I like to end my draft cycle on this piece because, frankly, it's a fun way for me to wind down ahead of the big event. In this article, we'll be comparing the kind of talent produced by different regions, with a catch. Instead of using a player's current school, we'll use their hometown. So for example, Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada will join the California team because he grew up in the Los Angeles area, Campbell's Zach Neto will go to Florida because he's from Miami, etc. I did this exercise last year, where the Northeast came out as the best overall team led by Jack Leiter (Summit, NJ), Henry Davis (Bedford, NY), Sal Frelick (Lexington, MA), and many other stars. This year, it's the Eastern South leading the way with a massive amount of talent coming out of Atlanta. We'll use the same regions as last year, but adding in Canada this time, and we will not include players who have removed their names from the draft.
Northeast (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC, WV)
Average rank: 89.6
C: #79 Cade Hunter (Mount Laurel, NJ)
1B: #100 Luke Gold (Ballston Spa, NY)
2B: #54 Max Martin (Edgewater Park, NJ)
SS: #20 Cole Young (Wexford, PA)
3B: #137 Trey Lipscomb (Frederick, MD)
LF: #148 Jayden Hylton (Basking Ridge, NJ)
CF: #196 Chris Newell (Newtown Square, PA)
RF: #14 Chase DeLauter (Martinsburg, WV)
DH: #50 Tyler Locklear (Abingdon, MD)
SP: #80 Connor Staine (Branchburg, NJ)
SP: #114 Trey Dombroski (Manasquan, NJ)
SP: #92 Michael Kennedy (Troy, NY)
SP: #107 Jake Madden (Enola, PA)
SP: #112 Caden Dana (Montgomery, NY)
RHR: #83 Nazier Mule (Paterson, NJ)
LHR: #47 Reggie Crawford (Frackville, PA)
Honorable mentions: #115 Henry Williams (Darien, CT), #116 Dominic Keegan (Methuen, MA), #125 Matt Wood (Gibsonia, PA), #156 Adonys Guzman (Valley Cottage, NY), #187 Noah Dean (Little Egg Harbor, NJ)
A year ago, the Northeast led the way with an incredible average ranking of 28.1, a banner year for the region that included Jack Leiter, Henry Davis, Sal Frelick, Will Bednar, Benny Montgomery, and Chase Petty, among others. This year's team isn't quite as robust, with only two players (#14 Chase DeLauter and #20 Cole Young) beating the average ranking for last year's team. Cade Hunter comes away as the team's starting catcher, but there were numerous options including the big bats of Dominic Keegan and Matt Wood as well as the top-tier glove of Adonys Guzman. The team could have used central Pennsylvania outfielder Paxton Kling on this team, but he announced this week that he is removing his name from the draft to attend LSU. Meanwhile, Reggie Crawford represents the best pitching prospect with a fastball that can reach triple digits, but there are few sure things behind him. Connor Staine and Jake Madden have big upside but have battled injuries and inconsistency, while Nazier Mule brings a lightning bolt of an arm in need of refinement and Michael Kennedy and Trey Dombroski are crafty lefties that need to add velocity.
Midwest/Great Plains (OH, IN, MI, IL, WI, MN, IA, MO, KS, NE, SD, ND)
Average rank: 62.9
C: #123 Ike Irish (Hudsonville, MI)
1B: #98 Estevan Moreno (Hanover Park, IL)
2B: #104 Robert Moore (Leawood, KS)
SS: #85 Gavin Kilen (Milton, WI)
3B: #49 Max Wagner (Green Bay, WI)
LF: #81 Clark Elliott (Barrington, IL)
CF: #77 Ryan Cermak (Riverside, IL)
RF: #12 Drew Gilbert (Stillwater, MN)
DH: #113 Drake Baldwin (Madison, WI)
SP: #16 Brock Porter (Milford, MI)
SP: #30 Connor Prielipp (Tomah, WI)
SP: #32 Owen Murphy (Riverside, IL)
SP: #39 Jacob Miller (Baltimore, OH)
SP: #55 Adam Mazur (Woodbury, MN)
RHR: #66 Jacob Misiorowski (Grain Valley, MO)
LHR: #28 Noah Schultz (Aurora, IL)
Honorable mentions: #91 Karson Milbrandt (Liberty, MO), #122 Tommy Specht (Dubuque, IA), #124 Cade Obermueller (Iowa City, IA), #134 David Lally (Grand Blanc, MI), #140 Alan Roden (Middleton, WI), #145 Logan Wagner (Aurora, IL)
The Midwest/Great Plains region, a cold-weather region that stretches from Ohio across to the Dakotas, is significantly improved from last year by jumping from an average rank of 80.5 to 62.9. The difference is on the pitching staff, where all seven pitchers rank in the top 66 and five rank in the top 39. Brock Porter may be the first pitcher off the board in this draft, while Connor Prielipp and Jacob Misiorowski are surging after a strong showing at the MLB Draft Combine. Meanwhile, Owen Murphy and Noah Schultz had scouts scrambling to get to Chicago to see them pitch. In the field, the trio of Drew Gilbert, Ryan Cermak, and Clark Elliott make for a fantastic defensive outfield that any team would envy, and they bring interesting bats too (especially Gilbert, who could sneak into the top ten picks). Elsewhere on the field, Ike Irish, Robert Moore, and Gavin Kilen saw their stocks dip after uneven springs, but Max Wagner did the opposite by coming out of nowhere to slash .369/.496/.852 with 27 home runs for Clemson.
Eastern South (VA, NC, SC, GA)
Average rank: 44.4
C: #108 Brooks Brannon (Randleman, NC)
1B: #40 Tucker Toman (Columbia, SC)
2B: #3 Termarr Johnson (Atlanta, GA)
SS: #45 Tanner Schobel (Williamsburg, VA)
3B: #6 Cam Collier (Austell, GA)
LF: #86 Chandler Simpson (Atlanta, GA)
CF: #1 Druw Jones (Suwanee, GA)
RF: #71 Colby Thomas (Valdosta, GA)
DH: #78 Nick Morabito (McLean, VA)
SP: #11 Dylan Lesko (Buford, GA)
SP: #34 Jackson Ferris (Mount Airy, NC)
SP: #36 Kumar Rocker (Athens, GA)
SP: #44 Thomas Harrington (Sanford, NC)
SP: #57 Carson Whisenhunt (Mocksville, NC)
RHR: #23 Landon Sims (Cumming, GA)
LHR: #68 Tristan Smith (Chesnee, SC)
Honorable mentions: #94 Jonathan Cannon (Alpharetta, GA), #95 Ryan Clifford (Raleigh, NC), #96 Chandler Pollard (Winston, GA), #103 Zach Maxwell (Acworth, GA), #110 Levi Huesman (Hanover, VA), #117 Nate Savino (Sterling, VA)
The Eastern South comes away with the best average rank of any region at 44.4, powered by an Atlanta Metro that produced six of the team's sixteen players including four of the top eleven players on my overall draft board. Seriously, the ATL brings us Druw Jones, in my opinion the best overall player in the class, Termarr Johnson with one of the best hit tools ever seen out of the high school ranks, Cam Collier, who beat up on Florida JUCO pitching as a 17 year old and turned heads in the Cape Cod League, and Dylan Lesko, the consensus best pitcher in the class until he went down with Tommy John surgery. This is a speedy outfield that won't let many balls drop between Jones, Chandler Simpson, and Colby Thomas, while Brooks Brannon is a bit of a sleeper out of central North Carolina. On the mound, Jackson Ferris and Kumar Rocker both have ace upside behind Lesko, and Landon Smith has some of the most explosive stuff in the class when healthy. Georgia alone could have produced a pretty solid team that would have stacked up nicely with some of these other regions.
Western South (KY, TN, AL, MS, LA, AR)
Average rank: 93.8
C: #73 Logan Tanner (Lucedale, MS)
1B: #164 Sonny DiChiara (Hoover, AL)
2B: #61 Cade Doughty (Denham Springs, LA)
SS: #27 Eric Brown (Bossier City, LA)
3B: #25 Cayden Wallace (Greenbrier, AR)
LF: #51 Jordan Beck (Hazel Green, AL)
CF: #109 Gavin Guidry (Lake Charles, LA)
RF: #8 Gavin Cross (Bristol, TN)
DH: #37 Dalton Rushing (Brighton, TN)
SP: #40 Blade Tidwell (Loretto, TN)
SP: #62 Peyton Pallette (Benton, AR)
SP: #144 Grayson Saunier (Collierville, TN)
SP: #169 Colby Holcombe (Florence, AL)
SP: #197 Bradley Loftin (Southaven, MS)
RHR: #84 Ben Joyce (Knoxville, TN)
LHR: UR Hayden Mullins (Gallatin, TN)
Honorable mentions: #139 Silas Ardoin (Moss Bluff, LA), #172 Hayden Dunhurst (Carriere, MS), #191 Dakota Jordan (Canton, MS), UR Ross Highfill (Madison, MS), UR Blake Burkhalter (Dothan, AL), UR Zane Denton (Brentwood, TN)
The story for this year's Western South team is catching. Logan Tanner, Silas Ardoin, and Hayden Dunhurst are three of the best defensive catchers in the class (and all grew up just north of I-10 along the Gulf Coast), which means slugger Dalton Rushing won't be seeing much time behind the plate on this hypothetical team. Rushing, Gavin Cross, Cayden Wallace, Jordan Beck, and arguably the best right-now hitter of them all, Sonny DiChiara, bring a ton of pop to this lineup that is a bit lacking in defensive studs elsewhere on the diamond (though Wallace can really hum it from third base), while Eric Brown and Gavin Guidry help diversify a bit. On the mound, I would be very nervous watching this rotation try to hold up over a full season with Blade Tidwell's shoulder issues, Peyton Pallette's Tommy John surgery, Grayson Saunier's nagging minor injuries, and Colby Holcombe's general relieverish tendencies, but the upside his huge. Pallette, Tidwell, and Holcombe will likely all touch triple digits in the near future, while Ben Joyce blows them all out of the water with a fastball that can reach 105, though he too has battled injuries in the past.
Florida
Average rank: 62.5
C: #97 Brady Neal (Bradenton)
1B: #65 Sal Stewart (Miami)
2B: #149 Drew Faurot (Tallahassee)
SS: #10 Zach Neto (Miami)
3B: #90 Cameron Smith (Lake Worth)
LF: #52 Sterlin Thompson (Ocala)
CF: #35 Jud Fabian (Ocala)
RF: #2 Elijah Green (Windermere)
DH: #59 Roman Anthony (North Palm Beach)
SP: #17 Brandon Barriera (Hollywood)
SP: #46 Parker Messick (Plant City)
SP: #53 Walter Ford (Pace)
SP: #64 Bryce Hubbart (Windermere)
SP: #74 Hunter Barco (Jacksonville)
RHR: #127 Andrew Walters (Palm Bay)
LHR: #60 Carson Palmquist (Fort Myers)
Honorable mentions: #131 Brandon Sproat (Pace), #143 Dylan DeLucia (Port Orange), #154 Gabriel Rincones (Tampa), #167 Malachi Witherspoon (Jacksonville), #176 Ethan Petry (Land O'Lakes), #177 Jordan Taylor (Jacksonville), #182 Chris Stanfield (Tallahassee)
It's a good year for the sunshine state, besting last year's average ranking of 80.3 by 18 points this year. Potential #1 overall pick Elijah Green and Jud Fabian won't let any fly balls drop between them in the outfield, while those two plus Zach Neto, Roman Anthony, and Sal Stewart make for one mean middle of the lineup. On the mound, Florida went left handed this year with 5/7 pitchers coming from the left side, including two unique Florida State arms in Parker Messick and Bryce Hubbard. Carson Palmquist brings another unusual look as a lefty sidearmer and his Miami teammate Andrew Walters struck out more than 50% of his opponents this spring, almost exclusively with his fastball.
Texoma (TX, OK)
Average rank: 90.4
C: UR Jimmy Crooks (Euless, TX)
1B: #63 Ivan Melendez (El Paso, TX)
2B: #82 Jalen Flores (San Antonio, TX)
SS: #4 Jackson Holliday (Stillwater, OK)
3B: #31 Peyton Graham (Waxahachie, TX)
LF: #128 Jeric Curtis (Tomball, TX)
CF: #13 Jett Williams (Heath, TX)
RF: #135 Max Belyeu (Aledo, TX)
DH: #9 Jace Jung (San Antonio, TX)
SP: #21 Cade Horton (Norman, OK)
SP: #67 Cole Phillips (Boerne, TX)
SP: #87 Jake Bennett (Bixby, OK)
SP: #106 Brandon Birdsell (Willis, TX)
SP: #111 Chase Shores (Midland, TX)
RHR: #150 Jacob Meador (Burleson, TX)
LHR: #189 Brennan Phillips (Owasso, OK)
Honorable mentions: #126 Jayson Jones (Savannah, TX), #165 Jalen Battles (San Antonio, TX), #179 Jace Grady (Elgin, TX), #180 Jared McKenzie (Round Rock, TX), #202 Trey Faltine (Richmond, TX), #209 Brenner Cox (Prosper, TX)
This year's Texoma team is unmistakably led by a murderer's row of bats, including potential first overall pick Jackson Holliday, potential top ten pick Jace Jung, a 5'8" slugger in Jett Williams, and the 2022 Golden Spikes winner Ivan Melendez, who hit .387/.508/.863 with 32 home runs for Texas this year. Holliday, Peyton Graham, and Jalen Flores make this a strong defensive infield as all three have a shot to play shortstop at the next level, and it would be even stronger if defensive whiz Anthony Silva (San Antonio) hadn't pulled his name from the draft. On the mound, mega riser Cade Horton takes over as the ace while triple digit man Cole Phillips and the 6'8" Chase Shores bring the upside. Jake Bennett, meanwhile, provides some stability as a high probability big league starter. Interestingly, last year's team got 15/16 players from Texas, but Oklahoma had a stronger showing this year with four names, including two likely first rounders in Holliday and Horton.
West Minus CA (NM, AZ, CO, UT, NV, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, AK, HI, BC)
Average rank: 96.9
C: #155 Beau Sylvester (Kailua, HI)
1B: #18 Jacob Berry (Queen Creek, AZ)
2B: UR Jack Pineda (Albuquerque, NM)
SS: #193 Carter Young (Selah, WA)
3B: #194 Aiva Arquette (Kailua, HI)
LF: #133 Mason Neville (Las Vegas, NV)
CF: #22 Justin Crawford (Las Vegas, NV)
RF: #69 Gavin Turley (Chandler, AZ)
DH: #33 Jacob Melton (Medford, OR)
SP: #24 Gabriel Hughes (Eagle, ID)
SP: #56 JR Ritchie (Bainbridge Island, WA)
SP: #76 Jacob Zibin (Langley, BC)
SP: #93 Drew Thorpe (Washington, UT)
SP: #102 Trystan Vrieling (Kennewick, WA)
RHR: #89 Jackson Cox (Toutle, WA)
LHR: #43 Robby Snelling (Reno, NV)
Honorable mentions: #119 Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC), #206 Riley Cornelio (Monument, CO), #210 Justin Boyd (Parker, CO), #216 Andrew Morris (Boulder, CO)
The team of the non-California west narrowly avoided being the only team with an average ranking above one hundred after my last second decision to include British Columbia (with thanks to Jacob Zibin), and that means it's nearly thirty spots better than last year's average of 124.1. Oregon's Aaron Zavala was the top ranked player on that team at #35, but this year's team has four players better than that led by potential top ten pick Jacob Berry. This team did it without a great showing from Phoenix, its traditional hotbed that only sent two players (Berry and Gavin Turley), or Colorado, which got completely shut out after Zibin took Riley Cornelio's spot. Instead, it pulled from off-the-radar places like rural Washington, southwestern Utah, Idaho, and even Hawaii. Still, despite the improvements, it remains the region with the worst average ranking. Berry and Justin Crawford lead the offense as two polar opposite players, as Berry is a middle of the order bruiser while Crawford will kill you with speed and power potential. Jacob Melton, meanwhile, splits the difference. Behind them, there is a deep crop of high school bats with huge potential. Gabriel Hughes gives the rotation a true ace while JR Ritchie, Jackson Cox, and Robby Snelling have the potential to join him in that regard. Drew Thorpe, meanwhile, is more of a steady innings eater, and Zibin and Trystan Vrieling are somewhere halfway between the two.
California
Average rank: 52.6
C: #15 Daniel Susac (Roseville)
1B: #7 Kevin Parada (Pasadena)
2B: #58 Mikey Romero (Menifee)
SS: #72 Josh Kasevich (Palo Alto)
3B: #5 Brooks Lee (San Luis Obispo)
LF: #39 Henry Bolte (Palo Alto)
CF: #29 Spencer Jones (Encinitas)
RF: #26 Dylan Beavers (Paso Robles)
DH: #37 Brock Jones (Fresno)
SP: #19 Cooper Hjerpe (Capay)
SP: #48 Justin Campbell (Simi Valley)
SP: #75 Cutter Coffey (Bakersfield)
SP: #88 Riley Kelly (Tustin)
SP: #118 Jaden Noot (Oak Park)
RHR: #105 Austin Charles (Bakersfield)
LHR: #101 Brycen Mautz (San Diego)
Honorable mentions: #70 Malcolm Moore (Sacramento), #101 Jacob Reimer (Yucaipa), #120 Anthony Hall (San Diego), #121 Joe Lampe (Petaluma), #129 Chris Paciolla (Temecula), #130 Kassius Thomas (Northridge)
California beats last year's ranking of 81.3 on the strength of an imposing lineup that includes seven of the class's top 39 players. Daniel Susac and Kevin Parada are the top two catchers in the class, while Malcolm Moore didn't even make the team but provides a third catcher (though he probably won't stick). There's a ton of athleticism in the outfield between Henry Bolte, Dylan Beavers, and Spencer Jones, so much so that former Stanford safety Brock Jones is forced to DH. Cooper Hjerpe and Justin Campbell are by far the best arms in the rotation, but Bakersfield provides a pair of two-way stars in Cutter Coffey and Austin Charles that could help out with their bats as well. It wasn't a banner year for San Diego, which produced just two players (Spencer Jones and Brycen Mautz) on this team, but the middle of the state pulled its weight better than usual between the two Bakersfield two-way guys, Brock Jones, Beavers, and 1-1 candidate Brooks Lee.
Comparing the Four
Average overall rank:
1. Eastern South (44.4)
2. California (52.8)
3. Florida (62.5)
4. Midwest/Great Plains (62.9)
5. Northeast (89.6)
6. Texoma (90.4)
7. Western South (93.8)
8. West Minus CA (96.9)
Average lineup rank:
1. California (32.0)
2. Eastern South (48.7)
3. Western South (61.7)
4. Florida (62.1)
5. Texoma (79.4)
6. Midwest/Great Plains (82.4)
7. Northeast (88.7)
8. West Minus CA (118.6)
Average pitching rank:
1. Midwest/Great Plains (38.0)
2. Eastern South (39.0)
3. Florida (63.0)
4. West Minus CA (69.0)
5. California (78.7)
6. Northeast (90.7)
7. Texoma (104.4)
8. Western South (135.1)
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