Louisiana Rankings Update - 2023 Class

August 30, 2021
Alex Armand
Louisiana Scouting Director

LOUISIANA - School is back in session across the state, which means the summer baseball season is officially over. One of our goals for the summer was to make sure that our staff saw as many prospects as possible, especially any that we may have missed during the high school baseball season. We completed four events this summer that were strategically held in different locations across the state (Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and Sterlington), so that we would have an opportunity to reach players in every region. Our summer ended with a bang, at the 2021 Future Games at the LakePoint Sports Complex in Emerson, GA, where Louisiana had a strong showing, finishing with a 2-1 record. Today, we bring to you our updated rankings for the 2023 class, which has expanded to 120 players. Below, we take a look at a few prospects who really increased their stock this summer. Be sure to follow us on all of our social media platforms, over the next couple of weeks, as we will be updating our rankings for the 2022 and 2024 classes as well.

FULL RANKINGS CLICK HERE

John Alex Walsh RHP / 3B / Alexandria, LA / 2023

Rankings StateRank: 8 / POS: 1

Athletic and durable 6’1” 195 lbs. frame; Walsh enjoyed one of the best summer’s of his young career for the Knights Knational 16U group and has now moved into the Top 10 of our state rankings. We were hopeful that we would get to see Walsh throw against Barbe in the 2nd round of the Class 5A playoffs last spring, but he unfortunately did not get to pitch. Walsh made up for it this summer, however, finishing with a 2-1 record and a 1.45 ERA, to go along with 45 K’s to only 17 BB. His FB sat 86-89 mph, topping out at 90 mph to go along with a much improved CB and a solid CH, which gives Walsh a quality three pitch mix.

Michael O'Brien OF / LHP / John Curtis Christian, LA / 2023

Rankings StateRank: 9 / POS: 2

The Tulane commit was one of Shooter Hunt’s favorite players at last fall’s 2020 All-State Games and continues to be after a good summer for the Knights Knational 16U team. O’Brien comes in at #9 in our updated rankings, moving up 11 spots from #20. There’s a lot of athleticism and “twitch” in O’Brien’s 6’0” 175 lbs. frame with plenty of room to add strength. At this summer’s PBR NPI, O’Brien was one of the standouts who showed the ability to handle the barrel, while also showcasing his speed on the basepaths and in the outfield.

Hayden Robinson RHP / SS / Berwick, LA / 2023

Rankings StateRank: 21 / POS: 5

One of the biggest surprises and winners from Louisiana’s 2021 Future Games team was definitely Hayden Robinson. The RHP stands in at 5’10” 160 lbs. with a frame that will definitely hold more strength as he matures. During Game 1 of Louisiana’s Future Games matchup with Missouri; the Berwick HS product came in for an inning of relief, in what turned out to be a super quick 1-2-3 inning of work. Robinson showed a good, calm demeanor on the mound with a fluid and athletic delivery, pumping strikes with his FB at 84-86 mph, topping out at 87 mph. Landed a low 70’s breaking ball consistently for strikes, which kept hitters off balance. Definitely a high follow heading into the fall.

Dallis Moran SS / RHP / St. Amant, LA / 2023

Rankings StateRank: 34 / POS: 10

Moran is a prospect that we’ve seen quite a bit over the last couple of years and is a prospect that we’ve firmly believed would make a velocity jump on the mound, and he successfully did that this summer for Elite Squad Gulf South. Wiry and athletic 6’0” 160 lbs. build with plenty of room to continue to add strength. During our Louisiana Preseason ID in January, he sat 80-81 mph, topping out at 82 mph with his FB. This summer he consistently sat in the mid-upper 80’s, topping out at 89 mph with some effort, however, as he continues to get stronger we fully expect Moran to be a guy who comfortably sits in the upper 80’s this coming spring. He’s always showed an aptitude for spin with a breaking ball that averages 2343 RPM per Trackman baseball and that will continue to improve as he increases his velocity.

Braden Richardson RHP / 3B / North Desoto, LA / 2023

Rankings StateRank: 43 / POS: 8

Our Northern Louisiana Future Games Trials in June saw several prospects make a “splash” onto the scene and Richardson was one of those guys. Richardson packs a punch in his sturdy and compact 5’10” 195 lbs. frame. On the mound, he flashed a 83-85 mph FB, topping out at 86 mph with an above average FB spin rate of 2327 RPM per Trackman baseball. What was even more impressive, were his CB and SL, which came in at 2682 RPM and 2532 RPM respectively. Richardson also showed some impressive power with a max exit velocity of 96 mph and an average distance of 349 feet during his BP round. Unranked prior to this rankings update, he now sits at #43 in the state rankings and is inside the top 10 for RHP’s.

Luke Benoit 3B / C / Sulphur , LA / 2023

Rankings StateRank: 51 / POS: 2

“Swiss-Army Knife” and “Jack of All Trades” would be the best terms to describe the 6’0” 190 lbs. Benoit, who had an excellent summer. Benoit was one of the standouts from our Top Prospect Games in June, after a great sophomore year, where he hit .356 for the Sulphur Tors and earned First Team All-District honors as a utility player. Extremely accurate with the barrel and consistently drove balls gap to gap during his BP round with a max exit velocity of 85 mph. His versatility on defense, however, was the most impressive part of his game. From the crouch, he recorded pop times of 1.98-2.04 that were accurate to the bag with backspin and carry. On the dirt, he moved well laterally with athletic footwork, a quick transfer, and showed the ability to throw from different arm angles. Currently sits at #50 overall and #2 among third basemen in the 2023 state rankings.