Live Looks: Kruz Schoolcraft, Kayson Cunningham, Ryan Wideman

There’s something different about catching games in the California League an energy you don’t quite find anywhere else in the minors. The weather is always sunny ballparks are intimate, the crowds close enough to hear every crack of the bat, and the players young enough that every at‑bat feels like a glimpse into what they might become. I’ve made a habit of getting out to Cal League parks whenever I can, and on April 24, 2026, I found myself in Lake Elsinore for Rawhide vs. Storm, a matchup loaded with athleticism, raw tools, and the kind of developmental volatility that makes this league so fun to watch. It was my first time at this stadium this year and made improvements to the radar gun and scoreboard.

The night had that familiar Cal League feel: warm air, lively ball, and a field full of players trying to prove they’re ready for the next rung of the ladder. It didn’t take long for the game to deliver moments worth circling, and several players, Ryan Wideman chief among them made sure the trip was worth it.

Kruz Schoolcraft LHP, SD

3IP 7H 2BB 3K 3R

Kruz Schoolcraft coming out of high school has a towering presence and is the kind of pitching prospect who turns heads the moment he steps on a mound, a large 6‑foot‑8 left‑hander who combines of size, athleticism, and good stuff made him one of the most fascinating arms in the 2025 draft class. The Padres selected him 25th overall and signed him away from Oregon State, betting on the upside that comes with a pitcher who not only looks the part. Schoolcraft’s physical presence is impossible to ignore. At 6’8” and nearly 230 pounds, he creates elite extension(7ft) and downhill angle, giving hitters the uncomfortable sense that the ball is on them immediately due to the 7 feet of extension the ball feels like it gets on the batter quickly. What detaches him from many pitchers of similar size and profile is how well he moves. His delivery is surprisingly fluent and repeatable for someone with such long levers, and the kind of body control suggests future command is attainable. That foundation allows his stuff to play at a level that already flashes major‑league quality.

His fastball sits in the low‑ to mid‑90s and has touched the upper‑90s, the game I sat in on it was at 94 and saw one at 95, The pitch plays up because of his extension and release height, creating a sharp angle that makes it difficult for hitters to square up even when the pitch is not great his shape is more traditional. His best secondary pitch is the changeup, a legitimate weapon that he throws with excellent arm speed and late fading action, it gives him a reliable off-speed option against right‑handed hitters. The slider is still developing a pitch, flashing above‑average at times with sweep and depth but still inconsistent and can’t throw it for strikes as he continues to improve his delivery and refine his release, the Padres believe it can become a true out pitch. His brief professional debut offered a glimpse of the excitement and promise the expected growing pains. In his lone outing in 2025 Low‑A, he struck out four in 1.2 innings but also issued three walks, a reminder that command will be the key variable in his development. The raw ingredients are all present to miss bats: velocity, movement, deception.

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One of Kruz Schoolcraft's stike outs vs the Rawhide

Schoolcraft opened the outing on a strong note, needing just one pitch to retire fellow top prospect Kayson Cunningham. He then issued a walk to JD Dix, and several of those pitches’ misses weren’t competitive, but he managed to escape the inning with a double play. The second frame followed a similar pattern: a leadoff walk, more scattered misses including a few pitches that sailed multiple feet off the plate, but he again worked around it. The command concerns that followed him out of high school were evident throughout these early sequences.

The third inning is where everything unraveled. Hitters began sitting on the fastball, which while serviceable with his extension and angle has a more traditional shape and becomes hittable when he falls behind. He allowed six singles in the inning, none struck particularly hard, but the steady traffic led to four runs and ended his day.

Walking away from the outing, the takeaway is that Schoolcraft still shows three solid pitches, and the raw ingredients are clearly there. What he needs most is to trust his stuff, get the ball in the zone, and let his natural traits work for him. Coming from a high school environment where he could overpower hitters and rack up strikeouts, there’s an expected adjustment period as he faces better competition. Even so, his stuff is good enough to dominate at the Single‑A level once he commits to attacking the zone with more confidence.

Kayson Cunningham SS, ARI

2/5 1K

Kayson Cunningham entered the 2025 draft class as one of the most polished pure hitters in the country, a left‑handed infielder whose bat has carried a reputation Playing against elite Texas competition, Cunningham built a track record by contact ability and an advanced feel for the strike zone, striking out just 17 times in 442 career at‑bats. That level of bat‑to‑ball skill is rare, at the high‑school level, and it’s the foundation of one the safest offensive profile in the class. At 5’10” and 182 pounds, Cunningham isn’t the type of prospect who overwhelms with physicality and strength, but he brings a compact, athletic frame that supports his offensive identity. His swing is short, compact, efficient, he can cover all quadrants of the zone and make consistent, convincing contact. He doesn’t chase much, rarely misses, and doesn’t take uncomfortable at bats, even against premium quality pitchers. He was on the USA Baseball’s 18U National Team where he hit .417 and earned team MVP honors, solidified the idea that his approach and barrel accuracy translate against the best arms in his age group.

While Cunningham’s game is built around his hit tool, there is more power in the profile than his size shows. His bat speed is real, and his ability to consistently find the barrel gives him a chance to grow into 15+ home runs as he matures physically. The power becomes evident as hard line drives to both gaps, Defensively, Cunningham brings enough athleticism, arm strength, and instincts to begin his career at shortstop, though he may need to move off the position long‑term. His hands are excellent, and he moves well enough to handle the position at the level. If he eventually moved over to second base, his offensive profile becomes better and valuable, giving him a chance to be an impact bat at a premium up‑the‑middle spot.

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Kayson Cunnigham takes an at bat against Kruz Schoolcraft

Cunningham plays with confidence, intelligence, and a calm competitiveness that becomes evident in big moments. He went 2-for-5 on the day, with one of those hits coming on a high fastball from Kruz Schoolcraft that he drove to center field an impressive swing given that elevated velocity is a pitch most lower‑level minor leaguers struggle to handle. The swing showcased his quick bat speed and the advanced discipline he already possesses. When he came up again in the fifth, he delivered another well‑struck ball into center to load the bases, once again demonstrating his ability to stay on plane and handle pitches that typically challenge young hitters.

In the long view, Cunningham projects as a top‑of‑the‑order infielder with a plus or better hit tool, strong on‑base ability, and enough power to punish mistakes. Whether he remains at shortstop or shifts to second, his bat gives him a clear path to becoming an everyday major‑league contributor. Among the prep hitters in the class, few offer his combination of safety, polish, and offensive upside.

Ryan Wideman OF, SD

2/5 2R 2K SB 3B, Outfield Assist

Ryan Wideman enters pro ball as one of the most physically tool‑rich outfielders in his class, a 6’5”, 204‑pound right‑handed hitter whose combination of strength, speed, and athleticism immediately stands out. After a dominant two‑year run at Georgia Highlands, he transferred to Western Kentucky and became one of the more productive players in Division I, hitting .398/.466/.652 with 10 home runs, 20 doubles, six triples, and 45 stolen bases in 2025 numbers ahead of his peers by any D‑I player since at least 2002. His breakout season earned him Conference USA Player of the Year honors and pushed him firmly up the draft, where the Padres selected him in the third round.

Wideman brings plus raw power and the kind of bat speed that has the opportunity to produce high‑end exit velocities, including a 90th‑percentile mark of 107 mph. His swing is built around a high leg kick and long levers, which cause natural impact when he’s on time but also introduce real volatility with a lot of moving parts. He is an aggressive hitter who expands the zone at an high rate, and both his chase rate and ground‑ball tendencies were among the worst in Division I. Those issues carried into his first taste of pro ball, where his strikeout rate jumped from 16.6% in college to 28.6% in Low‑A. The underlying tools are loud, but the hit tool remains the separator—he will need to either refine his approach or improve his contact skills to access his power consistently.

Wideman’s athleticism shows up even more cleanly in the running game. He brings plus to plus‑plus speed, stealing 48 bases in 2024 and 45 more in 2025, and that quickness gives him a real chance to stick in center field. His range allows him to cover ground from gap to gap, and his average arm strength is playable at all three outfield spots. With refinement, he projects as at least an average defender in center, with the speed to be better than that if his instincts sharpen in the game. He had an outfield assist and did show some arm strength. The overall profile is one of significant upside paired with meaningful risk. If Wideman tightens his approach and cut down on the chase% and K%, potentially by simplifying his leg kick and improving his pitch selection, he has the physicality to grow into 25‑home run power with double plus or better speed in center field. He has a sky high ceiling if everything clicks. But the hit tool must take a step forward for that outcome to materialize. Without that improvement, he risks settling into a toolsy fourth‑outfielder role whose athleticism plays but whose bat limits everyday impact. Wideman’s path will depend on how quickly he can adjust to pro pitching, but the raw ingredients—size, speed, strength, and athleticism—give him one of the more intriguing developmental runways in his class.

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Ryan Wideman hits a triple

One of the hottest players of the week in the Cal league Wideman set the tone immediately, jumping on a pitch from Chung‑Hsiang Huang and shooting it back up the middle for an infield single an easy showcase of his plus‑plus speed as he beat the throw to first. He wasted no time putting that speed back to work, swiping second a few pitches later to move himself into scoring position, then coming around to score on a single to left. It was a textbook example of how his athleticism can manufacture offense on its own. In the top of the third, with Schoolcraft beginning to labor, Wideman made one of the sharper defensive plays of the night, throwing out Cunningham at third to erase a potential rally. His next trip to the plate resulted in a strikeout, but he responded in the seventh with one of his best swings of the game, driving a leadoff triple into the left‑field corner. He scored moments later on a ground ball to third, again turning his speed into a run.

Across the night, Wideman’s impact tools speed, athleticism, and arm strength showed up in multiple phases of the game, reinforcing why the industry view him as a high‑ceiling, high‑impact developmental piece.