By Jeff Markle
Assistant State Director

The Prep Baseball Report’s Preseason All-State Invitational will take place Sunday February 26th at Highlands Ranch High School. This will be the third year of the event. Strong Talent will be on display with several players from the top 10 in both the 2017 and 2018 classes committed to the event. Prospects from the 2017 and 2018 classes will come together in a pro-style workout to strut their stuff in front of the PBR scouting staff.  Limited spots still available for this event, registration closes Thursday February 23rd at 3:00 pm.  Click here to request an invitation.

Let’s take a look at this year’s top 2017 and 2018 prospects who are registered:

Top 2017 Prospects:

James Notary, RHP, Broomfield High School, No. 245 Overall and No. 3 CO 2017 (Texas Christian)
6-foot-3, 205 pounds. The Texas Christian Commit was very sharp today against a good Slammers Zavaras team. In 5 scoreless innings only gave up 1 hit and struck out 7. Fastball touched 89 in the first inning and settled in at 87-88. Slammers could not stay off a sharp 12/6 breaking ball at 71-72 mph. Comes from an over the top arm slot, and is uphill in the start of his delivery, but then has good led drive towards home that produces  good down angle and extension. To see video from today Click Here 

Drake Davis, RHP/OF, Ralston Valley High School, No. 247 Overall and No. 4 CO 2017 (Arizona State)
6-0, 175 pounds, the Arizona State commit was impressive in 3 innings of no-hit work against Cherokee Trail. Fastball was consistently 88 mph, and had a wipeout slider coming in at 77 with good depth. What we came away impressed with was how much he has cleaned up his motion to make it less effortless. Arm works real well and is quick. Square to the plate and pounded the strike zone. To see video Click Here 

Blake Rohm, RHP, Broomfield High School, No. 288 Overall and No. 8 CO 2017 (Virginia)
2017 RHP from Broomfield HS, projectable 6-5, 180 frame, fastball 87-89 mph (90 tops) in one inning of work this weekend in Westfield, IN for 18U Thunder Academy. Excellent student, 4.2/4.0 GPA, 28 ACT. Recently committed to Virginia. 

Tyson Hays, C/3B, Grandview High School, No. 9 2017 (Illinois State)
5-foot-11, 185-pound right hand hitting catcher/3B. Good looking prospect behind the plate. Good set up and framing on pitches and quick actions on balls in the dirt.  Accurate 81 MPH arm with a 1.96 pop time. Stands tall at the plate with very little movement on the pitch.  Swing path is slightly uphill with quick hands through the zone.  Exit velocity was 93 MPH off the tee and he showed good power to all parts of the field.  Athletic player who ran a 7.02 60. 

Top 2018 Prospects: 

Cole Winn, RHP/SS, Silver Creek High School, No. 8 Overall and No. 1 CO 2018
6-foot-2, 180 pounds. Winn is one of the top pitchers in his age class in the country. Arm is flat out electric. In two innings of work struck out all 6 batters. Fastball was 90-91 mph, but he has touched 93 before. Has a wipeout slider with late depth at 76-77 mph. Solid change at same arm speed that lives at 81-82 mph. Winn over the last year has impressed many scouts across the country, and recently impressed at Jupiter playing for the Houston Astros Scout team where he struck out 8 in 3 innings. To read about that click here. Winn is positioning himself to be a potential high draft pick after he graduates high school.

Justin Olson, 1B/LHP, Pine Creek High School, No. 165 Overall and No. 3 CO 2018 (Kentucky)
6-foot-2, 200 pounds. Bats and throws left. At the plate has a balanced stance and loads straight back, with a leg-kick stride. Swing is slightly uphill through the zone which produces a ton of power to both gaps. Has very good plate coverage. Lower half and upper half all work in sync. Gets very good extension through hitting zone. Produced an 89 mph exit velo off the tee. At 1B has soft hands and good feet for his size. throws from a high 3/4 arm slot and has good awareness around the bag. Threw 81 mph across the diamond. On the mound pumps hands over head to start. Square to the plate. Flies open a little to 3rd base side. Throws from a high 3/4 arm slot off two feet. Looks like he gets more leg drive from the stretch then from wind-up. Fastball was 82-83. Curveball was extremely sharp and a strikeout pitch with good 1/7 break at 68-69 mph. Ran a 7.4 laser timed 60.

Luke Leisenring, C/SS, Ralston Valley High School, No. 244 Overall and No. 4 CO 2018 (Arizona State)
6-foot-3, 175 pounds. The Arizona State commit bats left and throws right. At the plate has an open stance with slight crouch. Hands are loose and ready to get out in front to be on time. Came up with a big 2-out, 2-run hard line drive single to right. Behind the plate looks effortless for a big catcher. To see video Click Here.

Jeremy Onken, RHP/OF, Pine Creek High School, No. 6 2018 (Utah)
A 6-foot-2, 190-pound. Bats and throws right. At the plate he hits from a balanced stance with a slight bat wrap on his load and open.  He fires his hands and hips through the zone and with solid bat speed and advanced power for age. He shows good power to the pull side. Had a strong day at the plate. In the first game against Rangeview was 3-4 with a homerun, and in the second game went 3-4 again with another homerun and double. Going into the game Onken was second in 5A with 33 RBI's. On the season finished with an impressive .538 average with 11 doubles, 8 homeruns, and 36 RBI's, and brought that same kind of production to the 5A playoffs when it counted the most. Also pitches. On the he is a sink and drive pitcher and lands in-line with home plate.  He delivers over the top and showcases an 88 MPH fastball with good command of the inside part of the plate.  He added a 73 MPH curve with sharp 11/5 break and a 75 MPH change that stayed down in the zone. Very high player to follow in Colorado.

Luke Ziegler, RHP/3B, Valor Christian High School, No. 7 2018 (Pepperdine)
6-foot-2, 175-pound. Bats and throws right.  At the plate he stands tall and athletic and a little wider then last time we saw him. Generates good bat whip through the zone, and gets good separation. Hands are loose and gets good extension. Bat has level swing path that stays in hitting zone a long time. He hits off a firm front side with an exit velocity of 87 MPH.  In the field he shows smooth actions and a quick release.  He was accurate with an 83 MPH arm across the diamond, but we have at 85 mph before.  On the mound he stands tall and falls towards 1st. He lands in-line with good extension out front and throws from a high ¾ arm slot.  He showed good command of all three pitches.  He featured an 86 MPH fastball with late movement, a 64 MPH curve with 11/5 break and a 75 MPH change that lived down in the zone. Ran a 7.40 laser timed 60.

Dalton Chandler, RHP/1B, Lamar High School, No. 8 2018
A 6-foot-4, 225-pound right hand pitcher. Very deceptive delivery. Starting to grow into body. Starts off tall and square, and has a quick motion. Has a hitch when he separates hand from glove causing deception. More over the top now then high 3/4.  He lands in-line with the plate and falls off to the first base side on his finish. Fastball velocity has increased every time we have seen him, and now is consistently 86-87 touching 88.  Slider has good depth at 69 mph. Has some time to clean up some mechanics, and projects as a 90+ arm.

Jordan Medina, C/RHP, Highlands Ranch High School, No. 10 2018 (Northern Colorado)
6-foot-1, 190 pounds. Bats and throws right. Medina can be a No. 1 catcher, and a No. 1 pitcher for any varsity team in 2017. On the mound show a lot of potential to be a D-1 pitcher. In the past when we have seen Medina he has had a hard time throwing strikes but in this outing went 2 innings and was in the strike zone and had a very solid outing. Strong leg drive in-line towards plate. Hides ball well in back side and brings 86-87 mph fastball from high 3/4 arm slot. Curveball has tight spin sitting bewteen 68-70 mph. Good arm speed. Change sits 75-75 mph from same arm speed. Fastball projects to be 90+ senior year. At the plate has a lot of movement to be ready to hit. Has very good bat speed with a 93 mph exit velo. Timing hitter. Has plus power with pull tendencies. Behind the plate has very little movement when framing. Depends on strong arm down to 2nd at 80 mph. Pop-time lives 1.99-2.03. Improving speed with 7.29 60. A lot of tools to help at next level.