Ranking Review: 2016

January 5, 2016

By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

Arkansas’ 2016 ranking will be updated at the beginning of February. This class is loaded with some quality pitching with 50 of the 100 coming from the mound, including the top two spots in the rankings.

2016 LHP Evan Lee, Bryant HS is ranked 1 the Arkansas commit shows advanced pitch-ability locating his fastball on both sides of the plate, primarily throwing a 2 seam at 85-88, but has shown the ability to throw his four-seam in the low 90’s. He has shown the ability to command a change up and curveball as well.

2016 RHP Kasey Ford, Bentonville HS garners the No. 2 spot. The 6-foot-5 245-pound right-hander, pounds the strike zone with a fastball 88-91 mph up to 93 mph and compliments his fastball with a sharp slider thrown 78-81 mph. Ford is a Kansas State commit, he may have the most upside of anyone in the class with his frame and athleticism. If he can clean up the arm action he may throw really hard one day.

The position players weren’t completely left out with Luke Bandy and Austin Powell cracking the top 10.

2016 MIF Luke Bandy Providence Academy is ranked No.3 in the class. The Dallas Baptist commit is a superior athlete running a 6.6 in the 60. He possesses a strong arm with accuracy. He plays through the baseball with fluid footwork and has average infield actions. Offensively is the question mark for Bandy as he attacks the baseball with fast bat speed but tends to get rotational and spin off balls. Reports have been positive through the fall. It will be intriguing to see where is come spring.

2016 C Austin Powell Star City HS is committed to Arkansas State. The catcher is ranked No. 6 in his class. His separation from other players in this class is pure arm strength. He throws pop times vary between 1.85-1.95. He shows positive effort in blocking and solid mechanics receiving. Offensively he uses a compact line drive swing to hit the ball to all fields.

The majority of the players are ranked but there are several players still available including 3 in the top 20.

No. 16 2016 LHP Joey Savin, Fayetteville HS
Savin is a 5-10 170-pound LHP with an average frame and an athletic build. He throws from a 3/4 arm slot with a clean quick arm. He tends to get rotational and shows to be an east west slinger at times. If he stays closed he does a good job creating leverage and commanding the strike zone on a consistent bases. His fastball works 83-86 mph with arm-side run. He throws a slider with depth and 1/7 action at 70-72 mph. Moving forward Savin projects to get better with his frame and clean arm action. Adding strength will help greatly.

No. 17 2016 LHP Drew Dyer, Benton HS
Dyer is a 5-foot-10 205-pound left-hander with a large frame and a physical build. He pitches from a H ¾ arm slot with a short quick arm action. He commands the strike zone with a heavy 84-86 mph fastball with late life through the strike zone. He throws a curveball and changeup as his secondary pitches with near fastball arm speed. He does a sound job repeating his delivery and rhythm. His rhythm his rushed if he would slow down his rhythm and ride his back side longer he would throw harder. Overall Dyer is a physical left-hander with a quick clean arm.

No. 20 2016 RHP Ryan Czanstkowski, Mountain Home HS
Czanstkowski is a 6-foot-1 180-pound right-hander with a large frame and an athletic build. He works from a H3/4 arm slot with a quick loose arm. His fastball was 85-88 mph with slight arm-side run. He located a 11/5 curveball with early break for strikes thrown at 69-72 mph. His frame will hold more weight and his athleticism says he will throw harder as he continues to develop. He repeats his mechanics which should allow him to throw strikes consistently as he continues to mature.

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Evan Lee	AR	Bryant	2016	LHP	Arkansas
2	Kasey Ford	AR	Bentonville	2016	RHP	Kansas State
3	Luke Bandy	AR	Providence	2016	2B	Dallas Baptist
4	Dylan Thompson	AR	Catholic	2016	LHP	Arkansas
5	Zach Jackson	AR	Bryant	2016	RHP	Arkansas
6	Austin Powell	AR	Star City	2016	C	Arkansas State
7	Drew Young	AR	Bentonville	2016	RHP	Central Arkansas
8	Angus Denton	AR	Beebe	2016	RHP	Arkansas
9	Brandon Matros	AR	Arkadelphia	2016	LHP	Ouachita Baptist
10	Garry Hill	AR	Star City	2016	RHP	Arkansas State
11	Collin Cahill	AR	Conway	2016	LHP	Arkansas State
12	Zach Langston	AR	Batesville	2016	OF	Central Arkansas
13	Blake Wynn	AR	Star City	2016	SS	Arkansas State
14	J. Paul Fullerton	AR	Harding Academy	2016	C	Harding
15	Carter Brown	AR	Bentonville	2016	RHP	Arkansas Little Rock
16	Joey Savin	AR	Fayetteville	2016	LHP
17	Drew Dyer	AR	Benton	2016	LHP
18	Colten Nix	AR	Benton	2016	OF	Arkansas State
19	Ty Koster	AR	Arkadelphia	2016	3B	Central Arkansas
20	Ryan Czanstkowski	AR	Mountain Home	2016	RHP

To see complete Rankings Click Here

Ranking Review: 2016

Related Content