Prep Baseball Report

Class of 2021 Overall Rankings: By The Numbers


Phil Kerber
PBR Florida/JUCO Wire



On Wednesday, September 21st, the updated Class of 2021 Overall Rankings were released. The state of Florida was well-represented with 36 prospects in the expanded Top 250, a single state high. There were some new names, some familiar ones, some that dropped and some that rose, and others that held their ground. Let’s dive-in and take a deeper look at all the numbers.

First, a breakdown of where all the prospects fall. Of the Top 250, Florida holds 36 spots, or 14.4%. Florida is the only state to have multiple prospects in the Top 10. The distribution throughout the rankings is relatively equal. Of the 36 prospects, 18 fall within the 100-to-200 range while 15 land in the Top 100. 11 prospects made their debuts on the list, with the highest coming at 53rd overall.  The biggest mover saw himself improve his ranking by 69 spots, moving from 113th to 44th overall.

By Ranking
Top 10 - 2
Top 50 - 9
Top 100 - 15
Top 150 - 20
Top 200 - 33
Top 250 - 36

Breaking it down by position, the distribution is once again fairly even. Infielders lead the way in Florida with 12 in the Top 250. Pitchers are a close second with a total of 11 in Top 250, including the top four prospects from the state who rank 5th, 9th, 17th and 29th overall, respectively. Although only high school sophomores, this crop of pitchers already possess high-level arm strength. The average fastball of the 11 prospects is clocked at 88 mph, with the max velocity being an incredible 94 mph. Following pitchers is outfielders with 10 appearances on the Top 250. Finally, three catchers land on the Top 250.  

By Position (Average Rank)
Infielders - 12 (159)
  + Shortstop - 9 (136.4)
  + Corner - 3 (226.6)
Pitchers - 11 (78.5)
  + Right-handed - 9 (85.2)
  + Left-handed - 2 (48.5)
Outfielders - 10 (122.6)
Catchers - 3 (116.6)

Of the 36 prospects in the Top 250 hailing from the state of Florida, 24 (66.6%) have already made commitments, including the top 14 prospects in the state. Middle infielders and pitchers are equally the hottest commodities on the market right now, as eight apiece are committed. Five outfielders have already committed in addition to two catchers and one corner infielder. Looking at Florida’s own state rankings, 28 of the ranked players in the Class of 2021 are already committed.

Five of the ten outfielders ranked in the Top 250 still remain uncommitted, as do three pitchers, two corner infielders, one shortstop and one catcher. The top uncommitted player in the state comes in at 98th overall.

By Commitment
Committed - 24
  + SS - 8
  + RHP - 6
  + OF - 5
  + LHP - 2
  + C - 2
  + CIF - 1
Uncommitted - 12
  + OF - 5
  + RHP - 3
  + CIF - 2
  + SS - 1
  + C - 1

It should come as no surprise that the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and Southeastern Conference (SEC) already have their hands on many of the top prospects. With many programs regarded as traditional powerhouses in the region, prospects do not have to look far to compete at the highest level. The Miami Hurricanes lead the way, having received verbal commitments from 11 of the 36 prospects. Behind them, in a tie, are the Florida Gators with five and the Florida International Panthers with five as well.

By Conference
ACC - 12
SEC - 6
C-USA - 5
MEAC - 1

By College/University
Miami - 11
Florida - 5
Florida International - 5
Florida State - 1
Vanderbilt - 1
Bethune-Cookman - 1

 

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