Central Texas Preseason ID: Quick Hits
January 25, 2023
SALADO, TX - On Monday January 16th, the PBR TX staff traveled to Salado High School to host the Central Texas Preseason ID. The event consisted of players from all high school classes participating in a pro style workout. They started by running a 60, using swift performance timing gates, then moved into the defensive workout. The day was capped off with a round of batting practice followed by pitchers throwing bullpens. Today, we take a look at some of the prospects that stood out on the day.
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Cooper Webb RHP / OF / Lake Travis, TX / 2026Webb was one I was excited to see. We liked him at last April’s Rising Stars event, and an injury prevented him from attending Jr. Future Games. Now Healthy, Webb showed up to Salado and was significantly stronger and his numbers have made some big jumps in less than a year. He had an event best 91 mph OF velocity, and showed good accuracy with his arm. At the plate, Webb is still growing into his body, but he consistently got the barrel to the ball. As he continues to grow into his body and gets stronger, I expect his hitting to make another jump. Webb looked good on the mound, touching 83.1 and sitting 81-82. He works out of the stretch, and has a slight stab out of the glove. Once he gets the arm going, it moves free and clean. He showed feel for his breaking ball and threw his changeup with good arm speed. As Webb continues to get stronger, he is going to have some big jumps.
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Gus Begert OF / RHP / Anderson Austin HS, TX / 2025Another standout on the day was Begert, a sophomore from Austin Anderson. The 6’2’’ OF has a good frame at 6’2 185 and ran a quality 60 time of 7.04. He showed off a good arm and was 85 from the OF. He projects as an athletic RF right now that is going to provide power at the plate. Begert had a max exit velocity of 95.5 and hit a couple balls out of the yard. He doesn’t have a lot of wasted motion in the swing, and he does a good job of using his long levers to impact the baseball. He had above average Blast numbers across the board, and should only continue to hit the ball harder as he gets stronger and fills out. He is another member of the talented Senators ‘25 Scout Team that the PBR staff will see at NPI this summer. |
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Kadyn Martinez C / 2B / Troy , TX / 2024It was my first time seeing Martinez, and he really opened my eyes as a Switch Hitting Catcher with the defensive ability to stay behind the plate at the next level. The Jr. from Troy HS is a good athlete behind the plate, running a 7.12 60 and showing the ability to move side to side while catching bullpens. He registered pop times in the 2.01-2.12 with quick feet and an average arm. In the batter’s box, Martinez shows good bat speed from both sides of the plate, touching 75 mph from both sides of the plate. He had a max exit velocity of 95.4, with the LH swing being more geared for line drives and the RH swing having a little more loft in it. Martinez plays with good energy, and will be able to stay behind the plate long term. I expect his stock to continue to rise as we get into the spring. |
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Jett Millsap 2B / SS / Harker Heights , TX / 2023One of the most complete days at Salado belonged to Millsap. The uncommitted ‘23 played with good bounce and energy all day. He started his day by running an event best 6.85. During the defensive portion, he showed good range and soft hands to go with the top INF velocity of 85mph. Millsap showed the ability to stick at short at the next level. In the box, Millsap starts on the wider side and takes away any unnecessary movement. He showed good bat speed and is direct to the ball, allowing him to drive line drives all over the field. Millsap plays with good energy and confidence, and will help somebody’s infield out at the next level. |
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David Litle SS / RHP / Midway , TX / 2025One of the top underclassmen at the event was Litle. The soph. From Waco Midway had a good overall day. He ran a 7.18 60 to start his day. In the batter’s box, Litle did a good job repeating his swing and found the barrel consistently. He has a short stroke and an approach geared for lined drives in the big part of the field. Litle offers a lot of defensive versatility, showing the ability to play all over the infield or outfield. He has plenty of arm for the left side of the infield or right field. He showed good range and soft hands while taking ground balls with an accurate arm. Litle does everything well, and as he continues to get more physical, his stock will continue to rise. |
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Jaden Bahl RHP / OF / Hendrickson , TX / 2023The top bullpen of the day belonged to Bahl, the sr. RHP from Hendrickson HS. The 6’180 lb. RHP has broad shoulders and there is more strength coming. He has a clean delivery, with a longer arm swing out of the glove that he is consistently on time with at foot strike. His fastball sat in the upper 80’s and peaked at 89.7. I think there is another velo jump as we get deeper in the spring, and as he continues to get stronger. He showed a feel for a quality changeup that he threw with good arm speed. Came out just like the fastball with some ASR. He also threw a curveball from a high ¾ slot that showed a lot of depth. He showed the ability to drop it in for a strike and bury it as a put away pitch. Bahl has won a lot of HS games in his career, and is one of the better uncommitted arms in the CenTex area. |
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Dylan Wigley RHP / Salado , TX / 2024One of the other bullpens that stood out was Wigley. The Jr. righty from Salado is 5 '11 190 with a strong lower half. His fastball sat 85-86 and topped out at 87. He has a shorter arm action, leading with the elbow out of the glove and throws from a slot closer to the ear. The motion makes the FB play up, and gets on you a little quicker. When down in the zone, it showed some sink and ASR. He also threw a slider in the mid 70’s that paired well with the fastball, coming out of the same window. Wigley is aggressive on the mound, and with that two pitch mix could be a late inning guy at the next level as he continues to see his velo rise. |
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Logan Flores LHP / OF / Salado, TX / 2024Flores had a really good day on the mound. The Jr. from Salado is a 6’1 180 lb. lefty, that showed good strike throwing ability with his full arsenal and offers some projection moving forward. His fastball was 81-83 T84 with good ASR and sink in the bottom of the zone. He filled up the outer ⅓ of the zone and showed the ability to command that quadrant of the plate. He also threw a quality changeup that he threw 72-74 with the same arm action as fastball. It had the same movement characteristics as his fastball which should allow the pitch to play up. He also threw a tight short breaking ball that he threw in the low 70’s. He could throw it for a strike and back door the RHH and showed the ability to bury at their back foot. Flores was in total control of his pen, and a LHP with that feel is valuable. He will win a lot of games this spring and as he continues to get stronger and the velo continues to jump, he will gain more and more attention. |
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Darek Paiz C / RHP / L. C. Anderson, TX / 2026One of the players I was most excited to see was Paiz. The 6’2 LHH catcher from Anderson HS has a lot to dream on and showed well on the day. Behind the plate, Paiz was a good receiver of the baseball with good feet and a quality arm. He had pop times in the 2.00-2.04 range. He showed an accurate arm and solid footwork. As he gets stronger, he should get his pop times below 2.0. He also took infield and looked comfortable there, and profiles as a 3rd baseman. In the batters box, Paiz has the potential to grow into some power from the left side. He is still growing into his body, but he shows good bat speed and ability to get the barrel to the ball. Once he gets stronger, he will repeat the swing better and be able to drive the ball with authority to all parts of the field. To end his day, Paiz hopped on the mound, topping out at 80 and showing a feel for a curveball in the low 70’s. Paiz has a lot of tools and as he continues to grow into his body, he is going to gain a lot of attention. |
UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| Houston Rising Stars ID | TX | 02/25 | Cotton Ranch Sports Complex |
| DFW Rising Stars ID | TX | 04/08 | Lake Dallas High School - Corinth, TX |
| DFW Summer Open | TX | 05/30 | Lake Dallas High School - Corinth, TX |
| East Texas Summer Open | TX | 06/14 | Tyler Junior College (Mike Carter Field) - Tyler, TX |