view the full event stats click here.

QUICK HITS

Brandon Compton OF / LHP / Buckeye Union , AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 36 / POS: 12 San Deigo commit, It's getting noticeable that Compton continues to use these events to help identify area's of development. He comes back every so often showing off the improvements he's made. This event, Compton made some strong improvements to his body, literally. He looks like he's gained close to 20-pounds since we last saw him at the PBR Future Games. It showed on the field especially on the mound where he worked up to 89.62mph with his same clean delivery. We had previously had him topping out in the low 80's. Offensively, he continue to show an advanced approach  with quiet actions and body control. Ball jumps off the bat a little easier with him and we wouldn't be surprised if he ran into some more power this spring.

 

 

Jace Smith RHP / 1B / Mountain Ridge, AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 41 / POS: 14 We had a chance to see Smith two weekends in a row at the AC ID Series and Preseason All-State. He continues to gain momentum on our board and has made some big strides since he came to our Top Prospect Games last summer. At the PAS Games, he saw 8 batters in two innings, striking out six of them. He throws from a pretty low effort delivery with his FB reaching 89mph. He also commanded his CV that showed some depth at 73-75mph at 2400rpm. We should continue to see more from Smith in the near future.

 

 

Brandon Koble LHP / OF / Red Mountain, AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 58 / POS: 5 We have had a chance to see Koble on the mound twice in the last couple weeks where he shows a pretty high ceiling which led to a recent commitment to Arizona State. Standing at 6-4/180-pounds with a long athletic frame is a pretty good starting point for any pitcher. Throws from a H3/4 arm slot with short arm action. FB sat 83-86mph, thrown down in zone with some arm side movement. SL showed above average potential with some sweeping action & averages 14in of HB. His natural arm strength & athleticism should help him continue to make strides in the future.

 

 

Garrett Sloan 3B / RHP / Estrella Foothills, AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 62 / POS: 4 Sloan is another player we had a chance to see two weeks in a row at the AC ID Series and our Preseason All-State Games. He shows some pretty well rounded tools, coming from his strong athletic frame. He is a two-way player with obvious arm strength. He worked his FB up to 87mph with some intent. He also threw 88mph across the diamond which was an event high at our Preseason All-State. Offensively, he is a free swinger with elite bat speed, uses an aggressive pull-approach, showing power potential to LCF. Sloans tools combined with his strength & athleticism should make him a close follow going into the spring.

 

 

Jack Minhinnick 1B / RHP / Desert Vista, AZ / 2022 Minhinnick had a solid all around day at our Preseason All-State. He has cleaned up his body a bit, looking leaner since the last time we saw him at an event and since we saw him this past summer. He moved around noticeably better as a result. He shows above average strength in his swing coming from his XL frame, worked up to 96 via Trackman. Where he really stood out for us was on the mound where he has gained 5+mph in almost a year. His FB worked up to 80mph while showing feel for his offspeed. He threw a sweeping SL with good horizontal movement. He also mixed in a circle CH with sinking action.

 

 

Dante Turgeon 3B / 1B / Benjamin Franklin , AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 66 / POS: 5 It's always been pretty apparent that Turgeon has some of the most power potential in the class. He has elite bat & hand speed while showing the ability to accelerate on plane quickly. He also stands at 6-2/205-pounds and has even gained some strength by the looks of it. He logged the highest exit velocity of the day at 101mph via Trackman. The combination of those things make it hard to throw FB's over the plate. Where he's really improved for us is his ability sit back and adjust. He showed us some more balance in his approach while using the opposite field gap some more. Defensively, we see him as a future first basemen but we've been told that he could see some action at SS for his HS team this spring. That should help improve his feet & athleticism in the field greatly. Turgeon's bat and power potential should be followed closely this spring.

 

 

Ezra McNaughton SS / 2B / Mountain View, AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 43 / POS: 8 McNaughton looks the part of a high level athlete with a strong defined body at 5-11/185-pounds. When we saw McNaughton playing for his HS team earlier this fall we barely recognized him with the improvements in the strength that he made. Two weekends in a row, his left-handed bat caught the eye of scouts where he received in an invite to the Area Code tryouts as a result. Offensively, he generates advanced bat speed from a pretty low effort approach with quiet actions. He uses the middle of field, logging up to 100mph exit velocities with ease. In the game, he hit an inside out 2B down the LF line. He also showed the ability to adjust to offspeed. The improvements to his athleticism have also been recognizable on the defensive side of the ball where his footwork looks improved with a stronger arm across the diamond. McNaughton should be a strong follow going forward.

 

 

Brody Sexton C / 2B / Chandler, AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 48 / POS: 3 This was Sexton's first event with PBR, and he quickly emerged as one of the top uncommitted catching prospects in the AZ- class of 2022. Defensively, he arguably could make a strong case for the top defensive catcher in the class. He has a natural low center of gravity coming from a strong compact 5-10/175-pound frame. He has elite catch & throw skills, logging 1.86-1.91 pop times with 78mph arm strength. He used these skills to throw out a runner from his knees in our game. Has soft hands with some ability to receive the low strike. Offensively, there is above average pop coming out of the frame, displaying feel for the barrel with some bat speed. With a couple of adjustments in slotting the barrel, the consistency could improve greatly. With his strength, he already logs mid 90's exit velocities with a mid/pull approach. Sexton should be a strong follow going forward.

 

 

Jared Crumpler OF / 1B / Red Mountain , AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 123 / POS: 27 Crumpler might not be the biggest guy on the field at 5-9/162-pounds but he plays bigger than his size with some twitchy athleticism. He barreled up some balls in our games and might have had a HR taken away from him by a foul ball call that could have gone either way. He hits from a relaxed upright base, using a leg kick with forward movement to create bat speed with his fast hands. He hit some balls in the mid 90's in his round of BP with a mid/ pull approach. Defensively, he has athletic confident feet with quickness. Has a deceptively strong arm creating direction to his target with 87mph arm strength. Crumpler has some top of the order potential with sneaky tools.

 

 

Alex Londono C / OF / Salpointe Catholic , AZ / 2021 Rankings  StateRank: 129 / POS: 15 Alex Londono put in one of his best events he's had with us on the day. He snagged two extra base hits in our games, both hard hit line drives in the RCF gap for a triple & double. He displays above average feel for the game with some well rounded skills. Offensively, he has a long but quick swing with good bat speed. Defensively, he's not the big catch & throw some guys are and there is some rawness receiving. However, there is solid athleticism & awareness there to make positive improvements in the future.

 

 

Rodolfo (RJ) Molina 2B / OF / Salpointe Catholic, AZ / 2021 Rankings  StateRank: 94 / POS: 1 Molina might be one of the smaller players that attended our Preseason All-State, listed at 5-6/135-pounds but he's had a great showing offensively in two events now. Obviously, there is some limited strength there as he doesn't have the weight to throw around like some guys do. However, he has good hit tool with athleticism from the left-handed side of the plate. He shows great discipline in box, putting together some quality ABs on the day. He also hit a hard line drive double in the RCF gap. Defensively, there is alot to like in the infield as he shows clean athletic footwork with some quickness. The ball comes out short & clean with deceptive arm strength. Molina could be a sneaky pick up for a solid college program.

 

 

Thomas DeChesaro C / 3B / Saguaro, AZ / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 63 / POS: 6 DeChesaro doesn't get some of the attention others guys do at certain times as he is a multi-sport athlete, dedicating some time to football in the summer & fall seasons. DeChesaro shows good strength in his 5-10/185-pound frame. It shows offensively as he put up a Blast Motion line of 72.2mph/ 21.08g/ 70% and has logged up to 97mph exit velocities in the past. He also backed these numbers up by hitting a line drive double with quality barrel in the RCF gap. Defensively, DeChesaro is a versatile player thats still trying to figure out his primary position. He can also play some INF and pitch at times. His future position could be catcher though, where he worked out at our Preseason All-State Games. He logged 1.91-2.08 pop times with 78mph arm strength. There is some stiffness receiving with average mobility that can be cleaned up with more experience & reps at the position. DeChesaro's development should be followed.

 

 

Chaz Ortega-Clemons 3B / OF / Desert Edge, AZ / 2021 Chaz Ortega-Clemons is new to the state of Arizona, moving here from El Paso, TX. Speaking of multi-sport athletes, Clemons has just decided to focus more on baseball as he has been predominantly football in the past in TX. Clemons is a high level athlete at 6-2/190-pounds, a quick look into his football video will show you a good combination of speed and physicality. On the diamond, he shows some raw power & arm strength that will continue to get better over time. He already has the bat speed & strength to do damage. Could be a nice addition to a college program in the future.

 

 

Benjamin Cazares III 1B / RHP / Tucson, AZ / 2022 We didnt know much about Cazares going into the event but he had a solid day across the board. He is currently a two-way player, standing at 6-1/210-pounds in an XL frame. He threw strikes in his inning, working up to 84mph with his FB that displayed significant run. He also showed some feel for an above average SL that had some sweeping action. Offensively, he barreled some balls in our games while showing some bat speed in his round of BP.

 

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