By Mike Penn
Michigan Director of Scouting

The offseason certainly has been busy.  We have seen a lot of talent over the past few months.   One thing is clear, the Class of 2014 is flush with good talent in Michigan.  

As a result, today we are releasing our expanded Class of 2014 rankings.  The top 30 remains largely intact but we have doubled the list, moving from 60 players to 120 players.

As players have made big jumps their stock has risen accordingly.  A good example is lefty Austin Batka (Grand Rapids Christian HS) who made the biggest jump of anyone in the rankings. His performance at Pre-Season All-State, when he sat 87-89 mph with his fastball and showed feel for three pitches catapulted his ranking to No. 20.  Josh Bays (Lake Orion HS) is another pitcher who made a big jump after focusing on pitching only and now sits 87-88mph. Both pitchers will command significant attention from schools around the state and the region. 6-foot-6 RHP Alex Sova (H.H. Dow HS) can also be mentioned in that group with his jump to 86-88 mph and showing a good 12-6 curveball.

Devin Rose (Orchard Lake St. Mary's HS) and Daniel Jipping (Plymouth Christian Academy) are two outfielders who jumped into the top 35 who were both unranked previously. Both Rose and Jipping run sub 7.0 in the 60 are 80+ from the outfield and show good offensive toolsets.  

Catchers Josh Arndt (Oxford HS), Andrew Click (Portland HS) and Hunter Green (Birmingham Seaholm HS) all show significant potential at the next level.  All three were previously unranked but have jumped into the top 75 with their solid performances this winter. Collectively they represent a solid rising group of catchers that have both offensive and defensive acumen.


Class of 2014 Top 20

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Matt Ruppenthal	MI	Brother Rice	2014	RHP	Vanderbilt
2	Brad Schaenzer	MI	Lake Orion	2014	LHP
3	Grant Reuss	MI	Cranbrook	2014	LHP	Michigan
4	Andrew Gonzalez	MI	Walled Lake Western	2014	RHP	Michigan State
5	Jake Bivens	MI	Battle Creek Lakeview	2014	SS	Michigan
6	Kory Young	MI	Rockford	2014	SS	Michigan State
7	Dazon Cole	MI	Pontiac	2014	RHP	Central Michigan
8	Tanner Allison	MI	Portland	2014	OF	Western Michigan
9	Keegan Baar	MI	Hudsonville	2014	LHP	Michigan State
10	Nathan Morris	MI	Oxford	2014	RHP	Michigan State
11	Brandon Hughes	MI	Sterling Heights Stevenson	2014	LHP	Michigan
12	Patrick Leatherman	MI	Jenison High School	2014	RHP
13	Zachary McGuire	MI	Sterling Heights Stevenson	2014	OF
14	Oliver Jaskie	MI	Forest Hills Central	2014	LHP	Michigan
15	AJ Montoya	MI	St. Joseph	2014	C
16	Michael Reid	MI	Bishop Foley	2014	RHP
17	Logan Magsig	MI	Hudsonville	2014	SS
18	Joshua Bays	MI	Lake Orion High School	2014	RHP
19	Dan Chmielewski	MI	Utica Eisenhower	2014	OF	Michigan State
20	Austin Batka	MI	Grand Rapids Christian

 
CLICK HERE TO SEE COMPLETE EXPANDED RANKINGS