There's no mistaking Kayden Porter. He's the biggest high school "kid" most pitchers will ever watch step up to the plate.
The 6-foot-5 240-pound behemoth holds the bat as if it weighed no more than an oversize chopstick. And when he swings, opponents hope he misses — because when he gets ahold of a pitch, it's going. Far.
"He's a run waiting to happen," coach Shoe Nelson says. "It's great when you have a kid like Kayden who can hit the ball like he can. A 450-foot home run doesn't count for any more than one that barely goes over the wall, but it's definitely a psychological edge."
It's not as if Porter will sneak up on anybody: The big right-hander is considered by some to be the best baseball prospect in the state. He's headed to North Carolina in 2012, unless he decides to sign with a pro team after the MLB Draft.
This year, Porter backed up his king-size reputation, both as a hard-throwing pitcher and with his batting proficiency. That makes him The Tribune's 4A baseball MVP.
His reputation "can go both ways," Porter says. "I know sometimes how pitchers are going to attack me, so that can help my hitting, but when I'm pitching, they kind of focus in on you. I'm proud that I was able to help my team and take some pressure off our defense this year."
There was one notable instance this season when Porter's stoic poise was cracked: In the playoffs, Snow Canyon hammered him during a start, including two home runs. The Spanish Fork offense couldn't compensate, and the Dons dropped into the one-loss bracket for the first time in years.
Porter didn't pitch again, but he avenged his poor outing. In the first leg of the championship against the Warriors, Porter hit three consecutive homers to push Snow Canyon to a second game.
After that, he says, it was all over.
"Once we evened up the game ratio and knew whoever was gonna win the next one would win it all, we were pretty confident," Porter says. "I wanted to put myself in a position that would help my team the most. I connected with three good balls, and got my team where they needed to go."
kgoon@sltrib.com -
The teams
All-State baseball teams (pdf) • http://bit.ly/iD2Zye
All-State baseball MVPs (pdf) • http://bit.ly/mfkZbL
