2022 Top 10 Prospects (Updated)
November 8, 2021
We update the 2022 Top 10 Prospects as we head into the winter months. I don't anticipate much movement, but we will have one more update before the end of the year. We have two upcoming showcase events on the books for November 20 (Fall Prospect ID) and the following day, November 21 (Fall All-State Games) both at Snow Canyon HS.
This class is a strong class of top caliber impact D1 talent and features 5 players who were selected to play in the prestigious Area Code Games in So. California. For the past 22 years, I've been the source for the recommendations/invites for the state of Utah, for the Area Code tryouts. At the top of the list, is one of the best two sport athletes in the country, and Fisher Ingersoll also played in the UA All-American Game at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City (Royals) as one of the top players in the country! Each player has been dominant throughout their HS careers or have really jumped exponentially this summer. All these players were household names of PBR Utah's content coverage of HS baseball in the state last spring, and we look forward to seeing all of these players taking additional strides come spring!
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Fisher Ingersoll SS / 3B / American Fork , UT / 2022
Commitment: Texas Christian U (TCU)Shooter Hunt (VP of Scouting for Prep Baseball Report) Ingersoll has been one of my favorite follows since PBR first added the state of Utah to its network as he seems to check a plethora of boxes as a dual-sport athlete (football) with an Adonis frame (6-foot-3, 195-pounds) who also hits left-handed. PBR Utah scouting director and former 20+ year MLB scout, Jeff Scholzen, puts it into even better context here: -Jeff Scholzen (PBR Utah Director) |
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Payton Gubler SS / RHP / Desert Hills, UT / 2022 Commitment: Brigham Young UA two way multi faceted “baseball player” that can beat you 3 ways as an amateur, with his glove, his arm and the bat. The Desert Hills SS also takes his turn in the rotation and has created a name for himself over the past year, playing for the powerful Team Utah ‘22, and the Mets Scout Team ’22 in AZ. Gubler showed at the Fall Prospect ID, why he will be a very strong player at the next level. A recent BYU commit, Payton had the 2nd best exit velo in his class at 95.4, and produced another at 95.1 and 94.3. A strong BP session, with a classic RHH stance and starts with the bat at a 45, and rocks back to load and fires his hands in a short compact manner, with length out front and whips the bat into a strong and high one hand finish. At SS, he showed dance to his educated feet, and showed actions and is fluid in his approach to the baseball. As he gathers and separates the hands, he gets his arm up quick and gets off a strong and accurate throw across the diamond. An all around player that also produced 88-92 in the spring as the co-ace at Desert Hills. This summer Payton was touching 95 and was 93-94 at the area code games, coupled with a wipeout 83-84 plus CB/SL at times with plus biting action and was unhittable. He now profiles as a strong two way type at BYU. Is schooled in the fundamentals and knows how to play the game. A sum of all his parts type, which is what a “baseball player” is. Plays the game the right way! From: Shooter Hunt (VP of Scouting) Area Code Games A Brigham Young recruit, logged just one inning, but made an impression with his stuff. Standing at just 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, he struck out three batters around a single. The fastball was 93-94, though he lost a tick out of the stretch, and the slider was 83-84, grading as above average to plus with hard, late break at 83-84. |
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Mic Paul OF / Olympus, UT / 2022Commitment: LSU #1 player in the ‘22 class since last fall, but drops to 3 and is no fault of his own, as the top 3 could all easily be #1, as well as the #4. Has come to 3 PBR events and never seems to disappoint. Always one of the top 2 runners at each event, Mic was this event's speed leader with a 6.54 personal best 60 and tracked down balls with good reads and jumps in the game play, as well as showing off his avg arm at 86 mph from the OF. A strong game player and a 2021 Utah 2nd Team All-State and 1st Team All-Region performer. Paul had 30+ SB’s in the spring season and was the lead off hitter and catalyst for an Olympus team that was on fire all season long with a 25-4 record at the 5A level with many young future college prospects dotting the roster. The LSU commit was originally committed to Arizona, but when Head Coach Jay Johnson took the LSU job days after the College World Series, myself and Mic and his father got on the phone and discussed a plkna of attack in how to handle both schools and what the plan moving forward is. Needless to say, Mic ended up in a great place! |
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Kaden Carpenter OF / LHP / American Fork, UT / 2022
Commitment: UtahListed as a primary pitcher, uncommitted 2022 LHP/OF Kaden Carpenter (American Fork HS, UT) looked even more impressive at the plate where his left-handed bat produced eye-opening power throughout the NPI. With one of the most imposing frames in the class at 6-foot-5, 215-pounds with lean, defined strength and plenty of athleticism, Carpenter gets to that strength with a simple stroke with quick hands that allow him to work flat through the zone in producing effortless power with louder exit velocities. He demonstrated an ability to change planes and make adjustments, and there is plus-power potential with fluidity to the all-around athleticism. Increasing his stock as a two-way player at the next level, Carpenter hopped on the mound in a relief appearance and showcased a quick arm with a mid to upper 80s fastball that will likely top 90 mph in coming years along with quality feel for secondary offerings. However, the power potential as a middle-of-the-order type bat might be too appealing, and with a frame that is already pro-ready, look for MLB scouts to circle Utah perennial power, American Fork HS, for a visit next spring. - Shooter Hunt (VP of Scouting) at the NPI Tourney at the PBR LakePoint Complex |
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Isaac Lyon SS / RHP / Snow Canyon, UT / 2022 Commitment: Grand Canyon U
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Luke Anderson OF / 3B / Snow Canyon, UT / 2022
Commitment: Brigham Young UI have known Luke from the beginning of time. A former next door neighbor for 15 years, I have seen his baseball playing progression for years now, and what he does is perform. Anderson committed to BYU in the winter of his sophomore year, and was off to a strong start to his season, before the pandemic shut the season down. Luke had a strong showing at the Fall Prospect ID, with a class best 95.6 exit velo, while displaying solid avg bat speed. A Semi wide, open stance, Luke takes his body back and into the load phase, with a med knee lift and balances while turning the bat into the 45 degree position, allowing for a powerful base, that creates good separation. The path is short and quick with a direct path to the ball and gets length out front and whips the bat into a two hand finish. The arm from the OF is clean and pure with a solid stroke and shows an avg arm with solid one hop carry and is accurate. Not a toolsy player, but does have bat speed and strength and has performed all throughout his young amateur career. On the mound as the closer, Luke has a big arm, that shows anywhere from 87-91 to 88-93 with a knee buckling CB in the upper 70's w/top to bottom 12/6 biting depth. Note: Recently Luke has been dealing with some elbow issues, but he will be ready for the spring '22 season, although he will play the OF and not pitch his senior year.
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Garrison Sumner RHP / 3B / Westlake , UT / 2022
Commitment: UtahAn XL frame with a lean athletic build with long arms and a strong lower 1/2, Sumner has the type of frame, arm action and arm speed to carry a bit more. With a tall address, then taking a simple side step to start a flexible high kick delivery, he shows a drop and drive style, while getting into his legs in pounding FB’s downhill and into the bottom portion of the zone. The arm action that was over the top and producing FB’s in the 84-87 range last spring, took a jump in the summer as he lowered his arm slot to a TQ and his velo jumped to 86-89 and 88-91 at times. The CB 74-76 shows TQ tilt and proper spin. At times it backs up on him to LHH, but when he catches it right, it has tight late depth and is a swing and miss pitch. During the early spring of '21, Sumner was electric and touching 94 in a early season tournament I saw at Crimson Cliffs HS in St. George, but was shut down after that indefinitely with some elbow issues. Sumner had ulnar nerve repositioning down surgically in late spring/early summer and will be ready to go come next spring. Will be very interested to see where he is at, in his return to the mound. |
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Shaydon Benson LHP / 1B / Parowan, UT / 2022
Commitment: Dixie StateBenson has one of the best two CB's in the '22 class with downward two plane biting action and depth. Tough to hit as it has a Barry Zito type arch and finish at the end from a tall 6-6 big league frame. The FB comes out 86-87 with a medium to full arching HTQ arm stroke with a loose wrist and the ability to finish pitches. The projection here is oozing and has a very high ceiling. I can see 92-93 in a couple of years! The ace of a small 2A HS at Parowan HS, but with the moxy and stuff of a bigger school type arm, as he has played throughout the summers with the powerful Team Utah '22 travel club, that has a handful of the top D1 commits in the class. With another 20-25 Lbs at maturity, this is the kind of arm that coaches dream about and should make big jumps in the near future, as he has ace material in the making when he hits the Dixie State campus. |
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Jace Carroll RHP / 1B / Stansbury, UT / 2022
Commitment: Dixie StateA West Coast Games and Area Code participant, Carroll recently a day after the WCG’s committed to Dixie State U in the WAC and had another school with virtually the same offer and chose the warm weather of Dixie State to take his talents too. A tall skinny 6-6 170 kid that reminds me of former MLB RHP, Brandon McCarthy at the same stage of development. His tall high kick to delivery and gets into his legs well. Just needs overall body mass to come and added strength to his lower ½, to see the mechanics translate into future velo and maintain that velo. The FB can fluctuate from 83-87 at the West Coast Games or 87-91 at the AC tryout! There is definitely projection here and an added 20-30 Lbs at maturity in college, one could see some crazy jumps on the radar gun. A separator with Carroll is the CB 68-73 and it shows big shape with bottom type depth and a spin rate of 2486, which is 2nd in the state, next to Brayden Marx. The CH 67-71 is thrown a bit slow and needs to speed FG’s arm up. He doesn’t slow the delivery, but the arm speed. This is a pitching coaches dream to work with and it will be fun to see where he ends up next spring physically and stuff wise. |
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Ashton Johnson LHP / OF / Olympus , UT / 2022Rankings State Rank: 10 / POS: 2
Commitment: College of Southern Idaho- West Coast Games Alum - - 3 Time PBR Pitcher of the Week in 2021 - PITCHING: I was also able to see him throw on back to back days last weekend at two different college prospect camps. The delivery is from the stretch and he gathers up top with a high kick to a compact tucked delivery and keeps his front side closed. He drives down the mound with the front side closed and uses a late shoulder turn out front to create late reads by hitters and his pitches all have deception. A consistent K thrower that pitches like Ted Lilly with a FB 81-85 and although he lacks velocity, he makes up for it with K pounding ability and abv avg command of all his pitches. He can locate the FB to all four quadrants as well as land the CB and CH and will mix it up by pitching different hitters each time. My pick to click at the next level and I believe he can get hitters out at a mid major D1 or a top shelf JC. Also reminds me of a former MLB LHP with the Angels and national JC pitcher of the year (Central Arizona) back in the late 2000’s. HITTING: I wouldn’t take the bat from him just yet with his pitching prowess as he is also a good HS hitter that should fare well at the next level. You’re getting two players for one with Johnson. A CF that can play all 3 OF spots and reads balls off the bat as if each was his natural position. He is an anomaly in that he throws LH and hits RH! He can run down balls to the gap and with a quick read off the bat and 1st step, although not a runner, he can close on balls and cover ground. The bat is a bit inconsistent when it comes to pitchers who can really mix and match, but he grinds out AB’s and let his powerful Olympus squad in most hitting categories in the 2 spot in the lineup. |
Player Analysis Footer
Lyon has made huge improvements with his FB velocity and not only is he an athletic MIF, and one that can play at the collegiate level as a MIF, it’s the right arm on the mound that captures your attention. His father, former MLB RHP, Brandon Lyon was very similar on the mound at the same age as I had the fortune to see his father in HS and scout him as a collegian, before embarking on a 12 year MLB career. Isaac has always been able to command the baseball and has solid avg run and sink to the FB, but he has really gained added arm strength and it has developed in a steady arc. As a freshman he was 78-82, and then as a sophomore, he was in the mid 80’s. This past October/November he was 84-87, and showing added depth and bite to his CB 72-74, but after taking the winter off and being among the starting 5 on his varsity basketball team, Lyon came out in the early stages of the spring in the 86-89 range, but as the season began to take shape, Isaac was consistently 87-91 in the 2-3 times I saw him. The CB ticked up to 74-76 and the CH was 78-81 with consistent fade and late bottom in the K zone. During his teams run to the 4A state title, Lyon threw in the quarter final game and pitched a 7 inn 2 hit SHO gem, sitting 88-89, touching 91. Not to be denied, he came back on 3 days rest and gave his team 4 strong inns without his best stuff and willed his way through the outing, keeping his team in the lead at 3-2, before handing it off to another prospect, as Snow Canyon captured the 4A state title. Lyon has a couple of offers already, and is betting on himself and does want to go out as a position player, but with the bloodlines, projection on the mound with the potential for 3 solid avg pitches in time, he will make someone very happy with his bulldog competitiveness and ability to mix and match pitches for quality K’s.