Baseball America came out with its list of the top 100 prospects for the June MLB Draft last week.
Six of the 100 were Georgia high school players, four who play in Cobb County (Pope, Walton, McEachern and Mount Paran Christian).
Here is a closer look at Georgia’s six.
11. Josh Lowe, Pope – Lowe is hitting .400 with five home runs, three triples and three doubles in 35 at-bats. He’s scored 21 runs and driven in 13. He’s stolen four bases. He also pitches, mainly in relief. He has 13 strikeouts in eight innings and an 0.88 ERA. Lowe, a left-handed hitter and right-handed pitcher, plays third base. Baseball America rates him the No. 4 overall high school player nationally. Lowe has signed with Florida State.
32. Will Benson, Westminster – Westminster had 36 scouts at batting practice a couple of weeks ago to watch Benson and teammate Rankin Woley, another highly sought prospect who has signed with LSU. The MLB Network had the two of them take post-game batting practice on Wednesday to get film on them. Benson, an Under Armor All-American, has been projected as a first-round pick, as high as No. 10 by Draftsite.com. An outfielder, Benson (.429, one home run, 1.524 OPS) is also the Region 6-AAA player of the year in basketball and has given some thought of walking on in that sport at Duke. Woley (.458, two HR), the football team’s quarterback last fall, has signed with LSU.
33. Alex Speas, McEachern – Speas, an Auburn signee, has a .175 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 20 innings.He has allowed 15 walks, but pro scouts aren’t too worried. He has hit 97 mph in games and typically is around 93-96. According to Perfect Game, Speas’ curveball spin rate of 2,900-plus is remarkable. “What makes him so exceptional is his work ethic and conditioning,” McEachern coach Dan Torrenti said. “He is the strongest player on the field and usually also the fastest. Additionally, the way he is able to ignore the surrounding distractions and focus on being a great teammate and enjoy the competition are traits that are really special.” Speas is also hitting .359 (14-for-39) with two home runs. He has signed with Mississippi State.
33. Carter Kieboom, Walton – Kieboom plays shortstop for Walton, the No. 13 team nationally in MaxPreps’ rankings. He’s hitting .486 (17-for-35) with four doubles, two triples and three home runs. “Carter has put in enormous amount of time in to get him to where he is now,” Walton coach Shane Amos said. “He works extremely hard and is a good leader.” An Under-Armor All-American, Kieboom has signed with Clemson.
70. Akil Baddoo, Salem – Baddoo, a center fielder with 6.5-second speed over 60 feet, is hitting .480 with one home run, five triples and six doubes in Salem’s 10 games. He’s stolen 18 bases. “He can run, he can hit, he can get on base, steal bases,” Salem coach Bobby Link said. “He’s a five-tool high school player. He’s also a great kid and student-athlete who handles himself very well.” Baddoo has signed with Kentucky.
99. Taylor Trammell, Mount Paran Christian – Trammell, a center fielder, was the Class A offensive player of the year in football, as he rushed for more than 2,000 yards, but his future is on a diamond. He’s batting .500 (19-for-38) with six home runs and 25 runs scored. He’s stolen 17 bases. Trammell has signed with Georgia Tech.
Reprinted from ajc.com – filed by Todd Holcomb
