The Phoenix area was hit with once-in-a-decade rainfall, which derailed our schedule at the Arizona Fall Classic Draft Prospect Classic. Unfortunately due to weather, the Five Tool Scout Team completed three full innings our first game, five in the second and finally got onto the field for a full, nine-inning game on Sunday before we all went to the airport to head back home. While the annoying weather was beyond frustrating, it didn’t prevent a loaded roster from showing its talent throughout the innings we played. 

We’re handing out some awards, that are in honor of players from our first team, and providing a full scouting report on each of the 17 players:

The Blaine Bullard MVP Award
Karson Reeder – RHP/1B – The Bennett School (Texas) - Texas commit
Last year as a member of the first-ever Five Tool Scout Team in the inaugural Arizona Fall Classic Draft Prospect Classic, Bullard hit .500/.600/1.100 and recorded at least one hit in each game, including the last game when he had a hit from each side of the plate. If future No. 37 overall pick Slater de Brun didn’t rob him of what looked like a surefire double off the bat, Bullard’s line would have been even better.

Against a loaded lineup, which in this event they all are, Reeder was… well, he was Reeder. The tall right-hander showed why he’s the most skilled pitcher in Texas and has been a consistent, top performer for years. Up to 93 MPH, Reeder threw effective strikes with his fastball and created some ugly whiffs with his 83-84 MPH slider; some of the swings against the slider stood no chance and missed by feet, and it led to him striking out four batters (one slider made its way to the backstop) in a single inning. 

Deeper into his outing, Reeder showed his quality changeup against a lefty with late tumble at 82 MPH and executed it for a swing and miss and he also spun a 74 MPH curveball in for a strike when he needed to. As usual, the Texas commitment was extremely efficient. He threw 3.0 scoreless, nearly perfect innings with seven strikeouts and looked like he could have easily thrown a complete game if we let him. With the stick, the right-handed hitter continued to show he can hit, too. During Sunday’s game, he drilled two hard singles, and his bat-to-ball skill is real. 

The LJ Layhew Catcher Award
Oliver Minyard – C – Woodrow Wilson (Texas) – uncommitted
LJ Layhew caught full games in 116-degree weather during the 2024 AZFC Draft Prospect Classic and shined with the bat and defensively. 

Minyard likely opened some eyes of college coaches watching our games because he looked like a surefire D1 catching prospect with all-around talent that can impact the game. In addition to receiving well and showing a strong arm, Minyard thrived with the bat, which included turning around a 95 MPH fastball and drilling a hard base hit, adjusting to a breaking ball to record a single and lining a hard rocket to left field for another knock. He understands when to unleash his impact bat speed from the right side and also when to cut his swing down and adjust. And the 2026 prospect, who is young enough to be in the 2027 class, has the makeup coaches want from their catchers. 

The Matthew Boughton Infielder Award
Joshua Viars – INF – Walnut Grove (Texas) – West Virginia commit
Boughton’s stoic, consistent, professional approach shined and so did is all-around skill and impact on the game as a member of our first team.

Making his return trip with Five Tool, Viars was a steady performer who did a bit of everything. On the final day, he made a good read to snag a hard grounder on the short hop, immediately and rhythmically touched second base and flipped the ball across to complete a slick double play. The West Virginia commitment probably, along with Judson Dowell, had the worst batted-ball luck with some hard contact finding gloves besides his clutch RBI double the opposite way. Like Boughton, Viars quietly goes about his baseball business in a professional manner and is a skilled, steady, very talented player who shined. 

The Carson Brumbaugh Competitor Award
Reed Newkirk – OF – Lake Creek (TX) – Army commitment
Named after current Arkansas infielder/pitcher Carson Brumbaugh whose professionalism, quiet yet stern competitiveness and desire to win stood out last year…

Newkirk bounced back from an uncharacteristically ugly first at-bat to record three hits during the final 14 innings of action. He refused to give in during any at-bat and repeatedly fouled pitches off, took tough pitches and figured out a way to put the bat on the baseball and get on base. The left-handed hitting center fielder also threw out a runner at third base and showed off an accurate arm. His competitiveness, and perhaps this helps explains his commitment to Army, showed when a catcher moved in front of the plate to clearly block the plate up the third base line, which created a minor collision on the slide. Understandably fired up, Newkirk fairly voiced his displeasure and showed there’s a competitive fire burning from the top-of-the-order bat.

The Jailen Watkins Vibes Award
Judson Dowell – OF – The Bennett School – uncommitted
Named after current Miami infielder Jailen Watkins because of how much fun he was to have on the team last season and how well he performed as a hitter and pitcher… 

Dowell could have also won an award for his at-bats because those were arguably the most consistent and best on the team, which included hammering a rocket in our first game that had to have been easily over 100 MPH off the bat. While everyone had a blast participating in the event, I’m not sure anyone enjoyed it and was as into each pitch as Dowell, who you could hear constantly talking on the field and in the dugout about something baseball related. In addition to that at-bat during game one, Dowell pulled a 95 MPH fastball for a single during Saturday’s action and smacked a RBI single the opposite way in the same game. Routinely, the physical, athletic, right-handed hitting outfielder forced pitchers to grind with each pitch and showed his special talent. 

The Everett Burdett Underclassmen Pitcher Award
Schafer Dixon – RHP – Mountain Ridge (Utah) - uncommitted
This honor is awarded to an underclassmen pitcher who shined, was a late addition to the roster and is a nod to Everett Burdett after he joined our team late in the event. He shoved and became an Oregon State commitment shortly thereafter... 

Coincidently, and perhaps this becomes a trend, this right-hander was, like Burdett, a prospect from outside the Texas border. Schafer Dixon showed he’s a definite 2027 prospect to watch in Utah and his region. Up to 88 MPH with a fastball that had some natural life, Dixon calmly and confidently filled up the strike zone and flashed a quality slider up to 79 MPH along with feel for an 80 MPH changeup against lefties. He also created the top highlight of the weekend when he instinctively reached behind his back to field a comebacker no-look style before flipping to first base. 

From the side, Dixon showed a fast, clean arm and the potential to have impact extension over time. Around 6-4, the skinny 2027 prospect will fill out and add considerable strength in the future. There is a big jump coming on the horizon and a lot of exciting upside. 

The Aiden Barrientes Breaking Stuff Award
Jayden Stewart – RHP – Katy (Texas) – Houston commit
Barrientes, as a member of our first squad, didn’t throw as many strikes as he did during a fabulous senior season, but he showed his outstanding breaking stuff that projects to be some of the best in the Big 12 even as a freshman. 

Stewart is a personal “pick to click” following his AZFC performance, which was consistent with his outings we saw during TSA All-Star Game, TSA Games and Dodgers Scout Team. The tall, 6-7 righty showed two true breaking balls and both project to get whiffs this season and beyond. In Surprise, Arizona, Stewart featured an 83-84 MPH slider with short, horizontal break and routinely hammered the glove side with this pitch with the feel for getting hitters to chase it in deep counts. But his 79 MPH curveball, that he showed just once, might have been a better pitch; it was a short, powerful-type breaker with no visual hump out of the hand and came out of the same window as his fastball, which is something you don’t often see from a high school pitcher. Throw in feel for a quality changeup and a fastball that reached 92 MPH, and Stewart’s arrow is pointing up. His basketball background continues to shine on the mound where he moves better than you’d expect a pitch his size to move and strikes come easily to him. 

NOTES ON THE REST OF THE ROSTER…
Landon Brown – RHP/INF – Iowa Colony (Texas) – Mississippi State commit
After touching 97 MPH during a one-inning appearance with the Dodgers Scout Team on Tuesday, Brown showed it wasn’t a fluke during his two-inning appearance Saturday in Surprise, Arizona. The tall right-hander hit 97 MPH three times and sat 94-97 MPH during his two innings. A good lineup was ready for the velocity, which forced Brown to adjust. Once he found feel for his slider at 83-84 MPH and landed it for a strike, he began to dominate because he could drop it in for a strike in fastball counts. At times, it looked like Brown’s fastball shape led to the pitch playing down just a tad, but he has the potential to possibly feature two fastball looks at the next level to allow his excellent arm strength to shine. From the side, his arm speed especially stands out. Brown threw a firm, 85-88 MPH changeup with conviction that should be a quality third pitch to use against lefties. 

As a hitter, the right-handed bat unleashes noticeable bat speed but just missed a couple of pitches that led to high pop outs in the infield. He's very much a two-way player at the high school level, and the way his swing looked, he might even be able to profile that way in college because of the power potential. 

Luke Tucker – INF – Krum (Texas) – LSU commit
Tucker, a 6-4 left-handed hitting infielder, showcased his picturesque swing and routinely put together solid at-bats. He recorded the team’s first hit in a tough left-on-left matchup and was just out in front of pitches on two occasions, which led to hard groundouts. Defensively, Tucker handled his limited chances well with almost all his innings coming at third base; during his few innings at shortstop, he ranged into shallow right-center field and made a difficult snag of a fly ball look relatively easy. It became increasingly obvious during an extended and up-close viewing of Tucker that he’s going to get stronger and truly does have one of the best swings in Texas for 2026. 

Wyatt Clewett – OF/RHP – Montgomery (Texas) – Baylor commit
Like Tucker, Clewett was seemingly just out on front of pitches on a couple of occasions and also just late in one other instance. But, like Tucker, Clewett stepped into the batter’s box with an imposing, left-handed presence and flashed impact bat speed that should translate to extra-base power at the next level. He never looked overmatched and took big hacks in counts he should. The weather issues derailed Clewett’s chances to pitch. He handled his outfield chances well. 

Harper Gates – INF/RHP – The Bennett School (Texas) – Texas A&M commit
Like usual, Gates put together consistently strong at-bats, which included smacking a two-strike changeup for a single and pulling a hard double down the left field line. He didn’t play as clean of defense as we’re used to seeing, but did make a nice, charging play on a slow chopper. On the mound, the righty touched 92 MPH during his lone inning of work, a scoreless frame.

Jax Robinson – C – Waxahachie (Texas) – Texas commit
Robinson just missed hitting a homer the opposite way down the left field line and exuded some of the best plate skills and swing-take decisions on the roster. Besides one difficult left-on-left matchup, he didn’t have a single poor plate appearance. Defensively, the team’s communication on first-and-third situations was lacking, which led to an errant throw. Blame the coaches. Overall, Robinson was solid besides a couple of sliders that got away and showed the all-around traits of being a major catcher that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing. 

Logan Brown – RHP/1B – Keller (Texas) – Houston commit
Brown worked in the 86-90 MPH range with his fastball and showed feel for adding-and-subtracting to his sweeping breaking ball by throwing one as slow as 69 MPH before featuring harder breaking balls in the mid-70s. From a crossfire look and lower arm angle, Brown’s fastball comes out easily and has natural arm side run. Once he was able to get that into the zone and found his footing, he began to perform well. As a hitter, he hammered a fly out to deep center field in one of his three plate appearances. 

Ethan Carswell – INF – Blue Valley (Kansas) – USC commit
During Sunday’s action, Carswell turned on a pitch and blasted a triple to the wall in right-center field. It was an impressive display of his good left-handed swing and the bat speed, rotational acceleration and pop the switch-hitter can generate from that side of the batter’s box. Carswell’s at-bats forecasted a future role as a top-of-the-order hitter. He worked counts while also remaining aggressive against fastballs early and battled deep into plate appearances. Playing in the middle infield, he handled his lone chances easily. Carswell carried himself on the field with strong competitive makeup.

Drake Hawpe – OF – Liberty Christian – LSU commit
Frustrated early in the weekend, Hawpe found a barrel on the final day when he sent a screaming rocket to the wall in right-center field and showcased his swing left-handed swing and power. Defensively, he made multiple sliding catches in right field, including a very impressive one deep in foul territory. Hawpe’s arm strength impressed from right field and he looked like he belonged in an event loaded with talent a year older. 

Everett Burdett – RHP – La Cueva (New Mexico) – Oregon State commit
Up to 93 MPH during his first inning of work, Burdett showed his exciting projection on the mound. We’re a little biased, but he was squeezed during his second inning of work, which led to a lot of fastballs in fastball counts; weak hits found holes and an errant throw with two outs made his inning look a lot worse than it was. Regardless, he breezed through his first inning by throwing only fastballs (88-92 MPH) and showed his secondary stuff in his second inning. Burdett showed both breaking balls with the 80 MPH slider looking like the stronger offering compared to the 74 MPH curveball. 

Luke Sandefur – RHP – Aledo (Texas) – ACU commit
Before tiring in the third inning and losing some control, Sandefur was dominant. Interestingly, the changeup was the star of the show, which is a twist. Anyone who has seen the 5-9 right-hander pitch knows his curveball is typically the standout offering, and it did have some bright moments at 74-76 MPH with sharp depth and good spin. What Sandefur showed in Peoria is his changeup might be one of the best in Texas. In fact, it was so good he threw it for a right-on-right strikeout against one of the nation’s premier bats. The fading action of the pitch, which had a hint of unpredictable arm side action, baffled hitters even when they suspected it was coming. The righty’s fastball was up to 91 MPH and performed well. He’s poised for a huge senior season for an Aledo program that is a very real threat to go back-to-back in 6A. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor and National Scout