2024 Pre-Season Top 100 Prospects Led by SS Jackson Holliday
Introducing the pSTFERA Suite - a new set of predictive ERA-estimators based on the Stuff of a given pitch, put on an ERA scale.
Previewing the 2024 Bowman baseball trading card product with a focus on every player that has a 1st Bowman card. Here you will find the most desirable 1st Bowman prospect cards of players including Walker Jenkins, Dylan Crew, George Lombard Jr., Arjun Nimmal, Brock Wilken, Aidan Miller, and over 80 more prospects.
A new year, a new board and new ranks. The Top 300 is here. With the summer showcase circuit behind us and college fall ball in the rearview mirror, we’re ready to re-rank the 2023 draft class. Our team has taken in 9 showcase tournaments and been closely monitoring fall scrimmages. We’ve collected data and pitch metrics from guys showcasing their summer gains and, boy, do things look promising. Some guys are breaking out.
A new year, a new board and new ranks. The Top 300 is here. With the summer showcase circuit behind us and college fall ball in the rearview mirror, we’re ready to re-rank the 2023 draft class. Our team has taken in 9 showcase tournaments and been closely monitoring fall scrimmages. We’ve collected data and pitch metrics from guys showcasing their summer gains and, boy, do things look promising. Some guys are breaking out.
A new year, a new board and new ranks. With the summer showcase circuit behind us and college fall ball in full swing, we’re ready to re-rank the 2023 draft class. Our team has taken in 9 showcase tournaments and been closely monitoring fall scrimmages. Some guys are breaking out. As always, our boards are built on three pillars:
A new year, a new board and new ranks. With Prospect Development Pipeline and the Perfect Game National Showcase in the books, we’re prepared to release our Top 100 prospect. These will shift in the coming months after Area Code Games, East Coast Pro and World Wood Bat Championships, but we’re feeling pretty good about where things currently lay.
We’ve finally reached draft week for the 2022 class, which means we will finally be able to dive deep into the 2023 class in short order. But, with the overlap between the classes, we’ve gotten a head-start, as the PDP League ran through the holiday weekend.
100 of the top prep players in the country flocked to Cary, North Carolina for a week-long four team series in front of a plethora of scouts to display their skillsets and tools as their summer circuit is in full gear. In this piece, I’ll cover twelve players who performed well throughout the week, including some lower ranked players who could see a bump in their stock as the summer continues.
You are more than likely looking at the best hit tool in this prep class in McGonigle. He’s got a smaller frame with some strength to it at 5’11”, 185 pounds and has plenty of athleticism and twitch, as well.
He attacks early in the count and often, recording multiple first pitch singles throughout the week, including three in his first game of the week. He stays short to the ball and has incredible bat speed and does not miss the barrel often. He’s also got some pop to his bat, showcasing good power in batting practice, as well. He has the makings of a potential plus hitter moving forward. In the field, he’s as smooth as they come. A fluid defender up the middle, McGonigle has good range and a solid arm and likely profiles at shortstop as he gets older. All in all, it’s an enticing package of tools that should allow the Auburn commit to hear his name called early next summer.
Kevin McGonigle (PA) has just flat out hit all week. Quick lefty bat, attacks pitches in the zone early in at-bats and uses all fields to hit. Has versatility to him, smooth defender up the middle. Committed to Auburn. pic.twitter.com/U7AUJQ71Q5
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 5, 2022
I had a hard time debating about who had the best pitching performances throughout the week, but ultimately, I settled for Oregon’s Noble Meyer. Hailing from the same school as 2020 first rounder Mick Abel, Meyer displayed excellent stuff throughout the week.
Meyer has the stereotypical projectable body type, long limbs attached to a slender frame at 6’5”, 195 pounds. He throws from a near side-arm slot and has a quick right arm from a relatively effortless delivery. In his first outing, Meyer sat in the 90-94 MPH range with the fastball, showcasing good life up in the zone, pairing it with a sweepy, high-spin slider in the low-mid 80’s and a change-up with depth. However, the second outing of the week proved to be the head-turner. Meyer topped out at 98 MPH, sitting 95-97 MPH with the same life on the fastball, excellent late biting sweep on the slider in the 84-88 MPH, and the change-up was in the mid-80’s, as well. Meyer’s control and command were solid, too. All in all, the week Meyer had brought a glimpse as to what he is capable of in the future, and if there’s more outings like that, expect the Oregon recruit to rise quickly in this draft class.
Well, hello Noble Meyer.
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 5, 2022
Near sidearm slot, electric arm speed. Got up to 98, sat 95-97 with serious life up. SL had late sweep/bite in the 84-88 MPH range, spin has been up to 2,750 RPM's this week. Flashed solid CH at 86 with some depth to it. Oregon commit. pic.twitter.com/XLgQPIGR2c
Sykora likely will slot in as the best right-handed prep pitcher in this class once all is said and done. At 6’6”, 220 pounds, he has quite a bit of projection remaining to his strong frame and utilizes a rock-and-fire delivery with good hip/shoulder separation. Oh, and the stuff is pretty loud, as well.
He’s touched 99 MPH in the past with his heater, though on this day, Sykora was primarily 93-96 MPH and topped out at 97 MPH with late life that is tough to pick up out of the hand. Sykora does a great job of hiding the ball throughout his delivery, with it only becoming visible as his arm stroke comes around with the shoulders. He utilizes a tight-spinning slider with bite in the mid-80’s that has good depth to it and a split-change with tumbling action and sits in the mid-80’s. He’s able to tunnel those pitches well from a three-quarters arm slot and has good feel/command of all three. There’s a lot of upside to tap into here and the Texas recruit has a bright future ahead of him.
Good morning, Travis Sykora.
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 2, 2022
Big-bodied Texan has been impressive so far. 93-96 T97 on heater with late life, CH at 85-87 has great separation and is catching guys out in front. Flashing SL, as well. Four strikeouts already. pic.twitter.com/RRcVXUNQk0
“Speed….I am speed. - Lightning McQueen” - Kendall George…..probably.
George follows the same type of mold as Georgia Tech infielder Chandler Simpson. There’s not that much power to George’s game, he’s mainly a slap hitter that produces line drives to all fields and will use his speed to his advantage with bunts on a regular basis. Defenses will be rushed when he is running down the line, as he clocked numerous sub-4.00 times on his home-to-first runs throughout the week. His speed allows him to track balls in centerfield with ease, as well. He’s the kind of top-of-the-order threat that teams have nightmares about. George is committed to play at Arkansas.
Really liked OF Kendall George in BP with his loose, twitchy hands. Translated to game play this week. Barreled a few balls. And any ball in play, defense has less than 4 seconds to throw him out. Elite speed. 6-for-9 in 3 G.@PBR_Texas | @prepbaseball | @ShooterHunt pic.twitter.com/CXuI2uoXiD
— Nathan Rode (@NathanRode) July 2, 2022
Charlee Soto has really implemented himself as a standout arm in this prep pitching class, as he’s got an insane amount of upside to tap into. Being young for the class (Soto will be 17 on draft day in 2023), Soto brings about a very projectable frame, plenty of athleticism, and an electric arm to the table for scouts to enjoy.
Soto has an easy delivery, utilizing a three-quarters arm slot with a short arm stroke and hides the ball well. While there’s some violence at release, Soto has electric arm speed and does an excellent job of separating his hips/shoulders on the mound. There’s some times where he can be erratic with throwing strikes, but he’s gotten up to 98 MPH with the fastball, usually sitting in the 92-96 MPH range with serious late life and run. He primarily used a tumbling change-up that he commanded away from lefties well in the mid-80’s, as well as using a short-biting slider in the 86-88 MPH range mainly against righties. It would not shock me to see Soto go relatively early next summer in the draft. He is committed to UCF.
Got more Charlee Soto and man, that's a fun arm.
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 6, 2022
Came out pumping 95-98 MPH heaters with good sinking action down in the zone, getting a couple whiffs. Main secondary was a change-up with big tumbling action in the high-80's that he commanded arm-side well. Flashed a SL @ 88. pic.twitter.com/W2vBWqkSUJ
White has been long heralded as the top prep arm in the 2023 class and it’s not hard to see why he’s had that title attached to his name. The stuff itself plays very well, even if there’s some questions marks that I have after viewing him twice at PDP.
White’s fastball got upwards of 96 MPH, sitting in the 90-94 MPH range in both outings with good life up in the zone and almost exclusively pitched off of it. He did have a tendency to miss arm-side and up in the zone, likely due to his delivery not being in-sync. His delivery is relatively easy, but it’s a long arm stroke and there’s times where he struggles to get on time. He did begin to throw his mid-70’s curveball more often as the outings progressed, a high-spin breaker with nasty sweep and bite that lefties had trouble touching. He flashed a change-up with good separation to the fastball and had hard diving action to it, which was saved primarily for righties. The package and arsenal are there for White to be a top name, now it’s just a matter of ironing out his delivery issues and improving the control and command.
First look at Thomas White (MA) and like the stuff. FB topped at 96, sat 92-95 early before 90-92 late w/ high spin. Snapped off some good CB 75-78 w/ sweep and spin near 2600 RPM's. Flashed some good CH with diving action 81-83. FB control was sporadic late. pic.twitter.com/O2VWjMmSqO
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 1, 2022
While I have an extremely large urge to make a “Walker, Texas Ranger” pun here, I’ll just dive right in about how much I enjoyed Jenkins at PDP this week.
Jenkins has a strong, physical frame with plenty of athleticism and room to add muscle, as well. He’s every part of a top tier prep outfielder, as well. There’s plenty of bat speed and power in the stick, showcasing all fields power and utilizing the gaps often. He did have five strikeouts to zero walks, but he’s shown good patience and strike zone awareness in the past. The speed certainly stands out, as well. He can turn on the burners when the ball hits the gap, gliding around the bases with ease and solid home-to-first times. This helps him in center field with his range, though he likely profiles more in a corner outfield spot with a strong arm and very solid defense. The UNC commit will be a very fun profile to cover as we inch closer to his draft day.
Walker Jenkins looked a lot better today than he has the past two days. Laced a triple into the pull-side gap and showed off the speed in first AB, then nearly left the yard here with a long flyout. One of the top prep OF in 2023's class. UNC recruit. pic.twitter.com/EmAr7Rkaft
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 2, 2022
Emerson was one of the best bats at the entire event, hitting a pair of triples amongst the six hits that he tallied throughout the week. The Ohio native is, like Soto, one of the youngest players in this class, as he won’t be turning 17 until just after this year’s draft.
Emerson is long and lean with projection to the frame to add weight and long levers. He’s a tough out at the plate, as he stays short to the ball with some bat speed and covers the plate well against fastballs and breaking balls. He’ll utilize gap-to-gap power and has average speed on the basepaths. In the field, he’s a smooth defender at shortstop currently, with good range and a decent arm. However, he likely profiles better at second base moving forward. He has the profile of a hit-over-power player that can play a respectable second base for a team in the future. Emerson is committed to Auburn.
2 RBI triple laced into left center for @Colt_emerson pads on the lead for Team Navy! #PDPLeague22 pic.twitter.com/X6JTwCBoIU
— MLB/USA Baseball PDP (@BaseballPDP) July 5, 2022
We are covering the Auburn recruiting class very well in this piece.
Tilly is another Tiger commit that raised his stock at the event. He only had one outing throughout the week, where he sat 88-91 MPH on the fastball and topped out at 92 MPH. He was pumping strikes early, getting some whiffs up in the zone with some decent ride to the pitch. However, the star of the show was his slider. It’s a high-70’s/low-80’s offering with two-plane break that has the potential of a legit out pitch. It has serious late bite that hitters struggled against and had high spin rates, getting upwards of 3,000 RPM’s on occasion. He flashed a splitter, but it lags behind the fastball/slider combo. The lone mistake he made throughout the outing was leaving a hanging slider to Riley Jackson, who promptly launched it over the left field fence for a home run. He’s one to keep an eye on throughout this cycle, especially if he can add some velocity.
Cameron Tilly did a great job starting for Team Red. FB sat 88-91 T92 with some ride, tunneled sharp SL with high spin and late sweeping bite in the 77-82 that he had great command of. Flashed mid-80's splitter, as well. Auburn commit from Indiana. pic.twitter.com/2TjcFjiXsN
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) June 30, 2022
Eldridge enters the cycle as one of the best two-way prospects in the class. He’s a long, lanky specimen with plenty of projection, coming in at 6’7”, 220 pounds.
On the mound, Eldridge got up to 95 MPH, ranging from 91-94 MPH with the heater with some late life to it. His breaking ball has two different forms, a high-70’s curveball with big depth and a more lateral slider in the low-80’s with average spin rates. They can morph at times, but he’ll predominantly throw the curveball as it flashes better than the slider. He has feel for a solid change-up, as well. He’s got plenty of power potential at the dish, using all fields and even recorded an opposite field double in a pinch-hitting appearance. There’s a solid chance he goes high in this class with the stuff and the frame. He’s committed to Alabama.
Got Bryce Eldridge (VA) for the final inning. FB sat 92-94 with some late life, showed sharp breaking CB w/ depth in the high-70’s, more lateral SL in low-80's w/ average spin rates. Showed good command overall. Long, lean frame at 6'7, 220 pounds. Alabama commit. pic.twitter.com/pmYMheWt31
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 1, 2022
The brother of 2021 prep pitcher Tyler Dietz, Hunter Dietz had one of the best pitching lines of the week, striking out seven and walking none across two outings.
He’s got a large, imposing frame at 6’6”, 230 pounds with great pitch-ability. The fastball sat in the low-90’s with heavy bore inside, reaching back for 95 MPH multiple times. He’d pitch backwards off a hard breaking slider in the low-80’s to set up the heater, as well as getting some ugly swings from both sides of the plate. He’d flash a firm change-up at times, but he really found success with the fastball/slider combo throughout. He pumped plenty of strikes, as well. He’s currently committed to play at South Florida and likely could be a potential sleeper in this class.
Hunter Dietz (FL) has been fun this week. Touched 95 the other day, routinely low-90's with bore inside. Sets up the batter with a high-70's slider that he's pitched backwards off of with sweep and has been nasty low in the zone. Flashed CH, as well. South Florida commit. pic.twitter.com/YwpccCtj6A
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 5, 2022
It’s not too often that you find a prep hitter that has a stan account, but alas here we are.
The Nebraska native showed out at PDP, batting .500 across the event with a home run. He put together plenty of competitive at-bats, utilizing all fields at the plate with good zone coverage. There’s some projection remaining to his frame, with present strength and has solid pop to all fields, taking Zander Mueth deep to the opposite field on a hanging slider that caught too much of the plate. He also had exit velocities that got up to 103 MPH, as well. He ranged well at shortstop, showcasing a good arm and soft hands, though he likely moves to second base in the future. A Vanderbilt commit, Kozeal will definitely reap the rewards of a solid week in Cary as the summer continues.
Camden Kozeal (NE) has been raking all week. Using all fields with the hit tool, he taps into his power here, taking Zander Mueth to the opposite field for a home run. Solid defender in the dirt, as well. Kozeal is committed to Vanderbilt. pic.twitter.com/1QLR464Dts
— Tyler Jennings (@TylerJennings24) July 6, 2022
Honorable Mentions: Max Clark (IN), Eric Bitonti (CA), Jonny Farmelo (VA), Justin LeGuernic (NY), Brandon Winokur (CA), Cameron Johnson (MD), Blake Mitchell (TX), Jake Brown (LA), Andrew Wiggins (IN), Blake Dickerson (VA)
As we await the start of the spring season, USA Baseball and Major League Baseball announced the initial 25 players that will participate in this year’s Prospect Development Pipeline League. This year’s event will return to the USA Baseball Training Complex, located in Cary, North Carolina, from June 29th-July 6th.
