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PBR Fall Open - Outstanding Prospects

September 13, 2022
Phil Kerber & Justin Goetz
PBR Georgia Staff

The PBR Fall Open burned serious fuel from a high powered locomotive full of nasty arms who demolished everything in their tracks. There were some top arms in each class, and some exciting unranked sleepers from multiple states. Every single one of them was projectable with special traits. While the tournament was arm heavy, we had two standout shortstops who were swinging the lumber and flashing the leather. Here are 11 of our most outstanding prospects from our 2nd tourney of the fall.

Wesley Silas, RHP, GSIC (GA), 2025, CompleteGame
Uncommitted. 6 foot 1, 180 pounds. Much more often than not, a good delivery correlates directly to a pitcher’s success. Silas’ delivery is a huge part of why he has the complete trio of velocity, movement, and control. The “Hephzibah Horse” contains all of the traits needed to be a front end starter or high leverage closer in baseball’s top league one day. He works fluidly in near perfect sequence down the mound, enabling him to create unbelievable torque and timing from separation. It also allows him to repeat his arm slot consistently on all pitches with balance promoting good direction to the plate. He doesn’t let his high leg kick get out of control, instead using it as a cue to sit into his legs (hamstrings, glutes, quads) and load his upper half over the rubber as he works thru the separation in stride. These are all advanced moves and very rarely seen in a 15 year old. Silas has an extremely clean one piece arm action, unreal scap load & backside connection from elite release height (H3/4). His advanced lower half mech take pressure off the arm by keeping pressure from start to finish, and firing together from throwing position. He featured arguably the most live FB in the class in the 89-91 range, hitting his new PR of 92! It’s a turbo sinker at 1700 rpm with identical life to both edges with much more velo to come. His CUT at 79-80 spins at 2500 rpm with a gyro profile and some bite+depth glove side. The pitch has plenty of potential and he also flashed a CH at 83 with similar heaviness to the FB.

Grayson Smith, RHP, McCallie (TN), 2023, Scorpions MidSouth
Florida Commit. 6 foot 3, 190 pounds. This Rocky Face, GA native produced one of the most electric 1st innings I’ve seen all year. As I’ve talked about with the arms above, delivery is extremely important in the long term success of a pitcher. There’s no one right way to throw, there are many. Many would question the “healthiness” of Smith’s delivery. Here’s my question - is throwing a weighted baseball at over 90 mph healthy? No, but it’s very fun and alot of fun to watch. I say Grayson’s pitching motion is one of the most efficient & explosive I’ve seen in 2022. Smith creates rapid lower half momentum with his hips going to the plate nearly as soon as he squares up. As the knee starts coming down, he coils his hips and torso to the backside which creates an unreal stretch as his stride starts to separate. The stride is long and aggressive & isolates like a rubber band from his deep stab overhand arm action that stretches below his hamstrings/glutes. This creates elite torque & slingshot action as lead leg blocks. Smith still checks all the boxes as far as pitching absolutes go. The upper body loads over the rubber & stays closed, he keeps balance, stays connected to his backside with slight bend, keeps pressure on his legs from start to finish, maintains good direction etc. This unorthodox delivery is one of my favorites in the country right now and resembles a pitcher called “The Freak” from San Francisco. So when we talk stuff, it’s no surprise that this Florida commit has one of the nastiest arsenals in the country. His FB sat in the 91-92 range for 3 innings with one of the best ride+run combos I’ve been privileged to scout this year. The pitch violently hisses toward the handle of RHH’s bats just daring them to swing. Surprisingly they do, and seldom make contact. The special life on his FB only makes his 77-79 power SLV that much better. It comes from an identical slot as his FB and has some of the most sudden sweep I’ve seen all year coupled with wipeout depth at its best. As you see in the video below, his 1st SLV was a plus pitch to MLB standards. If he can be looser in the fingers & wrist at the bottom of his arm action, the ceiling on his velo is endless.

Cooper Johnson, RHP, Beech Sr (TN), 2024, USA Prime Midsouth
Uncommitted. 6 foot 3, 170 pounds. When you see an arm like this, you realize why more and more draft picks are coming out of smaller schools each year. Johnson has tons of potential and would fit right in at a small D1, high level D2, or Juco. This is a guy you want to pitch early in college because a couple years from now, he can be just as good as the top guys in the southeast. I can go all day naming MLB players who were under-recruited out of HS, and a specific name comes to mind when you see Cooper’s frame, delivery and hair. Mike Clevenger. Let’s make one thing clear, I'm not saying Johnson will be him, just that he has a similar delivery, frame, and lettuce. But the current Padres starter was only topping out at 89-90 in HS, and I believe with strength gains Johnson can touch 90 before the end of 12th grade. I’m a huge fan of his rock & fire delivery, and feel it will be a huge factor in his next velo jump to come. He has very good rhythm, and from the stretch the delivery is just as powerful and well sequenced. This is an absolute rarity in a HS arm, as most pitchers lose velocity/movement/control when runners are on. Johnson doesn’t. His ease of operation is created by the pace built in his delivery - 1. Slow to square up 2. Medium thru up+down+out phases 3. Fast from landing through release. His patience over the rubber in stride makes it easier for his shoulders to work north to go south (downhill) and creates steep plane and backside connection for his arm action (Loose, efficient mid-depth full circle AA H3/4). I really liked his pitchability & stuff combo - FB 83-85 T86 late run, CB 68-70 tight rotation, repeats slot w/ strikes. CH 71-73 nice fade with confidence to throw to both RHH and LHH.

Tyler Bennett, SS, Christian Academy of Knoxville (TN), 2025, BC Athletics
Uncommitted. 6 foot 1, 155 pounds. This high projection athlete at the No. 6 position has some of the better swing mechanics in the southeast for his class. Fortunately, he also has one of the better approaches, regularly sending missiles from the right center gap to left center. His hands work close to the body and stay inside the baseball time after time, keeping his barrel in the zone longer than most as he adjusts his body & hands to any pitch in any zone. This is my 2nd time seeing him at Lakepoint in 2022, and he does the same thing every look I get. Good swing decisions leading to many barrels all over the field, and consistent standout defense. The swing is smooth & effortless from start to finish, and happens in precise sequence. Bennett’s hips are the engine of the swing with a steady, slow flow. He stacks the backside and maintains hip pace out of the hole, creating good lower half momentum for direction and leverage. He gets a great hip/shoulder stretch in gradual separation, creating bat speed with timing and patience over raw strength. So when he does get stronger, he will hit for power. He’s efficient in & out of launch and matches plane very well. Tyler clears his hips perfectly in stride, allowing him to simply just throw the hands as soon as he lands. Defensively, he shows advanced actions as well -  instincts, footwork, quick exchange, accurate throws w/ carry from all angles. He’s got one of the smoothest turns on the 2 ball I’ve seen for his age.

Garrett Long, LHP, Porter Ridge (NC), 2026, Mission Scout Team 2026
Uncommitted. 6 foot 1, 145 pounds. This is a projectable strike thrower with great tempo for his age. He’s never in a rush with his delivery, but as soon as he toes the rubber he’s moving. It’s a huge disruptor of a hitter's timing and will be just as effective against upperclassmen bats. They can’t take pitches on him early in the count or will find themselves quickly down 0-2 because of his natural ability to dot both edges with the FB. He repeated his delivery at an advanced level for his age over the weekend, allowing him to go 7 innings for the win. His FB velo stayed in the 79-81 range the entire game which was very impressive for his currently wiry build. I saw plenty of 82’s early from his free & easy L3/4 AA that’s synced with the up+down+out phases. His slight crossfire creates nasty angle and adds deception without impacting direction, playing really well with his gradually tailing FB. Long has solid feel for his low 70’s SL with tight spin and depth. The pitch has tons of potential with his ability to keep it on a FB plane for a good amount of its trajectory. It should sharpen up as he gets stronger and more experienced throwing it. With Garrett’s lengthy levers, ease of operation, repeatable delivery, arm action & easy arm speed, another jump in velo is surely on the way. All he needs is strength, to keep developing the SL, and start working on a CH he can throw off his FB.
  

Brooks Willis, RHP, Houston County (GA), 2024, Game On Baseball
Uncommitted. 6 foot 6, 210 pounds. This Future Gamer was one of our Dick’s Sporting Goods “Player of the Game” with 2 no hit innings and 4 K’s, showing he can shut down big time bats at his best. He’s got projection and a very effective arsenal to go with it. When Brooks is repeating his crossfire delivery, he’s nearly untouchable. There's so much deception it's almost unfair for RHH to face him over and over. At release everything is on top of them and the velo plays up because of it. They also have to worry about his future hammer SLV at 72-74 with edge to edge sweep and two plane depth. He had the spinner working in the Labor Day Open, getting him some good swing & miss. The FB was down a bit velo wise at 83-85 T86 but the life was there getting plenty of bad swings up in the zone with run. Willis is the toughest to hit when he’s locating the FB away and can throw the nasty SLV off of it. The angle is very tough to track for hitters when he’s dotting the glove side edge consistently. That makes his FB up or in that much more effective. Brooks’ ceiling will be determined by future improvements in velocity and the ability to repeat his delivery and arm slot at a high level. Any school that’s serious about him will be getting an elite competitor on the mound with a future plus breaking ball who can be very impactful as both a starter or reliever.

Jordyn Brown, SS, Brevard (NC), 2025. Next Level Baseball NC
Uncommitted. 6 foot 1, 160 pounds. As soon as we looked out on the field, this was obviously one of the most athletic 2025’s in the tournament. Brown is high waisted with lean muscle from head to toe, and the bat speed is exactly what we hoped for. With his athleticism, its no shock that the swing mechanics are very solid despite him being a little bit raw approach wise. Offensively he sinks into the lower half well, toe tap signaling efficient & simple hip/shoulder separation. Short, quick hand path led by knob gives barrel lengthy stay in zone. Brown is able to manipulate the barrel up, down, inside, and out naturally. This is a good check mark for the potential in his bat. The ceiling is sky high across the board, and he has 5 tool potential. His tools that standout most currently are raw power and speed. He barreled multiple baseballs with serious backspin to the pull side, causing outfielders to misread the carry on 3 different plays. You can see this happen in the video below. Brown has long effortless strides on the basepaths and gets to top speed easily. He routinely got good jumps on the bases and is a routine threat for an infield hit. The power speed combo is going to be highly sought after in the next year or so. He’s also got plenty of potential at SS, with smooth hands and a quickly developing arm. Jordyn is quite instinctive both there and in OF, with solid reads and good footwork & reaction time for his size. I don’t see any way he ends up at another position other than SS/CF, but could easily play any of the others. We think the arm is a solid bet to end up above average and has a chance to become a standout tool. Awesome follow.

Connor Knight, RHP, Webb School of Knoxville (TN), 2024, BC Athletics
Uncommitted. 6 foot 5, 190 pounds. Here we have an ultra projectable arm with exceptional athleticism in the delivery. With his large frame, long levers, and noticeable arm speed, all he needs is 10-15 pounds of strength to take off velocity wise. This is about as sure of a bet you can find to make a huge jump in velo. I’ve simply developed/seen too many players that look like him: athleticism, delivery, arm action, and body wise who throw 90 to 95 mph. He works downhill very well with a solid build up of pace and big time hip/shoulder separation. Knight repeats his fluid full circle arm action very well from a ¾ slot, giving him consistent life on two pitches. His FB sat in the 83-85 range with steep trajectory and impressively live run & sink. He can attack RHH hands with it and doesn’t lose any life on the outer edge. His 71-74 CB has some special traits, most noticeably high spin in the area of 2500-2600 rpm. It’s a sharp pitch with no hump out of hand when at its best. The pitch has a nice combo of sweep and two plane depth, and I can easily see it as a hammer in the future. Will be keeping tabs on this one.

Seth Dixon, RHP/SS, North Forsyth (GA), 2026, GA Roadrunners
Uncommitted. 6-foot, 140-pounds, long, lean frame, young with plenty of development left to do. Repeatable delivery, methodical as he builds up pace, good balance, strong front side, works on-line, lands square, finishes up right and crosses over. Consistency and overall athleticism stood out. Arm action is short and compact on the back-side, quick arm speed, ¾ slot. Showed feel for a two pitch mix in his start on Friday evening. Fastball sat 79-82 with armside run. Breaking ball is a present swing and miss pitch, and a true separator. Curveball, 66-68, 11/5 shape, sharp, depth, up to 2600 rpm, knee buckler. Much more velocity in the rank as he matures.

Graham Daniels, RHP/3B, Hillgrove (GA), 2026, USA Scout National
Uncommitted. 5-foot-8, 145-pounds, average sized frame for age, plenty of development still ahead, some strength, good athlete. Impressed on the mound out of the bullpen on Friday evening. Came in in a tight late inning situation and held it down to secure the win. Everything about his soldier stood out. He threw it aggressively, not afraid to throw it early in a count or go inside with. The pitch itself is a present swing and miss offering coming in at 70-73 with upwards of 2600 rpm. It has tight spin and short two plane action. His fastball presently sits 78-80, but there is plenty more in the tank given the delivery and arm action. His arm is loose and athletic with whip out front, getting good downhill direction.

Evan Moody, RHP, Carrollton (GA), 2026, USA Scout National
Uncommitted. 5-foot-11, 185-pounds, strong, sturdy frame, physical projection, good athlete on the mound. One of the more high powered arms we have encountered in the 2026 class so far, came out of the bullpen on Friday night firing in the low-80s, and touched 85.0 one time. While the command was erratic, when the fastball was over the plate, it garnered plenty of swing and misses. We did not see a breaking ball. Moody has a longer arm action with plenty of arm speed can at-times get backed up and leave pitches up in the zone. Full circle, two piece arm action to an over-the-top slot.
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