This Top 600 really reinforces a few things we’ve always believed… Druw Jones, for us, is a cut above the rest. College hitters are good. Really good. And deep. The high school pitching in this class has the potential to be one of the stronger groups in recent memory. Where do we currently have Termarr Johnson, Druw Jones, Jackson Holliday, and Elijah Green currently ranked? What about Chase DeLauter, Brooks Lee, Kumar Rocker, Jace Jung and others?
This Top 500 really reinforces a few things we’ve always believed… Druw Jones, for us, is a cut above the rest. College hitters are good. Really good. And deep. The high school pitching in this class has the potential to be one of the stronger groups in recent memory. Where do we currently have Termarr Johnson, Druw Jones, Jackson Holliday, and Elijah Green currently ranked? What about Chase DeLauter, Brooks Lee, Kumar Rocker, Jace Jung and others?
This Top 400 really reinforces a few things we’ve always believed… The Top 3 guys in this class are a cut above the rest. College hitters are good. Really good. And deep. The high school pitching in this class has the potential to be one of the stronger groups in recent memory. Where do we currently have Termarr Johnson, Druw Jones and Elijah Green currently ranked? What about Chase DeLauter, Brooks Lee, Kumar Rocker, Jace Jung and others?
This Top 300 really reinforces a few things we’ve always believed… This college crop of hitters is good. Really good. And deep. The high school pitching in this class has the potential to be one of the stronger groups in recent memory. Where do we currently have Termarr Johnson, Druw Jones and Elijah Green currently ranked? What about Chase DeLauter, Brooks Lee, Kumar Rocker, Jace Jung and others?
You’re not going to believe this, but I hit some more baseball games over the weekend. Yes, I know, you’re shocked. Someone please let my fianceé know that I’ll be home before the wedding… probably.
Anyway, after hitting Pirate City (yes, it’s really called that) Saturday morning in Bradenton, I ventured to Sarasota on Saturday afternoon and made the trek again on Sunday to catch some of Team USA 18u and Team Canada 18u’s 7-game Friendship series. Hey, they named it, not me. Obviously, the 18u national team is loaded with top prospects from the 2022 class, so I can only really highlight the top performers here without writing a novel. So, here are the four best bats and arms from the two games I caught.
The man, the myth, the legend, am I right? Elijah Green did Elijah Green things on Sunday evening as he hit a couple of home runs into the stratosphere. The first went just to the right of dead center (which is 400 feet, by the way) and the second, a true moonshot, was blistered high into the night sky, over everything in left field and out of the stadium. It was one of the furthest hit balls that I’ve ever seen in person -- and keep in mind this is with a wood bat, not metal. So, yeah, the power is pretty real. He patrolled center field but didn’t have many opportunities to flash his great speed since Team USA’s pitching was so dominant (and because he kept hitting the ball out of the ballpark). There was a little swing and miss and chase below the zone, but it’s not anything I’d truly be concerned about yet, especially when you consider how deafeningly loud the other tools are.
@JohnsonTermarr goes oppo for a grand slam @ProspectsLive pic.twitter.com/RZtGCS82iO
— Joe Drake (@JDrake349) September 4, 2021
If Elijah was doing Elijah things, then Termarr was definitely doing Termarr things this weekend, too. After casually flicking a grand slam to the opposite field on Saturday afternoon, Termarr proceeded to draw 5 — yes 5 —- walks on Sunday as Team Canada’s pitchers simply refused to give him anything to hit. He showed great patience and knowledge of the strike zone, forcing pitchers to either give in and give him something to hit or give him his free base. They all chose the latter. Defensively, he lined up at 3rd base both days where his great hands and quick actions certainly play. The only real question here would be whether the arm is strong enough; 2nd base is still his most likely long-term fit.
Of all the batting practice I saw, Druw Jones’ rounds stood out as the most impressive for me. The ball just seems to jump off his bat and carries further than you think it will. He cleared the bleachers pretty easily in left field and was challenging the wall in the pull-side power alley more than once. In-game, he smoked a high curveball deep to center that hopped over the wall for a ground-rule double. Not only is there feel to hit, but his quick, line-drive stroke is producing good bat speed and real power that should only improve as his frame fills out. Jones is a terrific athlete with excellent speed and should be a no-doubt center fielder his whole career -- and he’s got the Gold Glove-winning bloodlines to back it up (son of former Braves CF Andruw Jones).
Paxton Kling with a bomb deep to left, over the bleachers @ProspectsLive pic.twitter.com/suX3ri9dsJ
— Joe Drake (@JDrake349) September 4, 2021
Kling, who we didn’t get to see at PG National, may have had the best overall performance by a hitter while I was in the stadium this weekend. The BP was very solid, but the power was really on display during game action when he launched a big, no-doubt home run to the pull-side both Saturday and Sunday. He was able to get to big power in-game without having to sell out for it and that’s something that not a ton of prep kids can do. Overall he managed 3 hits and 2 walks during the 2 games while striking out just once. Kling also showed some solid defensive chops in right field with a solid arm and speed to round out the profile.
Jackson Ferris settled in and is missing bats frequently @ProspectsLive pic.twitter.com/QDueOoETXT
— Joe Drake (@JDrake349) September 4, 2021
Ferriss was a little rusty in the 1st and gave up some hard contact as he found the feel for his stuff, but dominated once he settled in, striking out 6 over 3 innings while allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs. He sat 89-92 with the change at 83-84 and curveball at 70-71. The whole arsenal was much sharper in innings 2 and 3 with his big curveball really giving hitters fits with its good depth and sharp movement.
Louis Rodriguez was utterly dominant today with his mid-80s cutter and upper-70s breaking ball. He got whiff after whiff this afternoon despite constantly challenging hitters in the zone before getting them to chase out of it. @ProspectsLive pic.twitter.com/ijLMTuYxGG
— Joe Drake (@JDrake349) September 5, 2021
Rodriguez absolutely mystified the Team Canada hitters as he struck out 10 over 5 innings without allowing a baserunner. It was incredibly impressive and the best performance I saw from any player over the 2 days. Rodriguez features a cutter and two-seam that work in the 82-85 range with a truly nasty breaking ball at 74-77 that tunnels beautifully off the cutter. He sequenced very well and kept hitters completely off-balance. Like I said, very, very impressive performance.
Cold-weather arm alert! (Sorry, I’m from Maine and spent 30 years of my life in New England, I get excited about anyone from that region). The New Hampshire native kicked Sunday’s action off with 3 scoreless innings while striking out 5 and giving up just 1 hit and 1 walk. He featured what appeared to be two fastballs: a four-seamer that he ran up to 92 and used when elevating and a two-seamer/sinker that was 86-89 with good run that he used to dot the glove-side edge and induce weak contact. His breaking ball flashed tight vertical movement with sharp break at 74-77 that played pretty well off the two-seam. He lost the release a little toward the end of his outing, but battled well and escaped without allowing a run.
O’Connor was a bulldog out of the pen who came right after guys and struck out 4 over 2 scoreless frames. He has a very short, compact arm action that hides the ball well and makes it really jump on hitters. The fastball sat 90-93 with good carry; he challenged hitters with it and got swings and misses in and above the zone. His breaker was tight throughout the outing with sharp vertical break and 11-5 shape. He landed it for strikes and used it for chases, as well. Very good showing.
