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Draft  | Story | 7/30/2026

2023 Draft: Late Round Georgia Look Back

Michael Albee
I have a soft spot for the under the radar high school preps that go in the 11th-20th rounds and sign. It’s not only a nice story, but it’s a show of faith from an organization in their area scout who put the time in, scouted the player and got a feel for the makeup on a guy that wasn’t a consensus “dude”. 2023 was my first year going out to high school games for Perfect Game in Georgia, so I wanted to go back and highlight the late round guys from the ‘23 class that were popped and signed to pursue their dreams of becoming a professional baseball player right away. Here’s a review of those four players from what they were in high school, and where they are at currently in their careers. 


RHP Andrew Dunford, Bonaire, GA - Detroit Tigers (12:350), $367,500



The Tigers dipped into South Georgia and nabbed Dunford, giving him a nice over slot bonus deal to sign him away from his Mercer commitment. It’s hard to draw up a more physical and lean frame, as he stands 6’7/235 with lots of strength in his lower half and the long limbs you’d expect given the height. As a prep, he was sitting in the low 90’s with heavy life on his fastball and showed the ability to creep up to 94-95 with it. The delivery was well synced for his age and class, getting to strikes often thanks to a pretty compact and inline motion while showing some capacity to spin the baseball in the low 80’s, albeit with inconsistent shape. The arm would get long on occasion, but it didn’t inhibit his strike throwing ability. You didn’t really have to squint too hard at the time to project out the operation, velocity and secondaries all having projection to give him a path to the major league level. In my eyes at the time, I saw this long-term as a reliever prospect that was going to be a sinker/slider guy that needed to mold the slider a bit to make it a usable big league offering one day. Once he reported to rookie ball, however, Dunford was unable to stay healthy for what was essentially two straight years, throwing just 4.1 innings from 2023-2025 before the Tigers cut him loose earlier this year. The Astros would throw him a lifeline just five days later however, signing him to a minor league deal. He has managed to log meaningful innings over the course of the summer for the first time since he was a senior. Dunford posted a 6.41 ERA over 19.2 innings, working back into pitching shape and staying healthy. He would get a lot of ground ball contact, but his stuff really struggled to miss bats and induce any kind of chase. The path for Dunford remains unclear, but if his bill of health can remain clean, it will be interesting to see what a 100% version of himself could look like in ‘27.


OF Kyle Henley, Cumming, GA - Cincinnati Reds (14:408), $395,000
 
Henley was a slam dunk centerfielder and the best runner in this ‘23 Georgia class, so it made sense why the Reds were bullish late in the draft and signed him away from his Georgia Tech commitment. The swing was mechanically solid and projected well to handle better velocity as he got stronger, and he paired that with 80-grade run times and what many likely projected to be a plus glove. It was (and still is) comfortably below average game power, as Henley has put over just five baseballs in 947 professional AB’s to this point in his professional career. However, he did peak at 109.2 off the bat this year and his 50/90th percentile EV numbers are not anything to scoff at. What is pulling down his power output is bottom scale PullAir%. Realistically, it doesn’t matter. If Henley makes it to the major leagues, power will not be why he is there. He is one the fastest and best base stealers in all of minor league baseball, having 30 bags to his credit this year in A-ball and 124 in his career to just 16 caught stealing. Safe to say, Henley is an impact runner and defender. The contact skills have played in game enough to this point, letting him get on base at a career .340 clip. He does strike out a lot, and the approach will have to improve moving forward if he wants to stay afloat. Whiffing against spin is still an issue for Henley at this stage in his career. There have been marginal improvements in his chase/whiff%, but it is still developing. Just days before this article was thought of and typed out, Henley was promoted to the High-A Dayton Dragons. The athlete has certainly panned out. It remains to be seen how the bat will continue to develop, but he has tools going for him with promising progression.


SS Bernard Moon, Redan, GA - Cincinnati Reds (16:468), $150,000
 
Moon was the most under the radar prospect for us taken in this draft, signing him late out of Redan High School and giving him $150k to get him out of his commitment to Troy. He presented himself as a safer floor prospect with some tools that projected between fringe and average that could carry him to the big leagues in a small role. Entered in the draft as a shortstop, the Reds quickly shifted him to second base where he has garnered the large majority of his innings during the course of his career. After hitting .310 in the complex league during ‘24 without a ton of impact, he was promoted to low-A Daytona for the ‘25 campaign. The offensive numbers took an understandable step back, hitting .236 with an OPS of .689 in a full season’s share of at bats. Naturally, he would run it back in Daytona to start 2026, and the results have taken a leap across the board. Moon looks noticeably stronger, translating that into tangible game impact that has increased his SLG to .438 (up from .367) and the BA/OBP currently stand at .267/.366. It’s still comfortably below average pop, but he is pulling the ball in the air much more often than a year prior. It's a good step in the right direction. These were the strides he needed to take in his second stint of full season ball in low-A. To go along with that, his whiff is down. A glaring hole in his offensive game remains in his inability to handle left-handed pitching. He currently is sporting a .503 OPS against southpaws, a number that is essentially unplayable at the higher levels. Despite this, the under the hood data for Moon across the board has trended in the right direction in ‘26. If he can provide serviceable defense and continue to refine the contact skills and swing decisions, he could carve a path to the majors as an organizational depth piece. 


OF Raudi Rodriguez, Statesboro, GA - Los Angeles Angels (19:564), $150,000 

Rodriguez has easily been the biggest riser amongst this crop once they hit the minors. Committed to South Carolina and playing with GBSA, the Angels took him late and gave him a slot bonus to get him in their system. As a prep, he was highly ranked nationally as a projectable athlete with a plus arm, good athlete, feel to hit and some budding impact to project upon once the body filled in. There were plenty of pro tools here, and the Angels bought in. After a pair of rather unassuming half seasons in the complex league, he’d start ‘25 in then Angels affiliated A-ball club Inland Empire 66ers (now the Mariners affiliate). He’d then proceed to have a massive breakout campaign, slashing .281/.372/.470 with 14 homeruns, 83 RBI and 38 stolen bases. To go along with that, he’d take home 5x MiLB player of the weeks, 2x player of the months, the post-season MVP award and made the AFL Rising Stars roster to go along with that game’s MVP award. Safe to say, Rodriguez shot up some boards and got much more national attention. Playing a quality centerfield with plus speed and good arm strength, this offensive uptick across the board instantly credited him with a ceiling much higher than most previously thought. He’d get the chance to start this year in AA, and after a slow start, he got settled in and has had a solid campaign with an .804 OPS to this point in the season. He blends impact and swing decisions well, giving way to big league viability on the hit/power. Being a tad older at draft than most (20), he is currently 23 years old, so he isn’t 21 like the rest of his peers in this article. He’s had more time to develop physically, but he is still about two years younger than the average player in AA right now. It’s a promising trajectory with a real chance to impact at the big league level for Raudi.
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Draft | Story | 8/7/2026

2026 MLB Draft Team Reports: NL West
Tyler Henninger
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2026 MLB Draft Team Report Cards: AL West With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. NL West Arizona Diamondbacks  Grade: 50 Risk: High Notable Selections: C Ryder Helfrick (1st rd) | RHP Blake Bryant (CB-A rd) | SS Carson Kerce (2nd rd) | OF Brayden Dowd (3rd rd)  Ryder Helfrick (@RazorbackBSB ) different AB; same result. He goes dead central for a solo 💣 this time. Threw a runner out earlier; 1.98 pop. #PGCollege @PG_Draft https://t.co/kW7wraqExJ pic.twitter.com/SARYKxd0oE — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) February 14, 2026 The Diamondbacks started their...
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General | General | 8/8/2026

12U Game Time: 8/9/2026 1PM Eastern

Perfect Game Staff
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Sunday August 9th, 2026 1:00PM Eastern DICK'S Sporting Goods Park at East Cobb West vs. East Follow and watch the game
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General | General | 8/8/2026

11U Game Time: 8/8/2026 Noon Eastern

Perfect Game Staff
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Saturday August 8th, 2026 12:00PM Eastern DICK'S Sporting Goods Park at East Cobb West vs. East Follow and watch the game
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College | Story | 8/7/2026

Cape Cod League Notebook: August 7

Perfect Game Staff
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RHP Jason Flores (@BaseballUGA) Showed some electric stuff, up to 98 several times CT, SL, CH to round out the arsenal in his 5IP 9K performance. @HarwichMariners So./‘27 elig pic.twitter.com/p2nTvkFnWh — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) August 5, 2026 Jason Flores | RHP | University of Georgia | Harwich Mariners  Flores heads to Georgia this fall looking to reestablish himself as one of the premier arms in the 2027 draft class after showing significant promise during his freshman season at Texas. Flores posted a 2.78 ERA over 32.1 innings as a freshman before a limited sophomore campaign in which he logged just 12 innings. The stuff was on full display this summer, highlighted by a dominant five-inning, nine-strikeout playoff performance in which he touched 98 mph five different times. His fastball averaged nearly 96 mph throughout his time on the Cape, pairing the...
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Tournaments | Championship | 8/6/2026

643 DP Last Team Standing at East WS

Will Dembo
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Following a dominant week at the 17u PG East World Series, No. 34 ranked 643 DP Cougars 17u capped off an impressive tournament run by defeating No. 2 ranked East Cobb Astros 17u, 3-2, in the championship game to claim the title. The Cougars earned the tournament's No. 1 overall seed after outscoring opponents by an absurd 59-6 throughout the week before completing their championship run with a hard-fought victory in the finale. “Always feels great to finish the year playing your best ball, especially when going up against strong competition,” 643 Head Coach Danny Pralgo said. “We did so many of the little things right: on the mound with location, clean on defense, bunting, 2 strike approach leading to long at bats, getting hit-by-pitches, and we had so many good outs offensively that led to moving a runner or scoring a runner. And when those things all come together in...
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Press Release | Press Release | 8/6/2026

PG Extends Partnership With Yeti

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  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME EXTENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH YETI   Sanford, Florida (Thursday, August 6, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced an extension of its existing partnership with YETI, the premium outdoor gear brand and the Official Cooler and Drinkware Provider of Perfect Game Baseball and Softball. The partnership between Perfect Game and YETI began in 2021.   The expanded partnership will bring YETI’s products and brand to Perfect Game athletes, families and fans through a variety of activations across Perfect Game’s events and digital platforms. YETI will have a prominent presence both on-site and online, including exposure...
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Tournaments | Story | 8/7/2026

Tournament of Champion Notes: Part 2

Perfect Game Staff
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Tournament of Champions Scout Notes: Part 1 ‘27 LHP Jaylan Hortenbury (KY) @JHortenbury X @PG_Uncommitted FB 85-89/ touched 90. Arm-side life w/ some ride. SL in mid 70s (depth). CH showed as a weapon in the upper 7s. Some sweep to BB in low 7s. Athletic w/ two-way capabilities as well. #TOC 👀 @USAPrimeScout27 pic.twitter.com/vyj1Tb9nBN — Jordan Gates (@JGatesPG) July 30, 2026 Jaylan Hortenbury (2027, New Castle, Ky.) Hortenbury was probably one of my personal favorites, as this was my first time seeing it in action. It’s an athletic two-way profile that has a chance to do both at the next level. But what stood out to me, was his potential on the mound. The left-handed pitcher moves very well and is comfortable there. Has the mound presence Supplemented with a free-flowing and loose arm from a higher ¾ slot, he pounded the zone in his lone appearance. He went...
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Tournaments | Story | 8/6/2026

Tournament of Champions Notes: Part 1

Perfect Game Staff
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‘27 RHP/SS Carson Hailey (KY) Dominant 5.1 IP + 14 K’s‼️ 2 ER on 3 H + 1BB. 69% strikes. FB lived 88-89 T92 w/ ASR + maintained velo. SL 77-80 w/ late sharp break. Throws downhill w/ good extension. Pitches tunnel well out of 3/4 slot. #TOC @carsonhailey_8 @2027TTKY @JGatesPG pic.twitter.com/UoL7newgi6 — Perfect Game Ohio Valley (@PG_OhioValley) July 29, 2026 Carson Hailey (2027, Louisville, Ky..) turned in a dominant outing, striking out 14 across 5.1 innings while allowing two earned runs on three hits and one walk. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound right-hander owns an athletic frame and worked with a controlled tempo on the mound. Hailey used a big leg kick and long stride with an easy lower half, creating downhill action and good extension toward the plate. He finished through his pitches well and maintained his velocity deep into the outing. The fastball lived at 88-89 mph...
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Tournaments | Story | 8/6/2026

East Coast Pro All Prospect Teams

Troy Sutherland
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1st Team C: Quincy Pratt (‘27 MS)-Max EV: 92- Put together a strong showing with multiple knocks; exits of 92/88/88. In-game pops right around 2 flat, 2.01 on a caught stealing and a 1.97. Swing plays and still a bunch of room to add muscle mass. Trending really nicely. 1B: Teagan Leach (‘27 VA)-60-yard: 7.02 Max EV: 105-On the barrel throughout ECP. Everything comes off hard and doesn't whiff much for a power led profile. 101 F8, 99 double left on left with a 4.72 turn, 105 double through the gap, and a 96 exit knock to his credit. Certified hitter that has plus strength now. IF: Isaiah Snavely (‘27 IN)-60-yard:6.71 Max EV: 96-Early attendance for the draft cycle rocket ship is always appreciated and Snavely is on it. 96/366 shot on a breaking ball to go with an 89 exit double and his other couple of hits on the week. 4.26 down the line and a 4.47 turn. Should stick in...
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Tournaments | Championship | 8/6/2026

Canes Walk Off In Florida Elite Champ.

Alyssa Golden
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A tightly contested battle between Canes Florida 2029 and Florida Flames 16u capped the 16U Florida Elite Championship, with the Canes earning a 6-5 walk-off win on Monday at JetBlue Park Stadium. “It means a lot to this team specifically because this is their first win as a group,” Canes head coach Alec Bettinger said. “We’ve come up short a couple times, so seeing one go through the hoop here is really nice for the boys.” The Canes defense came out hot, led by Cannon Tyler who started on the mound for the Canes. Tyler set the tone from the start, opening the game with a strikeout. He allowed no hits while striking out three over five innings. His fastball sat 77-82 mph. Another strikeout and a pickoff at second base ended the inning. Race McDaniel started on the mound for the Flames. The left-hander pitched six innings, striking out seven batters. The...
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