2024 Utah Player of the Year (Park)

Austin Park SS / OF / Juab High, UT / 2025

  Committed: Brigham Young U

G 29 PA 116 AB 95 R 41 H 54 AVG .568 HR 7 RBI 58 2B 13 3B 3 BB 16 SO 10 SB 18/19

(OB% .621 SLG% 989 OPS: 1.1610)

~~ Park was #7 in the country in RBI's ~~

Pitching:

G 10 W 6 L 1 ERA 2.03 IP 48.1 H 24 R 16 ER 14 BB 10 SO 80

2022-2023 Future Games ~ 2023-2024 ProCase-West

The two-time Future Gamer and most recent two-time ProCase-West alum, dominted the diamond in a landslide. All Park did in 2024 was lay waste to vulnerable HS pitching with his bat and overmatched hitters with his arm on the mound. The tall rangy athletic SS, while playing on less than ideal infield surfaces at the 3A level in rural small towns, made only 4 errors on the season with a .949 fielding %, leaving one to wonder what he can and most likely will do at the next level, when playing on mostly artificial playing surfaces in the Big 12 and at BYU?! Park and his quickness with his lower 1/2 and soft sure hands, is able to read hops and get his body in position to be ready to make adjustments on the fly and complete plays with a smooth easy low effort over the top throwing motion, and also manipulate his arm angles for off balance plays and playing on the run. 

At the plate, Austin was a beast as he basically didn’t have an equal, not only in his rural surroundings, with the numbers that he was able to put up, but naysayers will want to comment, well look what type of pitching he faced? Well this old scout, will debunk and throw some old school logic out, in that Park is blessed with natural athleticism and movement patterns, that it wouldn’t have mattered to my experienced eye test, that if it was so easy, then why was he the only one to put these type of numbers on the board?! Think Janzen Keisel from 2A Gunnison HS in 2021…Where is Keisel now? Only in the weekend rotation for another Big 12 school Oklahoma State, with a potential shot at being a top 5 Rd MLB draft pick come this July. Tools are tools and at the time Juab finished its season in the first week of May, Park’s 58 RBI’s ranked tied for 2nd in the entire country, yes the entire country. If it wasn’t one of his 23 extra base hits, his RBI totals, his 54 hits and 41 runs scored, it was also 18 stolen bases, while being caught only once all spring. Think of it in these terms, Park is also blessed at his HS, to also have a rare top to bottom lineup in tack, that you don’t see very often at the 3A level or any level, with a lineup that with Park hitting in the 2 hole, was able to drive the bottom of the order in, and also the middle of the order was able to in turn do the same for him. When one thinks of run production, think of this, Park generated 99 runs of offense in 29 games and when taking his 7 HR’s out of the equation, that’s also 92 runs generated inside the ballpark. No matter how you slice it, when a Juab game starts, you can just throw up the avg run production on the scoreboard of Park basically creating 3.5 runs of offense every game a club matches up against the Wasps. 

On the mound it was equally dominating as Park and his command of the strike zone with only 10 BB’s in his roughly 48 innings pitched, was avg’ing a walk per game and nearly 15 K outs per 9 innings or 11.5 per 7 inning ball game! With an upper 80’s FB and dominate control of 1.86 BB per 9 or 1.44 per 7 inning game, you have a test of finding ways to generate any offense on the other side. 

But to also put it in perspective, Park also puts up dominate performances at the plate during the summer circuit months against high level regional and national competition as well! So what kind of encore will Park have in store come 2025, one that puts him squarely at the top to be knocked off as he will shoot for a back to back Player of the Year, as he’s already received a state/national award as I write this feature. This award was passed onto Park 3 weeks ago, so this didn’t come as a surprise, because the season was so convincing, that he distanced himself from others. Congrats Austin on winning Prep Baseball Utah Player of the Year for 2024!

Haigen Reed OF / RHP / Desert Hills High, UT / 2025

UNCOMMITTED

G 30 PA 110 AB 80 R 40 H 40 AVG .500 HR 9 RBI 47 2B 11 3B 2 BB 27 SO 18

2023 West Coast Games ~ 2024 ProCase-West

After posting a .400 BA as a sophomore this past spring, Reed flew under my radar for a myriad of reasons, but after attending the 2023 (June) CBA Scout Day, he caught my attention with an EV of 100.8 and his ability to square up the baseball and find the sweet spot. Built like a ball player w/strong well defined features and a strong lower ½ that he utilizes well in his swing. The body shows rhythm and timing as he gets his hands into the proper position to load the bat, in getting to a solid 45 and then sinks into his legs and shows plus bat speed in firing his lower ½ and core, to get the knob inside the baseball. Shows barrel release and acceleration through contact into a firm front side and stays behind the baseball to get his hands extended and looks to do damage with violent intentions. At last years West Coast Games, Reed went off at the plate and finished the 3 games 7-9 with 5 2B’s and a 3B while creating energy and anticipation when he stepped into the box, that something was about to happen! The only 2025 on the roster, and he played well beyond his age class in performance and how he carried himself and went about his business. 

This year marked a big coming out party for Reed, as he led the state in HR and RBI for most of the year, before Region 9 pitchers, who are among the best in the state, started pitching him more careful, with a different plan of attack. Still even the local media, doesn't know what they are essentially looking at in Reed, as they would rather give awards based on multi-sport fame and publicity, rather than who had the best overall offensive year and also who is being highly recruited and let's face it, is the better baseball player. It's gonna be a big summer for the most recent ProCase-West attendee at Pepperdine U, and will be the leading candidate for a player of the year in his region come 2025.   

Cy Chrisman 3B / 1B / Maple Mountain High, UT / 2026

UNCOMMITTED

G 32 PA 127 AB 98 R 32 H 47 AVG .480 HR 8 RBI 40 2B 12 3B 1 BB 23 SO 13

2024 ProCase-West ~ 2024 Future Games (Team Utah)

“Chrisman came into focus with a big showing at the GBG Utah Scout Day last September with triple-digit exit velocities, which was the fall of his sophomore year. As a big 6-foot-4, 210-pound physical right-handed hitter, Chrisman shined once again at the Utah State Games a month later, and he put up a max bat speed of 88.8 mph with an exit velo of 103.9 mph. He has since put up 109 mph in a BP session at his high school's indoor facility in early spring waiting for the weather to turn in his favor. After seeing Cy get off to a 10-15 start in an early pre-season tournament I was at in March in St. George, Chrisman has continued that early showing with a big spring. At the most recent ProCase-West, Chrisman was the event leader in max distance at 402 and #2 in EV with a 106.1 and landed a few balls way beyond the LF and LCF walls at Pepperdine, drawing some oohs and ahhs from the other players in attendance. Chrisman will be a member of Team Utah at this July’s Prep Baseball Future Games.”

 ~ Jeff Scholzen, Utah Scouting Director

Uncommitted ‘26 3B Cy Christman (UT)

Shrunk the park with an impressive display of power. More on the way.

Good name to follow all summer….

6’4” 215@PrepBaseballUT pic.twitter.com/eOh62ZNgUN

— Shooter Hunt (@ShooterHunt) June 2, 2024

Luke (LT) Taylor C / 3B / Olympus, UT / 2024

Committed: USC

 G 30 PA 120 AB 97 R 18 H 44 AVG .454 HR 6 RBI 33 2B 13 3B 2 BB 14 SO 20

2021 Future Games ~ 2023 ProCase-West ~ 2024 Super 60

2/24/24

The PBR Super 60 attendee, showed why he is one of the best prospects in the country. With a top 5 EV of 103.6 at the Preseason All-State and numerous shots hit high and deep over the 40 foot high net in left and onto the building at Pine View HS, Taylor had the players and parents in attendance in quiet mode as he showed off his plus raw power! With pop times in the 1.82-1.95 range, the 6-0 200 Region 6 MVP showed why he is the leading candidate headed into the 2024 season to contend for Prep Baseball Utah Player of the Year!

6/04/23

A former PBR Future Gamer and 2-time Area Code team alum, Taylor went into the ProCase with lots of fanfare from a monster 2023 HS season in which he hit .532 10 44 with 9 2B’s and 3 3B’s. One of the top 5 statistical seasons in the state, as he led Olympus to a stellar 22-3 season and a 5A Region 6 title. Taylor was the first catcher to showcase behind the plate and he didn’t disappoint! With EZ clean actions and an advanced setup, Taylor showed a professionally sound round of throws to 2B with crisp throws on the bag every time! He was 1.87-1.90 and showed little effort in doing so. At the plate, Taylor showed his clean fluid slightly uphill hitting stroke in sending balls all over the field with backspin carry at 98.5 exit velos with wood after showing a max of 103.6 at the Preseason All-State with metal. Max distances of 386 with metal, Taylor also drove his best shot 382 with wood and with the thick air of Southern California, 382 would have been closer to 400+ in the thin air of Utah! Luke is squarely on the radar of MLB scouts now for the 2024 draft!

Cal Miller C / 3B / Viewmont, UT / 2025

  Committed: Brigham Young U

G 26 PA 105 AB 70 R 41 H 38 AVG .543 HR 11 RBI 38 2B 7 3B 2 BB 29 SO 1

Miller has been committed to BYU since before his freshman year and was a member of the 15U USA National Team. Miller got off to a big start as a freshman as he hit .433 with 13 extra base hits and 26 RBI. With one HR as a freshman, Miller looked to be on course to break out as a sophomore even further, as he hit .438 with 15 extra base hits and another one HR campaign, but 2024 was a much bigger story. Armed with a growing group of players that have steadily increased their win totals over the last 3 years, Miller exploded in the power department this past spring as he hit a state-leading 11 HR’s with 38 RBI and a robust .543 batting average. A discerning eye at the plate and an advanced approach helped Miller draw 29 BB’s to only 1 K out in 105 PA’s. Miller also excelled on the mound as his mid 80’s and occasionally higher FB played to a ton of swing and miss as he had a 6-0 record and 1.67 ERA to go along with only 18 BB and 87 K outs in 54.1 IP. With 4 of the 5 players on this list being underclassman, next years Player of the Year race should be a dog fight! 

Another week of region down. Stats for the year: 643 AVG, .750 OBP, 1.310 SLG, 7 home runs, 16 BB’s in 15 games.
Pitching Stats: 32.2 IP, 1.9 ERA, 62 Strike Outs
Off to another week. Let’s go Vikes! @ViewmontBB pic.twitter.com/g9bPPNqwNu

— Cal Miller (@calmiller06) April 20, 2024