2016 Preseason High School All-America Teams

Baseball America annually polls major league organizations’ scouting departments to vote on the preseason High School All-America teams, and they make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential.

This year, four players were chosen unanimously as first-team All-Americans—New Jersey lefthanded pitcher Jason Groome, Kansas righthanded pitcher Riley Pint, and Southern California outfielders Blake Rutherford and Mickey Moniak—and all four players are expected to be selected in the first round of the draft in June.

In the past, the preseason All-America teams have been sound predictors of the first round of the draft. Last year’s preseason team proved the efficacy of the voting process. Seven of the eight first-team position players became first-round or competitive-balance round picks; only catcher Chris Betts, who went 52nd overall, went lower. Four of the five first-team pitchers were first-rounders as well.

In total, 90 players received votes on this year’s ballot, including five underclassmen: Hagen Danner, Alex Toral, Royce Lewis, Hunter Greene, and Nicholas Pratto.

FIRST TEAM
Pos	Name	School	Ht.	Wt.	Commitment	Rank
C	Cooper Johnson	Carmel Catholic High, Mundelein, Ill.	6-0	200	Mississippi	22
1B	Alex Kirilloff	Plum High, New Kensington, Pa.	6-2	195	Liberty	16
MIF	Delvin Perez	International Baseball Academy, Ceiba, P.R.	6-2	165	Uncommitted	6
MIF	Nolan Jones	Holy Ghost Prep, Langhorne, Pa.	6-4	216	Virginia	10
3B	Josh Lowe	Pope High, Marietta, Ga.	6-4	190	Florida State	4
OF	Will Benson	The Westminster Schools, Atlanta	6-5	225	Duke	11
OF	Mickey Moniak	La Costa Canyon High, Carlsbad, Calif.	6-1	180	UCLA	5
OF	Blake Rutherford	Chaminade College Prep, Canoga Park, Calif.	6-1	176	UCLA	3
P	Jason Groome	Barnegat (N.J.) High	6-4	225	Vanderbilt	1
P	Ian Anderson	Shenendehowa High, Clifton Park, N.Y.	6-3	180	Vanderbilt	7
P	Kevin Gowdy	Santa Barbara (Calif.) High	6-2	171	UCLA	18
P	Riley Pint	St. Thomas Aquinas High, Overland Park, Kan.	6-5	195	Louisiana State	2
P	Austin Bergner	Windermere (Fla.) Prep	6-4	190	North Carolina	28
SECOND TEAM
Pos	Name	School	Ht.	Wt.	Commitment	Rank
C	Ben Rortvedt	Verona (Wisc.) High	5-9	185	Arkansas	44
1B	Christian Jones	Federal Way (Wash.) High	6-1	212	Washington	78
MIF	Carter Kieboom	Walton High, Marietta, Ga.	6-2	185	Clemson	17
MIF	Nicholas Quintana	Arbor View High, Las Vegas	5-9	185	Arizona	32
3B	Joe Rizzo	Oakton High, Vienna, Va.	5-11	215	South Carolina	20
OF	Avery Tuck	Steele Canyon High, Spring Valley, Calif.	6-5	188	San Diego State	41
OF	Taylor Trammell	Mount Paran Christian School, Kennesaw, Ga.	6-2	195	Georgia Tech	53
OF	Trevyne Carter	Soddy Daisy (Tenn.) High	6-2	180	Tennessee	NR
P	Forrest Whitley	Alamo Heights High, San Antonio, Texas	6-6	253	Florida State	15
P	Reggie Lawson	Victor Valley High, Victorville, Calif.	6-3	213	Arizona State	9
P	Matt Manning	Sheldon High, Sacramento	6-5	194	Loyola Marymount	8
P	Jesus Luzardo	Stoneman Douglas High, Pompano Beach, Fla.	6-1	209	Miami	13
P	Braxton Garrett	Florence (Ala.) High	6-3	190	Vanderbilt	12
THIRD TEAM
Pos	Name	School	Ht.	Wt.	Commitment	Rank
C	Brad Debo	Orange High, Hillsborough, N.C.	6-0	221	South Carolina	86
1B	Walker Robbins	George County High, Lucedale, Miss.	6-3	210	Mississippi State	64
MIF	Gavin Lux	Indian Trail Academy, Kenosha, Wisc.	6-0	167	Arizona State	46
MIF	Luis Curbelo	Cocoa (Fla.) High	6-3	187	Miami	19
3B	Drew Mendoza	Lake Minneola High, Minneola, Fla.	6-4	195	Florida State	87
OF	Akil Baddoo	Salem High, Conyers, Ga.	6-1	195	Kentucky	47
OF	Thomas Jones	Laurens (S.C.) High	6-3	195	Vanderbilt	82
OF	Austin Langworthy	Williston (Fla.) High	5-11	180	Florida	90
P	Alex Speas	McEachern High, Powder Springs, Ga.	6-4	187	Auburn	14
P	Cole Ragans	North Florida Christian School, Tallahassee, Fla.	6-4	190	Florida State	21
P	Rian Haire	South Caldwell High, Hudson, N.C.	6-3	205	South Carolina	40
P	Charles King	Coppell (Texas) High	6-5	201	Texas Christian	42
P	Matt Cleveland	Windsor (Conn.) High	6-3	189	Florida Southwestern	34

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Cooper Johnson, c, Carmel Catholic HS, Mundelein, Ill.
Mature physically and off the field as well, Johnson is a showcase vet. His glove is ahead of his bat at this stage. Johnson has soft hands, plus receiving skills and a potentially elite throwing arm. His pitch recognition and contact skills lag behind, but he has some bat speed that gives him offensive potential. The Mississippi commit stands out in a catcher class heavy on bat-first players.

Alex Kirilloff, 1b, Plum HS, New Kensington, Pa.
The first round has produced successful prep first basemen in recent years, from Adrian Gonzalez (2000) to Prince Fielder and James Loney (both 2002) to Eric Hosmer (2008). A Liberty commit, Kirilloff isn’t the typical first baseman in that he’s an above-average runner with a plus arm. Kirilloff also received votes as an outfielder. He generates tremendous bat speed and raw power despite a swing that features a barred arm that adds some length to his path.

Nolan Jones, mif, Holy Ghost Prep, Langhorne, Pa.
One of two first-team All-Americans from the Keystone State, Jones plays high school shortstop but profiles better on a corner, likely third base, either as a pro or if he makes it to college at Virginia. A prep hockey player, Jones has plus raw power that ranks toward the top of the class, as his swing has leverage and he’s added strength to his frame, gaining as much as 35 pounds in the last year. He has a plus arm as well.

Delvin Perez, mif, International Baseball Academy, Ceiba, P.R.
The 2016 class has fewer shortstop options than 2015 in either the high school or college ranks, with Puerto Rican prepster Perez the best prospect. While he could play with a bit less mustard and more body control, Perez has undeniable tools, with twitchy athleticism, easy plus arm strength and speed, and the range, actions and agility for shortstop. Scouts will be watching the progress of his bat closely.

Josh Lowe, 3b, Pope HS, Marietta, Ga.
Lowe has as much upside as any position player in the draft, with a 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame and the athleticism to make third base work even at his size. The Florida State signee has the arm strength to pitch with easy mid-90s velocity, but his raw power potential wins the day for scouts. His feel for hitting seemed to improve the more quality arms he saw over the course of the summer showcase circuit.

Will Benson, of, The Westminster Schools, Atlanta
With his Atlanta address, lefthanded swing and tall, lean frame, Benson gets physical comparisons to Jason Heyward. That does the Duke commit no favors, as Benson has some holes in his swing that he must work to close. He also has bat speed to rival any hitter in the class, giving him excellent raw power. He’s at least an average runner who fits the right field profile, though his stock is as volatile as any first-team hitter.

Mickey Moniak, of, La Coasta Canyon HS, Carlsbad, Calif.
Moniak, a UCLA signee, doesn’t doesn’t have the explosiveness of fellow outfielders Benson and Blake Rutherford, but he’s a good athlete who can hit and does many things well. His instincts and motor show up the most in center field, where he’s a fine defender whose plus speed plays. Moniak has a solid lefthanded swing with natural timing and gap power, and he could develop into a true plus hitter.

Blake Rutherford, of, Chaminade College Prep, Canoga Park, Calif.
The top hitter in the high school class, Rutherford was the captain of USA Baseball’s 18U gold-medal winning team with a team-best 14 RBIs. Most scouts grade Rutherford as a future plus hitter who could wind up with plus power as well. He’s an above-average runner with a chance to stick in center field. Rutherford’s long track record and high floor could make the UCLA signee the top prep bat drafted.

Ian Anderson, rhp, Shenendohowa HS, Clifton Park, N.Y.
A Vanderbilt signee, Anderson has the body, live arm and Northern background that make scouts comfortable making lofty projections about the quality of his future stuff. His present pitches are plenty good now—his fastball sits in the low 90s presently, he’s shown a feel for a plus changeup and has shown the ability to spin a curveball, which needs work but is making progress.

Austin Bergner, rhp, Windermere (Fla.) HS
Signed to North Carolina, Bergner was hitting 90 mph with his fastball before he got to high school. He now pitches in the low-to-mid 90s, having touched 96. He throws strikes with his changeup and curveball, with the change grading ahead of the breaking ball. His long track record helps but could work against him if he doesn’t continue to show scouts improvement.

Kevin Gowdy, rhp, Santa Barbara (Calif.) HS
Gowdy’s clean arm action makes it easier for him to repeat his release point, making him one of the class’ best strike- throwers. He has a polished delivery and knack for pitching, pounding the zone with a 90-93 mph fastball and potentially plus breaking ball with 10-to-4 shape and low-80s power. A UCLA recruit, Gowdy could move up draft boards with his ability to locate his stuff and his feel for changing speeds.

Jason Groome, lhp, Barnegat (N.J.) HS
Groome, a Vanderbilt signee, is the standard-bearer for this year’s prep class. He’s young for the class but has present strength and impressive physicality at 6-foot-4, 224 pounds. Makeup concerns and injury seem to be the only potential obstacles to Groome being the first prep player drafted. “It’s a gifted body with an easy delivery, great fastball and tremendous curveball that’s the best one in the class,” an NL scouting director said.

Riley Pint, rhp, St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Overland Park, Kan.
A Louisiana State signee, Pint has his supporters to be the top prep pitcher picked because of his outstanding velocity; he’s touched 98 mph with his fastball, though he sits in the 93-94 mph range. Pint’s delivery features a head jerk and inconsistent release point. That leads to insufficient control and below-average command. Pint’s raw stuff excites, and he could be an electric, impact reliever.