FORT MYERS, Fla. – With day-five of the six-day 2016 Perfect Game National Showcase winding down Sunday, Texas first baseman and University of Arkansas recruit Cole Turney took a moment to assess what he and his class of 2017 mates had shown the myriad of scouts and college recruiters who had attended the mega-event.
This PG National Showcase was top-heavy with position-player talent and, not coincidentally, those are the guys a kid like Turney likes to hang out with. When one guy carries a big bat, he seems to have a natural attraction to the other guys who also carry big bats.
“I think our class is very talented and I really enjoy talking to these guys; they’re all fun to watch,” Turney told PG Sunday. “Obviously, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, but it’s fun watching some of these big guys put on shows during BP and it’s a lot of fun watching them play; I’ve enjoyed it. We’re all kind of spread out (across the country) but I’ve talked to some of these guys. Once we get together I’m sure we’re going to sit down and talk about hitting. That’s what we love to do.”
By the time the showcase closed its doors early Monday afternoon, Perfect Game National Scouting and Event Coordinators Jheremy Brown and Brian Sakowski had filled their electronic notebooks with tons of data. And both had separately reached a conclusion that was widely assumed before the event had gotten underway last Wednesday: The top prospects in the class of 2017 are position players.
The most recently published PG National 2017 Prospect Rankings told an interesting story before the first 60-yard dash was run or the first catcher Pop time was in the books. Eight of the top-10 and 15 of the top-20 prospects in the rankings were primary position players. That was a complete turn-around from a year ago when six of the top-10 and 14 of the top-20 players in the class of 2016 national rankings were primary pitchers, several of whom became first-round draft picks.
“There were several arms worth noting this year, but last year it seemed like every game there was Jason Groome, and then Riley Pint and then Ian Anderson and then Kevin Gowdy,” Sakowski said Sunday. “This year it just seemed like there were more bats and the rankings are going reflect that; I’m sure the draft is going to reflect that, too.”
Two of the top prospects in attendance were No. 10 Jordan Adell (Louisville, Ky.) and No. 14 Hunter Greene (Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) who are solid two-way players, and no one is really sure where they’ll end up in college or in the professional ranks. The other guys are more predictable.
No. 1 first baseman Alejandro Toral (Davie, Fla.), No. 3 Turney (Richmond, Texas), No. 4 outfielder Conner Uselton (Oklahoma City, Okla.), No. 6 infielder Mark Vientos (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), No. 8 middle-infielder Jayson Gonzalez (Covina, Calif.), and No. 9 outfielder Kyle Jacobsen (Acworth, Ga.) will butter their bread as position players. And, there were others, of course.
“I really liked Tyler Freeman, the kid from California,” Brown said. “Everything he hit was in play and hit hard, and I think he can stay in the infield. When you can come out and square-up the best pitching the scouts taking notice of it.”
Added Sakowski: “I really like (M.J.) Melendez, the catcher from Florida. Every year people are going to be higher on catchers because it’s such a premium position … and he’s a catcher who can play catcher, and he’s just really good.”
Freeman is a middle-infielder from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., ranked No. 43 nationally; Melendez hails from Montgomery, Ala., is ranked No. 27 nationally and is the son of Alabama State head coach Mervyl Melendez.
Both Sakowski and Brown were impressed with the hit tool of Cash Case, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound shortstop/utility player from Mount Dora, Fla., who is ranked 190th nationally. Case took a solid BP and hit a long home run during game action and raised some eyebrows. Another guy who stood out was No. 28-ranked Brady McConnell, a middle-infielder from Merritt Island, Fla.
“Every single thing he hit was hard and barreled,” Brown said. “Everything, from the first pitch of the showcase I think, he put back up the middle off an 88 mile-an-hour fastball that came off the bat 90-plus. … He’s definitely going to vault up the rankings, In my opinion.”
Both Brown and Sakowski said the 16th annual Perfect Game National Showcase met every expectation they came in with, as it always does. And, as always, there were some surprises and reasons that set this event apart from past Nationals. “It’s always good to get some of the West Coast kids out here. Most of the talent from out there came out this year and it was great to see them,” Brown said.
“I feel like every box was checked,” Sakowski said. “There were some power arms, there was some good breaking stuff from pitchers, there was good batted ball skills, there was some power. And there was definitely more speed this year; this year was faster.” He was referring to the three athletes – Quentin Holmes, Cole Brannen and Adell – who ran 6.15-second, 6.18-second and 6.19-second 60-yard dashes, respectively.
When PG scouts like Brown and Sakowski sit down at the 2016 PG National Showcase they’re already thinking about the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft. The difference between the 2016 draft and 2017 draft in terms of who is selected is looking like it will be night and day.
“When you look at the 2017 (MLB) draft, it’s already being pegged as being college pitching heavy as opposed to college bats, so you’re going to have prep bats and college arms,” Brown said. “This past year (2016) it was a decent mix of everything in the draft, both high school and college.”
Cole Turney is hoping to hear his name called in one of the early rounds of the draft next June, and he’s also hoping to hear his name called when the rosters for this year’s Perfect Game All-American Classic are officially announced on July 13. “It’s something that I’ve been aiming for, it’s been a goal of mine, so hopefully I can accomplish that goal and play in the All-American (Classic) at Petco,” he said.
The class of 2017 showed at the PG National Showcase it is full of prospects who can hit, run and throw. And now those prospects can look forward to using the next three or four months on the PG tournament or showcase circuit showing just how well they do their job.
“Every summer is important to me but every summer is important to me,” Turney said. “This one will be especially important because there are a lot of eyes on us. It’s our turn; it’s the class of 2017’s turn.”