More +
Tue November 21, 2017
It’s been a long, action-packed fall season, both at the state and national levels. Much has happened over the course of the two-plus months, all of which is reflected in our updated Top 400 overall Class of 2019 rankings.
It is important to note that the PBR overall rankings only include states that we intimately know from our boots-and-the-ground scouting staff. The updated Top 400 rankings is comprised of our current 36-state coverage area, which now includes recently released Arizona.
As is the case every fall, there were several players who raised their games to unexpected levels, while many of the long-established prospects held firm at the top of the list. Although the top 10 remains largely intact, for the first time in more than a year there’s a new name at the top of the list.
LHP Hunter Barco (Bolles School, FL) jumps to the No. 1 spot after consistently harnessing his electric arsenal throughout the fall. His capstone performance was delivered in Jupiter, when the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Virginia recruit effortlessly filled up the strike zone with 91-94 mph fastballs, all with wicked arm-side run. Coming out of a long 3/4 slot with slinger-like arm action and a future workhorse-type build of Madison Bumgarner, Barco also features an 82-85 sweeping slider with sharp, late bite and a mid-80s changeup with fading action - all coming out of the same window and arm action. The fact that he can command such movement, seemingly putting it where he wanted, is extremely rare at his age.
Barco narrowly supplants SS/RHP Bobby Witt Jr. (Colleyville HS, TX), who’s the top position player in the country, at the top of the list. Witt’s premium middle-of-the-field skills, coupled with his advanced right-handed bat, has made the Oklahoma recruit the No. 1-ranked player in the country for more than a year.
RHP Matthew Thompson (Cypress Ranch HS, TX) can also make a legitimate claim as the top prospect in the country, as he is unequivocally the top right-hander in this loaded 2019 class. The highly athletic 6-foot-3, 184-pound Texas A&M recruit was 92-94 this fall, and topping at 96 with relative ease. Equally as impressive, Thompson’s 80-82-mph curveball is a plus offering. He throws his breaking ball aggressively with tight spin and sharp, late 12/6 action.RANK | NAME | STATE | SCHOOL | CLASS | POS | COMMITMENT |
1 | Hunter Barco | FL | Bolles | 2019 | LHP | Virginia |
2 | Bobby Witt Jr. | TX | Colleyville Heritage | 2019 | RHP | Oklahoma |
3 | Matthew Thompson | TX | Cypress Ranch | 2019 | RHP | Texas A&M |
4 | Riley Greene | FL | Hagerty | 2019 | OF | Florida |
5 | Rece Hinds | FL | Niceville | 2019 | SS | Louisiana State |
6 | Cade Doughty | LA | Denham Springs | 2019 | SS | Louisiana State |
7 | Brennan Malone | NC | Porter Ridge HS | 2019 | RHP | North Carolina |
8 | Judson Fabian | FL | Trinity Catholic | 2019 | OF | Florida |
9 | Chris Villaman | NC | Ledford | 2019 | LHP | North Carolina State |
10 | Brandon Walker | FL | North Florida Christian | 2019 | RHP | Florida State |
11 | Joseph Charles | FL | First Academy | 2019 | RHP | North Carolina |
12 | Logan Britt | TX | All Saints Episcopal Ft. Worth | 2019 | OF | Texas A&M |
13 | Quinn Priester | IL | Cary Grove | 2019 | RHP | Texas Christian |
14 | Michael Doolin | IN | Andrean | 2019 | RHP | Vanderbilt |
15 | KC Hunt | NJ | Ramapo | 2019 | RHP | Mississippi State |
16 | Anthony Volpe | NJ | Delbarton | 2019 | SS | Vanderbilt |
17 | Jacob Meador | TX | Centennial | 2019 | RHP | Texas Christian |
18 | Jerrion Ealy | MS | Jackson Preparatory | 2019 | OF | |
19 | Jason Diaz | NY | Kellenberg | 2019 | RHP | Miami |
20 | Tyler Callihan | FL | Providence | 2019 | SS | South Carolina |