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2025 Scout Blog - NW Scout Games

August 19, 2025
Dylan Grenz & Dan Jurik
Prep Baseball PNW

On Saturday August 16th, Prep Baseball was in attendance at the 2025 NW Scout Games at Funko Field in Everett, Washington. The event brings together some of the top high school talent from Washington and Oregon plus outside areas, giving pro scouts, agents and college recruiters valuable looks as the best competing against the best.

This year's event held exceptional talent in the 2026-2028 grad classes and several players stood out. Below are scouting notes on some of those standout players from both Dylan Grenz and Dan Jurik. Prospects are listed alphabetically by last name.

2025 NW Scout Games

'26 RHP Dawsyn Anderson (North Kitsap/Oregon)
A 6'4 arm who has been on the rise this year, Anderson flashed a power arsenal and put together a quality outing at Saturday's event. The Oregon commit had a four-pitch mix but relied heavily on a FB/SL pairing, topping out at 93 MPH with the heater and throwing strikes with the two offerings. Anderson maintained consistent armspeed on a low-80's SL commanded to the gloveside, generating multiple whiffs on the pitch across his two innings of work. The fluid arm action and delivery should only continue to improve with his size and strides already shown. - Dylan Grenz

'28 C Joseph Bense (Frendale)
One of the younger competitors in the event. Bense has a highly advanced game on both sides of the ball and has an incredibly high floor as a prospect. Defensively he projects to be a plus defensive catcher with the ability to receive at a high level and catch/throw at an above average clip. The strength and athleticism in his frame translates ideally to C and he has a very natural look to his game back there. Offensively he's got short, powerful levers to create a strong, compact swing. Puts a quiet forward move on the ball as he coils then has a quick fire swing with plenty of depth in the zone. Has the offensive potential to consistently hit for average while producing gap to gap power. - Dan Jurik 

'26 LHP Neal Burtis (Tahoma/Oregon State)
One of the biggest risers in 2025, Burtis continued his string of impressive looks over the weekend. Lean, athletic 6'1 frame moved well, sinking deep into his lower half with a closed front foot land and cross-body fire. Creates some deception and added life on the FB at times. The FB ranged from 87-91 MPH, paired with a CH/CB offspeed combination. The CH was relied upon more as a second option in this look, particularly as he worked deeper into his outing, thrown to both sides of the plate at 77-80 MPH. The mid-70's breaking ball was the clear third option, but was landed and effective when thrown. The emergence as a lefty with velocity for strikes has separated Burtis and propelled him into the top five of the Washington '26 player rankings. - Dylan Grenz

'26 RHP Eli Herst (Seattle Academy/Vanderbilt)
Herst took home Pitching MVP honors after turning in the best performance of the day on the mound, striking out 6 batters in 3 scoreless innings to open up the event. The long, lean righty has been seen a ton this summer, including at PNW State Games and Area Codes, and showed his usual polished operation this weekend. The FB mostly sat in the upper 80's with life, particularly when elevated. The CH continues to show as a potential plus pitch, thrown at 81-82 MPH in this look. Herst's SL also flashed at times at 73-77 MPH with longer, sweeping action. Herst has more than looked the part this year as the top ranked player in Washington's '26 class, and will be seen this September at his second Prep Baseball All-American Game in Miami. - Dylan Grenz

Another complete outing, showing off the full arsenal and ability to miss bats at a high clip. It was great to get another extended look of 3 innings this summer and see the continued maturation for Herst and how he has evolved over the last year and change. FB peppered the zone and he was up to 91 mph in his 3rd inning of work. The SL has taken a step forward, showing better shape and harder bite darting out of the zone. He can manipulate the spin as needed and understands when to get it in for a strike vs when he wants to get a chase. While most talented HS arms don't need to rely on a CH often at the prep level because they can dominate with strictly velo and spin, the confidence Herst shows in the CH continues to be a difference maker. The CH by itself is an above average pitch but coupled with 2 other offerings for strikes, it puts hitters in a bind when they consistently have to defend against 3 offerings. The change simply allows everything to play up at an even higher level. The consistency around the zone with multiple offerings is going to allow Herst to turn over a line-up and that ability to get 18+ outs is arguably one of his biggest strengths. - Dan Jurik 

'27 INF Brayden Landry (Puyallup)
One of the best athletes and defenders in the PNW, Landry is no stranger to a big stage and more than held his own against the top competition in the area. The righty bat has a gap-to-gap approach with a quick fire trigger at the plate, collecting multiple hits this weekend. Landry's offensive highlight of the day was a rocket off the wall to LCF in game two, showcasing some developing in-game power that should continue to evolve as his frame fills out. The glove and footwork defensively were the leading tool as per usual, with crisp pregame INF shown and multiple ranging plays made at SS in-game. Pairing these tools with his plus speed and it's easy to see why Landry should be one of the most sought-after prospects in the PNW '27 recruiting class. - Dylan Grenz

'26 INF Sawyer Nelson (South Salem/LMU)
Nelson was the best bat from start to finish this weekend, finishing 5 for 7 with a double, four singles and a walk across the two games played. The Future Games alumni was in total control at the plate, finding the barrel on both high velocity and breaking pitches to drive balls on a line. Nelson also showed sound defensive actions from a 6'0 and should be able to stick up the middle in college. The LMU commit earned Offensive MVP at the event for his excellent performance. The award builds on what has been a fantastic 2025 for Nelson, who hit .543 with 13 HR and 63 RBI in his junior spring HS season. - Dylan Grenz

Any other year and Sawyer Nelson would have been a slam dunk POTY for Oregon after what he did this spring. The offensive development and overall progress has continued at a steady and consistent pace to the point where the superlatives around his game need to give more praise. Offensively, the bat to ball skills and pitch recognition have always been present and above average. There's simply much more juice in the barrel now and he's getting to power in game without selling out or compromising his contact ability. The left-handed stroke is balanced, simple and efficient. His barrel can lift the ball pull-side with backspin and he's still able to work his oppo gap with authority. As Dylan mentioned, we saw him jump all over a 91 mph FB for a sharp base knock and also have the adjustability to change plane and be on-time for spin. Defensively the speed and athleticism are there to stick at SS and he has the persona needed to carry a defense. - Dan Jurik 

'27 OF/RHP Wyatt Plyler (Sumner)
An exceptional athlete with potential game-changing tools on the diamond, Plyler produced in-game and showed his upside to scouts and recruiters in attendance. Showed some mechanical adjustments at the plate that resulted in multiple hits, including a barrelled double off the wall the other way and a line drive to the LCF gap. Feel for the barrel in game on this look. Plus runner covers ground in the OF, shown best by a ranging play coming in on a ball from CF, catching a fly ball nearly at second base by the time the play was made. Natural athleticism manifests on the mound as well. Showcased a FB into the upper 80's and struck out two across a pair of innings of work. High upside player. - Dylan Grenz

'28 OF Kobe Reese (Eastside Catholic)
Reese, at 6'3 about 200 lbs, displayed one of the best power tools regardless of class during BP rounds, going yard a number of times with a leveraged, smooth left handed swing. Though he was held quiet during gameplay in this look, the bat still offers plenty to dream on and was productive as a FR in varsity HS action this spring. Developing athleticism leads to a projection in a corner OF spot for now, with strong throws on the bag shown during the INF/OF portion of the event. Also delivered one of the best BP rounds of the year at this winter's PNW Preseason All-State event, producing exit velocities up to 106.4 MPH.  - Dylan Grenz

Top of the scale power is tough to find from the left-side so when you see it at the prep level, it makes a loud impression. Reese has immense offensive upside as a rising sophomore and it was great to see him in a setting surrounded by older prospets.  At the plate, he stays tall throughout with a deeper hand load that creates big stretch against his front side move/forward stride. He stays balanced with a quiet head at landing and keeps the weight balanced. Swing path works more uphill and is built to lift the ball. Simply put, when he connects with anything out front, it's most likely going to leave the yard. Rattled off 4 consecutive HR at one point in BP and they were not cheap. Defensively the OF profile is a great fit long-term and there's plenty of athleticism to aid in development. Regardless of corner spot or CF. Overall, blending power potential with in-game performance is a challenge for all hitters at every level and it will be the next box for Reese to check off. With 3 years of HS ball left, it'll be an exciting watch to keep tabs on him over the next few years as he gets more reps and opportunities to compete. - Dan Jurik

'26 1B Will Rohrbacher (Bainbridge/Utah Valley)
The powerful slugger produced the offensive highlight of the weekend with a towering 425 foot blast lifted well over the LF wall, one of the furthest hit balls seen by our staff in quite some time. Rohrbacher backed up his homer with a productive overall offensive showing, getting just enough of a couple of pitches to muscle through two singles. The 6'5 righty got his "A" hacks off at all times with big time bat speed. Impressive offensive output against some of the best arms in the area. - Dylan Grenz

Between Preseason All-State and then multiple looks at Bainbridge this spring, Rohrbacher has shown that his power and offensive upside is the real deal and this past weekend at the Scout Games was a huge exclamation point. Having power and being able to get to your power are 2 completely different things. As a taller, 6'5 - 6'6 slugger with a longer frame and more zone to cover, it's always more difficult to hit. But the ability to offset that with above average power is key to sticking as a prospect long-term, especially at 1B. Rohrbacher showed a ceiling this year that very few prep prospects can match and his talent to physically do things that are rare to find will continue to make him an exciting prospect to watch - Dan Jurik 

'26 RHP Grady Saunders (Thurston/Oregon State)
The Thurston arm had been generating buzz after great outings in the spring and at Area Codes recently, and despite some mixed outcomes this weekend, still flashed premium stuff on the mound. Some life on the FB at 89-93 MPH thanks to aggressive, late intent with arm speed. Tight SL at 78-79 MPH was main offspeed offering, with a low to mid 80's CH used sparingly. Struck out 3 across his 3 innings of work. Athletic mover with some room to fill in 6'2 frame. - Dylan Grenz

A longstanding top prospect from Oregon, Saunders finished the summer stretch with a strong run of outings and established a higher ceiling for himself as he ran the FB up to 94-95 on some looks. Between 2 longer starts in the spring and some short stints this summer, Saunders will be on the rise in this prep class and is poised to get a lot of attention this spring. Possesses the makings of an athletic 3 pitch starter who is capable of holding his stuff thanks to his size and overall athelticism. There's a strong chance we still continue to see some development and gains when the 2026 season rolls around. Saunders can really attack the glove side with a lively FB and powerful SL when thrown at it's best. As mentioned earlier, most prep arms don't need the CH often but given his delivery and ability to control the FB, it should be a natural progression to feature the CH more. Between the athleticism, velocity and 3 potential pitches, we're pretty bullish on the potential of Saunders moving forward. - Dan Jurik 

'26 RHP Trey Thompson (Bainbridge/Oregon)
Thompson worked through some of the quicker innings on the weekend, filling up the zone from a high slot release. FB ranged from 89-92 MPH, working to all quadrants and resulting in two strikeouts on the pitch. Sharp 11/5 CB in the high-70's was used to change speeds. Generates extension naturally from 6'4 frame. Thompson's ceiling is dictated by his ability to throw strikes, which he executed well in this look, and can be a real impact arm when in the zone. - Dylan Grenz

While I didn't get eyes on Thompson for his Scout Games appearance, I had multiple outings this spring highlighted by a 6 inning no-hitter in the state finals to help propel Bainbridge to the 2A state championship. Despite mixed results early in the spring during a cold, wet outing, Thompson continued to stay the course and serves as a reminder to avoid making definitive evals on a talented prospect in a small sample size. As mentioned, when the strikes are there and he fills up the zone, he really doesn't get hit hard at all. The FB jumps out of hand and the CB is plus at its best. With a producitve off-season and more reps to clean up the operation, Thompson could be even more dominant in 2026 as a talented Bainbridge squad looks to repeat as champs - Dan Jurik 

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