01/17/2020 - 2020 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament
Braden is a strong C/RHP prospect who showed well during the Under Armour All-America Pre-Season Tournament. Behind the plate, Braden sits in a relaxed stance and receives with sure hands. He gains ground well on his throws and keeps them accurate to the 2B bag. At the plate, this RHH sets up in a square stance and takes a short stride. He gets into a simple load and hits against a strong front side. He takes a compact swing with decent bat speed, leading to solid pop to all fields. On the mound, Braden is controlled gathering to his balance point and separates his hands on time. He works with a clean arm and extends through his release, finishing with a controlled landing. Braden shows a two pitch mix with his fastball topping out at 79mph. Breaking ball sits at 62mph with 11-5 break. Overall, Braden is a talented prospect who should find success going into his junior season.
08/25/2019 - College PREP - Lebanon (Nashville), TN
Braden continues to show improvements in his baseball abilities and has a promising future on the diamond. Behind the plate, feet are active as he works in line through a clean transfer / exchange. Pop times have improved as he threw his lowest time to date at 2.02 with accuracy and on line zip (85 mph velocity) on his throws. He shows a squared setup and receives the ball well. He utilizes his body well through the blocking process, centering balls well out front. At the plate, hitting / power potential is now outstanding through a squared setup. Hands are quick (92 mph exit velocity) and work through an aggressive swing path. He stays inside the ball and shows a feel for the barrel, driving the ball to all fields. On the mound, fastball showed a range of 75-76 mph with sinking action. Breaking ball displays 11/5 shape with late, sharp break. He maintains arm speed on his changeup, showing a feel for pitch with sinking action. Slider is slightly harder but resembles breaking ball. Control is outstanding as he throws strikes with all his pitches. Stock on the mound will continue to rise as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program.
06/22/2019 - Omaha National World Series - Session 2 (Ages 14-18)
Braden is an athletic and talented 2021 2-way prospect. Behind the dish Braden presents a low target, works behind the ball, and controls pitches in the strike zone. He shows plus blocking skills and has a nothing gets by me mentality. He leads with his glove and controls balls with his body. When throwing he has a good arm and throws the ball to the 1B side. Improving his footwork will clean up his exchange and quicken his release time. At the plate, Braden keeps his hands low, gets his front foot down on time, and is on time for the fastball. He creates backside drive with his lower half, looks for the ball middle-in and makes good swing decisions. He hunts the fastball and shows power to the pull side of the field. On the bump, Braden shows confidence in his pitches, attacks hitters down and in with his fastball, and he uses his curveball for an out pitch. He gathers over the rubber, separates on time, and separates on time. He holds runners well and competes on every pitch. Braden was very respectful to the staff and his teammates. He's a hard worker and we hope to see his progress in the future.
12/20/2018 - Baseball Factory Christmas Camp & Tournament at Pirate City - Session 1 (Ages 14-18)
Braden is an athletic and talented 2021 2-way prospect that made several adjustments throughout the week. Behind the dish, Braden receives the ball in a strong position but needs to be in a balanced primary and more athletic secondary stance. He needs to continue to lead with his glove and controls balls in the dirt with his chest when blocking. Having a clean exchange, creating momentum in his lower half, and having a quick release will make him a more efficient thrower. At the plate, Braden starts in a squared stance, loads his hands back into the drive position, and creates backside drive with his lower half. He makes consistent hard contact and drives the ball gap to gap. On the bump, Braden has a simple delivery and works downhill. He needs to continue to gather over the rubber, separate on time, and learn to pitch inside on batters. Braden will continue to improve with experience and we hope to see his progress in the future.
08/26/2018 - College PREP - Lebanon (Nashville), TN
Braden is a thick, solid C/RHP who has a promising future on the diamond. Behind the dish, he utilizes his feet well in working in line to his target through a clean transfer / exchange as he gets rid of the baseball quickly. Pop times show a range of 2.15-2.28 with accuracy on his throws. Time will continue to drop as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. He displays a soft glove and sticks balls well in the zone. He uses his body through the blocking process but needs to get down sooner. At the plate, he continues to shine, displaying solid hitting abilities with well above average power potential through an open setup. Hands are quick (86 mph exit velocity) and work through an aggressive swing path. He stays inside the ball, utilizing all fields with gap-to-gap pop. On the mound, fastball showed a range of 78-81 mph with arm side run. Breaking ball displays 11/5 shape with early break. He maintains arm speed on his changeup with arm side run. Stock on the mound will continue to increase as he builds more arm strength through a long toss program. With 4 years to further develop, Braden has a lot of potential with time and room to progress his game.