PBR Utah 2021 Top 10 Rankings (Update)

Janzen Keisel RHP / SS / Gunnison Valley, UT / 2021

SUPER 60 participant.

Have seen this young man since his sophomore year. A small town kid with a big arm and oozes proj strength and weight gains with maturity. A XL frame at 603 180 that’s long and lean with a streamlined athletic build. Features long arms and big hands with a loose wrist to spin the ball. Pitching out of the stretch at the moment, due to coming back from TJ surgery, his velo hasn’t missed a beat. The delivery is simple and controlled with a high flexible kick to delivery while getting into his legs and shows leverage and plus arm speed. The FB 90-95 comes out clean with riding life. The CB 78-79 spins with solid shape and tight biting depth. The CH 85 is still a work in process, yet he projects two above average pitches with S/M tendencies. Committed to BYU.

Cameron Day RHP / 1B / Layton, UT / 2021

SUPER 60 participant.

Day is a recent U Utah signee, who has a very bright future and a potential big arm, when all is said and done. With a FB up to 93-94 all summer/fall, Day didn’t disappoint at the Fall Prospect ID. A loose, flexible NWU med kick delivery that’s online and his arm is above his back shoulder at foot strike, getting into a power slot. With good ext. out front and a near “flat” back to finish, Day’s FB 90-94 with a spin rate high of 2219 on his best bolt at 93.6 MPH. The CB 71-73 had tight sweeping horizontal action vs vertical depth. The CH 79-81 had solid arm speed and the variation of his 3 pitch speeds, creating a lot of ground for a batter to cover. With good size, arm speed/strength and a FB up to 94 w/solid hand, eye to hit the mitt, Day’s 3 pitch mix has a starter’s role written all over him. He is not as squarely on area scouts radar as of yet, but based on talent throughout the region, he should and will be in time. This is the kind of arm that would’ve been my type in my past MLB scouting career, to take and watch him exceed expectations. 

Mason Strong C / OF / Snow Canyon, UT / 2021

BYU signee. Have seen this young man since he was 12 years old and he has steadily improved every year, into a solid college prospect, as he is signed to play his college baseball at BYU, but he will also draw MLB scout attention this spring as well. Mason had an event 2nd best exit velo of 99+ and was in the top 3 average exit velo. Strong also finished with the top Blast Motion rotational acceleration score of 24.7, which is really impressive, as it measures your trunk and core rotation into your swing. Showing his versatility, Mason showed 1.85-2.0 pop times behind the plate w/clean exchanges and an event best 82 mph arm. Strong also was 86-90 mph in the OF and ran a personal best 6.67/60, which is impressive, but for a catcher it's elite. It was a good showing by Strong. Week One (March 8-14) Utah Player of the Week.

Chandler Reber OF / Desert Hills, UT / 2021

SUPER 60 participant.

The quick twitch Reber, a recent BYU signee, is built like a mini Mike Trout, with thick defined quads and chiseled calves. A powerfully built upper body w/thick well defined forearms, Reber has present and future strength. There’s some Brett Boone physically in him, as he displayed an event best 101 exit velo, as well as a 6.54/60 yard dash! With a power/speed combo and the ability to get on base, and pressure the defense, Reber is a multi faceted player, that has well above avg big league speed with base stealing pot, as well as being able to drive the ball to the big part of the field and leave to the pull side with ease. Covers ground in the OF and ranges in all directions, the only part of his game that doesn’t project to avg is his BA arm strength. Reber will be fun to watch develop in the spring and it will be interesting to see the kind of attention he attracts from scouts. 

Colton Sundloff RHP / Stansbury, UT / 2021

SUPER 60 participant

Has come on since the last time I saw him in February at a workout in southern Utah. He was up to 88 with abv avg life and threw K’s. Has taken the next steps in his development during the pandemic. A member of the Reds area code team and has had a successful summer and threw well at LakePoint. A tall lean 6-4 195 pound muscular, athletic build with room for another 15-20 Lbs at man strength, with the ability to carry another foot to the FB in short order. The delivery is a slow methodical gather up top and then rides down into his legs through the slope with avg timing and needs to repeat better, yet has some base things to write home about. The arm is loose, like a bullwhip and comes at hitters with deception from a LTQ almost sidearm slot with a rotational finish, that the slot produces. The FB 89-94 has arm side life with run and sink below the belt. Rare mix of S/M type life to also induce tons of GB’s. The SL 82-84 has late tight frisbee sweep and can yank a few and land a few. The CH 79-83 has plate sink and hitters swing over the FB/CH combination. Look for big things over the next year from the Cal State Fullerton commit. 

Cayden Clark OF / RHP / Stansbury , UT / 2021

Clark, the Dixie State commit was as advertised, and looks the part of a next level player physically. At 6-1 190, and showing a smooth and fluid yet easy hitting stroke, Clark sets up and has a classic RH stance with proper balance, timing and stays on plane with an easy finish. The ball jumped off the bat and he didn’t sell out for metrics such as exit velo or distance, but posted high marks. He just hit steady line drives to all fields. Cayden ran a 6.69/60 and was 84-88 from the OF with proper throwing mechanics. He finished with top 5 scores in exit velo and distance, along with an event best 79.6 mph bat speed. Not only did teams miss him on the recruiting trail due to CoVid, but Dixie State landed one of the best bats in the state and if I was still an MLB scout, I would be all over him!

Traton Staheli RHP / PIne View, UT / 2021

Recently was up to 93.8 at a bullpen session at Push Performance in Tempe, AZ.

Staheli is oozing with physical projection with the best is yet to come type w/the FB velocity. A recent BYU signee w/a tall loose and lanky build Staheli has broad shoulders with long arms and legs, with a pitchers rear, which lends to added lower leg development in time. At 6-6 190, the frame suggests 25-30 more Lbs. in due time, and it’s easy to see the FB climbing into the mid 90’s in the near future. The second best arm at the Fall Prospect ID, Traton showed a compact high kick from a NWU delivery. The delivery stretches out with some length, and his arm action from a HTQ slot is loose and live. With a FB up to 92 all summer/fall, Staheli was 88-90 at the event with a CB 74-78 and a CH 78-82. There’s solid spacing of his 3 pitch mix, and with another foot added to the FB in time, his spacing will be ideal. 

Carston Herman LHP / OF / Snow Canyon , UT / 2021

Dixie State Commit. Carsten has had a good summer playing for CBA Summit, UT and the NV/UT Braves Scout Team this fall. Med even prop 600 LHP with athleticism, controls his body and repeats his delivery. Not a velo guy or one that has a carrying pitch, yet what he brings to the table is that of a crafty deceptive LH’er that gets outs and knows how to pitch. FB 84-86 and spots up and uses all the quadrants of the zone. Features a high kick to delivery with solid glove side direction, coupled with a late shoulder turn out front, that creates late reads by the hitter, out of a long HTQ arm stroke with proper arc and acceleration. Gets S/M’s to FB as he locates and uses a big TQ/OH CB 72-74 with solid shape and quality depth. Feel to spin and it will be a tough pitch vs LHH’s. Crafty, deceptive and missed bats with a feel to change speeds.

 Week One (March 8-14) Utah Pitcher of the Week

Micah Ashman LHP / OF / Jordan, UT / 2021

The U of Utah commit, had a big summer in 2020, pitching in the Utah Summer Collegiate League at Salt Lake CC, as he was just an incoming HS senior playing against much older college competition, and showed an advanced style to "pitch" with a FB 86-89 and performed really well. 

Hudson Manwaring SS / OF / Skyline , UT / 2021

Skyline Coach Eric Morgan, put out a post on social media about Hudson, saying that it was time to get him back on the radar. Well I saw the post and was intrigued and sent out an invite for him to attend, and I was glad I did. Manwaring is a lean ripped athletic kid, that’s a SS by trade, yet I see him as a CF at the next level. A two sport star, as he is an All-State WR in football, as well as baseball in 2019. Manwaring ran a 6.72/60 yard dash and had an event best max exit velocity of 101, along with 85 mph arm strength from SS, as well as 87-90 from RF. Hudson also showed solid raw BP power, and not the kind of loft power you typically see, but it was line drive power with distance, as he back spun 3-4 balls over the LF/LCF wall and into the tennis courts. It was a solid showing and this is a kid that colleges should pounce on, based on the metrics, athleticism and lean proj build. Will be fun to see him play this spring. I have been receiving a handful of college inquiries about him, since the recently completed Preseason All-State event on March 6th. He won't be uncommitted very long.