A new year, a new board and new ranks. With the summer showcase circuit in the books, we’re prepared to release our Top 100 prospect. We’re feeling pretty good about where things currently lay. As always, we’re operating under three pillars:
Our team’s Live Looks.
Trackman, Rapsodo and data/metric evaluation.
Conversations within the industry. What are scouting executives, cross-checkers and area scouts seeing at the ballfields?
This Top 100 really establishes a couple things:
There’s an exciting crop of prep shortstops in 2023 with upside.
High school pitching has upside, but might not be as strong as some previous years
Latest Update: 2/6/2023
1. Max Clark
Outfield, Franklin Community
A premium high school hitter. Clark has a fantastic feel for the strike zone and has a swing catered toward using the entire field. He's a pro hitter. Clark doesn't try to hit homers. He's a line drive machine. That said, he's really begun developing into plenty of game power and could run into 20+ homers at his peak. Clark figures to stick in centerfield where his 70-grade run times and strong routes should age beautifully. The floor here is pretty high as far as prep bats go. If there's one critique, scouts do question where the body can go from here. He's already incredibly strong and the physical projection portion of his profile may be lacking. His profile projects somewhere between Andrew Benintendi and Michael Harris II.
2. Walker Jenkins
Outfield, South Brunswick
Jenkins is long, lean, athletic, and projectable at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, showcasing some of the best bat speed and power in the class. He’s comfortably a plus runner with a huge arm that will play at any outfield spot. He's performed at every stop along the amateur circuit and earned a spot on Team USA 18u as an underclassman. This is one of the premier bats in the 2023 class, even if he does physically mature into a corner role when it's all said and done. We’re talking about an thunderous bat that should hit for average and power. There are skeptics who worry about a myriad of injuries that have plagued Jenkins during his prep career. Jenkins has missed time with hip issues, hamstring issues and a broken hamate bone, something teams will need to consider.
3. Aidan Miller
Third Base, JW Mitchell
Miller is one of the most physical preps in the 2023 class. He's big and athletic with explosive power that stems from a combination of raw strength and excellent bat speed. Miller is a consistent high-performer on the amateur circuit and his mammoth power finds it way into games already. He can run a fastball into the low-90s on the mound, but his future is likely swinging a bat. The body is already very thick and muscular, so he'll need to maintain his athleticism as he gets older. For now, it's comfortably a third base profile, with a corner outfield or first base role possible as he ages.
4. Colt Emerson
Shortstop, John Glenn
Emerson showcased a whole lot of tools on the circuit in 2022 with an impressive hit tool and sneaky power. The swing is anchored by lightning quick hands that have feel to all-fields with some pull-side juice. Emerson has shown the ability to get to any ball in any quadrant of the zone and slash it gap-to-gap. Emerson is largely average on the dirt, though his range and hands do show better than his average speed. He may ultimately be a second baseman, but if it's a plus hit tool, it won't matter where he plays.
5. Arjun Nimmala
Shortstop, Strawberry Crest
Long, lean and explosive describe Nimmala well. He started tapping into big power on the showcase circuit but still remains super projectable and likely to add plenty more strength. Right now, it's more power-over-hit, but scouts think the hit tool could be average too. There's potential here to be an athletic impact bat on the left side of the infield, likely at third base at the next level. Nimmala will be just 17 years old at the time of the draft and offers some of the most intriguing athlete upside at the top of the class.
6. Kevin McGonigle
Shortstop, Monsignor Bonner
McGonigle is a smaller, twitchy infielder with lightning for hands and impressive core strength at the plate. He's hit absolutely everywhere he's gone. It's a compact, strong, sometimes rotational cut that creates big pound-for-pound pull-side power, though McGonigle is in no rush to sellout for the juice. He'll ambush pitches over the right field fence, but it's not necessarily his game. This is an advanced hitter. McGonigle has a loose, flashy glove with bouncy actions on the dirt. He possesses an average arm and his feet can get short and choppy on balls his to his left and right. Some believe the profile is best suited as an impact second baseman, though proponents point to his athleticism, lateral burst and sparky actions as reasons to let him develop as a SS.
7. Charlee Soto
Right-Handed Pitcher, Reborn Christian
Soto brings a lot of intrigue to the table. He's been up to 98 MPH, sitting 92-96 MPH with late running life. He's got a short biting slider in the mid-80's that he's primarily utilized against righties to garner chases, as well as a tumbling change-up in the same velocity band that he can command away from lefties with consistency. He can get a bit erratic with his strike-throwing at times, but there's a ton of upside to unlock here, plus he'll be one of the youngest players in this draft class.
8. Noble Meyer
Right-Handed Pitcher, Jesuit
Jesuit HS in Portland, Oregon has become a total pitching factory. From Mick Abel to Nelson Keljo, Jesuit has a knack for developing arms. Meyer burst onto the scene during the 2022 showcase circuit with a fastball up to 98 featuring arm-side run and some ride. It's a deceptive slot that's tough to pick up too. His slider works into the mid-80s with sweeping action and short vertical tilt. Meyer offers a mid-80s changeup that lags behind his other two weapons, but shows enough promise for scouts to slap a future 50 grade on the off-speed offering. Meyer is also an impressive athlete coming from a 6-foot-5, long, lanky frame. He checks a lot of boxes.
9. Thomas White
Left-Handed Pitcher, Phillips Academy
There are those that believe White is the best prep southpaw prospect available in any draft since Steve Avery was selected no. 3 overall in 1988. Better than Brien Taylor. Better than MacKenzie Gore. Better than the whole lot of them. White has been a totem on the prep scouting scene since he was 13 years old. It's a whippy arm with huge projection, but already shoving gas. White has been up to 96 and many believe he'll approach triple digits when it's all said and done. He's shown feel for spinning the baseball, primarily a low-to-mid 70s curveball with tight tilt that projects. White can also pronate and turn over a changeup. At this stage, both of his secondaries are a work-in-progress, but show big promise. Given his size, his move down the mound and subsequent extension, the baseball explodes on hitters with life at the top of the zone. Skeptics do question the fastball command, however. That’ll be a big part of his development.
10. Blake Mitchell
Catcher, Sinton
Mitchell is a do-it-all player and the epitome of a high school star. On the mound, he's been up to 97 with a promising slider. Some think he's got a home on the mound. But his actions behind the plate have many believing he's a prototype backstop of the future. Mitchell, a left-handed hitting thumper, has significant raw power and feel for driving the baseball without selling out for the juice. He can get pull-happy, but has shown a willingness to use the left-center field gap. Behind the plate, Mitchell has plus arm strength with upper-tier athleticism for the position. His receiving skills are impressive considering his age. Mitchell has some similarities to Tyler Soderstrom from 2020 with more pure ability behind the plate at this same stage.