By Greg Williams
WV Director of Scouting

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A busy summer of scouting and events leading up to the West Virginia Top Prospect Games culminates with a look at our initial Class of 2018 rankings. The number of ranked players will grow exponentially in the coming years as we have an opportunity to see and evaluate additional prospects. Today we introduce the our initial list of the five top prospects in this year's sophomore class.

inside look at the top five prospects in the class:

No. 1, Beau Lowery, Mercersburg Academy, LHP

Lowery is a 6-foot, 220-pound LHP that sits in the low 80's and can run his fastball up to 85 mph. While he attends Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania, Lowery is a Martinsburg, WV resident and he plays travel baseball with the Richmond Braves. The projectable lefty also commands a curveball that sits 70-72 with 1/7 rotation and a changeup thrown at near fastball arm speed at 72 mph.

No. 2, Michael Maiolo, Woodrow Wilson HS, RHP

Maiolo is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound RHP/SS from Woodrow Wilson High School. The sophomore had a breakout high school season in 2015 being named 2nd Team All-State while tossing a no-hitter in his freshman campaign. Maiolo is extremely athletic and has a frame that suggests several velocity spikes are likely during the course of his high school career.

No. 3, Noah Short, Winfield HS, RHP/SS

Short sat 76-79 while topping at 80 mph from a high 3/4 arm slot at the recent WV Top Prospect Games. The 5-foot-11, 150-pound two-way prospect also displayed a 66 mph curveball with 11/5 rotation during three innings of work, allowing two runs. Short ran a 7.78 60-yard dash and showcased an 80 mph arm across the diamond. The right-handed hitter starts from a slightly open stance and initiates his swing with a short lift-and-replace stride. Short stays inside the baseball consistently and displayed a bat exit velocity of 74 mph.

No. 4, Chandler Kelley, Hurricane HS, MIF

Kelley is a 5-foot-10, 155-pound right-handed hitter that starts from a slightly open stance with a low hands load. The sophomore displayed a short swing path with a bat exit velocity of 78 mph at the recent WV Top Prospect Games. Kelley ran a 7.38 60-yard dash and showed developing arm strength (78 mph) across the diamond defensively. The middle infielder showcased sound defensive actions and should continue to make strides with strength gains and physical maturity.

No. 5, Ross Mulhall, University HS, 1B/3B

Mulhall has a projectable 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame that should continue to fill out with physical maturity. The right-handed hitter starts from a square stance with a high hands load. The sophomore utilizes a heel raise stride to initiate his swing and registered a 76 mph bat exit velocity while going 2-for-6 in game action with a double at the recent WV Top Prospect Games. He showed a soft glove hand around the bag at first base and an accurate 66 mph arm across the diamond.

Additional WV Class Rankings;

+ CLICK HERE for the complete WV Class of 2016 rankings.
+ CLICK HERE for the complete WV Class of 2017 rankings.