THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,801 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Draft  | State Preview | 5/9/2013

MLB Draft Preview: Tennessee

Photo: Perfect Game
In the weeks leading up to the draft, Perfect Game will be providing a detailed overview of each state in the U.S., including the District of Columbia, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. These overviews will list the state's strengths, weaknesses and the players with the best tools, as well as providing scouting reports on all Group 1 and 2 players as ranked in Perfect Game's state-by-state scouting lists.  Please visit this page for all of the links to Perfect Game's 2013 Draft Preview content.



Tennessee State-by-State List

From a Tennessee perspective, this year’s draft may not be as front-end loaded as 2007, when the state produced five first-rounders, or as deep as 2011, when it yielded a total of 57 picks, but the 2013 crop should be plentiful by the Volunteer State’s emerging standard.

As has become the custom, Tennessee’s draft fortunes are typified by the talent flowing from Vanderbilt University, which may be unrivaled by college programs nationally in recent years. The Commodores provided two first-rounders to Tennessee’s windfall 2007 draft, then had six players taken in the first three rounds two years ago, and eight in the top six. This year, Vanderbilt’s contribution could be another half-dozen selections in the initial 10 rounds, though the first player off the board may be fast-rising high school right-hander Kyle Serrano. The Commodores also won’t have a monopoly on the talent in Tennessee overall as it is spread liberally throughout the college and high school ranks.


STRENGTH:
Pitching
WEAKNESS: Signable high school position players
OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 4

BEST COLLEGE TEAM:
Vanderbilt
BEST JUNIOR-COLLEGE TEAM: Walters State
BEST HIGH SCHOOL TEAM: Tullahoma HS

PROSPECT ON THE RISE: Kyle Serrano, rhp, Farragut HS, Knoxville.
Just last summer, Serrano ranked no better than the fifth- or sixth-best high school arm in the Tennessee draft class. But his improvement this spring has been dramatic, and he has blown by every prep pitcher in his path—though a season-ending injury to Tullahoma High right-hander Jordan Sheffield, who entered the season No. 1, has facilitated his dramatic climb.

WILD CARD: Conrad Gregor, 1b, Vanderbilt University.
Gregor has one of the most disciplined swings in the college ranks, and when his raw power started to evolve in a meaningful way last summer in the Cape Cod League, he all but stamped his chances of emerging as a first- or second-round talent this year. But with just two homers in early May, his power hasn't developed as expected, and he may not be taken early enough to justify his leaving school a year early.

BEST OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Tennessee Connection:
Daniel Wright, rhp, Arkansas State University (Attended high school in Bartlett)
Top 2014 Prospect: Tyler Beede, rhp, Vanderbilt University
Top 2015 Prospect: Walker Buehler, rhp, Vanderbilt University

HIGHEST DRAFT PICKS

Highest Pick, Draft History:
David Price, lhp, Vanderbilt University (2007, Rays/1
st round, 1st pick)
2008 Draft: Pedro Alvarez, 3b, Vanderbilt University (Pirates/1st round, 2nd pick)
2009 Draft: Mike Minor, lhp, Vanderbilt University (Braves/1st round, 7th pick)
2010 Draft: Bryce Brentz, of, Middle Tennessee State University (Red Sox/1st round, 36th pick)
2011 Draft: Sonny Gray, rhp, Vanderbilt University (Athletics/1st round, 18th pick)
2012 Draft: Sam Selman, lhp, Vanderbilt University (Royals/2nd round)

2012 DRAFT OVERVIEW

College Players Drafted/Signed:
25/19
Junior College Players Drafted/Signed: 1/1
High School Players Drafted/Signed: 4/2

BEST TOOLS

Best Athlete:
Myles Smith, rhp, Lee University; Connor Harrell, of, Vanderbilt University
Best Hitter: Jordan Hankins, 2b, Austin Peay State University
Best Power: Connor Harrell, of, Vanderbilt University; Will Haynie, c, Brentwood Academy
Best Speed: Dalton Dulin, ss, Memphis University HS; Tony Kemp, 2b/of, Vanderbilt University
Best Defender: Spencer Navin, c, Vanderbilt University
Best Velocity: Andy Hillis, rhp, Lee University
Best Breaking Stuff: Kyle Serrano, rhp, Farragut HS, Knoxville
Best Pitchability: Kyle Serrano, rhp, Farragut HS, Knoxville


TOP PROSPECTS, GROUPS 1 and 2

GROUP 1 (rounds 1-3)


1. KYLE SERRANO, rhp, Farragut HS, Knoxville
Kyle Serrano is the son of second-year Tennessee coach Dave Serrano, who is looking to right the ship of the Volunteers to make them once again a force to be reckoned with in the Southeastern Conference. Kyle has blossomed from almost out of nowhere into one of the elite high school pitchers in the country, and conceivably could work his way into the bottom end of the first round in this year’s draft. At the same time, that represents something of a good-news, bad-news scenario for the elder Serrano as Kyle is one of his prized recruits, and could give his youthful college team a major shot in the arm a year from now. But that is looking increasingly doubtful as his son continues to climb draft boards. Serrano always had a quality arm with an advanced feel for pitching and projectable secondary stuff, but was rarely able to sustain the velocity on an average fastball into the middle innings. But the 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-hander became much stronger, and more physical in the off-season leading up to his senior year at Knoxville’s Farragut High, and it has transformed him almost overnight into an elite-level talent. Serrano’s fastball has been consistently in the 91-95 mph range this spring, and he has been able to hold his newfound velocity deep into games. Even more noteworthy has been the development of his breaking ball into a true power curve at 82-84 mph. He rarely throws a changeup in high school, but that pitch also shows the makings of becoming above-average with his superior arm speed. Even with an obvious spike in the quality of his raw stuff, Serrano continues to pitch with pinpoint accuracy.

This is PG 'DiamondKast' Level content.
You must be either an DiamondKast, Crosschecker Rankings & Scouting Reports, or Scout subscriber to read the rest.

Sign in Subscribe Now

Draft | Story | 12/18/2025

PG Draft: Gut Feel Guys

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
While we are nearing the turn of the calendar to the 2026 year, that means we are just inching closer to the beginning of the season for many high school players and college baseball is on the horizon. We are prepping for a reshuffle of the 2026 MLB Draft Board as well here amongst the PG Draft staff. But before we get to that, we sat down and have each picked a couple of players who are in the mix to get selected in a couple of different buckets.  We have prospects who could go into the Top 30 picks or so, prospects who could be selected in the Top 5 rounds, and prospects who could go inside of the Top 10 rounds. With the draft quite far down the road and a lot of re-shuffling to be done as these players play themselves into certain spots on the draft board, our scouts picked some players who fit into these “buckets” who are gut-feel guys. These are the guys that our PG...
High School | General | 12/19/2025

Huntington Beach HS World Series Recap

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
MVPitcher: Duncan McLeod The uncommitted junior toed the slab in three of the four games for Team Mick, tossing 3 2/3 innings.  Zero walks, zero hits and 6 punchouts for the lefty who was used both as a starter in the series clinching game 4 and he closed out game 3 on Friday in quick fashion.  McLeod was very efficient as well, needing just 42 pitches over all his outings.  In the game 4 start, over two innings he punched out 3, with one strikeout with all of his offerings.  The mid 80’s fastball regularly played up, set up with efficient use of the secondaries, with the breaking ball 73/74 and fading change-up 72-74.   Owen Bone (2026) at it again... Solo shot in the 5th to tie things up. Back to back days with a home run for Bone. #PGHS pic.twitter.com/2JC9qETI5h — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) December 13, 2025 MV Hitter: ...
Tournaments | Story | 12/19/2025

13u Tourney All-American Team

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
What a year it was in 2025 on the national landscape at the 13u level as Perfect Game continues to expand its reach around the country, providing an even bigger schedule of events coast-to-coast which has allowed players all over show out and gain their deserved recognition. Whether in Texas for the Houston 1000 or the 13u WWBA in West Palm Beach, we saw huge, eye opening performances from the players placed below, knowing that we could EASILY build a third team and likely a fourth without much effort.  As we do every year with this exercise, it's worth pointing out the trickiness of this age group and putting the teams together with the 13u group. While the players are all members of the Class of 2030, some are younger for the grade, which allowed them to play at the 12u level where's it's a smaller field, shorter mound distance and different bats, so we'll separate them out and...
Tournaments | Story | 12/18/2025

14u Tourney All-American Team

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Player of the Year: Asher Williams It was an incredible year for Williams that was rewarded with a trip to the 14U Select Fest, before some more impressive play in the fall. He came to the plate almost 250 times in PG tournaments throughout 2025 and reached base in well over half of them, hitting to a .500 AVG while slugging a 14U circuit best 12 bombs and driving in 113 runs. The numbers on the surface are ridiculous, but when you look at the high-level events he put them up in, it makes it even more impressive. Pitcher of the Year: Tristan Blalock Blalock earns this honor after a dominant 2025 where he struck out 85 batters in just 48.2 innings of work with a minuscule 1.58 ERA. This included several strong performances at many national level tournaments and showcases where he was able to bully some of the best hitters in the country. It’s hard not to fall in love with...
Tournaments | Story | 12/17/2025

15u Tourney All-American Team

Jason Phillips
Article Image
Hitter of the Year: Landon Bonner The 2028 class saw many players from across the country take the next step in their development as they entered the High School ranks. There were huge performances from highly ranked players on the PG circuit as well as some under-the-radar guys who burst onto the scene. Landon Bonner came into Sophomore National as a Top 500 ranked player and after an impressive showing, left with all eyes on him as a rankings riser in the class. The left-handed hitting shortstop from The Colony, Texas, had a summer to remember with All-Tournament Team selections in three of his next four events culminating with a historic performance at the 2025 PG 15U WWBA National Championship. The Hebron High School prep went 20-for-24 in nine games for 5 Star Mafia 15U Black with four homeruns and 12 runs batted in. He also scored 17 runs and finished with a mind-boggling 2.500...
Tournaments | Story | 12/16/2025

16u Tourney All-American Team

AJ Denny
Article Image
Hitter of the Year: Koa Romero is the Hitter of the Year for the 16u group, as he would come to every premier event of the summer and earn All-Tournament honors (Beast of the East, 16/17u WWBA, Jupiter) in every single one. Over 82 plate appearances, Romero would pump ten homeruns with forty two RBI and sixteen walks, good for a .378 average and 1.339 OPS. The performance on volume at the best events of the year pushed Romero over the edge here, as he’d hit a pair of homeruns in Jupiter (one of them at 112 EV) as an underclassmen and collect double digit hits in BOTH WWBA events with a combined six jacks over the two tournaments. It was a summer that combined performance and winning on the biggest stages for Romero. It’s a quiet left-handed swing that packs a punch. He would reap the benefits of his performances, earning a commitment to LSU and jumping to the #74 prospect in...
College | Recruiting | 12/15/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 15

John McAdams
Article Image
Tucker Rice (27 MS) bumping up to 91; living hi-80s from real fast arm. Good SL @ 77-79 w/ depth & sold w/ intent. Loads of traits & strikes. #WWBA @PG_Uncommitted @PG_DeepSouth pic.twitter.com/DEjFqRcsIY — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 6, 2025 Tucker Rice, RHP, Class of 2027 Commitment: Alabama Alabama has continued to stay red hot in the recruiting trail ever since August 1st rolled around on the calendar and have continued to stack major pieces in their ’27 class. They dip into Mississippi to land one of the premier arms and one that’s stood out on the circuit for quite some time. It’s a fast arm and the athleticism certainly shines working down the slope. The velocity has continued to tick up over the last calendar year and reached into the low-90s towards the end of the summer. He’s confident in his changeup and the breaking ball is...
Tournaments | Story | 12/15/2025

17u Tourney All-American Team

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
There’s a lot of talent throughout this 2026 class, filled with the big-name stars, to talent that spreads across the nation. It’s been a lot of fun seeing these prospects grow and develop over the years, from the days of watching some of these guys at the 13/14u days at events on the circuit, to now where they are all graduating seniors in 2026. There’s been new faces who have popped along the way over the years, even in 2026, where some players who were relatively undiscovered, have come out and made a name for themselves with a statement performance. Between the familiar and the new, there’s a lot of names on this list that are going to be quite regularly talked about on the circuit, and for good reason.  Whether it’s PG All-Americans or not, there’s a lot of names with superstar potential at the next level. We’ve got 14 PG All-Americans...
Tournaments | Story | 12/13/2025

Finest in the Field: Class of 2029

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Finest in the Field: Class of 2026 | Class of 2027 | Class of 2028 These guys might just be entering high school, but they've certainly already made a name for themselves on the national circuit, especially with their abilities on the defensive side of things.  C: Xavier Rodriguez (Logansville, GA) Rodriguez is a polished defender with real arm strength behind the dish, while showcasing the ability to impact the baseball with authority to all fields evident by thirty of his sixty-five hits going for extra-bases including seven bombs. He handles high-level pitching extremely well, commands his staff and his offensive prowess makes him a true two-way asset. 1B: Cooper Knight (Buda, TX) Knight is a smooth operator at first base with plenty of range, fluidity and agility in his footwork around the bag. Add-in a rocket for an arm, the ability to change slots and to...
Tournaments | Story | 12/12/2025

Scout Stories: Part 5

AJ Denny
Article Image
Best Game I Saw: The Dream NTL 18U vs. MBA Scout Team Murphy Jupiter always brings out the best, and we got fireworks from the jump. Turner Marshall gave The Dream an outstanding 4+ innings of work on the mound, holding a lethal MBA team at bay with Chance Dixon, Derrick Carter, and Ellis Appling providing an offensive spark out of the gate for the Georgia based boys. However, it was only a matter of time before the talent on the other side got going, as MBA erased a 3-run deficit in the 5th to take a 4-3 lead led by a Parker Loew HR. The Dream then took command again in the Top of the 6th, before MBA punched right back with a huge 5-run inning in the bottom half capped off by a clutch RBI single from Matthew Kerrigan, ending a wild sequence with tons of notable performances from two very competitive rosters. Best Tournament Performance I Saw: Surely someone has already brought this...
Loading more articles...