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Summer Collegiate  | Rankings | 10/4/2018

Cal Ripken League top prospects

Photo: William Fleming (Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images)

2018 Summer Collegiate Top Prospect Index

www.calripkenleague.org
Year Established: 2005
States Represented: Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C.
No. of Teams: 10
Regular Season Champion (best overall record): Bethesda Big Train (34-6)
Postseason Champion: Baltimore Redbirds and Bethesda Big Train (co-Champs)
No. 1 Prospect, 2017: Daniel Cabrera, of, Gaithersburg Giants (LSU)
First 2017 Player Selected, 2018 Draft: James Outman, of, Bethesda (Sacramento State; Dodgers/7th round) 

Player of the Year: Alec Burleson, 1b/lhp, Bethesda (East Carolina)
Pitcher of the Year: William Fleming, lhp, Baltimore (Wake Forest)

One could certainly make the argument that the Cal Ripken League this summer was essentially a two-team race for the title from start to finish, what with the Baltimore Redbirds (31-9) and the Bethesda Big Train (34-6) being the only two teams in a 10-team league with winning records. So, naturally, the way the season ended, with both Baltimore and Bethesda sharing the league championship as co-champions, fits right with how the season went overall.

The two teams even split player of the year honors, with Bethesda’s Alec Burleson (East Carolina) taking home the Most Outstanding Player honors and Baltimore’s William Fleming (Wake Forest) collecting the Most Outstanding Pitcher award. Both find themselves on the top MLB Draft prospects list as well, with Fleming earning the nod as the top prospect in the league thanks to his combination of present stuff and overall projection.

The league had a pretty successful draft as well, with 14 former Ripken League players having been taken in the top 15 rounds, including 2017’s Most Outstanding Player – and the 2017 PG/Rawlings Summer Collegiate Player of the Year â€“ James Outman, who was selected in the seventh round out of Sacramento State by the Los Angeles Dodgers.


Top 15 Prospects

Rk. Player POS. B-T HT WT Hometown ST School YR Class Last Drafted
1 William Fleming RHP R-R 6-6 205 Asheville NC Wake Forest SO 2020 Never drafted
2 Alec Burleson 1B/LHP L-L 6-2 218 Denver NC East Carolina SO 2020 Never drafted
3 Anthony Servideo SS/2B L-R 5-10 165 Jupiter FL Ole Miss SO 2020 Never drafted
4 Alex Tappen SS/3B R-R 6-2 190 Lower Gwynned PA Virginia SO 2020 Never drafted
5 Brendan Cellucci LHP L-L 6-4 200 Wyncote PA Tulane SO 2020 Never drafted
6 Tim Elko 3B/1B R-R 6-4 220 Lutz FL Ole Miss SO 2020 Never drafted
7 Isaiah Thomas OF R-R 6-3 190 North Palm Beach FL Vanderbilt^ FR 2021 Rockies '18 (39)
8 DJ Poteet OF B-R 6-4 190 Johns Creek GA Wake Forest SO 2020 Never drafted
9 Joe Zirolli 1B R-R 6-4 232 Kennett Square PA West Chester* SR 2019 Never drafted
10 Fox Semones OF/IF R-R 5-10 155 Woodbridge VA James Madison JR 2019 Never drafted
11 Conor Larkin RHP R-R 6-1 205 Royersford PA Penn State SO 2020 Never drafted
12 Carlos Lomeli RHP R-R 6-0 195 La Habra CA St. Mary's SO 2020 Never drafted
13 Justin Vought C R-R 6-3 195 Wilkes-Barre PA Maryland SO 2020 Royals '17 (31)
14 Zach Brzykcy RHP R-R 6-2 215 Taylorsville NC Virginia Tech SO 2020 Never drafted
15 Carter Bach LHP R-L 6-7 220 Clifton VA Wake Forest JR 2019 Never drafted

* Transfer
^ Incoming Freshman



Top 5 Prospect Reports

1. William Fleming, rhp, Baltimore (Wake Forest/SO in 2019)
Fleming, who won the overall Most Outstanding Pitcher award in the Ripken League this summer, saw limited time as a freshman as a member of the Demon Deacon pitching staff, collecting 15 innings with middling results. He’ll be expected to take a big step forward in 2019, and he certainly started to take that step this summer when he went 3-0 with a 1.12 ERA. He’s a long, lean righthander with good athleticism and ease of operation on the mound and he usually works in the 90-93 mph with a very good changeup. If he can continue honing his command, as well as his ability to spin the ball, he has prodigious upside.

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