Northern Utah Open: Quick Hits

At 6-4 210 Lbs, Rigby has gone through a growth spurt and it has propelled his velocity forward with more in the tank as he irons out some max effort offerings right now. A strong farm town type kid, Rigby will be the ace of a talented Bear River squad that made a deep run in the 4A State tourney in St. George this past spring. Rigby should be counted on heavily as a junior this next spring and his 85-87 mph FB with a spin rate max of 2249, should take another tick upwards as he continues to tap into his frame and reach his man strength. The CB 67-70 has downward and TQ tilt and is spaced enough off his FB, that it creates a big spacing for hitters to cover both pitches. A flexible high kick to delivery and a loose HTQ arm action with plenty of arm speed to reach the low 90’s over the next couple of seasons, Rigby has received an invite to the upcoming invite only All-State Games and it will be interesting to see how he fares against other quality hitters looking for recruiting coverage and attention. 

Without question the most interesting prospect of the event goes to Brotherson! Featuring a 6-2 165 frame that is what they look like to build from, into a future 190 Lb prospects body. Blake has the type of athleticism in his delivery to throw much harder over the next 3 years of HS baseball. A classic simple rock step and a turn into a flexible balanced high kick and reaches out well and lands on a firm front toe at foot strike and stays directional through release to the plate. The arm is very loose and biomechanically sound. There’s no wasted effort and his head stays still, and he pounded the K zone with all three pitches in a FB, landed CB and fading CH. Advanced for his age and showing abv avg feel to pitch, the FB 83-85 now has carry through the zone and threw K after K, while spinning the FB at 2324 rpm’s. The CB 70-71 has tilt and depth w/feel to land and bury the pitch with ease. It was impressive to see the feel with the pitch and it tunneled well off his FB. The spin should increase as it’s at 2049 now, but with added arm strength and further physical development, there is plenty enough ease to his operation that it’s easy to see a 6-8 and even 8-10 mph increase in the FB as well as potentially 7-8 mph more in the CB. The CH 72-74 (spin of 1617) while killing spin, is spaced well and all 3 pitches create some tough spacing coverage for hitters to cover during an AB. Blake passes the eye test physically with his crystal ball projection and what the future holds for this kid. Already receiving D1 interest off this 1st look and video posted to social media. The future is bright and he will be getting an invite to the All-State Games in late October. 

A small town kid from Vernal, UT is the type of player whose movement patterns in the INF and swing mechanics in the box drew my interest right away. A MIF’er that approaches the ball with some educated feet and plays out front and below the ball, and moves well side to side, but the arm will relegate to 2B and could become an offensive type player on the other side of the bag. The bat is compact and smooth, but doesn’t show quality hand and bat speed yet, but he could as he becomes stronger and learns to let it go. A JV player as a freshman, will get his shot to prove himself next spring, as the talent should improve to where he is a trusted member of a varsity lineup, as Uintah lost 8 position players to graduation. Not a runner, moving over to 2B should suit his game well, as he can pick it and shows bat potential. 

A young 2026 who I’ve been able to see at 3 different events this summer, as well as seeing him perform for the ‘26 version of Trosky National. A baseball player that can play all over the field will show you in a workout style event, his talents in the OF at SS, catcher and on the mound. It’s hard to say where he ends up defensively, but for a young 14 yr old kid, he has run a 7.10/60 and shows the type of quick bat with a direct path and high one hand finish to elevate the ball right now and into the future as he continues to grow and develop. Was able to hit a drive 338 feet over the LF wall in BP and showed an arm of 79 across the infield. It’s easy to see at 5-10 140 lbs that as he continues to develop and grows, that the bat and athleticism will continue to shine and draw even more attention over the next 3-4 years, as he enters HS baseball this next spring! 

A budding athlete that ran a 6.98/60 and according to his HS coach, should take over the CF varsity spot as a freshman. Streamlined and angular with a lean tight musculature look. Shows twitch and a youthful approach to the game, where he still has to be schooled in the fundamentals, but has the right infrastructure at his HS to develop his game and learn the ins and outs of using his athleticism to his advantage. With an exit velocity of 93 at 14 yrs old, there’s definite present strength and he features a compact, quick stroke to hit with a max bat speed of 77 mph, suggesting the metrics are in place to hit quality pitching down the road. He does get to his front side too quickly as he’s driving his hands forward and needs to stay back and trust his natural strength and bat speed, and learn to quiet his body throughout his swing. The type of tools for a young kid, that gives promise of developing into a really good HS baseball player and beyond as he continues to mature, grow and just develop as he learns the fame over the next 3-4 years. Intriguing potential!