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Kansas Class of 2016 Player Rankings

February 26, 2014

By Sean McCann and Rob Fleeup
Prep Baseball Report Kansas

Although it’s still early, Kansas’ Class of 2016 is shaping up to be an impressive list of prospects - one that has both national-level prospects as well as a high number of players that are well-positioned to develop into major college prospects.  

Over the last several months, we’ve seen hundreds of sophomore prospects across the state and have spent hours quizzing those that follow Kansas high school baseball closely regarding the top players.  We are going to begin by ranking the Top 30, although we assure you this is very much a starter list that will be revised, updated and expanded over the course of the next two years as we continue to evaluate players across the state.

A handful of Kansas Class of 2016 prospects have already appeared in the Prep Baseball Report Overall Player Rankings published in early January, we've tweaked this some which you will see in the list below and these changes will also be reflected when the Overall list comes out in the next several weeks. 

At the top of the list sit two national-level pitching prospects in RHP Riley Pint (St. Thomas Aquinas HS) and LHP Joey Wentz (Shawnee Mission East HS).  There seems to be little debate that these are the top two prospects in state and major college coaches and MLB scouts are already very much in tune to these player’s abilities. 

In the number three spot is SS James Cosentino (St. Thomas Aquinas HS) who put on a show at the PBR Underclass Invitational in early January flashing plus actions in the infield and an advanced left-handed swing at the plate.

RHP Braden Minor (Eisenhower HS) sits at number four.  This fall and winter he showed a simple, easy delivery and threw a boatload of strikes with all three pitches.  Clearly what we saw out of Minor wasn't a mirage as when we talk with high school coaches in the Central Kansas area and ask them about the best 2016's his name always pops up first.

At number five is big 6-foot-2, 215-pound RHP Tommy Barnhouse (Leavenworth HS) who topped out at 84 mph this fall showing the frame, body control and clean arm action reminiscent of past area sophomore pitchers that later emerged into major college prospects as juniors. 

At number six is athletic LHP/OF Will Brennan (Blue Valley HS) who caught the attention of major college coaches at our underclass event in October and continues to show an advanced feel for the game at the plate and on the mound while also making steady improvement.

Number seven in the rankings is RHP/3B McCae Allen (Bishop Carroll HS) a rangy right-handed pitcher who has shown the ability to pepper the bottom of the strike zone with his fastball.  At the plate Allen has the strength and bat speed that forecasts a middle of the order presence at the next level.

At number eight is RHP/SS Cole Duensing (Blue Valley Northwest HS) who impressed on the mound in the fall and winter with an athletic, repeatable delivery that produces low strikes with ease.  He’s trending in the right direction with a velocity jump over the last several months and is nowhere near filling out physically. 

Number nine is C Kobe Gelles (Blue Valley HS) a strongly-built catching prospect who handled the pitchers at our January Underclass Invitational well, made all accurate throws to second base and showed bat speed at the plate - a highly desired combination of skills people look for in a catcher.

Mill Valley HS LHP/OF AJ Knight sits in the ten spot.  On the mound he has a simple, repeatable delivery that produces a very high percentage of strikes with all three pitches and has the tools that could develop into a top of the order offensive player at the next level.

Enough reading, it's time to unveil the list.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Commitment
1 Riley Pint KS St. Thomas Aquinas 2016 RHP
2 Joey Wentz KS Shawnee Mission East 2016 LHP
3 James Cosentino KS St. Thomas Aquinas 2016 SS
4 Braden Minor KS Eisenhower 2016 RHP
5 Tommy Barnhouse KS Leavenworth 2016 RHP
6 Will Brennan KS Blue Valley 2016 LHP
7 McCae Allen KS Bishop Carroll 2016 3B
8 Cole Duensing KS Blue Valley Northwest 2016 RHP
9 Kobe Gelles KS Blue Valley 2016 C
10 AJ Knight KS Mill Valley 2016 OF


CLICK HERE to View the Top 30 Kansas 2016 Rankings


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