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High School  | General  | 3/2/2016

Regional HS Preview: Great Plains

David Rawnsley     
Photo: Perfect Game




For all of Perfect Game's regional previews as part of the 2016 high school baseball preview content, the Dream Team is available for free. The region top tools can be viewed with an Insider subscription. To learn more about Perfect Game's subscription packages and to sign up today please visit this link.




2016 Perfect Game High School Preview Index

Great Plains Region: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

2016 is looking like perhaps the best year ever in terms of upper level baseball talent for the state of Kansas. Every state is destined to have a career year at some point; Oklahoma's 2011 class with Dylan Bundy, Archie Bradley, Michael Fullmer and Adrian Houser comes to mind immediately, and this is the year for Kansas.

Five Kansas seniors merit mention on the Great Plains Region Dream Team; righthanded pitchers Riley Pint, Ryan Zeferjahn and Tyler Benninghoff, shortstop Nonie Williams and first baseman Joey Wentz. All five of those players will be followed closely by scouts this spring ahead of the June Draft.

With most of the top prospects in the state being pitchers, including potential first round picks Pint and Zeferjahn, scouts will have an interesting time working out pitching schedules as well in the finicky Midwest spring weather. In addition, 6-foot-7, 220-pound lefthanded pitcher Lucus Krull from Mill Valley (Kan.) High School could join the prospects above as a potential top round pick.

The rest of the region doesn't lack for talent, either. Nebraska infielder Cole Stobbe was a standout on the national summer circuit, Iowa boasts two of the best two-way talents in the country in Spencer Van Scoyoc and Grant Judkins, and North Dakota will be on everyone's destination map late in the spring to see dynamic athlete and hard-throwing righthander Dalton Feeney perform.

It isn't true every year, but it would be easy to see a Great Plains team competing hard against a similar team from Florida or California, or other southern regions this year, especially with the depth and quality of their pitching staff.


Great Plains Region High School Dream Team

C – Maverick Handley, Sr., Mullen (Colo.)
Handley is solidly built 5-foot-10, 200-pound catcher but is surprisingly quick-twitch in his athletic actions. He's especially quick behind the plate and is capable of pop times in the 1.7's throwing to second base. At the plate, Handley is a righthanded hitter who posted a .483-3-12 line as a junior at Mullen High School and only struck out three times in 21 games. In addition to his physical tools and skills, Handley is also a high energy player with lots of leadership skills on the field. He's an outstanding student and is signed with Stanford.

1B – Joey Wentz, Sr., Shawnee Mission East (Kan.)
Wentz was a second team All-Kansas pick as a junior as a lefthanded pitcher with a mid- to upper-80s fastball last spring and summer. Until recently, scouts felt that Wentz's ceiling was higher as a power hitting first baseman. He has a very projectable and athletic 6-foot-5, 220-pound build and outstanding power potential and leverage in his swing. Wentz gained attention with that power when he blasted a 543-foot home run at the junior home run derby at the 2015 MLB All-Star Game in Cincinnati, although it was with a non-BBCOR metal bat. However, Wentz has moved his fastball up to 93 mph in workouts late this winter and will be looked at for his two-way potential this spring.  He is signed with 2015 NCAA champion Virginia.

MIF – Cole Stobbe, Sr., Millard West (Neb.)
Stobbe hit .426-4-44 last spring in the Nebraska high school ranks, then was one of the stars of the summer circuit, including starting at shortstop for the USA 18u National Team and playing in the Perfect Game All-American Classic.  Stobbe shows flashes of ability to play all of the infield positions defensively, and while most scouts project him at third base as he matures physically, second base remains a realistic option. He is signed with Arkansas.

MIF – Nonie Williams, Sr., Home Schooled/Turner (Kan.)
Williams is a dynamic athlete with outstanding speed but a build that looks like it was made to play safety at a high level in football. He is home schooled but plays for Turner High School in Kansas City. Williams was originally part of the 2017 class but went through the re-classification process with Major League Baseball last spring before signing with LSU during the fall. Most scouts feel his actions and athleticism are best suited for center field in the future but he will continue to play shortstop until that happens.

3B – Grant Judkins, Sr., Pella (Iowa)
Judkins was the Iowa Player of the Year last summer after hitting .520-13-57 and going 11-1, 0.56 on the mound with 112 strikeouts in 74 innings. A lefthanded hitter with a 6-foot-3, 190-pound build, Judkins has a strong swing with lots of power potential and plenty of arm strength at third base.  Judkins is signed with Iowa and will likely get a chance to be a two-way player should he honor that commitment, as his fastball sits in the upper-80s with a good curveball to complement it.

OF – Logan Foster, Sr., Lincoln Southwest (Neb.)
Foster hasn't received much exposure to the national scouting community but has the tools to attract scouts attention this spring. He plays all over the field for Lincoln Southwest High School, including catcher and the outfield, and also struck out 51 hitters in 32 innings on the mound.  He's signed with Texas A&M as an outfielder with a leadoff hitter/center fielder profile.

OF – Wyatt Featherston, Sr., Green Mountain (Colo.)
Featherston is a two-time Colorado All-State selection for the two-time defending Class 4A state champion Green Mountain Rams. He hit .351-5-18 last spring but posted a huge sophomore season when he hit .438-8-38 with 38 walks. The Western Kentucky signee is a 6.7 runner in addition to having a strong righthanded bat.

OF – Kace Massner, Sr., Burlington Community (Iowa)
Massner checks in at 6-foot-5, 210-pounds but has a long and lean build and is all quick-twitch in his lower half. He ran a 6.34 60-yard dash last summer making him one of the fastest high school players in the country despite his size. Massner is a graceful outfielder who not surprisingly has lots of range in the outfield and is a lefthanded hitter with quick hands and a gap-to-gap swing.  He is signed with Iowa.

UT – Spencer Van Scoyoc, Sr., Jefferson (Iowa)
Van Scoyoc is a repeat selection for the utility spot on this Great Plains Dream Team and is ranked as the 58th best prospect in the country by Perfect Game as a lefthanded pitcher. The very projectable Van Scoyoc took a big step forward last fall with his arm strength, starting to touch 90 mph with his fastball and adding more power to his curveball, which is already one of the best breaking balls in the country. Arizona State thinks enough about the lefthanded hitter for Coach Tracy Smith to say this about Van Scoyoc in their 2016 signings press release: “Spencer is one of the top two-way players in the nation. He has proven to be one of the best lefthanded pitchers in the Midwest who we believe has the potential to be a middle of the order bat in the Pac-12."

P – Riley Pint, Sr., St. Thomas Aquinas (Kan.)
Pint is the top ranked righthanded pitcher in the 2016 high school class and is frequently talked about as a potential top 10 pick in the June draft. He went 5-2 with a 2.20 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 35 innings last spring for St. Thomas Aquinas High School, then regularly topped out at 96-98 mph during the summer with his fastball. Pint's second pitch, a knuckle curveball, shows the potential to be another strikeout pitch if he can improve the control and consistency of it. He is signed with Louisiana State.

P – Tyler Benninghoff, Sr., Rockhurst (Kan.)
Benninghoff is a high level athlete who plays the infield when not pitching and is the quarterback and punter on the Rockhurst High School football team in the fall. At 6-foot-4, 180-pounds with broad shoulders, he is very projectable and already is touching 91-92 with his fastball to go with an outstanding curveball. Benninghoff went 5-1 with a 1.25 ERA in 39 innings last spring while also hitting .398 with a pair of home runs. He is signed with Arkansas, and if he makes it to campus after the June draft he'll be joining his brother, Tyler, a freshman redshirt infielder with the Razorbacks, in 2015.

P – Ryan Zeferjahn, Sr., (Seaman (Kan.)
Zeferjahn was an unknown entering his junior year last spring but the 6-foot-4, 190-pound righthander added almost 10 mph to his fastball from his sophomore season and went 6-2 with a 1.48 ERA with 86 strikeouts in 52 innings for the Kansas class 5 runner-ups. His fastball now tops out in the mid-90s to go with a hard slider and a changeup. Zeferjahn had a whirlwind summer after scouts discovered him, culminating with an appearance in the Perfect Game All-American Classic in August. He is signed with Kansas.

P – Dalton Feeney, Sr., Century (N.D.)
Feeney is a three-sport standout from Bismarck, North Dakota, who has had very little national exposure in baseball due to his multiple sports and the reality of living in one of the most northern reaches of the country. He did pitch at an event with fellow All-Region member Riley Pint last July, though, and many scouts were reportedly more impressed by the 6-foot-3, 210-pound Feeney, who topped out at 96 mph, than they were by Pint. Feeney was named North Dakota's Gatorade Football Player of the Year last fall after quarterbacking Century High School to the state 3A state title. He's signed to play baseball at Missouri.

P – Bo Weiss, Sr., Regis Jesuit (Colo.)
Weiss, the son of Rockies manager Walt Weiss, made significant improvements during the summer and fall and is ready for an outstanding spring. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound righthander bumped his fastball from the upper-80s  up to 94 mph during the last year and made similar improvements to his curveball and changeup while beginning to show confidence in both pitches for the first time. Weiss is ranked 88th in the Perfect Game 2016 player rankings and is the top ranked player from Colorado. Like his father, who was the 12th overall pick in the 1985 draft, Weiss has signed with North Carolina.


Great Plains Region Top Tools


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