PBR Utah 2023 Top 10 Rankings

Tyler Ball RHP / 3B / Skyridge, UT / 2023

Brexten Starley C / 1B / Crimson Cliffs, UT / 2023

Starley, the top power bat in the ‘23 class, had as good a BP as I’ve seen from him. I have known Starley since he was 8-9 yrs old, as he lived in my hometown and has played with my son since they were young. But it’s his bat that gets your attention and not the connection to me, which does give me more time to evaluate him and provide a strong track record for colleges to follow up on. The bat is live, with a smooth fluid fast stroke. Brex shows bat speed and natural lift into a whippy high two hand finish. A class best and 3rd highest overall event exit velo of 95.5. Strongly built with a powerful linebacker type build, the sophomore C/1B will be a strong recruit for any D1 program. Any program that hasn’t started conversations with him, better hurry, as he is not only gonna be a name in Utah, but the entire region as well. 

2021 Varsity Stats: Cleanup Hitter

G 10 AB 21 R 7 H 7 AVG .333 RBI 5 2B 2 BB 8 K 5

Petey Soto Jr. SS / OF / Crimson Cliffs , UT / 2023

A slick fielding INF at 5-9 145, has a lean, even proportion frame with abv avg athleticism and can play all 9 spots on the Diamond. Soto can handle 3 INF spots along with CF and makes all look as if it’s his primary spot. A quick twitch live lower allows for graceful defensive actions and his feet/hands have a chance to play abv avg in time. His hands are smooth/quick and he plays from the ground up, while syncing his hands and feet, in getting off strong accurate throws across the diamond. The arm is avg by MLB standards now and will definitely be plus in the near future. A 60 yard dash time of 6.94 should improve even more over the next few years, as he fills out and continues to add size and leg strength. The bat has some Latin type flair in that he can be a free swinger and then also grind out an AB and spray LD’s to all fields. With a young immature body now, Soto can lift it out to the pull side when he squares it up. A conventional RH even props square stance, he gets quality separation and takes an aggressive, but lengthy pass at the baseball, with a fast bat. It will be fun to see where the versatile, athletic, flashy INF takes his game in the future.

2021 Varsity Stats: Leadoff Hitter

G 10 AB 31 R 8 H 8 AVG. 258 HR 4 RBI 9 2B 1 BB 4 SO 11

Ryder Robinson SS / 2B / American Fork, UT / 2023

Only a sophomore, but hitting in the leadoff spot for undefeated and #4 ranked American Fork. The brother of CSI masher, Crew Robinson, and the son of former CSI All-American and Cardinals farmhand, Darek Robinson. Ryder is 6-1 165 with huge feet and hands and projects to be 6-2, 6-3 and around 200 Lbs when all is said and done. A switch hitter like his father, he has a feel to hit and knack of getting on base and scoring runs. He’s also a very smooth defender with a slow internal clock. Makes the game look easy on the defensive side of the ball. Could easily make a jump in the not to distant future. Colleges jump on this kid!

2021 Varsity Stats: Leadoff Hitter

G 7 AB 19 R 12 H 6 AVG. .316 RBI 5 BB 2 SO 1 SB 2

Cole Kershaw 1B / 3B / Jordan, UT / 2023

An XL frame with big features thruout. Country strong kid that has three years of HS baseball left. When looking at him, it’s hard to believe he’s this young. He’s a man child and his hitting ability and future power projs leaves you wanting to see him every 3-6 months to see his progression. Offensively the LHH 1B, who I call the “Baby Bull” features an even props square stance with a high back elbow and waggles his bat for rhythm, he then rocks into his back hip and picks his front foot up and sets it down into a soft short stride. At foot strike he positions the bat vertically into a dead hand position and needs to get better separation, yet fires the bat with a short compact powerful stroke that’s geared to pull. He finishes balanced and in the center of his body. His bat speed at 76 MPH is fast and quick and he finds the barrel, and the ball jumps with an EV high of 99. On the defensive side at 1B, he shows soft hands and fields out front, yet bends at the knees. He does have  to gather and takes an extra step to position himself to throw. With reps and instruction, he has time on his side to improve, yet the bat draws your attention and he should provide power and run production for his team. The bat is one to keep an eye on. 

2021 Varsity Stats: Cleanup Hitter

G 7 AB 21 R 10 H 13 AVG .619 HR 2 RBI 9 2B 4 BB 7 SO 2

Jacob Faust OF / RHP / Olympus , UT / 2023

A two way player with 3 years of developing and has a solid ceiling and while it’s too early to tell whether he’s gonna be a bat or an arm on the mound, he does possess next level college ability with the bat and the arm. As a hitter, he stands upright with a slight crouch and his feet together and open, and brings his front foot back to square, then loads the bat at a solid 45 degree angle. He does drift with his hips somewhat, but keeps his hands in the ready position and fires the hands inside the baseball and shows a fast bat for his age at 72.7 mph, with a 95.06 EV. What’s intriguing is that he also ran a 6.94/60 and touched 83 with a semi quick arm from the mound. Definite one of the top ‘23s in the state.

Crew McChesney OF / RHP / Lone Peak, UT / 2023

Another new player that jumped on the scene and one that will be in the top 10 rankings for the ‘23 class when our rankings come out within the next month. A quick twitch CF with above average athleticism and not only are some of the metrics and measurables elite for a sophomore, but he also passes the eye test and his hitting mechanics are there to be an above average college level hitter. Tied for the top spot with an event best 6.55/60 yard dash, while showing a fluid fast arm from the OF, topping out at 87 mph, which was tied for 4th. The bat will take him far and his exit velo of 88 is solid for his age, but the way he moves in the field and the ability to swing the bat will take him far in this game. Really like this one!

Myles Topham RHP / 1B / Cedar , UT / 2023

An athlete with a proj build, loose arm and loose wrist to finish pitches and only a sophomore, lends itself to proj nicely into a solid arm at the next level. Topham has the type of frame and build to highly proj on, at 6-3 185, as his grandfather is a JUCO Head Basketball Coach, and has been in the same role at the D1 level as well. Lean and athletic, the arm speed and quality of the arm stroke, lends itself to further development and future velocity to come. With a med to high kick of delivery, Myles needs to repeat his delivery better, as he tends to misfire and can pepper the K zone, but is raw and with further quality coaching, he should be able to improve vastly. With a FB 82-85 (Spin 2064) at the Fall Prospect ID event, he shows the arm speed to be a 90 in time guy by his senior year. The CB 68-72 has more sweep and horizontal action over depth and just needs some tweaks to getting his fingers on top of the baseball, which will aid in his CB development. Recently in a preseason tourney, Myles touched 88 with the FB and is starting to project. 

G 3 GS 3 W 0 L 2 ERA: 2.62 IP 10.1 H 4 R 6 ER 3 BB 11 17

March 30th vs. #2 Ranked - Desert Hills

IP 6 H 3 R 3 ER 3 BB 6 SO 12