Positional Rankings: NC's Top Outfielders
April 23, 2020
The published rankings on Prep Baseball Report are always a big read for high school baseball fans across the country. Here in North Carolina the updated rankings typically top the chart for most read stories of the year. PBR’s team of scouts are constantly working to identify the top talent across their territory and as part of that process, publishing rankings, evaluations, and statistics.
The class rankings in North Carolina have been updated for 2020, 2021, and 2022 graduates. The 2023 graduates will see their initial rankings published soon. Inside the rankings database on PBR, fans can sort the rankings by positions. While going through the rankings, North Carolina stats do not go position by position, but instead take a player grading policy and work through the player grades to sort players into the state rankings. Positional rankings fall where they may, based on a player’s primary position in their PBR Profile.
Today we begin to unveil the top players in North Carolina by position, beginning with the best outfielders in the state. This list of Top 25 Outfielders in North Carolina does not account for a player’s graduating class. The list is compiled by the player grades given to the outfielders in the state and then scouts from PBR working through the sorted list to arrange players that may have similar player grades.
Rankings
Inside Top 25 OF in NC
The list begins with the No. 1 overall player in the 2022 class, Ryan Clifford. Clifford is a left handed hitter with an advanced bat that shows big power potential. As he has aged, he has continued to get better and play at a high level. In a short 2020 spring, to date, Clifford seems to have increased his plate discipline while also doing more damage with balls he does attack.
The Top OF rankings in NC are based on total player grades. At No. 2 is Calvert Clark, a potential two-way player at the next level. On our grading scale, he has a higher grade as a pitcher, but lists himself as a primary outfielder and secondary pitcher. With a young frame, quickness present, and strength in his hands, Clark has the potential to grow into a middle of the order threat that can also create some havoc when on the bases.
(Calvert Clark - JAN 2020)
The first player in the 2020 class, and only 2020 in the top 15, is Trey Truitt, an East Carolina commit from East Mecklenburg HS. Truitt profiles as a high level left handed hitter with tremendous upside as he begins to concentrate solely on baseball. The hit tool and power tool have continued to climb in the past year. In total, there are 7 players from the 2020 class in the Top 25, each of them committed.
(Trey Truitt - FEB 2020)
Three players that were part of Team Carolina at the PBR Future Games, from the 2021 class, top the rankings from that class. Archie Dean Herring, John Newton, and Stewart Evans each have a different tool set, and providing evaluators with an opportunity to separate players in their own way. Herring has plus speed, running a sub 6.50 sixty at the PBR Future Games in August. Newton is one of the top hitters in the state with a highly advanced ability to get the barrel the baseball. Evans has strength and power and should continue to develop into a big power threat.
(John Newton - JAN 2020)
Along with the top two spots, the 2022 class has the most talent inside the Top 25. Of the nine players in the list, only four are committed. There is still a lot of time for players in this class to continue to develop, or flatten and not reach the ceiling PBR scouts have put on them at this early stage in their development. The one over-riding theme in the class is athleticism. There is quickness and each player looks to have plenty of room to their ceiling.
Two players from the 2023 class, each inside the top 15. Justin Best is a Florida State commit with a tremendous upside. The hit-ability will have to continue to develop in coming years, but there is a lot to like in the frame. Best has shown an ability to barrel high level pitching at national events as well. Defensively the tools are present but his routes are raw. The ceiling outweighs the current grades by a significant margin and will make him an interesting follow over the next several years. We could see this ranking in several years as being way too low, or way too high, pending how he continues to improve. Reid Haire is the other 2023 on the list. Haire, a Georgia Tech commitment, has a smaller frame, but there is strength and quickness with advanced barrel feel.
(Justin Best - NOV 2019)
Top 25 Outfielders
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