Jayden
Malone

Jayden Malone, OF, Metea Valley (IL), 2023
True freshman. 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame, athletic with room to add on strength. Started his day by cruising to a 6.94 in the 60, athletic strides that translate to the outfield with easy range. The right-handed hitter stays short and direct to the ball with above-average BLAST metrics; averaging 25.5 mph (T26.3) for his hand-speed, 77 mph for his bat-speed (T79.1 mph) and 28.3 for his rotational acceleration (T31.8).  

OF Jayden Malone (Metea Valley, 2023) was a winner offensively, starting with a quality showing in BP. Malone, who averaged the highest hand speed of any prospect in attendance at 25.9 mph, worked direct to contact with a short, quick right-handed stroke that produced quality line drive contact to all fields. He showed that knack for contact in game, finding the barrel a few times in game one and working a deep count against high-end velocity on day two before lining out to second base. 

Positional Profile: OF
Body: 5-10, 180-pounds. Muscle-bound build with twitchy, strong hands.
Hits: RHH. Balanced, quiet setup, minimal load and hits off front foot. Advanced hand speed, creates bat speed and easy jump off the barrel. Bat stays flat and creates occasional bat strength to both gaps.
Power: 96 max exit velocity, averaged 92.3 MPH. 361' max distance.
Arm: RH. OF-77 mph. Loose athletic arm, high 3/4 slot, full arm action
Defense: Proper routes, fields through the baseball, fluid and clean actions, crow hop to release
Run: 7.17 runner in the 60.
Vizual Edge: 63.71 Edge Score

Malone, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound, right-handed hitter, stays quiet throughout letting the ball travel deep into the hitting zone. He stays short, quick and strong through contact with present twitch and bat speed. Malone has advanced hand speed, leading the event in a wide margin at an average of 25.7 mph. He also showed off the top rotational acceleration by a wide margin as well. Malones furthest ball off the bat traveled 344 feet. He also takes confident, concise routes in the outfield, topping at 78 mph and running a 7.05 60.

Positional Profile: OF
Body: 5-10, 180-pounds. Rounder shoulders, athletic build with evenly distributed weight.
Hit: RHH. Crouched, balanced setup, slight leg lift load. Dives, loose, short twitchy swing, strength to the pull side, strong, on the barrel consistently.
Power: 93.8 max exit velocity, averaged 87.1 mph. 344’ max distance.
Arm: RH. OF - 78 mph. Long arm out of the glove into a high 3/4 slot.
Defense: Clean, footwork, soft hands, efficient routes, confident.
Run: 7.05 runner in the 60. 

OF Jayden Malone (Metea Valley, 2023). Malone has a 5-foot-10, 180-pound, muscular, athletic frame and creates a lot of jump off the barrel thanks to elite hand speed; led the event in average hand speed at 26.9 mph. Malone recently showed well once again at the Illinois State Games, taking a number of quality at-bats and making some loud contact.

Positional Profile: 1B/OF
Body: 5-10, 175-pounds.
Hit: R. Simple, balance stance, bat wiggle trigger, short stride. Direct, compact swing, line drive type hitter, middle of the field approach.
Power: 93.26 max exit velocity, averaged 88.83 mph. 341’ max distance.
Arm: R. INF - 72 mph. OF - 74 mph. Short arm action, high 3/4 slot.
Defense: Projects as a first baseman. Outfield: Fields with two hands, clean exchange. Infield: Steady hands, fluid footwork around the bag, clean double play transfer.
Run: 7.21 runner in the 60. 

Positional Profile: 1B/OF
Body: 5-9, 170-pounds. Thin frame that projects.
Hit: RHH. Athletic setup, balanced lower half, fluid pre-pitch hand rhythm, smooth load, quick leg lift trigger.  Quick hands with above-average hand speed; averaged 25.37 mph of hand speed, per Blast Motion. Short and simple stroke to the baseball, flashed some juice off the barrel.
Power: 90.17 max exit velocity, averaged 74.35 mph. 298’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 73 mph. OF - 73 mph. Short arm action, high 3/4 slot; plays with some length on the backside in the outfield.
Defense: Took reps in the outfield and at first base. Glove hand works out front in the outfield, long transfer to release. Hands field out front at first base, secure hand transfer, some footwork feel on double play feeds.
Run: 7.62 runner in the 60. 

Positional Profile: 1B/OF
Body: 5-9, 170-pounds. Strong build.
Hit: RHH. Wide base, short stride, simple pre-pitch actions. Short, direct path, keeps it simple, lots of line drives, consistent hard contact.
Power: 80 mph exit velocity from the tee. Max exit velocity of 94.78mph during BP via TrackMan, max bat speed of 73.90mph via Blast.
Arm: RH. INF - 68 mph. OF - 71 mph. Short action, high 3/4 arm slot.
Defense: Outfield: confident hands, clean exchange, plays through the ball at times. Infield: fields mostly with backhand, flashed comfort around the first base bag.
Run: 7.62 runner in the 60.