2017 Preseason Player of the Year Candidates
January 31, 2017
Follow @PBRMaryland
Facebook & Instagram
By Jerry Shank
Maryland / Virginia Scouting Director
We kick off our 2017 Season Preview Coverage with our Preseason Candidates for Player of the Year. Player of the year focuses on the position players who will will impact the team every game of the season and some of this list will also contribute on the mound as well for their teams. Over the course of the next month and change, we will give you continued 2017 High School previews coverage with team profiles, our preview of each classification, MIAA Preview, as well as preseason all state teams and our Maryland Power Rankings. For now, let's take a look at our early candidates for Player of the Year (In alphabetical order).
It looks like there will be a lot of parity across the state heading into 2017 season. Where the 2016 season was very much driven by seniors, 2017 looks to have more of a mixture of junior and senior talent. There are many players that are in the discussion as potential Players of the Year, but we decided to keep this to six players who we feel could have the biggest impact for their team in 2017.
Maryland Preseason Player of the Year Candidates
Name | School | Class | Pos. | Commitment |
Raffy Baumgardner | Bullis | 2017 | RHP/OF | |
Randy Bednar |
Landon |
2017 | OF/LHP |
Maryland |
Ryan Bywaters |
Smithsburg |
2017 | RHP/OF |
Radford |
Brandon Dorsey |
Riverdale Baptist |
2017 | 3B |
Florida International |
Jack Schroeder |
Mount Hebron |
2017 | OF/RHP |
VCU |
Joe Seidler |
Chesapeake | 2018 | RHP/1B |
Notes
The reigning IAC Player of the Year Raffy Baumgardner comes back to lead a talented Bullis squad in their hopes to get back to the IAC championship game where they came up just short. Baumgardner will again play a major role for Bullis this season both in the middle of the order and on the mound to help them reach that goal...You hear the term "five tool" player in the baseball world plenty and Maryland's best representation of that could be in the form of Landon's Randy Bednar. Once again Bednar should patrol centerfield at Landon while being a staple in the middle of the lineup and will play a big role as a starter on the pitching staff. It's no surprise that while Benar has been at Landon they've played in the IAC championship two years in a row and he should once again lead the Bears to their third title game...Smithsburg will have to replace some big pieces to their 2017 team and it looks like they could do so with some new talent ready to breakout. Leading their way this year should be RHP/OF Ryan Bywaters. Look for Bywaters to get more time on the mound and his bat will be an impact either way whether if he stays at the top of the order or moves down...Joe Seidler was one of the first names mentioned as Player of Year last season during his sophomore campaign and that looks to be no different heading into 2017. The two way threat had an amazing statistical season both on the mound and at the plate and his junior year should be no different as a talented Chesapeake teams looks to get back to the 3A state championship game...Riverdale Baptist again has a loaded roster for the 2017 season, and it gets scary having a bat like Brandon Dorsey's in the middle of it with the likes of Corey Rosier, Jose Rivera and Harold Cortijo potentially batting in front of him. Dorsey looks like he could have a lot of RBI opportunities throughout with the potential to post up some impressive numbers by the end his senior season...Jack Schroeder has been a constant for Mount Hebron since his sophomore year and was a very key piece to the team in 2016. Schroder will sit in the middle of the batting order and should anchor the pitching staff in 2017.
Stay tuned on Thursday we will release our list for pitchers of the year
Recent Headlines
- PBRPLUS - Jan 31, 2017
Super 60 Spotlight: Looking Back At The Stellar 2016 Draft Class - MD - Jan 30, 2017
Winter Trials: Pitcher Analysis - MD - Jan 29, 2017
ICYMI: MD Week In Review - MD - Jan 29, 2017
Super 60 Spotlight: Brandon Dorsey - PBRPLUS - Jan 29, 2017
PBR Week in Review - PBRPLUS - Jan 27, 2017
Underclass Invitational: Top Overall Prospects