Watching a group of really good players selected by professional scouts work out and compete in a game at a pro park? It doesn’t get much better than that, especially when the roof is closed. Thursday, some of the Five Tool Texas team spent the day at Minute Maid Park covering the annual Texas Scouts Association All-Star Game. Obviously, a game organized by professional scouts is going to include a lot of talent. So, there’s plenty to talk about. Here are thoughts, notes, observations and more:

1) Prior to Thursday, I hadn’t seen Nolan Traeger (Concordia Lutheran) take batting practice. After seeing his rounds, which were the best of the day, I’m an even bigger fan of Traeger’s prospect status and long-term hitting ability with developing power. He gets the barrel to the baseball quickly and easily and creates the type of carry that’s going to turn into more homers as he matures and adds strength. Remember, he’s basically a year younger than the 2024 class and the juice he showed to the pull-side is encouraging. During game action, the TCU commitment threw out a runner trying to steal third base and showed his promising ability behind the dish.

2) Elbert Craig (Pantego Christian) showed why he’s affectionately called “Big Trey” during his batting practice rounds. He showcased the most impressive raw power, loudly drilling balls to center field and hammered a deep bomb out to left-center field. The exciting thing about Craig as a prospect is there’s still power/strength he hasn’t yet tapped into, and the consistency of the swing can improve substantially. He has the right mentality – the Texas A&M commitment wants to attack the baseball and hit it as hard as he can, although he’ll need to continue adjusting to seeing spin down in the zone. 

3) Listed at 6-0, 180 pounds, I was impressed with the added strength Nathan Tobin (V.R. Eaton) has added, particularly though his upper half. And it showed in batting practice when he created some surprising pop to the pull side. A plus runner and athlete, Tobin, who is committed to Texas A&M, had some of the best batting practice rounds and was among the game’s top performers. After hammering a hard fly out to left field, Tobin later drilled a single that was 99 MPH off the bat; his hitting hands were among the quickest in the event. 

4) After drilling a homer during batting practice, recent Texas commitment Matt Scott II (Klein Oak) mashed a bomb into the Crawford Boxes off elite right-hander Jason Flores. Against a 92 MPH fastball, Scott showed his power, which is among the best in the state, when he put the barrel on the mistake pitch and blasted it. There are times when Scott’s front half and lower half can get out of sync in the batter’s box, but he’s always shown game power and for years – I remember him tattooing a baseball off Blake Mitchell in the summer of 2021 – has been able to get to premium velocity. With his size, area for continued growth as a hitter, track record for hitting with power and the added strength that will come in the future, Scott is easily one of the best outfielder prospects in Texas. 

5) While we’re on the subject of Flores, don’t let a mistake to one of the best power hitters in the state fool you because the Naaman Forest prospect, recently uncommitted, was the most impressive prospect in attendance. A true two-way talent, Flores showed home run power in batting practice before delivering an outstanding pitching look. The only pitcher to throw 2.0 innings, Flores’ fastball was consistently 92-94 MPH for strikes with spin up to 2400 RPM. His curveball, which features notable two-plane break, was 77-79 MPH with spin as high as 2800 RPM and he used an 81-84 MPH changeup with a lot of circle-like movement to the arm side that he has true feel for as a promising third pitch. 

Flores’ operation on the mound was easy, repeatable, led to easy strike-throwing and strongly suggested he’s a future impact starter at the collegiate level… if he makes it there. In the game setting, spin gave him issues at the plate, but the intriguing hitting tools are as advertised. Is Flores a top five prospect in the state? He certainly looked like it. 

6) From the big fastball and high-spin, two-plane curveball department, Jackson Burns brought his big fastball to Houston and easily fired 90-93 MPH gas that played up through the zone when he wasn’t missing to the arm side, which is where all of his misses were. Burns’ fastball is different. Even in warmups you can see that it has a different carry out of the hand and through the zone than most other pitchers, and it played like it in Houston. Each time I see the big, physical righty, I like his future breaking ball even more. It was 74-77 MPH with spin as high as 2785 RPM and on certain days, the changeup looks like it’s just as good if not better. 

7) It was good to see Marcos Paz, one of the nation’s top uncommitted 2025 prospects, look like the excellent Marcos Paz we saw all spring. Up to 93 MPH with a fastball that beat hitters in the zone, Paz’s appearance was an impressive one and also featured an 80-82 MPH breaking ball with spin as high as 2800 RPM. The breaking ball can sometimes look like a power curve and other times a slider with more sweep. Regardless, he can spin the baseball well and had feel for putting the pitch in the strike zone. Paz’s arm slot is more of a low three-quarters slot when he uses his 84 MPH changeup compared to a higher slot with his fastball, but the pitch heads towards home plate looking very similar to his heater, which led to a couple ugly swings and misses. 

8) He’s definitely not the big guy that Burns and Paz are, but Kadyn Leon’s fastball played the same way on Thursday. The Lake Travis right-hander, who is projected to be QB1 in the fall and is still uncommitted, struck out four of the five batters he faced with a fastball at 88-90 MPH that routinely created whiffs even when in the zone. I’ve seen Leon touch 94 MPH multiple times in the past and combine the long summer with balancing being a quarterback and it’s no surprise the velocity has been down a tick. 

What excited me the most was I saw signs of the curveball I saw in March versus Westlake when I would have put a future 60 on the pitch without hesitation. It wasn’t quite the same 12-6 hammer that I saw then, but it was 75-76 MPH with spin up to 2700 RPM. Leon has also clearly been working on a changeup at 77 MPH. The command and control profile still need to improve, but that could simply be a couple of mechanical tweaks away. He’s never lacked confidence and he was unafraid to challenge hitters with his fastball late in counts. 

9) Sticking with right-handed pitchers who racked up strikeouts, Clark right-hander and Arizona State commitment Jake Neely showed why he has some of the best pure stuff in the class. He struck out four of five batters and showed a four-pitch arsenal: fastball (90-92 MPH), curveball (71-72 MPH), changeup (80 MPH; 1600 RPM), and slider (82 MPH). The 6-3, 205-pound righty truly does have a distinct feel for a deep arsenal and clearly works on his pitch shapes. 

10) After a really impressive batting practice session, I was especially excited to see Pearland prospect Isaiah Castaneda, who was really good in the AABC Don Mattingly World Series, in game action, but it didn’t translate. Castaneda, who ran down the line in 4.4 seconds on a ground out, appeared to be guessing and was on the defensive in the batter’s box. During in-and-out, the uncommitted prospect showed his plus, maybe future plus-plus outfield arm that’s the best in the state and he could be an impact defender at the next level even if he doesn’t try a move to center field. 

On the mound, Castaneda threw his fastball 88-89 MPH with an intriguing 73-75 MPH curveball (2200-2300 RPM) and an improved 81-82 MPH changeup that recorded multiple whiffs. If we asked several scouts what they like him more as, my guess is around half with say pitcher and the other half would say position player. 

11) At this point, I feel like I’ve attempted to creatively write the same things about the Grand Oaks duo of Houston Tomlinson and Marc Barnhard four different times this summer because it has performed very consistently. Once again, Barnhard, who is uncommitted, showed perhaps the best slider in the state, which racked up whiffs during his inning. And once again, Tomlinson, a recent Texas A&M commitment, showed one of the best fastballs in the state that beat hitters in the zone. 

12) This was my first extended look at Pleasant Grove outfielder/infielder Brenton Clark and consider me a fan. The game came easy to Clark, who was always in control of his actions on the field and comfortable with the speed of what was happening. After some solid batting practice rounds, Clark showed notable bat-to-ball skill from the left side. In one of the first at-bats of the game, the Arkansas commitment, who ran a 6.76-second 60-yard dash, recognized and sat on a breaking ball and pulled it through the right side for a single before later ripping a line drive rocket by an overwhelmed first baseman. 

13) Like Clark, DBU commitment Will Yeary looked totally comfortable with the speed of the game on a pro diamond. A skilled shortstop who can play all over the infield, Yeary was particularly impressive at shortstop. With clean actions, Yeary confidently turned routine grounders into outs and the ball gets in-and-out of his glove and across the diamond quickly. From the plate, the Covenant Christian School prospect kept his hands back against a two-strike changeup and drilled a single 99 MPH off the bat. 

14) I was especially excited to see two of the best left-handed pitching prospects in the state: Alvin’s Cooper Williams and Montgomery’s Bryce Navarre. Both Texas A&M commitments looked the part and are undoubtedly two of the better overall prospects in Texas. Williams, a lanky 6-4, 170 pounds, sat 88-91 MPH with his fastball and reached back on one pitch to touch 93 MPH. Once he found the strike zone with his 73-75 MPH curveball (1800-2000 RPM) with notable two-plane break, he was able to drop into the zone for a strike or put it in the dirt for whiffs. There were signs of a legit changeup in the arsenal as a third pitch, too, and for a young, tall, long pitcher, Williams had no issues throwing strikes and repeating his delivery. 

As for Navarre, he showed perhaps the best feel for spin in the class with a curveball that had up to 3067 RPM. Interestingly, there were times when it appeared Navarre, listed at 6-1, 180 pounds, made the breaking ball look more like a slider and other times a curve. Regardless, it’s a future plus offering and he also sat 88-90 MPH with his fastball and showed a firm, 80-82 MPH changeup for strikes. Like Williams, he had no issues throwing strikes, but unlike Williams, his shorter arm path and operation added a different type of deception. 

If it sounds like I left a fan of both, it’s because I did. They’re opposites as pitchers, but when it comes to overall prospect status, you could put them side-by-side. 

15) In terms of strike-throwing, Tye Briscoe’s outing was the best I’ve seen from him. The ball came out of his hand consistently well and his three-pitch mix – fastball (90 MPH), slider (77 MPH), changeup (84 MPH) – at times dominated really talented, older hitters. The 2025 Arkansas commitment showed why he’s regarded as one of the best prospects in Texas. 

16) Catching Briscoe, and many other pitchers, was Paradise High School prospect and 2024 Seminole State commitment Hayden Crites. Admittedly, Crites was unintentionally a bit off my radar heading into the event. But after seeing him in person at Minute Maid Park, I’m convinced he’s one of the top 2024 catchers in Texas. An athletic switch-hitter, Crites had the most impressive and loud at-bat of the day when he drilled, from the right side, an 88 MPH fastball off one of the advertisement signs above the Crawford Boxes in left field. 

His right-handed swing is short, efficient, easy and repeatable. And his left-handed swing is legit, too. Behind the dish, Crites had a 2.00 pop time and received the ball well; catching premium high school stuff and velocity, Crites had no issue receiving pitches and his glove barely moved when the ball hit the mitt. He also had some reps at third base and showed some impressive athleticism. 

17) I’ve seen Braxton Van Cleave, a 2025 Kentucky commitment from Mansfield High School, a ton throughout the past two summers, but he was especially impressive last Thursday. Physically, Van Cleave always stands out, but on a big league field loaded with 2024 prospects, he certainly looked the part of a major prospect. After an early strikeout, Van Cleave, a left-handed hitting outfielder, bounced back with multiple impressive at-bats resulting in quality contact. He carried himself with a lot of confidence and the speed of the game didn’t bother him one bit. 

18) When Jordan Stribling’s stuff was in the strike zone, he overpowered hitters. The control/command profile is still a work in progress and the Texas commitment from Highland Park did throw a few pitches to the backstop, which could be classified as “effectively wild” because it’s an uncomfortable at-bat for hitters. But the stuff is not a work in progress. Up to 91 MPH with a fastball that played up, the 6-6, 220-pound lefty also used a two-plane curveball at 72-75 MPH with spin up to 2600 RPM and his 84 MPH changeup continues to improve. 

19) Whitehouse two-way prospect and 2024 Texas A&M commitment Michael Dudolski had some bright moments on the mound and with the bat. With notable bat speed and barrel feel from the left side, Dudolski followed solid batting practice rounds with hard contact during the game. On the mound, nothing the righty threw was straight, including a fastball up to 88 MPH that often registered as a cutter on the scoreboard. He spun – perhaps unintentionally? – two different breakers and also flashed a changeup, too. On the infield, the speed of the game was tough for Dudolski to handle at third base but added reps should improve his defensive skill. 

20) After running a 6.5 60-yard dash, which was the fastest time, Braylon Payne’s game performance was a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, he recorded the hardest hit ball of the game, a 103 MPH hard grounder that's another sign he's packing some sneaky strength in his hitting profile. On the other hand, he appeared to be caught guessing multiple times in the batter’s box and his swing lacked its typical fluidity. 

21) Flower Mound right-handed hitting catcher Zane Becker put the bat on the ball successful multiple times during game action and his strong summer continued. Speaking of catchers putting the bat on the ball, uncommitted right-handed hitter Chase Fuentes (The Woodlands Christian Academy) didn’t look overmatched in the box and impressively put the bat on the ball multiple times. Louisiana-Monroe catcher commitment Zeke Seoane took impressive batting practice rounds and created loud contact like usual. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor