Cohen
Strickland

Not many players in the state have jumped on the scene and produced with the bat over the course of this past spring more than Strickland. He attended our Fall Prospect ID last November and then I followed his spring numbers, and this earned him the right to compete at the West Coast Games, after posting a stat line of .416 8 43 w/16 2B’s at Orem HS. At 6-1 185, Strickland is streamlined and athletic in his movement patterns and just runs fair in the 60, but is a very sound base runner and turns the corners well, and shows hand and bat speeds that are elite to drive the baseball w/conviction in producing the 2nd highest amount of xtra base hits in the state to Gatorade POY Luke Anderson. The load and trigger with the hands to hit, are unorthodox, as he loads at a 45-degree angle, and then when he gets ready to drive his hands to the baseball, he lays his barrel down into his shoulder. Yet this seems to get him into the zone quicker, as the barrel lays into the zone, which allows him to stay on the ball and in the zone a long time. His hands are quick and his bat is fast, producing ultra quick bat speed times. With a number of wood bat HR’s this summer, any JC program that hits with wood, will get an impact bat right away. Defensively he makes the routine plays and the arm is a bit short, but gets rid of the ball quickly with a short, quick arm stroke and is accurate with his throws. Based on the production, metrics and size for an offensive 2B’man, someone needs to gobble this kid up quickly. I like this one!

Strickland was another surprise, and the big thing that stood out, was his athletic look, and HUGE hitting metrics from Trackman and Blast Motion. With an EV of 88.4 that can definitely improve, as he squares the ball up more consistently, as the hand and bat speeds were off the charts at 26.7 and 87.8!! It was a controlled easy hitting stroke. Defensively a primary 2B, shows soft hands and plays below the baseball with flashes of glove actions. Needs to sync his feet and hands a bit better, but the base is there to improve. The throwing stroke is short and compact, with more of a short flip type arm stroke of a 2B'man. Playing for a quality coach in Carl Hermansen and with other college level prospects on the roster, Cohen is surrounded by a baseball culture and environment to get better and improve.