Part two features a handful of awfully exciting JUCO talents and a few premier high school talents poised to potentially go at the top of the 2022 class.
Cam Collier, 3B, Chipola (FL), 2022
Dates Seen: 2/11, 2/12 (4 Games)
Performance: 6-13, 2 HR, 2 BB, 1 K
Cam Collier was the main attraction at the Indian Invitational last weekend, and he certainly did not disappoint in the box. Nearly every plate appearance that the Chips’ 3rd baseman had was in his control, and he showed a level of vision and swing decision making that was unparalleled over that two day span. On top of that, Collier was using quick hands a whippy barrel to pummel balls with regularity, hitting two moonshot HRs to his pull side and spraying a few hard hit grounders and liners on top of that. Defensively, Collier was able to handle most of his challenges at third base, with soft hands and an easy plus arm carrying inconsistent ranginess and below average foot speed. The jury is still out on whether Collier’s body maturation, as well as organizational positioning aptitude, will be able to let him stick at third base. With that being said, this is a special bat that’s accruing quite the performance track record as a 17 year in JUCO ball. With the way things are presently trending, expect to see a team in on Collier as a first rounder in the 2022 draft.
-Will Hoefer
Kenya Huggins, RHP, Chipola (FL), 2022
Dates Seen: 2/11
Performance: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 7 K
Huggins caught a lot of eyes at the Perfect Game NJCCA Classic at the beginning of February in Panama City Beach, firing four innings of shutout ball with a mid 90s fastball and sharp mid to high 80s slider. While the stuff was a bit quieter in his start vs. San Jacinto on February 11th, the command and performance was certainly retained. Huggins has a big windup, with an easy arm action and delivery from a high 3Q arm slot. He had to work a bit harder later in the outing to retain his velocity, but was still capable of repeating his delivery and commanding his arsenal. The big bodied right hander sat 90-93 with the fastball throughout his five plus innings of work, touching 94 and generating plenty of arm-side run and sinking life. Huggins’ sole secondary was a slider at 84-86 that generated good lateral break and had strong vertical break for its velocity band. Both offerings generated plenty of whiffs, with the slider showing plus shape late in his outing. It’s a little hard to figure out how to evaluate a sinker/slider JUCO arm, but Huggins’ multi-faceted feel for spin and projection do give him a chance to start, and a team as early as Day 2 might be giving him that chance.
-Will Hoefer
Dylan Lesko, RHP, Buford (GA), 2022
Dates Seen: 2/18
The top prep pitching prospect on our board was limited to just two innings and a little over thirty pitches on a cold Friday evening in Atlanta, but did exactly what you would expect from such a high caliber high school player. The prototype of mechanical smoothness and projectability, Lesko sat 92-95 with his four seam fastball, generating good carry and touching 96. He went to the heater early and often, with usage exceeding 80% and generating nine whiffs over his abbreviated outing. He went to his late fading 79-80 MPH changeup a few times, generating a pair of whiffs, and flashed a single 76 MPH curveball to leadoff hitter Will Tippett with a good two plane break. Outside of Tippett, the St. Pius X hitters were overmatched and outside of a few times Lesko overthrew his fastball, he was able to get strikes at will. Additionally, Lesko batted leadoff and hit a pair of triples, showcasing not only his strength but also his athleticism rounding the bases. Expect Lesko to add velocity as the weather gets warmer and further lock in his place at the top of draft boards league wide.
-Will Hoefer
Riley Stanford, 1B/RHP, Buford (GA), 2022
Dates Seen: 2/18
Power on top of power. In five words, that describes Riley Stanford’s performance on Friday night. The two way star began the game off at first base, where he drilled a deep home run into the parking lot behind the left field scoreboard. Noted for his contact and power skills over the summer circuit in 2021, Stanford lived up to that billing at the dish. Aside from one chase at a fastball up and out of the zone, he generally saw the ball well and was able to work counts until he got something to drive. Later on in the evening, he came on to pitch in relief, sitting in the low 90s with both a sharp tailing two seam and four seam fastball that touched 95 with substantial carry. In his second inning of work the fastball command faded for a bit, so he went to a sharp biting slider at 79-80 to get whiffs and get him out of walk induced trouble. With defensive limitations and command issues, there’s balance between the pros and cons of pitching and hitting with Stanford. It remains up in the air what he will be long term, but the talent is certainly loud enough to merit draft consideration out of high school.
Kaden Martin, RF, Buford (GA), 2022
Dates Seen: 2/18
Kaden Martin transferred over to Buford for his draft year, and provides even more of a reason for scouting brass to congregate on the Wolves in 2022. He demonstrated a keen feel for the barrel in this game, rapping into a hard hit ground out his first time up before collecting a triple in his second plate appearance to counterbalance his luck on batted balls. Martin lined up in right field for Friday’s game, which feels like a good spot for the thickly built two sport star with a cannon for a left arm--he’s also committed to Miami for football as a quarterback. That sort of pedigree speaks to his athletic prowess, but watching him run the bases also provides confirmation of that fact. Scouts certainly are intrigued by his offensive tools and big arm, but it remains to be seen if a team will come up with the money to buy him out of that Miami commitment.
-Will Hoefer
Mikey Romero, SS, Orange Lutheran (CA), 2022
Date seen: 2/21
Mikey Romero, LSU signee, stood out above the rest with a big-league demeanor, poise, and a strong confident aura. In his first at-bat, he came out aggressive and whiffed at his first two pitches. He then spit on an 0-2 chase pitch and took a 1-2 CB the other way to LCF. His hands were strong in this swing as he stayed inside the baseball and was able to extend on plane to LCF. Romero showcased his bat-to-ball skills again in his third at-bat as he got the barrel on plane and out in front at the top of the strike zone for a RF corner 3B. Romero showed strong acceleration out of the box and was at top speed almost immediately. Romero showed some of the tools that make him desirable as a true SS prospect with his bat-to-ball skills, on-the-fly adjustments, and solid speed and athleticism.
-Jackson Thomas
Karson Bowen, C, Orange Lutheran (CA), 2022
Date seen: 2/21
Karson Bowen the TCU signee came out of the gate with aggressive intent. Both of his hits early on were hit with authority to RF with good bat lag and strong hip rotation. Did a very good job at keeping his hands and hips in sync with his swings. Aside from that, he was instrumental in calming down Brady Strohm (2024) when he would go on wild stretches. He was able to block everything with strong lateral movement and kept all pitches right beneath his test. Bowen also showed off his throwing arm easily throwing out a Yucaipa runner by nearly 30 feet. Its a good catching profile for teams to dream on with a reliable defensive skillset and a promising bat.