By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

The landscape of the updated overall Class of 2015 player rankings have changed dramatically, 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. States that we are not currently in – and even new states that we are in, but don’t have a proper handle on the prospects – are not included in the overall rankings.

The updated and expanded Top 400 Class of 2015 rankings now includes Tennessee, Virginia, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Ontario, in addition to our previously long-established states. Florida prospects are not yet included in the PBR overall rankings. All told, the overall rankings include 18 states and Ontario.

While there have been some seismic shifts in the overall rankings, the top two prospects hold firm at the top: RHP Mike Nikorak (Stroudsburg HS, PA) and RHP Ashe Russell (Cathedral HS, IN). Both right-handers feature dominant stuff. While Russell undoubtedly makes for a much more uncomfortable at-bat for hitters, Nikorak gets the slightest of edge due to his refinement and projects as a classic starting pitcher at the next level.

OF Nick Plummer (Brother Rice HS, MI), a highly athletic left-handed hitter, continues to impress on the national showcase scene and moves up to No. 3, followed by OF Demi Orimoloye (St. Matthew, ON), a physical 6-foot-4, 225-pound Oregon recruit with high-level tools. Both Plummer and Orimoloye were two of the biggest winners at the Area Code Games in August, along with OF Garrett Whitley (Niskayuna HS, NY), the No. 9-ranked overall prospect.

RHP Donny Everett (Clarksville HS, TN) is one of the top power arms in the country, as he showed recently in Jupiter with the highest average fastball, touching 95 several times. RHP Chandler Day (Watkins Memorial HS, OH) and RHP Bryan Hoeing (Batesville HS, IN) have been fixtures in the top 10 for the last two years.

SS Nick Shumpert (Highlands Ranch, CO) and RHP Nic Enright (Steward HS, VA) round out the top 10. Shumpert headlines a trio of Colorado of prospects in the top 13 ranked prospects, joining switch-hitting catcher Wyatt Cross (Legacy HS, CO) and left-handed hitting OF/1B Greg Pickett (Legend HS, CO).

A look at the Top 10:

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Mike Nikorak	PA	Stroudsburg	2015	RHP	Alabama
2	Ashe Russell	IN	Cathedral	2015	RHP	Texas A&M
3	Nick Plummer	MI	Brother Rice	2015	OF	Kentucky
4	Demi Orimoloye	ON	St. Matthew	2015	OF	Oregon
5	Donny Everett	TN	Clarksville	2015	RHP	Vanderbilt
6	Chandler Day	OH	Watkins Memorial	2015	RHP	Vanderbilt
7	Nick Shumpert	CO	Highlands Ranch	2015	SS	Kentucky
8	Bryan Hoeing	IN	Batesville	2015	RHP	Louisville
9	Garrett Whitley	NY	Niskayuna	2015	OF	Wake Forest
10	Nic Enright	VA	Steward	2015	RHP	Virginia Tech

 
CLICK HERE to view complete Top 400 List