MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.—The pitching talent at Perfect Game’s 2009 National Showcase was both impressive and deep, and it would be relatively easy to fill out a Top 50 prospects list and have legit professional-level prospects in every slot.

Still, all the buzz at the four-day event, held June 11-14 at the Metrodome, home of the Minnesota Twins, centered around two big righthanders, Jameson Taillon (The Woodlands, Texas, HS) and Stetson Allie (St. Edward HS, Olmsted Falls, Ohio). They stood out on the mound, among some 250 of the top prospects in the 2010 high-school class in attendance

Taillon (pronounced TY-on, in Cajun fashion) was clearly the best prospect, player or pitcher at the event and it is difficult to imagine, barring injury, that he won’t be the top-ranked prep prospect in the 2010 draft class between now and next June. He has a rare combination of size, athleticism, present stuff and pitchability in a teenager. Much conversation among scouts was dedicated to figuring out the last rising high-school senior that had Taillon’s overall package.

Allie could have been ranked all the way from No. 2 on the accompanying list of top pitching prospects at the event, to not at all, depending on one’s perspective of his overall package.

Prior to the start of the National, Allie threw in a PG-sponsored tournament in the Metrodome and was big-league filthy for an inning, touching 99 mph with his fastball and up to 90 with his slider. In his one National Showcase appearance, it was evident that Allie threw strictly for the benefit of the radar guns, and while his velocity was still there, he had only “20” command and a “20” slider on the 20-80 pro scouting scale.

While Taillon and Allie headed up an impressive crop of righthanders, the one thing that appears noticeably lacking in the 2010 prep class is high-level lefthanded pitching. None was immediately evident last weekend, though southpaws Jesse Biddle (Germantown Friends School, Philadelphia) and Kevin Ziomek (Amherst, Mass., HS) are noted on the list below. Fellow lefthanders Griffin Murphy (Redlands East Valley HS, Highland, Calif.) and Robert Ray (Brentwood, Tenn., HS) also show some ability, but there is clearly not a Tyler Matzek or Matt Purke (both first-rounders in this year’s draft) in the 2010 class that has been identified so far.

An official and more complete Top Prospect List from PG National will be posted on the Perfect Game website in the coming weeks. The following Top 10 Pitching Prospect list (and the Top 10 Player Prospect List posted earlier) are solely the opinion of this scout/writer.

Top Pitching Prospects

2009 PG National Showcase

1. Jameson Taillon, rhp, The Woodlands (Texas) HS
You might have to go back a number of years to find a high-school pitcher as advanced as Taillon is at this stage, and that includes the Detroit Tigers rookie phenom Rick Porcello, who pitched in the 2006 National Showcase. Taillon is a beast on the mound at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, and throws from an easy, cross-fire delivery that must scare righthanded hitters in the same way that Randy Johnson intimidates lefties. His fastball sat at 94-96 mph with life, even from the stretch. His 80-84 mph curveball showed excellent spin and bite, and gives him a second present plus pitch. Taillon threw only one changeup, but he has flashed big-league quality with that pitch in the past, as well.

2. A.J. Cole, rhp, Oviedo HS, Winter Springs, Fla.
There were rumors this spring of Cole touching 100 mph, which were discredited (his coach said he was 97, tops), but it’s easy to see where such talk comes from. Cole has a very loose and easy arm, and the mid-90s comes with little effort. There should be more in there as he fills out his 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame. His curveball and command have improved over the last year, as well.

3. Kevin Gausman, rhp, Grandview HS, Centennial, Colo.
Gausman looks like a young kid with his slender 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame and young face, but throws 93-94 mph with as loose and easy an arm action, and as smooth a delivery, as you will see at his age. You can tell that a pitcher throws hard naturally when his first warm-up pitch, without even winding up, is 91 mph. Gausman’s off-speed pitches are still developing, though his curve will flash some big-league spin on occasion.

4. Aaron Sanchez, rhp, Barstow (Calif.) HS
Sanchez and Gausman are essentially interchangeable as prospects. Their stuff is virtually the same, and their arm actions and deliveries are outstanding. At 6-foot-3 and 170 pounds with long, slender legs, Sanchez isn’t quite as physical as Gausman, and he doesn’t maintain his 93-94 mph fastball velocity with quite the same consistency.

5. Kartsen Whitson, rhp, Chipley (Fla.) HS
Whitson, son of ex-big league pitcher Ed Whitson, has all the makings of becoming a top-level sinker/slider pitcher. His arm is quick and smooth, although he has some delivery issues to work out. Whitson’s 92-94 mph fastball has heavy, late sink down in the zone, and his low-80s slider is quick and sharp.

6. DeAndre Smelter, rhp, Tattnall Square Academy, Macon, Ga.
Placing a pitcher this high on a prospect list when he doesn’t even attempt to throw a breaking ball may seem unusual, but the highly-athletic Smelter throws 92-95 mph about as easily as you can, and there is no reason he couldn’t learn a slider in about 10 minutes with the right pitching coach. He does have a low-80s split-finger change that has good life.

7. Stetson Allie, rhp, St. Edward HS, Olmsted Falls, Ohio
Allie is the most difficult player on this list to properly evaluate. He threw about 30 pitches in his one outing, and very few were strikes as it was apparent he was throwing to the radar gun. Granted, the radar gun did show 94-98 mph. A couple of days before, pitching to hitters in a live game situation, Allie was clocked at 94-99 with a plus 88 mph slider. He has a closer’s mentality and closer’s stuff, and is used only in that role even as a 17-year-old, so picking up enough innings to enable him to more fully develop as a pitcher is going to be a challenge.

8. Dan Child, rhp, Jesuit HS, Rocklin, Calif.
Child threw a grand total of 5-2/3 innings this spring on a loaded Jesuit High team that had nine Division I signees. He has some mechanical issues that primarily affect his 91-94 mph fastball, but his slider was the top such pitch at the event and he had outstanding feel for it around 84 mph.

9. Kaleb Cowart, rhp, Cook County HS, Adel, Ga.
Playing an infield position on an everyday basis looks like it may be affecting Cowart, as he looked tired in his one inning of relief. He threw his fastball at just 90-92 mph and lacked the snap he usually shows on his curveball. It’s easy to see his potential as a switch-hitting infielder, but his higher ceiling is as a pitcher—and yet he rarely throws more than an inning at a time.

10. Peter Tago, rhp, Dana Hills, Laguna Niguel, Calif.
Tago compares favorably to Gausman (No. 3 above) and Sanchez (No. 4) in that he is able to throw with an effortless arm action, and 91-93 mph comes easily to him. He has a very young-looking, “Dominican”-type body that hasn’t started to fill out yet.

NEXT TEN (Alphabetical Order)

John Barbato, rhp, Felix Varela HS, Miami
Barbato might have had the smoothest delivery and arm action at the event, and spotted his 89-92 mph fastball on the corners. He still needs to develop feel for and consistency with his off-speed pitches, but that will come with time.

Jesse Biddle, lhp, Germantown Friends HS, Philadelphia
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Biddle looks like a younger version of Andy Pettitte, right down to his 91-mph fastball and very loose left arm.

Mike Foltynewicz, rhp Minooka (Ill.) HS
Foltynewicz gets above-average life on his 90-92 mph fastball, and there’ll be more velocity there once he learns how to use his lower half better. His mid-70s curveball is a second future plus pitch.

Nick Kingham, rhp, Sierra Vista HS, Las Vegas, Nev.
Kingham didn’t pitch this spring because of transfer issues, but is one of the most-projectable pitchers in the 2010 class—yet another reason for scouts to visit Las Vegas next spring.

Connor Mason, rhp, Suwanee, Ga. (home-schooled)
Mason struck out all six hitters he faced, utilizing a 90-91 mph fastball and hard-biting curveball, along with the makings of plus command. He’s an easy projection with very good overall athleticism.

Case Nixon, rhp, Hillcrest HS, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Nixon is primarily a catcher for now, but he throws up to 93 mph with minimal effort and has a pitcher’s profile build and arm action.

Nick Rumbelow, rhp, Bullard (Texas) HS
The 6-foot, 190-pound Rumbelow is not the normal size for a prospect righty, but his fastball sits at 90-92 mph with life and he had the nastiest changeup at the event.

Andrew Smith, rhp, Roswell (Ga.) HS
Smith doesn’t project much with his 6-foot-2, 190-pound build, but his fastball touches 93 mph consistently and he has a very good mid-70s curveball. He threw to spots with both pitches and could have plus command in the future.

Tyler Shreve, rhp, Redlands East Valley HS, Highland, Calif.
Shreve is a big-time quarterback prospect who has less than 30 innings of pitching experience the past two years, but his 91-93 mph fastball comes easily and he can spin a breaking ball, too.

Kevin Ziomek, lhp, Amherst (Mass.) HS
Ziomek has all the pitches, including an 89-91 mph fastball that he’ll challenge hitters with, plus a 77-mph slider that has a big, power curveball-type shape to it.