Where Are They Now? 2016 Position Players

October 10, 2018
John Nolan
Virginia Scouting Director & Managing Editor

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We continue our series of looks back on players who are recent prep graduates from Virginia/DC and how their careers have continued after high school. Today we look again back at the Class of 2016, which was a very deep and talented class of players who will be draft eligible again next spring. We will check the career progress of the eight position players who finished their prep careers ranked in our VA/DC Top 20 and went to college. As a bonus we will also check in on one pitcher who has converted to playing a position full time.

Alex Amos SS / RHP / Millbrook, VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 18 / POS: 3 OverallRank: 290 / POS: 45

As a freshman at Pittsburgh, Amos earned ACC All-Freshman team honors, starting the entire season at second base. He hit .304 as a freshman and drew 35 walks while only striking out 34 times, posting a .456 OBP. As a sophomore, Amos saw less total starts while hitting .252. He stole more bases with seven steals as a sophomore and still showed on-base ability with a .366 OBP.

Jalen Harrison OF / St. Anne's Belfield, VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 12 / POS: 2 OverallRank: 97 / POS: 9

Harrison has seen limited playing time during his two years at Virginia so far. As a freshman he got into 15 games but only had 10 plate appearances. Despite that he did pick up his first career home run as a freshman. His sophomore year was similar, with just 9 plate appearances.

Evan Lowery OF / 1B / Jamestown, VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 16 / POS: 4 OverallRank: 284 / POS: 34

Lowery has been an impact player so far in his career at the Naval Academy. As a freshman in 2017, he took over the DH role midway through the season and hit .315 in 35 starts, driving in 25 runs and mashing four home runs. As a sophomore, he was the everyday starter in left field for the Midshipmen, hitting .276 in 53 starts, driving in 31 runs and providing some power with 3 home runs and 12 doubles.

JD Mundy 3B / RHP / Northside, VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 17 / POS: 2 OverallRank: 287 / POS: 18

Mundy contributed at Virginia Tech as a freshman, earning 21 starts as a DH. While he only hit .232 as a freshman, he showed an early ability to draw walks and posted a .378 OBP while also providing power, hitting five home runs and driving in 17 runs. As a sophomore, started 38 games switching between first base and DH. His batting average improved to .257 and his OBP stayed about the same at .376. Mundy continued to show his power with 7 home runs for the Hokies and he drove in 23 runs a sophomore. Had a very strong season in ACC play, hitting .315 in those games with a .438 OBP.

Pete Nielsen SS / RHP / James Madison, VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 13 / POS: 2 OverallRank: 167 / POS: 27

Nielsen headed west after a stellar career at Madison to play at BYU. He has seen very limited action so far for the Cougars, earning just four plate appearances as a freshman and not appearing in any games in 2018. He began his mission at the end of August in 2017 and has likely not completed it yet.

Cayman Richardson SS / 3B / Hanover , VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 9 / POS: 1 OverallRank: 110 / POS: 16

Richardson earned limited playing time as a freshman at Virginia but moved into the lineup regularly during his sophomore season. As a sophomore, he earned 41 starts and hit .256 across 156 at-bats, with 7 doubles and 18 RBIs. Cayman has transitioned defensively from playing shortstop at Hanover and as a freshman to primarily seeing his playing time in 2018 in the outfield, with the bulk of his starts coming in centerfield.

Cody Schneider OF / 3B / Hickory, VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 15 / POS: 3 OverallRank: 272 / POS: 33

As a freshman in 2017 at Radford, Schneider earned 13 starts and 50 at-bats. He hit .200 for the Highlanders but did have 3 doubles and his first career home run. Schneider redshirted in 2018 and will play his sophomore season of eligibility in 2019.

Josh Simon C / OF / St. John's, VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 20 / POS: 1 OverallRank: 347 / POS: 29

After anchoring the beginning of St. John's recent run of dominance of the WCAC from behind the plate, Simon headed to VCU to begin his college career. As a freshman, he got into 21 games and had 50 at-bats, hitting .220 with a pair of doubles. His sophomore season he saw more regular playing time, appearing in 51 games and getting 133 at-bats. He hit .211 but showed some power with 9 doubles and his first career home run. He also drove 23 runs during his sophomore season. Most importantly, Simon threw out 38% of base stealers during his sophomore season, catching 21 runners total.

Rafi Vazquez RHP / 1B / Bishop O'Connell, VA / 2016

Rankings StateRank: 19 / POS: 8 OverallRank: 292 / POS: 115

Vazquez went to Coastal Carolina as a true two-way player. His freshman year there he made six appearances on the mound, posting a 9.19 ERA in 15.2 innings pitched while also 1-10 at the plate with a home run. After his freshman year he left Coastal for Florence-Darlington Tech JC. In 2018, Vazquez again struggle on the mound in 11.1 innings, but he emerged in a big way at the plate, hitting .419 while hitting 13 home runs and driving in 46 runs in just 129 at-bats. He also had 10 doubles and a .525 OBP to go with a .829 slugging percentage. Vazquez has used his big season to help propel him back to a Division I roster in 2019, when he will play at Charlotte.