Just last July Laif Palmer was heading to Arizona to pitch for the travel ball team Alpha Prime in the Perfect Game 17U World Series. He went to Arizona having gotten some interest from Junior Colleges and Division II schools to play baseball in 2024, but nothing really in terms of Division I interest. That all changed on the backfields in Surprise, Arizona, when he set a new personal best reaching 91 MPH with his fastball and showing off his new slider.

While in Arizona the recruiting landscape changed for Palmer, with multiple new offers coming in and even some interest from professional scouts. Ultimately, Palmer went on a visit to Corvallis, Oregon and committed to play baseball at Oregon State. 

His performance in Arizona also earned him an invite to a tournament in Jupiter, Florida in October; where he gained a few miles per hour on his fastball, and showed even more command of his slider and changeup. These improvements led to pro scouts becoming even more interested and, over the course of just four months, lifting his stock from a possible Junior College pitcher, to someone who was a genuine MLB Draft prospect.

Despite committing to one of the more prestigious programs in college baseball and scouts flocking to Colorado to see him pitch less than a year after putting himself on the map, Palmer was focused on one goal, help his Golden Demons be crowned state champions. 

Palmer and Golden High School came up just short of this ultimate goal, falling to Severance 1-0 in the state title game held at CSU-Pueblo. He pitched in three of the playoff games, where he was on the mound for 59 of the 63 outs in those games, giving up just 11 hits and three runs.

Now Palmer turns his focus to the ninth through the 11th of July when the MLB Draft takes place in Seattle, Washington. His fastball, now up to 94 mph thank to his additional training with ThrowFormance in Castle Rock, and slider, a pitch he learned by looking up grips on TikTok, have him slated to potentially be the first pitcher from the state of Colorado to hear his name called in the draft. 

It was at ThrowFormance where he really started to learn how to take care of his body, something exceedingly important given his long 6’6” frame. A typical concern with scouts when it comes to tall high school pitchers like Palmer is a lack of body control. To which Palmer states he has really focused on “moving my body efficiently” and takes pride in the fact not many batters are able to draw walks when he is on the mound. 

Despite the whirlwind over the past 11 months, Palmer has remained focused on the next step in his journey and not allowed himself to get too distracted with the big decision he will face in the coming months. He and his family have had many long discussions about what the right decision will be once faced with the decision to become a professional baseball player or head off to college and continue his career there. An almost impossible decision for anyone to make, especially an 18-year old, Palmer showed his level head by stating, “they are two pretty good options to choose from.”

No matter where his journey takes him over the coming months, Palmer will always express his pride for Colorado. Proven by his statement:

“I love Golden, I love the mountains, this is my home.”

• Colorado Spotlight
• MLB Draft