By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

The draft is five weeks away, which feels really close and really far all at the same time. Some prospects, like SS Brendan Rodgers (Lake Mary HS, FL) and OF Kyle Tucker (Plant HS, FL), are done with their seasons as their teams were eliminated during district tournament play. Others still have a lot of time to make an impression on scouts. RHP Mike Nikorak (Stroudsburg HS, PA) just made his fifth appearance of the season last week, which was his longest outing to date.

This is the time of year when I start to spend a lot more time on the phone, talking with scouts about how things are panning out, but I will be getting on the road at least one more time. Next week, I’ll head to Indianapolis to see as many of Indiana’s arms as I can. How schedules will work out remains to be seen, but I’ll consider the trip a success if I can see at least RHPs Ashe Russell (Cathedral HS, IN) and Nolan Watson (Lawrence North HS, IN). If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to get a look at others like RHP Bryan Hoeing (Batesville HS, IN), RHP Jarrett Montgomery (Lawrence Central HS, IN) and C Jesse Wilkening (Hanover Central HS, IN).

Until then, let’s get to a PBR Mailbag entry…

What is the biggest jump you have ever seen from a player’s preseason draft stock to where they went in the draft?
From 2008-2013, I played a major role in compiling the Top 100 High School Prospects for Baseball America and have done my own Top 50 since coming over to Prep Baseball Report. I looked back at those lists to see who jumped out, but there was one name that came to mind even before I got that far. After the summer and fall of 2008, the Top 100 came out and down at No. 81 was an outfielder/right-hander from Millville HS, NJ.