By Sean Duncan
Executive Director

The 2016 class is quickly shaping up to be loaded with high-level prospects across the Prep Baseball Report’s coverage area, evidenced by the number of verbal commitments already being made. The updated and expanded 2016 overall rankings reflect the significant jumps these rising juniors have made over the last two months, which includes the Prep Baseball Report Future Games in early August.

While the talent pool is extremely deep, RHP Riley Pint (St. Thomas Aquinas HS, KS) has clearly separated himself as the No. 1 prospect in our coverage area. The highly athletic 6-foot-3 Pint’s stock has skyrocketed over the spring and summer, along with his velocity. Pint has pitched in the mid-90s, reaching as high as 97 (with little effort), to go along with a low-80s slider.

Kansas, in fact, has two prospects in the top 10 for the first time ever with the emergence of 6-foot-5 1B/LHP Joey Wentz (Shawnee Mission East HS, KS). Wentz, who features premium left-handed power potential along with 85-87 velocity on the mound, was arguably the top overall prospect at the PBR Future Games.

LHP Jeff Belge (Henninger HS, NY), a physical 6-foot-5, 220-pound St. John’s recruit, moves into the No. 2 slot. Belge burst onto the scene last spring when he squared off against second-round draft pick Scott Blewett. Belge recently showed exceptionally well at Area Code Games as well.

C/1B T.J. Collett (Terre Haute North Vigo HS, IN), RHP Drake Fellows (Joliet Catholic Academy HS, IL), RHP/SS Christopher Machamer (Massillon Washington HS, OH), RHP Reid Schaller (Lebanon HS, IN) and C Ty Duvall (Lebanon HS, OH) all hold tight in the top 10.

Illinois’ 2016 class is especially deep with high-end talent. C Cooper Johnson (Carmel HS, IL) vaults into the top 10 after the Ole Miss recruit proved himself to be one of the top defensive backstops in the country over the summer. RHP Brenden Heiss (Jacobs HS, IL) also jumps into the top 10 after the right-hander showcased elite arm strength, topping out at 95 and sitting 91-92 at the Future Games. 3B/RHP Cal Coughlin (Lake Forest HS, IL) is also one of the premier prospects in our coverage area.

The updated Top 200 2016 rankings also saw many prospects catapult up the list after their summer performances. Some of the biggest risers include: RHP Cameron Planck (Rowan County HS, KY), LHP Zack Thompson (Wapahani HS, IN), RHP Max Kranick (Valley View HS, PA), RHP Nathan Brown (Arrowhead HS, WI), LHP Andrew Saalfrank (Heritage HS, IN), RHP Skylar Szynski (Penn HS, IN), RHP Brad Littleton (Coal City HS, IL), RHP Stewart Currie (Daviess County HS, KY), and SS Chris Cornelius (Vianney HS, MO), to name a few.

The expanded overall rankings now includes some newly added PBR states - Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee and New York - but does not yet include Virginia, Colorado and Florida.

A look at the Top 10:

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Riley Pint	KS	St. Thomas Aquinas	2016	RHP
2	Jeff Belge	NY	Henninger	2016	LHP	St. John's
3	T.J. Collett	IN	Terre Haute North Vigo	2016	C	Kentucky
4	Drake Fellows	IL	Joliet Catholic Academy	2016	RHP	Vanderbilt
5	Christopher Machamer	OH	Massillon Washington	2016	SS
6	Cooper Johnson	IL	Carmel Catholic	2016	C	Mississippi
7	Joey Wentz	KS	Shawnee Mission East	2016	LHP
8	Brenden Heiss	IL	Jacobs	2016	RHP
9	Reid Schaller	IN	Lebanon	2016	RHP	Vanderbilt
10	Ty Duvall	OH	Lebanon	2016	C	Vanderbilt

Top 200 Overall 2016 Prospect Rankings