VA/DC 2024 Rankings: New Faces
August 21, 2023
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With rankings updates comes new faces entering the rankings. While the 2024 class is not expanding in terms of number of players ranked, we do have new faces moving in that have surpassed others. These five new faces are a mixture of players that have made considerable jumps since our last update, or our staff got a chance to get a quality look(s) on that player.
Here are five new faces that have made their way into the rankings after a strong spring and/or summer.
New Faces:
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Ben Christine RHP / RHP / St. Johns College High School, VA / 2024I got a chance to see Christine twice this summer at 17U National Championships at Lakepoint, as well as in a workout at the Cadets Scout Day in late May. Both of those appearances at 17U saw him sit in the 84-87 range with a short whippy arm action that had plenty of arm speed. Lower release with 18"+ of IVB. Sweeping slider with some depth. At 17U he struggled with command and they were short appearances, but there is a lot to like with Christine. Lower slot and release, quick arm, secondary is a touch soft, but has solid shape. Think this is an arm that could come out next spring and easily be 85-88 and tear through hitters in short relief appearances. In order to get that time at SJC, he will need to throw strikes at a solid rate. -Burton
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Braeden Cooch RHP / 3B / Colgan, VA / 2024The Colgan rising senior was solid at the Unsigned Senior Games. Long and lean 6-foot-2 frame. Lower three-quarter slot, above average arm speed, and a lower release height (4.5'). A ton of sink to the arm side, averaging 17.6" of horizontal movement, with the obvious being that the 85-87 mph fastball profiles as a sinker. The sinker works better down in the zone and was most effective running it back over the glove side edge. Slider and changeup combo and both showed solid feel for the zone. Slot dropped slightly on the changeup and produced 17.5" of horizontal movement. Intriguing arm that was up to 88 and has more in the tank. -Burton
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Hunter Overstreet 1B / LHP / Rustburg High School, VA / 2024Mid 80's left hander with some late arm side run. It is a easy delivery with a super quick arm and a ball that jumps on hitters. The fastball was up to 88 at 17U National Championship and turned lots of heads in his outing, leading to his commitment to Longwood. Until this summer, it had been quite some time since we had seen the long, lanky lefty. Very intriguing arm that has plenty of ceiling left. -Burton
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Claude Ranson SS / OF / Matoaca, VA / 2024We broke down Ranson's performance at Unsigned Senior Games in an article last week. Now, Ranson moves into the 2024 rankings. What gives him the value to move into the rankings? Athletic, hit tool, and most importantly he has the ability to stay in the dirt, as well as can defend in the outfield. His positional versatility and solid bat to ball ability give him enough juice to raise him into the rankings. We saw him in spot time for Matoaca, as well as in an indoor workout in the winter. Those were solid looks, but he was very impressive in an extended look at Richmond a few weeks back. -Burton
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Carter Tuft UTILITY / 2B / James Madison, VA / 2024Similar to Ranson, we talked about Tuft last week in the USG post event article. His value begins with his run tool. A 6.68 60 gives him the footspeed to stay in center field. The arm strength is probably more suited for center and left, as opposed to right. Really like the flatter path through the zone and shows some adjustability in the swing. Finished in the top seven of on-plane efficiency, solid connection metrics, as well as staying right in the sweet spot of vertical bat angle and attack angle. -Burton
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