The Recruiting Game - 2016

The top prospects within the 2018 class are flying off the shelves as No. 2 ranked Brandon Birdsell is the most recent, giving his verbal commitment to Coach Rob Childress the other night. With Birdsell's commitment, seven of Perfect Game's top ten prospects in the class are now committed, as are 39 of the top 50. Below you'll find the 11 remaining uncommitted prospects who assuredly have offers on the table and are at the forefront of all recrutiing coordinators wish list's. 

Kumar Rocker (No. 1, rhp, Watkinsville, Ga.)

The first time I saw Rocker came this past summer and though just a rising sophomore, the young righthander looked the part in every way in the 16u tournament. Not listed in the program and thus not having a name or graduation year, the hopes were that the strongly built 6-foot-4 righty with an extremely loose arm action and a fastball already bumping 90 mph was a 2017 grad. Instead it was discovered that Rocker was a 2018 and immediately vaulted up the class rankings to his current top spot as his arm action is incredibly easy and should just be scratching the surface of what he’s capable of.

Elijah Cabell (No. 6, of, Winter Park, Fla.)

If you took Cabell and put him in the starting nine of a collegiate team, even one that’s nationally ranked and full of high end talent, you might not pick out physically impressive Floridian aside from the young look in his face. That’s essentially the lineup Cabell was placed in this past Jupiter, hitting in the heart of the Orlando Scorpions/Mets Scout Team lineup that featured several prominent prospects for the 2016 MLB draft. Listed at 6-foot-2, 180-pounds with room to still add strength, Cabell’s bat speed is exceptional for a player his age and is his righthanded power that plays to all parts of the field.

Johnathan Rodriguez (No. 8, of, Toa Baja, P.R.)

I touched upon Rodriguez earlier in the blog when the most recent rendition of the rankings were released but the athletically gifted, switching-hitting Rodriguez is more than worth mentioning again. Using his 6-foot-3 frame to his advantaged to create standout bat speed and leverage in his swing, Rodriguez is capable of driving the ball at present and projects for even more strength as he continues to progress physically. The tools don’t end there though as Rodriguez shows sub-7 speed and perhaps the biggest arm strength from the outfield the class will see, even this far out as he’s already up to 96 mph with plus-carry and accuracy.

Alek Thomas (No. 18, of, Chicago, Ill.)

Speaking of talented outfielders, Alek Thomas is about as athletic as they come and he comes from a strong pedigree as his father is the strength and conditioning coach for the Chicago White Sox. A gifted athlete who also excels in football, Thomas was the lone starter on a loaded Mt. Carmel (Ill.) team and has already received several offers from some of the top programs in the country. A lefthanded stick who participated in last summer’s Area Codes, Thomas already shows plenty of bat speed and strength as well as an above average run tool giving him a well rounded package that any college coach would be happy to land.

Makenzie Stills (No. 23, rhp, Fayetteville, Ga.)

Don’t let Stills’ 5-foot-11 frame fool you and just because he isn’t one of the bigger arms in the class doesn’t mean much as his right arm is as electric as any and he’s capable of producing big time velocity with absolute ease. Up to 92 mph with his fastball and consistently within the 87-91 mph range, Stills shows excellent fluidity in his arm action and is able to generate late running life on his heater. He shows an advanced feel for his 80-81 mph changeup that features late diving action to the bottom of the zone and an upper-70s slider with late tilting life. 

Jared Hart (No. 25, of, Marietta, Ga.)

The bloodlines are strong with Hart as his brother Josh wasn’t a Perfect Game All-American all too long ago prior to his first-round selection by the Baltimore Orioles. A bit of a different player from his brother, Jared shows the potential to be a plus-type defender in center field with speed that also projects to be close to plus with excellent reads off the bat and range to either gap. Listed at 6-foot-3, 170-pounds Hart already shows a smooth swing with barrel control and a middle of the field approach and it’s a swing that’ll continue to develop over the fence power with additional physicality.

Gunnar Hoglund (No. 32, rhp, Hudson, Fla.)

The first time I saw Hoglund it looked as though he was simply playing a game of catch on the mound, only except for the fact he was sitting in the upper-80s and bumped 90 with his heater. At 6-foot-4, 225-pounds Hoglund uses his long levers to his advantage as he generates steady downhill plane with late running life, eliciting weak ground ball contact and empty swings. His changeup shows above-average in the upper-70s with late diving life to go along with his mid-70s breaking ball.

Kevin Dowdell (No. 33, of, Montevallo, Ala.)

Another outfielder to grace the top 50, Dowdell showed off his two-way potential throughout the summer circuit and is a prospect who’s already cemented on all the coach’s radar. Already full of physical strength and projecting for more, Dowdell is a center field prospect who has the type of speed to cover ground to either gap as well as big arm strength, which also translates to a fastball that’s been up to 87 mph. The looseness and fluidity translates into his swing as well as he shifts his weight well through his lower half and shows big jump off the barrel from the left side.

Jacob Pfennigs (No. 39, rhp, Post Falls, Idaho)

It’s not often that you find a prospect from the state of Idaho and when you do it’s usually later on in the process. Pfennigs however isn’t your typical prospect as he’s already 6-foot-6, 180-pounds and possesses a fastball that works in the upper-80s with quality life and the highest level of projection The velocity comes easy as does the cutting life courtesy of his fast right arm and he already shows a feel for a full three-pitch mix, throwing both a changeup in the mid-70s and a slider in the upper-70s.

Jake Sweeney (No. 40, lhp, Hobart, In.)

Lefthanders are always a hot commodity for coaches to lock up and Sweeney is the top uncommitted lefthander in the 2018 class. To go along with the fact that he’s lefthanded, Sweeney also possesses the size you want in a young prospect as he’s already 6-foot-6, 208-pounds. I’ve seen Sweeney work his fastball into the upper-80s and there’s reports of his fastball showing better, all of which comes from an extended, low three-quarters arm slot and makes for an uncomfortable at-bat. He features a full away of offerings on the mound, the best of which may be his late tumbling changeup in the mid-70s.

Lyon Richardson (No. 47, rhp, Jensen Beach, Fla.)

Richardson has been on the national scene for some time as he’s always been a hard thrower, clocking in as high as 88 mph as a rising freshman. Now steadily working in the upper-80s with reports in the low-90s which are more than believable, Richardson has continued to refine his overall command and sat in the 87-89 mph range down in Jupiter. His arm action is short and quick and he’s capable of filling up the lower quadrants of the strike zone while showing occasional cutting life and a feel for an 11-5 shape curveball in the low-70s. Standing at a lean 6-foot-2, 175-pounds Richardson has the type of frame that you can envision adding about 15 pounds without losing any fluidity to his arm action and gaining velocity to his fastball.