Brayden
Jaksa

With several scouts in attendance, the highly regarded Jaksa made an immediate impact on the game by pulling a 1-1 breaking ball down the left field line for a solo shot to get Irvington on the board in the first inning. Jaksa followed this up by leading off the top of the third with a first pitch liner into left field for a single and stealing second in the next at bat. These ended up being Irvington’s only two base hits on the day, but Jaksa wasn’t quite done in the box. In his third at bat, Jaksa chopped a 3-0 pitch to third and forced a throwing error by the third baseman with how quick Jaksa got down the line. Jaksa demonstrates a compact swing and smooth approach at the plate. Defensively, Jaksa showed soft hands behind the dish, getting a few borderline calls on both the outer third and at the top of the zone. He struggled a bit getting the call down but had a few nice blocks on breaking balls in the dirt. For a 6’ 6”, 215-pound catcher, Jaksa shows good athleticism behind the dish and on the bases.

Jaksa entered the event as one of the headline players in attendance. The two Prep Baseball All American Game alum made a strong showing over the course of the day with an impressive workout and solid day at the plate during the game. Checking it with an impressive 6'6 215 lbs. frame that has wiry present strength all throughout to go with strong athletic ability he took one of the most impressive batting practices of the day for me. The operation in the box is smooth and easy getting to upper end bat speed with relative ease while showing a natural feel for hard contact. The ball explodes off his bat with initial jump and then impressive carry as he showed the ability to drive the baseball through the middle of the field reaching the deepest parts of the park through a heavy fog while being able to loft the ball to the pullside as well. He showed line to line hard impact throughout his 4 rounds which is consistent with one of the more impressive offensive players in the class. As well, Jaksa showed off defensive versatility during the workout starting in LF showing easy arm strength (he never cut it loose fully with wet grass creating wet baseballs) that showed online one-hop carry to both 3B and home plate. Then strapped his gear on to throw from behind the dish where his top end arm shows well with 1.87-1.94 pop times and low online carry to his throws. During the game Jaksa was able to string together solid at bats over the day highlighted by a firm line drive single to LF off Vaughn Neckar in the opening frame of the day where he got a low 90's FB on the inner half with ease. From there he lifted a high fly ball out to shallow LF that showed impressive hang time and Lorenzini was able to get him with a backfoot SLD for a strikeout, but then he laced an eleveted offspeed from Dylan Harrison right into the 3B's chest for L-5 and finished his day with a 5-3 groundout off of Mason Pike. While the results don't jump off the page the way in which Jaksa controls his at bats, the easy bat speed he produces and the sound off the bat when he connects on the barrel all were on display. Plus, he looked solidly comfortable running around in LF adding on a solid showing in the OF during the summer circuit enhancing his defensive versatility to go with the high offensive profile. Jaksa enters the spring ranked #17 on the Prep Baseball Draft HQ Top 150 Draft Board and holds an Oregon commitment, but anticipate plenty of scouting heat to bear down on the talented NorCal product over the spring.

Prep Baseball All-American Game: Supreme athleticism out of the 6-foot-6, 202-pound frame of Jaksa. Working out of a slightly open, upright stance, the Oregon commit shows explosive hands that work short to long extremely well especially given the long levers. Creates top-of-the-scale bat speed and easy loft that allow above-average to plus pull-side power that can play in-game. Above-average across the board behind the plate that’s led by excellent blocking and receiving. Working out of a staggered stance, Jaksa is fast and efficient out of the crouch with consistent sub-1.9 pop times and present arm strength. Fantastic flexibility and body control in an XL frame.

UC AREA CODE GAMES: Although his long-limbed, 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame doesn’t scream “catching prospect”, Jaksa showed quite the contrary as the preeminent defender in the underclass. Loose-hipped with soft hands, the agile backstop stole strikes throughout the week, but it was the potential 70-grade arm that was the showstopper. Perpetually on the bag between innings, the ball appeared to only be taking off as it met the infielder’s glove, and that weapon (and the defense as a whole) should help provide a carrying tool in the future. At the plate, the right-handed hitter demonstrated the same athleticism, remaining compact with the long limbs while still managing to leverage them in providing substantial power potential. In limited looks he went 1-for-5 with a pair of walks with a smooth stroke and innate ability to slow the game down.