Worldwide Sports News

This is the third and final edition of the consensus rankings. If you are interested in the previous versions, the June Top 200 and the April Top 100 are linked here if you want to see how a player has been moving over the past few months.

There are some changes this time around. Obviously the most notable is going from a Top 200 to a Top 500. The next big change is the number of lists included drops from seven to six, as the Keith Law/Athletic list was very short (only Top 100) and the rankings were very different than anyone else’s, so it would throw off things both at the top and in that 75-150 range. Another small change from last time is I am cutting out the listing of player movement, as there wasn’t enough time to get that done and have this list ready for you in time for the draft due to these lists being released late.

The six lists used are Baseball America, Pipeline (Only Top 250), Perfect Game, ESPN/Kiley McDaniel (Top 250), Overslot/Mock Draft Simulator, as well as my own. The player ranked No. 1 on a list gets 500 points towards the consensus total, while the player ranked No. 500 receives one point. In total there were 695 players who received at least one point. All of these lists have been recently updated, so there is nothing old in these rankings. Two of these lists are shorter than a Top 500, so there will be heavier weight to the other four lists in the bottom half of the rankings.

Note that these rankings are a composite of all sources, and outside of my own rankings being one part of the six rankings included, this is not something I have influenced at all. For players who are tied in points for a spot, I am giving the higher ranking to the player who ranks higher on the greater number of lists, with the second tie breaker being awarded for the highest ranking on any list, followed by number of lists a player is included on, and if it’s still tied the player with the lowest ranking on any individual list loses. I will include some comments below on some of the interesting things included in the composite, and break this down into tiers solely based on how highly rated these players were in terms of points.

Tier 1

1.Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA – 2996 points

2.Grady Emerson, SS, Texas HS – 2995

3.Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech – 2991

The original thought that Cholowsky would be a consensus top pick is out the window, as he beats Emerson by just one point. Roch was the top guy on three boards to two for Emerson. Lackey took home the other top slot and was second in another set of rankings. It’s clear that there isn’t much separating these three guys from each other and they have separated themselves from the second trio that makes up the clear Top 6.

Tier 2

4.Jackson Flora, RHP, UC Santa Barbara – 2978

5.Eric Booth Jr., OF, Mississippi HS – 2974

6.Jacob Lombard, SS, Florida HS – 2972

These three are tightly grouped as a clear second tier of the Top 6. In all six sets of rankings, these guys occupied 17 of the 18 total slots of 4/5/6 in the rankings, with only Lombard coming in at 7th.

Tier 3

7.Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech – 2957

8.Tyler Bell, SS, Kentucky – 2949

9.Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas – 2948

10.Chris Hacopian, SS, Texas A&M – 2941

11.Derek Curiel, OF, LSU – 2931

Tier 4

12.Jared Grindlinger, LHP/OF, California HS – 2922

13.Justin Lebron, SS, Alabama – 2917

14.Cameron Flukey, RHP, Coastal Carolina – 2916

15.Gio Rojas, LHP, Florida HS – 2915

16.AJ Gracia, OF, Virginia – 2909

17.Trevor Condon, OF, Georgia HS – 2897

18.Ace Reese, 3B, Mississippi State – 2894

19.Liam Peterson, RHP, Florida – 2883

20.Sawyer Strosnider, OF, TCU – 2876

Tier 5

21.Hunter Dietz, LHP, Arkansas – 2853

22.Cole Carlon, LHP, Arizona State – 2850

23.Daniel Jackson, C, Georgia – 2840

24.Mason Edwards, LHP, USC – 2840

Jackson takes the first tie, ranking with a higher slot on four of the six lists.

25.Zion Rose, OF, Louisville – 2839

26.Cade Townsend, RHP, Mississippi – 2830

27.Tegan Kuhns, RHP, Tennessee – 2827

28.Coleman Borthwick, RHP, Florida HS – 2817

29.Bo Lowrance, 3B, South Carolina HS – 2812

30.Logan Hughes, OF, Texas Tech – 2811

31.Carson Bolemon, RHP, South Carolina HS – 2808

32.Caden Sorrell, OF, Texas A&M – 2793

33.Logan Reddeman, RHP, UCLA – 2791

34.Eric Becker, SS, Virginia – 2789

35.Taylor Rabe, RHP, Mississippi – 2884

36.Cole Prosek, SS, Mississippi HS – 2780

Tier 6

37.Brody Bumila, LHP, Massachusetts HS – 2764

38.Logan Schmidt, LHP, California HS – 2762

39.Aiden Robbins, OF, Texas – 2761

40.Tyler Spangler, SS, California HS – 2759

41.Archer Horn, SS, California HS – 2756

42.Jack Radel, RHP, Notre Dame – 2754

43.Aiden Ruiz, SS, New York HS – 2751

44.Chase Brunson, OF, TCU – 2737

45.Ben Blair, RHP, Liberty – 2737

Brunson takes this tie with the second tie breaker, coming in highest of the two anywhere – 29th on the list over at Overslot.

46.Taj Marchand, SS, South Carolina HS – 2728

47.Jensen Hirschkorn, RHP, California HS – 2712

48.Ty Head, OF, NC State – 2685

49.Jarren Advincula, 2B, Georgia Tech – 2678

50.Landon Thome, SS, Illinois HS – 2672

51.Connor Comeau, SS, Texas HS – 2669

52.James Clark, SS, California HS – 2666

53.Sean Duncan, LHP, Canada HS – 2665

54.Blake Bowen, OF, California HS – 2664

55.Will Brick, C, Tennessee HS – 2664

After both coming in higher on two lists, Bowen wins the tie because he ranked highest on a list – 37th on the PG list.

56.Chris Rembert, 2B, Auburn – 2658

57.Blake Bryant, RHP, Georgia HS – 2654

Tier 7

58.Kaiden McCarthy, RHP, Vermont HS – 2638

59.Gavin Grahovac, 3B, Texas A&M – 2634

60.Joey Volchko, RHP, Georgia – 2631

61.Kaeden Waechter, RHP, Florida HS – 2629

62.Jake Brown, OF, LSU – 2625

63.Carson Tinney, C, Texas – 2620

64.Wes Mendes, LHP, Florida State – 2618

65.Andrew Williamson, OF, UCF – 2615

66.Jack Natili, C, Cincinnati – 2610

67.Joseph Contreras, RHP, Georgia HS – 2603

68.Owen Hull, OF, North Carolina – 2587

69.Rocco Maniscalco, SS, Alabama HS – 2579

Tier 8

70.Luke Williams, SS, Pennsylvania HS – 2511

71.Mulivai Levu, 1B, UCLA – 2500

72.Myles Bailey, 1B, Florida State – 2487

73.Brett Renfrow, RHP, Virginia Tech – 2483

74.Jake Schaffner, SS, North Carolina – 2480

75.Cole Koeninger, SS, Texas HS – 2472

76.Noah Wilson, OF, Tennessee HS – 2468

77.Ethan Wachsmann, RHP, Colorado HS – 2463

78.Ethan Kleinschmit, LHP, Oregon State – 2459

79.Caden Bogenpohl, OF, Missouri State – 2448

80.Ruger Riojas, RHP, Texas – 2426

81.Will Gasparino, OF, UCLA – 2425

82.Carter Beck, OF, Indiana State – 2423

83.Gabe Gaeckle, RHP, Arkansas – 2416

84.Ethan Bass, SS, Illinois HS – 2409

85.Will Adams, OF, Alabama HS – 2407

86.Jacob Dudan, RHP, NC State – 2403

87.Cooper Harris, RHP, Texas HS – 2402

88.Kevin Roberts Jr., OF, Mississippi HS – 2401

89.Tyson LeBlanc, SS, Kansas – 2394

90.Dee Kennedy, SS, Kansas State – 2388

91.Carson Kerce, SS, Georgia Tech – 2385

92.Jace Mataczynski, SS, Wisconsin HS – 2384

93.Elliot Lascelles, SS, Canada HS – 2380

94.Peyton Bonds, OF, Rutgers – 2376

95.Bo Holloway, LHP, Tennessee HS – 2361

96.Beau Peterson, 3B, Kansas HS – 2358

97.Ryan Lynch, RHP, North Carolina – 2356

98.Savion Sims, RHP, Texas HS – 2349

99.Jason DeCaro, RHP, North Carolina – 2347

100.Trey Ebel, SS, California HS – 2346

101.Evan Dempsey, RHP/OF, Florida Gulf Coast – 2340

102.Dominic Santarelli, OF, Wisconsin HS – 2338

103.Malachi Washington, OF, Georgia HS – 2335

104.Sean Dunlap, C, Indiana HS – 2334

105.Lucas Nawrocki, RHP, Texas HS – 2333

106.Daniel Cuvet, 3B, Miami – 2333

After both being higher on three lists, this tie is broken by myself having Nawrocki the highest – 72nd overall.

Tier 9

107.Ryan Peterson, RHP, Sam Houston State – 2316

108.Brendan Brock, C, Oklahoma – 2316

Peterson ranks higher on four out of the six lists.

109.Kyle Jones, OF, Florida – 2315

110.Keon Johnson, SS, Georgia HS – 2314

111.Roman Martin, 3B, UCLA – 2310

112.Tommy LaPour, RHP, TCU – 2299

113.James Tronstein, SS/OF, California HS – 2297

114.Martin Shelar, OF, Georgia HS – 2297

Tronstein ranks higher on four of the six spots.

115.Cooper Sides, RHP, California HS – 2293

116.Shane Sdao, LHP, Texas A&M – 2283

117.Camden Kozeal, 2B, Arkansas – 2280

118.Caden Ferraro, OF, Texas Tech – 2269

119.Jack Slightom, RHP, Illinois HS – 2267

120.Julian Garcia, RHP, California HS – 2256

121.Ethan Norby, LHP, East Carolina – 2250

122.Jaxon Willits, SS, Oklahoma – 2228

123.Carson Wiggins, RHP, Arkansas – 2226

124.Gavin Gallagher, 2B, North Carolina – 2223

125.Eric Guevara, 3B, Auburn – 2215

126.Tre Broussard, OF, Houston – 2211

127.Denton Lord, RHP, Florida HS – 2205

128.Ryan Marohn, LHP, NC State – 2200

129.Kollin Ritchie, OF, Oklahoma State – 2195

130.Bryce Hill, RHP, Connecticut HS – 2192

Tier 10

131.Kade Lewis, 3B, Wake Forest – 2177

132.Jason Amalbert, SS, New Jersey HS – 2166

133.Maxx Yehl, LHP, West Virginia – 2150

134.Matt Ponatoski, RHP/SS, Ohio HS – 2150

Yehl takes this tie because his 102nd overall ranking on the Overslot list was the highest of either player.

135.Alex Weingartner, SS, New Jersey HS – 2145

136.Wilson Andersen, RHP, Florida HS – 2125

137.Dylan Bowen, SS, Indiana HS – 2118

138.Henry Ford, 3B, Tennessee – 2115

139.Anthony Murphy, OF, California HS – 2114

140.Alex Hernandez, 2B, Georgia Tech – 2112

141.Camden Johnson, 3B, Oklahoma – 2086

142.Jake McCoy, LHP, South Carolina – 2086

143.Hudson DeVaughan, RHP, Indiana HS – 2086

Johnson and McCoy each ranked highest on three lists, which sends DeVaughan into third in this three-way tie. Johnson takes the win because coming in at 101st on Baseball America is the highest of his and McCoy’s rankings.

144.Gannon Grant, RHP, Indiana HS – 2079

145.Robbie Lavey, C, George Washington – 2078

146.Garrett Wright, C, Tennessee – 2058

147.Tyler Putnam, RHP, Missouri HS – 2040

148.Rylan Lujo, OF, Georgia – 2039

149.Andruw Giles, OF, Nevada HS – 2035

150.Duncan Marsten, RHP, Wake Forest – 2026

151.Deiten Lachance, C, Oklahoma – 2021

152.Tre Phelps, 3B, Georgia – 1983

153.James Jorgensen, RHP, Texas HS – 1980

154.Kyle Johnson, LHP, Virginia – 1979

155.Steele Murdock, RHP, UC San Diego – 1978

156.Carson Jasa, RHP, Nebraska – 1973

157.Gary Morse, RHP, California HS – 1972

158.Ryan Cooney, 2B, Oregon – 1964

159.Trey Beard, LHP, Florida State – 1961

160.Nathan Taylor, RHP, Cincinnati – 1956

161.Cal Randall, RHP, UCLA – 1949

162.Dalton Wentz, 3B, Wake Forest – 1947

163.Eli Herst, RHP, Washington HS – 1941

164.Jake Carbaugh, RHP, Florida HS – 1937

165.Brayden Dowd, OF, Florida State – 1920

166.Deven Sheerin, RHP, LSU – 1920

Dowd takes this tie because his ESPN ranking is the highest spot either of these two was listed.

167.Trey Rangel, RHP, Texas HS – 1907

168.Logan Georges, RHP, California HS – 1904

169.Carson Bailey, RHP, Texas JUCO – 1885

Tier 11

170.Dawson Montesa, RHP, West Virginia – 1869

171.LJ Mercurius, RHP, Oklahoma – 1854

172.Luke McNeillie, RHP, Florida – 1852

173.Kolby Stringer, RHP, Mississippi HS – 1833

174.Lucas Moore, OF, Louisville – 1832

175.AJ Rice, RHP, Georgia HS – 1826

176.Landon Brown, RHP, Texas HS – 1804

177.Brady Harris, OF, Florida HS – 1788

178.Isaac Morton, RHP, Minnesota – 1778

179.Coleton Brady, RHP, Florida HS – 1773

180.Alex Conover, OF, Oklahoma State – 1772

181.Aidan Knaak, RHP, Clemson – 1761

182.Grayson Willoughby, RHP, Kentucky HS – 1756

183.Jack Dugan, SS, Tennessee HS – 1755

184.Dominic Voegele, RHP, Kansas – 1754

185.Joe Tiroly, 2B, Virginia – 1751

186.CJ Weinstein, SS, California HS – 1750

187.Jet Berry, SS, Arizona HS – 1722

188.Ryne Barker, 3B, Arizona HS – 1717

189.Dylan Vigue, RHP, Georgia – 1693

190.Bo Rhudy, RHP, Tennessee – 1693

Vigue wins because he ranks higher on five of the six lists. The reason for the tie is that Vigue was not listed on the shorter ESPN list. Had he been ranked even 300th there, plausible since he was in the Top 200 everywhere else, he would have come in at 169th on this list.

191.Brady Snow, RHP, Florida HS – 1685

192.Jorvorskie Lane Jr., C/OF, Texas HS – 1670

193.Cole Dennis, RHP, Florida HS – 1663

Tier 12

194.Braden Holcomb, OF, Vanderbilt – 1644

195.Maddox Molony, SS, Oregon – 1640

196.Noah Danza, SS, New Jersey HS – 1636

197.Gavin Giese, RHP, California HS – 1621

198.Eric Segura, RHP, Oregon State – 1612

199.Jack Brenner, C, Wisconsin HS – 1608

200.Alex Sosa, C, Miami – 1605

201.Ty Horn, RHP, Nebraska – 1586

202.Gunner Skelton, 3B, Tennessee HS – 1562

203.Sawyer Nelson, SS, Oregon HS – 1560

204.Owen Kramkowski, RHP, Arizona – 1556

205.Will Plunkett, SS, New York HS – 1542

206.Thomas Burns, RHP, Texas – 1542

Both players ranked higher on three lists, but Plunkett had the highest ranking anywhere of the two.

207.Wessley Roberson, OF, Georgia HS – 1530

208.Robert Omidi, 3B, Canada HS – 1522

209.Ethan McElvain, LHP, Arkansas – 1513

210.Nu’u Contrades, 3B, Arizona State – 1506

211.Cashel Dugger, C, UCLA – 1490

212.Justin LeGuernic, RHP, Clemson – 1485

213.Kyle Casteel, RHP, Pennsylvania HS – 1463

214.Cal Scolari, RHP, Oregon – 1463

This came down to the second tie breaker, with Casteel winning by ranking one slot higher on Pipeline’s list than Scolari came in on PG’s list.

215.Wil Libbert, LHP, Mississippi – 1457

216.Tyler Fay, RHP, Alabama – 1448

217.Michael Harpster, RHP, East Tennessee State – 1435

218.Isaiah Galason, SS, Georgia HS – 1426

219.Eric Nachtsheim, RHP, McNeese State – 1423

220.Alain Gomez-Gudino, C, Arizona HS – 1382

221.Brayden Martin, 3B, Maryland – 1382

Gomez-Gudino, who was Cam Caminiti’s high school catcher, ranked higher on four out of the six lists.

222.Shawn Sullivan, RHP, Ohio HS – 1372

223.Grant Govel, RHP, USC – 1328

224.Genson Veras, OF, Florida HS – 1322

225.Griffin Long, RHP, Georgia HS – 1320

226.Trevor Hansen, RHP, UC Irvine – 1295

227.Tyson Grulkowski, RHP, Wisconsin HS – 1276

228.Judah Ota, OF, Hawaii HS – 1267

229.Kam Durning, SS, Missouri – 1260

230.AJ Curry, OF, California HS – 1254

231.Hudson Calhoun, RHP, Mississippi – 1253

232.Russell Sandefer, RHP, Florida – 1252

233.Brandon McCraine, SS, Auburn – 1252

Sandefer ranks higher on three lists, versus two for McCraine. Neither was on the shorter ESPN list.

234.Ryan Harwood, OF, Arizona HS – 1250

235.Sherman Johnson, 3B, NC State – 1239

Tier 13

236.Hudson Barrett, LHP, Oklahoma State – 1219

237.Matthew Thomas, OF, Cal State Northridge – 1208

238.Josh McDevitt, RHP, Missouri – 1202

239.Erik Paulsen, 1B, North Carolina – 1201

240.Jack Beck, SS, Tennessee HS – 1199

241.Ricky Ojeda, LHP, UC Irvine – 1196

242.Cam Johnson, LHP, Oklahoma – 1177

243.Clayton Freshcorn, RHP, Texas A&M – 1153

244.Cody Boshell, 1B, Florida HS – 1145

245.Tate McKee, RHP, Georgia Tech – 1124

246.Jon Mora, OF, Florida HS – 1116

247.Brady Ballinger, 1B, Kansas – 1114

248.Micah Worley, LHP, Stony Brook – 1109

249.Max Bayles, RHP, Santa Clara – 1107

250.Teagan Scott, C, Oregon HS – 1107

Bayles ranks highest in four spots, with each being left off one list.

251.Ryan Piech, RHP, Xavier – 1077

252.Wyatt Clatur, RHP, Tennessee HS – 1074

253.Hunter Brown, RHP, New Jersey HS – 1074

Each ranks highest on three lists, but Clatur has the high mark of the two.

254.Chase Kiker, RHP, North Carolina HS – 1068

255.Blake Morningstar, RHP, Wake Forest – 1063

256.Jaxon Jelkin, RHP, Kentucky – 1054

257.Landon Thiel, LHP, Ohio HS – 1040

258.Ryan Kucherak, SS, Northwestern – 1037

259.Cooper Webb, RHP, Texas HS – 1036

260.Cam Jackson, SS, Georgia HS – 1034

261.Josiah Morris, SS, California HS – 1025

262.Calvin Proskey, RHP, UC Santa Barbara – 1021

263.Bear Harrison, C, Texas A&M – 1014

264.Jacob Madrid, C, California HS – 995

265.Ryan Stedman, RHP, Iowa HS – 990

266.Brandon Arvidson, LHP, Tennessee – 989

267.Nathan Aceves, RHP, UC Santa Barbara – 988

268.Donovan Thiery, RHP, Florida HS – 987

269.Spencer Evans, LHP, Florida HS – 986

270.Hunter Carns, C, Florida State – 984

271.Luke Costello, OF, Wake Forest – 978

272.Haiden Leffew, LHP, Texas – 970

273.Dominic Battista, OF, Illinois HS – 969

274.John Stowers, C, Alabama HS – 967

275.Kaleb LaFavor, RHP, Iowa HS – 966

276.Connor Fennell, RHP, Vanderbilt – 964

277.Collin Bland, 1B, Tennessee HS – 961

278.Bryson Moore, RHP, Florida State – 957

279.Graham Schlicht, RHP, California HS – 955

280.Cole Tryba, LHP, UC Santa Barbara – 950

281.Macon Winslow, C, North Carolina – 943

282.Alex Petrovic, RHP, Auburn – 936

Tier 14

283.Ethan Sutton, RHP, South Florida – 915

284.John Abraham, RHP, Florida State – 913

285.Cody New, LHP, Cal Baptist – 911

286.Declan Dahl, RHP, Louisiana Tech – 907

287.Ben Davis, RHP, Mississippi State – 892

288.Michael Addari, RHP, Illinois State – 880

289.Chris McHugh, 1B, NC State – 877

290.JJ Drennan, RHP, New Jersey HS – 871

291.Ryan Novak, OF, Miami(OH) – 862

292.Kenny Ishikawa, LHP/OF, Georgia – 838

293.Zane Adams, LHP, Alabama – 829

294.Sam Harris, 1B, Virginia – 827

295.Dustin Dunwoody, RHP, California HS – 821

296.Hayes Holton, RHP, Louisiana HS – 815

297.Colin Fisher, LHP, Arkansas – 810

298.Josiah Kemp, OF, Oklahoma HS – 810

Fisher ranked higher on three lists, versus one for Kemp.

299.Lorenzo Carrier, OF, Pitt – 807

300.Matthew Sharman, RHP, Georgia HS – 803

301.Colin White, LHP, Georgia HS – 800

302.Kyle McDaniel, 2B, Utah Tech – 799

303.Ethan Surowiec, 3B, Florida – 790

304.Carlos Martinez, RHP, Hofstra – 788

305.Jason Jutronich, LHP, California HS – 787

306.Gavin Van Kempen, RHP, East Carolina – 781

307.Matthew Kelley, SS, Nevada HS – 778

308.AJ Evasco, OF/1B, Kansas State – 776

309.Jerek Turlij, RHP, Pennsylvania HS – 772

310.Easton Autrey, 3B, Texas HS – 769

311.Alex Harrington, SS, California HS – 764

312.Jake Long, OF, Utah – 760

313.Dylan Blomker, RHP, New Mexico HS – 758

314.Keller Bradley, RHP, Pennsylvania HS – 757

315.Colin Linder, RHP, Arizona State – 751

316.Cole Stokes, RHP, Florida State – 748

317.Jaxon Matthews, OF, North Carolina HS – 733

318.Anthony Del Angel, 3B, New Mexico HS – 732

319.Rhett Britt, RHP, North Carolina HS – 731

320.Isaiah Hearn, OF, California HS – 719

321.Alejandro Garza, 3B, Cal Poly – 719

Hearn wins this tie by having the higher ranking of the two.

322.Ross Norman, RHP, Coastal Carolina – 707

323.Hunter Possehl, LHP, Florida Gulf Coast – 705

324.Colin Barczi, C, Vanderbilt – 705

Possehl ranks higher on three of the four lists that either are featured on.

325.Grayden Seuferling, RHP, Missouri HS – 692

326.Mark Quatrani, C, Notre Dame – 691

327.Ryan Tayman, C, Cal Poly – 684

328.Luke Pettitte, RHP/1B, Dallas Baptist – 680

329.Ty Burnham, RHP, Arkansas HS – 678

330.Jarren Purify, 2B, Clemson – 662

331.Paul Contreras, OF, Cal State Fullerton – 657

332.Grayson Fitzwater, 1B, VMI – 656

333.Matt Scott, RHP, Georgia – 650

334.Connor Marshburn, RHP, UNC Wilmington – 645

335.Luke Nixon, 2B, NC State – 638

336.Christian Doty, SS, Mississippi HS – 637

337.Josh Gunther, RHP, South Carolina – 629

338.Carson Turnquist, RHP, Cal Poly – 619

339.Alfredo Capacete, RHP, Cal Baptist – 617

340.Michael Malki, RHP, Cal Baptist – 616

341.Michael Anderson, 1B, Penn State – 614

342.David Hinojosa, RHP, New York HS -611

343.Ty Tillery, RHP, Georgia HS – 609

344.Beau Bryans, LHP, Jacksonville State – 607

Tier 15

345.Caden McDonald, 1B, Florida – 595

346.RJ Cope, LHP/1B, Georgia HS – 591

347.Jaxson Wood, OF, Alabama HS – 591

This one came down to the second tie breaker, with Cope winning due to a very high ranking on PG.

348.Tyler Minick, 3B, UConn – 569

349.Javar Williams, OF, Wake Forest – 560

350.Gage Peterson, RHP, Appalachian State – 555

351.Reece Moroney, SS, Rhode Island – 555

Peterson has the higher ranking on four lists.

352.Jacob Haley, RHP, South Alabama – 545

353.Tanner Marsh, SS, Liberty – 539

354.Matthew Mansbery – SS, Ohio HS – 536

355.Landon Koenig, RHP, Mississippi – 533

356.Cash Scarborough, RHP, Texas HS – 530

357.Andrew Gonzalez, 2B, Texas HS – 528

358.Selden Kolkenbeck, RHP, New Jersey HS – 527

359.Cooper Moore, RHP, LSU – 527

Kolkenbeck having the highest ranking of the two is what got him the win in this tie.

360.Aidan Weaver, RHP, Duke – 525

361.Ethan Mendoza, 2B, Texas – 518

362.Matt Conte, C, Wake Forest – 515

363.Dean West, OF, UCLA – 513

364.Aidan Keenan, RHP, Stanford – 512

365.Aidan Teel, OF, Mississippi State – 511

366.Griffin Graves, LHP, Auburn – 510

367.AJ Krodel, RHP, UC Santa Barbara – 510

Graves had the higher ranking on three lists, versus one for Krodel.

368.PJ Moutzouridis, SS, Arizona State – 506

369.Kuhio Aloy, 1B, Arkansas – 502

370.Anthony Potestio, SS, UC San Diego – 495

371.Justin Byrd, RHP, Georgia – 488

372.Clay Burdette, OF, Xavier – 486

373.Deacon Nelson, SS, Ohio HS – 479

374.Vincent Lombardo, OF, Connecticut HS – 474

375.Parker Ishee, RHP, Mississippi JUCO – 469

376.Dominic Pellegrin, SS, Louisiana HS – 465

377.Griffin Stieg, RHP, Virginia Tech – 456

378.Chase Meyer, RHP, formerly West Virginia/MLB Draft League – 454

379.Fabio Bundi, RHP, California JUCO – 454

After each player saw himself higher on two lists, Meyer got the edge due to the highest ranking in any set.

380.Mickey Gilligan, C, New Jersey HS – 452

381.Ethan Wheeler, RHP, Florida HS – 448

382.Brodie Purcell, RHP, Florida State – 448

Wheeler ranked higher on two lists to just one for Purcell.

383.Drew Titsworth, RHP, Clemson – 447

384.Jaden Jackson, OF, California HS – 445

385.Collin Jennings, OF, Illinois – 442

386.Parker Loew, SS, Florida HS – 442

With the highest ranking anywhere, this one went to Jennings.

387.Jordan Ransom, SS, Arizona HS – 441

388.Tyler Pitzer, RHP, Mississippi State – 436

389.Brett Lanman, LHP, Abilene Christian – 433

390.Isaiah James, LHP, North Carolina HS – 424

391.Ezra Liggon, OF, Wisconsin HS – 423

392.Owen Kelly, RHP, Mississippi – 415

393.Ethan Offing, SS, South Carolina HS – 413

394.Colin Driffill, RHP, Nebraska HS – 412

395.Louis Hernandez, 3B, Florida HS – 405

396.Devin Diaz, C, New York HS – 404

397.Connor Shouse, 3B, Texas Tech – 399

398.Jacob Bean, RHP, Louisville – 398

399.Erick Dessens,OF, Sacramento State – 391

Tier 16

400.Hunter Rose, LHP, Arkansas HS – 380

401.Zach Edwards, RHP, Oregon State – 377

402.Garrett Lambert, RHP, Mercer – 377

Edwards ranks higher on three lists to Lambert’s one.

403.Ryan Zuckerman, 3B, Georgia Tech – 371

404.Bryant James, SS, Virginia HS – 365

405.Colton Semmelmann, LHP, Wisconsin HS – 364

406.Jimmy Anderson, SS, Illinois JUCO – 363

407.Hayden Johnson, LHP, Coastal Carolina – 362

408.Tryston McCladdie, SS, Clemson – 361

409.Anthony Quigley, 3B, Florida JUCO – 360

410.Noah Sullivan, 1B, Mississippi State – 358

411.Matt Quintanar, C, Texas Tech – 353

412.Matt Sauser, RHP, UCF – 351

413.Eric Zdunek, OF, California HS – 340

414.Reese Chapman, OF, Tennessee – 340

Zdunek wins this because he has the highest ranking of the two.

415.Conner Griffin, RHP, Pennsylvania HS – 339

416.Jacob Johnson, 3B, Saint Mary’s – 336

417.Caden Matusak, SS, Indiana HS – 333

418.Cider Cannon, C, Duke – 332

419.Mason Eckelman, C, Ohio State – 331

420.Josh Skowronski, OF, Winthrop – 328

421.Sean Loggie, LHP, New Jersey HS – 327

422.Cole Hansen, C, Cal Baptist – 327

This one came down to Loggie having the higher peak ranking.

423.Jaden Bastian, OF, Florida – 326

424.Cameron Tarkenton, RHP, North Carolina HS – 325

425.Christian Chatterton, RHP, Auburn – 325

Tarkenton ranks higher on two lists, versus one for Chatterton.

426.Carson May, C, Kansas HS – 323

427.Parker Brosius, OF, Georgia Tech – 321

428.Brady Marconi, C, South Carolina – 319

429.Weston Moss, RHP, Texas A&M – 317

430.Logan Johnstone, OF, Vanderbilt – 316

431.Juriel Collazo, OF, Puerto Rico HS – 311

432.Harrison Ailshie, OF, North Carolina HS – 305

433.Andrew Wiggins, OF, NC State – 302

434.Garrett Luett, 3B, Iowa HS – 302

Wiggins ranked higher on three lists, while Luett only made the ESPN list.

435.Ben Cleary, SS, Santa Clara – 301

436.Colton Coates, SS, Louisiana Tech – 298

437.Julian Sabourin, RHP, Canada HS – 289

438.Taden Krogsgaard, RHP, California HS – 289

Sabourin ranked higher on two lists versus one for Krogsgaard.

439.Braylen Montgomery, OF, Louisiana HS – 288

440.Rintaro Sasaki, 1B, Stanford – 285

441.Kaleb Traylor, 3B, New York HS – 285

Sasaki ranked higher on three lists, while Traylor made just one.

442.Drew Whalen, RHP, Auburn – 284

443.Jax Robinson, C, Texas HS – 283

444.Kael Barney, 1B, Tennessee HS – 282

445.Isaiah Lane, SS, Hope International – 281

446.Michael Graziano, OF, Mercer – 281

Lane is ranked highest on two lists to one for Graziano.

447.Christian Coppola, RHP, Saint Joe’s – 280

448.Troy Southisene, SS, Nevada HS – 277

449.Brenden Olsen, OF, Michigan HS – 274

450.Daniel Kellis, RHP, Pennsylvania HS – 273

451.Brody Schumaker, 2B, California HS – 273

Kellis ranks higher on two lists to just one for Skip Schumaker’s son.

452.Trey Miller, SS, Mississippi HS – 268

453.Brady Neal, C, Alabama – 267

454.Adam Troy, RHP, USC – 267

Neal ranks higher on three lists, while Troy has the edge on one.

455.Lee Garris, 2B, Virginia HS – 266

456.Easton Kitura, 3B, Canada HS – 264

457.Amp Phillips, RHP, South Carolina -260

458.Nick Robert, RHP, Miami – 260

459.Alex Overbay, RHP, Arizona State – 260

Phillips ranks highest on two lists, while Overbay and Roberts each have one. Robert gets the second spot because he has the highest ranking.

460.Brady Murrietta, C, California HS – 258

461.Luke Ekdall, RHP, Texas JUCO – 257

462.Alex Philpott, RHP, South Carolina – 257

Ekdall claims the top spot by being higher on three lists, versus one for Philpott.

463.Cory Les, SS, Illinois HS – 255

464.Owen McMahan, LHP, Tennessee HS – 254

465.Tanner Mally, OF, Western Michigan – 253

466.TJ McQuillan, OF, Indiana HS – 246

467.Porter Buursema, RHP, Georgia Tech – 244

468.Gavin Michaels, SS, Illinois HS – 243

469.Mikey Bell, 3B, Gonzaga – 243

This tie goes to Michaels due to having the highest ranking.

470.Ned Frutchey, RHP, California JUCO – 242

471.Zane Shaw, RHP, Kansas HS – 242

472.Justin Lee, RHP, UCLA – 242

A three-way tie has Frutchey highest in two spots to one each for Lee and Shaw. Shaw gets the second spot due to the highest ranking.

473.Gunnar Alm, OF, North Carolina HS – 241

474.Max Kaufer, C, Wichita State – 236

475.Ben Tryon, 1B, Dallas Baptist – 234

476.Drew Smith, 3B, Oregon – 233

477.JP Robertson, RHP, Mississippi – 231

478.Tristan Bissetta, OF, Mississippi – 231

Robertson ranks higher on two lists, with one for Bissetta.

479.Diego Castellanos, OF, Saint Mary’s – 230

480.Deacon Avery, SS, Florida HS – 230

481.Brayden Harris, RHP, Florida HS -230

Castellanos ranks highest in two spots to one each for Avery and Harris. Avery has the highest ranking on any of the lists, so he claims the second spot.

482.Rob Czarniecki, OF, Indiana HS – 227

483.Hunter Elliott, LHP, Mississippi – 227

Czarniecki ranks higher on two lists, while Elliott has just one.

484.Hideki Prather, C, Cal – 221

485.Tommy Harrison, OF, Miami(OH) – 220

486.Dylan Alonso, RHP, Troy – 220

487.Michael Benzor, LHP, Dallas Baptist – 220

Each of these guys ranks highest on one list. So this comes down to Harrison having the highest ranking, Alonso having the second, and Benzor coming in third.

488.Yodelkis Quevedo, 3B, Florida HS – 218

489.Dillon Moss, C, California HS – 215

490.KJ Scobey, SS, South Carolina – 215

Moss ranks higher on two lists.

491.Wyatt Williams, RHP, Alabama HS – 213

492.Matthew Maxon, RHP, California HS – 212

493.Maika Niu, OF, Arkansas – 211

494.Eric Jeon, 2B, Stanford – 210

495.Ariston Veasey, RHP, Clemson – 208

496.Karson Reeder, RHP/1B, Texas HS – 208

There is no tie breaker here so I gave this tie to the guy who I personally ranked higher. Both players were each on one list, and they came in ranked at the same spot. Veasey ranked 293 on my list, while Reeder was 293 on the PG list.

497.Landon Schutte, RHP, California HS – 206

498.Stone Lawless, C, Tennessee – 202

499.Caleb Trugmann, RHP, California HS – 199

500.Mavrick Rizy, RHP, LSU – 198

As the Astros approach the all-star break, there are a few positions that are potentially intriguing and could spell the difference between sneaking into the playoffs and falling short. Catching is one of those positions. There can be no doubt that Yainer Diaz has disappointed up to this point, but could a hot second half make a bigger difference? Plus, there is a significant difference between league wide expectations and positional expectations.

One of the more fascinating debates in baseball is the notion of how one chooses the MVP. Last season, there was a significant debate between Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge. By most conventional and sabermetric yardsticks, Judge was the better player and deserving of the award. However, even if jettison WAR and other similar indicators, there is a compelling argument that Raleigh was extremely productive at a position where it is rare to get that kind of production.

My favorite stat when it comes to production is bases per out. Simply put, the out is the blood currency of the sport. Each team gets 27 of them and the goal is cause as much damage as you can for every out you generate. This is why sacrificing has gone by the wayside. It is one thing to look at league averages and those can be very instructive, but league averages don’t tell the whole story.

When I compare players for the Hall of Fame, I always look at only the position. It makes no sense to compare a catcher with a first baseman. The demands of the position are different and the comparative performances are different. I ran through the semi-regular to regular catchers in the American League. In order to qualify you had to have at least 120 outs. That usually corresponds to about 200 plate appearances. Comparing the likes of Yainer Diaz and Christian Vazquez to the league average is depressing.

The major league average bases per out sits at .676 through the last weekend. A few days of numbers aren;t going to change that much once you are 90 games into the season. We can look at both catchers and come away underwhelmed when looking at the big league average. Of course, the same would be true for most of the AL catchers. Below is a table of the catchers in the AL minus Diaz and Vazquez. What we are essentially looking for is a positional mean and median.

This is a reminder that bases per out is calculated by adding total bases, walks, stolen bases, and hit by pitches and dividing it into total outs. I love this stat because it encompasses everything a player does offensively into one number. It is more accurate than OPS and actually tracks pretty well with rOBA and wOBA. Below is a look at the AL catching universe through the weekend.

Remember, we are looking at regular catchers in the American League minus Diaz and Vazquez. We do that to give us an idea of what the competitors are doing and to look at something to shoot for. If you are adept at math, you will notice that the median row does not add up. Somehow, the components of bases per out do not equal what the players are actually doing. The mathematical median of the row would actually equal .5548 or .555 rounded to the thousands place.

What does this mean effectively? In short, there are five really good offensive catchers that are driving the numerical average up. If you are looking for the actual 8th or 9th best catcher here (there are 16 in the table) then you would get your .526 mark. What that means is that asking a catcher to be overall league average is a hard ask. Victor Caratini is the sixth best offensive catcher in the AL and he doesn’t come particularly close to the overall major league average. So, when we look at the numbers for Diaz and Vazquez below (through Wednesday’s game) we need to look at their numbers through that context.

Diaz is a statistical enigma wrapped in a riddle. Conventional wisdom and simple mathematics would tell us these numbers are simply not good. They are not good compared to MLB norms and they are not good for him historically. However, recent play and the table above tells us something different. Officially, he is right in line with the median catchers in the American League. Obviously, that would look different in a MLB universe and all numbers have their caveats and exceptions. We could look at his total career numbers and look at what expectations he had coming into the season.

The 64,000 dollar question is whether Diaz can ever be this catcher again. My guess is no. The 2023 power numbers are driving this up and he hasn’t been THAT Diaz since. He would obviously need to become THAT Diaz again for his 2026 numbers to approach his career average. The more logical question is whether he could a .600 guy from this day forward. That seems like a doable thing and it could be a huge key at the bottom of the order.

Keep in mind that the Astros wouldn’t be asking Diaz to be an average big league hitter. They would be asking him to be an average offensive catcher. Those are two entirely different things. There are inevitable questions about whether he is a long-term solution at the position. Given his defensive struggles and the inability to draw walks the answer is likely no. Yet, when you are looking for players that haven’t performed well that could in the second half, he is at the top of the list.

The next logical question is how the time share between Diaz and Vazquez should work. Offensive production is only part of the equation. Diaz currently sits at -6 defensive runs saved and -5 in fielding run value. Vazquez sits at +5 defensive runs saved and +2 fielding run value. So, they are separated by approximately one win with the glove. We could also break down catcher ERA and reach the same conclusion. Without getting into commentary on the manager, this decision will be one of the keys after the all-star break.

Rangers 7, Angels 6

• This win — more exciting than it has to be.
• This should have been a blowout, based on the first two-thirds of the game.
• Texas jumped on Reid Detmers early. Nathan Eovaldi was cruising. It was 6-1 after six innings, and you felt like it should’ve been a bigger margin than that.
• Look, let’s not talk about the top of the seventh, okay? Let’s pretend it didn’t happen. Or ignore it.
• Because ultimately the Rangers won. And the rest of the game was quite magnificent.
• For six innings, Nathan Eovaldi was mowing fools down.
• Eovaldi only allowed one run in the first six innings, and even that shouldn’t have happened. After a Wade Meckler single, Zach Neto hit a ball hard down to third that Josh Jung couldn’t handle. It wasn’t an easy play, but it was a makeable play, and could’ve been a double play. Jung had the ball carom off his glove, though, for a single, and when the dust settled, Meckler was at third, and Neto had advanced to second on the throw to third.
• Still, damage limited. Just one run scored. Eovaldi was doing work.
• Eovaldi fanned 10 batters in the game, allowing him to pass Ken Holtzman, Jim Maloney, and Jose Rijo on the all-time strikeouts list. He’s now at #196 all time, with Hoyt Wilhelm, Scott Sanderson and Claude Osteen in his sights.
• He also generated 23 swings and misses, 10 of which came on his splitter, but 9 of which came on his curveball, which was working extremely well.
• So let’s just pretend that he left the game after the sixth. Ignore the catcher’s interference, the walk, and the single to start the seventh that resulted in more runs marring his line.
• And let’s also pretend Peyton Gray was home sick or something. Ditto Tyler Alexander. Let’s move on from their participate in that seventh inning.
• Let’s instead praise the work of Jacob Latz, who recorded outs 22 through 26 of the game for the Rangers. Let’s praise Cole Winn, brought in to face Jo Adell with two on and two out in the ninth, after an 11 pitch walk of Vaughn Grissom by Latz pushed his pitch count north of 40.
• I’m happy to see Adell leave town, by the way. He had a pair of hits on Tuesday, a pair of homers on Wednesday, had a pinch hit single in that seventh inning we won’t speak of to tie the game, and crushed a line drive off of Winn that, fortunately, was right at Evan Carter.
• Brandon Nimmo and his non-existent platoon splits got things started for Texas against Detmers with a weird, opposite-field, line drive home run that seemed like it would be a double but just kept carrying. A Josh Jung double and Jake Burger single made it 2-0.
• Its nice to be the team that scores multiple runs in the first, rather than being the team that is giving up multiple runs in the first.
• Ezequiel Duran added a two run homer in the third. Justin Foscue followed with a solo shot in the fourth, then chipped in a sixth inning RBI ground rule double that would have accounted for two RBIs had the ball not bounded into the stands. The Shed, it is playing less pitcher-friendly of late.
• Justin Foscue is now slashing .367/.466/.796 off of lefties this season. Amazing!
• Not only is Justin Foscue rocking a .398 wOBA this season, he’s got a .371 xwOBA that indicates its not all just random variation and luck dragons.
• Its still a small sample — Foscue has 113 plate appearances, total, for the Rangers this year — but it is encouraging and makes me hopeful the righthanded platoon bat the Rangers have been longing for for so long may have arrived.
• This game was also the return of Wyatt Langford, back off the injured list, starting at DH, and spending the bulk of the game making fans think he should’ve stayed on the i.l. for another day or two, as he was hitless with three strikeouts when he came up to the plate in the ninth inning for his fifth plate appearance of the night.
• Alejandro Osuna had singled to start the inning. Offensive catalyst Nicky Lopez, pinch hitting for Foscue, bunted him over to second.
• And Wyatt Langford, in his return to action, launched a ball to left field that went off the base of the fence. He only gets credit for a single, rather than a double, because Osuna was the winning run, but he’ll take that tradeoff, I’m thinking.
• A game that felt like it was going to be given away late, but that instead resulted in a double-you. The Rangers back in first place by a half game. I’m feeling fine.
• Nathan Eovaldi topped out at 97.9 mph with his fastball, averaging 95.7 mph, a full 1.1 mph over his season average. Peyton Gray hit 93.6 mph with his fastball. Tyler Alexander topped out at 92.8 mph with his fastball. Jacob Latz’s fastball touched 96.8 mph. Cole Winn threw one fastball at 96.6 mph.
• Jake Burger had a 112.6 mph fly out, a 105.5 mph fly out, and a 101.3 mph single. Josh Jung had a 106.7 mph fly out, a 106.7 mph double and a 102.5 mph fly out.. Brandon Nimmo had a 106.0 mph ground out, a 104.4 mph homer and a 104.2 mph single. Alejandro Osuna had a 104.5 mph single. Justin Foscue had a 104.0 mph home run. Ezequiel Duran had a 104.0 mph home run. Kyle Higashioka had a 101.3 mph single.
• Three games against Houston, and then the All Star Break.