The 2023 AABC Don Mattingly World Series was loaded with 64 teams from Texas, nearby states and even Canada. That means the list of notable performances, standout players, and uncommitted prospects is a very, very long one. And we’re thrilled to share the event included 122 scouts from 83 different colleges or professional organizations.

Our scouting coverage from the event will feature eight lengthy stories – hope you packed a sandwich because I wrote a lot of words - to cover the eight pools of teams. While our scouting team couldn’t be everywhere at once, obviously, we’ve also spent hours looking at our excellent video coverage, which you can find on player profiles and under the AABC Don Mattingly World Series event page here at FiveTool.org. 

We’ll continue with Pool 3 teams and will begin with the team who reached the semifinal thanks to its impressive lineup:

(Consider all players mentioned uncommitted 2024 prospects unless otherwise noted.)

Dulins Dodgers Prime – Godwin
Wyatt Sanford (Frisco Independence) entered the tournament as one of the most famous shortstops in the country and proceeded to hit .667/.760/1.056 with just two strikeouts while also playing shortstop in a way that left me fully convicted he’s one of the best defensive shortstops in the country. Everything about playing shortstop comes easy for Sanford – the actions are smooth, clean and easy; he has a loose arm, can easily throw from different angles and knows how much arm strength he needs; his feet, bend and short-area quickness allow his arm to play up; he’s able to do things like get in front of and around grounders towards the hole most shortstops would backhand; his baseball clock works well defensively. 

From a professional viewpoint, scouts are going to dissect Sanford’s hitting ability because the Texas A&M commitment is going to create some fans in the scouting community; his defense and plus running ability are going to place him high on lists. Sanford easily creates rhythm in the batter’s box without much movement during pre-swing and his head stays steady through his swing, a testament to his athleticism because he does rotate with some bat/hand speed. Looking at his skinny/lean frame that’s around 6-1, 170 pounds with room to fill out, Sanford looks like he should add some more mass in the future and would especially benefit from adding some leg strength to his hitting profile. 

I was impressed with the way the ball came off the barrel all week and he finished with three doubles and two triples. There were times when the swing worked around the baseball instead of through it got a little too big/upward. But I attributed part of that to playing a ton of games recently with a wood bat. Watch video of a batting practice round, and you'll see a smooth, easy stroke that gets through the baseball. And make no mistake, he’s a surefire top 10 and maybe even top five prospect in Texas and one of the best shortstop prospects in the nation. If he hits well at Area Code, he could jump into the mix as a possible day one MLB Draft prospect. 

Like Sanford, I was impressed – and to be frank, a tad surprised – at how well and loudly the ball came off Kendyl Johnson’s bat. He’s short, but the Texas Tech commitment from Little Elm has some sneaky strength in his hitting profile and some lean muscle present to accompany his athleticism. Johnson is a center fielder who can really run and profiles at the top of a lineup. He hit .389/.577/.667 and does a really good job of getting the most out of his physical profile in his batter’s box, which leads to a barrel that trails well behind his hands before whipping through the zone with anger and accuracy; he truly is one of those “take the knob to the baseball” types of hitters with a barrel following along that gets through quickly but stays in the hitting zone. I was bummed that he didn’t have much action his way in center field while I watched, but he has a reputation as an impact defender in center field. And I have no reason to doubt that.

We’re going to sound like a broken record: DBU landed an early commitment long ago from Brooks Sartain (Trinity Valley) and guess what? He can hit. Sartain finished with a .368/.375/.421 slash line with just one strikeout. He’s unafraid to swing with some intent but does so with barrel accuracy, which should serve him well as he matures and adds some needed strength to his hitting profile. Sartain showed he could cover the hitting zone, getting to and smacking different types of pitches in different locations throughout the tournament. 

Add Lovejoy’s Matthew Mainord to the long list of uncommitted 2024 catchers who stood out during the tournament. Strong and physical with a good catcher’s build, Mainord showcased one of the better right-handed swings in the event and his strength showed because his body control throughout his short swing was impressive. He hit .364/.500/.636. We discussed Brody Walls, a 2025 Texas commitment from McKinney Boyd, in great detail during our Pudge Rodriguez World Classic recap and he more than held his own as a hitter with a .444/.545/.444 slash line. As a pitcher, Walls didn’t unleash his full arsenal and intent on the mound, seemingly ramping up his velocity into the low 90s when he wanted to and settling in cruise control other times. 

I liked what I saw from Oklahoma commitment and right-hander Michael Catalano (Frisco) on the mound. He showed an impressive, advanced feel for pitching and a strong three-pitch mix with a fastball up to 89 MPH (1900-2100 RPM) that he commanded well to his arm side; his changeup looked like it was a work in progress, but there was a hint of pronated a circle-change to create a lot of movement at 80 MPH. A two-way prospect from Frisco, Catalano possesses quality bat-to-ball skill. Landon Karrh, a high school and summer teammate of Catalano, pounded the glove side corner with a fastball up to 88 MPH during his two appearances on the mound. An uncommitted righty, Karrh struck out four in 5.0 innings and gave up three hits with just one walk. He buried his 74-75 MPH curveball well and showed a solid changeup, too. 

Parker Bowman, an uncommitted right-handed pitcher from Lebanon Trail, sat 83-86 MPH with his fastball, pounded the zone with strikes, and used a solid curveball to rack up 11 strikeouts in 7.0 innings. He gave up just one run on four hits and only issued a single walk. 

Next Level Scout
Like most of our out-of-state visitors, New York-based Next Level Scout brought impressive energy and competitiveness to the AABC Don Mattingly World Series. Led by uncommitted left-handed hitter Kenny Noe (Kellenberg Memorial; New York), Next Level Scout’s offense performed well. Noe showed impressive bat-to-ball ability and confidently smacked line drives to all parts of the field and finished with a .545/.722/.636 slash line with an impressive seven walks with just one strikeout. 

Easy to see why Binghamton landed an early commitment from left-handed hitter Matthew Bolton (Division Avenue Senior; New York). He used a simple, direct swing to hit .438/.526/.500 and created havoc on the bases with his intelligent, aggressive style. Things were a bit more difficult on the mound for Next Level Scout, but John Carroll turned into the best performance on the team with an impressive outing against Stix 2025 Scout to get his team into the final 16. Overall, he threw 5.2 innings and gave up two runs on six hits, no walks and struck out five. 

Texas Senators 16U Scout Team
Injuries before the tournament made life tough on the Senators, who were comprised mostly of 2025 prospects with some 2026 prospects filling in the gaps. Among those 2026 prospects was CJ Hansford, a right-handed pitcher from Moe and Gene Johnson High School. A standout playing a year up in the Pudge World Classic, Hansford more than held his own against 2024 hitters, too. His pitchability and advanced feel of using a three-pitch mix again stood out. Pitching for the first time in a long while, big, physical, strong right-hander Cooper Rummel, a Texas commitment from Dripping Springs High School, touched 92 MPH during his one inning. 

At the plate, I remain a big fan of Caldwell McFaddin’s hitting ability. A right-handed force for state champion Magnolia West, McFaddin hit .333/.500/.556 with two doubles. As he matures, getting to harder fastballs up in the zone will unlock an even better level of performance. Statistically, it was a tough tournament for top 2025 prospects Clayton Namken (Nacogdoches; Texas A&M commit), Ed Small (Anderson; Texas commit) and Will Hill (Summer Creek; Texas commit). But all had bright flashes. Namken moves very well for his size behind the dish and can impact the baseball with strength and bat speed; Hill ran down the line in 3.99 seconds from the first side and competed well; Small changed a few innings with his speed and football-like aggressiveness on the bases. 

Gus Begert (Anderson) and Jack Buerkle (Regents School of Austin) both drilled homers. Begert pulls baseballs with a good path to do extra-base damage and Buerkle keeps his arms extended while he tracks pitches before unleashing a quick bat through the zone that taps into his advanced strength.  

Stix 2025 Scout
Following an uncharacteristically frustrating Pudge Rodriguez World Classic, I saw the Cayden Mitchell (Mansfield Timberview) I’m used to seeing in the Mattingly. He hit .400/.588/.500 with just one strikeout and had one of the top at-bats of the event when he fought deep into a nine-pitch at-bat to break the game open late for his team. Mitchell’s tools and competitiveness stood out and his bat looked quicker with a better path than last look. You could probably put Kentucky commitment and big, physical, athletic left-handed hitting Braxton Van Cleave (Mansfield) in this category, too. He had several loud plate appearances. 

My appreciation of Eli Willits’ talent and skill is well-documented. He’s really, really good. And he elevated his performance in the clutch multiple times, including late against a loaded Dallas Tigers – Bergman team with two loud, impactful hits. It won’t surprise me a single bit if two summers from now he’s on all the MLB Draft lists. After mashing 2025 pitching, the 2026 prospect committed to Oklahoma hit .400/.471/.667 with only two strikeouts in 17 plate appearances against 2024 pitching. Another big-time infield defender, Hudson Knight (L.D. Bell) nearly made an absurd play from deep in the hole at shortstop and the high-waisted, speedy athlete is on track to develop into an impact defender at the premium position with a right-handed bat that will play well in games, too. 

On the mound, Jaxon Rickert did Jaxon Rickert (Mansfield Knights – Homeschool) things. He dominated a lineup with his future plus slider and his competitiveness never takes a pitch off. When he steps on the mound, a fire builds that most pitchers don’t possesses and while he might not ever have a big fastball, he is the future leader of a college pitching staff. I liked what I saw from Brody Kahle, who carried 87-89 MPH with his fastball deep into his outing and got whiffs with an 81 MPH slider (2000-2100 RPM) complimented by a developing changeup. It wasn’t a dominant 6.0-inning start, but it was effective and showed he could grow into one of the top 2025 pitchers in Texas. 

This is the second time I’ve seen Marcos Paz (Hebron) this summer and the story has been the same – stretches of pure dominance and stretches of searching for control with a fastball that was 85-88 MPH out of the stretch and up to 93 MPH (we did get one Pocket Radar reading of 95 MPH, but I’m going with the 93 MPH I saw after he sat 85-91 MPH) when he puts effort into his windup. A young pitcher who threw deep into his high school season, Paz looked like he wasn’t operating with a full tank of gas, which is understandable given the brutal heat and a season unlike anything he’s experienced before. 

Houston Heat 2024 Scout
Among the long list of uncommitted prospects who seized their opportunity and performed in front of college coaches is Parker Blackman (Grand Oaks). A left-handed hitting center fielder who can fly, we’ve seen signs of Blackman being able to impact the baseball more this summer (he damaged a few trees beyond right field in one of our Houston events) with his added strength to his frame, which still has more room to fill out. And he proved those signs accurate by mashing a homer, drilling a deep triple and finishing with a .500/.583/1.100 line with zero strikeouts. He showed some of the best bat speed, rotation and torque among all left-handed hitters in the event and should be on the radar of any D1 or JUCO coach that watched him. 

Another longtime Five Tool standout, Tomball infielder/outfielder Braeden Scherzer always hits. He didn’t strike out once and ended with a .400/.500/.700 slash line in 13 plate appearances. Scherzer ended the season hitting cleanup for a loaded Tomball team and his bat-to-ball skill from the left side has always performed. Hitters hit. And he hits. Rouse two-way standout Oscar Salazar performed with the bat at a high level from the right side and also threw 4.1 no-hit innings. A calendar year younger than almost all his 2024 classmates, Salazar can really pitch and also packs some punch with the bat. High school teammate Tyler Espinosa tracks pitches well from the right side and continued his productive summer with the bat (.429/.615/.571).

We’ve known Dawson Park (Magnolia West) is a skilled defender who can profile all over the diamond with impressive athleticism, speed and hitting. But I didn’t know he could run his fastball up to 92 MPH on the mound with a 77-79 MPH hammer that reached 2700 RPM and created some ugly whiffs. He threw 4.2 shutout innings and gave up just one hit with one walk and had three strikeouts. A Texas State commitment, Park could take off as a pitcher now that Magnolia West’s Caylon Dygert and James Ellwanger graduated. Regardless, he’s one of the most talented and skilled position players in Texas. 

MORE NOTES
- NTXBC Dirtbags 2024 Allerheiligen right-handed hitter Ryan Williams (Grapevine) didn’t strike out once and had an excellent tournament. He finished with a .455/.538/.818 slash line, drilled a homer and wants to put his bat in motion. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor