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High School  | General | 2/9/2016

Regional HS Preview: Florida

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2016 Perfect Game High School Preview Index

As one of the perennially most talented baseball states in the country, Florida is not lacking in talent heading into the 2016 season. From high-end, potential top 10 picks all the way through quality Division I caliber depth, the state is rich, as usual, in baseball talent. The Miami area in general is especially loaded, as reflected in the high school team rankings.

Due to the extreme levels of talent and depth of said talent, there are several well-deserving players not found on the following list. These players make up our “just missed the cut” section:

• Bo Bichette (Lakewood HS, Tierra Verde): Bichette is lauded for his bat speed, which generates excellent raw power from the right side.

• Colton Welker (Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS, Coral Springs): Welker is one of the more complete prospects in the nation, with quality defensive projection at third base in addition to very good hitting tools and projectable power.

• Juan Carlos Abreu (Winter Springs HS, Casselberry): Abreu may have the best raw speed in the state, clocking a 60-time as low as 6.33 seconds and showing very impressive home-to-first times.

• Oraj Anu (Home-schooled, Orlando): The highly athletic and toolsy outfielder deserves mention with plus speed, quality defense and excellent hitting tools, as the junior has tremendous overall upside.


Florida High School Dream Team

C – Herbert Iser, Sr., Osceola HS, Kissimmee
Iser combines two very loud, impressive tools that make him attractive to scouts and impactful on both sides of the ball. He has excellent raw power when hitting, especially to the pull side, which allows him to drive the baseball out of the ballpark on a variety of pitches and locations. He generates this power with an impressive combination of raw strength and bat speed, though scouts are ultimately split on his overall hit tool projection. Likewise, behind the plate, he has a tremendous throwing arm, capable of recording pop times in the 1.8 second range. However, the overall defensive package does have some question marks, leaving some to wonder where he will ultimately profile defensively.

1B – Alejandro Toral, Jr., Archbishop McCarthy HS, Davie
There most certainly is not a better hitter in the 2017 class, and there may not be a better hitter in the prep ranks of any class. Toral is a tremendous hitting prospect who is more than capable of handling first base defensively, but similar to most first basemen, his ultimate profile projection hinges on his bat. Toral is one of the most special hitters seen in the past couple years, with extremely lofty projections to hit for both average and power, to go along with sky-high makeup and leadership skills. And since he’s only a junior, scouts will have the chance to watch him assault high school pitching for two more seasons before the draft comes calling.

MIF – Luis Curbelo, Sr., Cocoa HS, Carolina, Puerto Rico
Curbelo, a native Puerto Rican, has transferred to Cocoa High School in Florida and will play his senior season stateside. He is a supremely projectable athlete who scouts believe could end up at shortstop, third base or even center field as a professional. He has huge potential with the bat, both in terms of average and power, highlighted by excellent bat speed that he is able to control against high level pitching. While undoubtedly raw, Curbelo possesses one of the more enticing upsides in the class of 2016 making him a pretty good bet to come off the board relatively early in June during the MLB draft.

MIF – Mark Vientos, Jr., Flanagan HS, Pembroke Pines
While just a junior, Vientos presents one of the highest upsides on the defensive side of the ball in the whole country. He’s also making consistent progress with the bat, which, when added to the package of physicality and defensive prowess, makes him one of the best players in the nation, as evidenced by his No. 6 overall ranking in the class of 2017. He’s very smooth defensively at shortstop with quality footwork and range to both sides with clean hand actions and enough arm to handle the position. He’s coming along with the bat, making more contact and showing more consistent ability to drive the ball into the gaps with good carry.

3B – Drew Mendoza, Sr., Lake Minneola HS, Minneola
Mendoza’s name has been mentioned as a potential first-round draft choice in recent months, thanks in part to his highly projectable game in many facets. While Mendoza is a shortstop now, he’s projected to play third base long term, where his clean and easy defensive actions project to play extremely well. His long-term success will be determined by his hitting acumen, which projects very well for both batting average and future power potential. It’s a smooth, easy lefthanded stroke with plenty of bat speed, and scouts are confident he will unlock more and more power as he continues to physically mature and add strength.

OF – Carlos A. Cortes, Sr., Lake Howell HS, Oviedo
Cortes could have easily been put on this list on the infield, catcher or even the utility slot thanks to his ability to play pretty much all over the field (as well as pitch, both-handed no less). Regardless of where he is slotted defensively, one thing is for sure: Cortes can hit, and will continue to hit, whether it be at South Carolina or in pro baseball. Cortes won the MVP award at the Perfect Game All American Classic, playing most of the time in right field, which is why he finds himself in the outfield slot on this list. He commands the strike zone very well with an excellent approach when hitting, and makes hard contact more consistently than anyone in the state right now.

OF – Elijah Cabell, So., Winter Park HS, Winter Park
The only sophomore (class of 2018) on this list, Cabell’s upside is high as any prospect seen among the underclassmen. With elite-level bat speed that is already manifesting into impressive power, along with very good athleticism that translates to his defensive prowess in center field, Cabell has all the makings of a future first-round draft choice. He’s going to be very exciting to follow the next few years.

OF – Keenan Bell, Sr., Episcopal HS, Jacksonville
Bell is very quality player throughout every facet of the game, but is especially impressive in the batter’s box, where his lefthanded swing is smooth and loose with plenty of bat speed and he generates good power to all fields. He has the projection of a very good corner outfielder, with very good size and overall strength in his body, while still developing physically. He has a very good chance to be an immediate impact contributor to the Gators when he arrives on campus at the University of Florida.

UT – Jordan Butler, Jr., Alonso HS, Odessa
Butler finds himself here in the utility slot thanks to the fact that he is a high-level two-way prospect, and if he makes it to Gainesville in a few years (he’s committed to the University of Florida), Coach O’Sullivan will almost assuredly deploy him as both a lefthanded pitcher and a hitter. He’s an electric pitching prospect, throwing low-90s heat and a wipeout slider from a low three-quarters lefthanded slot, making him an incredibly tough at-bat for anyone, but especially for lefthanded hitters. He’s also a very good hitter and overall athlete, projecting well in the outfield and giving him one of the higher two-way upsides of anyone in the country.

P – Austin Bergner, Sr. Windermere Prep, Windermere
Austin Bergner has spent a good amount of his high school career at or near the top of the Perfect Game class of 2016 rankings, and with very good reason. The righthander has shown, at one time or another, a consistent mid-90s fastball with heavy life, a plus curveball with very sharp break and a quality changeup with good feel and fading action. All of this coming from a still-projectable 6-foot-5 inch frame. While the consistency hasn't been there as much as scouts would like to see, Bergner is still a pretty good bet to come off the board early during the draft in June, and he’s undoubtedly still one of the top righthanded pitching prospects in the nation.

P – Cole Ragans, Sr., North Florida Christian, Crawfordsville
One of the more highly-projectable arms in the country, Ragans is just starting to tap into his potential as a pitcher, and a big spring could see him skyrocket up draft boards before the MLB draft in June. With an easy delivery and arm action, Ragans’ fastball currently sits in the upper-80s to low-90s range, but scouts aren’t shy when they project him to add velocity moving forward. Add into the mix a quality curveball with 12-to-6 shape and a developing change that projects well, and you have the building blocks of a potential first round draft choice.

P – Jesus Luzardo, Sr., Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS, Parkland
Luzardo may have the most attractive combination of floor and ceiling in the class due to his extremely advanced combination of command, pitchability and raw stuff. He has four pitches, all of which project to at least average by major league standards, and he is able to command all four at a level not common to high school arms. While more physically mature as far as his body goes, he still projects some in terms of velocity, and can miss bats with any of the four pitches; fastball, slider, curveball, changeup. He’s safer than most high school arms are, and that in it of itself will be attractive to teams when the MLB draft rolls around in June.

P – Tyler Baum, Sr., West Orange HS, Ocoee
The owner of one of the faster arms in the class, Tyler Baum’s arm speed and physical projection leads some to believe that he will throw even harder one day than his already impressive low-90s fastball that touchies 95. Baum is able to generate excellent spin as well making his curveball another potential plus pitch, with hard diving break with very good sharpness; truly a bat misser. He’s also able to turn over his changeup effectively, giving him the arsenal of a starting pitcher with three pitches and the physical projection/athleticism combination that scouts love to see.

P – Jake Eder, Jr., Atlantic HS, Ocean Ridge
Eder exploded onto the scene last October at the WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla. With a highly projectable body, clean and easy arm action and a fastball that explodes out of his hand, a case could be made that Eder has the highest pitching upside of anyone in the 2017 class. He currently works in the low-90s but the projection is there for him to throw even harder. His curveball is a bit inconsistent at present, but at it’s best will show bat-missing potential with good spin and quality depth. With more repetitions and development, Eder could pretty easily work his way into first round consideration for the 2017 MLB draft.


Florida Top Tools

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