FORT MYERS, Fla. – Perfect Game’s No. 7-ranked overall national prospect from the class of 2019 who doubles as the No. 1-ranked high school sophomore left-handed pitcher in all the land, was at this week’s PG National Underclass Showcase-Main Event and never threw a pitch. That’s just the way it works out sometimes when you’re one of the top two-way players in the country.

Jacksonville, Fla.’s Hunter Barco has shown what he can do on the mound at nearly 20 PG WWBA tournament events since September, 2014, while also showing a real knack for performing at a high level as a position player. When he made the decision to spend the past three days playing baseball in Southwest Florida, he also decided to leave his pitching arm at home.

“I just wanted to come down here and play first base and play the outfield and hit,” Barco told PG on Wednesday, the day the 435-player event for prospects in the high school classes of 2018, 2019, 2020 and (a handful) 2021 got underway at the jetBlue Park Player Development Complex, the spring training home of the Boston Red Sox. “I want the scouts to see what I can do (as a position player) and swinging the bat.”

Consider it done. Barco, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound, freshly minted 16-year-old left-hander, left-handed hitting first baseman and outfielder and a sophomore at The Bolles School in Jacksonville, excelled during Wednesday morning’s workout session and in live game-play over the next two days.

The 87-mph velocity he posted on his throw from first base to home was an event-best; his 91 mph throw from the outfield ranked second; his Pocket Radar exit speed velo of 93 mph tied for second; PG scouts noted he took one of the best batting practice sessions on the first day of BP. He tripled in his very first at-bat in a game, showing “good bat speed (while making) extremely hard contact,” according to a PG scout blog.

“This is a great environment with a lot of people and it’s just fun – it’s great to be out here,” Barco said. “This is the first showcase I’ve ever been to, and it’s different, for sure. It’s getting to see a bunch of other kids and getting to interact with other kids and getting to meet new people. It’s just really neat.”

His performance was all in a day’s work for the personable Barco, who carries a 4.08 grade-point average at The Bolles, a prestigious college prep school which produced future Baseball Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, several NFL players and Olympic athletes, and many other musicians, authors and actors. A longtime member of Guerry Baldwin’s Georgia-based East Cobb Astros program, Barco committed to the University of Virginia as a high school freshman.

Hunter Barco credits his parents – dad Barry and mom Robin – with helping him get to where he already arrived at this young age. Barry Barco was a soccer player who went on to become a kicker on the football team at Florida State University, handling the kickoff duties from 1983-85. Robin Marco was a cheerleader at Florida Southern College before she headed off to law school and is now an attorney in Jacksonville.

Barry and Robin have always been willing to take Hunter to the places they feel he needs to be to broaden his horizons. They’ve pushed him along every step of the way and both were with him at the PG National Underclass Showcase-Main Event this week, eager to watch him perform in his first showcase setting.

“His goal is to be number-one; right now, he’s number-seven and he wants to be number-one,” Barry Barco said. “He’s doing first base and outfield down here and showing that he can hit. His goal is to be number-one and that’s what he strives for, whether it’s baseball or school or harassing (his parents),” he added with a laugh.

Hunter Barco is pleased with the way his game has progressed as he readies himself for his sophomore high school season. He can look back to when he played in a couple of PG tournaments in 2014 with the North Florida Rivercats and a couple of more with the Jacksonville Warriors Easton early in the summer of 2015 and see the strides he’s made. He joined Baldwin and the East Cobb Astros 16u at the PG WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1 in Sept. 2015, and his baseball career took a big step forward.

Barry Barco coached his son up until he was 11 or 12 years old and then realized he needed someone with a higher level of expertise to take over. Hunter’s game really began to evolve when he got to The Bolles where he plays for head coach Mike Boswell and pitching coach Bob Shepherd. His association with Baldwin aided his development even more.

He has played in a dozen PG WWBA tournaments with the EC Astros since that debut and has six all-tournament team selections to show for it. He also earned all-tournament recognition at the 2015 PG WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., playing with Team Wilson.

“He loves Guerry,” Barry said of the East Cobb Baseball organization founder. “Every big (travel ball) team in the country has tried to get him and he just likes the Baldwins; he feels at home when he goes up there.”

Added Hunter: “You can see what Guerry’s done with players in the past and it’s a great experience to play for him. All of the coaches and all of the guys (in the program) are great to be around and it’s really special what Guerry has done.”

The East Cobb Astros influence is never far away. Hunter Barco was a member of one of three PG Orange teams here at the Under-Main Event, and his team boasted a roster consisting only of Astros players. “Guerry likes to have all the boys come down and this is the one showcase that he feels like is really important for them all to come to,” Barry said. “We missed it last year so we promised Hunter that we’d come this year, and he just enjoys being part of (the East Cobb Astros) team.”

Hunter Barco does love being around not only his ECB teammates but all the other highly regarded underclass prospects that were at the event. He feels pushed when he gets around other top-notch athletes, knowing that every one of them is pursuing the exact same thing.

Each player sets his individual goals and then sets out to achieve them, and it’s up to that player to try to out-work the guy sitting next to him. And there is, of course, the added element of going out on the field and having as much fun as can possibly be had.

“You look at where your game started and you look at each thing – velocity, hitting, everything – when you first started Perfect Game,” Hunter said. “it’s good how they keep track of it all so you can see where you’re at, how far you’ve come and just where you want to be.”

The commitment to the University of Virginia and head coach Brian O’Connell came early, and was precipitated by one man: Cavaliers’ pitching coach Karl Kuhn. “He was the first guy I talked to and he’s who drew me in,” Hunter said. “He’s a great guy, a great coach and his personality is just great. He made me want to be there, made me want to be a part of the family; the campus is just gorgeous and you can’t ask for a better environment.”

The young Barco knows there are a lot of important people who will ultimately help him determine whether he will be a full-time pitcher or full-time position player. Perfect Game gunned his fastball at 92 mph July 8 at the 16u PG WWBA National Championship at LakePoint in Cartersville, Ga., and 15-year-old lefties throwing in the low 90s tends to get the attention of pitching coaches. But any decision will not be a hasty one.

“I really like to do both (hit and pitch),” Hunter said. “If they had to choose for me, it would be a really tough (decision) because I just like to play baseball. I like being involved in the game and I like that there isn’t a clock in the game. It’s a fair game and everyone gets their chance and it’s a game of failure; it really keeps you mentally tough. It isn’t all about physical abilities, it’s also about being mental with the game.”

Stepping out on the field and performing at a very high level over three of the last four days of 2016 turned out to be a very rewarding experience for Hunter Barco, the talented two-way prospect and Virginia recruit who has set his sights on being the best of the best in the high school class of 2019. And to think he has three more high school seasons and two more Perfect Game summer and fall seasons to achieve that goal is certainly something to be excited about.

“It’s all about confidence. It’s wanting to be the best and then feeling like you can be there,” Barry Barco said. “He lives the game – he wants to be an MLB player – and he’s got the size and he’s left-handed and he’s got a good mentality on the mound.” Yes, indeed, Hunter Barco seems to be in a very good place.