Five Tool is thrilled to be a part of Texas Twelve’s Scout League. When Texas Twelve isn’t on the road performing well at various tournaments around Texas and the nation, it’ll utilize its depth and talent to play against each other in a scout league setting. And Five Tool will be there to cover it. 

So, during the first weekend of testing and scrimmages, I spent part of the week and weekend checking out the teams and players Texas Twelve will put on the field this summer. Here are the 2024 notes:

2024 MAROON
Before we get to some thoughts from scrimmage action, we need to discuss the testing. I knew Elkins outfielder and Houston commitment Braylon Payne would run fast. I didn’t anticipate he’d run a 60-yard dash in 6.28 seconds. That is flying. And he also stepped up to the batting tee and hammered a ball 101 MPH off the bat. Not bad for a guy known for his speed and hitting and not his power. Payne looked excellent physically and his long frame still has room to continue adding and carrying more muscle without sacrificing his plus-plus speed and impressive athleticism. 

During scrimmage action, Payne showed a patient approach and good eye at the plate with what appeared to be strong plate awareness. He’s poised to become one of the most heavily scouted outfielders this summer and should be on the radar of every area scout. Speaking of pro scouting, Concordia Lutheran catcher Nolan Traeger will be on those lists, too. About a year younger than almost everyone in the 2024 class, Traeger ran an impressive 6.75-second 60-yard dash, recorded a 96 MPH exit velocity, had a 1.83-second pop time during testing and showed his usual command of the strike zone during live at-bats. Traeger’s arm strength, mobility and catch-and-throw skill appeared improved. 

(And for those questioning the pop times, the pop times in testing settings are almost always about .2 or .3 faster than in-game pop times. Yes, the best pro guys have in-game pop times around 1.7-1.8 and yes, they would post times quicker than that in testing settings.)

Sticking with the catchers: Clark switch-hitter and TCU commitment Jacob Silva has clearly put in a ton of work on and off the field. He continues to improve his physicality, which shows in his bat speed and the way the baseball comes off the bat. Caden Miller (Madisonville), a tall left-handed hitter committed to Houston Christian, also worked some behind the plate, but profiles as a first baseman in the middle of the lineup. As he continues to fill out and grow into his frame, the power should tick up and boost the present bat-to-ball skill; he took an outside fastball the other way for a hard single, showcasing impressive plate coverage. 

This was my first extended look at Navasota’s Devin Nunez, who is committed to Nebraska, and I left a big fan. He has impressive skill and can play the middle infield, third base and outfield. His instincts profile all over the diamond and show in the batter’s box where he has sneaky strong hands and physicality. In one instance, Nunez showed the type of fearless competitor he is when he zoomed across the foul territory in right field and slid into the fence while attempting to catch a foul ball. 

Uncommitted Cinco Ranch right-handed hitter and infielder Brock DeYoung should play a lot of shortstop for the Maroon squad. There are quick-twitch elements accompanying his baseball movements and he showed quick hands in the box when he put the barrel on a fastball inner half and smacked a hard liner into the outfield. Carson Luna, a Texas commitment, will likely play some shortstop as well and has gotten noticeably stronger since the last time I saw him. He can impact the baseball from the right side. Looking way ahead, his arm profiles best at second base and if the bat-to-ball skill can trend positively, his bat would profile well there. Houston Christian commitment Nathan Hodge (A&M Consolidated) turned on a pitch and hammered a knock down the left field line. His physicality and bat speed should profile well near the top of the Maroon order. 

On the mound, I was most impressed by Grand Oaks right-handed pitcher Houston Tomlinson. Currently uncommitted, the 6-0, hard-throwing righty easily pounded the mitt at 88-91 MPH with good control and promising command. Interestingly, there were times when his release height was 5’0, which created a tough angle for hitters to see and time his fastball. His delivery is a slow build, but he’s a quick mover through his finish with a loose arm and good-looking frame already carrying some lean muscle mass with room to continue filling out. Tomlinson’s slider looked okay visually at 78-80 MPH but a better spin profile could really make the pitch take off, which he commanded down and to his glove side versus right-handed hitters. 

High school and summer teammate Marc Barnhard is a good athlete with exciting upside but is also still learning how to harness his control and leverage his athleticism in the form of consistent strikes. Another uncommitted prospect, Barnhard touched 90 MPH with a spin rate up to 2300 RPM. Unlike Tomlinson, Barnhard’s slider showed good shape at 80 MPH.  

2024 BLACK
James Rheaume (Strake Jesuit) was the star of testing and then stepped onto the mound and looked like one of the most intriguing, uncommitted pitchers in Texas. Listed at 6-3, 190 pounds (looked a little more like 6-4, 200 pounds), Rheaume ran a 6.71-second 60-yard dash, recorded a 103 MPH exit velocity and utilized a short swing to pull a hard double during game action. 

On the mound, he touched 93 MPH with a fastball that featured both vertical and horizontal movement out of a somewhat funky look and a release height that was around 5’0-5’4. Rheaume spun a sweeping slider at 74 MPH with 2500 RPM and consistently spun the pitch well. It was a very small sample. So, I don’t know what the strike-throwing looks like during an extended appearance, but the stuff and athletic profile were very interesting. 

I liked what Brayden Hodge (Cinco Ranch) showed on the mound – what looked like a sinker and four-seamer with different shapes; 76 MPH changeup with spin around 1200 RPM and a 74 MPH slider that created whiffs with around 2200 RPM. Right-hander Devin Cummings (Fort Bend Travis) featured one of the best changeups of the day. It was a bat-missing pitch versus left-handers with short, lade fade and around 1200 RPM. Peyton Reynolds (Bellville), another right-hander, showcased a true, four-pitch arsenal of fastball (86 MPH), curveball, cutter and changeup (77 MPH and 1060 RPM). Impressive physically on the mound, Reynolds could be a candidate who takes off with added velocity.

Bennett Hale showed Twelve has an embarrassment of riches at the catcher position. In addition to taking aggressive yet under control and quick hacks from the right side, the Grand Oaks prospect caught a runner stealing with a 2.03-second in-game pop time and also had a 1.9 mark in-game. Hale moved well behind the dish and also touched 86 MPH on the mound with a changeup that generated whiffs versus left-handers. I’ve seen Eduardo Tamez hit before. So, I wasn’t surprised to see his hands working well in the batter’s box. He drove a deep fly out to right field and should have some of the best bat-to-ball ability of any 2024 Twelve Baseball prospect. 

2024 South Texas Navy
Christian Hallmark (Brandeis) and Drew Saucedo (Brandeis) running very fast 60-yard dashes wasn’t surprising. They’re both coming off good junior seasons and are also both noticeably more physical than they were last summer. Hallmark continued to profile as a future D1 outfielder who refuses to ever give an at-bat away. Seriously. His intensity and focus in the box was 100/100 even in a scrimmage. Saucedo will play in the middle infield and again looked like a future second baseball with plus-plus wheels and developing gap-to-gap hitting ability (his impressive vertical jump suggests he has more power than you might think). 

Luke Harrington (New Braunfels) jumped all over a fastball inner half and hit a rocket right at the left fielder during scrimmage action. Brytton Clements (Laredo Alexander) profiled as an interesting, projectable right-handed hitter with all-around skill and developing impact in the batter’s box. 

2024 Gold
Chance Crawford (Bryan) can absolutely fly and looks outstanding physically. The only blemish on his report is his arm strength is limited, but college coaches who see him this summer will immediately want to see several at-bats. He ran down the line in 3.76 seconds from the left side on a bunt and flashed a promising swing with bat-to-ball ability. Obviously, his speed translated in center field. His testing numbers were excellent, including a 36.9-inch vertical jump.

The Twelve coaches adore Joaquin Costa (A&M Consolidated) and after seeing him play a scrimmage I saw why. He’s simply a ballplayer. He played shortstop with clean, quick, confident hands and actions and should make all the routine plays at a very high level. Everyone knows those players who run on and off the field and carry themselves like good players and leaders. Costa is one of those types. 

Anthony Ramirez (Deer Park) looked like a hidden gem. He touched 87 MPH on the mound from the right side with a slider at 75 MPH and 2,534 RPM. And he threw strikes. Some believe he’s a better catcher than anything else, which is quite the statement because he was legit on the mound. As a hitter, he utilized impact bat speed from the right side and ripped a hard liner right at the third baseman. Another talented two-way player on the Gold team is Logan Witt (Fort Bend Austin), who used a pretty right-handed swing to hammer a fastball down-and-in and flashed an intriguing curveball on the mound. 

Brandin Holland (Summer Creek) showed one of the best curveballs of the day; it was a true, big, overhand offering at 71 MPH that was enjoyable to watch and his fastball up to 83 MPH created a lot of grounders. The righty leveraged his strong lower half in his delivery, which led to easy strikes. 

2024 GREY
Guillermo Dominguez (United) took one of the best scrimmage swings of the day when he recognized spin, sat back and drilled a RBI triple into the right-center gap. Another loud base hit came off the bat of tall, lanky, right-handed hitter Sam Rickman (Grand Oaks), who ripped a single down the third base line. Shortstop Isaac Cantu (Morton Ranch) made a couple of really tough plays defensively look easy. 

On the mound, right-hander Luke Johnson used a high-spin changeup to get whiffs against left-handed hitters and touched 83 MPH with his fastball. Rickman will also throw quality innings for the Grey squad because his 84 MPH fastball came out easily, he flashed a promising breaking ball and his changeup looked the part of a solid pitch to use against lefties, too.

SILVER 2024
Gage Kooyers (Klein Oak) looked like a future physical power hitter once he fills into his frame and drilled a hard double off the diving center fielder’s glove. Some of the team’s best swings came courtesy of right-handed hitter Bradon Foor and Aiden Schmidt (St. John XXIII College Prep) ran 4.22 seconds down the line while also playing the game with a ballplayer vibe. Behind the dish, really liked the agility and motor of Cooper Schmidt (St John XXIII Prep), who had a 2.09-second in-game pop on a pitch well out of the strike zone that was tough to catch.

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor