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Malibu, Calif. - The Prep Baseball West region staff put their collective eyes on some of the top '25/'26 players within the state as part of the ProCase-West event. A collecton of 50+ of the top players from California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah came together to compete in front of the Prep Baseball West Coast staff from those states, Shooter Hunt the Vice President of Scouting for Prep Baseball, MLB scouts and plenty of others in attendance. Each of the players invited to the event were impressive in their own rights, but today we take a look at some of the top performers from this event from Team California with this edition of Quick Hits.

Players were put through the traditional showcase workout that included a 60 yard sprint test and Jump Test on Swift, Vizual Edge testing, On Field Batting Practice, defensive workouts at their positions and concluded with pitchers facing live hitters in a 9+ inning simulated scrimmage. Trackman was in use for all hitting and pitching sessions to gather data and help measure their present athletic proficiencies and future projectability. As well, Blast Motion was utilized to gather data on swing performance from each player during batting practice.

Procase events are aimed at putting the top players in upcoming JR./SR. classes into a showcase structure to show their individual athletic ability and tool sets in front of the evaluators in attendance, followed by game play competition for the pitchers to face live hitters and the position players to show how their toolsets translate into game scenarios. 

Players who stand out at the ProCase events have opened the door for an opportunity that can ultimately culminate into an invite to the Prep Baseball All-American Game which will be held in Miami, Florida come September 2024.  

For all the data and information on all of the players outside of the Quick Hits click here.

Here is a first look at some of the standouts from Team California at the ProCase-West event.

James Tronstein OF / SS / HARVARD-WESTLAKE, CA / 2026 Rankings  StateRank: 2 / POS: 2 OverallRank: 12 / POS: 3 Tronstein is fresh off a fantastic Soph. campaign for the CIF-SS D1 runner Harvard Westlake Wolverines and he kicked started his summer with an eye popping performance at the ProCase-West. During the workout portion Tronstein hit several personal bests with Prep Baseball highlighted by a 6.64 60 yard dash, 93 MPH OF arm velocity, 104.9 MPH max EV (multiple over 100 during BP), 94.6 MPH avg. EV, and a 393' max distance (HR to the LCF). In addition, Tronstein worked out on the INF with an anticipated move back on the dirt coming for him in the future where he showed the actions to stick up the middle on the dirt. As impressive as his workout portion was Tronstein took it to another level during the game play portion including going 2-2 with a 97.4 MPH single to RF and a 102.4 MPH double and for good measure he made a spectacular diving catch in the LCF gap playing CF in the final inning of the day.

Angel Cervantes RHP / 1B / Warren High, CA / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 5 / POS: 2 OverallRank: 12 / POS: 3 Cervantes was  2023 Prep Baseball All American participant and he showcased exactly why on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Pepperdine. Opening the game play portion of the event Cervantes was dominant in his 5 batter inning allowing 0 baserunners, inducing soft contact with 3 different hitters rolling over for 5-3 groundouts, and punching out 1 hitter. The 6'3 RHP is a UCLA commit and he worked off a 92-93 MPH FB which peaked at 93.6 MPH with spin rates above 2400 RPMs of spin which he paired with a 78.1-81.1 MPH CB with power that he can spin for an average of 2866 RPMs and for good measure he worked in a 83.8-84.2 MPH CHG which flashes potential. It was an impressive outing for one of the best arms not just in the state of California, but also nationally in the 2025 class.

Zach Strickland RHP / OF / Maranatha, CA / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 21 / POS: 6 OverallRank: 99 / POS: 29 Strickland entered the event riding the wave of an impressive 2024 HS campaign for Maranatha High School which saw him put up dominant numbers and on this day he continued that trend. Working to 5 hitters in game play action the 6'2 RHP was able to punch out 3 hitters while picking up swing and miss on his FB on several pitches in the zone. For good measure his FB sat at 91-93 MPH throughout his outing and reached an event best 96 MPH while averaging 18.1" of IVB. He mixed in a pair of breaking balls behind the FB which were highlighted by his SLD that was at 76.2 - 78.7 MPH with spin rates reaching above 2500 RPMs and 12.6" of horizontal movement on its max end while his CB was at 67.6 - 68.8 with spin rates bumping up near 2500 RPMs. An athletic delivery with arm speed, feel for all 3 pitches, control within the strike zone and impressive stuff the UCLA commit put together one of the best pitching performances of the day.

Trey Morris LHP / 1B / Washington Union, CA / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 25 / POS: 1 OverallRank: 149 / POS: 14 The 2-way talent from the Central Valley of California is the top ranked LHP in the 2025 class in California, but after an injury he has just returned to pitching competitively in game action in the last few weeks. He displayed the athletic delivery, quick arm and quality stuff effectively in his 5 batter outing that shows why he is so highly regarded for his ability on the mound. After allowing a single to open the inning he would respond with a pair of dominat strikeouts and a softly hit 3-1 put out to close out the inning. Morris worked at 89-90 MPH with his FB and velocity will continue to trend up as he regains his full arm strength post-injury. He threw his CB/CHG offspeed combination effectively with the CHG sitting at 82-83 MPH while efficiently killing spin on it in the 1600 RPM range and he threw his 74-76 MPH SLD for strikes. For good measure the LH hitting Morris collected a 2K single in the game play portion while peaking at 98.3 MPH on his EV during BP including a max distance of 370' and showing solid defense at 1B.

Anthony Murphy OF / RHP / Corona High School, CA / 2026 Rankings  StateRank: 1 / POS: 1 OverallRank: 10 / POS: 2 Murphy is the newly ranked #1 player in the 2026 class by Prep Baseball California and has entered the Top 10 nationally after an outstanding season for the CIF-SS D1 champion Corona program. He carried his strong spring into an outstanding day at the ProCase-West. During the workout portion of the day the uber athletic 6' 182 lbs. Murphy set personal bests with a 6.79 60, 99.6 MPH max EV, 379' max distance on a blast to LCF while peaking at 92 MPH on his OF throws. When the day switched to the game play portion Murphy showed his toolset plays well against elite level talent. In his first plate appearance he stayed on a CHG to hit a hard one hopper up the middle that was turned into a 6-4 forceout on a nice play by the opposing SS then during his 2nd plate appearance he took a FB over the plate and drilled it back up the middle for an RBI single. As well, he made a pair of catches in the OF ranging laterally with ease to take away two potential hits.

Jaxon Baker LHP / OF / Paloma Valley High, CA / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 46 / POS: 2 OverallRank: 299 / POS: 27 Baker is an impressive 6'6 LHP out of the Inland Empire in California and committed to the Oregon Ducks. On this day the athletic Baker displayed his arsenal with effectiveness for one of the best innings of the day. Facing 6 hitters (he walked 1 hitter which converted into an extra at bat for that hitter) in that frame he punched out 4 of those hitters, allowed the 1 walk and only one ball in play with an F-7. Baker got his results on the strength of his 88-91 MPH which he picked up swing and miss from hitters on within the strike zone. Pairing his impressive feel for his FB with a 69.8 - 71.6 MPH CB that he mixes in effectively there is plenty of reason to see why Baker is committed to pitch for the Ducks and is drawing interest as a potential MLB draft pick for the 2025 class and he helped raise his stock with his performance at ProCase-West.

Angel Laya OF / OF / Eastlake High, CA / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 23 / POS: 6 OverallRank: 106 / POS: 20 Laya is an athletically built 6'3 LHH OF from the San Diego area who is another Oregon Ducks commit. He stood as one of the stronger workout performers of the day including running a 6.74 60, popping 94 MPH from the OF on throws with carry, a 102 MPH max EV during BP while averaging 89.9 MPH with consistent hard line drive contact. He gets to his contact quality with an impressive swing that showed well on Blast metrics including 77.1 MPH bat speed, 23.6 MPH hand speed and 18.7 G's of rotational acceleration. While many players had good workouts Laya was one who was able to carry his hitting prowess from the workout portion into the game where he collected a hard 2B down the RF line where he reached 2B in sub 8.5 seconds and played stellar defense in the OF.

Ethin Bingaman RHP / 2B / ARROWHEAD CHRISTIAN ACADEMY, CA / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 57 / POS: 16 OverallRank: 490 / POS: 144 An Auburn commit who shows intriguing stuff on the mound and has begun to display a potential to be a 2-way talent should he reach campus for the Tigers. Bingamin's day was highlighted by his 5 batter inning on the mound where he picked up 1 K, allowed a single and recorded his other 3 outs via F-7, F-4 and a 6-4 forceout. Bingamin worked off a FB at 91.1 - 93.1 MPH while peaking at 93.8 MPH with a peak spin rate above 2600 RPMs and average spin rates above 2500 RPMs showing life thru the zone (20.3" of IVB on average) for swing and miss. He spins a power CB as his primary secondary which works at 77.7 - 79.7 MPH with 16" of vertical break at its peak including a spin rate of 2700+ RPMs at its peak also. His FB/CB combo are swing and miss offerings which he continues to show better control of each as he continues to develop. Bingamin was also impressive during the BP portion of the day with a 103 MPH max EV, 93.2 MPH average EV, 69% hard hit rate and a 379' max distance from an aggressive RH swing that shows strength through contact.

Ethan Porter 3B / OF / Huntington Beach High, CA / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 20 / POS: 1 OverallRank: 88 / POS: 5 A physical 6'2 199 lbs. corner INF from Orange County the Oregon State Beaver commit took one of the more impressive batting practices of any player on the day with his consistent ability to find his barrel with loud impact. Working the middle to pull side of the field with leverage Porter reached as high as 101.6 MPH on his exit velocity while averaging 94.4 MPH throughout batting practice with an impressive 86% sweet spot rate and a 388' blast. As impressive as his physicality is the 6.71 60 time with 20.5 MPH run speed showcases his athleticism to handle the INF dirt or all 3 OF spots with plenty of arm strength for both evidenced by his 90 MPH OF arm velocity and 84 MPH INF arm velocity. During the game play portion he worked a pair of strong at bats with a hard 6-3 ground out to SS in a 2K count and drawing a 9 pitch walk.

Cody Kiemele LHP / Arlington High, CA / 2025 Rankings  StateRank: 51 / POS: 3 OverallRank: 367 / POS: 38 The impressive athletic LHP out of the Inland Empire showed a clean delivery with feel for both his FB and SLD. During the 5 batter outing his FB played at a high level sitting 88.7 - 89.8 MPH with 17.4" of horizontal run at its peak while averaging 14.5" of horizontal run throughout his outing and a 100% in zone rate on Trackman. He spun a 80.7 - 81.7 MPH SLD that peaked at 82.2 MPH with a shorter tight break to it averaging 4.8" of horizontal movement peaking at 5.7" of horizontal action giving him a solid east to west pairing that picked up a pair of strikeouts over his 5 hitters. Kiemele induced a pair of flyball outs to second base and right field respectively while allowing just one baserunner on an error. He was able to pick up swing and miss in the zone both on his FB and his SLD. The Arizona State Sun Devil commit solidified his spot as the number 3 ranked LHP in California in the 2025 class with a chance to rise up the rankings from his 51st overall spot in the coming months.

UPCOMING EVENTS