Prep Baseball Report

Week Two (March 15-21) Player and Pitcher of the Week


Jeff Scholzen
Utah Scouting Director

With many of the top teams and players coming down to the St. George and Hurricane area for a second week of preseason tournaments, many players were seen, and check out our PBR Utah twitter and Instagram accounts for video highlights. This week I will once again be in the St. George area for the annual Red Rock Classic at Dixie HS, as 5 of the Power 15 teams will be playing each other. 

We announced our Week 2 PBR Utah Power 15 team polls released yesterday, we now release last weeks PLAYER and PITCHER of the WEEK.

We take a look at two players who were recent Preseason All-State event attendees, that had big weeks and we also give recognition to those that were in the running. I also give mention, as we will each and every week, other notable performances, as many were deserving and we could have named Co-Players in each category.

Player of the Week

Cayden Clark OF / RHP / Stansbury , UT / 2021

Clark entered the week after starting off slow, but caught fire and had a tremendous week, to post numbers, that proved why he is the #6 ranked player in the state. Now remember this class is as deep as any in recent memory as there are 4 RHP's that have all either touched 94 or higher in the past or early in the season. Clark is one of the top 2-3 hitters in the state and is committed to play at Dixie State U. 

Stats for the week:

AB 16 R 8 H 7 Avg .438 HR 2 (Grand Slam) RBI 11 BB 1 

His biggest game of the week was vs Springville in an 18-14 Stansbury win

AB 5 R 4 H 5 HR 1-GS RBI 8 

Other Notable Performances

Mason Strong C / OF / Snow Canyon, UT / 2021

Strong is the cleanup hitter for the PBR Utah #1 rankled team in the state, and with another strong week, propelled Snow Canyon to another perfect 4-0 tournament weekend, running the Warriors record to an unblemished 8-0 with 5 SHO's!! Strong is committed to play at BYU. 

Stats for the Week:

AB 10 R 2 H 5 Avg .500 HR 1 2B 2 3B 1 RBI 5 BB 2


Payton Gubler SS / RHP / Desert Hills, UT / 2022

Gubler who is committed to play at BYU, earned his notable performance due to his combination role of hitting in the 3 hole and also his performance on the mound. During league play, Payton will play SS and also be a key member of the starting rotation. Gubler touches 90 mph on the mound. 

Stats for the Week:

AB 12 R 4 H 4 Avg .333 RBI 1 2B 1 BB 2 

IP 3 H 2 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 SO 6 


Mic Paul OF / Olympus , UT / 2022

Paul has gotten off to a strong start for the 6-1 Titans, as they are ranked 7th in our PBR Utah Power 15 rankings. Mic is committed to the U of Arizona and has all the tools for the highest level of college baseball. 

 Stats for the Week: 1 Game 

AB 5 R 5 H 3 RBI 5 2B 1 BB 2 


Jacob Faust OF / RHP / Olympus , UT / 2023

Faust only a sophomore and is making an immediate impact on both sides of the ball in the OF as well as on the mound. When the 2023 Top 10 rankings come out next week, Faust will be on the list and fully expect big things over the 2.5 years from Jacob. 

Stats for the Week: 1 Game

AB 4 R 4 H 4 RBI 4 SB 1


Luke (LT) Taylor C / 1B / Skyline, UT / 2024

"LT" has gotten off to a great start as a impact freshman for Skyline who is ranked in our PBR Utah Power 15 rankings. Luke has been moving between 1B and behind the plate and hitting in the middle of the order for Coach Morgan's 5-1 Skyline Eagles.

Stats for the Week: 2 Games

AB 4 R 3 H 4 RBI 4 2B 1 BB 3 SB 1

Was on base all 7 times he stepped to the plate this past week! 


Trey Evans LF  / SS / 2B / Crimson Cliffs , UT / 2024

Evans is making some of the loudest statistical noise of any Freshman in the state right now, and as a freshman has been hitting in the 3 hole of the lineup. Evans had a big week and should be someone to keep a close eye on in the coming years for college recruiters!

Stats for the Week: 4 Games

AB 12 R 7 H 6 Avg .500 RBI 2 2B 3 BB 3


Grant Scholzen SS / 2B / Hurricane, UT / 2023

When the 2023 Top 10 Prospect rankings come out next week, Grant will be in the top 5 as he started slow with a 0-6 first week and 2 BB's for a team that will struggle to score runs and lacks support in the lineup. But for week 2, he started to show why he's one of the best players in his class.

Stats for the Week: 4 Games

AB 13 R 4 H 5 Avg .385 RBI 1 2B 2 3B 1 BB 2

vs Wasatch in a game I attended, Scholzen played SS with some flair and with a runner on third, down a run and the INF playing in, he lays out for a one hop smash to his backhand side and snares it squarely in the glove, pops to his feet quickly, looking the runner back and fires across the diamond for the out. in the 7th inn and down a run, and a runner on second base, Wasatch brings in hard throwing Cole Cloward to face him and he hits the second pitch, one hop on a line and eats up the SS for the RBI hit. In the 9th and down a run, with one out, Scholzen works a 12 pitch walk, fouling off 7 pitches and takes a breaking ball for ball four. 


Ryan Hunt C / Park City, UT / 2021

Hunt is a Catcher that was an unknown for me going into the Park City @ Hurricane matchup and Coach David Feasler is a big champion of Ryan's, and sings his praises. Out of nowhere this kid puts on a show with the bat and also showing solid arm strength down to second base. A player that JC coaches should get on and fast, as he will gain steam with more solid performances like last week and the promotional engine of PBR.

Stats for the Week: 4 Games 

AB 13 R 3 H 8 Avg .615 HR 2 RBI 7 BB 5 

This is the player that most challenged Cayden Clark for Player of the Week honors!


Pitcher of the Week

Ashton Johnson LHP / OF / Olympus , UT / 2022

Johnson kept my prediction true of last week. There were some very strong performances from this week to challenge, but ultimately Ashton takes home Pitcher of the Week honors, by throwing last Monday his 2nd straight 7 inning SHO of the young season, as he has pitched 14 straight scoreless innings to open the season! COLLEGE RECRUITERS LETS GO!!

Stats for the Week: 1 Game

IP 7 H 3 R 0 ER 0 BB 0 SO 10

AB 4 R 3 H 3 RBI 4 2B 1 BB 1 SB 1 

Total Pitching over 2 starts:

IP 14 H 5 R 0 ER 0 BB 0 SO 21

Other Notable Performances

Aidan Boice RHP / 1B / Skyline, UT / 2022

Boice has gotten off to a tremendous start this year. He had an off game yesterday, but his two previous starts have been more than solid, as well as his hitting, which will be noted below as well.

Stats for the Week: 

IP 6 H 3 R 1 ER 0 BB 0 SO 10

AB 9 R 2 H 6 Avg .667 RBI 4 BB 1


Cameron Day RHP / 1B / Layton, UT / 2021

PBR SUPER 60 attendee

The explosive arm of Cam Day has been on display early in the spring with shear power to his 90-95 mph FB and has been getting tons of swing and misses, with quality strikes and limiting free passes. The U of Utah signee is squarely on scouts radars and if I had my way, he would be a top 5 Rd recommendation. 

Stats for the Week:

IP 5 H 3 R 1 ER 1 BB 1 SO 13


Jace Carroll RHP / 1B / Stansbury, UT / 2022

When we release our UPDATED 2022 Top 10 Prospect rankings, Carroll will enter at #10 and deservedly so! Jace has been making huge strides as of late and put in the offseason work, as his FB has touched 87-88 and the CB with a spin rate of 2457, is the highest in the state from our recent two events. I was able to see Carroll throw in relief vs the Snow Canyon juggernaut and he threw some filthy CB's with quality depth and tight late spinning bite.

Stats for the Week:

APP 3 IP 7.1 H 4 R 3 ER 3 BB 1 SO 11


2021 Sam Evans, RHP, Skyline

IP 6 H 2 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 SO 15

 

Game for the Ages! (Re-Post from Power 15 Article)

The game that stood out was the Juab vs Provo matchup, played as part of the Buck's Ace Invitational at Crimson Cliffs HS in St. George, UT. The two teams played a 4 hour marathon, with Juab winning on a walk off base hit by Dallin Ludlow, to prevail by the score of 29-28, in the highest scoring contest in Utah state history. The 57 runs were the most in 61 years, as it eclipsed the previous state record in the UHSAA records of 50 runs, in a game between Tooele and Grantsville back in 1950. Tooele won by a score of 43-7. 

Some individual Stats that were compiled by hitters were ridiculous! See below:

Dallin Ludlow, SS, Juab - AB 7 R 3 H 5 RBI 7 / 2B 1 3B 1

Tryker Greenhalgh, 1B/RF - AB 4 R 6 H 4 RBI 4 BB 2 2B 1 HR 2 BB 2 

Wyatt Payton, C/1B - AB 6 R 3 H 4 RBI 6 HR 2 2B 1 

Porter Bowles, LF/CF - AB 6 R 4 H 5 RBI 2 

These 4 players combined for 19 RBI in the contest with 4 HR and scored 16 of the 29 runs!