Utah Player and Pitcher of the Week: Week 10 (May 9-14)

Mon May 16, 2022
Jeff Scholzen
Utah Scouting Director

Players of the Week

Kaden Hodson 3B / SS / Lone Peak, UT / 2023

Rankings State Rank: 21 / POS: 1

UNCOMMITTED

Stats Last Week:

G 3 AB 9 R 5 H 8 HR 1 RBI 6 2B 2 SB 1 BB 1

11/21/21

Hodson has quite a few teams showing attention to his big imposing athletic frame and has only been playing baseball for 5 years. Some rawness to get out of him, but the strides are evident as he has a fluid path to produce power in his corner profile bat. With huge hand speed to get the bat started at 28.6 and bat speeds of 75.2, suggests that future whip and barrel release are in there to post 80+ in time. The EV of 93.6 also suggests that finding the barrel even more will result in some added exit speeds coming off his bat. During the game he squared up a ball for a 2B to LCF and made a nice pick at 3B on a tough in-between hop to get the runner at 1B.

2021 Preseason All-State

2021 All-State Games

Cameron Nielson RHP / SS / Cottonwood, UT / 2023

Rankings State Rank: 6 / POS: 2 Overall Rank: 457 / POS: 142

Committed: Utah

Last Weeks Stats:

G 2 AB 7 R 5 H 5 HR 2 RBI 6 2B 3 SB 1

Tied the Utah State record with both HR's for the week, occurring in the same inning!

3/06/22

The U Utah commit, and PBR Future Games alum, has a strong hitting profile and emerging pitch arsenal on the mound. The projected ace of the staff this spring at Cottonwood, Nielsen should make a loud statement on both sides of the ball this spring. With an EV range over the past 6 months of 96-99 mph, Nielsen can get long in his swing, but possesses hand and bat speed to handle velocity. An efficient and consistent defender at SS, Nielsen posted an event best, 87 mph arm across the INF, and look for his arm to creep into the low 90’s over the next two seasons. On the mound, Cam has touched 89 mph with the FB at the PBR West Coast Games last August, which was a 5-8 mph range increase from this time a year ago. In the low to mid 80’s at the Preseason All-State, is a valid range for coming out of the snow and cold weather of northern Utah, as he works his arm into mid season form in the coming weeks as the HS season unfolds. At 170 lbs, Nielson has the frame to add another 20 lbs over the next few years, and as he reaches his man strength, look for Nielson to make his biggest mark from the pitching rubber, as his FB should creep into the low 90’s FB in the near future.

2021 Preseason All-State

2021 PBR Future Games (#TeamUtah)

2021 PBR West Coast Games #TeamUtah)

2022 Preseason All-State

Keaton Stinson OF / 2B / Cottonwood , UT / 2024

Rankings State Rank: 10 / POS: 2

UNCOMMITTED

Last Weeks Stats:

G 2 AB 6 R 4 H 3 HR 3 RBI 5 SB 3

3/06/22

Stinson, a standout at a couple of previous PBR Utah events, has only continued to solidify his attention with us, as he has posted solid data with an EV high of 99.8 with solid hand and bat speed. A quick bat with a 45 degree load, and starts with his bat turned into his load, while rocking back for leverage and gets his foot down soft at foot strike. Stinson, an everyday player as a freshman on a talented, but young Cottonwood roster, will look to build upon his success as a sophomore for Coach Chris Shelton (former big league 1B) and the Colts. Stinson has also posted 6.9-7.2/60 times and should only increase that as he continues to gain physical strength and maturity.

2022 Preseason All-State

2022 PBR Future Games Invite

Pitcher of the Week

Ashton Johnson LHP / OF / Olympus , UT / 2022

Rankings State Rank: 13 / POS: 1

Committed: College of Southern Idaho

Pitching:

IP 7 H 3 R 2 ER 0 BB 1 SO 12

Hitting:

G 3 AB 9 R 3 H 7 HR 2 RBI 6 SB 1 BB 2

PITCHING: I was also able to see him throw on back to back days last weekend at two different college prospect camps. The delivery is from the stretch and he gathers up top with a high kick to a compact tucked delivery and keeps his front side closed. He drives down the mound with the front side closed and uses a late shoulder turn out front to create late reads by hitters and his pitches all have deception. A consistent K thrower that pitches like Ted Lilly with a FB 82-86 and although he lacks velocity, he makes up for it with K pounding ability and abv avg command of all his pitches. He can locate the FB to all four quadrants as well as land the CB and CH and will mix it up by pitching different hitters each time. My pick to click at the next level and I believe he can get hitters out at a mid major D1 or a top shelf JC. Also reminds me of a former MLB LHP with the Angels and national JC pitcher of the year (Central Arizona) back in the late 2000’s.

HITTING: I wouldn’t take the bat from him just yet with his pitching prowess as he is also a good HS hitter that should fare well at the next level. You’re getting two players for one with Johnson. A CF that can play all 3 OF spots and reads balls off the bat as if each was his natural position. He is an anomaly in that he throws LH and hits RH! He can run down balls to the gap and with a quick read off the bat and 1st step, although not a runner, he can close on balls and cover ground. The bat is a bit inconsistent when it comes to pitchers who can really mix and match, but he grinds out AB’s and let his powerful Olympus squad in most hitting categories in the 2 spot in the lineup.

2021 Preseason All-State

2021 PBR West Coast Games (#TeamUtah)

5 Time PBR Utah Pitcher of the Week (2021-2022)

Other Notable Performances (13)

Jaxon Fox, C (Cottonwood)

G 3 AB 8 R 0 H 5 RBI 8 2B 1

Easton Jones, 3B (American Fork)

G 3 AB 12 R 5 H 6 HR 1 RBI 5 BB 3

Fisher Ingersoll, SS (American Fork)

G 3 AB 13 R 4 H 6 HR 1 RBI 8 2B 1 3B 2

Brayden Marx, RHP (Pleasant Grove)

IP 6.1 H 6 R 3 R 1 BB 2 SO 9

Left with a 4-1 lead in the 7th inn, before the bullpen collapsed. In an epic extra inning affair that went 9 innings, before the Caveman prevailed on a walk off to capture the Region 4 Championship, Marx was spectacular as he threw 65 of 110 pitches for K’s, before leaving due to state pitch count limits. If Marx would have had 10 more pitches, who knows…but Marx was on his “A” game vs one of the most prolific lineups in the four corners. His FB was 88-92 and his filthy CB 74-76 had ridiculous spin rates of 2750-2900 and his SL 2500-2618 was baffling hitters. To put these spin rates up against an MLB pitcher, Walker Buehler of the Dodgers is the comparable spin rate to Marx’s hammer CB’s and biting SL’s.

Tua Wolfgramm, C/OF (Pleasant Grove)

G 3 AB 13 R 3 H 6 HR 1 RBI 3 2B 1

Cole DeCastro, SS/2B (Desert Hills)

G 3 AB 12 R 5 H 5 RBI 4 2B 1 SB 3

Calvin Morrow, OF, 6-0 200, L-R (Fremont)

G 3 AB 10 R 4 H 4 RBI 3 BB 2 SB 2

Going into the 6A State Tournament next week, Morrow has a very impressive stat line of:

G 25 AB 89 R 28 H 38 AVG .427 HR 5 RBI 49 (Leads the state) 2B 14 3B 2 BB 13 SO 13 OBP% .500 SLG% .797 OPS: 1.298

(A leading contender for 6A Player of the Year - Colleges take Note!)

Mic Paul, OF (Olympus)

G 3 AB 9 R 6 H 4 RBI 1 2B 2 3B 2 BB 2 SB 3

Luke Anderson, OF (Snow Canyon)

G 2 AB 8 R 5 H 4 HR 1 RBI 8 2B 2

Isaac Lyon, SS/RHP (Snow Canyon)

G 2 AB 7 R 6 H 3 HR 1 RBI 5

Missed the Region season due to a broken rib in his upper back. Has now made it back to play SS only during the 4A state tourney.

Crew Secrist, 2B/SS (Snow Canyon)

G 2 AB 7 R 3 H 5 RBI 3

Dylan Williams, SS (Woods Cross)

G 3 AB 12 R 2 H 7 RBI 5 2B 1

Blake Stanger, 1B/LHP (Woods Cross)

G 3 AB 12 R 4 H 4 HR 1 RBI 5 2B 1

3A State Playoff Performance of the Year (May 7-14)

Andrew Lombana, LHP/1B (Juan Diego)

G 5 AB 21 R 11 H 12 HR 5 RBI 11 2B 3 3B 1

Juan Diego got hot at the right time, or should I say Lombana was hot over a one month span and carried the Soaring Eagle head steam into the 3A State Playoffs. Drew took his team and put them squarely on his back for a 5 game playoff stretch. Lombana and the Soaring Eagle, ran roughshod over the competition en route to the 2022 3A State Championship Trophy with a 16-12 overall record. Congrats to Andrew and the rest of the Juan Diego squad on winning the Utah State 3A Championship!