As usual, the 2023 Utter Family Dealerships Pudge Rodriguez World Classic, powered by Scott Birmingham - Baird Private Wealth Management, delivered in a memorable and entertaining way. Top teams were tested early, and the eventual championship game matched up two teams who lost their second game of the double-elimination tournament. We saw a long list of interesting prospects, standout performances and top teams. 

Our notes following the event are broken down into a story for each National pool, and we’ll begin with Pool A, which featured the tournament champion 2025 Texas Twelve Red Sox.

(A large portion of these notes are based on in-person evaluation and supplemented with our video coverage. If you missed our three stories during the event that featured standout players and teams, click HERE, HERE and HERE.) 

2025 TEXAS TWELVE RED SOX
After dropping its second game, the 2025 Texas Twelve Red Sox responded by outscoring its opponents 61-9 the next seven games to claim the championship of the National Division. Led by Tournament MVP Dane Perry, a Texas Tech commitment from Friendswood, the lineup was a relentless, run-scoring attack. Perry finished with a .500/.576/.909 line across 33 plate appearances and set the tone for his club with his consistent approach. From the right side, Perry’s hands are both quick and strong and he made hard contact consistently with six doubles and a homer. Behind the dish, Perry is an agile mover with a strong arm who was ready to take advantage of any runner who fell asleep on the bases. 

Most Valuable Hitter Blaine Bullard (Klein Cain) scored 13 runs and routinely smashed line drives around the yard from both sides of the plate. From the right side, he has a simpler approach, but from both sides the ball really jumped off the barrel; from the left side in particular, Bullard showed he could cover the zone and athletically change his swing to get to pitches. A good runner, Bullard’s speed impacted both sides of the ball. 

In addition to those two MVPs, Nathan Johnson, a tall, uncommitted right-handed hitter from Seven Lakes High School who is also interesting on the mound, provided some thump offensively with a .412/.542/.647 line. Johnson’s hands work well, and he has good rhythm as he tracks pitches with his hands working to ignite his back elbow/arm to get a good path through the zone. Big right-handed bopper Blake Beheler (George Ranch) chipped in with some loud doubles and showed notable bat-to-ball skill with zero strikeouts; Will Van Wie and Bach Hartwig both gave the team outstanding depth in the lineup; big left-handed hitter Mason Murphy, who was up to 89 MPH on the mound in 2.1 innings, mashed a clutch grand slam, showcasing his notable raw power. Once he heated up, TCU commitment and Cinco Ranch product Lucas Franco showed why his swing and hitting ability from the left side is among the best in the 2025 class. 

While the run-scoring stood out significantly, 2025 Texas Twelve Red Sox also finished with a 1.69 staff ERA and 0.98 WHIP. That’s tremendous. Interestingly, the Most Valuable Pitcher went to Magnolia West’s Cody Palacios. I say “interestingly” because Palacios is known most as a standout outfielder who can really hit and run from the right side and packs some surprising juice off the barrel given his size. On the mound, he utilized a unique arsenal that featured a legit knuckleball to baffle hitters and fired his fastball up to 84 MPH for strikes routinely with a curveball and changeup to mix in, too. Palacios came up huge for his team in the championship game against a loaded lineup and showed his athleticism, competitiveness and calm heartbeat can profile on the mound as well. 

In terms of stuff and performance, Texas A&M commitment Cooper Fulbright was probably the most impressive, but a case could be made for a couple others, too. Across 4.2 dominant frames, Fulbright, a right-hander from Strake Jesuit, was up to 89 MPH with his fastball, pounded the zone, and his short curveball really played well with bite down in the zone. He has all the ingredients to be a major prospect long-term. Up to 90 MPH, Jack Paris, another Texas A&M commitment, created some angle to his fastball and flashed one of the best changeups in the class, a true difference-maker that can neutralize and rack up whiffs against left-handers. 

The Woodlands right-hander Erich Daigle fired 5.0 shutout innings with a fastball up to 89 MPH and he continues to showcase one of the better sliders we’ve seen this summer. Lefty Christopher Gutierrez (Bridgeland) established himself as a definite left-handed pitcher to follow. The uncommitted hurler lives down in the zone with his fastball, which featured a little natural sink, and threw a sharp, 77-79 MPH slider in the same hitting zone that featured some short break. Gutierrez’s changeup also is a strong future offering against right-handers and gives him a pitch to change speeds and create some movement the opposite direction of his slider.

The Katy duo of Aiden Barrientes (uncommitted) and Cade Nelson (TCU commitment) are the future on the mound for Tigers and should be part of one of the state’s best pitching staffs next year. In the meantime, Barrientes again showed an intriguing four-pitch arsenal that’s supported heavily by a fastball up to 89 MPH with some carry through the zone and a curveball he can spin well for strikes. Nelson wasn’t his sharpest but showed flashes of why he’ll end up being one of the top pitching prospects in the 2025 class. 

SCORPIONS 16U BLACK
In took just an inning for Kaleb Steiger (Homeschool) to grab my attention and the uncommitted shortstop ended up hitting an impressive .375/.474/.625 with bat speed, some present strength and wheels – he was 4.35 on the turn. Steiger knows who he is in the batter’s box and that’s a hitter who can get the ball out in front and pull it with authority. I liked the little I saw of how he bounced around at shortstop, too. 

Mason Priest (Cypress Ranch), Dylan Rostron (Cy-Fair) and Dylan Jasek all swung the bat well. Rostron was particularly interesting. He’s a tall, slim left-handed hitter with a short but quick swing that created some loud, extra-base contact and he moved well around the bases. On the mound, Concordia Lutheran right-handed pitcher Connor Jones continues to establish himself as a major name to follow in the 2025 class. 

Up to 90 MPH with a hint of natural cut to his fastball, Jones also showed a sharp, tight breaking ball that sometimes took the shape of a power hook and others more of a slider. And he can also mix in a changeup. There is some effort present in the delivery, but he has the makings of being a durable starting pitcher who can throw strikes and miss bats. 

SLAMMERS HOLZEMER
Co-Most Valuable Hitter Thomas Stewart arrived at the 2023 Utter Family Dealerships Pudge Rodriguez World Classic, powered by Scott Birmingham - Baird Private Wealth Management, with hype and exceeded it. He finished the event with a .588/.632/1.235 slash line that included two homers, five doubles, 13 RBI and just one strikeout. Stewart did two things well in the batter’s box: he rotated and cleared his hips just before his hands came through in a way that helped add some impact/bat speed and led a trailing barrel; he consistently created the types of bat paths to do damage, even against pitchers inner half, without sacrificing his low-whiff profile as a hitter. 

When he wasn’t hitting, Stewart played a smooth shortstop and is going to have a chance to stick there long-term. And he was also one of the event’s best pitchers, too. Stewart created some angle to his fastball and drove the pitch down in the zone and snapped off maybe the tournament’s best curveball at 70-72 MPH, a true hammer with depth and bite. Against lefties, he mixed on a quality changeup and his athleticism was present in his delivery, particularly when he decelerated. In 5.0 innings, he gave up one unearned run on three hits, walked none and punched out seven. Truly, he was among the elite players in the tournament and perhaps its best prospect. 

Connor Larkin’s smooth, impact left-handed swing was among my favorite in the event. At 6-2, 185 pounds, Larkin, who hit .438/.526/.688, is going to continue filling out with should allow his power to tick up into the gap-to-gap range with the occasional pulled big fly. Regardless, I think he’s going to really hit at a high level for powerhouse Cherry Creek High School in Colorado. Right-handed hitter Sam Harry (Castle View; Colorado) projects very well physically and although he didn’t have a good tournament statistically, his at-bats looked impressive with the ability to time spin. 

From the right side, Josh Sutrina created some of the loudest contact off the bat I heard. Josh McWilliams showed quick hands to get to some velocity up in the zone and is a strong, compact athlete. On the mound, Ehtin Woltz was really interesting with a fastball up to 85 MPH and very notable projection to his good 6-4, 190-pound frame. Lefty Nick Martensen (Grandview) comes at hitters with a long arm swing/arm action and his numbers visible to the hitters before rotating and firing. He tossed 6.0 shutout innings with six strikeouts and was able to spin a quality breaking ball with depth despite a near sidearm slot, a slot that really helped his fastball and changeup play well off each other down in the zone. 

CANES SOUTHWEST PREMIER
Baylor commitment and Johnson City left-hander Johnny Slawinski showed why he basically averaged a near no-hitter with an absurd strikeout total against 2A competition. After showing his athleticism defensively in left field with a highlight-reel catch during Tuesday’s games, Slawinski fired an easy heater up to 89 MPH, a swing-and-miss changeup and a quality breaking ball during Wednesday’s start. He possesses an exciting physical profile with a loose frame that hasn’t even started truly adding on mass and strength. 

Lake Travis product David Womack, who threw some crucial innings late in the high school season, threw a complete game with 10 strikeouts. He really worked the fastball and slider well to his glove side, allowing the slider to come out of a similar window from the hitter’s view before breaking. Righty Johnathan Deutsch threw a lot of strikes with his 81-82 MPH fastball and used an easy delivery to throw 5.1 innings of one-run baseball. 

On the hitting side, physical right-handed hitting center fielder Thomas Schnabel (Moe and Gene Johnson) made quality contact as often as anyone in the event and it helps when you run in the 4.1 and 4.2 range down the line. He finished with a .667/.733/.727 slash line. Kevin Haslam (Hendrickson) just missed hitting a couple of homers and looked the part of an interesting, right-handed hitting corner infielder who has some barrel feel and potential power. Even though he went hitless, a lot of what is said above about Haslam applies to Rouse prospect Andrew Sanchez, too. He’s more of a long-term first baseman with a bat-first profile than third baseman like Haslam, but the ball flies off his barrel and he hit a few towering fly outs. 

MORE POOL A NOTES
- Stix 2026 Scout’s Cole Koeninger was one of the tournament’s best prospects and possesses an elite ceiling. A right-handed hitting shortstop from Keller, Koeninger blasted line drives around the diamond and has a hitting profile that features some skill and power potential. He also ran down the line in 4.25 seconds at a projectable 6-2, 180 pounds and played a clean shortstop with what looked like a future plus arm, which he showed from deep in the hole multiple times. 

High school and summer teammate Logan Brown is a big, hard-throwing right-hander who touched 85 MPH and has major promise as a pitching prospect. The catching duo of Oliver Minyard and Preston Lewis handled both sides of the ball well and didn’t look overmatched against the older competition. Southlake Carroll prospect Shawn Arterburn showed impressive all-around skill and impact ability as a two-way prospect. 

- I really like Jailen Watkins long-term as a hitter, and he again flashed his athleticism, speed and surprising bat speed and pop this weekend. But he also was very sharp and productive with notable arm strength and speed on the mound, too. Dallas Tigers – Cecil teammate Ben Lindsey was also good on the mound. Although there isn’t much command to his profile and it’s more of a “here it is” approach, nothing Lindsey, who attends Wylie High School, throws is straight, which includes a fastball that was up to 86 MPH and a 72-73 MPH slider. 

- For the second straight week, C2 Baseball Texas Scout 2025 left-handed hitter Justin Holcomb (Friendswood) caught my eye as a physical hitting presence with skill and developing power. High school teammate Drew Smith had the trifecta in my scout book: I wrote him down for his quality defensive actions at shortstop, his bat-to-ball ability as a hitter and as an interesting pitcher. Right-hander Trent Flores again pounded the zone and threw well in 3.0 shutout frames. 

- Action 16U White had a short stay in the bracket, but did feature a pitching staff with intriguing size and velocity, including Logan Mitchell (Leander) who was up to 85 MPH. 15U Dulins Dodgers Prime Godwin’s Anthony Del Angel immediately reminded everyone why he’s one of New Mexico’s top prospects and is already committed to Oklahoma because he hit from the right side with some of the best hitting hands in the tournament. And the sound the ball makes off his bat is already different. Teammate Braxton Barber, a left-handed hitter committed to TCU, rotates very well in the batter’s box, already has some present strength and also created loud contact off the barrel. 

- Unfortunately for North Texas Longhorns 2025, they ran into Thomas Stewart on the mound in their first game and Johnny Slawinski in the second matchup, both losses. As usual, Luke Billings, a longtime Tennessee commitment, did his thing and looks like he’ll be in contention as the top prospect in Texas for 2025. Patrick Crayton, Jr. showed interesting tools and Hebron right-handed pitcher Ethan Hunt ran his fastball up to 86 MPH. He was very impressive across 7.0 frames and gave up just two unearned runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor