67
Florida high
school righthander
Brennan Malone
entered the year as
the No. 4 prep pros-
pect and was the
fourth high school
pitcher drafted.
REVIEWING THE PREVIEW
One year ago, we forecast the top 10 high school
prospects for the 2019 draft. How did we do?
- BOBBY WITT JR., SS
COLLEYVILLE, TEXAS
Witt was drafted second
overall by the Royals thanks to
plus power, speed and defense.
- CJ ABRAMS, SS
ROSWELL, GA.
Drafted sixth overall by the
Padres, he impressed with his
speed and feel for the barrel.
- RILEY GREENE, OF
OVIEDO, FLA.
The Tigers made him the
second prep player off the board
(fifth overall) thanks to one of
the best bats in the class.
4. BRENNAN MALONE, RHP
BRADENTON, FLA.
One of D-backs’ four first-
round picks, Malone was the
fourth prep pitcher drafted.
5. RECE HINDS, 3B
BRADENTON, FLA.
A subpar spring caused
Hinds to slide to the Reds in the
second round.
6. DANIEL ESPINO, RHP
STATESBORO, GA.
Espino’s exceptional stuff
enticed the Indians at 24th
overall.
- TIMMY MANNING, LHP
CARDINAL GIBBONS HS,
FORT LAUDERDALE
A 6-foot-2, 175-pound
lefthander committed to Florida,
Manning is polished with excellent
arm speed and plenty of projec-
tion, but doesn’t have the biggest
present stuff. He was one of three
underclass pitchers to join USA
Baseball’s 18U National Team last
fall and has a fastball that gets into
the low 90s, feel for a changeup
and a sharp, three-quarters break-
ing ball that flashes depth and bite.
Manning has a clean arm action
and does a nice job with his lower
half. He should see more stuff
come between now and next June.
- DREW ROMO, C
THE WOODLANDS (TEXAS) HS
Romo impressed Team USA
coaches so much with his work
behind the plate in 2018 that he
was named the 18U National
Team’s starting catcher last fall as
an underclassman. A switch-hit-
ter, he started eight games while
hitting .458/.618/.708 with nine
walks and four strikeouts. Romo
has offensive upside, but his call-
ing card is his glove. He’s a pol-
ished receiver and blocker with a
quick transfer and clean arm action
in addition to plus arm strength.
The Louisiana State commit is
clearly the top backstop in the high
school class.
- BLAZE JORDAN, 1B
SOUTHAVEN (MISS.) HS
Jordan was originally a mem-
ber of the 2021 draft class, but he
reclassified to become a young
member of the 2020 class. He will
be 17 and a half on draft day, which
will appeal to scouting models,
but Jordan’s standout tool isn’t his
youth—it’s his massive raw power
and feel for hitting. He became
famous as a freshman in scouting
circles after homering at a prolific
rate during travel ball tournaments
against older competition, and
he has dramatically improved his
body over the past year. His com-
bination of youth and offensive
firepower will be enticing.
- YOHANDY MORALES, SS
BRADDOCK HS, MIAMI
Morales is a physically impos-
ing shortstop, listed at 6-foot-4,
195 pounds with big power poten-
tial from the right side. A Miami
commit, Morales stood out as an
underclassman last fall at Perfect
Game’s Jupiter tournament with
his defensive actions at shortstop
and his ability to drive a 93 mph
fastball from 2019 first-rounder
Brennan Malone for a long triple.
Morales has plenty of arm strength
for shortstop, but he carries some
risk to move to third base given his
present size, and he will need to
cut down some of the swing-and-
miss in his game. n
- HUNTER BARCO, LHP
JACKSONVILLE
Barco missed time late this
spring with shoulder soreness.
Signability concerns dropped him
to the Mets in the 24th round. He
will be a tough sign but was seen
as the top prep southpaw in the
class.
- MATTHEW THOMPSON,
RHP
HOUSTON
JJ Goss leapfrogged him as the
top Texas prep arm, but Thompson
landed with the White Sox in the
second round.
- TYLER CALLIHAN, 3B
JACKSONVILLE
He slid to the Reds in the
third round because of defensive
questions, though he consistently
impressed at the plate. Cincinnati
will try him at second base.
- JERRION EALY, OF
JACKSON, MISS.
Ealy slid to the D-backs in the
31st round when teams decided
that the cost of buying him out of
baseball and football at Ole Miss
was too high. He is a five-star run-
ning back recruit and is much more
polished on the gridiron.
