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Utah Players of the Week: Bostock, Morgan, Purser, Park

April 16, 2024
Jeff Scholzen
Utah Scouting Director

Throughout the spring season, PBR Utah will announce a player and pitcher of the week, every Tuesday, from the previous week. Coaches are sent emails to recommend players for the awards weekly. The awards are based on what kind of statistical week the player had, and it will be subjective, based on my evaluation of the player. Also you do not have to have attended a PBR event to earn the award, but I will lean towards the player I know more thoroughly and also what kind of collegiate prospect that player is. So it isn't only stats, but that is where it starts, with the other criteria as separators in case of a close call. In the event of two performance's in the each category, that could go either way, as to who gets the nod, two awards for that category may be given...

Players of the Week

Merrick Bostock 3B / Orem High, UT / 2025

Rankings  State Rank: 6 / POS: 1

UNCOMMITTED

Stat Line: April 8-14

G 3 AB 9 R 9 H 7 RBI 7 2B 1 3B 2

'24 Current Stats:

G 14 AB 48 H 25 AVG .521 HR 3 RBI 21 2B 4 3B 3

2/24/24

Bostock came into the event with a noticeable change and improvement to his pre-pitch load at foot strike and it has dramatically improved his swing plane and the efficiency of his overall swing. Instead of a lay back open barrel load, Bostock now get to the MLB logo, 45 degree look and has really tightened up his hand path to the baseball and shortened the overall stroke. With good extension out front, a once “let go” of the top hand, now shows a strong dominant top hand, into a quick and powerful two hand finish past contact. The defense still remains consistent and gobbles up balls with soft hands out front and an efficient easy throwing stroke that doesn’t play big, but gets rid of it quickly and is accurate with his throws. This is my pick to click in ‘24, to have a monster year and jump the board as a result and have D1 teams contacting him soon!

11/03/23

Bostock represented Team Utah at the summer’s PBR Future Games and he remains one of the most interesting uncommitted athletes in the region. Listed at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, Bostock’s right-handed strength resulted in the highest average exit speed (95.5 mph) at the PBR Utah State Games, recording a 100.8 mph max. A report from PBR Utah’s Top Prospect Games (published July 20): “A lean, athletic, physical look, that appears to be still filling out… Has some funk and a different way of hitting, yet has above-average hand/eye to find the barrel with a short compact stroke at contact, and a long through finish. The knack to find the barrel in a quirky way to the naked eye to hit, is fascinating, in that he can hit velo and makes adjustments to offspeed.”

Treyson Purser 3B / Ridgeline, UT / 2024

Rankings  State Rank: 31 / POS: 3

Committed: College of Southern Idaho

Stat Line: April 8-14

G 4 AB 14 R 4 H 10 HR 2 RBI 8 2B 2

'24 Current Stats:

G 18 AB 57 R 9 H 27 AVG .474 HR 4 RBI 25 2B 3 3B 1 BB 9 SO 6

Collin Morgan 2B / Timpanogos , UT / 2025

Rankings  State Rank: 36 / POS: 2

UNCOMMITTED

Stat Line: April 8-14

G 3 AB 10 R 4 H 7 RBI 7 2B 2 BB 1

'24 Current Stats:

G 21 AB 69 R 17 H 28 AVG .406 HR 0 RBI 19 2B 7 3B 1 BB 3 SO 7 

Pitcher / Player (Two Way) of the Week

Austin Park SS / OF / Juab, UT / 2025

Rankings  State Rank: 1 / POS: 1 Overall Rank: 386 / POS: 82

Committed: Brigham Young U

Stat Line: April 8-14 (3rd Player of the Week)

G 3 AB 11 R 3 H 7 RBI 9 3B 2

IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 SO 11 

2nd Straight NO-HITTER!

3/13/24

Week One: March 4-10 IP 6.1 H 3 R 0 ER 0 BB 1 SO 12 The BYU commit and two-time Prep Baseball Future Games alum, committed as a SS, but the 3 sport athlete, who will be hanging up the pigskin next fall, to focus on the diamond headed into his senior year. Park has a variety of tools, and playing the MIF, or in the summer roaming the OF, the arm plays at any position, and the arm was on display last weekend on the mound, as Park threw 6.1 inns of shutout ball with 12 K outs vs the defending 5A state champion, the Timpanogos Timberwolves.

2/24/24

Although still a lean, skinny uber projectable frame and build, Park impacted the baseball with added strength compared to last summer, where his high 90’s EV’s, maxed out now at 100.8 at the Preseason All-State and remained easy in doing so. The bat path is direct and flatter with a slight uphill path, that is a natural on-plane path, that when he catches the bottom half of the baseball, the ball shoots to the right and LCF alleys with backspin carry. Not a lofted approach, but one that suggests hard line drive contact with the occasional pull HR power, but the path leans towards using his 6.7/60 speed to leg out 2B’s and 3B’s for his extra base hit power. The glove is still steady and lacks flash of most SS’s, and his hands are soft and quiet out front and makes easy transfers with low to mid 80’s velocity across the diamond. A natural type gazelle running gate, makes Park fun to watch run and the profile and my gut tell me he can be a quality 3B or slide over to the keystone and be a taller offensive 2B base type at the D1 level. The athleticism continues to impress and I really look forward to seeing what type of year 2024 holds for Austin!

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SCOUTING DIRECTOR (BIO)

Scholzen comes to Prep Baseball after serving 9 years as the "Four Corners" Scouting Supervisor with the Milwaukee Brewers (2011-2020). Prior to his run with the Brewers, Scholzen worked for the Los Angeles Angels for 11 years (1999-2010), serving in the same capacity as the "Four Corners" Scouting Supervisor (UT, WY, So-ID, Las Vegas, AZ, CO, NM and El Paso). Scholzen received a 2002 World Series ring for his contributions as a scout with the Angels. 

With the Angels, Scholzen created an Angels Scout Team, in which he coached the following MLB players: Kris Bryant, Kevin Gausman, Greg Bird, Tyler Wagner, Aaron Blair, Joey Rickard, Donn Roach, Johnny Field, Taylor Cole, Andy Burns and Paul Sewald to name a few.

During his run with the the Angels, Scholzen also served as the hitting coach for the Angels rookie ball affiliate in the Pioneer League, the Orem Owlz, helping guide the Owlz to the 2005 and 2007 Pioneer League titles, which earned Jeff two more championship rings.

In Scholzen's 20 year scouting career, he was credited with the signing of 6 MLB players starting with: Brandon Wood, SS, Angels 2003, 1st Rd ~ Efren Navarro, 1B, Angels 2007, 50th Rd ~ Donn Roach, RHP, Angels 2010, 3rd Rd ~ Tyler Wagner, RHP, Brewers 2012, 4th Rd ~ Payton Henry, C, Brewers 2016, 6th Rd ~ Ryan Aguilar, 1B/OF - Brewers 2017, 31st Rd ~ Scholzen also had an additional 3 players added to various clubs 40 man MLB rosters over the years. Currently 2019 (14th Rd) draft pick, RHP-Paxton Schultz from Utah Valley U, is in AAA with the Toronto Blue Jays, and former 40 man Brewers rostered RHP (Utah Tech) Dylan File, recently returned from Korea, signed with the NL Champion Arizona Diamondbacks and will most likely start the year in AA and once stretched out after an injury plagued 2023, File will move back up to AAA!

Prior to becoming a professional scout, Scholzen served as the head coach at Southern Utah University between 1993-1997. At the time, Scholzen was the youngest Division I head coach in the country, when he was first hired at 24 years old. The Southern Utah baseball program was dropped after the 2012 season. While coaching at Southern Utah, Scholzen served as the hitting coach for the Alaska Goldpanners in 1995, as they won the Alaska League Championship. Scholzen also recruited and coached World Series RHP-Ryan Jensen of the San Francisco Giants, who would earn a top 5 finish for NL Rookie of the Year in 2022. Scholzen and Jensen had the unique opportunity, to be on opposing sides of the ledger, when Scholzen's Angels and Jensen's Giants squared off in the 2002 MLB Fall Classic.

Scholzen also had the pleasure of coaching Jensen's roommate and back up catcher, Kyle Turner who has worked in professional/major league baseball for 24 years. Kyle currently is in his 14th season with the big league Kansas City Royals and serves as the clubs Head Athletic Trainer. Turner was instramental, while a young player for Scholzen at Southern Utah, in introducing Scholzen to his first wife, the late Heidi Dalton Scholzen, who passed away in December of 2014. A native of Utah, Scholzen played at Hurricane HS and was twice named 1st team All-State and an AAU HM All-American, before moving on to Utah Valley CC and Eastern Oregon University, earning All-Conference honors on three separate occasions. Scholzen played in the Angels’ organization in 1991.

Scholzen was married to his late wife Heidi for 20 years and their union produced four children - McKyla 27, Miranda 24, McKenzie 22 and the couples only son, Grant Scholzen 19, who is a freshman 2B at D1 WCC school, the U of the Pacific (Pacific Tigers) on scholarship. After Heidi's passing in 2014, Scholzen married Cami Macias Scholzen, a widow herself and the same age as Heidi and the couple now have been married 8 years. Between both families, Jeff has 3 grandchildren and 5 step grandchildren (8 total) and the Scholzen's reside in Hurricane, UT in the bottom left SW corner of the state near the most iconic and scenic national parks in the country.