Elite catching prospects Blake Mitchell, Zion Rose among those in the running for the nation's highest honor.
It's early May of the 2023 high school baseball season, which means that half of the country is getting ready for the postseason while the rest are halfway through the season. As a result, the MaxPreps National Player of the Year watch list has a very Deep South/West Coast look.
Of the 10 players on the watch list, nine come from teams that are already competing in the postseason or are close to it. The only other candidate comes from
St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.), the defending national champion. Nine of the candidates are also members of teams that are part of the MaxPreps Top 25 rankings.
MaxPreps will revisit the candidates in early June when more players from the North and Northeast will fill out the list.
Roch Cholowsky, Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)The
Huskies are close to repeating as state champions in Arizona and
Cholowsky has been the team's top offensive threat. He leads Hamilton
starters with a .459 batting average, 45 base hits and 11 home runs. He
also has nine doubles, four triples and 34 RBI.
Trip Dobson, Catholic-B.R. (Baton Rouge, La.)
The
Bears are favored to win the Select Division 1 championship and are
ranked No. 5 in the MaxPreps Top 25. Dobson, a junior third baseman leads
the team on offense, batting .340 with 29 runs, 34 hits, a team-best 27
RBI, eight doubles and four home runs.
Colin Houck, Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)
While
Houck is not hitting home runs at the same pace that he did last year
when he hit 15, he is performing better in nearly every other
category. Despite fewer at-bats than the past two seasons, Houck has
more runs (56), base hits (57), RBI (48), doubles (14) and triples (3)
than last year. His eight home runs rank third on the team. Parkview is
just one win away from reaching the AAAAAAA state championship game.
Walker Martin, Eaton (Colo.)
Martin
nearly tied a national record earlier this year when he hit a home run
in nine straight games, finishing just short of the national mark of 10
in a row. He's led Eaton to a 21-0 record while hitting a national best
17 home runs. His 62 RBI are second in the nation and his 1.700 slugging
percentage ranks third. He's also batting .633 with 45 runs scored.
Blake Mitchell, Sinton (Texas)
The top catcher in the
Class of 2023 by Perfect Game, Mitchell is leading Sinton to another great
season. He tops the 30-1 Pirates in runs (41), hits (33), RBI (37),
doubles (11) and home runs (5). He also does not have an error in 222
total chances.
Jasen Oliver, St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Oliver is a big
reason the Eaglets were able to stretch their win streak to 84 games in a
row. In addition to racking up 38 strikeouts as a relief pitcher, Oliver has
been the team's top hitter with a .444 average, seven home runs, seven
doubles, 41 RBI and 32 base hits.
Christian Rodriguez, Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Rodriguez
has been the ace of the Eagle staff, going 10-0 with a 0.66 ERA. In
52.2 innings pitched he has struck out 99 batters and has walked just
nine. Over his varsity career, Rodriguez is 27-2 with a 1.23 ERA. He's
also shown power at the plate with five home runs this year.
Zion Rose, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Not
even on the team last year, Rose played for Brother Rice (Chicago) and
earned all-state honors by the Illinois Coaches Association. Since
moving to Florida, Rose has proved to be just what the Ascenders needed
to solidify an already powerful lineup. One of the top five catchers in
the nation by Perfect Game, Rose batted .393 this year with a team-high
38 runs scored, 26 RBI, nine doubles, four triples and four home runs.
Easton Shelton, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Shelton
has been one of the top power hitters in the nation, racking up a
streak of seven straight games with a home run and posting 12 round
trippers for the season. He's batting .424 and leads the 31-2 Gaels in
runs (35), hits (42), RBI (46) and home runs.
Landon Victorian, Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
The
MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year last season and a two-time MaxPreps
Underclass All-American, Victorian has Barbe at No. 3 in the MaxPreps Top 25
rankings while leading the Buccaneer pitching staff. He is 7-0 on the
mound with 76 strikeouts and just three walks and a 0.96 ERA in 43.2
innings pitched. He is ranked as the No. 2 pitcher in the Class of 2024
by Perfect Game.
Past MaxPreps National Players of the Year
2008 — Jake Odorizzi, Highland (Ill.)
2009 — Matt Hobgood, Norco (Calif.)
2010 — Stetson Allie, St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio)
2011 — Dylan Bundy, Owasso (Okla.)
2012 — Joey Gallo, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
2013 — Jack Flaherty, Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.)
2014 — Jack Flaherty, Harvard Westlake
2015 — Joe DeMers, College Park (Pleasant Hill, Calif.)
2016 — Kyle Muller, Dallas Jesuit (Dallas)
2017 — Jordan Adell, Ballard (Louisville, Ky.)
2018 — Nolan Gorman, O'Connor (Phoenix)
2019 — Bobby Witt Jr., Colleyville Heritage (Colleyville, Texas)
2020 — No selection due to COVID
2021 — Jack Walker, Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
2022 — Brock Porter, St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
