Riley
Brown

A former D1 commit, who decommitted last summer and is taking his time this go around to make a decision. I believe it will pay off, as he has another in-state D1 offer on the table, and his calling card is a “power” bat that plays at any positional profile! A square semi crouched stance with his bat already turned slightly in the loaded position, Brown turns his left hip into the online position to the pitcher, and lands soft, sits, spins and turns under and through the point of contact with big bat speed and quality ext. out front. The power is big and can leave the yard in any direction. A .360 or better avg hitting in the middle of the Brighton lineup since his freshman year, jumped back into the recent Top 10 prospect release at #9. With an EV of 104.1 which was third at the event, Brown also turned on one pitch at 384’ and cleared the high net in left and into the adjacent building, as the shot was very high and “brought rain!” His Blast metrics were also REALLY GOOD, as he registered a max bat speed of 81.8 and sat 77.6! With a big rotational acceleration high mark of 27.5 which is off the charts, allowing him to really utilize his lower ½ and get the most out of his stocky strong build to really impact the baseball! The defense showed better this go around and he must continue to maintain and improve his flexibility and get lower to his center of gravity on ground balls, and put his nose in the dirt with his hands extended out front. Even if he has to move potentially at some point in his career across the diamond to 1B, he has the makings and looks of a young Mike Napoli (google search Napoli). But the bat plays and plays big, and I have no question over the next two years, big numbers are in store and the offer he has on the table now, would fit his hitting style in a big way and produce loud numbers at the next level!

Brown has had a solid youth career and entered Brighton as a freshman expected to contribute right away and he did and more, hitting .350 w/5 2B’s, a HR and 19 RBI w/8 BB and 9 K’s in 96 PA’s. That’s a high contact rate, especially for a freshman. Over the summer, Brown was very good and was invited to the Top Prospect Games, where we had 11 college assistants and head coaches from various top ranked JUCO and all the state D1 schools in attendance. Brown performed well and caught the attention of the U Utah, as he blasted a couple of balls high and deep over the LF fence, and culminated his workout by also blasting a ball over the high net and house beyond the LF fence at Pleasant Grove HS. The metrics at both events were good, as he posted hand and bat speed marks of 21 and 75 respectively with an EV of 97.4 at the Top Prospect Games and 95 at the All-State Games. Brown has worked extremely hard at tightening and toning his blocky frame, and it showed last Sunday, as he is leaner, tighter and looks more athletically physical. It will be fun to track Riley at future PBR events and throughout the 2023 season and even two years beyond that as well. 

Brown is a strong RHH with a thick, strong lower 1/2 and has natural strength to drive the baseball and the ball explodes off his bat w/authority. A Power Showcase rep for Utah a year ago in Florida, along with a stint with the 15U Team USA trials, Brown also had a very solid freshman campaign as a middle of the order guy on the varsity. During game play at the Top Prospect Games, Brown hit a ball high and deep down the LF, that had big carry for a long HR and drew oohs and awes! one of those players that is a little more physically developed than others his age, so it remains to be seen if he can keep maturing physically and continue developing his tools and grow his skills in the game. But there is a lot to like a the plate w/HR strength and big hitting metrics for his age.