Ayden
Francisco

Francisco was one half of a pair of high school teammates out of Bakersfield who made the trip to Malibu and put together strong showings. The bulky two-way product was able to impress across the board with his work at the plate, defensive acumen, and intriguing present ability as a LHP. He first opened eyes during batting practice, where he showed off possibly the most consistent power stroke of the day, including one ball he launched to the RCF nearly halfway up the brick wall beyond the fencing. For the day, Francisco posted one of the top max EVs reaching 101.8 MPH, which was a new personal best for him, 95 MPH avg EV another PR, 401' max distance another PR, and finally his 63% sweet spot rate was another PR. While the BP on its own would have garnered him consideration for the top performers of the day, he translated his swing into the gameplay portion when he smoked a line drive single vs. an upper 80's arm and smashed a loud double later in the day to the pull side gap. The swing features intent to do damage, but Francisco pairs it with quality timing, swing decisions, and barrel awareness to present a potential hit with a power profile from the LH side. Then, for good measure, he has a legitimate future as a southpaw on the mound, which was on display again. Francisco flashed a quality present FB in the 84-86 MPH range with an average of 2500+ RPMs of spin to carry it through the zone efficiently. The leftie backed it up with a quality pair of breaking balls in his CB that lived at 74.5 MPH to 78.3 MPH while averaging north of 2600 RPMs of spin and a SLD in the 74-76 MPH range also working north of 2600 RPMs of spin while dropping in a sound 80-82 MPH CHG. He picked up a pair of strikeouts in his inning of work while limiting solid contact to just one batter. Francisco should be a name to quickly make it onto college follow lists in the 2028 class.

Ayden Francisco, Frontier High (CA), 2028
Positional Profile: 1B/LHP Left-handed power bat with a physical corner profile and developing upside on the mound.
Body: 6-1, 224-pounds. Larger, physical build with strength already present, particularly through the lower half. Frame is still coming together and could continue to firm up as he matures.
Delivery: Operates with a composed, repeatable motion. Utilizes a medium knee lift while keeping the hands in sync, staying centered over the back leg at balance. Moves down the mound upright and under control, finishing with a strong front-leg brace that allows the hips to rotate cleanly through release.
Arm Action: LH. Arm works with moderate length, staying connected behind the body. Loose and free through the stroke with some quickness. Releases from a three-quarter slot with little recoil, allowing for repeatability.
FB: T85, 83-85 mph. Riding life through the zone. Spin traits flash as a positive, and present velocity gives it a chance to play at the top of the zone. T2237, 2166 average rpm.
CB: 74-78 mph. Flashes subtle horizontal action with strong spin characteristics. Shows lateral action and upside as a true secondary T2697, 2670 average rpm.
CH: 77-77 mph. Firmer offering that will benefit from additional spin reduction. Flashes separation but still developing feel to fully differentiate from the fastball. T2005, 2005 average rpm.
ATH: 8.18 runner in the 60. 1.92 and 4.50 in the 10 and 30 yard splits. 19.20 max vertical.

Ayden Francisco, Frontier High (CA), 2028
Positional Profile: 1B/LHP Left-handed power bat with a physical corner profile and developing upside on the mound.
Body: 6-1, 224-pounds. Larger, physical build with strength already present, particularly through the lower half. Frame is still coming together and could continue to firm up as he matures.
Hit: LHH. Sets up with a taller posture and slightly closed stance, working from a narrow base. Hands start high, wrapping around the ear when loading up. Hinges at the hips, then strides forward with control into launch. Lower half fires aggressively while maintaining posture, allowing the barrel to work uphill through the zone.
Power: 97 max exit velocity, averaged 91.3 mph. 374' max distance.
Arm: LH. INF-74 mph. lower slot with solid arm strength and playable accuracy across the diamond.
Defense: Shows body control and rhythm at first base. Hands are soft and reliable, feet work in sync with the play, and overall defensive actions project as steady and dependable at the position.
ATH: 8.18 runner in the 60. 1.92 and 4.50 in the 10 and 30 yard splits. 19.20 max vertical.
Vizual Edge: 41.35 Edge Score

Ayden Francisco, Frontier High (CA), 2028
Positional Profile: 1B/LHP Power profile LH hitter with 1B def. and interesting potential as LHP
Body: 6-0, 224-pounds. Bigger body with emerging strength in lower 1/2
Delivery: Controlled operation with medium height knee lift, hands sync with knee, stays stacked over back leg at balance point, moves down the mound with taller posture, solid block of front leg, hips rotate around front leg effectively
Arm Action: LH. Medium length arm path, stays behind body with hand, loose arm with some quickness. 3/4 slot with minimal recoil
FB: T83, 79-82 mph. Straighter shaped FB with riding profile that flashes quality spin and present velo T2327, 2220 average rpm.
SL: 68-69 mph. Sweeperish shape that has strong spin traits and upside potential T2509, 2422 average rpm.
CH: 73-75 mph. Firm CHG that he will need to kill spin on to separate from FB T2071, 2042 average rpm.
ATH: 7.95 runner in the 60. Builds speed early from low posture, can improve endurance

Ayden Francisco, Frontier High (CA), 2028
Positional Profile: 1B/LHP Power profile LH hitter with 1B def. and interesting potential as LHP
Body: 6-0, 224-pounds. Bigger body with emerging strength in lower 1/2
Hit: LHH. Taller posture with slightly closed stance, feet narrow, hands set at chest height beyond rear shoulder with vertical bat angle Hinges at hips while pushing hands back to load, takes a forward stride to reach launch with body control, hips turn aggressively, stays taller in posture, hands and barrel work uphill 67.9 mph bat speed with 9 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 98 max exit velocity, averaged 94.6 mph. 359' max distance. Consistently elevates the ball with a line drive path, power profile with strong present top end EVs, can tap into loft more consistently
Arm: LH. INF-80 mph. Elbow leads out of glove with a medium length path, throws from low slot, shows solid strength with some accuracy
Defense: Plays with body control, hands are soft, feet show rhythm, solid defensive profile
ATH: 7.95 runner in the 60. Builds speed early from low posture, can improve endurance

While several 2028's had impressive days at the event Francisco was able to separate slightly from the group with his strong two-way performance. A bigger build at 6'2 233.6 lbs. Francisco has solid present strength, but can polish himself going forward to become an imposing force as he goes through high school. Showing sound hands and footwork at 1B Francisco looks to be a solid defender at the spot where his athleticism fits best, but it's his LH bat which earns him this spot. During the two rounds of batting practice Francisco swung with aggressiveness in his hands and bat speed (21.6 MPH hand speed & 73.9 MPH bat speed) while showing impressive feel for his barrel to deliver hard contact consistently. Francisco produced an event best 90% hard hit rate with a peak of 98.3 MPH on his exit velocity, but even more impressive his average exit velocity was 94.6 MPH with a 70% fly ball/line drive rate and a 359' max distance on a pull side HR. It's a strong hit tool with power in the profile foundation that can continue to trend up as he matures to be an impact offensive profile in the future. Francisco showed nearly just as well on the mound where his easy delivery with loose arm stroke that repeated well produced a FB in the 79-82 MPH range that peaked at 83 MPH on his final FB of the 20 pitch bullpen that showed 2200+ average spin rates while pounding the strike zone with the offering. Francisco dropped in an impressive SLD which lived in the strike zone at 68-69 MPH with 2500+ RPMs of spin and a sweeping shape to it 15" of horizontal break with a two plane shape at present which can tighten up with added velocity. The southpaw mixed in a solid 73-75 MPH CHG with firmer spin on the offering but arm side run on the offering averaging -7.6" on the pitch. The profile for Francisco is strong with some present rawness that can be polished up as he matures that makes him a strong name to keep eyes on in the Bakersfield area for the 2028 class.