2017 Draft – MacKenzie Gore, Seth Romero, Huntington Beach HS, Jeremiah Estrada, Jeren Kendall

Baseball America - Whiteville (N.C.) High lefthander MacKenzie Gore hurled seven shutout innings in a 4-0 victory over South Columbus on Friday night. The East Carolina recruit struck out 14 batters (10 swinging), walked one, and allowed two hits—one on a slow ground ball to third and the other on a ground ball back up the middle that was just under his glove.

Nathan Rode‏ @NathanRode -  LHP MacKenzie Gore last night: 5 IP, 1 H, 12 K, 0 R 0 BB. Oh and 4-for-4 w/ 2 HR

Mack – Gore has quietly moved up the mock drafts into what seems to be a lock as a first round pick. Right now, he has passed both Houston County HS (GA) DL Hall and Cullman HS (ALA) Jacob Heatherly as the second lefty behind Louisville’s Brandan McKay.

The University of Houston Todd Whitting said that LHP Seth Romero has had his suspension lifted after meeting demands by AD

Mack – Romero continues to have discipline problems, but it hasn’t affected his draft value. Most mock drafts have him in the 20-25 overall pick range in the first round.

           

Baseball America - Huntington Beach (Calif.) High takes over the top spot in the Baseball America/Baseball Coaches Association Top 25 rankings for the first time this season, after a week that included beating a talented Orange (Calif.) Lutheran team and also winning the Boras Classic South title. The Oilers have won 11 straight games dating back to April 5, outscoring opponents 72-28 during that stretch.

Mack – Huntington Beach has two of baseball’s top prospects in the upcoming draft. RHP Hagan Danner and LHP-1B Nick Pratto will most probably both be drafted in the first round. It’s still undetermined which position the two-way Pratto will pay in pro ball but I understand he has the talent to excel in either. 

Prospect Pipeline‏ @TheProsPipeline  -  Jeremiah Estrada, RHP, Palm Desert High School … Thrower of No Hitters… Instagram

        Michael Lananna‏ - @mlananna - My feature on the man behind Vanderbilt OF Jeren Kendall.

            Baseball America - Where Kendall truly sets himself apart is on a baseball field. There, the differences are far more apparent. Kendall is a unique talent, a potent combination of power and speed in center field. Through 183 at-bats this spring, the junior leadoff hitter is batting .301/.384/.579 with a team-leading 13 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 19 attempts, and those numbers are very much in line with what Kendall has done throughout his career.

Mack – Kendall’s hitting has cooled off since starting out this season as the top outfield prospect in the draft and mock drafted 1-2 (or 2-1) with phenom RHP Hunter Greene. Now, most mock drafts have North Davidson HS (NC) Austin Beck solidly ahead of him in the 4^th-5^th overall pick range. Kendall now comes in at the 7^th-9^th overall pick.