Hayden
Smith

Had a very good sophomore year as the catcher on the 4A state runner-ups as he hit .393 and then took it to another level in ‘23, hitting at a .360 clip with 22 xtra base hits, with 14 2B’s, a triple and 7 HR’s. The ball jumps off his bat to all fields and can hit it out the other way. Gets loaded into the “MLB Logo'' position and has solid barrel release at contact. Behind the plate he needs to get better at block and recovering, frames, get low and receive the baseball with soft hands. The feet are efficient and online to 2B with above or below 2.0 pop times. His throws are on the money, for what he lacks in pure arm strength. A solid baseball IQ with bloodlines, as his uncle played in the NFL. As a junior carried Snow Canyon once again back to a state 4A runner-up finish and looks to lead the Warriors to the promised land in 2024, as Snow Canyon has played for the state title 3 years in a row, winning it all his freshman year. 

Smith has a very solid workout and showed well. The junior to be, was the starting catcher for the state powerhouse Snow Canyon Warriors this past spring as a sophomore, hitting .393 with 2 HR’s, 26 RBI’s and 7 2B’s to go along with 2 3B’s. Smith even walked 21 times vs 17 K’s, suggesting plate discipline is in place, to improve even more in that category. Smith put up a EV of 93.1 with a max distance of 352 to go along with a very good sweet spot contact of 82% and hard hit rate of 73%. From the Blast Motion metrics, an on plane efficiency mark of 82 was elite in keeping his barrel in the zone and in line with the baseball, giving him an elite chance to make the sweet spot and hard hit rates! Defensively Smith is an efficient receiver and continues to improve and get better in this area and does catch some slightly above average arms at his HS, plus his head coach caught for many years in pro ball, to go along with having a former 13 yr MLB pitcher as the pitching coach, to learn and grow along with his head coach in running and working with a pitching staff. This is by breakout player in the 2024 class for next spring and look forward to seeing his numbers soar even higher over the next two seasons. ** College coaches should get on this kid quick and he would be an impact bat and receiver at the next level **

Smith has taken over the catching duties at state powerhouse Snow Canyon with a knack for squaring up the ball and making hard LD contact to all fields. He has a simple repeatable whippy stroke to hit and with continued physical development, his metrics will only rise with age and maturity. Behind the plate he takes charge for a young kid and that is key as Coach Reed Secrist expects nothing less, after all Smith is replacing big shoes on 4A Player of the Year Mason Strong (BYU). Smith has a quick release and sound footwork. His throws are on the money with a developing arm that should add significant strength with age once again. Smith plays for highly competitive Mountain West in the summer and as his notoriety increases, and he matures physically, college coaches should definitely take notice. 

A young 14 yr old with plenty of room for growth, weight and physical development moving forward. The base is there to develop into a solid baseball player. The catching end shows potential and his pop times are in the 2.2 range and should improve to avg as he continues to add strength with years on his side. The exchange is clean and he’s accurate with carry at times. The intriguing part is he showed some glove actions with proper footwork at SS and fields from the ground up and out front. He has some educated feet and sets up nicely to get off strong accurate throws across the diamond. The bat shows solid potential as he gets quality separation with his load and lower ½ synced up. The bat is fluid and has some uphill to it, and should develop some pull side power potential as he matures. Will be interesting to follow and see his development over the next 4 years.