The fall season concluded, and the Five Tool Network was busy with events going in DFW, Houston, South Texas, the Arizona Fall Classic, Colorado, NorCal, SoCal, New Mexico and more. Let’s take a look at some of the standouts from across the network from some of our final October events and begin with the freshmen class providing an entertaining end to the Arizona Fall Classic:

Freshman Arizona Fall Classic (all prospects uncommitted and in the 2027 class)

It'll be fun to follow the development of Horizon (Texas) right-handed pitcher Frankie Miller during the upcoming years because in Arizona he toed the rubber and pumped premium gas into the strike zone. Up to 88 MPH with some visible effort in his delivery, Miller showed a lot of ingredients in the way his shoulder/arm worked that suggest he could throw really, really hard in the future as he continues to add strength to his loose, skinny frame, mature and gain more reps on the mound. 

Bentley Seeberger, who attends Duncan High School in Oklahoma, stepped onto the mound and also showed notable velocity. Advanced physically with arm strength, Seeberg touched 87 MPH and was unafraid to challenge hitters and throw with intent. Another Oklahoma prospect, Cole Dunlap, leveraged his lower half strength into his quality delivery and fired heaters up to 89 MPH with a sharp breaking ball. A product of Carl Albert, Dunlap is a promising pitching prospect who should at the very least give his high school a strong bullpen option late in games. 

On the hitting side, it would be difficult to find many 2027 right-handed hitters and prospects better than Bishop Gorman’s (Nevada) Justin Rodrigues. In addition to being very productive, Rodrigues showed a good swing capable of driving the ball deep in the air, what looked like plus wheels and athleticism and also showed a big arm when he made a sensational play from deep at third base. Bishop Gorman is loaded with young talent. 

Similar to Rodrigues, Aiden Ruiz showed some exciting all-around upside with deep extra base hits, wheels and some athleticism. He attends Salesian in California. Asher Friedman (Palos Verdes; California) also impressed from the right side with a promising, repeatable swing and bat-to-ball skill. He also moved with impressive athleticism and is a good bet to become a solid-or-better prospect as he continues to develop. 

Strong, imposing left-handed hitter Jaxton Tolman (Desert Hills; Utah) wasn’t just a potential power bat. He could hit, too. As his Mountain West team played deep into the event, he kept racking up loud hits and did a good job of attacking pitches with under-control intent. High school and fall teammate Carson Hunt also showed some juice from the left side and impact hitting ability. A lot of the same things could be said about Dyson Grant (Capistrano Valley; California), another strong, talented left-handed hitter who stood out for BPA. 

Speaking of strong and left-handed, Kyle Plasman mashed baseballs and packed a major punch with a short, powerful swing that delivered a quick barrel through the zone with a good path. A product of Sante Fe Christian (California), Plasman is a future middle-of-the-order masher who will likely frighten high school pitching. 

Back in the summer, Zion Martinez caught our eye when he, playing up an age group, mashed a homer and really stood out with his advanced hitting feel, speed and athleticism. Fast forward a few months and the Yucaipa (California) product again stood out with the bat. Already smacking loud line drives into gaps routinely, Martinez is definitely a dude to watch in the 2027 class. 

California 

If you want to know what an elite catcher prospect looks like, take a look at Irvington (California) prospect and 2025 Oregon commitment Brayden Jaksa. As you can see, the impressive physical profile translates to some thunder in the bat thanks also to a good right-handed swing and bat speed. An impressive athlete, especially for a catcher, who will continue filling out, Jaksa reminded everyone why he’s one of the best in the country during the NorCal Bay Area Bash.

Hello, CJ Hughes! I never, ever recommend coming up with elaborate scouting reports based on one swing, but one look at Hughes and it’s obvious he’s at minimum a really interesting, athletic left-handed hitter – excuse me… he’s a switch-hitter! - with impressive bat speed, what looks like a good swing and physical projection. And this isn’t the only time he smashed a pitch last weekend. An athletic long-strider with quick-twitch movements, one word comes to mind when I watch Hughes – electric. Colleges should keep an eye on the Junipero Serra prospect, who is a middle infielder and right-handed pitcher.

At the Los Angeles Fall Finale, Joel Rangel impressively and dominantly racked up seven strikeouts in 3.0 innings with a fastball that touched 90 MPH and a slider up to 79 MPH that flashed as a bat-missing weapon. A 2026 prospect, Rangel doesn’t possess the physical projection of some of his classmates, but he does have the pitching feel many pitchers don’t at his age, which includes knowing how to use his hand placement/fingers to get his changeup to act the way he wants and how to truly snap off a slider. Rangel, who attends Academia Gonzalez in British Columbia, Canada, is able to throw hard partially because he does a good job of gathering on his backside and adding some efficiency to his delivery.

Colorado 

Out in Colorado, Legacy 2025 prospect Connor Hicks made the park look small when he destroyed a pitch way out over the 335-foot fence in left field. A physical, strong 6-3, 200 pounds, Hicks is also a standout right-handed pitcher and has the ingredients to become one of the most heavily recruited players in the state.

Texas 

Connor Mohan again showed one of best delivers in 2024 Texas class and breezing through a dominant outing in one of our DFW Mid-October Classic. With a quick, clean arm and room to continue filling into his frame, Mohan, a Texas Tech commitment from Burleson Centennial, remains one of the senior right-handers to watch because he’s poised for a major breakout if/when more velocity comes. 

In the 2025 class, Cooper Rummel returned to the mound in a Five Tool South Texas event and for the second-straight week he dominated the competition. Frankly, his stuff, and in particular his fastball up to 92 MPH, overwhelmed overmatched opponents. Playing up an age level with the Texas Senators on the same team was Westlake shortstop Austin Knox, who made a sensational play from deep in the hole at shortstop and did an excellent job of getting the ball out of his glove instantly before completing a very athletic play/throw.

Tomball is loaded with seniors, juniors, sophomores and unfortunately for the rest of its district, the 2027 class is going to be legit, too. In the Houston area, Blake Edling mashed a no-doubt bomb with a pretty left-handed swing. Hunter Pence Academy 2027 Morris teammate and Klein Oak prospect Brody Fortunato joined the home run fun and showed some lightning-quick, strong hands from he left side when he demolished a pitch deep over the right-center wall. 

ParkBoys emerged victorious and won the 17U/18U Space City Fall Classic and 2024 right-handed hitting infielder Michael Santiago (Kingwood Park) was a big reason why. He was a hitting machine and routinely put the bat on the ball and made hard contact. Noticeably more physical and with a quicker bat compared to last year, Santiago is an impressive athlete who looks like he should be a key contributor at Kingwood Park. 

At the UTD/University of Dallas Fall Show, Cade Reynolds was so good it seemed like he was on base after each at-bat. On the receiving end of two Player of the Game honors from the event, the Byron Nelson product stood out physically with a projectable 6-1 frame in addition to smacking pitches to all parts of the field with an impressive, fluid right-handed swing that included good weight transfer. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor