2018 Rankings Breakdown: Left Handed Hitters

February 17, 2017

By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

After a busy winter we have released updated 2018 rankings. As the week moves forward we will look at the top players at each position. Today we take a look at the reports on the left-handed hitters in the 2018 class.

Tyler Johnson, CIF/OF Bentonville HS
Johnson is a 6-foot-2 185-pound first baseman/ outfielder with a large frame and a physical build. He is an impressive offensive player with an advanced feel for the barrel and fast bat speed. He starts from a tall stance, he loads back, transitioning with a slight stride, a line drive bat path, staying balanced through extension. He shows the ability to hit the ball to either field and shows pull side power. Defensively he plays through the baseball with solid footwork and a normal exchange. He throws the ball from a ¾ arm slot with accuracy. Overall Johnson is a physical player that understands how to manipulate the barrel.

Johnson is the No. 6 player in the 2018 class rankings the No.1 position player. He is also ranked 205^th nationally and the 8^th ranked 1^st baseman. He is committed to Arkansas.

Jakobi Jackson, OF, Watson Chapel HS
Jackson is a 6-foot 190-pound athlete with a large frame and an athletic build. He is an advanced offensive player with ability to hit for power to both fields. He starts from an athletic stance with a fluid load, he attacks the baseball with fast bat speed. He has slight uphill bat path. He does a sound job maintaining rhythm and balance throughout his swing. Defensively he shows good instincts on balls in the air. He plays through the baseball with a fluid exchange and a average arm with carry. As a pitcher Jackson pounds the strike zone with a fastball 79-82 mph. He compliments the fastball with a 1/7 curveball with sharp late break. Overall Jackson is an advanced hitter with power to all fields.

Jackson is the No. 12 player in the 2018 class rankings the No.1 outfielder. He is currently uncommitted

Pate Fullerton, MIF, Harding Academy
Fullerton is a 5-foot-10 155-pound middle infielder with an athletic frame and thin build. He plays through the baseball with fluid footwork. He fields the baseball with soft hands, he uses a quick exchange and a short arm action to throw the ball accurately across the infield ( 83 mph). He starts from a balanced stance with a slight load and stride. He uses a line drive swing that stays inside the baseball with fast bat speed. He produces exit velocities up to 86 mph. Overall Fullerton is a polished baseball player, time will tell how physical he becomes as he grows and matures.

Fullerton is the No. 17 player in the 2018 class rankings the No. 2 ranked short stop. He is committed to Harding.

Luke Johnson, CIF, Shiloh Christian
Johnson is a 6-foot-3 230-pound corner infielder with a large frame and solid build. Offensively he starts from a slight open stance, he uses a slight leg kick as his timing mechanism. He attacks the baseball with a slight uphill swing. He shows the ability to hit the ball for power to pull side. He plays through the baseball with solid footwork, he uses a normal exchange. He as elongated arm action from a H ¾ arm slot. He throws the ball accurately across the infield. Overall Johnson is a physically imposing player with an advanced feel to hit.

Johnson is the 19^th player in the class rankings and the No.2 1^st baseman. He is currently uncommitted.

Parker Gavazzi, OF, Conway HS
Gavazzi is a 5-foot-9 150-pound outfielder with a medium frame and a thin build. He is an above average runner that runs a 6.65 in the 60. Defensively he shows good instincts with the ability run balls down in either gap from centerfield. He plays through the baseball and throws the ball 79 mph from the outfield. Offensively he starts from a tall stance with a minimum load. He drops his hands and pushes the bat through the zone on a line drive swing plane with average bat speed. He produced exit velocities up to 75 mph. Overall Gavazzi is a solid defender with good athleticism.