Updated & Expanded 2020 Rankings
August 27, 2018
The summer season has come to an end and it has provided a lot of insight into players in the 2020 class as they head into fall/winter conditioning workouts and games where they'll continue to develop physically, as well as technically, in preparation for their junior seasons next spring. Our team of scouts have scoured the state for the top prep players in each class and have had multiple viewings on the players in our rankings. Many of these viewing came at our PBR events that have been held across the state.
Our scouts have also had multiple discussions to review our initial lists and make necessary adjustments based on what they've seen. The overall list was presented, torn down, picked apart, recreated, torn down, and picked apart again before our scouts concluded on what we present here.
The overall top three spots remain unchanged from our initial rankings as the players filling those spots continued their stellar play through spring and throughout the summer. In the end, our scouts were able to agree on our updated and expanded 2020 Top 100 Player Rankings for the state of California which we present below.
The top overall spot remains with RHP/OF Jared Jones (La Mirada HS), a Southern California recruit, whose stuff, frame, and electric arm that touched 97 this summer position him as a frontline pitcher in the future. His secondary pitches are equally as good as he spins his breaking ball up to 78 and has a wipeout slider at 81-83 mph. Jones is also an excellent center fielder who covers a lot of ground and controls runners on the base paths with his arm. Jones also shows some power at the plate giving him a legitimate hit tool, but it's pretty evident his future is on the mound.
Holding down the second spot is Pete Crow-Armstrong (Harvard Westlake HS), a Vanderbilt commit whoe pure athleticism alone makes him one of the top players in the class. Crow-Armstrong is an elite defender that covers a lot of ground in center field where his instincts, graceful movements, and big arm make him the top defender in the class. A left-handed hitter is also one of the better hitters in the class and has projectable power. Combine all those things and you have one of the elite players in the state and country.
At No. 3 is RHP/3B Max Rajcic (Orange Lutheran HS), a UCLA commit that combines a 94 mph fastball with a power curve and an above average changeup. Rajcic also shows very good feel for hitting making him an excellent two-way player at the high school level and potentially beyond, but much like Jones, his future is almost certainly on the mound. Rajcic has advance feel for pitching and attacks hitters without fear of repercussion.
At No. 4 is Jordan Thompson (Helix HS), an LSU commit who is a legitimate two-way player at the high school level having touched 90 on the bump and living in the 87-88 range while playing shortstop at a very high level. Thompson is a twitchy, athletic pitcher who attacks hitters while working fast with repeatable and clean mechanics.
Rounding out the Top 5 is Milan Tolentino (Santa Margarita HS), a UCLA commit who shows elite level defense at his shortstop position to go with some power in his left-handed bat. He'll serve as the closer this year for Santa Margarita. On the mound he shows an electric arm that's been up to 90 mph and lives 87-89 with a potential wipeout slider at 77-80 mph.
Commits By School:
7 - UCLA, USC
6 - Oregon State, San Diego State
5 - Stanford
4 - St. Mary's
3 - CAL, USD
2 - Cal State Fullerton, Oregon, UCSB
1 - Georgia Tech, Grand Canyon, LMU, Ole Miss, LSU, Pacific, Sacramento St., TCU, Vanderbilt, Washington, Washington State
A LOOK AT THE TOP 10:
RANK | NAME | STATE | SCHOOL | CLASS | POS | COMMITMENT |
1 | Jared Jones | CA | La Mirada | 2020 | RHP | Southern California |
2 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | CA | Harvard-Westlake | 2020 | OF | Vanderbilt |
3 | Max Rajcic | CA | Orange Lutheran | 2020 | SS | UCLA |
4 | Jordan Thompson | CA | Helix | 2020 | SS | Louisiana State |
5 | Milan Tolentino | CA | Santa Margarita | 2020 | SS | UCLA |
6 | Drew Bowser | CA | Harvard-Westlake | 2020 | SS | Stanford |
7 | Christian Rodriguez | CA | Orange Lutheran | 2020 | RHP | |
8 | Jonathan Vaughns | CA | St. John Bosco | 2020 | SS | |
9 | Emilio Morales | CA | La Mirada | 2020 | C | Southern California |
10 | Petey Halpin | CA | St. Francis | 2020 | OF | UCLA |
UPCOMING EVENTS
SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
Northern California Underclass Games (Invite Only) | CA | 08/25 | Sacramento State University |
Rising Stars Showcase | CA | 09/23 | Corona Santiago HS |
Central Coast Open | CA | 10/07 | Cabrillo College |
Senior Games (Invite Only) | CA | 10/13 | JSerra High School |
Los Angeles Open | CA | 10/20 | Maverick Field |