San Antonio Preseason ID Quick Hits: Underclass
January 17, 2023
SAN ANTONIO, TX - On Sunday January 8th, the PBR TX staff traveled to Marion High School to host the San Antonio Preseason ID. The event consisted of players from all high school classes participating in a pro style workout. They started by running a 60, using swift performance timing gates, then moved into the defensive workout. The day was capped off with a round of batting practice followed by pitchers throwing bullpens. Today, we take a look at some of the underclassmen that stood out on the day.
Underclassmen
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Jacob Soliz 3B / SS / Rouse, TX / 2026I was excited to get to see Soliz after an offseason, and he improved all of his numbers across the board. The freshman out of Rouse is a middle infielder with a + glove and good instincts. He is a solid athlete that will continue to see jumps as he matures and gets stronger. He was 81 across the infield with his throws, and showed all of the lateral quickness and glovework necessary to stick at short. At the plate, Soliz showed a more powerful stroke from the fall. He has some natural loft in his swing and when he squares it up shows some power potential. Soliz is a high baseball IQ kid that works hard and is one of the best defenders in the ‘26 class. As the bat continues to progress, Soliz will continue to see his stock rise
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Carson Sharp C / 3B / Liberty Hill, TX / 2026The ultra physical Freshman from Liberty Hill participated in Jr. Future Games back at the end of last summer, and we were excited to see him again. He has gotten stronger and continues to lean out. For a 6’3 195 freshman, Sharp moves well behind the plate and shows good receiving and blocking ability. He has good feet and plenty of arm strength which helped him consistently be in the 2.05-2.08 pop time range. He can also handle all 4 corner positions when he isn’t behind the plate. At the plate, Sharp has some of the best power potential in the ‘26 class. Outside of being big and strong, he has good bat speed and a pretty natural feel for the barrel. There isn’t a lot of wasted movement and he repeats it well. Sharp has all the tools necessary to be one of the premier power hitters in the state, and I am excited to get down to see him again this spring.
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Conner Helms SS / 3B / Dripping Springs, TX / 2025One of the big winners on the day for me was Helms. The sophomore from Dripping Springs improved every metric across the board since we last saw him in August. He showed up more physical and went through every drill with confidence. He had a max exit velocity of 97.4 and hit multiple balls out of the yard. He showed elite bat speed that maxed out at 84 mph and the rest of his blast numbers were all way above avg. He has a short, repeatable swing with good rhythm and slight loft. He was really good with the glove as well, showing the ability to go all directions and more than enough arm for the left side of the infield. Helms put in the work in the offseason, and it really showed.
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Colt Brown C / RHP / La Vernia, TX / 2025Another player that improved across the board since the last time we saw him was Brown. He showed significant gains physically since last summer and it showed up in his numbers. He had a good day behind the plate, showed good receiving ability and strong wrists. His pop times were consistently between 2.08-2.12. Brown also took good infield work, and showed the ability to handle 3rd base with enough arm to make all of the throws. At the plate, Brown creates good separation in his load and gets off strong, consistent swings looking to damage. He had a max exit velocity of 91.3 and repeatedly found the barrel of his bat. Brown continues to make progress, and has turned himself into someone to follow this spring.
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Cole Johnson LHP / 1B / Pieper, TX / 2026The freshman Lefty from Piper HS had a really good bullpen that showed some polish plus plenty of upside. He had a repeatable delivery with a short compact arm path that allows him to be a good strike thrower for his age. His fastball topped out at 79.1, and that number will continue to make big jumps. He showed confidence in his changeup and had good command of it. He started it on the outer half and let it run off the plate. He showed the feel for spin, with a 11 to 5 curveball that he threw in the mid 60’s. As he gets stronger, he will be able to throw that with more power and it should make a couple jumps. Johnson showed good pitch ability and will make some big jumps as he gets more physical and stronger. |
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Derek Martinez C / 2B / Pieper, TX / 2025The other player from Pieper HS that stood out is Martinez. The sophomore backstop really showed well defensively and plays the game with a lot of bounce. He is a bit undersized, but he shows a really good arm behind the plate that had him in the 2.07-2.11 range. He is a good receiver and blocker of the baseball, and you can tell he takes pride in his craft behind the plate. Offensively, Martinez has a repeatable swing that is geared for line drives in the big part of the field. Martinez is a ballplayer who has a high Baseball IQ and takes pride in his craft. He needs to get stronger to hold up long term behind the plate, but he is a fun player to watch. |
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Kaleb Rogers RHP / OF / Reagan, TX / 2025Rankings StateRank: 86 / POS: 18
It was my first time seeing Rogers in person and he really caught my eye. The sophomore from powerhouse SA Reagan did a little bit of everything during our event, and did it all well. He started his day running a 6.85 60 showing good athleticism and quick twitch that carried over to the mound. The RHP showed a good fastball that topped out at 88.1 and was 86-87 the entire time. It's a clean arm with an efficient path that he repeats well. He threw strikes with the pitch and showed some sink and asr when down in the zone. He really impressed me with his secondary offerings. He threw his changeup with great arm speed and it looked just like his fastball out of the hand. He also threw a tight, short breaking slider that he threw in the mid 70’s. When he stayed on top of it, it showed good depth and the potential for a put away pitch. Rogers also looked good in the OF where he is an easy glider out there and showed a good arm, with a max throw of 92 mph. He has good bat speed, and showed some power at the plate. It isn’t as refined as his pitching, but there are some tools in the box. Rogers’s present stuff is going to open a lot of eyes this spring, and he projects for even more as he gets stronger.
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