MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.--Perfect Game’s 2009 National Showcase, held June 11-14 at the Metrodome, was another outstanding event in what has become a series of outstanding National Showcases. Essentially, the cream of the crop in the next year’s high-school draft class was again identified.

The Metrodome proved to be a great venue for the second year in a row for an event of this stature. There is the obvious fact that it is a major-league ball park with all of those implications (great surface, professionally maintained; big-league lights, major-league ambiance), but the roof really makes it complete. Running a major event with no threat of rain is a big plus.

It will be interesting to see if the Metrodome is available in 2010. The Minnesota Twins, the primary tenant, will be moving into a new ballpark at the beginning of next season, something that is prominently posted all over the Metrodome (“Countdown to Outdoor Baseball: 48 Games,” reads one sign in left field).

The University of Minnesota will continue to use the Metrodome as its home park during the spring, and there will likely be the normal collection of cold-weather, indoor tournaments at the facility in February and March. If they keep the Metrodome in its current baseball configuration after the Golden Gophers 2010 season ends, before switching it to its football configuration (the Minnesota Vikings will continue to play there, at least in the short-term), it would continue to be an ideal host for the PG National.

The most important thing to remember about PG’s National Showcase, especially when compared to other national-level events such as the Area Code Games and the East Coast Professional Showcase, both of which are held in early August, is that this event opens the summer showcase season. These players that attend PG National each year are selected primarily by PG staff members Andy Ford and Kirk Gardner. The events held later in the summer will often look to the players invited to PG National first, in their own determination of the players they want to bring to their own events.

An official and more complete list of the top prospects in attendance at the Metrodome will be posted on the Perfect Game website in the upcoming weeks. The accompanying Top 10 Position Player list and the forthcoming Top 10 Pitchers list (scheduled to appear tomorrow) are solely the opinion of this scout/writer.

Top Position Prospects
2009 PG National Showcase

1. Kris Bryant, 3b, Bonanza HS, Las Vegas, Nev.
Bryant’s bat is in a different league than anyone else in the 2010 high-school class. He has huge leverage in his 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame, and the scary thing is that while he can already hit the ball higher and longer than anyone in the class (and some other draft classes, as well), he still has plenty of room to get stronger. Bryant is a polished hitter with the ability to hit for average as well for power. His defensive tools are very playable at third base (he played a very credible shortstop in Minneapolis, as well), but there will always be talk of first base in his future.

2. Reggie Golden, of, Wetumpka (Ala.) HS
Golden earns fair comparisons to Alabama football-baseball legend Bo Jackson for his athleticism and build, but the comparison isn’t applicable beyond that because Golden gave up football to concentrate on baseball. Golden is a five-tool player with excellent strength in his compact 5-11, 205-pound frame; 6.5 speed in the 60; and a 92-mph fastball on the mound. He’s also the type of baseball player who just looks like a highly-advanced, confident type of player on the field, something that few 17-year-olds can pull off.

3. Yordy Cabrera, ss, Lakeland (Fla.) HS
Cabrera is listed at 6-foot-4 and 190 pounds, but looks like he weighs more than that. That body type equates to strength and leverage with the bat. He also has a plus throwing arm, and yet the one tool that he teases you with is his very soft and quick hands. When he learns how to use those assets more efficiently in the field, and with a bat in his hands, Cabrera could become the top prep player in the entire 2010 class.

4. Justin O’Conner, ss, Cowan HS, Muncie, Ind.
O’Conner threw 93 mph off the mound in Minneapolis, and up to 96 during the spring at Cowan High, but few scouts view him as primarily a pitcher. He won the Rawlings Home-Run Derby on the third night at National, edging out Bryant in a playoff, while also launching the longest bomb (450 feet). His tools didn’t stop there as he threw 95 mph across the infield in drills, while showing sound shortstop actions in games.

5. Krey Bratsen, of, Bryan (Texas) HS
In terms of useable baseball speed, Bratsen may be the fastest player in the 2010 class, not the incredibly smooth and fast Mitchell Shifflett, the Virginia high-school outfielder who ran an electrifying 6.11 seconds to handily win the 60-yard dash competition. Bratsen recorded 3.86 and 3.95 times down the line from the right side on two ground balls, has Gold Glove-type range in the outfield and a 70-type arm on the 20-80 pro scouting scale. The bat has a ways to go, especially with his ability to drive the ball with wood, but the basic hitting skills are there.

6. Austin Wilson, of, Harvard-Westlake HS, Los Angeles
From a physical sense, Wilson looks exactly like Andre Dawson—and that’s the 30-year-old Dawson. Wilson is a physical beast at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, with huge shoulders and a narrow waist. The ball explodes off his bat, and don’t even think about running on him in the outfield as he threw 98 mph during drills.

7. Tyler Austin, c, Heritage HS, Conyers, Ga.
Austin was a virtual unknown before the event, but his physical tools are at a different level than anyone else in what is admittedly a very shallow 2010 high-school catching class. He has athletic quickness, impressive bat speed and a plus throwing arm. Austin’s receiving ability is at a very base fundamental stage, but he has had very little experience at this level of competition.

8. Brian Ragira, of, James Martin HS, Arlington, Texas
The ball comes off Ragira’s bat as hard as anyone in the 2010 class, and makes a distinctly-different sound. That’s going to translate to huge power in the future for what shapes up as a prototype right fielder. Ragira isn’t even considered a pitcher, but he sure looked impressive throwing 91 mph off the mound, too. His family background is unique in baseball prospect circles as both his parents are from Kenya, the same East African country as President Barack Obama’s father.

9. Zach Alvord, ss, South Forsyth HS, Alpharetta, Ga.
Alvord has been playing in World Wood Bat Association/PG events since the beginning of his freshman year. That’s close to 20 times overall, and he’s the type of prospect who has just gotten steadily better every time you measure his skills/tools. He was a finalist in the Home-Run Derby and had one of the strongest arms among infielders at the event. He can really play the game.

10. Anthony Wolters, if, Rancho Buena Vista HS, Vista, Calif.
Wolters’ physical tools don’t measure up to many players whose names do not appear on this list. But that doesn’t really matter. He’s the type of player you see play and learn a bit about, and you absolutely know, beyond any doubt, that he’s going to be a solid big league starter. For Wolters, that will most likely be as a lefthanded-hitting second baseman. His makeup and ability to play the game are off the charts. He can hit, too.

NEXT 10 (Alphabetical Order)

Michael Arencibia, of, Key West (Fla.) HS: Arencibia has to add some strength to his slight frame (6-1, 160), but he has the requisite run/throw tools (6.38 seconds/93 mph) and some serious whip in his lefthanded swing.

Sean Coyle, 2b, Germantown Academy, Worcester, Pa.
Coyle doesn’t profile in a classic sense as a 5-foot-8 righthanded-hitting second baseman, but he’s a 6.4 runner with some juice in his bat (one of three players to hit a home run in game competition at the Metrodome), and has an outstanding performance history.

Jacoby Jones, ss, Richton (Miss.) HS
As a 6-foot-3, 190-pound athlete, Jones is graceful and smooth with both quick-twitch ability and projectable strength. He just needs to shorten up his actions.

Lonnie Kauppila, ss-2b, Burbank (Calif.) HS
Kauppila will likely end up at second base. He doesn’t look strong enough at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds to generate serious bat speed, but he does and has a hitter’s arrogance in his approach at the plate.

Matt Lipka, if, McKinney HS, Frisco, Texas
Lipka has some athletic stiffness to work out, but can both fly (6.35 in the 60) and use his strength to drive the ball hard. What position he ends up playing is a positive-oriented question because he has the athletic ability and offensive potential to play almost anywhere.

Marcus Littlewood, ss, Pineview HS, St. George, Utah
Littlewood is a clone of University of Miami shortstop Ryan Jackson (a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft) in many ways, especially on defense, but is more physical at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, with better speed and athletic ability.

Michael Lorenzen, of-rhp, Fullerton Union HS, Anaheim, Calif.
Lorenzen has a special arm (99 mph from the outfield, 93 off the mound), but the rest of his game is strong and he will keep getting better as he adds strength.

Manny Machado, ss, Brito Private HS, Miami
Machado’s game is less-developed than anyone else on this list, especially his footwork at shortstop, but he has a big-league build and serious tools.

Josh Sale, of, Bishop Blanchet HS, Seattle
Sale’s run/throw/defensive tools will all end up in the fringy-average area, but he is a confident hitter with outstanding power and bat speed.

Andrew Toles, of, Sandy Creek HS, Fayetteville, Ga.
Toles is one of my personal favorites; a 6.44 runner with excellent game speed and instincts, and the ability to drive the ball into the gaps.