- Sep 8, 2014
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So, ESPN just released their (Keith Law's) Top 30 prospects for the 2019 MLB Draft. I opened it up with the pure intent of seeing where some of the Gator recruits (and/or current players) were expected to go.\
I thought this might be a good time to start a thread where we can follow this from now through the draft and through the signings of the players.
Based on Law's rankings, it looks like we have 3 commits ranked in his top 30 and no current players:
8. Matthew Allan, RHP, Seminole HS, Sanford, Florida: The 6-foot-3 Florida commit has been 93-97 mph early this spring with a plus curveball and feel for a changeup.
17. Riley Greene, OF, Hagerty HS, Oviedo, Florida: Greene is considered one of the best pure high school hitters in the class, with some power to go with it, but below-average tools everywhere else probably limits him to left field. That profile hasn't gone well with recent high school hitters taken in the first round (Trent Grisham, Billy McKinney).
27. Hunter Barco, LHP, Bolles School, Jacksonville, Florida:Barco was 90-95 mph this week with an improved slider and now a splitter. He has his arm slot higher after he finished last summer with a lower slot and reduced velocity, so he's back in the late-first-round discussion.
So, it looks like as usual Sully is recruiting some elite talent. The only downside to that is that we now need to sweat where these guys go in the draft and whether or not they ever wear the Gator jersey. Keep in mind, these guys are likely all gone as it is very rare to turn down the 1st round. The next concern becomes what commits/players we have in the next tier that may opt for the contract even outside of the 1st round rather than playing in Gainesville.
Keith Law's top 30 2019 MLB draft prospects
I thought this might be a good time to start a thread where we can follow this from now through the draft and through the signings of the players.
Based on Law's rankings, it looks like we have 3 commits ranked in his top 30 and no current players:
8. Matthew Allan, RHP, Seminole HS, Sanford, Florida: The 6-foot-3 Florida commit has been 93-97 mph early this spring with a plus curveball and feel for a changeup.
17. Riley Greene, OF, Hagerty HS, Oviedo, Florida: Greene is considered one of the best pure high school hitters in the class, with some power to go with it, but below-average tools everywhere else probably limits him to left field. That profile hasn't gone well with recent high school hitters taken in the first round (Trent Grisham, Billy McKinney).
27. Hunter Barco, LHP, Bolles School, Jacksonville, Florida:Barco was 90-95 mph this week with an improved slider and now a splitter. He has his arm slot higher after he finished last summer with a lower slot and reduced velocity, so he's back in the late-first-round discussion.
So, it looks like as usual Sully is recruiting some elite talent. The only downside to that is that we now need to sweat where these guys go in the draft and whether or not they ever wear the Gator jersey. Keep in mind, these guys are likely all gone as it is very rare to turn down the 1st round. The next concern becomes what commits/players we have in the next tier that may opt for the contract even outside of the 1st round rather than playing in Gainesville.
Keith Law's top 30 2019 MLB draft prospects