Utah Fall I.D: Outfield Analysis
December 28, 2020
The PBR Utah Fall I.D. took place on November 28th at Crimson Cliffs High School. The event featured over 65 prospects with all high school classes represented.
Today we breakdown the 7 Top Prospects and 9 Best of the Rest from the event.
Top Prospects
Listed Alphabetically
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Luke Anderson OF / 3B / Snow Canyon, UT / 2022I 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. |
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Cooper Hansen LHP / OF / Riverton, UT / 2024Hansen has the look and mannerisms of a ball player, as he showed well both as a hitter and as a LHP. Unlike some good freshmen that are over developed at a young age and stand out physically over their peers, Cooper has an athletic even props build and carries himself well. From a good HS program that has produced quite a few D1 and college level prospects, although his velo was 79-81, you can project steady increases over the next 4 calendar years! What he did was show the ability to feature a balanced high compact kick to delivery with a short HTQ arm stroke that he repeats and hits the mitt with. The CB had some depth and TQ shape with depth. As a hitter, he displayed an exit velo of 86.6 with the ability to drive the baseball deep to the big part of the field on a line. He features a classic upright even props square stance and loads his bat slightly before picking up his foot and setting it down softly. He features a short compact stroke w/some slight uphill and whips the bat into a high one hand finish. In the OF he aggressively charges the ball and fields it cleanly out front and gets into solid throwing position. Shows a TQ arm stroke with good ext and projs arm strength over the next four years. Will be a good one to watch moving forward. |
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Samuel Johanson OF / RHP / Hurricane, UT / 2023A Lg frame with a lean ripped athletic build with twitch. Reminds me of a poor man’s Hunter Pence as he does things a bit crude, yet has strength, bat speed, potential raw speed that didn’t show up in the 60, yet have seen him at a sub-7 before and watched him numerous times live on the bases. The offense is intriguing as he has a Blast bat speed of 74.3 and abv avg EV of 93.5. He features an even prop square stance with his bat held behind the ear at a flatter angle and then leans back and lifts his front foot down into a firmer foot strike. The hands circle and rotate the bat to a 45 at launch, he then casts the bat and is a bit long in his approach to the ball, yet has hand and bat speed to create leverage with natural twitchy hand strength, to drive the baseball hard straight away and to the pull side. The ball jumps off his bat. In the OF, his actions are raw and when he receives the ball, he hops into a one piece long arching arm action. There is natural arm strength and he needs to shorten the stroke and with 3 years of HS left, time is on his side. There is no denying there are raw tools to develop for the next level, as he is a hard worker with athleticism, bat speed, strength, running ability and a desire to get better. I will be able to see his progress locally moving forward. |
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Mic Paul OF / Olympus , UT / 2022Paul was the player I was anticipating seeing the most, after being made aware of him, I hadn’t seen him live, except on video and “Mic” didn’t disappoint. A U Arizona commit, Paul had the second best 60 time at 6.64 and produced top 5 exit speeds of up to 92 MPH. A quick twitch med strong build with another 15-20 Lbs of added muscle to pack on in time, at 5-11 170 Paul is wound tight and has an engaging personality as well. The overall hitting package to go along with his game changing speed, will be carrying tools to the next level. He starts from a crouched square stance with a flat bat into and inside his back shoulder. He starts to shift into his back side, while turning the bat into a high elbow and gets into his load with the bat at a 45 degree angle. He takes a soft yet avg stride length and is soft at foot strike. The bat takes a slight uphill path, from a short compact stroke, with length out front and gets some launch effect into a strong powerful two hand finish. It was a strong showing from the best 2022 hitter in the state. |
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Chandler Reber OF / Desert Hills, UT / 202112/01/20
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. 10/03/20
A compact 511 200 physical specimen with definition throughout. Chiseled thick forearms with strong loose hands to hit. The BYU commit has a feel to hit and drives the ball for power to the big part of the field, leaving to the pull side w/ease. Features a slightly wider than shoulder width even prop stance and presents well in the box. Leans back into his 45 degree load and steps to hit with balance and timing, while staying thru the center of his body. The stroke is quick, compact, short and whips the hands thru contact into an around the back shoulder two hand finish. Gets out of the box and looks for extra bases. Will challenge OF’ers arms and has the speed to do so. Toggles between a 6.5-6.65/60 yd dash and shows base stealing pot. Defensively runs balls down gap to gap, though his angles can be tightened and crisper. Has the athleticism to play all 3 OF spots. The arm is BA to fringe and is enough. The bat has the potential to impact a lineup as a freshman at BYU and will be scouted by four corner scouts in the spring. |
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Jaxson Reiser OF / RHP / Bingham , UT / 2024An intriguing 6-2 175 class of ‘24 with a bright future and is the younger brother of 2021 Justis Reiser-LHP, a BYU commit and Jaxson may have even more upside. A young 14 year old incoming freshman who should be able to contribute to the varsity this next spring. A lean athletic strongly built wiry build with definite proj, to go along with added growth and strength gains with natural maturity. A two way type that shows flashes on both sides of the baseball and on the mound. As an OF, defensively he moves well into the baseball, fielding out front, and getting his body with momentum into his throws. Does need to raise his arm to no less than HTQ with his throwing stroke, as he throws from a LTQ almost side arm slot like Hunter Pence. As a hitter, he starts from an even props upright stance, and rocks into his back leg and loads the bat at a 45 degree angle, while taking a soft foot strike out front. He gets good separation, but would like to see him get hinged into his back leg, which will give him better balance and allow him to stay back on off speed. The bat path is short with some length out front and has some uphill. Would like to see a more linear path and is very correctable. On the mound, he shows the potential to throw hard one day, as he reached FB max of 83, with late hop. The delivery has a base to work from and the size and arm speed to carry more as he develops over time. The delivery is a medium to high kick with balance and breaks over the rubber. The arm works from a loose full circle HTQ arm stroke with a loose wrist to finish pitches. Shows the feel to spin the ball and slows his arm somewhat, while needing to throw the CB harder and with more intent. The CH shows feel w/fade and late mild sink. Just like the CB, he needs to throw with FB arm speed and intent. Has the makings in different facets of the game, to make some noise over the next 4 years, and I look forward to seeing his progress moving forward. |
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Logan West OF / Crimson Cliffs, UT / 2022Rankings StateRank: 10 / POS: 3
Lg frame with a wiry lean athletic build and has some twitch. Logan is one of the better ‘22 players in the state. Was off to a superb start to his sophomore season when the season was shut down. A former catcher that’s made the move to the OF with his athleticism and speed. Plays for the elite Team Utah ‘22s and faces good competition and excels. With 6.9/60 speed and long galloping strides, he fits well in the OF. The offensive side is his calling card, as he took a really good round of BP. He starts with a slightly wider than shoulder width square stance and rocks back into his back hip with his back knee flexed and lifts his foot and strides into a soft foot strike. The bat is flat and then lifts to a 45 and has quality hand and lower 1/2 separation. He fires the hands inside the baseball and takes a short path with contact out front and whips the bat through the zone with a one hand high high finish. In the OF he fields out front and then takes his body toward his target and his arm stroke is long and arching, which he needs to find a happy medium between a longer vs short stroke he once had behind the dish and blend to the two. This is fixable as the arm action is in there to correct, which isn’t easy. But he brings speed, athleticism, proj size and strength with the ability to hit potentially at the D1 level. |
Best of the Rest
Listed Alpabetically
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Brandon Bastian RHP / OF / Stansbury , UT / 2023Med thin frame with definite size and strength gains to come. Big hands and feet suggest 20-25 more Lbs at development. Primary OF and also pitches. A 7.32/60 and should improve with added strength and lower ½ development. As a hitter, he carries his hands below his back shoulder from an even props square stance. Rocks back to start his pre-load and moves forward with his hands back and gets separation. Does need to get into his back hip better and keep it hinged, yet shows a short, compact linear stroke, though he gets the bat in and out of the zone quickly. His finish is short and around and below his back shoulder. Does need to create length out front with his hands/bat head. Sprayed LD’s through the middle of the field consistently. Defensively he reads balls on the ground well and gets a good hop to field out front and works through the ball to get into proper throwing position. The arm is a medium to full HTQ arm stroke and works properly with a solid release and ext out front, to proj some arm strength moving forward. |
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Marco Bellantoni OF / RHP / Mountain Crest, UT / 2022The son of longtime veteran college football coach, Roc Bellantoni. Marco has a lean athletic build with some latent size and strength gains to come. Needs to get stronger and fill out, yet with 2 years remaining in HS, time is on his side. A 7.47/60 that with a solid speed program, there are gains to be made there, as he has a solid running gate. Offensively, he features an upright semi-flexed back knee from an open stance. Rocks back and carries his knee kick into his backside and does stride a bit open, which carries his hips around his front side, which creates a pull side approach. Needs to stay inside and through the baseball. With added forearm strength, his bat speed should improve and the ball will jump better. Defensively he gauges balls well off the bat and reads the hop and gets into proper throwing position. The arm works well and gets out front w/ext. The arm should play even better, by being more aggressive in his approach to and through the baseball. The work ethic is off the charts and has the desire to get better and wants to play at the next level. |
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Hunter Harrow RHP / OF / Bear River, UT / 2022A med lean build that looks to add more size as he continues to fill out and mature. Threw from the OF and the mound. As a pitcher, he features a step in front with a turn of the body to pivot. A methodical approach as he is a paint by the numbers type, that needs to put it together in one fluid piece. Carries his hands at the tummy and lifts to break his hands at the chest. The hands separate and he shows an online slightly upright flat through the zone finish. Shows a med short HTQ arm action and needs better ext out front. Does have some natural arm strength to build with, though some tweaks will get him even more velo and carry through the zone. The FB topped at 82 with a CB 70-72 with med shape and fair depth. Did throw for K’s. The CH 73-74 is too close to the CB in velocity and shows okay feel. Offensively he carries his hands at the shoulder and takes a small step to stride from an upright approach and finish to the swing. Hits from a dead hand position and needs to get separation and load the bat. Carries his hands from this position to hit and doesn’t get any punch into the baseball. Defensively he fields out front, bending at the waist and throws with the same short compact throwing stroke as from the mound. Is upright in his throwing motion and finishes upright as well. This creates an all arm type approach. Just needs some finer mechanical coaching with hard work to get to where he wants to be. With 2 years of HS ball remaining, he has time to make the adjs and necessary changes. |
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Karson Irvin OF / 2B / Desert Hills , UT / 2022A small package with some twitchy athleticism. A 7.03/60 that has the potential to run a little bit, despite the fringy time. Looks to be quick vs fast, as his feet move at a fast pace vs a raw runner straight away. Offensively he waggles the bat with hand movement and takes a short compact slightly uphill stroke, though he lets go of the bat a bit early into a high one hand finish. The hips and legs get through the swing, with the shoulders tilted, while needing to get his left shoulder up and through his finish. Some tweaks to improve. Defensively he showed some of the better mechanics working through the ball with his glove out front, just needs to create better momentum coming to the ball. As he fields and gets into his hop, he creates momentum after he fields. Just needs to put the parts together. The arm works and has proper throwing mechanics to get off strong throws with something on it. The ball exits his hand clean w/carry and one hop finish to the plate. Defensively he is ready for the next level. As the bat develops and he receives some coaching on the finer points, he has a chance. Will continue to follow. |
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Will McCurdy OF / SS / Park City, UT / 2024A small lean athletic proj build, that’s toned throughout. Will is a young 14 year old w/some twitch to his actions and foot speed, though he is crude in somethings and raw overall. Produced a top five 60 time of 6.9, and definitely should improve upon that, as he continues to grow and mature. Offensively, he leans back into a flexed back knee with a slightly open stance. He starts to load his bat into a slight hitch/linear plane, below his back shoulder and picks his foot up and strides slightly open, causing his hips and hands to work around the baseball and not able to cover the outer ½. From the load, as his hips begin to clear, the hitch creates an arm bar, which coupled with the open stride, creates the sweep to the stroke. He did barrel some balls to the pull side, and had an EV high of 87. Just needs some work and consistency with a plan in place. Defensively he gauges his movements into the ball and fields with two hands out front with a short arm stroke with his palm up in back and cuts off out front. Very young and has his entire four year HS career ahead of him, to make the necessary adjs needed to get to where he wants to be. |
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Carson Moody RHP / OF / Riverton, UT / 2024Lg athletic frame w/long arms, legs and wide shoulders. Projs build and looks to add 20-30 Lbs over the next 4 years. Young 14 yr old class of ‘24 with some actions and tools to work with. A 7.24/60 and see better in time with a solid running gate. The bat shows potential, as he hits from an upright square stance and loads into his back side with a big knee lift, while bringing it into his backside. Would like to see him tone this down as he will have enough strength to drive the baseball without. The hands slide back into a solid 45 degree angle at launch, and he takes a short compact stroke into and through the ball with a high one hand finish. He does let go of the top hand a tick too soon, but is definitely correctable. He showed the ability to manipulate the bat head in different zones. Barreled balls on a line with an EV high of 86 and will have proj pull power down the road. Defensively shows actions in approaching the baseball on the ground and fields out front correctly with a clean catch and works his feet and momentum through the ball nicely. The arm works with proper throwing mechs w/solid ext. out front and a loose wrist to finish his throws. Definitely a follow moving forward. |
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Zackary Wallin LHP / OF / Copper Hills, UT / 2022Med semi filled out athletic build with another 10-15 lbs at maturity. Offensively, he features an even props slightly open stance, with his hands held high over his back shoulder, bouncing his bat up and down. He lifts his foot and sets it down softly, while loading his hands properly at a 45 and takes a short compact linear pass at the baseball with a fluid one hand finish. Used the big part of the pull side of the field. Does need to accelerate the bat head through contact. The hand speed is quick enough to the contact point, yet appears to decelerate the bat and needs to let it fly. Has a solid swing. Defensively he shows educated feet to field out front and through the baseball, and shows solid front side mechanics, with a high glove and pulls down and syncs his backside throwing mechanics well. The arm is below average, yet has a proper arm stroke and gets some one hop finish. |
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Ethan Wayman LHP / OF / Stansbury High School, UT / 2023A med lean wiry athletic build with proj weight and strength gains to come at maturity. A two way type with equal parts success at both. As a LHP, he showed a med kick and breaks over the rubber from a compact delivery. The arm is up and in the slot at foot strike. He could post a bit longer on his backside with added hip turn up top, which should unlock another foot to his FB. The FB 76-80 has that natural arm side life and the CB 66 has looser spin and med depth. The CH 65-68 has some fade and is a limited pitch for him at present. Was around the plate with all three pitches. With the bat he starts with a semi wide, even props stance with his hands held in front of his face with a vertical address. He leans back into his post leg, with a hands back approach and shows a heel lift and slight lift of the toe, to drive the bat in a short compact path to the ball. The swing overall lacks the ideal looseness you are looking for, but he does have some bat speed and young 15 year old strength. With an EV up to 90 and sitting at 85, there is definitely strength to the swing. From the OF, he moves methodically to the ball and hesitates a bit, and needs to be a little more aggressive to the ball, but he gets good acceleration through the baseball and shows a HTQ arm stroke with proj arm strength. A young kid that has 3 years of HS left and I look forward to seeing his progression throughout the coming years. |
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Blake Wilde OF / LHP / Riverton, UT / 2024Small build and very young with maturity and physical size to come. 14 Yr old freshman with his entire HS career ahead of him. As an OF, he approaches the ball in an educated manner and works through the ball and fields out front with soft hands and fields cleanly. Gets his feet set properly into a solid position to throw, and features a clean fluid HTQ arm stroke. He does cut off out front, while finishing upright and needs to get through his throws with better ext. out front. Hen should lean out and over his front side at release, to get the most out of his arm. At the plate he shows a slightly open even props crouched stance and leans back into his backside, while loading his bat up and slightly back with a vertical bat angle. Needs to turn the knob to the catcher and get to a 45 while cocking his hands. Takes a linear short path to the ball and his swing has some fluidity, while finishing high and over his back shoulder. Some tweaks to make over time, but has time and years on his side. Quality coaching with proper work, he should make some big strides in time. |