2017 Draft Watch List

The 2016 draft has come and gone, and so today we’ll offer a glimpse of the 2017 draft class and introduce BA’s draft coverage for the upcoming year.

One strength of this year’s class appears to be the depth of college pitching, particularly in power conferences. Tanner Houck, Alex Lange, Alex Faedo, Clarke Schmidt, Tristan Beck and J.B. Bukauskas have all shown explosive stuff, and they are just a few of the college arms with the potential to be first-round picks.

There’s also strength in the prep outfield class, which looks like it’s going to offer both impact and depth. Jordon Adell and Quentin Holmes are two high-upside prospects. Adell has a chance to be a five-tool player. He has at least plus arm strength and speed and shows explosive bat speed in the box. He also throws in the mid-90s off the mound and has a lean, athletic body. Holmes is also an exceptionally quick-twitch athlete, with the ability to run the 60-yard dash in 6.4 seconds. Holmes has also shown offensive potential at some heavily-scouted events.

After a down year in Southern California in 2016, the Golden State shows plenty of promise for 2017. There are several intriguing middle infield prospects. Royce Lewis, Jacob Amaya and Nick Allen have developed some track record. Lewis plays for JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), and participated in the 2015 National High School Invitational and the 2016 Boras Classic. Amaya showed well at the 2015 Tournament of Stars, and Allen performed at the 2015 WWBA Championship.

There’s also a deep group of prep arms in California. Hans Crouse is a righthander with a fast arm. Kyle Hurt has an physical frame and has shown flashes with three pitches. Huntington Beach teammates Nicholas Pratto and Hagen Danner both have extensive track record in front of scouts and they are both two-way prospects.

Perhaps the most intriguing Californian is Hunter Greene, a shortstop/righthanded pitcher at Notre Dame High (Sherman Oaks, Calif.). Greene has experience playing for USA Baseball’s 18U National Team, and scouts saw him face Blake Rutherford this spring. Greene has a high ceiling as a shortstop and as a pitcher, showing plus arm strength and bat speed.

Draft writer Hudson Belinsky will spend the summer months watching high school showcases and college summer leagues. From each of the major events that he’ll cover, he will highlight one player each day and offer notes on several players that showed impressive tools. Our staff will compile top prospect lists for the top collegiate summer leagues, and we’ll start to build our foundation for the 2017 BA 500.

But you came here for the Watch List, so let’s get to it. This list was compiled with consideration of personal evaluations and conversations with scouts and coaches. Being a full year away from the draft, we have not identified all of the top players, but this list accounts for most of the top players. Each player on this list has been discussed with at least one source.

A number of things must be understood about the list. A full year away from the draft, few of these players have been scrutinized, and so they’re much easier to dream on. Many of the players listed are going to be high draft picks, but some of them will not live up to the potential they’ve shown in the past, and that’s precisely the reason why the players are listed and not ranked.

Some of the players on this list are much better prospects than others; this is simply a watch list for the next 12 months. We do list 10 prospects that are among the best in the class. These players are listed in alphabetical order by state.

It’s also worth noting that we won’t have a full understanding of the 2017 class until after the signing period. There will be juniors who end up returning to school and re-entering the draft again for 2017. There’s also the pending negotiations between the Red Sox and Jason Groome, who would play at Chipola (Fla.) JC next season if he doesn’t sign with Boston.

Here is a list of 11 prospects who have the potential to fit at the top of this class, in no particular order:

Name	Position	State	School
Hunter Greene	ss/rhp	Calif.	Notre Dame High, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Tristan Beck	rhp	Calif.	Stanford
Alex Faedo	rhp	Fla.	Florida
Jordon Adell	of/rhp	Ky.	Ballard High, Louisville
Alex Lange	rhp	La.	Louisiana State
Tanner Houck	rhp	Mo.	Missouri
J.B. Bukauskas	rhp	N.C.	North Carolina
Quentin Holmes	of	N.Y.	McClancy Memorial High, New York
Conner Uselton	of	Okla.	Southmoore High, Moore, Okla.
Ricardo De La Torre	ss	P.R.	Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Gurabo, P.R.
Kyle Wright	rhp	Tenn.	Vanderbilt

Without further ado, Baseball America’s initial 2017 Draft Watch List.

2017 DRAFT WATCH LIST
Name	Position	State	School	College/HS
Chad Bryant	rhp	Ala.	Thomasville (Ala.) High	HS
Austin Edens	1b	Ala.	Samford	College
MJ Melendez	c	Ala.	Saint James School, Montgomery, Ala.	HS
Tanner Burns	rhp	Ala.	Decatur (Ala.) High	HS
Jordan Anderson	of	Ala.	Clemens High, Madison, Ala.	HS
Jonny Homza	ss	Alaska	South Anchorage (Alaska) High	HS
Casey Martin	ss	Ark.	Lonoke (Ark.) High	HS
JJ Matijevic	1b	Ariz.	Arizona	College
Jacob Gonzalez	3b	Ariz.	Chaparral High, Scottsdale, Ariz.	HS
Nick Brueser	1b/of	Ariz.	Hamilton High, Chandler, Ariz.	HS
Ricky Thomas	lhp	Calif.	Fresno State	College
Keston Hiura	of	Calif.	UC Irvine	College
Hunter Green	ss/rhp	Calif.	Notre Dame High, Sherman Oaks, Calif.	HS
Kyle Hurt	rhp	Calif.	Torrey Pines High, San Diego	HS
Jamal O’Guinn	3b	Calif.	Buchanan High, Clovis, Calif.	HS
Tristan Beck	rhp	Calif.	Stanford	College
Griffin Canning	rhp	Calif.	UCLA	College
Jay Gonzalez	3b	Calif.	Bishop Amat, La Puente, Calif.	HS
Hans Crouse	rhp	Calif.	Dana Hills High, Dana Point, Calif.	HS
Hagen Danner	3b/c/rhp	Calif.	Huntington Beach (Calif.) High	HS
Nicholas Pratto	lhp/1b	Calif.	Huntington Beach (Calif.) High	HS
Troy Claunch	c	Calif.	Vacaville (Calif.) High	HS
Nick Allen	ss	Calif.	Francis Parker, San Diego	HS
Je’Von Ward	of	Calif.	Long Beach (Calif.) Polytechnic High	HS
Ben Ramirez	3b	Calif.	Eastlake High, Chula Vista	HS
Royce Lewis	ss	Calif.	JSerra High, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.	HS
Matthew Sauer	rhp	Calif.	Righetti, Santa Maria, Calif.	HS
Calvin Mitchell	of	Calif.	Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High	HS
Jacob Amaya	ss	Calif.	South Hills High, West Covina, Calif.	HS
Jorge Arellano	lhp	Calif.	Downey (Calif.) High	HS
Blake Beers	rhp	Calif.	Loyola High, Los Angeles	HS
Carlos Lomeli	rhp	Calif.	St. John Bosco High, Bellflower, Calif.	HS
Isaiah Paige	of/rhp	Calif.	Damien High, La Verne, Calif.	HS
Connor Seabold	rhp	Calif.	Cal State Fullerton	HS
Jeremiah Estrada	rhp	Calif.	Palm Desert (Calif.) High	HS
Danny Zimmerman	rhp	Calif.	Redondo Union High, Redondo Beach, Calif.	HS
Hayden King	lhp	Calif.	Mitty High, San Jose, Calif.	HS
Austin Bush	1b	Calif.	UC Santa Barbara	College
R.J. Teijeiro	3b	Calif.	Saint Francis High, Mountainview, Calif.	HS
Kevin Abel	rhp	Calif.	Madison High, San Diego	HS
Rhys Cratty	3b	B.C.	Langley Secondary School, Langley City, B.C.	HS
Michael Stovman	1b	B.C.	Langley Secondary School, Langley City, B.C.	HS
Adam Hall	ss	Ont.	AB Lucas Secondary School, London, Ont.	HS
Ben Casparius	ss	Conn.	Staples High, Westport, Conn.	HS
C.J. Van Eyk	rhp	Fla.	Steinbrenner High, Keystone, Fla.	HS
Alex Faedo	rhp	Fla.	Florida	College
Alex Hernandez	c	Fla.	Flanagan High, Pembroke Pines, Fla.	HS
Alejandro Toral	1b	Fla.	McCarthy, Southwest Ranches, Fla.	HS
Michael Baumann		Fla.	Jacksonville	College
Reece Albert	of	Fla.	Jupiter (Fla.) High	HS
Mason Doolittle	of	Fla.	Jupiter (Fla.) High	HS
Tyler Ahearn	rhp	Fla.	Dwyer High, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.	HS
David Vazquez	ss	Fla.	Westland Hialeah (Fla.) Senior High	HS
Bryson Hutchinson	rhp/1b	Fla.	Spruce Creek High, Port Orange, Fla.	HS
Mark Vientos	ss	Fla.	Flanagan High, Pembroke Pines, Fla.	HS
Kyle Marsh	rhp	Fla.	Central Florida	College
Cre Finfrock	rhp	Fla.	Central Florida	College
Oraj Anu	of	Fla.	Home School	HS
Brandon McCabe	rhp	Fla.	Home School	HS
Robert Touron	rhp	Fla.	Gulliver Schools, Pinecrest, Fla.	HS
Bubba Sangster	1b	Fla.	Umatilla (Fla.) High	HS
Cooper Swanson	ss/rhp	Fla.	Canterbury High, Fort Myers	HS
Brady McConnell	ss	Fla.	Merritt Island (Fla.) High	HS
Christian Robinson	of	Fla.	Viera High, Rockledge, Fla.	HS
Francis Villaman	ss	Fla.	Olympia High, Orlando	HS
Jordan Butler	lhp	Fla.	Alonso High, Tampa	HS
Jake Eder	lhp	Fla.	Atlantic High, Delray Beach, Fla.	HS
Jeter Downs	ss	Fla.	SLAM Charter School, Miami	HS
AJ Labas	rhp	Fla.	Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville	HS
Donovan Benoit	of	Fla.	Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic High	HS
Sam Keating	rhp	Fla.	Canterbury High, Fort Myers	HS
Altoon Coleman	rhp	Fla.	Winter Springs (Fla.) High	HS
JJ Schwarz	c/1b	Fla.	Florida	College
Mike Rivera	c	Fla.	Florida	College
Dalton Guthrie	ss	Fla.	Florida	College
J.C. Escarra	1b/c	Fla.	Florida International	College
Carl Chester	of	Fla.	Miami	College
Taylor Walls	ss	Fla.	Florida State	College
Brendon Little	lhp	Fla.	State College of Fla.	College
Dylan Busby	1b	Fla.	Florida State	College
Freddy Zamora	ss	Fla.	Miami (Fla.) Killian Senior High	HS
Tim Elko	1b	Fla.	Hillsborough High, Tampa	HS
Logan Allen	lhp	Fla.	University High, Orange City, Fla.	HS
Brady Smith	c	Fla.	Niceville (Fla.) Senior High	HS
Matthew Golda	inf	Fla.	Inspiration Academy, Bradenton, Fla.	HS
Austin Martin	inf	Fla.	Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville, Fla.	HS
Chris Seise	inf	Fla.	West Orange High, Winter Garden, Fla.	HS
Anthony Servideo	inf	Fla.	Jupiter (Fla.) High	HS
Shane Shifflett	ss/of	Fla.	Venice (Fla.) Senior High	HS
Justin Farmer	of	Fla.	Riverview (Fla.) High	HS
Joseph Perez	3b/rhp	Fla.	McCarthy, Southwest Ranches, Fla.	HS
Zach Jackson	c	Ga.	Haines City (Fla.) High	HS
Kyle Jacobsen	of	Ga.	Allatoona High, Acworth, Ga.	HS
Bryce Bowen	lhp/1b	Ga.	Elbert County High, Elberton, Ga.	HS
Patrick DeMarco	of	Ga.	Winder-Barrow High, Winder, Ga.	HS
Cole McNamee	3b/of	Ga.	Blessed Trinity Catholic High, Roswell, Ga.	HS
D.L. Hall	lhp	Ga.	Houston County High, Warner Robins, Ga.	HS
C.J. Smith	lhp	Ga.	Home School	HS
Beau Hanna	of	Ga.	Winder-Barrow High, Winder, Ga.	HS
Jason Rooks	of	Ga.	Walton High, Marietta, Ga.	HS
Zachary Daniels	of	Ga.	Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, McDonough, Ga.	HS
Bo Majkowski	of	Ga.	Johns Creek (Ga.) High	HS
Cole Brannen	of	Ga.	The Westfield School, Perry, Ga.	HS
Tony Dibrell	rhp	Ga.	Kennesaw State	GA
Luis Campisano	c	Ga.	Cross Creek High, Augusta, Ga.	HS
Steven Williams	c	Ga.	Deerfield-Windsor High, Albany, Ga.	HS
Markus Ramos	rhp	Hawaii	Campbell High, Ewa Beach, Hawaii	HS
Brad Czerniejewski	of	Ill.	Lake Forest (Ill.) High	HS
Ryan Kutt	rhp	Ill.	Brother Rice High, Chicago	HS
Brady Corrigan	rhp	Ill.	Plainfield (Ill.) North High	HS
Joe Donovan	c	Ill.	Westmont (Ill.) High	HS
Erik Kaiser	rhp	Ill.	Waterloo (Ill.) High	HS
Calvin Greenfield	c	Ill.	St. Rita of Cascia High, Chicago	HS
Reid Detmers	lhp	Ill.	Nokomis (Ill.) High	HS
Isaiah Pasteur	3b	Ind.	Indiana	College
Logan Sowers	of	Ind.	Indiana	College
Brian Gursky	lhp	Ind.	St. Joseph High, South Bend, Ind.	HS
Chandler Ferguson	rhp	Ind.	Jefferson High, Lafayette, Ind.	HS
Zebulon Vermillion	rhp	Kan.	Shawnee Mission East, Prairie Village, Kan.	HS
Jordon Adell	of/rhp	Ky.	Ballard High, Louisville	HS
Devin Hairston	ss	Ky.	Louisville	College
Evan White	1b	Ky.	Kentucky	College
Kade McClure	rhp	Ky.	Louisville	College
Brendan McKay	1b/lhp	Ky.	Louisville	College
Zach Pop	rhp	Ky.	Kentucky	College
Ben Jordan	rhp	Ky.	West Carter County High, Olive Hill, Ky.	HS
Kaleb Duckworth	of	Ky.	Western Kentucky	College
Colby Fitch	c	Ky.	Louisville	College
Alex Lange	rhp	La.	Louisiana State	College
Daniel Cabrera	of	La.	Curtis Christian High, New Orleans	HS
Michael Papierski	c	La.	Louisiana State	HS
Jacob Pearson	of	La.	West Monroe (La.) High	HS
Blayne Enlow	rhp	La.	St. Amat (La.) High	HS
Jeremy Arocho	ss	Md.	Old Mill High, Millersville, Md.	HS
Brandon Dorsey	3b	Md.	Calvert Hall College High, Baltimore	HS
Randy Bednar	of	Md.	Landon School, Bethesda	HS
Kevin Smith	ss	Md.	Maryland	College
Chris Murphy	rhp	Maine	Maine	College
Steve Mann	of	Mich.	Detroit Country Day, Beverly Hills, Mich.	HS
Drew Lugbauer	c	Mich.	Michigan	College
Sam Weatherly	lhp	Mich.	Howell (Mich.) High	HS
Sam Carlson	rhp/of	Minn.	Burnsville (Minn.) High	HS
Jake Burger	3b	Mo.	Missouri State	College
Tanner Houck	rhp	Mo.	Missouri	College
Joe Boyle	rhp	Mo.	Fort Zumwalt West, O’Fallon, Mo.	HS
Bryce Montes de Oca	rhp	Mo.	Missouri	College
Will Stokes	rhp	Miss.	Mississippi	College
Kier Meredith	of	N.C.	Glenn High, Kernersville, N.C.	HS
Cole Maye	lhp	N.C.	Huff High, Cornelius, N.C.	HS
Stuart Fairchild	of	N.C.	Wake Forest	College
Hunter Williams	lhp	N.C.	North Carolina	College
Logan Warmoth	ss	N.C.	North Carolina	College
J.B. Bukauskas	rhp	N.C.	North Carolina	College
Austin Beck	of	N.C.	North Davidson High, Lexington, N.C.	HS
Sam Hall	of	N.C.	Topsail High, Hampstead, N.C.	HS
Mackenzie Gore	lhp	N.C.	Whiteville (N.C.) High	HS
Tate Pennington	ss/rhp	N.C.	Butler High, Matthews, N.C.	HS
Justin Bullock	rhp	N.C.	South Granville High, Creedmoor, N.C.	HS
Gavin Sheets	1b/of	N.C.	Wake Forest	College
Justin Bellinger	1b	N.C.	Duke	College
Noah Campbell	ss	N.C.	Cardinal Gibbons, Raleigh, N.C.	HS
Gavin Sheets	1b/of	N.C.	Wake Forest	College
Joe Dunand	ss	N.C.	N.C. State	College
Brock Deatherage	of	N.C.	N.C. State	College
Tommy DeJuneas	rhp	N.C.	N.C. State	College
Brian Miller	1b/of	N.C.	North Carolina	College
Tyler Keenan	3b	N.C.	Cleveland High, Clayton, N.C.	HS
Nick Feight	c	N.C.	UNC Wilmington	College
Joe Ingle	rhp	N.C.	East Carolina	College
Garrett Blaylock	ss	N.C.	Roberson High, Asheville, N.C.	HS
Scott Schreiber	inf	Neb.	Nebraska	College
Keith Rogalla	rhp	Neb.	Creighton	College
David Lamanna	c	N.J.	Bergen Catholic High, Oradell, N.J.	HS
Shane McCarthy	rhp	N.J.	Seton Hall	College
Buddy Kennedy	3b	N.J.	Millville (N.J.) Senior High	HS
Tyler Dearden	of	N.J.	Rancocas Valley High, Mount Holly, N.J.	HS
Shayne Clowar	rhp	N.J.	Bishop Eustace Prep, Pennsauken, N.J.	HS
Zack Schellenger	rhp	N.J.	Seton Hall	College
Jonathan Stroman	rhp	N.M.	La Cueva High, Albuquerque	HS
Quentin Holmes	of	N.Y.	McClancy Memorial High, New York	HS
Brian Morrell	rhp/ss	N.Y.	Shoreham-Wading River High, Shoreham, N.Y.	HS
Leugim Castillo	of	N.Y.	Lancaster (N.Y.) High	HS
Nicholas Storz	rhp	N.Y.	Poly Prep, New York	HS
Connor Hamilton	c	N.Y.	Adirondack High, Boonville, N.Y.	HS
Conner Uselton	of	Okla.	Southmoore High, Moore, Okla.	HS
Mitchell Stone	lhp	Okla.	Deer Creek High, Edmond, Okla.	HS
Justin Cooke	c	Okla.	Norman (Okla.) High	HS
Jake Taylor	c	Okla.	Shawnee (Okla.) High	HS
Cade Cavalli	rhp	Okla.	Bixby (Okla.) High	HS
Cooper Davis	of	Ont.	St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Mississauga, Ont.	HS
KJ Harrison	c/1b	Ore.	Oregon State	College
Drew Rasmussen	rhp	Ore.	Oregon State	College
David Peterson	lhp	Ore.	Oregon	College
Elliott Cary	of	Ore.	Oregon State	College
Shane Muntz	rhp	Pa.	Malvern (Pa.) Prep	HS
Trent Vietmeier	rhp	Pa.	Montour High, McKees Rocks, Pa.	HS
Joe Lancelotti	rhp	Pa.	Archbishop Wood, Warminster, Pa.	HS
Brendan Cellucci	lhp	Pa.	William Penn Charter, Philadelphia	HS
Deon Stafford	c	Pa.	Saint Joseph’s	College
Jan Figueroa	rhp	P.R.	Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy	HS
Ricardo De La Torre	ss	P.R.	Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Gurabo, P.R.	HS
Gabriel Rodriguez	of/lhp	P.R.	Toa Alta, P.R.	HS
Wilberto Rivera	rhp	P.R.	Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy	HS
Tyler Wilson	lhp	R.I.	Rhode Island	College
James Karinchak	rhp	R.I.	Bryant	College
Clarke Schmidt	rhp	S.C.	South Carolina	College
Tyler Johnson	rhp	S.C.	South Carolina	College
Bobby Holmes	rhp	S.C.	Coastal Carolina	College
Alex Destino	of	S.C.	South Carolina	College
Jeren Kendall	of	Tenn.	Vanderbilt	College
Kyle Wright	rhp	Tenn.	Vanderbilt	College
Brady Puckett	rhp	Tenn.	Lipscomb	College
Jeffrey Passantino	rhp	Tenn.	Lipscomb	College
Bryce Jarvis	rhp	Tenn.	Brentwood Academy, Nashville	HS
Zach Warren	lhp	Tenn.	Tennessee	College
Colton Hathcock	rhp	Tenn.	Memphis	College
Hugh Fisher	lhp	Tenn.	Briarcrest Christian School, Memphis	HS
Adam Oviedo	ss	Texas	Alvarado (Texas) High	HS
Corey Julks		Texas	Houston	College
Tristan Gray	ss/3b	Texas	Rice	College
Evan Skoug	c	Texas	Texas Christian	College
Ryan Vilade	ss/rhp	Texas	Frisco (Texas) High	HS
Cole Turney	of	Texas	Travis High, Richmond, Texas	HS
Jack Conlon	rhp	Texas	Clements High, Sugarland, Texas	HS
John Kodros	lhp	Texas	Coppell (Texas) High	HS
Russell Smith	lhp	Texas	Midlothian (Texas) High	HS
D’Mond LaFond	rhp	Texas	The Woodlands (Texas) High	HS
Alex Scherff	rhp	Texas	Prestonwood Christian Academy, Plano, Texas	HS
Seth Elledge	rhp	Texas	Dallas Baptist	College
Corbin Martin	rhp	Texas	Texas A&M	College
Seth Romero	lhp	Texas	Houston	College
Turner Larkins	rhp	Texas	Texas A&M	College
Ricardo Salinas	rhp	Texas	Rice	College
Joe Gobilout	lhp	Texas	St. John’s School, Houston	HS
Trei Cruz	ss	Texas	Episcopal High, Bellaire, Texas	HS
Lamar Sparks	of	Texas	Seven Lakes High, Katy, Texas	HS
Glen Otto	rhp	Texas	Rice	College
Richard Gilbert	lhp	Texas	Johnson High, San Antonio, Texas	HS
Zachary DeLoach	rhp/of	Texas	Hebron High, Carrollton, Texas	HS
Shane Baz	rhp	Texas	Concordia Lutheran High, Tomball, Texas	HS
Jayson Rose	rhp	Utah	Utah	College
Tyler Solomon	c	Va.	Battlefield High, Haymarket, Va.	HS
Ernie Clement	of	Va.	Virginia	College
Pavin Smith	1b	Va.	Virginia	College
Adam Haseley	of	Va.	Virginia	College
Tommy Doyle	rhp	Va.	Virginia	College
Mike Osinski	ss	Va.	Longwood	College
Kyle Adams	c	Va.	Richmond	College
Kyle Whitten	rhp	Va.	Osbourn Park High, Manassas, Va.	HS
Nick Maservey	lhp	Wash.	Seattle	College
Tarik Skubal	lhp	Wash.	Seattle	College