By Doug Freeman and Mike Maerz

With the completion of the high school season and FACA All-Star Game in Sebring, it’s time to make our final adjustments to the 2016 rankings prior to the upcoming MLB Draft. There have been some players that have made a late push and have continued to move up the board. Nine players in the state made the PBR Draft 100 and several others beyond that are sure to hear their name called at some point this weekend. 

Starting at the top, Florida State recruit LHP  Cole Ragans (North Florida Christian HS, FL) moves into the No. 1 spot prior to the upcoming draft. Ragans has thrown well all spring, including at the FACA All-Star Game. He has shown a clean delivery with a fastball that has gotten up to 93 mph from the left side. Combine his mechanics and velocity with his projectable 6-foot-4 frame and you have a serious prospect for the 2016 draft.

Following Ragans is another left-hander, as Miami recruit LHP  Jesus Luzardo (Stoneman Douglas HS, FL) moves up one spot behind Ragans in the rankings. He was impressive early in the spring as his velocity jumped from touching the low 90s to sitting there at 93-94 mph just a couple of months later at the beginning of the high school season. Luzardo shows three advanced pitches with the ability to pound the zone on a regular basis. Despite having Tommy John surgery in late March, Luzardo is still projected to be one of the top left-handers taken from the high school level.

After Luzardo is SS Drew Mendoza (Lake Minneola HS, FL), who is a Florida State recruit. Moving up one spot behind Luzardo,  Mendoza had an impressive spring offensively and defensively and continuously climbed boards as a projectable infielder. Although his tools project high in the draft, it will be tough to pull him away from his commitment at Florida State.

Rounding out the rest of the PBR Draft 100 are SS  Colton Welker (Stoneman Douglas HS, FL), 3B/SS Bo Bichette (Lakewood HS,FL) , RHP Austin Bergner (Windermere Prep, FL), RHP Gregory Veliz (North Broward Prep, FL), RHP Tyler Baum (West Orange HS, FL), and C Mike Amditis (Boca Raton HS, FL). Bichette has continued to impress not only at the plate, but performed well defensively throughout the spring. Bichette also ran a 6.76 60-yard dash in Sebring, showing his athleticism, along with taking one deep over the fence against high level pitching.

C/2B Carlos Cortes (Lake Howell HS, FL) has continued to consistently show why he is considered one of the best pure hitters in the class. Despite the fact his position is still a question mark, his bat plays at a very high level and showed well again at the FACA All-Star game. RHP Todd Peterson (Lake Mary HS, FL) has continued to look good as the 6-foot-5 righty was sitting 93-94 mph and touched 95 mph at Sebring. RHP/OF J.C. Flowers (Trinity Christian Academy, Jacksonville, FL) has continued his upward trend, showing his raw athleticism, running a 6.63 60-yard dash and using a quick arm to run a fastball into the low 90s. OF/LHP Austin Langworthy (Williston HS, FL) can just flat out hit. The Florida recruit seems to hit better as the quality of pitching he faces improves.

A couple of other players who continue to rise up the boards are OF  Edmond Americaan (Trinity Christian Academy, Lake Worth, FL) . Americaan, an Auburn recruit, really impressed at the FACA All-Star Game as he ran a 6.53 60, showed an above-average arm from the outfield, and had multiple hits and stole multiple bases in the games. He is now ranked at No. 25 in Florida. Another big mover is the athletic OF Juan Carlos Abreu (Winter Springs HS, FL), who ran an impressive 6.45-second 60 at the FACA All-Star  Game. He also showed more power in batting practice as well as looking impressive in the outfield with range and an above average arm.

Let’s take look at the Top 10:

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Cole Ragans	FL	North Florida Christian	2016	LHP	Florida State
2	Jesus Luzardo	FL	Marjory Stoneman Douglas	2016	LHP	Miami
3	Drew Mendoza	FL	Lake Minneola	2016	SS	Florida State
4	Colton Welker	FL	Marjory Stoneman Douglas	2016	SS	Miami
5	Bo Bichette	FL	Lakewood	2016	3B	Arizona State
6	Austin Bergner	FL	Windermere Prep	2016	RHP	North Carolina
7	Gregory Veliz	FL	North Broward Prep	2016	RHP	Miami
8	Tyler Baum	FL	West Orange	2016	RHP	North Carolina
9	Mike Amditis	FL	Boca Raton	2016	C	Miami
10	Carlos Cortes	FL	Lake Howell	2016	2B	South Carolina

For the complete list of the 2016 Rankings, CLICK HERE