Baseball America’s Top 100 High School prospects for the 2018 draft was compiled by Carlos Collazo in consultation with scouts and evaluators from major league clubs. It follows the end of the showcase season as well as the early signing period, as the list reflects the college choices of the players. It’s early in the draft process, so this order will change as more information emerges about the players and as the spring season begins.
College baseball’s early signing period ended Wednesday, which marks Baseball America’s annual early list of Top 100 Prospects. The list is designed to give an early look at the composition of the 2018 class, with the caveat that a lot can change with 199 more days until the actual draft, which starts on June 4, 2018.
Early in the summer, scouts believed that this year’s high school class was heavy on pitching, with the southeast region of the country being particularly strong across the board–both on depth and with impact players at the top. If our list at this point is any indication, that remains the case.
Using the last four BA top 100 high school lists as a proxy, let’s take a look at how the top 25 of this year’s class compares to the previous four years.
The first thing that stands out is righthanded pitching. That is clearly the strength of the 2018 high school class, with 11 righthanders* landing in the top 25–more than any of the previous four years with the closest class being a 2015 group that had 10 righthanded pitchers among the top 25.
When looking at the strength of pitching overall (including lefties and righties), the 2018 class still stands out with 14 pitchers among the top 25. The previous classes are close, and remarkably consistent, with 13 pitchers in the top 25 in each of the last four draft classes going back to 2014.
Another strength of the 2018 class, relative to the previous four classes, is at catcher. There was just one catching prospect on the 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 top 100 lists, compared to three on this year’s list with Will Banfield (10), Noah Naylor (22) and Anthony Seigler (23). The catchers on the previous years’ lists were Alex Jackson (No. 2, 2014), Chris Betts (No. 7, 2015), Cooper Johnson (No. 22, 2016) and M.J. Melendez (No. 15, 2017). High school catching is historically one of the most risky demographics in the draft, which makes the top catchers in the 2018 class exciting and also difficult to rank as there tends to be less of a consensus on where these players fall than other positions.
Outfield is less represented at the top of the 2018 class, with just three outfielders (No. 5 Jarred Kelenic, No. 19 Joe Gray Jr. and No. 20 Mike Siani) among the top 25, compared to an average of five during the last four years. The 2017 and 2015 lists had six outfielders among the top 25, while the 2016 and 2014 classes both had four apiece.
Geographically, it is a down year for California, which places just two players in the top 25 (No. 2 Brice Turang and No. 17 Cole Winn, who actually moved from Colorado this summer). No other class going back to 2014 had fewer than four players representing the golden state, and last year’s 2017 class had almost a third of the list (8) made up of players from California.
That’s not to say there are no prospects from California this year. The depth of the state remains solid with 14 players making the top 100. But there’s an obvious lack of top-tier California prospects compared to the norm for the state, which stands out even more given the standout 2017 crop.
Georgia has six players on the list, which is more than any of the previous four classes. Florida has six players as well, tying the 2014 class with the most Top 25 sunshine state prospects in the last few years.
*When dealing with players listed at multiple positions, the primary position listed for each player was used to determine demographics. For example, this year Mason Denaburg is listed as a RHP/C. For our purposes here, we are looking at him as if he were solely a RHP, as that is where the industry currently sees him as having a higher ceiling.
1. RHP Ethan Hankins | 6-6 | 215 | (Forsyth Central HS, Cumming, Ga.) | Vanderbilt ??
2. SS Brice Turang | 6-1 | 165 | (Santiago HS, Corona, Calif.) | LSU ??
3. 3B Nolan Gorman | 6-1 | 210 | (Sandra Day O’Connor HS, Phoenix) | Arizona ??
4. LHP Matthew Liberatore | 6-5 | 200 | (Mountain Ridge HS, Riverdale, Ariz.) | Arizona
5. OF Jarred Kelenic | 6-1 | 196 | (Waukesha (Wisc.) West HS) | Louisville ??
6. SS Nander De Sedas | 6-1 | 190 | (Montverde (Fla.) Academy) | FSU ??
7. RHP Kumar Rocker | 6-4 | 240 | (North Oconee HS, Bogart, Ga.) | Vanderbilt
8. LHP Ryan Weathers | 6-2 | 210 | (Loretto (Tenn.) HS) | Vanderbilt
9. RHP/C Mason Denaburg | 6-3 | 190 | (Merritt Island (Fla.) HS) | Florida ??
10. C Will Banfield | 6-0 | 200 | (Brookwood HS, Snellville, Ga.) | Vanderbilt ??
11. 1B Triston Casas | 6-4 | 238 | (American Heritage School, Plantation, Fla.) | Miami ??
12. RHP Mike Vasil | 6-4 | 210 | (Boston College HS) | Virginia
13. RHP Carter Stewart | 6-6 | 200 | (Eau Gallie HS, Melbourne, Fla.) | Miss. State ??
14. RHP Cole Wilcox | 6-5 | 220 | (Heritage HS, Ringgold, Ga.) | Georgia ??
15. SS Xavier Edwards | 5-10 | 155 | (North Broward Prep, Coconut Creek, Fla.) | Vanderbilt
16. RHP Slade Cecconi | 6-4 | 193 | (Trinity Prep, Winter Park, Fla.) | Miami
17. RHP Cole Winn | 6-2 | 195 | (Orange (Calif.) Lutheran HS) | Miss. State
18. RHP Austin Becker | 6-6 | 185 | (Big Walnut HS, Sunbury, Ohio) | Vanderbilt ??
19. OF Joe Gray Jr. | 6-3 | 195 | (Hattiesburg (Miss.) HS) | Mississippi ??
20. OF Mike Siani | 6-0 | 180 | (William Penn Charter, Glenside, Pa.) | Virginia ??
21. RHP Braxton Ashcraft | 6-5 | 195 | (Robinson (Texas) HS) | Baylor
22. C Noah Naylor | 6-0 | 195 | (St. Joan of Arc Catholic SS, Mississauga, Ont.) | Texas A&M ??
23. C Anthony Seigler | 5-11 | 200 | (Cartersville (Ga.) HS) | Florida ??
24. LHP Luke Bartnicki | 6-3 | 210 | (Walton HS, Marietta, Ga.) | Georgia Tech ??
25. RHP Landon Marceaux | 6-0 | 180 | (Destrehan (La.) HS) | LSU
26. OF Connor Scott | 6-4 | 180 | (Plant HS, Tampa) | Florida ??
27. RHP Owen White | 6-3 | 175 | (Jesse C. Carson HS, China Grove, N.C.) | South Carolina ??
28. SS Jeremiah Jackson | 6-0 | 170 | (St. Luke’s Episcopal School, Mobile, Ala.) | Miss. State ??
29. OF Alek Thomas | 5-11 | 175 | (Mount Carmel HS, Chicago, Ill.) | TCU ??
30. RHP Jaden Hill | 6-4 | 215 | (Ashdown (Ark.) HS) | LSU
31. RHP JT Ginn | 6-2 | 199 | (Brandon (Miss.) HS) | Miss. State
32. 3B/SS Jordan Groshans | 6-4 | 190 | (Magnolia (Texas) HS) | Kansas ??
33. RHP Adam Kloffenstein | 6-5 | 220 | (Magnolia (Texas) HS) | TCU
34. OF Elijah Cabell | 6-2 | 190 | (TNXL Academy, Altamonte Springs, Fla.) | LSU ??
35. 3B/RHP Nick Northcut | 6-0 | 200 | (Mason (Ohio) HS) | Vanderbilt
36. RHP Jack Perkins | 6-2 | 208 | (Kokomo (Ind.) HS) | Louisville
37. OF Nick Decker | 6-0 | 200 | (Seneca HS, Tabernacle, N.J.) | Maryland
38. RHP/3B Simeon Woods-Richardson | 6-4 | 210 | (Kempner HS, Sugar Land, Tex.) | Texas
39. LHP Jonathan Childress | 6-4 | 215 | (Forney (Texas) HS) | Texas A&M
40. RHP Lineras Torres Jr. | 6-2 | 185 | (Beacon School, New York, N.Y.) | St. John’s
41. OF Max Marusak | 6-0 | 175 | (Amarillo (Texas) HS) | Texas Tech ??
42. OF Ryder Green | 6-2 | 205 | (Knoxville (Tenn.) Christian Academy) | Vanderbilt ??
43. OF Parker Meadows | 6-4 | 195 | (Grayson (Ga.) HS) | Clemson
44. SS/OF Osiris Johnson | 6-1 | 185 | (Encinal HS, Alameda, Calif.) | Cal State Fullerton ??
45. LHP/1B J.P. Gates | 6-2 | 190 | (Nature Coast Tech HS, Spring Hill, Fla.) | Miami
46. RHP Carter Raffield | 6-4 | 215 | (Bleckley County HS, Cochran, Ga.) | Clemson
47. OF Korey Holland | 6-0 | 173 | (Langham Creek HS, Houston) | Texas
48. SS/3B Raynel Delgado | 6-2 | 195 | (Calvary Christian Academy, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) | FIU ??
49. RHP Dominic Pipkin | 6-4 | 170 | (Pinole Valley HS, Pinole, Calif.) | California
50. LHP Mason Ronan | 6-2 | 190 | (Penn Cambria HS, Cresson, Pa.) | Pittsburgh
51. RHP Justin Jarvis | 6-2 | 160 | (Mooresville (N.C.) HS) | UNC Wilmington
52. OF Preston Hartsell | 6-0 | 195 | (Corona Del Mar HS, Newport Beach, Calif.) | USC
53. SS Blaze Alexander | 6-0 | 160 | (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.) | South Carolina ??
54. SS Bryce Reagan | 6-2 | 190 | (IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.) | Texas
55. 1B/3B Grant Lavigne | 6-4 | 230 | (Bedford (N.H.) HS) | Wake Forest
56. SS/3B/C Charles Mack | 5-11 | 185 | (Williamsville (N.Y.) East HS) | Clemson
57. SS/RHP Brandon Dieter | 6-0 | 175 | (South Hills HS, West Covina, Calif.) | Stanford ??
58. OF Nick Schnell | 6-2 | 180 | (Roncalli HS, Indianapolis, Ind.) | Louisville
59. RHP Chandler Champlain | 6-5 | 205 | (Santa Margarita Catholic HS, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) | USC
60. LHP Joseph Menefee | 6-1 | 210 | (George Ranch HS, Richmond, Tex.) | Texas A&M
61. OF Vinny Tosti | 6-0 | 190 | (Mater Dei HS, Santa Anna, Calif.) | Oregon
62. OF Brennen Davis | 6-4 | 175 | (Basha HS, Chandler, Ariz.) | Miami
63. SS Jonathan Ornelas | 6-0 | 160 | (Kellis HS, Glendale, Ariz.) | Tennessee
64. C C.J. Willis | 6-4 | 185 | (Ruston (La.) HS) | LSU ??
65. SS/3B Kendall Logan Simmons | 6-3 | 190 | (Tattnall Square Academy, Macon, Ga.) | Georgia Tech
66. LHP Carter Lohman | 6-2 | 190 | (Hamilton Southeastern HS, Fishers, Ind.) | Louisville
67. LHP Garrett McDaniels | 6-3 | 160 | (Pee Dee Academy, Mullins, S.C.) | Coastal Carolina
68. C Kameron Ojeda | 6-1 | 185 | (St. John Bosco HS, Bellflower, Calif.) | Cal State Fullerton ??
69. LHP Kaleb Hill | 6-4 | 215 | (Watson Chapel HS, Pine Bluff, Ark.) | Mississippi
70. LHP Mitchell Parker | 6-3 | 195 | (Manzano HS, Albuquerque) | Tennessee
71. SS Kevin Vargas | 6-2 | 173 | (International Baseball Academy, Salinas, P.R.) | FIU ??
72. 3B/2B/OF Cory Acton | 6-1 | 165 | (American Heritage School, Plantation, Fla.) | Florida
73. C Austin Wells | 6-2 | 195 | (Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas, Nev.) | Arizona ??
74. LHP Brandon Neeck | 6-1 | 185 | (Horace Greeley HS, Chappaqua, N.Y.) | Virginia
75. C Adrian Del Castillo | 6-0 | 195 | (Gulliver Schools, Pinecrest, Fla.) | Miami
76. SS/3B Sean Guilbe | 6-2 | 190 | (Berks Catholic HS, Reading, Pa.) | Tennessee
77. LHP Drew Rom | 6-2 | 177 | (Highlands HS, Fort Thomas, Ken.) | Michigan
78. RHP/OF Tyler Ras | 6-4 | 195 | (Middletown North HS, Middletown, N.J.) | Alabama
79. RHP Ethan Smith | 6-3 | 200 | (Mount Juliet (Tenn.) HS) | Vanderbilt
80. SS/2B Matt McLain | 5-10 | 175 | (Arnold O. Beckman HS, Irvine, Calif.) | UCLA
81. SS Tim Borden | 6-2 | 180 | (Our Lady of Providence HS, Clarksville, Ind.) | Louisville
82. LHP Garrett Wade | 6-2 | 180 | (Hartselle (Ala.) HS) | Auburn
83. LHP Justin Wrobleski | 6-2 | 180 | (Sequoyah HS, Canton, Ga.) | Clemson
84. SS/C Addison Barger | 6-0 | 175 | (King HS, Tampa) | Florida ??
85. RHP David Luethje | 6-5 | 185 | (Vero Beach (Fla.) HS) | Florida
86. RHP Levi Kelly | 6-4 | 200 | (Bishop Verot HS, Fort Myers, Fla.) | LSU
87. SS Jake Moberg | 6-2 | 184 | (Vista Murrieta (Calif.) HS) | UCLA
88. OF Kendrick Calilao | 6-1 | 195 | (The First Academy, Orlando) | Florida
89. RHP Ty Madden | 6-3 | 180 | (Cypress (Texas) Ranch HS) | Texas
90. SS Emilio Rosas | 6-1 | 175 | (Mater Dei HS, Santa Anna, Calif.) | USC
91. RHP Blake Burzell | 6-6 | 205 | (Laguna Beach (Calif.) HS) | Duke
92. RHP/OF Seth Halvorsen | 6-1 | 195 | (Heritage Christian Academy, Maple Grove, Minn.) | Missouri
93. RHP Chase Costello | 6-4 | 193 | (Pompano Beach (Fla.) HS) | LSU ??
94. 3B/SS Brandon Howlett | 6-1 | 205 | (George W. Jenkins HS, Lakeland, Fla.) | FSU
95. RHP Cristian Sanchez | 6-3 | 170 | (Centreville (Va.) HS) | Virginia
96. OF Basiel Williams | 6-3 | 180 | (Ponchatoula HS, Tangipahoa Parish, La.) | Miss. State
97. RHP Matt Rudis | 6-3 | 195 | (Madisonville (Texas) HS) | TCU
98. RHP Jayson Schroeder | 6-2 | 205 | (Juanita HS, Kirkland, Wash.) | Washington
99. LHP Erik Tolman | 6-2 | 180 | (El Toro HS, Lake Forest, Calif.) | Cal Poly
100. OF/LHP Brady Allen | 6-1 | 200 | (George W. Jenkins HS, Lakeland, Fla.) | South Carolina
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