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By Chris Kemlo and PBR Staff
Ontario Scouting Director

Ontario Insider: Updated Class of 2018 Player Rankings (June)

With the 2017 getting past some issues with mother nature, we have been able to get some early looks at the class of 2018, and with that an updated rankings for college coaches and evaluators to chew on.

We have expanded to over 140 plus players, with the surprising majority of the 2018 class still uncommitted, despite some high profile prospects whether it be arms, middle of the diamond athletes or corner guys with some juice, there is a lot of quality college players who can contribute at all levels of collegiate ball.

At the top, not much has changed. Texas A&M commit Noah Naylor stays at number 1. The left-handed hitting catcher, who also sees time in the infield with his club team and the Canadian Junior National Team, and is highly regarded as one of the top prospects in the nation, as he is currently ranked 13th overall in PBR’s 2018 rankings.

The top five has one small movement with right-handers Eric Cerantola and Ben Abram switching positions with Cerantola now behind Naylor, followed by Oklahoma commit Abram. The 6-foot-5 uncommitted Cerantola has had a dominant start to the 2017 season, throwing a no-hitter and striking out 17 in his debut in the 16u loop of his league, as well being 90 mph at the ProCase with a sharp curveball and late bite. Rounding out the top stays the same with centre-fiedler Denzel Clarke staying at 4 while right-hander Griffin Hassall comes in at number 5.

One of the players who has jumped up in the rankings is uncommitted right-hander Ryan Capuano. Capuano came out the gates firing this spring as he fastball topped out at 89 mph as the 6-foot, 190-pound prospect showed signs of pitchability and command last summer as he was 82-84 mph. With an improved fastball and feel for his off-speed, Capuano makes a rise into the top 20 and one of the top right-handed arms in the class.

Another jump has been the rise of first baseman Noah Richardson, who also sees time as a left-handed arm on the mound. Plenty of strength and physicality from the left-side of the plate, Richardson has a chance to be middle of the order bat with power as the 6-foot-3, 210-pound specimen finds barrells.

Below we take a look at "What's New “ and "The Newcomers" as well as the top uncommitted prospects.

To view the entire list of 140 prospects please click here.

What's New

The biggest movers into the Top 20 were two right-handers in Shane Laforest and James Mienkowski.

Ryan Capuano, RHP, Birchmount Park, 2018
Previous Ranking - 31st in 2018 class of Ontario
Updated Ranking - 16th in 2018 class of Ontario
Scouting Report: Three pitch guy who has been up to 89 mph indoors. Was consistently 85-86 at the ProCase and shows a sneaky quick arm with life out the hand.

Shane Laforest, RHP, Belle River District, 2018
Previous Ranking - 66th in 2018 class of Ontario
Updated Ranking - 31st in 2018 class of Ontario
Scouting Report: 5-foot-10 righty with a quick arm and feel for the mound. Athletic delivery with good angle on his fastball that works in the mid 80’s. Curveball has good rotation and downward action, also will throw his changeup. Strike thrower with arm speed and a good off-speed arsenal.

Dimitri Stamatopoulos, RHP, Satec, 2018
Previous Ranking - 15th in 2018 class of Ontario
Updated Ranking - 55th in 2018 class of Ontario
Scouting Report: Big bodied righty at 6-foot-6, 225-pounder who has been up to 87 mph. Works from ¾ arm slot with run and action on his heater with feel for his secondary stuff. More in the tank and should be watched closely by schools.

NEWCOMERS

Malkolm Barrett, RHP, David Suzuki, 2018
Scouting Report: Easy and loose arm that touched 86 mph in the spring. All three of his pitches have action with run on his changeup and a slider that shows late tilt at times.

Diego Dominguez, RHP, 2018
Scouting Report: Free and easy with a quick arm and lots of room to add strength and size. Athleticism in his delivery, has been up to 88 mph indoors.

Ryan O’Halloran, SS, St.Martin, 2018
Scouting Report: Wiry shortstop who is going to add 20-pounds to his frame. Toolsy player with strong fundamentals, can run and throw while he is quiet at the plate with some looseness in his swing and quick twitch, one to keep an eye on.

Justin Raspanti, C, Everest Academy, 2018
Scouting Report: Left-handed hitting catcher with some juice in his bat. Doesn’t get cheated at the plate and shows natural swing with some lift, with his bat speed and strength there is a good chance to hit with some power.

Steven Sanders, LHP, Cameron Heights, 2018
Scouting Report: Lean left-hander that has re-classified to a 2018. Arm works from ¾ slot, deceptive with feel for strike zone and off-speed stuff. Will be a solid contributor at the next level with a high ceiling.

Connor Ambrogio, RHP, Catholic Central, 2018
Scouting Report: Big strong right-hander out of London area with a low 80’s fastball that has been up to 84 mph and overhand curveball with good downward action. Room to add strength and with clean actions, projects well on the mound.

Matt Bardoel, LHP, St. Anne HS, 2018
Scouting Report: Left-hander that has clean arm and prototypical pitcher's frame at 6-foot-3, 170-pounds. Fastball is 80 mph but has room to project and could be a sleeper as his development progresses.

Ryan Santos, INF, De La Salle College, 2018
Scouting Report: Had himself a good winter by adding some strength to his frame, left-handed swing with short path and gets extended. Can still add size to frame and has shown he can handle all three spots in the infield.

Jared Evans, RHP, St.Stephen Catholic, 2018
Scouting Report: Re-classified to 2018, one of the quickest arms in the class with strong, muscular frame. Has been up to 90 mph but fights himself to find consistency. Will spin the breaking ball and shows promise when he is on time. Keep an eye, because once it all clicks and comes together, chance to be very powerful.

Sleeper Prospects

Kurt Dillon, RHP, St.Joseph Catholic, 2018
Scouting Report: Big 6-foot-5 right-hander from Ottawa. Mid 80’s fastball and will only get better. Lots to project with size and actions.

Noah London, OF, Father Leo J. Austin, 2018
Scouting Report: Not much a sleeper as he is one of the most athletic players in the class. London has strong fundamentals with a strong arm, can run and is quiet at the plate with minimal movement in his swing.

Anthony Vavaroutsos, OF, Mary Ward, 2018
Scouting Report: Left-handed bat that finds a lot of barrels. Can play all three outfield positions, more suited for corner position, gap to gap with lots of hard contact.

Ty Imeson, INF, 2018
Scouting Report: Athletic infielder with actions defensively and a tough out at the plate. Line drive type hitter who will use the whole field and be a pest on the basepaths with his speed.

Calum Theal, RHP, An Meyer, 2018
Scouting Report: Loose arm that has increased velocity over the winter, now up into the mid 80’s with his fastball.

Sam Jones, RHP, 2018
Scouting Report: Big tall right-hander at 6-foot-7, great pitcher's frame and has good body control with his delivery for his size. 81-85 mph early on this year with a breaking ball for strikes.

Top Uncommitted Prospects By Position

Below we look to name the top 3-5 prospects in specific categories for the 2018 class. Beyond the top 3-5, there are numerous prospects that can help a collegiate program in some capacity. Our 2018 class is one of, if not the deepest classes we’ve had. There are number of players still on the board that could help out a college program in some capacity. Here are some of the top uncommitted guys at each position.

 + Top Right-Handed Arms: Eric Cerantola, Griffin Hassall, Thomas Murphy

+ Top Left-Handed Arms: Adam Parker, Carter Seabrooke, Jason Boulanger

+ Top Catching Prospects: Ryan Faragher, Blake Buckle, Ian Jordan

+ Top Corner Infield Prospects: Leo Markotic, David McCabe, Noah Richardson

+ Top Middle Infield Prospects: Daniel Carinci, Tyler Black, Ryan O’Halloran

+ Top Outfield Prospects: Denzel Clarke, Noah London, Anthony Vavaroutsos

 

PBR Ontario Class of 2018 Top 140

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Noah Naylor	ON	St.Joan of Arc	2018	C	Texas A&M
2	Eric Cerantola	ON	Ste-Trinite	2018	RHP
3	Ben Abram	ON	Georgetown District	2018	RHP	Oklahoma
4	Denzel Clarke	ON	Everest Academy	2018	OF
5	Griffin Hassall	ON	Bill Crothers	2018	RHP
6	Daniel Carinci	ON	Pickering	2018	SS
7	Ryan Faragher	ON	St. Thomas Aquinas	2018	C
8	Tyler Black	ON	St. Andrews	2018	SS
9	Thomas Murphy	ON	All Saints	2018	RHP
10	Leo Markotic	ON	St. Martins	2018	SS

***** To view the entire top 140, please click here.