A Look At the High School Class In the 2017 MLB Draft

Top Guys

Californian Hunter Greene is the rare player that could be an elite pick either as a pitcher or a hitter. As a shortstop, he won multiple home run derbies during showcases this past summer. As a pitcher, he has a legit chance to be the first high school right-handed pitcher to go #1 overall in the draft. Greene throws in the upper 90s and has been reported over triple digits in velocity with excellent breaking stuff as well. He shows tremendous repeatability in his delivery as well.

While many high school pitchers offer projectable ceilings, few offer a reasonable floor that DL Hall does. The Georgia lefty has a fastball into the mid-90s, as well as a tremendous curve and an above-average change that he locates well. Hall has been compared frequently to Atlanta Braves prospect Kolby Allard in physical stature and stuff. Hall may not have a ton more size to add to his frame, but developing his current offerings is a very elite package that should go in the first 10-15 selections.

Considered by many to be the best athlete in the entire draft, MacKenzie Gore has been part of a very high-end class from North Carolina between the college and high school prospects. Gore has three of his four pitches that have been labeled as plus, with a change that he locates well but could possibly use an adjustment in grip to get more movement. He has incredible athleticism off the mound and a hint of deception in his delivery that throws off hitters of both sides.

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Right Handers

Texas’ Shane Baz has legitimate draftable skills as a hitter as well as a pitcher, but he’s likely not a first two rounds selection as a hitter, so he’ll be a pitcher on draft day. Baz is a guy who has excellent pitching feel right now with four pitches and the ability to add some velocity once he focuses purely on pitching beyond his current low-90s, touching 95.

After a dominant National High School Invitational tournament performance, Californian Hans Crouse may have bumped up his draft slot in the eyes of a number of teams. Crouse has a power fastball with a tight curve that he uses very well with a “bull dog” mentality on the mound.

Tanner Burns stayed in his home state of Alabama with his commitment to Auburn, but with his mix of a solid mid-90s fastball and electric breaking ball, he could be a guy who ends up in an instructional camp rather than classes this fall.

Big Nick Storz looks like he could be working at a New York club as a bouncer as much as he does a high school pitcher, and his intimidating stature is backed up by intimidating stuff on the mound with a mid-90s fastball and a curve that made guys look silly last summer.

The two-way guy who may go down to the team that drafts him to determine whether he’s a future pitcher or hitter is Florida native Joe Perez. Perez flashes big power at the plate with a good approach, but off the mound, he can be dominating with very good poise on the mound along with an elite upper-90s fastball.

With one of the highest radar readings in the class, Alex Scherff would be assumed to be higher on most lists, but the Texas righty has struggled with consistency throughout showcase season last summer and thus far this spring. He does offer an upper 90s fastball as well as good feel for a plus change.

California prep Jeremiah Estrada turned plenty of heads this summer with mid-90s velocity after peaking around 93 previously. He had reports up to 97 from various scouts with excellent movement on the pitch. Estrada works with a slider and change, and interestingly, the change is currently his better secondary pitch, though both are inconsistent at the moment.

Matt Sauer flashed a solid fastball in the low 90s with movement and sink in the showcase circuit last summer that really got people’s attention. The California prep then broke out a slider that has been considered among the best in the entire class. With an attacking personality on the mound, Sauer could really impress teams that see him live.

Florida native Sam Keating is a solid athlete on the mound that works in the low-90s at his top end currently, but he has a ton of physical projection onto his 6’3″ frame. Keating has a very good feel for his change and throws a very impressive slurve pitch.

Garrett Hunter Ruth has been throwing well in Florida prep ranks for a couple years now. He works with a fastball that can reach the mid-90s and a curve with excellent break. He’s committed to South Carolina, and he may be going there now as he’s had to have Tommy John surgery, which will likely mean he will drop in the draft quite a bit.

C.J. Van Eyk is a fun pitcher to watch in that he uses his legs well and has an “old school” high 3/4 delivery that hearkens back to a previous age of pitcher. He throws in the low 90s with excellent movement with a plus curve and above-average change.

Bryce Bonnin has shown solid skills at shortstop as well as off the mound. The Texas righty sat low-90s with his fastball with a plus slider and some deception to his delivery that really allowed his pitches to jump out at hitters.

Daniel Ritcheson is the rare highly-regarded pitcher that rarely puts up a 90+ reading on the radar gun, topping out around 90 over the summer. He does work with three off speed pitches that he has a very good feel on, and he has a projectable 6’4″ frame that would lead a team to think he could add velocity.

Chris McMahon is a three-pitch pitcher that has added roughly 15 MPH to his fastball in the last 2+ seasons as he’s filled into his body. There is still some projection in the Pennsylvania native’s frame as well to dream on. McMahon features a fastball in the mid-90s and a curve with tremendous spin and control.

After a serious car accident his sophomore year, Blayne Enlow didn’t know if he’d return to baseball at all, but the Louisiana righty rehabbed and made a big impression last summer on the showcase circuit, flashing a low-90s fastball with excellent movement along with possibly the best curve in the entire class, a hammer-style curve in the low-80s.

TCU commit Caleb Sloan has a delivery that gives some significant pause to scouts, but his results and raw stuff could definitely make him intriguing to a team. The Colorado native has touched mid-90s with his fastball and has a very sharp break on his breaking pitch.

The arm angle of San Diego righty Kyle Hurt drew plenty of notice over the summer. He has a low-90s fastball and a wicked slider. He’s got a commitment to Southern California, and teams will have to essentially buy him away from that.

Canadian Landon Leach has had rumors of mid-90s velocity, but he’s shown more like low-90s, though the movement he gets and the deception in his delivery allow his pitches to play up well. He has a very solid curveball as well.

Brad Dobzanski has a brother Bryan Dobzanski pitching in the Cardinals farm system, so the game is certainly in his blood. Dobzanski shows a very athletic delivery with a low-90s fastball and a very effective curve. His biggest issue is coming open too early in his delivery, something a pro team can certainly fix.

Minnesota prep Sam Carlson could end up going off the board to a number of teams as a power hitter with a big swing that still has good contact ability, but Carlson has a feel for multiple pitches on the mound and as a cold-weather pitcher, his arm has not seen the work that many others do before hitting pro ball.

Often Puerto Rico players drafted are guys who swing the bat, but Wilberto Rivera is putting his stamp on being a Puerto Rican pitcher to go high in the process. Rivera has an impressive frame at 6’4″ and 200-ish pounds. More impressive is his top-end velocity, reaching the upper 90s with seeming ease. He offers a shapely curve, but it’s inconsistent at this point.

The Under Armour All-American game last summer put Kentucky righty Joe Boyle on the map. Boyle stands 6’6″ tall and features a mid-90s fastball along with a looping curve. He will be one of the youngest members of the class, not turning 18 until August.

If just for his height, Kentucky prep Ben Jordan would be notable at 6’9″. He has struggles with his mechanics, which is common at his height, but when he gets everything working together, he has a low-90s fastball and tremendous curve that could lead to a high floor as a reliever, but he’s got plenty of filling out to do that could allow him to add velocity as well.

Left Handers

Alabama native Jacob Heatherly will be 19 when the draft comes along, but his excellent athleticism on the mound will certainly have him ranking plenty high on many lists. He sits in the low 90s with his fastball, touching mid-90s along with a curve that he’s shown the ability to throw as either a hard, hammer curve or a more looping curve.

Jake Eder has the type of frame you’d dream of from a high school arm, standing 6’4″ and weighing in at a developed 215 pounds. Eder sits in the low-90s with a solid curve and change, but the Florida native does have some delivery issues that could lead to more velocity once cleaned up.

Long (6’6″) and with a repeatable delivery, Trevor Rogers strikes a noticeable frame on the mound that’s hard to forget when you see the New Mexico lefty. He’s got a mid-90s fastball with promising off speed stuff that will likely take more time to develop.

Utah native Seth Corry showed very well this summer, with a fastball that ranged into the 92-94 range along with an excellent curve. Due to a knee surgery in the fall of 2015, Corry wasn’t 100% for the summer showcase circuit this past summer.

Shane Drohan is a 6’2″ lefty from Florida with a commitment to Florida State. He was up to low-90s with his fastball in showcase work this summer, but he struggled with consistency in his secondary stuff.

It’s rare that tall pitchers can maintain their delivery, but 6’10” Oklahoma lefty Mitchell Stone has been able to do just that in his high school career. He has a fastball that sits in the low-90s and a very good change. His curve is inconsistent, but very good when it’s on.

Next: Look At College Class of 2017 MLB Draft

Next week will bring the first mock draft on CTTP, so be looking for that!