Mack – Draft News – BA's 2020 HS Starting Lineup

BA printed out their starting lineup for the 2020 high school class in the draft.

They are:

C          Tyler Soderstrom, Turlock (Calif.) HS 

PG - Tyler Soderstrom is a 2020 C/3B/OF with a 6-2 190 lb. frame from Turlock, CA who attends Turlock. Athletic build with good present strength and room for more. Left handed hitter, hits from a spread slightly open stance with a deep hand load, gets his lower half involved well, has strong and quick hands and creates bat speed, swings with intent, line drive swing plane with some lift out front, ball comes off the barrel hard, high contact swing with bat speed, plus hitter for a catcher and left handed, too. 6.86 runner, has athletic actions behind the plate and moves well side to side, tends to stand up to throw but has a quick exchange and release, solid arm strength. Well rounded all around catcher whose offensive potential stands out at the position.

MIF    Ed Howard, Mount Carmel (Ill.) HS

PG - Ed Howard is a 2020 SS with a 6-2 185 lb. frame from Lynwood, IL who attends Mount Carmel. Long and projectable athletic build. 6.76 runner, has very athletic actions in the middle infield, plays balanced and smooth while showing big range, very fast and sure hands, solid arm strength with a very quick release from multiple arm angles, accurate throws. Right handed hitter, hits from a slightly open stance, simple repeatable load, same lightning quick hands drive the barrel, very good bat speed with loud contact and consistent hard loud barrel, line drive contact now with power to come. Everything in his game is balanced, athletic and explosive and will continue to improve as he gets stronger

           

MIF    Milan Tolentino, Santa Margarita HS, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

PG - Milan Tolentino is a 2020 SS/RHP with a 6-1 180 lb. frame from Mission Viejo, CA who attends Santa Margarita Catholic. Medium athletic build with good present strength and room for plenty more. Left handed hitter, hits from a slightly open stance with a good coil over his back side, good balance through a hanging front leg load, line drive swing plane and can show some lift when he turns on the ball, loose hands and can manipulate the barrel and hit the ball hard to all fields, high average approach with projectable power. 6.74 runner, has very polished footwork in the middle infield, moves easily through the ball, arm is loose and effortless, makes very accurate throws. Also pitched, works from the stretch with a compact high 3/4's arm slot, lands open with his front side, some energy at release. Fastball topped out at 90 mph, mostly straight. Short downer curveball for strikes, tends to drop slot on a running change up.

CIF      Jordan Walker, Decatur (Ga.) HS         

PG - Jordan Walker is a 2020 3B/RHP with a 6-5 212 lb. frame from Stone Mountain, GA who attends Decatur. Outstanding athletic build, long and strong with plenty of room to get stronger. 6.56 runner, has nice lateral agility for his size and will have no problem staying and potential excelling at third base, shows athleticism charging the ball, easy arm strength from a high release point across the diamond. Right handed hitter, shows easy raw bat speed with strength at contact, fluid path, doesn't work hard to generated bat speed, extended out front, geared for the fastball, lined two doubles into the left field corner in the games, plenty of home runs in the same direction in his future. Also pitched, threw a heavy fastball up to 91 mph, young mechanics but arm strength is there, future is clearly in the field.

CIF      Blaze Jordan, DeSoto Central HS, Southaven, Miss.   

      

PG - Blaze Jordan is a 2020 1B/3B with a 6-2 218 lb. frame from Southaven, MS who attends DeSoto Central. Strong athletic build, looks like he's firmed up and is slimmer than his listed size. Changed body has improved his athleticism and enabled him to potentially play third base at the next level, showed good hands at third base and makes on line accurate throws, charged the ball cleanly with balance, still adjusting to making lower slot throws after growing up at first base. 6.90 runner. Right handed hitter, has huge power that plays in games, big strength at the ball, has cut down his lower half movement and shortened his swing somewhat, handled the barrel well and went 4-4 during the games while using the entire field. Reclassified from the 2021 class this spring and had been the #1 ranked player in that class since his freshman year. Potential elite level hitter with a long track record.

(Tom – this is a 500 foot home run)

OF       Austin Hendrick, West Allegheny HS, Imperial, Pa. 

                     

PG - Austin Hendrick is a 2020 OF/LHP with a 6-1 205 lb. frame from Oakdale, PA who attends West Allegheny. Very athletic build, long and strong with room to get stronger. 6.80 runner, very sound and athletic footwork in the outfield, tends to field well off to the side but gets rid of the ball quickly, very good arm strength and makes accurate throws with plus carry, will be interesting to see if he can play centerfield at the upper levels. Left handed hitter, hits from an exaggerated high hand set up that creates timing variables, has whippy fast hands when he's on time and can create elite bat speed and impact, has lots of lift in his swing, fun to watch the ball come off the barrel when his timing is on. High ceiling talent with some work to do on his hitting approach.

OF       Pete Crow-Armstrong, Harvard-Westlake HS, Studio City, Calif.

PG - Pete Crow-Armstrong is a 2020 OF/LHP with a 6-1 175 lb. frame from Sherman Oaks, CA who attends Harvard-Westlake. Lean athletic build, unlikely to ever bulk up but plenty of room to get stronger. 6.51 runner, has easy gliding actions in the outfield, fields the ball cleanly with a quick release, makes very accurate throws due to advanced fundamentals and athleticism, plenty of raw arm strength, chance to be an elite level centerfielder. Left handed hitter, hits from a slightly open stance, loose and easy swing with low effort bat speed, middle to opposite field approach but has the ability to turn on balls and drive them with plus pop that he has shown in games. Very projectable in all areas and plays the game easy and is able to slow it down. Probably the most polished all around player in the 2020 class.

           

OF       Robert Hassell, Independence HS, Thompson's Station, Tenn. 

PG - Robert Hassell III is a 2020 OF/LHP/1B with a 6-2 190 lb. frame from Franklin, TN who attends Independence. Lean high waisted athletic build, lots of physical projection and room to get stronger. 6.54 runner, moves well in the outfield with light feet and good overall athleticism and bounce, can use his lower half more throwing. Left handed hitter, wide slightly open stance, has fast hands he uncoils well to start his swing, uphill swing plane with good extension out front, projects power, ball jumps when squared, loose and easy swing. Also pitched, quick compact delivery with a clean and fast arm stroke, high 3/4's with some whip out front, some spinal tilt to get his arm through. Fastball topped out at 90 mph, shows a tight slider that bites hard and that he has feel for, flashed a change up. High level athlete with plenty of projection left, could end up as a two-way player if he goes to school.        

SP       Jared Kelley, Refugio (Texas) HS       

  

PG - Jared Kelley is a 2020 RHP with a 6-2 200 lb. frame from Refugio, TX who attends Refugio. Strong and firm physical build, workhouse starting pitcher build. Has a balanced delivery with a long arm stroke in back, lands a bit closed out front and can clear his hips more consistently, very low effort release especially considering his velocity. Fastball sat very consistently in the 95-97 mph range for two innings and touched 98, mostly straight with occasional arm side run. Showed mature confidence in his change up and flashed plus with the pitch. Slurve type breaking ball shows feel and tightness and landed them well while showing the ability to mix and sequence his pitches.

SP       Mick Abel, Jesuit HS, Portland 

PG - Mick Abel is a 2020 RHP/1B with a 6-5 185 lb. frame from Tigard, OR who attends Jesuit. Extra long and tall frame with tremendous physical projection, young in the face. Long arm action from a 3/4's arm slot, low energy release, looks like he's warming up when he's throwing 96 mph, fastball gets on hitters. Slider is an elite level pitch right now at times, tunnels it well with his fastball with a power break in the mid-80's, couple of sliders just disappeared at the plate. Change up still developing. Incredibly high ceiling as he fills out and gets more innings under his belt.

SP       Alex Santos, Mount St. Michael Academy, Bronx, N.Y.   

PG - Alex Santos is a 2020 RHP/1B with a 6-3 187 lb. frame from Bronx, NY who attends Mount St Michael Academy. Tall and projectable build with athletic actions. Big leg lift delivery with plenty of lower half coil over the rubber, fires his hips hard coming to the plate, long and loose arm action with some whip out front, high 3/4's arm slot that creates nice angle to the plate. Lots of things happening in his delivery but he's athletic enough to keep it together and on time, will occasionally drop his arm slot. Steady low 90's fastball, topped out at 93 mph, gets steep plane on the pitch and occasional arm side run, more velocity there in the future with additional strength, best fastballs are to the arm side. Has good feel for his slider and uses it to different spots and can change the angle and velocity, flashes some two-plane snap to it. Developing change up that shows promise and that he got an out with.

SP       Carson Montgomery, Windermere (Fla.) HS

PG - Carson Montgomery is a 2020 RHP/OF with a 6-2 200 lb. frame from Windermere, FL who attends Windermere. Solid athletic build with good present strength. Works from a high 3/4's arm slot, very fast arm with nice extension out front that looks longer than last summer, also has better fell for repeating his delivery than in the past. Fastball topped out at 94 mph, sat 92-93 his entire outing, showed outstanding life at times, worked fastball up and down with intent. Advanced feel for his breaking ball, worked between a slider and curveball shape and power at will and messed with hitter's timing, threw lots of strikes with both his fastball and curveball. Firm change up he showed a couple of times with big fading action. Not throwing as hard as last summer but was a much better pitcher and more impressive overall.

SP       Jared Jones, La Mirada (Calif.) HS       

PG - Jared Jones is a 2020 RHP/OF with a 6-2 175 lb. frame from Whittier, CA who attends La Mirada. Lean athletic build with lots of room to get stronger. High level two-way prospect whose future is on the mound. Good rhythm and tempo to his delivery, not much effort in generating velocity, gets tall over the rubber with a high leg lift and works downhill from there, extremely fast arm from a 3/4's arm slot. Fastball topped out at 96 mph, has thrown harder in the past and has a history of maintaining his elite velocity through whole games, gets riding life up in the zone and sink down in the zone. Has feel for his breaking ball and will add and subtract from the pitch, best breaking balls are the harder sliders he throws with conviction and full arm speed. Has a feel for firm change up that mimics his fastball well, change up topped out at 90 mph. 6.75 runner, has elite arm strength from the outfield with on line accuracy, just fun to watch throw the ball during drills, doesn't sell out for 100 mph. Right handed hitter, gets to his front side early, has quick hands from a deep hand load, pretty simple swing approach, swings hard with some late lower half use, power projects