THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,803 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,803 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Showcase  | Story | 7/15/2021

Kling out, but National still special

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Paxton Kling (Perfect Game)

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – It was unfortunate but elite 2022 outfielder Paxton Kling is wise enough to know it’s all part of the game when you choose to perform on one huge stage just a day before jumping on another huge stage – one a PG WWBA national championship tournament and the other the PG National Showcase.

Kling was playing all-out for the Canes National 17u in one of the semifinal games at the PG WWBA 17u National Championship up in Marietta, Ga., on Tuesday when he got hit by a pitch in his left foot. It was a misfire that may even have broken his big toe; he had not yet had it X-rayed on Wednesday. The Canes won that semi only to be beaten by the East Cobbs Astros, 6-4, in the blockbuster event’s championship game.



“It hit me square in the foot and it was [painful] but I kept playing,” Kling told PG Wednesday, speaking from a back room at Tropicana Field, the site of this year’s PG National and the home of the 2020 American League champion Tampa Bay Rays. “Then I took my sock off and it was all bruised and everything.”

It was serious enough that Kling was walking with a noticeable limp Wednesday morning when he arrived at The Trop. He was unable to participate in any of Wednesday morning’s four-team workout session and he and his dad, Craig Kling, decided to leave St. Petersburg a day early.

The Klings call Roaring Spring, Pa., home, a small burg that sits about 100 miles east of Pittsburgh. Paxton will be senior in the fall at Central High School and he’s bringing a lot of attention – not to mention a lot of interested scouts – to the school based on his No. 19 national ranking in the class of 2022.

A 6-foot-2, 195-pound outfielder (he’s ranked as the No. 5 OF prospect in the country} and a Louisiana State commit, Kling possesses elite athletic skills based on the 6.45-second 60-yard dash he turned in at the 2020 WWBA Workout Showcase to go with a 92 mph outfield velo and a 99 mph exit velo.

It’s a shame that Paxton Kling was unable to improve on those numbers inside domed, climate-controlled Tropicana Field on Wednesday but he was thrilled to be here all the same.

“It means a lot to me; all the hard work is starting to pay off and I’m not done yet,” Kling said of receiving the invitation to the PG National Showcase. “I get to travel all over the place for all this stuff, so that’s awesome. It’s just playing the game that I’ve loved right from the beginning.”

Craig Kling noted that his son is just one of those naturally born athletes who dabbled in football and played basketball until he got into high school when he decided to concentrate his efforts on the diamond. As his dad said, you could probably put something in Paxton’s hand that he no experience with and he’d take one look and figure out exactly what he’s supposed to do with it very quickly.

His dad couldn’t say for sure where Paxton’s innate love for the game of baseball came from. It wasn’t something that was forced upon him but something that came from inside and something he just couldn’t ever get enough of.

“[He’s] always striving to try to get better,” Craig told PG Wednesday. “This game is humbling and he knows it. There’s always something else that he needs to work on and strive to get better at and work through.”

Craig Kling recalled a time when Paxton was 6 or 7 years old and he was participating in a practice session with a little league team that featured kids who were five years older than his son. The coach called him over and told him to take a couple of swings, and afterwards that same coach called the team together and told them, hey guys, that’s the way you attack a baseball.

“I think that when you have one of those eye-opening events, it sort of started there,” Craig said. “For him, with travel baseball, he was always the top guy on the team. When is he not going to be the top guy on the team? It was always, ‘He’s not that good’ was kind of my thought.

“Then we finally got to the point about two years ago that, hey, he’s pretty good; we’ve kind of come to that realization,” he added. “We try to be humble about it and that’s what we try to teach him: be confident but be humble about it.”

Kling was rostered with the PG Gray Team at the National, a squad that boasts quite a bit of firepower in the dugout, even without Kling. While he is the highest ranked prospect at No. 19, he can count amongst his teammates the right-hander Cooper Dossett (No. 69-ranked, Arkansas commit); shortstop Cade McGarrh (No. 75, Texas Tech); right-hander Hunter Sloop (No. 76, Tennessee); shortstop Colby Shelton (No. 84, Clemson) and shortstop Travis Sanders (No. 88, Texas Tech) among the other top-100s.

“I think the most enjoyable part about it is just playing the game of baseball,” Kling said about his PG experiences. “We all started when we were younger and it’s still a game that I love and I’m going to continue to love and just keep playing it...

“You don’t stop learning in baseball,” he added. “You go through slumps, you go through injuries, you go through a bunch of stuff and you don’t stop learning how to be better.”

Paxton Kling kicked-off his travel ball career playing with the Irwin, Pa.-based Flood City Elite, a team with which he earned three PG all-tournament selections in 2019-20. He joined the Canes National 17u in 2020 where he’s earned all-tournament recognition four more times – and counting – in 2020-21; he has also been a part of two PG WWBA championship teams with the Canes in the last two years.

“He had the skill set and he had a coach [at Flood City] that was very good at teaching him the mental side of the game; the Flood City group that he was with was very instrumental on helping him develop,” Craig said. “But when he went to the Canes he was now playing with 25 other guys who are at the same level playing in almost a college atmosphere already. It allowed him to develop all-around as a player/person.”

And what a roster this Canes National 17u boasts with other highly-ranked 2022s like left-hander Jackson Ferris (No. 6), righty Brock Porter (No. 7), middle-infielder Cole Young (No. 11) and lefty Tristan Smith (No.12) among a sizable group that is also here at the National Showcase this week.

Paxton cherishes the time he gets to spend with the Canes and there will be more to come this summer. He called the environment surrounding the program “just different” and although the roster is stacked with talented individuals who will either play in college or professionally post-high school, they can still manage to play as a team in pursuit of PG WWBA and PG World Series national championships.

“It makes everyone play at the next level; it makes everyone work harder and be better,” Kling said. “Everyone’s competitive on the team so they want to be ‘the guy’. The thing is we all play team baseball. We’ll do our job and we’ll do everything [we’re asked]; we all want to do the best.”

Kling has the commitment to LSU and even with a coaching change in Baton Rouge brought about by the retirement of Hall of Famer Paul Mainieri and the hiring of Jay Johnson from Arizona, he doesn’t expect anything to change on that front.

“I’ve talked with Coach Johnson a couple of times,” Kling said. “I really loved Coach Mainieri and I really loved Coach [Nolan] Cain when I went down there – they were my guys – but I just have to figure everything out and just move onto the next step.”

Slipping on the “dad cap” one more time, Craig Kling said he and his family – which includes wife Beth, daughter McKayla and another son Lleyton – have always tried to be super supportive of Paxton’s pursuits.

Craig laughed and said he just tries to stay out of the way, sometimes shaking his head at the heights Paxton has already achieved. He is, as might be expected on his prospect ranking alone, a strong contender for an East Team roster spot at next month’s PG All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego.

It kind of boggles the mind, this small-town Pennsylvania kid reaching these heights. Craig remembers thinking early in the process that it was always “Very difficult to get there, probably not going to get there” type of thing but Paxton just kept working and is achieving what was once the unthinkable.

Paxton Kling isn’t alone when it comes to producing somewhat surprising results, as a detailed look at some of the performances during Wednesday’s workout session with just four teams – eight more will follow in the coming days – tells you.

Somewhat unheralded Gavin Turley, an Oregon State commit out of Chandler, Ariz., is likely to see his ranking rise from its current position at No. 110 after he ran a blazing 6.29-second 60 and threw 97 mph from the outfield, both top-two efforts on the day.

Dominic Hellman, while certainly not under the radar as the No. 31-ranked prospect in the ’22 class and an Oregon State commit, put on a batting practice display that had the scouts and just about everyone else in attendance buzzing throughout the afternoon.

“This ’22 class I think is a special class; there’s a lot of very special individuals in it,” Craig Kling said. “[Paxton has] always been the one that he’d go to the field, he’d walk off the field and he’d probably know three or four guys from the other team – all the time even from when he was little...

“It’s really special just to see how these guys support each other and I think just enjoy being on the field and interacting with each other.”

Craig Kling said the road traveled just to get to the PG National Showcase has provided an enjoyable ride even if his son was unable to perform as he had hoped here this week. Craig admitted that it can get a little intense and even tiresome at times with all the travel, noting that some of these young guys haven’t enjoyed a home-cooked meal in more than a month.

It’s a grind, he said, but it’s something many of them might want to start getting used to. It might just become a part of their everyday life once their high school careers are over.

Paxton Kling wouldn’t have it any other way:

“What I’ve taken away from [the experiences] is just loving the game and respecting it,” he said. “Once you respect the game it will respect you back and you’ll just keep playing well...I try not to look too far ahead; I’m just trying to play my game now and just do my thing now. I’ve still got high school ball next year and I’m just going to focus on that. Whatever happens after that happens.”
Give us your feedback
Showcase | Story | 1/6/2026

PG Leaderboard: Class of 2027
Jheremy Brown
Article Image
Complete PG Leaderboard Database PG Leaderboard: Class of 2026 To think this group still has another two years of high school is a scary thought given what some of the category leaders already are. Samir Mohammed up to 97 mph on the mound, Bryce Fontenot with a max exit velocity of 103 mph and a 6.22 60-yard out of Dylan Seward are all otherworldly numbers that you'd expect to find on a college campus, much less a junior in high school.  Below we check in on several categories for the Class of 2027 and will continue to do so through the week, taking in the top 10 for each, from both Perfect Game showcases and tournaments.  Top Fastball Velocity Rk Player FB Event Commitment School Hometown 1 Samir Mohammed 97 2025 PG WWBA World Championship Louisiana State Tampa Jesuit Trinity, FL 2 Connor Salerno 96 2025 PG WWBA World Championship Mississippi State Sun Valley Indian Trail, NC...
Read More
College | Story | 1/23/2026

Conference Preview: American

Craig Cozart
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L UBA 24 30 8 19 Charlotte 36 22 18 9 East Carolina 35 27 13 14 Florida Atlantic 37 21 15 12 Memphis 22 33 8 19 Rice 17 40 10 17 South Florida 31 25 16 11 UTSA 47 15 23 4 Tulane 33 25 13 14 Wichita State 19 35 11 16 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Andrew Stucky UTSA .324/.514/.467 with 6 HRs, 40 RBI; durable 6-0/192 backstop with elite defensive skills and a wealth of experience, returning 1st team all-conference member 1B Cody...
Read More
College | Story | 1/22/2026

Conference Preview: Big 10

Troy Sutherland
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Illinois 30 24 14 16 Indiana 32 24 16 14 Iowa 33 22 21 9 Maryland 27 29 12 18 Michigan 33 23 16 14 Michigan State 28 27 13 17 Minnesota 24 28 10 20 Nebraska 33 29 15 15 Northwestern 25 27 13 17 Ohio State 13 37 5 25 Oregon 42 16 22 8 Penn State 33 23 15 15 Purdue 31 23 11 19 Rutgers 29 28 15 15 UCLA 48 18 22 8 USC 37 23 18 12 Washington 29 28 17 13 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Mason Eckelman Ohio State Taken steps forward--...
Read More
General | Blog | 1/21/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 61

Ron Wolforth
Article Image
Demystifying the Curveball, Pitch Counts, and Weighted Balls- Part 1 You know what I love about the holidays? Good food, time with family, and the unspoken rule that nobody brings up religion or politics at the dinner table.   Why? Because they're powder kegs. Topics that bring out deep-seated beliefs and strong emotions.  Well, I accidentally lit one of those powder kegs recently, except it wasn't at the dinner table. It was on social media.   Our team posted a short clip of me at Boot Camp making what I thought was a pretty straightforward point: simply avoiding the curveball is far from a guarantee of arm health.   I wasn't trying to be provocative. I was just stating what I believed to be obvious after 30 years of doing this work.  But boy, did a few people have problems with it.   It became one of the most discussed posts in Ranch history....
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 1/20/2026

Back-to-Back MLK East for Phillies

Hannah Jo Groves
Article Image
TBT Phillies Scout run rules for second straight MLK East Championship The 14U TBT Phillies Scout Team overtook A3 Academy Futures 14-6 in the final game to win their second straight 2026 MLK East Championship. Though the skies were blue and the sun was out in Fort Myers, Florida, the air was very chilly. The wind whipped through the palm trees as players, parents and friends piled into the 5-Plex Player Development Complex bundled up in blankets, hoodies and beanies.  The A3 Academy Futures were first up to bat - and the TBT Phillies struggled through the first frame. The first run came across on a balk; the second came soon after off a double from Gabriel Messing. “I was surprised that they scored right away off the jump,” Kingston George said, an outfielder for TBT Phillies Scout and this year’s MVP of the 14U East MLK championship. “We were kind of quiet...
Read More
College | Story | 1/21/2026

Conference Preview: Big 12

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Arizona 44 21 18 12 Arizona State 36 24 18 12 Baylor 33 22 13 17 BYU 28 27 10 20 Cincinnati 33 26 16 14 Houston 30 25 12 17 Kansas 43 17 20 10 Kansas State 32 26 17 13 Oklahoma State 30 25 15 12 TCU 39 20 19 11 Texas Tech 20 33 13 17 UCF 29 26 9 21 Utah 21 29 8 22 West Virginia 44 16 19 9 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Jackson Natili Cincinnati .338/9/53; well-rounded bat with bat to ball skills and strong catch and throw 1B Brady...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 1/20/2026

A New Path to the Next Level

Jim Salisbury
Article Image
A New Path to the Next Level: Inside Perfect Game’s College Instructional Series An important new PG event will help aspiring college players grow, get noticed COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The changing environment of college baseball has led to an innovative new event at Perfect Game, one that will connect high school players looking for an opportunity at the next level with the coaches who may be able to provide one. On top of it all, there will be plenty of expert instruction along with the spirited, tournament-style competition that PG is known for. The College Instructional Series will take place at six regionalized venues starting this summer. “This event will serve an important purpose for players and coaches,” said Adam Revelette, PG’s senior director of events. “Everybody we’ve talked to is very intrigued about the platform.” The event is geared...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 1/20/2026

MLK West Scout Notes: Days 3-4

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
MLK West Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Markus Chandler, RHP, Westside HS Class of 2027 A little on the undersized side as a sub 6 footer, but Chandler can generate some velo and spin.  Spun 3 frames of hitless ball for Spects National with zero walks and 6 strikeouts.  Committed to Kansas State, the righty ran the fastball to 92, living 89-92 pumping the zone with 75 percent strikes.  Looked like two different breaking balls, with the SL 80/81 (spin in 2500’s) and curveball 75/76.  No hard contact, little contact at all off the righty in this dominant outing. To follow up the pitching performance, Chandler swung the bat well on Championship Monday (Trademark Pending) with 5 RBI and three hits on the day, regularly on the barrel.  Trevor Alons, RHP, Centennial HS Class of 2028 Lean framed sophomore with a quick, whippy arm.  Playing up a few classes, you might...
Read More
College | Story | 1/20/2026

Conference Preview: Oregon State

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Record W L T Oregon State 48 16 1 Impact Player: Easton Talt, OF Impact Pitcher: Dax Whitney, RHP Impact Freshman: Mason Pike, RHP/MIF 2026 MLB Draft Prospects 1. Ethan Kleinschmit, LHP 2. Eric Segura, RHP 3. Zach Edwards*, RHP 4. Easton Talt, OF 5. Jacob Kreig, 1B 6. Wyatt Queen, RHP 7. AJ Singer, IF 8. Eli Gries-Smith, OF 9. Noah Scott, RHP 10. Paul Vazquez*, IF 11. Nyan Hayes, OF 12. AJ Hutcheson, RHP 13. Tyler Inge*, 3B 14. Bryson Glassco, IF 15. Jacob Galloway, C 2027 MLB Draft Prospects 1. Dax Whitney, RHP 2. Adam...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 1/18/2026

MLK West Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
Cole Migaki (‘29 WA) w/ one of his 5 K’s thru 2-innings. FB 84-86 coupled w/ a firm BB that has 11/5 shape sitting 77-77. Balanced operation w/ a live, loose arm. Athletic frame at 6-ft, 170 that projects #MLKWest @PG_PacificNW pic.twitter.com/iBgAoajNUM — Perfect Game Four Corners (@PG_FourCorners) January 16, 2026 Cole Migaki (2029 Vancouver, WA) Was lights out in his start on Friday at MLK West, only needing 42 pitches to get thru three-innings and did not allow a hit or run while punching out 8.  Migaki overwhelmed opposing hitters, running his fastball up to 86 and mixing in a firm breaking ball at 75-77 with 11-5 shape and depth.  The athletic 6-foot, 170-pound right-hander is the top ranked third base prospect in the state of Washington for the class of 2029, collecting a couple of hits in his five at-bats and drove in a run.  Excellent start to...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 1/16/2026

Perfect Game Hires Blakeley As Regional Dir.

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME HIRES ERIC BLAKELEY AS REGIONAL DIRECTOR    Sanford, Florida (Friday, January 16, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the hiring of Eric Blakeley as a Regional Director. Blakeley brings more than two decades of experience in elite baseball and softball events, along with an accomplished background as both a collegiate and professional player.    Blakeley joins Perfect Game after building the highly respected Crossroads Baseball Series, where for more than 20 years he developed and operated baseball...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.