The high school season has begun and it is time to update and polish the North Carolina player rankings.  While some players have not been extremely active since our last re-boot in November, PBR was continuing to work this off-season, gathering information and adding player reports to the PBR Player Database. 

At the top of the rankings, the top three remain unchanged.  Owen White (RHP, Carson HS, South Carolina commit) spent the winter on the basketball court, leading the Cougars into the NC State Playoffs.  He was able to keep up with a lot of his baseball workouts, and should be in good form early in the season.  Jordyn Adams (OF, Green Hope HS, North Carolina commit) was on the gridiron for much of the winter, including an appearance at the U.S. All-American game in San Antonio.  Considered a top prospect in both baseball and football, Adams will look to play both at North Carolina.  Justin Jarvis (RHP, Lake Norman HS, UNC Wilmington commit) has gotten off to an extremely quick start, winning the PBR Player of the Week in the first week of the high school season after throwing a perfect game and striking out 18 in his first start.

Xavier Bussey (OF, Garner HS, South Carolina commit) vaults to the No. 4 position after putting on a show at the inaugural PBR Procase in early February.  An excellent athlete, Bussey ran well and showed tremendous bat speed, posting an exit velocity of 99 mph with wood.  Bussey, at one point was classed as a 2019 graduate but made the decision to graduate with his original 2018 classmates this past fall. 

Two more players made significant jumps after their development showcased at the Procase.  Jake Smith (RHP, Chapel Hill HS, UNC Wilmington commit) works with ease from a long, high waisted build.  The arm has continued to get quicker and the breaking ball has become more consistent.  Luke Little (LHP, East Mecklenburg HS, Gardner Webb commit) is physically imposing at 6-foot-8, 230 pounds with arm strength. The stature grabs scouts attention when they walk in the building.  The continued development on the mound allows evaluators to continue to project the lefty for the future.

One player from NC attended the premier winter scouting event in the country, the Super 60, in Chicago, the first Sunday in February.  Christian Jayne (OF, Terry Sanford HS, East Carolina commit) looks the part and has quickness, running a very easy 6.70 laser timed 60.  Typically a slow starter, Jayne is a multi-sport athlete, tends to find his groove offensively as he sees more pitches.  Even while he finds his way, the athleticism shows defensively and in the box, where Jayne has multiple ways to affect the game.  As the swing becomes comfortable, look for him to begin to really drive the baseball, later this spring.

The rankings list has been expanded to the Top 315 players in the 2018 class in North Carolina.   Sixteen players have been added to the rankings list.  In the coming days we will look at some of the new comers, as well as the risers in the 2018 class.  The PBR staff is out watching games throughout the spring and we will continue to update these rankings up to the MLB Draft in June.

NORTH CAROLINA CLASS OF 2018

 

CLICK HERE to see the full Class of 2018 Rankings