Coast II Coast - Breakout Candidates from the 2022 Class

This week, we go Coast 2 Coast and take a look at some of the top 2022 prospects who we expect to jump out and make some noise and their names heard across the country early on in 2021.

Some of these players are household names while some of them are guys who are just itching to break out. With the shortened season for a lot of players in the country, there is a lot to prove and we expect these prospects to come out the gate hungry, whenever they can get on a ball field and get back to baseball activities.

 

TY FLUET2B / 3B / ELGIN PARK SECONDARY, BC / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 13 / POS: 1 Report: Fluet does a lot of things well on the baseball field - he can run in the 7.00 range and runs with knowledge and IQ in game. The left-handed bat has some twitch and quickness and feel to hit right now. The path plays and gets everything out of his body offensively. He plays up the middle on the dirt, profiles down the road as second baseman at the higher levels but there is no reason to take him out the six hole just yet. Lots of things to really like with Fluet and he does the stuff that makes coaches smile and helps put a checkmark in the win column.

KAYDEN HLEUCKA3B / 1B / VAUXHALL ACADEMY, AB / 2022 Report: Hleucka has one of the better hit tools in the class of 2022 in Canada and the uncommitted corner guy is going to be a bat first type player as college coaches look into this strong, 6-foot-1, 195-pound left-handed hitter. Not a ton of movement from Hleucka as he’s upright in the box and lets the hands work well to contact. There is power there but he doesn’t sell out for it and will use the whole field. He ran a 6.80 with some effort and moved well at third-base with his feet and his hands showed softness and feel. He’s not going to be a burner, but won’t clog the bases either. Excited to see how the off-season plays out for Hleucka as we think he is going to be someone who really makes a jump this year in his overall game.

PARKER BURGESSRHP / 1B / ST. PETERS CATHOLIC, ON / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 13 / POS: 5 Report: It has been close to a year since we saw Burgess at the 2020 New Year Open where he opened eyes and was someone who stood out that day on the mound. The long and lean right-hander has backed up what we saw that day this past summer and fall and expect to see a lot of Burgess once we are able to get active again in Ontario. It’s a body that projects well, is going to add a lot of weight and strength and the 5th ranked RHP in Ontario has a high ceiling that should draw a lot of eyes on him this year. Expect to see all the numbers tick up and the stuff polish and sharpen. This is a guy who should be drawing a lot of follow right now.

ANTHONY BENOIT LEDUCRHP / 1B / POLYVALENTE BAIE ST FRANCOIS , QC / 2022 Report: The long wiry and twitch frame of Leduc stands at 6-foot-3, 170-pounds with room to carry a lot more weight. Leduc worked out as a two-way player at the Montreal Open but it’s on the mound where he really caught our attention. There is arm speed to work with and a feel for his curveball that he spun with rotation and near 12/6 shape. There is some violence to the delivery and needs to make some mechanical adjustments, more so to landing leg and front side, but we like what is there already and believe there is big upside to Leduc on the mound with his actions, quick arm and curveball.

ERIC FIELDSLHP / OF / KING'S-EDGEHILL, NS / 2022 Report: Fields is a 5-foot-10, 170-pound stocky frame with present strength that has room to add and gain more as he matures. Fields was an all around solid performer at our event last fall where he ran a 7.13 sixty, the BP showed strength in the hands with some bat speed through the zone and threw the ball well from the outfield with carry and accuracy. On the mound, the arm works from the left side and ran the fastball up to 79 mph. The actions and fundamentals are there for Fields and we expect to see the numbers trend up and be a contributor in many different facets of the game in 2021.

JACKSON SOUCIELHP / 1B / ST. BENEDICTS CSS, ON / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 23 / POS: 2 Report: Soucie is a big strong left-hander who continues to add size and muscle to his 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame and the videos we’ve seen of him off his mound in the snow this winter, it lets you know this guy means business. The arm has always worked, and had more strength than quickness from what we saw this past summer. That said, the velo has gone up every year and we expect the same this year with Soucie as well. There is shape to the curveball and there is a lot to look forward to when watching the big southpaw. He’s the type of arm you continue to show up to watch as we believe he’ll continue to take the next steps in his development here in 2021.

JACK HUDSONRHP / 2B / ST. ALBERT CATHOLIC, AB / 2022 Report: Hudson stood out to us in Lethbridge as the right-hander pounded the zone, showed feel for three pitches and did so while repeating his delivery with a quick arm and worked out the same window for all his pitches. There is shape to the breaking ball and while the fastball was 80-81, we envision that going up as he fills out and adds strength to his frame. Don’t sleep on Hudson, the stuff is going to play and he will fill it up.

PIERCE RADKESS / RHP / LANGLEY SECONDARY, BC / 2022 Rankings  StateRank: 6 / POS: 2 Report: Radke is the 6th ranked player in British Columbia’s 2022 rankings and the shortstop continues to change his frame as its a muscular build from top to bottom while still being able to keep his movements and range. Radke makes the plays at shortstop and can go to both sides with equal confidence. At the plate, the strength has really helped as he is driving balls with bat speed and has a chance to really be a breakthrough guy offensively this year. We know the work ethic and gym in a non-issue for Radke so this one is going to be ready to go as soon as he hears “play ball”