Seth Lonsway, LHP, Celina HS (Ohio)
The Celina, Ohio native has been on the radar at least in some ways since last summer, where he attended the East Coast Pro showcase and performed well. He’s taken a good jump forward this spring, however, with additional velocity, better offspeed stuff, and more strikes—all components of a big draft riser. In his playoff start last week vs. Shawnee, Lonsway worked 90-93 MPH throughout his time on the mound, touching 94 MPH early, and showed that he could dominate with his fastball when in command. The delivery involves a good amount of spinal tilt and is crossfire due to a very closed off front leg; and in addition to those delivery components the arm stroke gets lengthy through the back at times, so there are timing concerns with how his arm and delivery work in unison. As a result of that, the arm got late getting up at times, and he missed up out of the zone a fair amount throughout his start. When in sync, he creates a significant amount of angle and plane to the plate; allowing his fastball to play up in effectiveness even beyond the raw velocity. He’ll show a plus curveball as well, with 12/6 shape and hammer depth/spin when he gets on top of the pitch. It varied in grade throughout the start, but at its best—and in the future—it’s likely a plus pitch for him long term. He also flashed an average changeup, thrown with conviction in the mid-80’s with fading life to the arm side. On the whole, he looks like a quality three-pitch starter with the ability to miss bats and work with three average-or-better offerings; and right now both our evaluations of him and the buzz from the industry place him in the 3-4 round range of the MLB Draft.
Samuel Carlson, RHP, Burnsville HS (Minn.)
Carlson has been on the national draft radar for over a year now, as a cold-weather righthanded arm with power-pitcher upside and extreme physical projection. He’s consistently seen his velocity grow and grow over the past year or so, even in big time events and environments, and he’s taken the next step forward this spring to be sure. In his first outdoor outing of the season, a scrimmage in Arizona, Carlson worked in the 91-94 MPH range for the most part, touching 95 MPH on my gun and looking more physical and more strong throughout his body. The arm is very quick, and while there is some violence and effort to his delivery, his strength and athleticism allow him to repeat it well. The changeup is a future plus offering, thrown in the low-mid 80’s with tumbling action at the plate and no difference in arm speed or release from his fastball. The slider, once an indiscernible breaking ball that didn’t do much, is flashing above average this spring, with true slider tilt and very good snapping bite. He’s been up to 97 MPH in recent starts over the course of the spring, and it’s possible that no prep player has done more for their draft stock (at the top, at least) than Carlson has this spring. Once thought of as a quality high-Day 2 selection, now it would be a bit of a surprise if Carlson doesn’t hear his name called in round 1.
Sam Weatherly, LHP, Howell HS (Mich.)
A known name for quite awhile both on the national and regional scenes, Howell High School’s Sam Weatherly has been creating a good amount of buzz in the state of Michigan this spring, and is considered the consensus top prep prospect in the state this year. In the premier prep prospect matchup of the spring, Weatherly took the mound for Howell against Steve Mann and Detroit Country Day last weekend. Weatherly retains a good bit of athleticism and projection on his frame, despite having done a good job to add some strength over the course of the offseason. He worked 87-90 MPH throughout the outing, showing good traits in terms of both his delivery and arm action. He commanded the fastball well to both sides of the plate and it’s well within reason that he’ll end up pitching consistently in the 91-94 MPH range before too long. Both his breaking ball and changeup have improved over the course of the last 6 months or so, as well. His slider is sharper with more biting action; and the changeup is a legitimate pitch for him now—he’s comfortable throwing it in any count vs. hitters of either handedness. He did a good job pounding the zone with all three pitches and attacking hitters of a very high caliber. The draft buzz right now is pretty strong, but a firm commitment to Clemson could potentially delay his foray into professional baseball for at least three more years.
Jacob Gonzalez, 3B, Chaparral HS (Ariz.)
A 2016 Perfect Game All-American, Jacob Gonzalez has arguably been the “most improved” player of the last 2 years when it comes to development, draft stock, etc. Once a skinny kid who had some raw pop, now Gonzalez is being considered in the 2nd round of the MLB Draft thanks to his plus-plus righthanded raw power, improved hit tool, and improved coordination defensively, which has led some scouts to believe he can stick at third base long term. Power is always a highly sought-after commodity in the draft, and Gonzalez has some of the best that this draft has to offer. With the ability to drive the ball out of the ballpark to all fields, along with an improved approach as well as improved pitch recognition (not to mention an extremely strong physicality), Gonzalez is being seen as more than a one-trick pony at this point. He’s doing a better job recognizing offspeed stuff and subsequently laying off those pitches, while at the same time he’s shown scouts that his approach (and power) are more all-fields now than they had been previously (even as recently as the summer circuit); a sign of a maturing and developing hitter. The loud power tool is enough to get evaluators interested, but the development of the rest of his game is what’s kept them coming back to Chaparral High School this spring.
-Brian Sakowski
Caden Lemons, RHP, Vestavia Hills HS (Ala.)
Lemons is an arm that has been rising up teams draft boards throughout the entire spring. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Lemons stands at an immensely lean and projectable 6-foot-6, 175-pounds with a high waist and extremely long limbs. The velocity has been climbing this spring and he touched 95 mph on Friday night. The arm worked and was long through a full arm circle with a slight hook in the back. He generated solid extension toward the plate and used the fastball almost exclusively. Lemons came in to close out game one where he was 91-93 mph and touched 94 mph and 95 mph once. He did not close the game out in the seventh, as he allowed a game-tying double but came back to start game two on Friday night. Lemons lasted three innings in the second game, it was postponed due to lightning, and showed a fastball in the 89-92 mph range while topping out at 93 mph. He showed three secondary pitches: a curveball, a slider, and a changeup. The curveball was of the big-breaking variety. The pitch came in the mid-70s with big, downward break and some sharpness with 11/5 shape. He threw both of the slider and changeup sparingly, both of which were in the low-80s, with the changeup being the more effective offspeed pitch that caught opposing hitters out in front. One of his struggles on Friday night was throwing strikes as he walked three batters and had to battle through some command issues. After seeing Lemons top out at 91 mph at both the National Showcase and in Jupiter, it's good to see the velocity take a jump and that has him in consideration to be picked in the top five rounds come June.
Tanner Burns, RHP, Decatur HS (Ala.)
Tanner Burns had been getting some buzz near the top of the draft during the spring as reports came in of his velocity ticking up into the high-90s. One of the issues in Burn's perception is his size. While he may be only 6-foot, he is by no means small. He comes in with a very well-built, physical frame and has good strength in his lower half. Burns has a simple delivery with an easy, clean arm action through the back of his motion. During his start, the first two innings were excellent and showed off his explosive two pitch combination of fastball and slider. Early on the fastball sat 93-95 mph consistently and topped out at 96 mph for a couple of pitches. There is rhythm in the delivery and he is able to get onto a downhill plane consistently. Burns worked the fastball to both sides of the plate and would go to his slider with two strikes. The pitch sat 83-85 mph and showed sharp tilt with two-plane action as well. The pitch was devastating to hitters of both handedness and was able to garner swings and misses, particularly those of the strikeout variety. Following the first two innings, the stuff began to waver a bit. The fastball velocity dropped to more of a 90-93 mph range and the slider softened up a bit. Regardless, Burns has shown high quality stuff with his outing and it's not unrealistic to see Burns selected somewhere from the supplemental first round to the second round. Burns is also a quality hitter and bats in the middle of the lineup for Decatur High School and launched a three-run shot during this game.
Drew Waters, OF, Etowah HS (Ga.)
Waters had some questions in the early part of the spring with slight concerns about his feel to hit and also with an ankle injury that sidelined him for a few games. He has all but answered those questions through the middle and late parts of the spring and his offensive presence has been a spark plug for Etowah's run to the final four in the Georgia state playoffs. Waters has always been a tremendous athlete with the ability to be dangerous on the base paths as well as a true centerfielder at the next level. He is fluid in his motions in the outfield with outstanding arm strength to boot. He has recorded times in the sub 4.3 second range from the right side and right around 4.0 seconds from the left side. Waters has big raw power from both sides of the plate and has been locked in over the course of recent weeks. He has shown the ability to let his power and speed do damage offensively. He whips the barrel head through the strike zone with excellent bat speed and shows strength through the point of impact. He has made strides swinging from the right side and is a legitimate threat from both sides of the plate as well as being able to hit from both sides at the next level. He is tearing up pitching in the high school circuit to the tune of around a .500 batting average with thirteen home runs and fourteen stolen bases. Waters is one of the most tools-ed up players in the draft and it is likely that he will be selected in the first two rounds of this year's draft.
Kyle Jacobsen, OF, Allatoona HS (Ga.)
Jacobsen is often compared to fellow outfielders on the draft radar in Waters and The Westfield Schools' Cole Brannen. Jacobsen is a different player altogether and he has made strides this spring in terms of his athleticism and speed. Always thought to be a good athlete, Jacobsen has taken a step forward in terms of his speed to first base. Now considered a plus runner, that gives Jacobsen the added value of being more of a threat on the bases as well as more certainty to stay in centerfield at the next level. The Allatoona outfielder has always had excellent instincts on the bases and he has taken those instincts to another level in terms of his stolen base production this season. He swiped 25 bases and was only caught once. The bat, in terms of production, has always been excellent in high school and this season he hit .475 with eight home runs. Hitting against tougher competition and with a wood bat still raises some concerns, but Jacobsen has also been productive on the summer circuit as he stood out in Jupiter lacing 100+ mph base hits. He is still a bit of an enigma in terms of draft position but he will surely be one of the top prep players from Georgia selected come June.
-Vincent Cervino