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Baseball America's Preseason High School All-America Teams Baseball America’s 2000 Preseason High School All-America team was selected based on observations by Baseball America staff members David Rawnsley and Allan Simpson and feedback from more than 40 scouting directors and major college recruiters. The criteria for selection is weighted more toward a player’s future potential than his performance to date. The text (follow links on first-team players) was written by Rawnsley. FIRST TEAM Pos Player, High School/Hometown Class B-T Ht. Wt. College C Scott Heard, Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego Sr. L-R 6-1 190 Texas 1B Jason Stokes, Coppell (Texas) HS Sr. R-R 6-5 225 Texas IF David Espinosa, Gulliver Prep, Miami Sr. B-R 6-1 175 Miami IF Luis Montanez, Coral Park HS, Miami Sr. R-R 6-1 175 Miami IF Corey Smith, Piscataway (N.J.) HS Sr. R-R 6-1 210 Miami OF Sam Fuld, Phillips Exeter Ac., Durham, N.H. Sr. L-L 5-10 178 Stanford OF Skyler Fulton, Capital HS, Olympia, Wash. Sr. L-R 6-2 195 Arizona State OF Dave Krynzel, Green Val. HS, Henderson, Nev. Sr. L-L 6-1 185 Louisiana State UT Zach Miner, Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) HS Sr. R-R 6-4 185 Miami P Sean Burnett, Wellington (Fla.) HS Sr. L-L 6-2 185 Miami P Mike Davern, Brea Olinda HS, Brea, Calif. Sr. R-R 6-4 190 UCLA P Matt Harrington, Palmdale (Calif.) HS Sr. R-R 6-3 180 Arizona State P Joe Torres, Gateway HS, Kissimmee, Fla. Sr. L-L 6-3 180 Miami P Matt Wheatland, Rancho Bernardo HS, SD Sr. R-R 6-5 205 UCLA UT Zach Miner, Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) HS Sr. R-R 6-4 185 Miami SECOND TEAM Pos Player, High School/Hometown Class B-T Ht. Wt. College C Landon Powell, Apex (N.C.) HS Jr. B-R 6-3 200 None 1B Casey Kotchman, Seminole (Fla.) HS Jr. L-L 6-3 200 None IF Enrique Cruz, Bellaire (Texas) HS Sr. R-R 5-9 175 Rice IF Justin Hileman, Palmyra (Pa.) HS Sr. R-R 6-0 180 South Carolina IF Anthony Giarratano, Christ. Bros. HS, N.J. Sr. B-R 6-0 175 Tulane IF Aaron Herr, Hempfield HS, Lancaster, Pa. Sr. R-R 6-0 180 Kentucky OF Rocco Baldelli, Bishop Hendricken HS, R.I. Sr. R-R 6-4 190 Wake Forest OF Brian Hall, Carlsbad (N.M.) HS Sr. R-R 6-0 175 Stanford OF Laynce Nix, Midland (Texas) HS Sr. L-L 6-0 185 None UT Kenny Nelson, Riverdale Baptist HS, Md. Sr. R-R 6-2 200 Arizona State P Gavin Floyd, Mt. St. Joseph HS, Md. Jr. R-R 6-5 195 None P Jason Miller, Sarasota (Fla.) HS Sr. L-L 6-2 190 Louisiana State P Mark Phillips, Hanover (Pa.) HS Sr. L-L 6-3 190 Louisiana State P Jamie Shields, Hart HS, Newhall, Calif. Sr. R-R 6-3 200 Louisiana State P Randy Truselo, Delcastle Tech, Wilm., Del. Sr. R-R 6-2 180 None UT Kenny Nelson, Riverdale Baptist HS, Md. Sr. R-R 6-2 200 Arizona State THIRD TEAM Pos Player, High School/Hometown Class B-T Ht. Wt. College C Tony Richie, Bishop Kenny HS, Jacksonville Sr. R-R 6-1 195 Florida State 1B Adrian Gonzalez, Eastlake HS, Calif. Sr. L-L 6-2 195 San Diego State IF Jason Bourgeois, Forest Brook HS, Houston Sr. R-R 6-0 180 None IF Conor Jackson, El Camino HS, Calif. Sr. R-R 6-4 195 California IF Austin Nagle, Barbe HS, Lake Charles, La. Jr. R-R 6-1 190 None OF Vince Sinisi, The Woodlands (Texas) HS Sr. L-L 6-1 185 Texas OF Jake Whitesides, Hickman HS, Columbia, Mo. Sr. L-R 5-11 180 Arizona OF Jason Kubel, Highland HS, Palmdale, Calif. Sr. L-R 6-1 185 Long Beach State UT Mike Stodolka, Centennial HS, Corona, Calif. Sr. L-L 6-2 205 UCLA P Dane Artman, Westminster Academy, Ft. Laud. Sr. L-L 6-3 205 Central Florida P Kyle Bakker, Millard West HS, Omaha Sr. L-L 6-9 255 Georgia Tech P Kris Honel, Prov. Cath. HS, New Lenox, Ill. Jr. R-R 6-5 190 None P Thomas Mitchell, Bladenboro (N.C.) HS Sr. R-R 6-2 180 None P Erik Thompson, Pine Forest HS, Pensa., Fla. Sr. R-R 5-10 170 Florida UT Mike Stodolka, Centennial HS, Corona, Calif. Sr. L-L 6-2 205 UCLA First-Team Scouting Reports Scott Heard, Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego
Heard will be in competition for more than just the No. 1 pick in the draft this spring. His prospect-laden Rancho Bernardo team could challenge for a national high school title as well. Since he first played in the Area Code Games after his freshman year, Heard has been well known to scouts, primarily for his defense. As a junior, a nagging wrist problem was misdiagnosed and he missed almost all spring with what was eventually determined to be a fractured hamate bone. That inactivity and Heard’s formerly narrow upper body put some question into scouts’ minds about his offensive potential. But he answered those concerns in the fall by adding close to 15 pounds of muscle through intensive work with a personal trainer. He now weighs in at 190, with significantly increased raw power. Jason Stokes, Coppell (Texas) HS
Sam Carpenter, coach of the national powerhouse Dallas Mustangs summer team, called Stokes the most impressive power hitter he’s had. Considering two of Carpenter’s recent stars were Ben Grieve and Vernon Wells, that’s high praise. Stokes hit a team-record 32 home runs during the Mustangs’ two-month schedule last summer. Stokes has good arm strength and speed for his size, and was playing some outfield early this spring. But his future will clearly be determined by his bat. His swing is short for a big man, and he has power from foul line to foul line. David Espinosa, Gulliver Prep, Miami
Espinosa is one of the top two-way players in the country, but he might not get to show it often. Gulliver Prep, another national-title contender, has two premium lefthanded pitching prospects, which puts Espinosa and his 94 mph fastball in the bullpen. More important, it puts him at shortstop every day. His well-above-average arm strength, 6.5 speed in the 60 and overall athleticism give him ideal physical tools for the position. He’s a much better hitter from the right side, but his switch-hitting ability will be another bonus with scouts. Espinosa’s .526 average led the victorious U.S. junior national team in last year’s world championships. Luis Montanez, Miami Coral Park HS
Add Espinosa’s speed to Montanez’ tools, and you would create a high school shortstop who could easily be among the first picks in the draft. While Montanez has quick feet and excellent balance and mobility at shortstop, his straightaway speed is below-average, about 7.0 in the 60 and 4.45 to first base. The rest of Montanez’ skills are first-rate. He plays shortstop with the flair of a player who has the utmost confidence in his hands and his ability to make all the plays. His strength and bat speed are superior to Espinosa’s. Montanez could become one of the new-generation shortstops who can produce runs and play defense. Corey Smith, Piscataway (N.J.) HS
Smith plays shortstop and pitches in high school, but he played a flawless third base at the premium showcases last summer. How well he takes care of his muscular body will determine where he ends up. Smith’s 6.7 speed and above-average arm attest to his current athletic ability. But Smith’s ticket to the major leagues will be his bat. He has well-above-average bat speed with wood and can turn on any fastball with authority. He has had some difficulty with offspeed breaking pitches, which is not unusual for a hitter from a non-Sun Belt background. Sam Fuld, Phillips Exeter Academy, Durham, N.H.
Usually scouts ignore 5-foot-10, 175-pound outfielders with 6.8 speed. It’s a supreme compliment to Fuld’s baseball skills and ferocious attitude that he was a favorite among scouts for first-team All-America status. Fuld’s raw speed is probably his primary physical weakness. He more than makes up for it with outstanding jumps in center field, both coming in and going back. His arm strength is above-average. He doesn’t look like a power hitter, but his bat speed, quickness to the ball and excellent extension give him surprising pop. As a top student at an elite prep school who is signed to go to Stanford, Fuld’s signability will be closely watched by scouts. Skyler Fulton, Capital HS, Olympia, Wash.
Fulton’s tools package is eerily similar to that of North Carolina college All-American Tyrell Godwin. That’s a good news/bad news evaluation. The good news is that Fulton, a top football prospect, is one of the best athletes in the 2000 high school class. He has strong, square shoulders and a sprinter’s lower half. The ball jumps off his bat due to his strength, and he is a powerful runner under way. Like Godwin, Fulton’s baseball skills have been held back by his involvement with football, though indications seem to be that he might pass on a two-sport career at Arizona State to concentrate on baseball. His swing mechanics and hitting instincts are the least advanced of his skills, and he could struggle initially with wood bats. His arm is average but could improve as his upper body loosens up. Dave Krynzel, Green Valley HS, Henderson, Nev.
It’s easy to classify Krynzel as a speed player based on his 6.31-second 60-yard time last summer. Unlike many sprinters, though, Krynzel’s speed is "usable," in scouts’ terminology. He gets out of the batter’s box quickly and already has sound instincts on the bases and in the outfield. His fundamentals have been nicely developed at one of the premier high school programs in the nation. He has a wiry-strong frame that should fill out as he matures, and already generates good bat speed with a slashing, line-drive swing. Interestingly, Krynzel will sometimes separate his hands on the bat handle for better control. His arm is solid average for center field. Krynzel hit .440 with a team-high six doubles and eight stolen bases for the world champion USA junior team last summer. Sean Burnett, Wellington (Fla.) HS
It’s not surprising that Burnett pitches for Wellington High, a Florida powerhouse. Coach Scott Benedict also tutored 1999 first-round pick Bobby Bradley. Both players were judged by Baseball America to have the best command in the nation in their respective classes. Burnett’s age, in fact, should make him a high school junior. His recent physical maturation, along with changing his curveball grip to get tighter spin, contributed to a notable improvement in the velocity and sharpness of his pitches. His fastball has gone from 86-87 mph to 89-91 since early last summer. Burnett’s best skill is his ability to command the location and speed of his pitches. He has the instinctive ability to adjust his fastball and changeup velocities and locations, making the pitches interchangeable and indistinguishable. Not coincidentally, Burnett tapes or watches as many of Tom Glavine’s starts as possible. Mike Davern, Brea-Olinda HS, Brea, Calif.
Davern fits the profile of a power pitcher. He has broad shoulders and hips, and is just beginning to add muscle to his long frame. His fastball velocity improved from 87-89 mph after his sophomore year to 92-94 last summer. He isn’t the type of pitcher who will just touch high-velocity numbers, but will sit steadily in the plus velocity range. Davern’s curveball needs fine-tuning, but could become a solid second pitch. He gets a tight spin and break on the pitch, but only throws it 68-70 mph. That’s too large a separation to deceive better hitters. Matt Harrington, Palmdale (Calif.) HS
Harrington has taken advantage of the year-round baseball environment in Southern California to develop into the hardest-throwing high school pitcher in the country. Scouts at a pre-Christmas tournament timed the loose, lanky righthander as high as 97 mph. Coupled with Harrington’s raw velocity is an advanced concept of how to locate the ball and move it around the strike zone. Against the Japanese junior national team in late August, he pitched a complete-game victory over a contact-conscious team without recording a strikeout. In addition to maintaining his velocity during the spring, Harrington must work on developing better feel with his breaking stuff. He has thrown both a curveball and a slider during the last year, but tends to throw the curve too soft and the slider too hard. Joe Torres, Gateway HS, Kissimmee, Fla.
Torres doesn’t have the finely tuned mechanics and year-round pitching program of other All-Americans, but he may surpass them in raw stuff and athletic ability. He is polished enough to have gone 2-0, 2.16 in the World Junior Championship last summer for Team USA. Torres is an above-average athlete with long, loose arms and legs. He throws from a mid-three-quarters release point, which gives his 88-93 mph fastball exceptional sinking and running action. While some pitchers can’t get their curveballs over the plate consistently from such an angle, Torres appears to have no problem. His curve has sharp biting action and good two-plane break. Matt Wheatland, Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego
Wheatland joins batterymate Scott Heard on BA’s All-America first team, and may also join him in the first round of the draft–a distinction that has happened only twice previously in draft history. The 6-foot-5 righthander has a solid average fastball and uses his height to get excellent leverage to the plate. His best pitch, though, is a hard overhand curve that has a late, downward break. Wheatland also plays first base, and even hit a home run at the World Junior Championship. Scouts express some concern over minor knee problems that Wheatland has experienced in the past. Zach Miner, Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) HS
Miner is one prospect who could potentially hurt his draft status as a pitcher by his work in the field. With an angular 6-foot-3 frame, Miner doubles as the ace pitcher/starting shortstop for a strong Palm Beach Gardens High program. His hustling, all-out style and self-confessed inability to maintain his weight have left him fatigued in the past. When he’s fresh, Miner has a live, sinking fastball that can top out at 94 mph. His curveball is a quality secondary pitch that he can throw consistently for strikes. Miner gets some deception from his arm action, which is very short in back but long and loose out front. |
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