2026 Future Games Tryout: Malibu - Quick Hits
June 3, 2026
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MALIBU, CALIF. - This past Saturday, May 30th, the Prep Baseball California team hosted the Malibu Future Games Tryout at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Cal. This was an invite-only event for 2028 graduates and provided our staff with an extensive look at the area's top players.
Nearly 50 players made their way to Malibu and participated in a pro-style workout, gathering unrivaled access to data through our state-of-the-art tech partners, as well as in-depth scouting analysis from our Prep Baseball California staff. For a closer look at the showcase details and the technologies we'll have on-site to assist our in-person evaluation for all in attendance, click here.
To start the day, all position players in attendance were electronically measured for height, weighed in, and recorded grip strength readings while taking their Vizual Edge testing. From there, they ran a 60-yard sprint with all split times being gathered using VALD Technologies' laser timing system. Upon completion of the athletic and body testing portion of the day, the players went into offensive evaluations with multiple rounds of batting practice, where Trackman Technologies and Blast Motion swing trackers were in use to gather batted ball and swing data on players in attendance. Which was then followed by defensive evaluations at their primary and secondary position (OF, C, SS, 1B) with arm strength being measured via a Stalker Radar gun and skill evaluations by our staff on hand. Once the batting practice portion of the event was completed, we shifted into a twelve-inning simulated game with pitchers facing five hitters per inning. During the simulated game portion of the day, Trackman Technologies were in use to gather all pitch data for the arms throwing during the simulated game.
Today, we will be looking at some of the top overall performers from the event, found below. For all of the event information, please click here.
FIVE POSITION PLAYER STANDOUTS:
Player Analysis Header
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Mason Smith OF / 2B / Palm Desert High, CA / 2028Smith made the lengthy trip out from the Palm Desert area to Malibu, but the athletic CF profile 2028 made his presence felt throughout the day. During the workout portion of the day, Smith flashed his dynamic athleticism and defensive upside by posting one of the top 60s of the day at 6.76 while uncorking a 91 MPH throw from RF with accuracy to home plate during the defensive workout. His swing has natural rhythm with upward-trending metrics, including new personal bests on the day with a 74.3 MPH bat speed and 15.2 Gs of rotational acceleration. His BP rounds were sound with a 96.9 MPH max EV for the day while averaging just a tick under 90 MPH on all his batted balls during batting practice. He his 72% of his balls in the air with authority and produced a 347' max distance. As strong as the workout for Smith was, he backed it up by posting an in-game base hit in his first at-bat and took consistently quality ABs over the day while showing in-game instincts to defend at the top of the scale. Smith has more than proved he is a name that college coaches should be keeping tabs on with his athleticism, baseball ability, feel to perform, and future upside to add strength to his currently wiry athletic build. |
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Sebastien Grove SS / 2B / Notre Dame, CA / 2027Rankings StateRank: 206 / POS: 49
Sebby was one of a few 2027s in attendance who were looking to make their case for a shot at Team West Coast at the 2026 Prep Baseball Senior Future Games. Long known for being a high-quality defender up the middle on the infield dirt, the entirety of Grove's profile continues to trend in the right direction. One of the more notable developments on the day for Grove was the uptick in athleticism he displayed, highlighted by a 6.96 60-yard time while posting 3.85-30 yard and 1.65-10 yard splits to go with a 19.7 MPH max run speed on what was proving to be tick slow of a running track, meaning there is even more quickness in the profile for Grove. While the footspeed was a welcome development in his development process, he also showed upticks in his offensive game with new peaks in hand speed (22.3 mph), rotational acceleration (18.2 Gs), and hard hit percentage (50%) during batting practice. As well, he showcased a new top-end EV reaching 93+ MPH several times with a 75% sweet spot rate on his contact angles. Per usual, Grove was fluid and clean in the defensive workout. But, where he separated himself on the day was with the quality of his in-game showing, including a nifty backhand play at SS on a one-hop rocket in the early portion of the game. In addition, Grove posted a single in his first at bat, then barreled an 89 MPH FB right at the 2B for an unlucky 4-3 groundout. Grove's entire day was a demonstration of the growth he has continued to make as an athlete and baseball player, making him a name to keep tabs on for college coaches looking for up-the-middle profile defenders who can add solid offensive ability to their lineup in the 2027 class. |
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William Lynch OF / 3B / Harvard-Westlake, CA / 2028Lynch earned his way into a prominent role with the Harvard-Westlake program in the spring season and entered his debut event for Prep Baseball California with plenty of momentum. Wiry, athletic in build with athleticism, was quick to make an impression on the day by posting a sound 7.0 60-yard sprint time with 3.89-30 yard and 1.65-10 yard splits and a 19.3 MPH max run speed, which was amongst the best on the day with a slightly slower running track. From there, his showing in the OF during the workout was one of the better ones in attendance, including consistent 86 MPH throws with accuracy to home plate. The RH hitter showcased one of the most consistent swings during batting practice with an easy operation that produced hard contact to the middle of the field at the best rate on the day, with a 100% sweet spot rate. While the angles and location of his contact are nice, don't discount the authority with which he hits the ball, including a 96.2 MPH max EV with a 91.1 MPH avg. EV for the day. Once the game started, he translated his batting practice approach into maybe the best offensive performance of any player there. Facing off with his HW teammate in his first AB, Lynch drilled a 2K offering into RCF for a single. He then followed it up with a sharp single to LF on a quality SLD in his second at-bat, before capping the day with a double into LCF when he jumped on an elevated offspeed pitch, which, if not for the excellent play of the centerfielder, could have gone for a triple. Athletic in his overall operation and with a frame that can add future strength to tick up what is already a high-level profile, Lynch will be a strong name to know going forward in the 2028 class for college coaches. |
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Kole (KJ) Henrich C / OF / Oaks Christian, CA / 2028At this point, KJ has firmly cemented his offensive skill set as one that is consistently going to perform at a high level across any type of workout or gameplay setting when our staff gets eyes on him. So when he smoked a opposite field single vs. an upper 80's arm early in the game, it was simply a case of KJ Henrich doing KJ Henrich things. But the ringing single was far from the only highlight of the day for the talented Oaks Christian-based product. Versatile as a defender, having spent the spring season manning the OF, he participated in this event as a C to showcase his ability back there and looked like a quality option at the premium position. During the athleticism testing on the day, his 6.93 6-yard sprint time was good for fourth amongst all players in attendance, 1st for catchers, and would have been third for the OFs had he worked out as an OF. Henrich posted a 3.84-30 yard split (6th in the event) and a 1.65-10 yard split, which was in the top-10, which profiles to the strength in his frame and his ability to build speed over time, giving him the potential to man all three OF spots in the future as he keeps developing defensively. But, where Henrich shines brightest is in the RH batter's box with a swing that stays in the zone with impressive length and the ability to impact the ball at a high-level. His 105.9 MPH max EV was the top for the event, with a 96.7 MPH avg EV on the day and a 75% hard hit rate for his batting practice session. No matter where Henrich winds up defensively, one can rest assured that when he steps in the batter's box, there is a high probability of him hitting the baseball hard. |
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Holden Backus C / 1B / Westlake High, CA / 2028Rankings StateRank: 59 / POS: 11
Backus will quickly pass any eye test when he walks into a baseball field as he measured in at 6'5 and a well put together 210 lbs. presently, and is a solid athlete for his size, posting a 7.3 60-yard sprint time on the day. This is in line with what he ran on a quicker track back in January (7.23). His size and strength translate in the batter's box, where he has flattened out the swing path with a cleaner, more balanced operation that posted amongst the best overall batted ball data for the day. Backus went 102.9 MPH at the peak while averaging 96.6 MPH on all the balls he put in play with an impressive 89% hard hit rate during batting practice. For the cherry on top, he blasted a ball 402' which was the farthest hit ball on the day. While one can easily love what Backus presents as an RH hitter with real raw power, it was actually what he did during the defensive workout and catching during the game that really put him amongst the top performers of the day. In a crop of 10+ high-level catchers in attendance, Backus was able to top the C velocity leaderboard with an 81 MPH throw, and his 1.92 pop time was the best of the day to front the defensive workout. But when the game started, his ability to handle quality arms when receiving with relative ease was impressive. Backs sticks and presents pitch with natural grace, blocks from a one-knee down stance with softness on balls inside his shoulders, and is agile to move laterally when required to give the pitchers he handled plenty of confidence to attack down with spin, especially in 2K counts. His mixture of size, strength, raw power, and premium defensive profile at a premium spot makes Backus an important follow this summer for college programs. |
FIVE TWO-WAY STANDOUTS :
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Orion Gonzalez 2B / RHP / Castaic High, CA / 2028Rankings StateRank: 58 / POS: 1
Gonzalez is a silky smooth mover in everything he does on a baseball field with natural grace that evokes a calm persona, no matter how fast the game seems to be moving or the quality of the player he is faced off with, either a pitcher or a hitter. Strongly built at present, the frame for Gonzalez evokes present comparisons to collegiate-level infielders, and he can still polish the frame in the coming years before stepping on a collegiate campus. He moves with body control, fluid hands, rhythm to his footwork, and a natural calmness to his field and throwing motion that will give him long-term potential to play any of the three INF spots, depending on how he continues to develop. The grace he exudes on the defensive side translates over to the offensive side, where he utilizes a balanced, fluid stroke with natural bat speed and loud impact at contact. During BP, he posted exit velocities to a peak of 101.3 MPH while averaging over 97 MPH during his rounds, with 83% of his balls in ball qualifying as hard hits. He launched multiple HRs, including his first swing of the day, which he drove off the netting protecting the scoreboard. During the game, he posted a single in his first trip to the plate before turning around a quality FB from an LHP for a deep drive into CF for a well-struck F-8 to the warning track. Capping his day was a sound inning of work on the mound where he showed a FB up to 89.6 MPH, living at 86.6 - 89.3 MPH with an easy fluid delivery that evokes low effort starter potential profile comps. His CHG flashed well at 82 MPH, and he throws a softer-shaped breaking ball into the upper 70's with confidence and control of the offering. Gonzalez picked up a punchout in his inning of work on the mound. The Santa Clarita based standout has been a favorite of mine going back to my first live look at him in 2025 and should quickly become a favorite of college coaches this summer. |
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Ayden Francisco 1B / LHP / Frontier High, CA / 2028Rankings StateRank: 90 / POS: 4
Francisco was one half of a pair of high school teammates out of Bakersfield who made the trip to Malibu and put together strong showings. The bulky two-way product was able to impress across the board with his work at the plate, defensive acumen, and intriguing present ability as a LHP. He first opened eyes during batting practice, where he showed off possibly the most consistent power stroke of the day, including one ball he launched to the RCF nearly halfway up the brick wall beyond the fencing. For the day, Francisco posted one of the top max EVs reaching 101.8 MPH, which was a new personal best for him, 95 MPH avg EV another PR, 401' max distance another PR, and finally his 63% sweet spot rate was another PR. While the BP on its own would have garnered him consideration for the top performers of the day, he translated his swing into the gameplay portion when he smoked a line drive single vs. an upper 80's arm and smashed a loud double later in the day to the pull side gap. The swing features intent to do damage, but Francisco pairs it with quality timing, swing decisions, and barrel awareness to present a potential hit with a power profile from the LH side. Then, for good measure, he has a legitimate future as a southpaw on the mound, which was on display again. Francisco flashed a quality present FB in the 84-86 MPH range with an average of 2500+ RPMs of spin to carry it through the zone efficiently. The leftie backed it up with a quality pair of breaking balls in his CB that lived at 74.5 MPH to 78.3 MPH while averaging north of 2600 RPMs of spin and a SLD in the 74-76 MPH range also working north of 2600 RPMs of spin while dropping in a sound 80-82 MPH CHG. He picked up a pair of strikeouts in his inning of work while limiting solid contact to just one batter. Francisco should be a name to quickly make it onto college follow lists in the 2028 class. |
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Kylen Gravely OF / 1B / Santa Margarita Catholic High School, CA / 2028Rankings StateRank: 62 / POS: 13
Gravely hails from the powerful Santa Margarita Catholic program and already has a Future Games pedigree (older brother Warren was a member of the 2024 team, and Kylen played in Junior Future Games in 2024). Now two years later and looking to make his case for a potential spot on Team SoCal, the two-way athletic mover put together a strong showing. He ran a sound 7.1 60-yard dash with splits at 1.65 in the 10-yard and 3.91 in the 30-yard, with a max run speed of 19.1 MPH. His arm showed well from the OF with accuracy and carry on 85 MPH throws to home plate. His rotational acceleration and hard hit rates were both personal bests, matching an upward trend as a left-handed hitter who is showing feel to hit with ever-increasing impact. Gravely reached a new PR of 93.5 MPH on his max EV while using the pull side for a 330' max distance. The fluidity of his swing translated into the simulated gameplay portion, where he connected with two different line drives that went for hits using the opposite side of the field for a single and then for a double while drawing a walk in a left on left AB, where he showed comfort working against a same side arm. While on the mound, Gravely isn't going to light up a stuff radar or post high metrics, but what he did show was a polished, clean delivery with present pitchability to attack hitters and record outs. Gravely peaked at 82 on his FB while showing sink/run to the movement shape and backing it up with feel for a trio of sound offspeed pitches, which he throws with confidence. He struck out two of the five hitters faced, with a single allowed. While he might be slightly off the radar at present, the name Kylen Gravely should quickly become one that college coaches will want to be familiar with. |
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Jason Taylor OF / RHP / Notre Dame High School, CA / 2028Rankings StateRank: 52 / POS: 11
Taylor spent his spring at Notre Dame contributing in a variety of ways as a role player after shining on our event platform stage in the summer and fall of 2025. Now making his way to the Future Games Tryout, the two-way talent was prepared to perform, yet again. During the workout portion of the day, he showed off real three-position OF versatility as an athletic runner with present arm strength from the OF reaching 92 MPH on his throws to home plate. At the plate, his athletic RH swing is showing improved bat speed now up to 72+ MPH with improved angles after contact, producing a 78% sweet spot rate and a 348' max distance on a drive to the pull side of the field while reaching nearly 95 MPH on his max EV. The quality of his BP carried over to the game, where he had two hits, including one off an upper 80's FB while stealing multiple bases using his athleticism to create contact. While there is plenty to love about his offensive ability, there is something really alluring about the way he moves on the mound. In a five-batter stint, Taylor showed an easy ability to throw 84-86 MPH with loose quickness to his arm and the confidence to change arm slots to create deception for hitters. The FB shows carry and spin through the zone at present, averaging over 2400 RPMs on the day. He mixed an 80-82 MPH CHG with a quality 73-74 MPH CB that has a vertical shape and shows a 72-75 MPH SLD. Taylor pitches with confidence, control, athleticism, and feel to execute his pitches consistently. He struck out three of the five hitters he faced, allowed one soft contact ball in play, with one runner reaching via a walk. With real ability on each side of the game and having a frame that projects to continue adding strength to an already intriguing profile, Taylor should be a player college programs start taking an early interest in for the 2028 class. |
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Aiden Mitteldorf SS / RHP / Chaminade College Preparatory, CA / 2028Rankings StateRank: 84 / POS: 19
Mitteldorf exudes a quiet confidence when he moves around the field, letting his game do the majority of the talking for his interesting present profile, and the switch-hitting two-way product put together an all-around solid day. His 6.88 60-yard time was amongst the best in attendance while showing off intriguing burst with splits at 1.56 in the 10-yard and 3.76 in the 30-yard ranges paired with a 19.7 MPH max run speed. He is a solid mover on defense who shows soft hands and feel for his footwork to go with an 85 MPH arm velocity, which all mesh up to give him the potential of a future home at SS, possibly, while showing plenty of comfort to land at 2B or 3B long term. On both sides of the plate, he showed off a sound feel for his barrel with a repeatable, balanced swing that lives in the middle to pull side of the field with strong batted ball data, including a peak EV at 95.4 and 90+ MPH avg. EVs and a 356' max distance on the day. His batting practice carried over into a strong offensive performance during the game, including an early line drive single to RF off a strong arm. The righthander throws a sound present sinking FB in the low 80's that he pounds the bottom of the zone aggressively with, and induced a pair of ground ball outs, two strikeouts, and with no ball leaving the INF over five hitters faced. His offspeed arsenal is fronted by a sound mid-70s CHG and a soft spinning SLD in the 72-74 MPH range. The athleticism in his profile to be a quality two-way player, feel to hit from both sides, and long-term home on the INF dirt should present a package that will intrigue college coaches in the 2028 class. |
FIVE PITCHING-ONLY STANDOUTS:
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Jayden Singer RHP / OF / Calabasas High, CA / 2028Singer has been a well-known product to us at Prep Baseball dating back to prior to his high school days. I had a chance to see him throw during the 2025 high school playoffs, where you could easily see the upside in his profile, but there was still a desire to see him take the next step. Now, after an excellent showing at the Future Games Tryout, the question of when Singer will take the next step has been answered, and it is now with the intriguing addition of the belief that there is even more to come as he keeps maturing in terms of not only pitchability but also his stuff. Singer topped the event with an FB up to 92 MPH while comfortably reaching above 90 MPH multiple times and living in the 89.2 to 91 MPH range throughout his five batter look. Impressively, Singer gets to the velocity in his profile at present with relatively low effort, using a deeper arm stroke out of the glove, but possessing the arm speed, body control, and delivery to control the offering in the zone at a consistent rate. His CB was the best of his three offspeed offerings on the day, living at 70-72 MPH while spinning north of 2450 RPMs on average with flashes of potential for his SLD. The control for Singer was strong on the day, filling the zone up to the tune of three strikeouts over five hitters faced, but his command left a pair of offerings over the heart of the plate that went for singles. With the mixture of real present stuff, strong control, flashes of command, and the feel for an offspeed arsenal, a frame that is filling out well to look the part of a long-term starter, Singer is going to be an in-demand name for the 2028 recruiting class. |
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Cash Wiltgen RHP / 3B / Calabasas High, CA / 2028Rankings StateRank: 73 / POS: 14
Wiltgen has consistently flashed interesting arm talent with some rawness across his previous outing for our staff at Prep Baseball events, but now the rising 2028 is showing polish in the profile to go with the natural talent in his arm. The first arm to toe the rubber during the simulated gameplay portion of the day, the pressure was on for Wiltgen to set the tone for the day, and he did just that. Living at 86-87 MPH while reaching 88 MPH consistently with a repeatable delivery that filled the strike zone aggressively, he retired all five hitters faced with three Ks and no balls leaving the INF. The life on his FB has improved with his ability to consistently land it in the strike zone, which is what an interesting breaking ball arsenal tick up. He showed a sound 72-75 MPH CB with flashes of sharpness in the break while adding a quality SLD in the lower 70's that has a different movement profile to his CB. Then, for good measure, when asked to mix in his CHG later in the outing, he aggressively attacked the zone by offering to pick up a groundout to shortstop even in a right-on-right matchup. With strong present stuff, upward trending pitchability, an athletic frame that is adding strength, and a confident demeanor, college programs are going to be well served keeping tabs on Wiltgen for the 2028 class. |
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christian reis RHP / 1B / Palos Verdes, CA / 2028Reis was simply put an eye-opening performance for me personally, having never seen the medium sized righthander with a strong frame. His stuff quickly jumped off the page, but even more so, his ability to control the quality arsenal and attack hitters made for an intriguing first live look. Reis stands 5'11 with a strongly built 195 lbs. frame that has present strength across the frame, which builds into a delivery that drives down the mound with athletic intent to produce a FB which lived at 88-90 MPH while peaking at 91 MPH with the best spin of the day, living over 2550 RPMs on average for the day while showing carry through the zone. He featured a power flashing SLD at 76-79 MPH with spin averaging over 2800 RPMs on the day to present a two-pitch power profile that has upside to keep adding as he matures. He opened his outing with a walk on a borderline offering, but settled to punch out the next hitter using a heavy diet of FB before finishing the day with an impressive strikeout where he collected three straight whiffs on his SLD vs. a RHH. The high-spin arsenal of Reis is devastating for RHH, who struggled to recognize the ride on his FB or the sharp bite on his SLD. Relatively under the radar due to limited innings this spring for a Palos Verdes program that boasted a deep older crop of pitchers, Reis is going to be a name to jump on recruiting boards quickly in the future. |
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Avery Pleeter RHP / OF / Crespi Carmelite, CA / 2028Pleeter was not only one of the most impressive arms of the day, but maybe the one that presents the most intrigue for his future potential. With a frame to dream on at 6'4 and a wiry 180 lbs. that can easily add at least 15-20 lbs. and possibly more in the future to add power behind what is already a strong present arsenal. Throwing from a lower arm slot, he presents lots of funk in the delivery with limbs moving all over the place, but despite the funk, Pleeter did an impressive job of coordinating his delivery to pound the strike zone over five hitters. His FB showed some of the best pure velocity on the day, coming in at 87-90 MPH with a softer spin that plays to the run/sink his arm slot benefits from to bore in on RH hitters' hands and away from the barrel of LH hitters. He has both a sound SLD with a softer spin profile and a quality CHG, which, when thrown firmer, has interesting potential, but his consistency with the offering wavered a bit over the outing. He retired the first two hitters he faced with relative ease, striking out and popping up a pair of LH hitters, before allowing a single on a softer CHG out over the plate, then quickly retired a RH hitter with a running FB in on the hands before allowing a single into RF vs. another RH hitter. Pleeter is an interesting name in the 2028 class based purely on the quality of his pure stuff and the funky look he presents, but as he continues to polish these two elements and tick up his profile he has the upside to be amongst the most in-demand names for the class in the future. |
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Caden Nunez RHP / OF / Frontier High, CA / 2028Rankings StateRank: 100 / POS: 19
Nunez first impressed during the summer of 2025 with a strong bullpen at the Bakersfield Summer ID. This was my first chance to see him pitch since that session, and needless to say, the Bakersfield product impressed with his performance and his stuff. His FB peaked at 88 MPH while living comfortably in the 85-87.4 MPH range with sound spin above 2000 RPMs on average. The FB appeared to have deception for hitters because of the quality of his delivery, the low effort move down the mound, and his ability to hide the ball behind his body for an extended period of time to produce multiple uncomfortable swings, whiffs, and soft contact across five hitters. His CHG tunnels effectively off his FB in the 78-80 MPH range, giving a difficult look for LH hitters to identify, and his SLD flashes tight horizontal break in the 75-77 MPH which incuded whiff from RH hitters. Nunez blew up the hands of one of the better hitters in the event with a FB in, and punched out two hitters with a tapper back to the mound, where he athletically hopped up to snag the ball and retire the hitter for a 1-3 putout. Nunez may stand smaller than some of his counterparts on the mound at 5'10, but his stuff looms large at present and there is plenty in this profile to anticipate further upticks coming for this righthander in the future. |
NAMES TO KNOW:
*A brief collection of players who just missed this list.
For all of the event information, please click here.
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