Prep Baseball Report

Updated Overall 2016 Player Rankings



By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

The landscape of the updated overall Class of 2016 player rankings have changed dramatically over the last three months, chiefly because the landscape of the Prep Baseball Report state-specific coverage area has expanded since the last update.

It is important to note that the PBR overall rankings only reflect the states that we intimately know from our boots-on-the-ground scouting staff. The updated Top 400 Class of 2015 rankings now includes Florida, Louisiana and Maryland, in addition to our previously established states. All told, the overall rankings include 21 states and Ontario.

The inclusion of Florida changes the complexion of the overall rankings – including four prospects in the top 10 – but Kansas RHP Riley Pint (St. Thomas Aquinas HS, KS) holds firm at the No. 1 spot. The athletic 6-foot-3 Louisiana State recruit features an easy fastball that has been up to as high as 97, along with a mid-80s slider.

Not far behind Pint, however, is a pair of Florida prospects who will undoubtedly receive high first-round scrutiny next year: RHP Austin Bergner (Windermere Prep HS, FL) and LHP Jason Groome (IMG Academy, FL). Like Pint, Bergner is a highly athletic right-hander who possesses easy mid-90s velocity. Groome, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound Vanderbilt recruit, is the top left-hander in the country. In February, the PBR Florida scouting staff saw Groome pitching at 90-94 mph with a sharp mid-70s curveball.

Groome isn’t the only high-level left-handed prospect in the top 10. Jeff Belge (Henninger HS, NY), who’s been a fixture at the top of the rankings, and Cole Ragans (North Florida Christian HS, FL) are also potential first-rounders.

Three catchers also find their way into the top 10. While Cooper Johnson (Carmel Catholic HS, IL) may be arguably the best catch-and-the-throw prospect in the country, T.J. Collett (Terre Haute North Vigo HS, IN) is one of, if not the top, left-handed power bat in the 2016 class. Herbert Iser (Killian HS, FL) possesses both power and arm strength behind the dish.

RHP Ian Anderson (Shenendehowa HS, NY), a 6-foot-3 Vanderbilt recruit, returns to the top 10, while left-handed hitting SS Gavin Lux (Indian Trail HS, WI), who recently de-committed from his verbal commitment from Virginia Tech, jumps into the top 10 for the first time after several stellar performances over the fall and winter.

Lux isn’t the only big mover in the overall 2016 rankings. RHPs Alex Haynes (Knoxville Central HS, TN) and Ryan Zeferjahn (Topeka Seaman HS, KS) are two of the biggest risers in the rankings after lights-out showings this winter (see their profiles for videos). Other significant risers include RHP Paul Tillotson (Lewis Palmer HS, CO), LHP Lucas Krull (Mill Valley HS, KS), C/RHP Sam Ferri (Niles Notre Dame, IL), and RHP Nick Hanson (Prior Lake HS, MN) to name a few.

A look at the Top 20 overall rankings:

Rank Name State School Class Pos Commitment
1 Riley Pint KS St. Thomas Aquinas 2016 RHP LSU
2 Austin Bergner FL Windermere Prep 2016 RHP
3 Jason Groome FL IMG Academy 2016 LHP Vanderbilt
4 Jeff Belge NY Henninger 2016 LHP St. John's
5 Cooper Johnson IL Carmel Catholic 2016 C Mississippi
6 T.J. Collett IN Terre Haute North Vigo 2016 C Kentucky
7 Herbert Iser FL Killian 2016 C Miami
8 Cole Ragans FL North Florida Christian 2016 LHP Florida State
9 Ian Anderson NY Shenendehowa 2016 RHP Vanderbilt
10 Gavin Lux WI Indian Trail 2016 SS
11 Drake Fellows IL Joliet Catholic Academy 2016 RHP Vanderbilt
12 Cal Coughlin IL Lake Forest 2016 3B Texas Christian
13 Bo Bichette FL Lakewood 2016 3B Arizona State
14 Todd Peterson FL Lake Mary 2016 RHP LSU
15 Brenden Heiss IL Jacobs 2016 RHP Arkansas
16 Anthony Molina FL West Broward 2016 RHP Miami
17 Zach Linginfelter TN Sevier County 2016 RHP Tennessee
18 Tyler Fitzgerald IL Rochester 2016 SS Louisville
19 Gregory Veliz FL Key West 2016 RHP Miami
20 Carlos Cortes FL Oviedo 2016 2B South Carolina

 

CLICK HERE to View complete Top 400 Class of 2016 Rankings

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