Connor
Clayton

The versatile Clayton had the opportunity to show off all of his strong toolset during this game. A standout at the 2025 Central California Preseason All State, I entered this game already high on the profile for Clayton and left it even higher with the performance. A switch hitter with a sound swing from each side of the dish I noticed that his bat speed is continuing to trend up from each side with quickness in the turn which combined with a strong polished approach resulted in a 1B from the RH side, a BB from the RH side and a BB from the LH side. In addition, he showcased his defensive versatility to slide into the OF and play LF with a solid profile which enhances his already strong INF defensive profile. But, even more impressive was the 2.2 innings of relief the righthander provided in my first look at him on the bump. It's an athletic operation with intent showing arm speed with a two-pitch arsenal. The pitch mix is fronted by a 86-89 MPH FB which topped at 90 MPH and shows a riding shape when thrown up in the zone at around 88-89 MPH consistently, but then when thrown down in the zone has more running life with sink in the 86-87 MPH range. His secondary is a presently loopy 72-76 MPH CB with vertical depth when thrown down in the zone it has potential, but the rawness of his experience on the mound will necessitate development on the offspeed offering.

Connor Clayton, West Ranch High (CA), 2026
Positional Profile: SS/RHP Intriguing switch hitter who shows solid swing/feel to hit on both sides of the plate who continues to show the profile to stick up the middle on the INF with potential to handle SS.
Body: 5-11, 172-pounds. Athletic build with broad shoulders some present strength showing room to fill.
Hit: SH. RH: Balanced even set up with slight crouch in his lower half and a vertical upper body. Low rear elbow with low hand set up and waggle in the bat. LH: slightly wider set up with more vertical posture. Hands are set above his rear shoulder with high back elbow and bat waggle. RH: Slight shift of weight from a toe tap on the front foot before reaching launch with a taller posture. Aggressive hips in the rotation while using in his hands/rear shoulder to drive through contact. Path is direct with leverage through the zone and solid present bat speed. LH: Similar load process to RH side while staying tall in the turn process using his hips and hands. Swing shows slightly looser operation with leverage through the zone. 67.2 mph bat speed with 15 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 95 max exit velocity, averaged 89.7 mph. 316' max distance. Lives on the barrel with hard line drive contact from a flat stroke on both sides that will play as line to line doubles power with the ability to elevate and drive a ball out to pull side on each side of the dish.
Arm: RH. INF-89 mph. Arm strength continues to trend upward with increased arm speed and carry on his throws. Path can aggressive at times, but with polish/improvement to path and feet flashes potential to handle SS.
Defense: Plays slightly higher with his hips, but has body control and rhythm to his feet with soft hands that are fluid. Moves well laterally with ability to play downhill. Tempo looks suited for 2B at present, but can develop into SS potentially.
ATH: 7.21 runner in the 60. Drives well off the line getting up to speed quickly while maintaining his stride length/speed.

Clayton is the other half of the West Ranch middle infield duo who made the trip out to AVC, but don't let that make you think he isn't just as talented as his counterpart Ty Diaz. Clayton is a switch hitter who has a clean smooth operation from each side of the plate that produces hard contact at a high rate evidenced by the 63% hard hit rate in BP, 88% sweet spot rate while peaking at 95.3 MPH on his EV and averaging 89.7 MPH. Clayton hits the ball hard from both sides of the plate, but looks to have a cleaner higher contact swing on the LH side, but slightly more impact from the RH side making for a good overall switch hitting profile. Clayton has plenty of arm strength to handle the left side of the INF tying for the event best velocity at 89 MPH, but it does come with occasional inaccuracy on that side making 2B probably a better present spot for him where his arm can play at an impact level, plus he shows clean footwork/soft hands/range to be really good at 2B. Keep your eyes on Clayton come the spring time as he looks to be a full-time starter for the West Ranch program for the first time this spring and could potentially put up a big spring of performance.

Connor Clayton, West Ranch High (CA), 2026

Positional Profile: SS/2B Up the middle profile defender who shows some SS potential while flashing quality bat to ball swing from both sides of the plate.

Body: 5-11, 160-pounds. Athletic frame with present wiry build and room to fill as he matures

Hit: SH. L: Taller set up with vertical upper body and minimal knee bend while setting up slightly open. Hands are above shoulder height with hands close to head and barrel flat behind the head barrel tipped towards 1B and high back elbow. R: Similar stance on RH side as the LH side with hands set deeper in stance behind rear shoulder about the same height and off his body with low back elbow and some bat waggle. L: Small stride in forward move as the hands push back and down into the slot. Lands taller at launch position with a narrow stance. Utilizes his hips and upper body mainly to produce the turn with direct hand path that shows bat to ball feel with some leverage. R: Uses a small foot lift and shift into back hip during load with hands working slightly up with a barrel tip to load. Similar vertical launch position and swing path that relies on the hips and upper body in the turn with direct hand path to produce leverage.

Power: 87 max exit velocity, averaged 75.4 mph. 219' max distance. Swing from both sides is on the flatter side with a more hit based path that gets the barrel to the ball with some leverage but geared to produce low line drive contact that will play to doubles power from line to line.

Arm: RH. INF-82 mph. OF-82 mph. INF: Quick draw out of the glove with hand working back and up quickly. Shows arm speed with some present strength and carry to his throws. SS pot. OF: Similar arm path to the INF with quickness to his arm path and carry to his throws.

Defense: INF: Quick first step with athleticism to his movements. Confident playing 1 handed and shows the ability to go laterally/downhill with quickness. Plays high in his hips at times, but the potential for SS is there. OF: Moves well around the OF, but footwork/glove work is more INF fluid than OF fluid. ATH: 7.13 runner in the 60. 1.68 and 3.94 in the 10 and 30 yard splits. Burst off the line with quickness in the build up while maintaining his speed throughout showing body control and quickness to running strides. 27.90 max vertical.