2022 Utah All-State Games: Quick Hits - Part 2 (Underclass)

Brown has had a solid youth career and entered Brighton as a freshman expected to contribute right away and he did and more, hitting .350 w/5 2B’s, a HR and 19 RBI w/8 BB and 9 K’s in 96 PA’s. That’s a high contact rate, especially for a freshman. Over the summer, Brown was very good and was invited to the Top Prospect Games, where we had 11 college assistants and head coaches from various top ranked JUCO and all the state D1 schools in attendance. Brown performed well and caught the attention of the U Utah, as he blasted a couple of balls high and deep over the LF fence, and culminated his workout by also blasting a ball over the high net and house beyond the LF fence at Pleasant Grove HS. The metrics at both events were good, as he posted hand and bat speed marks of 21 and 75 respectively with an EV of 97.4 at the Top Prospect Games and 95 at the All-State Games. Brown has worked extremely hard at tightening and toning his blocky frame, and it showed last Sunday, as he is leaner, tighter and looks more athletically physical. It will be fun to track Riley at future PBR events and throughout the 2023 season and even two years beyond that as well. 

Johnston came to the Summer ID in July of 2021 and was in the low to mid 70’s with his FB, but you could tell the arm action and delivery to throw harder, but feeling was it was much further down the road, a credit to Chase, as he came into the 2022 HS season, as a starter in the rotation as a freshman, while being tutored by his new head coach, Jeremy Thomas, who I signed to his professional contract back in the day. Thomas was the pitching coach for over a decade at Dixie State and BYU, so Johnston was learning from a high level instructor. Johnston dominated the competition at the 5A level for Maple Mountain, as he became the ace of the staff, and finished the season with a 7-3 record, 3.31 ERA with 61.1 IP, 55 H, 22 BB and 84 KO’s. The stat that stuck out for me was he only allowed 4 unearned runs all spring. That means he has swing and miss stuff and can leave runners stranded and bail out his defense when errors are committed. That’s the competitor stat that I use to see if a pitcher can compete, as well as pitch, with swing and miss stuff. Johnston’s FB was 81-85 at the Future Games and this past weekend was 83-85 with a spin rate of 2,374 which is MLB avg and is why his velocity plays up and misses bats. The CB has downward tilt at 68-71 and the CH 77 has kill spin at a spin of 1,666 to complete a 3 pitch mix. With 3 years of HS, it wouldn’t surprise me if a classification MVP contender is in his future as well as reaching the low 90’s and becoming a serious D1 prospect from the left side of the rubber. 

Farrer was a member of the PBR Team Nevada Jr. Future Games roster in 2021, and then he moved to Utah County, and now attends Pleasant Grove HS and should be a contributing member of one of the states traditional power programs. Farrer has some key things in place to be a solid player in time, as he has bat speed and feel for the game with avg instincts and field awareness. The hand and bat speeds are 24 and 73, and that’s plenty to give a baseline to hit velocity. One metric and skill to work on, is to keep the plane of attack through the baseball better, as the swing can get loopy and off plane a tad more avg. There is arm strength from the middle INF spots, as he can reach 80 at present with avg actions and foot work. The same can be said behind the plate and he shows feel for the position, and with the run tool of 7.54, the spots will be the corner spots and behind the plate. With the Blast data metrics in place, now we tackle the strength component of 88-90 EV, and work to accelerate the bat head through contact, to get the ball to jump. An intriguing young player that will be fun to follow.   

This one is gonna be good! When he finishes growing and his coordination catches up with the massive growth spurt he’s taken on in the last 1 ½ years, the movement patterns are in place to work with. Mason, the son of longtime Pleasant Grove HS Coach, Darrin Henry and the younger brother of Miami Marlins MLB catcher and former 2 time Utah Gatorade Player of the Year, Payton Henry. Mason is just an 8th grader, and the swing works with a short compact stroke w/length through the zone into a two handed finish. Once the lower ½ becomes sturdy and strong, the bat head will fly through the zone w/impact and back spin. With an exit velocity of 90.1 and a max distance of 332’ and impacting the baseball with a sweet spot contact rate of 78%, these are really good for an 8th grader. As well as the Trackman numbers, the Blast Motion data of hand and bat speeds of 24.1 and 70 are gonna jump exponentially in time. On the mound, it’s an imposing physical look, with a big downhill plane and steep angle of attack coming at hitters with a fluid arm and tall compact delivery and big whippy back kick at finish. The FB 76-79, which has been in the low 80’s, touching 85 at times, was down a bit, yet the CB 65-71 w/a spin of over 2,000, which again is solid for his age and it features a big TQ downward tilt with solid shape and definition. The depth is quality and with the steep plane, it’s easy for hitters to give up on the pitch, only to see it drop in for a K. At the event, Henry actually showed better K zone command and feel for the CB vs the FB. It’s gonna be fun to watch his development. 

Where Cayman stood out in this look was on the mound, as he showed advanced pitchability and the ability to compete and face much older hitters and attack and not back down. Very competitive and has a way of carrying himself with confidence that exudes an aura that he's been around older players and they don’t faze him, which is the case, as his older brother Corbin is attending Treasure Valley CC playing baseball, so he was around his brother and his friends and teammates. Cayman has been a staple at our events, such as: The Rising Stars ID, Blue Chip Scout Day, the Northern Utah Open and received an invite as the youngest player at the Top Prospect Games at a loaded event with stronger and much bigger players, with quite a few committed players. We will talk about the pitching here, as he showed a FB 78-81 with some small arm side run and located down in the zone from a compact delivery with solid use of his lower ½ and gets low and into his legs and rides the slope, while featuring a solid if not abv avg HTQ arm action with release and a loose wrist to finish at the end. The CB 68-71 has solid TQ tilt and bends and takes a left turn at the end with depth and he knows how to change speeds with feel for the CH 71-74. With a 3 pitch mix in place, we will just see where the body gets to in the next couple of years, as he is also a very good SS and overall position player as well. Looking forward to watching Cayman’s progress over the next 4 years, yes 4 years of HS baseball. Very good youth baseball player right now.