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.

New Hampshire State-by-State List
2011 New Hampshire Overview

New Hampshire Overview:
Little Draftable Talent in State, but Intriguing Headlines

New Hampshire may not produce a premium-round draft pick this year like it did in 2011, when prep righthander Jordan Cote was selected in the third round by the New York Yankees, or the volume of draft picks after nine players from state colleges and high schools were taken, but it has been an eventful 2012 season nonetheless.

The biggest headlines focused on the sudden emergence of Southern New Hampshire as a legitimate college force in the state, and the trials and tribulations surrounding state power Portsmouth High and its national prep winning streak.

From seven wins in 2008, the year before Scott Loiseau became coach, Southern New Hampshire progressed to a school-record 25 wins in 2011, and shattered that mark this season in going 43-15 while making its first appearance in the NCAA Division II World Series. Moreover, junior lefthander Tim Flight was selected the D-II pitcher of the year, and he and senior righthander Brad Monroe are the favorites to be the first two players drafted from New Hampshire this year.

Southern New Hampshire upstaged traditional state D-II power Franklin Pierce (38-19), which had made five D-II World Series appearances over the last decade, but pulled up short this spring as injuries to its two best pitching prospects, junior righthanders Ryan Thompson and Joe Flinn, crippled its chances of another trip to the national tournament. Either one of those arms could have been the first player drafted in the state this year, had they been 100 percent healthy.

Thompson, a Canadian who began his college career at the University of Connecticut, went 5-2, 3.47 (57 IP, 32 BB/51 SO), but was a shadow of the pitcher he was a year ago when he was picked in the 36th-round by the Yankees after posting an 11-1, 1.23 record (95 IP, 13 BB/114 SO) with a fastball up to 94 mph. He was plagued by ongoing shoulder and elbow issues this spring. Flinn was off to an excellent start at 4-0, 1.40 (39 IP, 11 BB/47 SO) before succumbing to Tommy John surgery. In their absence, outfielder James Roche, who played out his final year of eligibility as a graduate student for FPU after transferring from D-II Bentley (Mass.), could become the school’s best draft. He impressed scouts with three intriguing tools, especially his raw power, while hitting .361-17-61.

Dartmouth, the state’s only Division I college program, won a school-record 30 games in 2011, but fell a little short this season at 24-18. It still reached the Ivy League’s best-of-3 championship series, only to lose 2-1 to Cornell on a walk-off home run in the 11th inning in the third and deciding game, to fall a step short of its third NCAA regional bid in four years. The Big Green has no legitimate draft picks, although catcher Chris O’Dowd, son of Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd, could be a late-round selection of the Rockies. O’Dowd hit just .239-1-15 this year after getting his Dartmouth career off to an auspicious start as a freshman by hitting .384 with six homers.

At the high-school level, Portsmouth High broke the national record of 75 wins in a row a year ago, finishing the season at 83 (and counting) while winning its fourth straight state Division II state championship. Last summer, an Iowa high-school team, Martensdale-St. Marys, eclipsed that mark by winning 87 in a row. Portsmouth then went out this spring and reclaimed the record while extending the mark to 89, before finally losing its first game in five years. Its hopes of a fifth straight state title were very much alive as Portsmouth (17-1) had advanced to the state semi-finals as this was written. Interestingly, Martensdale-St. Marys, which didn’t begin its 2012 season until May 21, had a golden opportunity to reclaim the national record for consecutive wins yet again, but lost its second game, ending its streak at 88, one short of Portsmouth’s mark.

Even with its impressive run of success, Portsmouth High does not have a draftable prospect of note, although Southern New Hampshire’s Flight is a product of that school.

New Hampshire in a nutshell:

STRENGTH: College arms.
WEAKNESS: High-school talent.
OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 3.

BEST COLLEGE TEAM: Southern New Hampshire.
BEST HIGH SCHOOL TEAM: Concord HS.

BEST OUT-OF-STATE PROSPECT, New Hampshire Connection: Billy Ferriter, of, University of Connecticut (Attended high school in Nashua).
Top 2013 Prospect: Mitch Horacek, lhp, Dartmouth University.
Top 2014 Prospect: Matt Walsh, c, Franklin Pierce.

HIGHEST DRAFT PICKS

Draft History: Chris Carpenter, rhp, Trinity HS, Manchester (1993, Blue Jays/1st round, 15th pick).
2006 Draft: Jeff Locke, lhp, Kennett HS, Center Conway (Braves/2nd round).
2007 Draft: Keith Renaud, rhp, Franklin Pierce College (Mariners/10th round).
2008 Draft: Damon Wright, of, Dartmouth College (Giants/25th round).
2009 Draft: Nick Santomauro, of, Dartmouth College (Mets/10th round).
2010 Draft: Jose Macias, rhp, Franklin Pierce College (Athletics/18th round).
2011 Draft: Jordan Cote, rhp, Winnisquam Regional HS, Tilton (Yankees/3rd round).

2011 DRAFT OVERVIEW

College Players Drafted/Signed: 7/6.
High School Players Drafted/Signed: 2/2.

TOP PROSPECTS, GROUPS ONE and TWO

None

PROSPECTS TO WATCH

TIM FLIGHT , lhp, Southern New Hampshire University (RS-Jr.); Brad Monroe, rhp, Southern New Hampshire University (Sr.)
Flight and Monroe joined the Southern New Hampshire program together a year after it endured a seven-win season in 2008, and were key contributors this season as the Penmen shattered their school record for wins (43 vs. 25 in 2011). The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Flight dominated in going 9-1, 1.31 with 140 strikeouts in 103 innings, while the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Monroe was an effective complement at the top of the SNHU rotation, going 8-3, 2.48 with 101 strikeouts in 91 innings—impressive numbers by any standard, but aided to a degree by Southern New Hampshire’s participation in a wood-bat league. Flight’s accomplishment may have been the more noteworthy considering he was red-shirted as a freshman and went just 1-1, 12.46 a year later. With a fastball that typically sat at 86-88 mph this spring, but was as low as 83-84 on some days and touched 90-91 on others, Flight doesn’t throw quite as hard as Monroe, so has less margin for error. But he’ll flash impressive command, even as he walked 39 this spring, and his breaking ball has good depth, and is equally effective against both lefthanded and righthanded hitters. His change is considered too firm to be an effective third offering, and he’ll need to work on adding more differential between that pitch and his fastball. Monroe, meanwhile, reached 93 mph this spring when pitching occasionally in relief, though his fastball was typically at 89-91 mph as a starter. He should be a good senior sign from the Northeast in this year’s draft.