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High School  | General | 2/15/2016

Regional HS Preview: Texahoma

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

Texahoma Region: Oklahoma, Texas

Texas continues to be a fertile ground for young baseball talent and 2016 appears to be no different. The state has had at least two high school players picked in the first round of the draft dating back to 2008 and that streak has a good chance to continue this June. Texas has eight players ranked in the Perfect Game Top 100 in the class of 2016, led by hard throwing righthander Forrest Whitley.

And like everything in Texas, the pitchers especially in this group are super sized.  Whitley checks in at 6-foot-7, 240-pounds, although scouts this spring say he's lost weight and significantly tightened up his body. Fellow All-Region pitchers Charles King and Dustin May check in at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-5 respectively, while promising junior lefthander Russell Smith towers over hitters at 6-foot-9.

Oklahoma doesn't have a standout 2016 talent but they do have a very promising 2017 class, headed up by outfielder Conner Uselton. Uselton, who resembles a righthanded hitting Blake Rutherford from the 2016 class athletically, is a very high ceiling player and a potential five-tool talent.

King anchors a very deep rotation on the state's top team, Coppell High School, which opens the spring as the No. 5 ranked team in the Perfect Game national rankings.  Perennial powerhouse Owasso High School is the top ranked team in Oklahoma.


Texahoma Region High School Dream Team

C – Michael Neustifter, Sr., Hebron (Texas)
Neustifter was a second team All-State Texas Class 6A third baseman but he's a primary catcher during the rest of the year playing for the Dallas Patriots. He's been named the Most Valuable Player at four national level Perfect Game tournaments during his high school career and has consistently shown a very high level righthanded bat with impressive power and the ability to square up the ball consistently. He is signed with Oklahoma State.

1B – Lael Lockhart Jr., Sr., Friendswood (Texas)
Lockhart is a two-way talent who struck out 87 hitters in 51 innings as a junior lefthanded pitcher and who is also scheduled to pitch at the University of Houston after he graduates. However, he's on this team as a first baseman as he combines a strong lefthanded bat with an outstanding glove at first base. Lockhart hit .411 as a junior and has power up the gaps.

MIF – Hudson Sanchez, Sr., Southlake Carroll (Texas)
Sanchez has been on the prospect map for many years but made significant improvements in his swing and approach last summer and is ready for a breakout season in 2016. The Texas A&M signee is extra big and athletic for a middle infielder at 6-foot-3, 190-pounds, but has the agility and athleticism to stay at shortstop for a while. Sanchez hit .303-2-18 as a junior at Southlake Carroll High School but expect a big season out of him this spring.

MIF – David Hamilton, Sr., San Marcos (Texas)
Hamilton is a dynamic athlete who excels both on the football field and the baseball diamond. He rushed for 2,140 yards and 22 touchdowns along with throwing for another 1,080 yards as a junior quarterback but broke his collarbone halfway through his senior football season. That injury is not expected to hamper his baseball ability this spring. Hamilton has been a starter at San Marcos High School since the beginning of his freshman year and has a .401-11-88 career line with 36 stolen bases. He played in the 2015 Perfect Game All-American Classic and is signed with Texas.

3B – Ulysses Cantu, Sr., Boswell (Texas)
Cantu was better known as a pitcher with a fastball that can reach 91 mph before dominating performances at the Area Code Games and the WWBA World Championship established him as one of the better righthanded hitters in the country. He has a strong and short swing that combines power with the ability to square the ball up consistently. Cantu's mobility at third base will need improvement at the next level and he has played some first base as well and played very well defensively at that position. Scouts have also talked to him about returning to his former position at catcher. He is signed with Texas Tech.

OF – Ron Washington, Sr., Ridge Point (Texas)
Washington has played as a 2017 in the past but has taken all the extra classes to graduate a year early and re-classify as a 2016.  He has a very strong and mature 6-foot-1, 210-pound build that gives him some of the best raw power in all of high school baseball and has worked hard to keep his hitting skills and defensive athleticism at a solid level. Washington's re-classifying should not hinder him with scouts, as he's been a regular on the national showcase circuit for some time.

OF – Cole Turney, Jr., Travis (Texas)
The 6-foot, 195-pound Turney hits the ball as hard as any player in the country regardless of class and shows big power to all parts of the field. He's also a solid average runner on the professional scale and throws 88 mph off the mound and 92 mph from the outfield. Turney also gets high marks on his energy on the field and for how he plays the game. The third ranked player inn PG's 2017 class rankings, Turney has a verbal commitment to Arkansas.

OF – Conner Uselton, Jr., Southmoore (Okla.)
Uselton slots one spot behind Turney in the 2017 class rankings at No. 4 overall and is a different type of athlete. At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Uselton is long and lean and very projectable physically. He's a righthanded hitter who hits from a tall stance with a loose and easy swing that projects big power. Uselton is also an outstanding athlete who started at quarterback as a freshman for his Southmoore High School football team and runs a 6.7 60-yard dash.  He projects to play either center or right field in the future.

UT – Kyle Muller, Sr., Jesuit Prep (Texas)
Muller is a big-bodied athlete at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds but is a quality overall athlete who has easy and smooth actions in all areas on the baseball field. He went 8-1, 0.99 on the mound last year for Jesuit Prep, striking out 104 hitters in 63 innings and allowing only 35 hits while featuring an upper-80s fastball and a big breaking curveball that is very tough on lefthanded hitters.  Muller's lefthanded swing is as easy as his delivery on the mound and he hit .383-7-33 with 14 doubles as a first baseman. He is signed with Texas.

P – Forrest Whitley, Sr., Alamo Heights (Texas)
Whitley is cut from the time-tested mold of the extra large and extra hard throwing Texas righthander. He went 7-1, 0.21, with 120 strikeouts in high school competition last spring and can get his fastball up into the 95-97 mph range at times. Still, Whitley's biggest improvement last summer on the summer circuit was learning to dial back on his fastball for better command and to work his three very promising secondary pitches – a curveball, a power slider and a changeup – for consistent strikes. The Florida State signee will enter this spring as a potential first round pick.

P – Charles King, Sr., Coppell (Texas)
King is the lead starter on a very deep and talented Coppell High School team that starts the season ranked fifth in the Perfect Game national team rankings.  The PG All-American went 7-0, 1.46 last year with 48 strikeouts in 38 innings and was up to 95 mph with his fastball during the fall.  King also throws a low-80s slider that is an outstanding pitch and has developing feel for a changeup as well. He is signed with Texas Christian.

P – Dustin May, Sr., Northwest (Texas)
May is one of the most rapidly improving pitchers nationally in the 2016 class and is ready for a breakout spring. The 6-foot-6, 180-pound righthander was only throwing in the low-80s in the fall of 2014 but was a steady 90-93 mph last October in Jupiter with a sharp-breaking slider and pinpoint command of his pitches to both sides of the plate. He is signed with Texas Tech.

P – Mason Thompson, Sr., Round Rock (Texas)
The 6-foot-7, 200-pound Thompson was topping out in the mid-90s with his usual outstanding command early last spring when he injured his elbow and had Tommy John surgery. Perfect Game named him to the PG All-American Classic team despite his injury and inability to pitch in the game. Thompson is scheduled to start pitching in shorter relief outings in March according to scouts and will also be playing first base, as he's a high performing two-way performer as well. He's signed with Texas.

P – Shane Baz, Jr., Concordia Lutheran (Texas)
Baz is a quality two-way prospect with lots of power and bat speed as a third baseman, but the 6-foot-3, 190-pound athlete has a higher ceiling on the mound and one of the highest ceilings in the 2017 class. He has a liquid loose and very fast arm that produces a fastball that is already touching the mid-90s and a power curveball in the upper-70s. Baz has an early verbal commitment to Texas Christian.


Texahoma Region Top Tools

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