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High School  | General | 2/17/2023

Southwest Region Preview

David Rawnsley
Photo: Roch Cholowsky (Perfect Game)
High School Preview Index

Regional Previews: Florida | Georgia | Pacific | Deep South

States Represented: AZ, NM, NV, UT, CO
The Southwest Region won’t be a heavy focus in the 2023 draft, as the Region presently boasts only one PG All-American in shortstop Roch Cholowsky and two potential first day drafts in Cholowsky and Colorado middle infielder Walker Martin.  But the Region does feature two of the top ten high school teams in the country in Arizona’s Hamilton HS (8th) and Nevada’s Bishop Gorman HS (10th).  Both schools have two players on the All-Southwest Region team, as 1B/OF Zach Wadas joins Cholowsky from Hamilton and 1B Easton Shelton and C Burke Mabeus represent Bishop Gorman.



C –   Burke Mabeus (Jr., Bishop Gorman HS, Nev.)
Mabeus, a big and athletic 6-foot-4, 210-pound switch-hitting catcher, is the 53rd ranked player and third ranked catcher in the 2024 class.  He moves very easily behind the plate despite his size and receives the ball very calmly while also having a plus throwing arm. 

1B –   Easton Shelton (Sr., Bishop Gorman HS, Nev.)
Shelton is a 6-foot-5, 225-pound right-handed slugger who profiles as a middle of the order run producer at the next level.  He hit .358-12-50 with 11 doubles for Bishop Gorman as a junior and hit .354 with 13 extra base hits in 21 games in PG play in 2022.  He is signed with home-town UNLV.

MIF –   Roch Cholowsky (Sr., Hamilton HS, Ariz.)
A PG All-American, Cholowsky is the 16th ranked player in the 2023 class and the fourth overall shortstop.  He’s a very athletic middle infielder who doubles as a three-star quarterback on the football field.  His father, Dan, was the 39th overall pick in the 1991 draft out of California and reached AAA and is now a scout with the Reds.

MIF –  Steven Milam (Sr., Centennial HS, N.M.)
 The top player in New Mexico, Milam is one of the more polished and experienced middle infielders in the 2023 class.  The slick fielding switch-hitter was the 14U PG Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 and is a career .385 hitter with a .508 on-base percentage in 145 career PG games.  Milam is signed with Louisiana State.

3B –    Walker Martin (Sr., Eaton HS, Colo.)
Martin has a case for being the best athlete in Colorado after hitting .566-9-55 on the baseball field as a junior then quarterbacking Eaton High School to a 12-1 mark by throwing for 34 touchdowns and running for 7 more.  The left-handed hitter is ranked 44th overall in the 2023 class nationally by Perfect Game.

OF –  Zach Wadas (Sr., Hamilton HS, Ariz.)
Wadas is a primary first baseman but also plays the outfield and ran a 6.8 sixty and threw 89 mph from there at the 2022 PG National Showcase.  Wadas’ big tool is his left-handed power potential; he hit a home run at that National Showcase and is a good bet to improve on the five he hit last spring for Hamilton High School.  He is signed with TCU.

OF –  Carson McEntire (Sr., Mountain Ridge HS, Ariz.)
McEntire missed almost all last spring with a hand injury but rebounded to have a strong summer, including an appearance at the PG National Showcase.  Even though McEnitre has a very strong 6-foot-1, 190-build that would look comfortable on a football field, his best tool is his speed, as he ran a 6.36 sixty at the PG National.

OF –  Duce Robinson (Sr., Pinnacle HS, Ariz.)
Robinson is a five-star tight end prospect on the gridiron and ranked among the top 20 football prospects in the country, so his time on the baseball field has been limited.  But the 6-foot-6, 225-pound Robinson’s baseball ceiling is extremely high should he ever commit more time to the sport.  Giancarlo Stanton was a very similar outfield/tight end prospect at the same age.

RHP LJ Mercurius (Sr., Faith Lutheran HS, Nev.)
Mercurius is a lanky 6-foot-4, 170-pound athlete who excels on the basketball court as well as on the mound.  He’s been up to 92 mph at PG events to go with very good feel for a change up and is just beginning to develop on the mound after spending much of his development time on basketball.  He is signed with UNLV just for baseball.

RHP James DeCremer III (Sr., Brophy Prep, Ariz.)
DeCremer has a very deceptive high energy delivery and some nasty stuff, making him one of the more uncomfortable at-bats for right-handed hitters in the country.  The Oregon State signee has topped out at 96 mph on his fastball with 2500+ spin rates and also throws both a power slider and sweeping curveball.  DeCremer went 5-2, 1.64 with 66 strikeouts in 51 innings last spring and is the top ranked 2023 pitcher in Arizona.

RHP Connor Mattison (Sr., Canyon View HS, Ariz.)
Mattison’s fastball is plenty firm enough at 89-92 mph and he also throws a mid-70’s curveball but his 77-80 mph change up might be the best change up in all of high school baseball for both deception and command.  Mattison is also a prolific strike thrower and struck out 147 hitters in 89 combined HS/PG innings in 2022 while only walking 18 hitters.

RHP Derek Schaefer (Sr., Cactus Shadows HS, Ariz.)
Schaefer didn’t pitch last spring but had a strong summer, including an appearance at the PG National Showcase, where he topped out at 92 mph with two distinct high spin rate breaking balls and a solid change up.  The seventh ranked player overall in the Arizona senior class, Schaefer is signed with Tennessee. 

RHP Max Stanley (Sr., Douglas County HS, Colo.)
Stanley is a very projectable 6-foot-3, 180-pound right hander with a smooth arm and a high ceiling.  He’s been up to 91 mph at PG events with a full four-pitch mix that includes a power breaking ball, a cutter and a change up.  The Texas A&M signee struck out 89 hitters in 45 innings last spring and recently pitched at the 2023 MLK West Championship, striking out seven hitters in four one-hit innings.

UT –  Cam Caminiti (So. Saguaro HS, Ariz.)
Caminiti is the top pitching prospect in both the Southwest Region and in the 2025 class but he’d also be a highly ranked outfielder/first baseman as a position player with tons of left-handed power potential.  Caminiti is the nephew of the late Ken Caminiti, the 1996 National League Most Valuable Player.

Southwest Region Top Tools

Best Hitter for Average: Walker Martin (Sr., Eaton HS, Col.)
Martin’s left-handed bat, plus his high-level athleticism, is why he is getting first round mention on some early 2023 mock drafts.

Best Hitter for Power: Easton Shelton (Sr., Bishop Gorman HS, Nev.)
It will be interesting to see what kind of power numbers Shelton can put up at UNLV in a conference where the ball really flies.  Robinson would be a consideration here if he played more baseball.

Best Runner: Carson McEntire (Sr., Mountain Ridge HS, Ariz.)
The region doesn’t have many burners at present but McEntire would get consideration in any region in the country for his high-end speed.

Best Defensive Catcher: Carson Tinney (Sr., Valor Christian HS, Colo.)
A Notre Dame signee, Tinney has one of the strongest arms among catchers nationally and registered 87 mph during drills at the 2022 PG National Showcase.  He’s quick out of his crouch and has lots of lower half agility in his shifting and blocking.

Best Defensive Infielder: Roch Cholowsky (Sr., Hamilton HS, Ariz.)
Cholowsky was named the Rawlings National Defensive Player of the Year at the PG All-American Classic so it goes to follow that he’s the top defensive player in the Region.  He’s more of an instincts and actions defender than a toolsy play maker.

Best Defensive Outfielder: Carson McEntire (Sr., Mountain Ridge HS, Ariz.)
McEntire’s speed is a big asset defensively in centerfield and he has solid arm strength as well.  He is signed with Oregon State.

Best Defensive Arm: Cam Caminiti (So. Saguaro HS, Ariz.)
Caminiti is serious about being a two-way player despite his prodigious talent on the mound, with his best future position likely to be right field.  His arm will certainly play there.

Best Fastball: Cam Caminiti (So. Saguaro HS, Ariz.)
Caminiti and DeCremer both top out at 96 mph with their heaters but given that Caminiti is 22 months younger and is left-handed, we’ll give the nod to the southpaw here.

Best Off-Speed Stuff: Connor Mattison (Sr., Canyon View HS, Ariz.)
Mattison’s change up is a weapon that has to been seen to be fully appreciated.  He simply abused some of the top hitters in the country with the pitch at the PG All-American Classic exhibition game, then came back and struck out five hitters in two innings at Jupiter.

Best Pitchability: Max Stanley (Sr., Douglas County HS, Col.)
Stanley has all the pitches and the ability to use them in any sequence.  It will be interesting to see if he takes a senior velocity jump this spring, as that could really jump his draft standing given all his already established pitching skills.

Best Multi-Sport Athlete: Duce Robinson (Sr., Pinnacle HS, Ariz.)
Robinson is the obvious answer here, as a five-star prospect who caught 80 passes for 1,614 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior, but the Southwest Region is absolutely full of high-level two-way prospects.  Dylan Raiola (Jr., Pinnacle HS, Ariz.), who benefits from throwing to Robinson during the fall, could be an elite catcher/right-handed pitcher with more time on the baseball field but is currently the top national prospect in the 2024 class on the gridiron.  RHP Hayden Moore (Sr., Regis Jesuit HS, Colo.) is a hard thrower on the mound but a harder hitter in football, as he is signed to play linebacker at Michigan.
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