Utah Player and Pitcher of the Week: Vest, Ross, Rigby
April 10, 2023
Throughout the spring season, PBR Utah will announce a player and pitcher of the week, every Tuesday, from the previous week. The awards are based on what kind of statistical week the player had, and it will be subjective, based on my evaluation of the player. Also you do not have to have attended a PBR event to earn the award, but I will lean towards the player I know more thoroughly and also what kind of collegiate prospect that player is. So it isn't only stats, but that is where it starts, with the other criteria as separators in case of a close call. In the event of two performance's in the each category, that could go either way, as to which gets the nod, two awards for that category may be given..
Player of the Week
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Boston Vest SS / Dixie, UT / 2024Rankings State Rank: 17 / POS: 3
UncommittedWeek 5 (April 3-8) State Line: G 4 AB 15 R 3 H 8 RBI 4 2B 5 SB 2 8/05/22
The son of a former D1 player (Who played for me in college) and his brother Cooper plays at BYU, so the bloodlines are aplenty! Boston played very well defensively at SS and 3B during the Future Games and made some nice plays, while starting a couple DP’s and some nice tags on runners thrown out at 3B. Boston is a baseball player and was a 4A 1st ™ All-Region/2nd ™ All-State award winner in ‘22 and carried that success into Atlanta. With some hard hit balls on a line, and keeping innings extended with base hits to keep the line moving, Boston is a fundamentally sound player. From a narrow upright setup to hit, he strides forward and pulls his hands back into the stretch/load position, to get separation and takes his hands direct to the plane of the ball and keeps his plane of attack on a flatter plane with the bat, to stay in the zone with the bat head and give himself enough room for error, to spray barreled balls to all fields. Able to cut down his swing and stay back to take what is given and guide the baseball the other way, which you don’t see often in players at 16 yrs old. Boston May not stay at SS at the next level, however I would keep him there as long as possible to keep him at that athletic spot on the diamond, which creates the instincts and baseball IQ to slide over to 2B or 3B and the power is there to be an offensive 2B at the best level and it’s not out of the question, to see his power pot to stick at 3B as well. But colleges should take notice of his baseball IQ, high rate of barrel efficiency and fundamentally sound glove, to provide a winning player at the next level! |
Pitchers of the Week
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Degan Rigby RHP / Bear River, UT / 2024Rankings State Rank: 24 / POS: 6
UncommittedWeek 5 (April 3-8) Stat Line: NO-HITTERIP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 SO 12 3/04/23
Since we last saw Rigby at the Utah State Games last October, the FB has taken a step forward and touched 91, with a working velocity of 86-90 T91. The 6-4 210 frame/build, has the makings of a low 90's FB and is in this scouts opinion, a legitimate D1 prospect! The secondary needs to improve and be cleaner, with consistency and K's, but the body, aggressive delivery and arm strength, coupled with now velo and two years of HS left, the best is yet to come from this physical farm boy, that has produced some hard throwers from his HS in recent memory! 10/30/22
Rigby is a big strapping country kid from the upper reaches of the state, but has the frame and natural strength that come with being 6-4 210, to reach back and throw a mid to upper 80's FB now, with plenty in the tank over the next two years of HS. The FB 85-88 at the All-State Games was his best velo to date, since we first saw him at the Northern Utah Open 6-7 weeks ago. The CB 69-74 has TQ tilted depth and needs added spin to create bite, so the pitch will take that biting turn at the end, to create problems for hitters. Playing for a quality state contending program at Bear River HS, and having a former U Utah alum in Donnie Hawes, who also played in the Reds system, helps as he is around a solid HS baseball environment. 9/17/22
Positional Profile: RHP/3B 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.
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Jaiven Ross LHP / Crimson Cliffs, UT / 2023
Committed: Salt Lake CCWeek 5 (April 3-8) Stat Line: Combined NO-HITTER vs Snow Canyon 1-0IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 2 SO 10 4/10/23 The Salt Lake CC commit has been virtually unhittable this spring, all be-it with some walks, but when in the zone, the tall LHP with the tall compact med kick to delivery has been untouchable. Ross features a mid 80's FB and big OH CB that i8s more an off speed type that creates a lot of ground for hitters to cover as its nearly 15 mph off the FB and creates timing issues. The LTQ slot and deception within the delivery, create some Josh Hader type hiding of the baseball, thus making picking the ball up ever difficult. Ross is especially tough on LHH's as the slot and late life in the zone, can handcuff hitters and when coming inside, feel as if you are being chased out of the box. |
UPCOMING EVENTS
| Showcase | State | Date | Location |
| Utah Rising Stars | UT | 5/6 | "The Hive" Juab HS Fieldhouse |
| PBR NV-AZ-UT-CA ProCase | UT | 6/4 | U Southern California |
| NorCal Valley UT Scout Day | UT | 6/12 | Snow Canyon HS |
| CBA Summit Scout Day | UT | 6/17 | Snow Canyon HS |
| PBR Jr Future Games | National | 7/25-31 | LakePoint Sports Complex (GA) |
RELATED NEWS
JEFF SCHOLZEN (BIO)
Scholzen was brought on as the Utah Scouting Director for Prep Baseball Report after serving 9 years as the Four Corners Scouting Supervisor with the Milwaukee Brewers (2011-2020). Prior to his run with the Brewers, Scholzen worked for the Los Angeles Angels for 11 years (1999-2010), serving in a similar capacity as the Four Corners Scouting Supervisor. In all, Scholzen served as a full-time scout for 20 years. Scholzen also received a 2002 World Series ring for his contributions as a scout.
With the Angels, Scholzen created an Angels Scout Team, in which he coached the likes of current and former major league players: Kris Bryant, Kevin Gausman, Greg Bird, Tyler Wagner, Aaron Blair, Joey Rickard, Donn Roach, Johnny Field, Taylor Cole and Paul Sewald to name a few. During his run with the the Angels, Scholzen served as the hitting coach for the Angels rookie ball affiliate with the Pioneer League Orem Owlz, helping guide the Owlz to the 2005 and 2007 Pioneer League titles.
Prior to becoming a professional scout, Scholzen served as the head coach at Southern Utah University between 1993-1997. At the time, Scholzen was the youngest Division I head coach when he was first hired at 24 years old. The Southern Utah baseball program was dropped after the 2012 season. While coaching at Southern Utah, Scholzen served as the hitting coach for the Alaska Goldpanners in 1995, as they won the Alaska League Championship.
A native of Utah, Scholzen played at Hurricane HS and was twice named 1st team All-State and an AAU HM All-American, before moving on to Utah Valley CC and Eastern Oregon University, earning All-Conference honors on three separate occasions. Scholzen played in the Angels’ organization from 1991-1992.