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General  | Crack The Bat | 4/19/2005

Prep Draft Risers

With less than two months until the June Amateur Free Agent Draft, there are some rising high school seniors that are generating quite a buzz in the scouting community. While the list of risers could be endless, just like any other subjective list, I'm going to limit this feature to 10 players that have created the most stir this spring and have made the biggest strides in an attempt to be selected early in the draft this June.

Reese Havens-SS-Bishop England HS (South Carolina)

Committed to play in-state for the South Carolina Gamecocks, Havens is soaring up draft charts this spring with a great baseball body and a smooth left-handed bat. There is intriguing power potential as he generates very good bat speed with some loft to his swing. Due to below average speed and range, Havens may move to third base down the road, whether it be at South Carolina or at the pro level, but he has the hands and arm strength to play anywhere on the diamond.

Tyler Herron-RHP-Wellington HS (Florida)

Herron, a right-handed pitcher, is also a talented shortstop. His projectable frame and increasing, consistent velocity makes Herron one of the more intriguing, rising young prep pitchers available for this June's draft. He flashes an improving curveball as well, and has a nice, easy arm stroke in which the ball explodes out of his hand. Herron is still growing into his body, and with increased velocity already, there's no reason to think that he won't be able to add a few more ticks to his low-90s heater. He has committed to play for Clemson.

Craig Italiano-RHP-Flower Mound HS (Texas)

Few, if any, pitchers from the prep ranks can match Italiano's 98 mile-per-hour fastball. He was already well established as a top three to five round pick entering the spring, but his consistent velocity may vault him into the first round of the draft. Italiano does have somewhat of a max-effort delivery, so there are some future injury concerns, and concerns about whether he'll remain as a starter or move to the bullpen. Regardless of those concerns, the Flower Mound, Texas resident is truly blessed with a golden arm, and that will cause him to receive an incredible amount of early interest. Italiano has committed to play for Texas Christian University.

Paul Kelly-SS-Flower Mound HS (Texas)

Italiano's teammates at Flower Mound High School, Kelly is a smaller yet rangy shortstop that resembles Texas A&M's Cliff Pennington in size, stature and the way he plays the game. He has very good bat control and covers the plate well, makes good contact and has decent power to the gaps. Defensively he has good range, soft hands and a well above average arm (throws 90+ from the mound) that should allow him to stay at shortstop. His body has plenty of room for him to add size and strength. Kelly, like his high school teammate Italiano, has committed to play for TCU.

Bryan Morris-RHP-Tullahoma HS (Tennessee)

Armed with a fastball that regularly clocks in the mid-90s, and a killer curveball, Morris has gone from virtually unknown to a possible first-round draft pick. He opened the season with consecutive no-hitters, and has been drawing bigger and bigger crowds from the scouting community in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Morris has committed to play locally at Motlow State Junior College.

Mark Pawelek-LHP-Springville HS (Utah)

No player had moved up as much as Mark Pawelek has. Pawelek has been bringing scouts in droves to Springville, Utah to watch him pitch. Like almost every other player on this list, Pawelek was well known about entering this spring, but he has pitched so well that he is being talked about as a player that could go as high as the top half of the first round of the draft. He's created that buzz with more consistent velocity on his fastball, which he throws easily in the low-90s and can touch the mid-90s. Pawelek maintains that velocity well into games. He also has a solid breaking ball and changeup, and has a nice, fluid delivery from a projectable frame. He has committed to play for Arizona State.

Colby Rasmus-OF-Russell County HS (Alabama)

Be sure to check the interview feature I conducted with Colby's father, Tony, a couple of weeks ago. The oldest of four sons, Colby has been drawing attention with his bat, with 15 home runs at last count so far in the young season. He makes consistent, solid contact that should translate well to hitting with a wood bat at the pro level, that is if he's swayed away from his commitment to play for Auburn. Rasmus is a fluid and talented, confident athlete that also closes games for the number one high school team in the country, Russell County High School in Phenix City, Alabama.

Drew Thompson-SS-Jupiter HS (Florida)

Drew Thompson is the son of former big-leaguer Robby Thompson, and he carries the big-league moxie on the field that scouts and coaches love. A natural leader, he shows graceful and natural actions in the infield, and he has the arm, hands and range to stay at shortstop. Thompson makes good contact at the plate, with a disciplined eye and he shows good power from gap to gap. He still has plenty of room to grow while getting bigger and stronger, and with his pedigree he could be a player to watch, either in the draft or at the University of Florida.

Josh Wall-RHP-Central Private HS (Louisiana)

Perfect Game USA broke a story on Josh Wall after the World Showcase in Ft. Meyers. It's not that Wall wasn't well known about, but no one had seen him throw in the mid-90s with an easy arm stroke and a dominating breaking ball. Before that he doubled as a talented and athletic shortstop prospect as well, but now with more consistency and velocity, his future without a doubt lies on the mound. A resident of Walker, Louisiana, Wall has committed to play close to home at in-state perennial powerhouse LSU.

Sean West-LHP-Captain Shreve HS (Louisiana)

West, at 6'8", 195 pounds, has one of the most intriguing and projectable of frames of any draft eligible prospect. Being a left-handed pitcher only adds to his interest. Previously a soft-tossing lefty that earned his keep by changing speeds and hitting his spots, West has started to pitch more consistently around 90 miles per hour, and he has plenty of room to add onto that as he continues to grow and hone his mechanics. Given his stature, he's always throwing on a downhill plane, and he keeps hitters honest with a big, sweeping curveball. West has committed to play for San Jacinto Junior College.

The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA. Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and Brewerfan.net, and can be contacted via email at pebert@brewerfan.net.

General | Blog | 12/10/2025

Youth Baseball Exec. DeDonatis III Joins PG

Jim Salisbury
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Youth Baseball Executive Don DeDonatis III Joins PG By Jim Salisbury  It’s free-agent season in baseball and Perfect Game has landed a big one. Don DeDonatis III joined PG as a consultant in November. The DeDonatis name is synonymous with youth baseball and softball. Along with his dad, Don Jr., DeDonatis helped build USSSA into a big hitter in the game. He brings decades of experience and knowledge to PG. “We all acknowledge that Donny has moved on from USSSA,” PG CEO Rob Ponger said. “This is a new chapter for him and we hope both sides take advantage of it to help youth sports in general. “The DeDonatis name has a legacy attached to it and we’re hoping that Donny is going to help us. PG is a growing brand and he’s on board to help.” DeDonatis was CEO at USSSA from 2018 until his exit from the company two years ago. “I’m...
High School | General | 12/24/2025

2025 Year In Review: High School

Cam McElwaney
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IMG Academy Takes Home the National Title Every year IMG Academy comes into the spring with top-to-bottom one of the top rosters in the country and every year have the expectation of winning the national championship. Well in 2025 they did just that after finishing the spring 24-1, winning the High School Showdown, and winning 15 straight games to end their season. Their high end offensive ability was on full display throughout the year and they will once again be one of the most talented teams in the country in ’26 as they look to go back-to-back. Two Top-10 Picks in the MLB Draft Headline National Players of the Year It was another loaded crop that took home the National Players of the Year as both Ethan Holliday, the National Player of the Year, and Seth Hernandez, National Pitcher of the Year, heard their names called within the first-10 picks in the MLB Draft. Another first...
Draft | Rankings | 12/24/2025

Top 2027 Collegiate Draft Prospects

Isaiah Burrows
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With the 2025 cycle officially behind us and the calendar nearly flipping over to 2026, it is time to start looking ahead to the future. More importantly, start looking ahead to the next season of college baseball and what that may mean for draft-eligible players with big dreams of continuing their journey. While the 2026 MLB Draft is now on the horizon, we are looking ahead to the future even further – to see which players have already made impacts upon their arrival to college campuses. We have already dropped our 2028 Top 75 collegiate prospects board, but this one is our Top 100 college prospects who will be eligible for the 2027 class. These are the Top 100 players in our eyes for this group, and many of them have already shown up on campus and been impactful in many ways. Whether its our top-ranked player in Oregon State’s Dax Whitney or ninth-ranked William Schmidt...
Draft | Rankings | 12/23/2025

Top 2028 Collegiate Draft Prospects

Vincent Cervino
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The college players in the 2028 draft class have yet to step on campus, but they're positioned to make an immediate impact. Several high end talents either turned down significant money last year or honored strong college commitments, resulting in their arrival on campus this fall. The class is currently led by a trio of high-upside arms in Jack Bauer, Angel Cervantes, and Cameron Appenzeller. They are followed by a deep group of bats that rounds out a strong, high end Top-10. Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State 1 Jack Bauer C LHP L-L Mississippi State Frankfort IL 2 Angel Cervantes C RHP R-R UCLA Lynwood CA 3 Cameron Appenzeller C LHP L-L Tennessee Springfield IL 4 Brayden Jaksa C C R-R Oregon Fremont  CA 5 JD Stein C SS R-R Wake Forest Carmel IN 6 Mason Ligenza C OF L-L Pittsburgh Brockton PA 7 Ty Peeples C OF L-R Georgia Lavonia GA 8 Lucas Franco C SS L-R TCU Katy TX 9...
Juco | Story | 12/23/2025

2025 Year in Review: JUCO

Blaine Peterson
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Looking Back at the 2025 Top 10  Matt Barr (‘25 Niagara, ‘26 Minnesota Twins) Bursting onto the scene last winter, footage of an indoor bullpen rocketed Barr onto the radar of many. Explosive fastball reaches near triple digits with incredible spin numbers across the secondaries. Huge numbers at Niagara earned him the title of the first Juco player drafted in 2025. JC Vanek (‘25 Chipola, ‘26 Kansas City Royals) Just a professional hitter. Vanek for two years at Chipola was an impossible out. While there are questions if the power will ever reach what it takes to play first base at the big league level, the bat and quality defensive skillset at first base may carry. Donovan Becerra (‘25 New Mexico, ‘26 Texas Tech) One of the more high octane arms anywhere in the country last year. Can reach back for upper 90’s and has shown serious swing and...
Draft | Story | 12/22/2025

2025 Year in Review: Draft

Isaiah Burrows
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2025 Year in Review: Draft We’ve reached the end of the 2025 calendar year, and while we’ve already jumped in on the 2026 cycle with some of the fall events and post-draft content we’ve had here at Perfect Game, there’s still one more piece on the docket, and that’s the 2025 Year-In-Review piece here from the PG Draft staff.  The 2025 MLB Draft took place in July, when many highly talented players heard their names called and continued their journey through the game to the next level. There’s already been some of those names making noise in the minors and guys who are moving up prospect lists and becoming names to know for MLB fans digging deep into the future of their organizations. While we are going to “close the book” on 2025 with this article, these players still have many years ahead of them, and many blank pages to continue...
College | Recruiting | 12/22/2025

Recruiting Notebook: December 22

Jheremy Brown
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Lucien Saint Cyr, INF, Class of 2026 Commitment: Bucknell Saint Cyr announced his pledge to Bucknell, giving the Bison an interesting blend of present tools and projection. Saint Cyr stands 6-foot-1 and offers room to fill in his medium frame, profiling in the middle infield defensively. The New York product starts wide at the base in the right-handed box, keeping his hands high behind the ear. He works into a subtle outward step load, firing through a compact barrel that showcases bat speed and gap-to-gap impact. For head coach Scott Heather and Bucknell, they land a high-quality Northeast infielder in the ’26 cycle, adding to a class that takes the quality over quantity approach. Patrick Diaz ('26, NY) 102 EV off the bat. Impact to the pull side. #PGNational @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/NN0L3FRdO9 — PG Showcases (@PGShowcases) July 9, 2025 Patrick Diaz,...
High School | General | 12/19/2025

Huntington Beach HS World Series Recap

Steve Fiorindo
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MVPitcher: Duncan McLeod The uncommitted junior toed the slab in three of the four games for Team Mick, tossing 3 2/3 innings.  Zero walks, zero hits and 6 punchouts for the lefty who was used both as a starter in the series clinching game 4 and he closed out game 3 on Friday in quick fashion.  McLeod was very efficient as well, needing just 42 pitches over all his outings.  In the game 4 start, over two innings he punched out 3, with one strikeout with all of his offerings.  The mid 80’s fastball regularly played up, set up with efficient use of the secondaries, with the breaking ball 73/74 and fading change-up 72-74.   Owen Bone (2026) at it again... Solo shot in the 5th to tie things up. Back to back days with a home run for Bone. #PGHS pic.twitter.com/2JC9qETI5h — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) December 13, 2025 MV Hitter: ...
Tournaments | Story | 12/19/2025

13u Tourney All-American Team

Jheremy Brown
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What a year it was in 2025 on the national landscape at the 13u level as Perfect Game continues to expand its reach around the country, providing an even bigger schedule of events coast-to-coast which has allowed players all over show out and gain their deserved recognition. Whether in Texas for the Houston 1000 or the 13u WWBA in West Palm Beach, we saw huge, eye opening performances from the players placed below, knowing that we could EASILY build a third team and likely a fourth without much effort.  As we do every year with this exercise, it's worth pointing out the trickiness of this age group and putting the teams together with the 13u group. While the players are all members of the Class of 2030, some are younger for the grade, which allowed them to play at the 12u level where's it's a smaller field, shorter mound distance and different bats, so we'll separate them out and...
Tournaments | Story | 12/18/2025

14u Tourney All-American Team

Tyler Russo
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Player of the Year: Asher Williams It was an incredible year for Williams that was rewarded with a trip to the 14U Select Fest, before some more impressive play in the fall. He came to the plate almost 250 times in PG tournaments throughout 2025 and reached base in well over half of them, hitting to a .500 AVG while slugging a 14U circuit best 12 bombs and driving in 113 runs. The numbers on the surface are ridiculous, but when you look at the high-level events he put them up in, it makes it even more impressive. Pitcher of the Year: Tristan Blalock Blalock earns this honor after a dominant 2025 where he struck out 85 batters in just 48.2 innings of work with a minuscule 1.58 ERA. This included several strong performances at many national level tournaments and showcases where he was able to bully some of the best hitters in the country. It’s hard not to fall in love with...
Draft | Story | 12/18/2025

PG Draft: Gut Feel Guys

Tyler Henninger
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While we are nearing the turn of the calendar to the 2026 year, that means we are just inching closer to the beginning of the season for many high school players and college baseball is on the horizon. We are prepping for a reshuffle of the 2026 MLB Draft Board as well here amongst the PG Draft staff. But before we get to that, we sat down and have each picked a couple of players who are in the mix to get selected in a couple of different buckets.  We have prospects who could go into the Top 30 picks or so, prospects who could be selected in the Top 5 rounds, and prospects who could go inside of the Top 10 rounds. With the draft quite far down the road and a lot of re-shuffling to be done as these players play themselves into certain spots on the draft board, our scouts picked some players who fit into these “buckets” who are gut-feel guys. These are the guys that our PG...
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