 | As the nation's top high school prospect, Seton Hall Prep's Rick Porcello is expected to be taken in the top five. Andrea Fischman/RISE |
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By Matt Remsberg, Special to SI.com, RISE
With an all-time high number of prep baseball players expected to be selected in this year's MLB Draft, RISE breaks down the Top 20 prospects from the Class of 2007.
1. Rick Porcello, Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.), RHP, 6-foot-5, 200 pounds
2007 stats: 9-0, 1.44 ERA, 103 Ks in 63 IP
Breakdown: Porcello, the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year, dominated opponents this spring as the ace of the No. 1 team in the RISE Top 25. He is the top pitcher in a very deep class of hurlers and appears on target to be selected among the first five picks, possibly as high as No. 2. If Porcello falls out of the top five, he can blame his agent, Scott Boras, for scaring teams away. Porcello's four-pitch arsenal includes a mid-90s fastball, a slider, a curveball and a changeup. The right-hander got rocked in the New Jersey Non-Public North A semifinals (a 9-8 win over Don Bosco) but could get a chance for redemption on Saturday in the state title game against St. Joseph's (Metuchen, N.J.).
Plan B: North Carolina
2. Mike Moustakas, Chatsworth (Calif.), SS/RHP, 6-0, 195 pounds
2007 stats: .554., 24 HRs, 61 RBIs
Breakdown: After three years of playing in the shadow of teammate Matt Dominguez (No. 9 on this list), Moustakas broke through this spring with 22 home runs in the regular season and two more in the playoffs to blow away the previous California single-season home run record of 21. Moustakas, who is also represented by Boras, put the finishing touches on his prep career by scoring the winning run for Chatsworth in last weekend's Division I Los Angeles City Section championship game. In addition to his ability at the plate, Moustakas can also reach the upper 90s with his fastball and can play any infield position, including catcher.
Plan B: USC
3. Josh Vitters, Cypress (Calif.), 3B, 6-2, 190 pounds
2007 stats: .390., 9 HRs, 31 RBIs
Breakdown: Vitters' numbers as a senior don't necessarily look like those of a player who is a likely top-10 pick, but that's because he was slowed for a chunk of the season with pneumonia. The Gatorade California Player of the Year, Vitters looked so good last summer that he didn't need to work too hard to impress scouts this spring. In addition to crushing the ball at the Area Code Games and at the Cape Cod Classic, Vitters hit doubles at the Aflac All-American Baseball Classic off pitchers Mike Main (No. 4 on this list), Matt Harvey (No. 6) and Madison Bumgarner (No. 15).
Plan B: Arizona State
4. Mike Main, DeLand (Fla.), RHP/OF, 6-2, 180 pounds
2007 stats: 12-1, 1.02 ERA, 121 Ks in 82 IP
Breakdown: Main heads a deep second wave of high school prospects likely to be selected in the first round, and he jumps to the top of the list thanks to his two-way potential. Main first made a name for himself on the mound, pitching his U-9, U-10, U-11 and U-14 AAU teams to national titles. He currently boasts one of the best fastballs of any prep player in the class and mixes in a solid changeup and curveball. After missing much of his junior season with tendonitis in his right rotator cuff, Main bounced back this spring to win 12 games to lead DeLand to the Class 6A state finals. He is also a force at the plate, hitting nearly .500 this spring and demonstrating outstanding speed on the bases and in the outfield.
Plan B: Florida State
5. Blake Beavan, Irving (Texas), RHP, 6-7, 215 pounds
2007 stats: 9-2, 0.19 ERA, 139 Ks in 73 IP
Breakdown: A Texas high school pitcher has been selected in the first round every year since 2001, and that trend should continue thanks to Beavan. A member of last summer's U.S. Junior National Team, Beavan shut out Cuba on its own soil in the semifinals of the IBAF World Junior Championship. He was named Baseball America's 2006 Youth Player of the Year and backed it up with a fantastic senior season this spring. Playing in Texas' highest classification, Beavan fanned nearly two batters per inning to earn Gatorade State Player of the Year honors.
Plan B: Oklahoma
6. Matt Harvey, Fitch (Groton, Conn.), RHP, 6-4, 190 pounds
2007 stats: 5-1, 0.85 ERA, 101 Ks in 49 IP
Breakdown: Harvey, another Boras client, fanned better than two batters per inning this spring thanks to the untouchable combination of a mid-90s fastball and a sharp 12-to-6 breaking ball. Harvey has been remarkably consistent throughout his career. As a sophomore, he led the Falcons to a Class LL state title, going 7-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 94 strikeouts. Fitch was bounced in the first round of the playoffs the following year, but the season was hardly a disappointment for Harvey, who went 5-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 80 strikeouts. Put it all together and Harvey has gone 17-1 with a sub-1.00 ERA and 275 strikeouts in the past three seasons.
Plan B: North Carolina
7. Michael Burgess, Hillsborough (Fla.), OF, 6-0, 210 pounds
2007 stats: .340, 3 HRs, 22 RBIs
Breakdown: Burgess hails from the same high school that produced major league outfielders Gary Sheffield, Carl Everett and Elijah Dukes. After winning the 2006 Jackie Robinson Award as the nation's top prep player and earning the No. 1 spot in the RISE Preseason Top 50, not much went right for Burgess. He dropped from 12 home runs as a junior to three this spring, and his average dipped nearly 200 points. Much of that decline had to do with Burgess getting the Barry Bonds treatment from opposing pitchers. He still has first-round talent -- whether he's drafted that high remains to be seen.
Plan B: Arizona State
8. Jason Heyward, Henry County (McDonough, Ga.), OF, 6-5, 215 pounds
2007 stats: .523, 8 HRs, 37 RBIs
Breakdown: Heyward was extremely consistent in his approach this spring, never losing focus as he got pitched around time after time. He earned 37 walks and finished the spring with nearly a .750 on-base percentage. When Heyward did get a pitch worth hacking at, he rarely failed to take advantage, pounding out 18 extra-base hits. With above-average speed (16 steals) and a strong arm, Heyward could be the second or third prep positional player off the board.
Plan B: UCLA
9. Matt Dominguez, Chatsworth (Calif.), 3B, 6-2, 190 pounds
2007 stats: .444, 12 HRs, 41 RBIs
Breakdown: Dominguez had a fine senior season, but his numbers pale in comparison to those of teammate Moustakas. Nevertheless, Dominguez remains a first-round talent and is Chatsworth's career leader in RBIs with a whopping 187. In addition to his powerful bat, Dominguez is also one of the sharpest fielders in the draft. He should be the third Greater L.A. high schooler selected in the first round, after Moustakas and Vitters, likely in the 10-20 range.
Plan B: Cal State Fullerton
10. Jarrod Parker, Norwell (Ossian, Ind.), RHP, 6-1,180 pounds
2007 stats: 10-0, 0.14 ERA, 93 Ks in 51 IP
Breakdown: No pitcher in this year's class did more this spring to help his draft stock than Parker -- and No. 10 may not even be giving the flame-throwing Midwesterner enough credit. Parker surrendered just one earned run in his first 51 innings and had the Knights soaring up the rankings at No. 17 in the current Top 25. With a lively mid-90s heater and a strong slider, Parker could wind up a top-10 pick if some of the prospects ahead of him start to slip.
Plan B: Georgia Tech
