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By Andy Pascoe, Aaron Wilson and PBR Staff
PBR Michigan Director of Scouting / Assistant Director of Scouting

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Michigan Insider: Updated Class of 2018 Player Rankings (March)

What's New At The Top

There was some shake up at the top of the rankings as Miko Rodriguez (Forest Hills Central, pictured right) and Joey Zontini (Eisenhower) saw their rankings jump at the top.

Rodriguez, an athletic 6-foot-1, 190-pound outfield Prospect, displayed plus bat speed at the Preseason All-State Showcase with a good approach and a strong arm from his outfield position. He also showed his athleticism with his 60-yard dash being clocked at 6.87.

Zontini, a strong 6-foot-3, 225-pound Central Michigan commit, continued to show large improvements from last summer. With a good approach, he showed plus bat speed with good raw power in the batter’s box.

The Risers

While many of the prospects in the rankings are new, Jacob Erickson (Allen Park, pictured right) and Johnny Irish (Forest Hills Central) are familiar faces who saw a rise in their rankings.

Erickson, an athletic two-way prospect, showcased well during the winter and most notably at the Preseason All-State Showcase. He showed good actions on the infield and plus bat speed in the batter’s box to go with a good approach. On the mound, his fastball has been up to 87 mph.

Irish, a 6-foot, 163-pound Right-Handed Pitcher, showed quick arm speed with a fastball that got up to 83 mph with good sink. He showed good feel for a breaking ball that was sharp and also used a changeup that had sink. He threw all three pitches for strikes at both the Western Michigan Preseason Showcase and the Border Preview.

The Top Newcomers

With nearly one-hundred newcomers to the 2018 rankings, Brandon Smith (Saginaw Heritage, pictured right) and Keaton Hamilton (Grandville) entered the top 15 after being previously unranked.

Smith, a projectable 6-foot-5, 195-pound Right-Handed Pitcher, showed a fastball that got up to 85 mph with good downhill action. He had four pitches for strikes and his split-finger fastball showed the potential to be a good strikeout pitch.

Hamilton, a two-way prospect, showed a good left-handed swing with good bat speed and a strong outfield arm. On the mound, he saw his fastball get up to 84 mph with good movement and a sharp curveball that has good depth.

TOP UNCOMMITTED PROSPECTS BY POSITION

There are still many talented prospects in the state of Michigan who remain uncommitted. These sophomores, along with many others, will help collegiate programs in their future. Below we break down into categories by position and look at who remains uncommitted at those positions.

+ Top Right-Handed Arms: Nino Puckett (pictured right); Brandon Smith
+ Top Left-Handed Arms: Cole Daniels; Ethan Hoffman
+ Top Two-Way Prospects: Jacob Erickson; Keaton Hamilton
+ Top Catching Prospects: Tommy Blitchok; Luke Stephenson
+ Top Corner Infield Prospects: Daniel Morris; Seth Bogataj
+ Top Middle Infield Prospects: Spencer Schwellenbach; Ian Janssen
+ Top Outfield Prospects: Miko Rodriguez; Caleb Jackson; Reese Trahey

MICHIGAN CLASS OF 2018 RANKINGS

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	John Malcom	MI	Country Day	2018	1B	Vanderbilt
2	Spencer Schwellenbach	MI	Heritage	2018	SS
3	Miko Rodriguez	MI	Forest Hills Central	2018	OF
4	Cole Daniels	MI	Saline	2018	LHP
5	Brian Martin	MI	Westland John Glenn	2018	RHP	Michigan State
6	Tommy Blitchok	MI	Grandville	2018	C
7	Joey Zontini	MI	Eisenhower	2018	1B	Central Michigan
8	Jacob Erickson	MI	Allen Park	2018	SS
9	Nino Puckett	MI	De La Salle Collegiate	2018	RHP
10	Brandon Smith	MI	Saginaw Heritage	2018	RHP

***** To view the entire top 125, please click here.