1/29/2016 11:04:11 AM
With the recent update of the Perfect Game 2018 class rankings and the way things shake out, 75 of the current top 100 prospect are committed and amongst those 75 players, 30 different schools are represented. Of course we’re still nearly two and a half years away from the June draft of 2018 so a lot will undoubtedly change between now and then but nonetheless the talent is evident and colleges across the country are snatching up the young talent.
Schools with the most commits within the top 100 are as follows:
Vanderbilt-10
Florida-8
LSU-6
Miami & Florida State-4
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Staying within the top 100, here's a breakdown of the 75 players committed by conference:
SEC: 36 (Vanderbilt-10, Florida-8, Louisiana State-6, Texas A&M-3, Auburn-2, Mississippi-2, Mississippi State-2, Georgia-1, Kentucky-1, South Carolina-1)
ACC: 21 (Florida State-4, Miami-4, Louisville-3, Wake Forest-3, Virginia-2, Clemson-1, Duke-1, Georgia Tech-1, North Carolina-1, Virginia Tech-1)
Pac 12: 11 (Southern California-3, Stanford-3, Arizona-2, UCLA-2, California-1)
Big 12: 4 (TCU-2, Texas-1, Texas Tech-1)
Big 10: 2 (Maryland-2)
Missouri Valley: 1 (Dallas Baptist)
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The player who saw the biggest jump in the rankings was 6-foot-3, 170-pound switch-hitting outfielder Johnathan Rodriguez from Toa Boja, Puerto Rico. The uncommitted Rodriguez did nothing but shine in his first Perfect Game showcase, the 2015 Caribbean Underclass, as he ran a 6.98 60-yard dash, show incredibly easy plus arm strength from the outfield with a top throw of 96 mph, and showed both a hit tool and power from both sides of the plate. He checks in at No. 8 in the most recent rendition of the class rankings and is certainly a player who will be followed closely throughout the upcoming summer circuit.
The other new face in the 2018 rankings is recent Georgia Tech commit Kendall Simmons, an extremely athletic and physically built infielder who showed advanced tools across the board in his most recent showing. With a very strong yet loose 6-foot-2, 185-pound build, Simmons possesses the type of arm strength (93 mph across) that’ll keep him on the left side of the infield for a good while and also shows footwork and range moving to either side. The bat is just as loud of a tool as he frequently found the barrel and was able to drive the ball to his pull side courtesy of his advanced bat speed and his quick, loose set of hands.