THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,496 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,496 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Draft  | State Preview | 5/7/2012

State Preview: Texas

David Rawnsley
Photo: Texas A&M

In the weeks leading up to the draft, Perfect Game will be providing a detailed overview of each state in the U.S., including the District of Columbia, as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. These overviews will list the state's strengths, weaknesses and the players with the best tools, as well as providing scouting reports on all Group 1 and 2 players as ranked in Perfect Game's state-by-state scouting lists.



Contributing: Allan Simpson

Texas State-by-State List
2011 Texas Overview

Texas Overview:
Three Obvious Talents Highlight Texas Crop

Based on its sheer size, as well as an impressive track record for producing talent, Texas is almost certain to have its share of first-round draft candidates each year. It has three such consensus selections for the 2012 draft in Texas A&M righthander Michael Wacha and outfielder Tyler Naquin at the college level, and slugging Corpus Christi outfielder Courtney Hawkins in the high-school ranks.

Three position players—Hawkins, outfielder Nick Williams and shortstop C.J. Hinojosa—were the cream of the prep crop entering the 2012 season, and all three were members of the Perfect Game All-American Classic last August. While Hawkins continues to secure his placement on team's draft boards, Hinojosa suffered a season-ending left shoulder injury, and Williams is an enigmatic yet immensely talented player.

While no one has emerged as a clear-cut favorite from the state’s high-school pitching crop, long a staple of Texas baseball, there are some promising arms to choose from. Righthander Jeremy Kivel looked liked he might be the best arm of the bunch, but saw his season come to a premature end in early March when he injured his knee while playing in the outfield. Two more righthanders, Mitchell Traver and Tyler Gonzales, will now likely vie for the honor of being the first prep pitcher drafted. The 6-foot-7 Traver has flashed considerable potential with his combination of size and velocity, while Gonzales has a devastating fastball/slider combination.

Critical injuries have been prevalent at the college level, particularly those that took down two prominent University of Texas pitchers, lefthander Sam Stafford and righthander Josh Urban, along with Houston Baptist righthander Robbie Buller, prior to the start of the season. All had projected to go in the first 10 rounds, especially Stafford, an unsigned second-round pick of the New York Yankees in the 2011 draft.

Led by Texas A&M and its twin first-round candidates, the college ranks should still fare well in the draft this year. But there has been a noticeable changing of the guard among member teams in the Big 12 Conference. Texas has historically been the state’s best and most-talented college team, but the Longhorns were significantly handicapped without the services of both Stafford and Urban, and have been upstaged by surprising Baylor, which sported an improbable 18-0 record in conference play entering May. First baseman Max Muncy is the Bears’ only probable top-5 round draft candidate, but the team is deep in talented veteran players and should impact the draft in later rounds. The Longhorns also projects to have maybe just a single player, lefthander Hoby Milner, taken in the top 10 rounds.

If there is an area of the draft that has been a bright spot for Texas, and possibly even exceeded expectations, it’s the state’s junior-college pitching crop. As many as eight or nine JC arms could go in the first 10 rounds—the most notable of whom might end up being Howard College righthander Reid Scoggins, who wasn’t even expected to be a premium draft early in the season, but may leapfrog every JC pitcher on the board by the time the draft unfolds on the strength of a fastball that has routinely reached triple digits.

Texas in a nutshell:

STRENGTH: Variety and depth of college prospects, power arms.
WEAKNESS: High-school pitching.
OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 3.

BEST COLLEGE TEAM: Texas A&M.
BEST JUNIOR-COLLEGE TEAM: Howard.
BEST HIGH SCHOOL TEAM: Calallen HS, Corpus Christi.

PROSPECT ON THE RISE: Reid Scoggins, rhp, Howard JC. Scoggins was hardly even on the scouting map a month ago, but has been one of the hottest pitching commodities in the country with cross-checkers rushing in to get a look at his 100-mph fastball. The Dallas native missed the 2011 season while recuperating from Tommy John surgery, and the Howard College coaching staff took the opportunity during his rehab to make some major delivery adjustments. The result has been two-fold: a dramatic increase in velocity that has seen Scroggins routinely reach triple digits out of the bullpen, and significantly better command. Scoggins is not a polished arm by any means, but his kind of velocity could lead to his being drafted as high as the supplemental first round.

WILD CARD: Nick Williams, of, Ball HS, Galveston. Williams’ raw physical tools and overall athletic profile have drawn comparisons to some of the most-talented baseball players of this generation, including Ken Griffey Jr., but his play this spring has rarely reflected his tools. Given his immense talent he still could be taken in the first or second round by a team that has done its homework and isn't willing to let his talent slide past them, but his eventual draft position remains up in the air.

BEST OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, Texas Connection: Brady Rodgers, rhp, Arizona State University (Attended high school in Rosenberg).
Top 2013 Prospect: Austin Kubitza, rhp, Rice University.
Top 2014 Prospect: John Curtiss, rhp, University of Texas

HIGHEST DRAFT PICKS

Draft History: David Clyde, lhp, Westchester HS, Houston (1973, Rangers/1st round, 1st pick); Matt Anderson, rhp, Rice University (1997, Tigers/1st round, 1st pick).
2006 Draft: Brad Lincoln, rhp, University of Houston (Pirates/1st round, 4th pick).
2007 Draft: Kevin Ahrens, ss, Memorial HS, Houston (Blue Jays/1st round, 16th pick).
2008 Draft: Andrew Cashner, rhp, Texas Christian University (Cubs/1st round, 19th pick).
2009 Draft: Matthew Purke, lhp, Klein HS (Rangers/1st round, 14th pick).
2010 Draft: Jamison Tallion, rhp, The Woodlands HS (Pirates/1st round, 2nd pick).
2011 Draft: Anthony Rendon, 3b, Rice University (Nationals/1st round, 6th pick).

2011 DRAFT OVERVIEW

College Players Drafted/Signed: 65/52.
Junior College Players Drafted/Signed: 34/17.
High School Players Drafted/Signed: 40/15.

BEST TOOLS

Best Athlete: Nick Williams, of, Ball HS, Galveston.
Best Hitter: Tyler Naquin, of, Texas A&M University.
Best Power: Courtney Hawkins, of, Carroll HS, Corpus Christi.
Best Speed: Austin Schotts, ss, Centennial HS, Frisco.
Best Defender: Tyler Naquin, of, Texas A&M University.
Best Velocity: Stephen Johnson, rhp, St. Edwards University; Reid Scoggins, rhp, Howard JC.
Best Breaking Stuff: Matt Reckling, rhp, Rice University.
Best Pitchability: Michael Wacha, rhp, Texas A&M University.

TOP PROSPECTS, GROUPS ONE and TWO

GROUP ONE (Projected ELITE-Round Draft / Rounds 1-3)

1. MICHAEL WACHA, rhp, Texas A&M University (Jr.)
The 6-foot-6, 210-pound Wacha has been extraordinarily consistent throughout his college career, and moved into the month of May with a 6-0, 2.22 record as a junior, stretching his three-year won-loss mark to 24-6. In 77 innings this season, he has walked just 14 while striking out 78. There was some talk early in the spring of Wacha getting serious interest at the very top of the draft, specifically from the Minnesota Twins at No. 2, but that talk seems to have subsided and a spot from 8 to 12 seems more likely. Wacha has a heavy, sinking fastball in the 92-94 mph-range, and will reach back for a little extra when he needs it. His most-advanced pitch is a low-80s changeup because he can throw it with relatively the same arm speed and from the same release point as his fastball, and still get the same heavy, sinking life at the plate. He throws both a slider and a curve, but not with any frequency and without distinctive quality. He doesn’t really need either pitch at the college level with a plus fastball/double-plus changeup combination, along with outstanding command, but will need to improve in this area professionally.

This is PG 'DiamondKast' Level content.
You must be either an DiamondKast, Crosschecker Rankings & Scouting Reports, or Scout subscriber to read the rest.
Sign in Subscribe Now
Give us your feedback
Draft | Mock Draft | 7/6/2026

MLB Mock Draft: 4.0
Tyler Henninger
Article Image
MLB Draft: Top 500 Update Pick Team Name Pos. School 1 Chicago White Sox Roch Cholowsky SS UCLA 2 Tampa Bay Rays Grady Emerson SS Fort Worth Christian 3 Minnesota Twins Vahn Lackey C Georgia Tech 4 San Francisco Giants Jacob Lombard SS Gulliver Schools 5 Pittsburgh Pirates Jackson Flora RHP UC Santa Barbara 6 Kansas City Royals Drew Burress OF Georgia Tech 7 Baltimore Orioles Eric Booth Jr. OF Oak Grove 8 Athletics Chris Hacopian SS Texas A&M 9 Atlanta Braves Ryder Helfrick C Arkansas 10 Colorado Rockies Tyler Bell* SS Kentucky 11 Washington Nationals Jared Grindlinger LHP/OF Huntington Beach 12 Los Angeles Angels Cameron Flukey RHP Coastal Carolina 13 St. Louis Cardinals AJ Gracia OF Virginia 14 Miami Marlins Derek Curiel OF LSU 15 Arizona Diamondbacks Gio Rojas LHP Marjory Stoneman Douglas 16 Texas Rangers Liam Peterson RHP Florida 17 Houston Astros Justin Lebron SS Alabama 18...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/9/2026

Windy City Scout Notes: Part 1

Donovan May
Article Image
’28 RHP Jack Potsma (IL) went 4.0 IP w/ 4 K, running the FB up to 91 mph. Quick, whippy arm w/ a tall, projectable frame. FB had quality arm-side run, while adding a SL. Good control in the delivery w/ the ability to fill up the zone. FB: 87-91 | SL: 68-73 #WCOpen @RaysIllinois pic.twitter.com/8HfMEeamIC — Perfect Game Illinois (@PG_Illinois) July 6, 2026 Jack Postma (2028, Barrington, Ill.) is a tall, projectable 6-foot-5, 195-pound pitcher with a quick, whippy arm and loose, athletic actions. The GRB Rays 16U Illinois Green right-hander ran his fastball up to 91 mph with heavy arm-side run while filling up the zone and inducing weak contact. Postma complemented the fastball with a slider and mixed in a fading changeup, giving him a quality three-pitch mix to build upon. Over 4.0 innings, Postma struck out 4, allowing 4 hits while throwing 66% strikes.  ’27 RHP...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 7/9/2026

SHIVERSTICKS NAMED OFFICIAL POPSICLE OF PERFECT GAME

Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   SHIVERSTICKS NAMED OFFICIAL POPSICLE OF PERFECT GAME   Former MLB All-Star Vernon Wells to Make Select Appearances at Perfect Game Events to Promote the Partnership   Sanford, Florida (Thursday, July 9, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a new partnership with ShiverSticks, naming the Texas-based company the Official Popsicle of Perfect Game. Throughout the travel baseball season, ShiverSticks products will be featured across Perfect Game’s premier events and facilities, with onsite activations, concession integration, digital promotions and social media content designed to introduce players and fans to the...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/9/2026

16u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 3

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
16u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 Carlos Acuna (2028, Sylmar, Cal.) turned in an impressive start on Wednesday, tossing four shutout innings with six strikeouts and just one hit allowed. The 6-foot-1 right-hander filled up all four quadrants of the strike zone with his fastball, which lived in the 86-87 mph range and touched 88 a couple of times. He mixed in a true 12-6 curveball with huge depth down in the zone, and showed comfortability doubling up on the breaking ball. ‘28 Francis Conners-Schmid (NY) was dominant out of the ‘pen, 6 Ks in 2 hitless inn of work. Lived 88-89 & touched 90 multiple times. Sharp horz break to the SL w/ teeth & tight spin (clip). Athletic mover w/ serious 2-way upside. @JKselectBSB #WWBA @PGMidAtlantic pic.twitter.com/z859j3UCEq — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 8, 2026 Francis Conners-Schmid (2028, East Chatham, N.Y.)...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/9/2026

Future Stars Take Center Stage at 14U BCS

Alyssa Golden
Article Image
The 21st annual 14U BCS National Championship returns to Fort Myers, Florida this Thursday through Monday, bringing many of the nation’s top teams to compete for one of the summer’s premier titles. Seven nationally ranked teams, featuring some of the top prospects in the class of 2030, will take the field looking to prove why they rank among the country’s elite. Headlining the field is No. 25-ranked outfielder James Watson of Canton, Georgia. The No. 9 outfielder in the nation has been one of the most productive hitters in the field this season, posting a 1.227 OPS while batting .394 with eight home runs, 69 RBI and 32 stolen bases over 84 games. Watson has also excelled on the mound, recording a 3.50 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 44 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .181 batting average. The athletic two-way player owns a 94 mph exit velocity, an 88-mph outfield...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/8/2026

Premier Invite Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Tripp Merren (‘29 TX) with a pair of missiles off the barrel today including a no-doubt 2-run 💣 and triple later both to RCF. Electric bat speed with easy strength off the barrel. Can really scoot around bases. #PremierInvite pic.twitter.com/VUEHQZ0bmM — Perfect Game Texas (@Texas_PG) July 3, 2026 Tripp Merren (2029, Houston, Texas) took home MVP honors enroute to a big championship win for the Houston Texans Astros Scout Team. Merren stands in at 6-foot-0 from a pretty physical frame at this age. He has the athleticism to go with it and already looks like he has filled out a good bit. Merren fits the mold as a true power hitting corner guy but can play all over on the dirt. He finished the week going 9-15 that included two doubles, a triple, and two homers. He also drove in seven runs and scored nine times. Talk about a complete week and Tripp was simply in the heart of...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/8/2026

16u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 2

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
16u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 1 ‘28 Rylan Jenkins (GA) hits the bottom of the CF wall for a 2-RBI double; great rhythm to the stroke w/ lots of easy strength in the barrel. 6.46 runner. @BravesScout16u #WWBA @PG_Georgia pic.twitter.com/oxSt7fvsUw — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 7, 2026 Rylan Jenkins (2028, Tennille, Ga.) found a few loud barrels Tuesday morning, sending a pair of hard liners off the outfield wall. He drove in four runs and crossed home three times himself. The 5-foot-9 lefty hitter takes a smooth path to the baseball with excellent rhythm to the operation. He generates lots of easy strength at the point of contact and consistently produces high exit velocities to the pull-side and middle of the field. Jenkins is extremely twitchy and gets down the line in a hurry. He runs a 6.46 sixty and turns doubles into triples often. Tripp Sapp (2028, Loganville,...
Read More
College | Story | 7/7/2026

USA Collegiate National Team: Stripes

Craig Cozart
Article Image
Collegiate National Team: Stars Notes Quick Hits  Each year at the end of June and beginning of July, top collegiate baseball talent from around the nation arrives in Cary, NC at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.  Typically, the rosters are filled with top underclass, non-draft-eligible talent but this year, we will see a sprinkling of upper-classmen as the coaches evaluate just under 60 players to get to their final 28 roster spots.  For a total of two weeks, the Stars Squad and the Stripes Squad will compete against outside competition in North Carolina as well as Virginia before finishing their slate with 5-games against each other at the NTC Complex.  Once the final roster has been announced the team will depart for Taiwan to compete in the 2026 World Baseball Championships, July 11-15.    CNT Stripes Position Players  Nico Partida ...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/8/2026

13u World Series Notes: Days 3-5

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
13u World Series Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Chaysten Fuentes (2030, Ewa Beach, HI) worked really well from the right side of the plate ending up with five hits and a double in the last two days. The right handed hitting Hawaiian has a ton of strength to the body. The hands work directly to the ball and can hit to all fields in the approach. Has done an incredible job getting the barrel to almost everything and gets on plane in the turn.  Triston Valdez (2031, Castaic, CA) was electric on day four batting .500 with a double, triple, and five rbis. The barrel is really quick to the ball and works with a level path. Against NY Gotham 13u Ghost, Valdez would not be denied demolishing the bases clearing triple way back into the RCF gap. Stays inside the baseball consistently with the hands and torques it hard.  Christopher Julian Leija (2031, Weslaco, TX) really showed out the last two...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/7/2026

Two Day Rewind at 15u National Elite

Kinley Kitchens
Article Image
Two days into the 2026 Perfect Game 15U National Elite Championship, the storylines are already beginning to take shape. As one of the summer’s premier invite-only events, the tournament annually brings together many of the nation’s top 15U clubs, with 100 elite teams traveling to Hoover in pursuit of a championship. While there is still plenty of baseball left to play, the opening rounds have already produced breakout performances, dominant team victories, and plenty of excitement heading into bracket play. Several nationally recognized organizations entered the week as favorites, including MTBA Dawgs, ranked No. 3 nationally, Wildcatters Baseball at No. 10, and 5 Star Mafia, ranked No. 12. Meanwhile, newer programs like Jason Kidd Select Team have quickly shown they are capable of making noise against the nation’s best. One of the biggest storylines through the first...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/7/2026

15u Elite Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Troy Sutherland
Article Image
Tristan Barton (‘29, TX) has struck out three over three scoreless innings of work, getting a lively FB up to 89. Mixed in a sharp vt CB w/ late bite. Operates from a projectable RH frame w/ length + room to fill. #NatElite @Texas_PG pic.twitter.com/LXfkLOtxdo — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 5, 2026 Tristan Barton (’29, Gunter, TX) turned in a strong start on Sunday, lasting four innings of one run ball, striking out four. Barton operates from a bigger lengthy right-handed frame with considerable room to fill. He starts with a mid-body handset before working to the belt and into a high compact leg lift. Barton fires down via a compact arm action and high three quarters slot. The Texas native got a run/ride fastball up to 89, living in the mid-80s throughout the outing. He mixed in a sharp 12-6 curveball with vertical depth and late bite. Jack Graviss...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.