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Valley Open: Quick Hits

August 22, 2022
Shea Sbranti
Arizona Scouting Director

On Saturday, August 20th, Prep Baseball Report Arizona hosted the Valley Open at South Mountain Community College. The Valley Open is an open showcase provided for players in the 2023-2026 classes in the state of Arizona. Giving the players the chance to showcase their skills in front of the PBR Arizona Staff using state-of-the-art technology on field. 

Today, we’ll begin to publish our findings from the Valley Open in the form of this Quick Hits post. In no order, we will state some of our initial takeaways and highlights from Saturday’s showcase. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more post-event coverage.

CLICK: For Full Event Stats 

Kevin Hoffmaster C / 3B / Chaparral, AZ / 2024

6-foot 155 pound, Kevin Hoffmaster was an exciting player to watch at this year's Valley Open showing a high waisted athletic build. Hoffmaster showed his athleticism on the EZE jump mat,  jumping a showcase high 29.4 in. Hoffmaster showed well in his BP rounds with a simple set up, shoulder width base with bend in the knees, his hands held above his right shoulder with a flat bat angle. Hoffmaster had an adjustable barrel, with gap to gap line drives in both of his BP rounds. Although the ball came off the bat well, Hoffmaster has room to gain strength which will in turn produce more power to the gaps. Hoffmasters best contact was middle / right centerfield. In the field Hoffmaster showed good timing with the feet and body with some extra movements prior to fielding. From the catching position he showed a quick arm and transfer with his accuracy being slightly inconsistent. Pop time ranged from 1.96 to 2.12. Kevin Hoffmaster will be a follow going into the 2022 fall and 2023 spring High School season at Chaparral High School. 

Carson Stoller LHP / OF / Sandra Day OConnor , AZ / 2023

6-foot 190 pound, Left Handed Pitcher Carson Stoller was one of the stand out pitchers at this year’s Valley Open. With a physical build Stoller showed to be one of the more mature pitchers throughout the entire showcase. The LHP Stoller showed an over the top arm action with 3-pitch mix strike ability, and a FB that topped out at 85mph that spun at 2190. Stoller’s curveball ranged from 70-73 with 2000 spin. The Changeup looked to be his best out pitch, sitting 75-78 with 1800 spin and -22.2in of horizontal movement, Stoller keeps good hand speed with the pitch and is able to create some sink. If Stoller is able to work at the bottom of the zone this spring as he did on Saturday, it will give him the best chance for success. Stoller will be a high follow going into his senior season at SD OConnor.

Cooper Sobeck OF / 3B / Desert Ridge , AZ / 2024

The 6-foot-1 175 pound, Cooper Sobeck was the most intriguing player to join us at this year's Valley Open. Sobeck stands tall in the box with an athletic bend in the knees with a stride that keeps him square. Sobeck showed quick hands, with a short inside path that produced consistent line drives to the gaps. With a 77 mph bat speed measured by Blast, Sobeck showed to be a gap-to-gap, extra base hit type hitter. In the Outfield Sobeck showed athletic movement’s with good jumps to the baseball. Although Sobeck showed an average arm in the outfield, his clean glovework and short arm action showed to be very accurate to the bases. We are excited to follow 2024 Sobeck at Desert Ridge this upcoming season as he will be a high follow for the PBR Arizona Staff. 

Roger Hunt SS / RHP / La Joya, AZ / 2026

5-foot-8 140 pound, Roger Hunt was one of the stand out 2026 prospects at the Valley Open on Saturday. Hunt is a mature switch hitting middle infielder that showed he can do it from both sides of the plate in BP. With a smaller athletic build, Hunt stands tall with a loose set up, hands held above the shoulder with a vertical bat path with some rhythm in the hands. From the left side he showed quick hands and a line drive approach to all fields. Very similar to his left handed swing, Hunt’s right handed swing showed to have a full field approach, Hunt's hands from the right side showed to be slightly tighter with an adjustable barrel working inside the baseball. In the field Hunt showed active feet and a quick first step, moving side to side without an issue and a clean glove. The 2026 showed an infield velo of 76 mph. On the mound Hunt showed a loose arm that topped out at 78 mph and a knuckleball that spun at 995. Roger Hunt has shown to be a swiss army knife type player with room to grow. We will be following Hunt as he goes into his freshman season at La Joya.

Mason Hamon RHP / OF / Gilbert, AZ / 2023

6-foot-5 210 pound, Mason Hamon showed up to the Valley Open on Saturday with a body you could not miss. Hamon is a projectable right handed pitcher out of Gilbert high school that had the highest velocity on Saturday, topping out at 87.6 mph. Hamon has a tight over the top arm action with a strong lower half. With the fastball being Hamons best pitch he looked to have more confidence in the CV over the CH. If Hamon is able to build on his fastball and get a quality secondary pitch he will be a high follow going into the fall and spring seasons. While the velocity might not be where the body portray’s, we feel Hamon could be a sleeper that is going to make tremendous strides over the course of the year.

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