The top two potential Major League Baseball draft selections, the nation's top catching prospect an a two-way standout for the nation's No. 1-ranked team highlight MaxPreps National Baseball Player of the Year watch list.
While some teams have wrapped up their season, others are in the heart of their playoff runs, meaning a last chance to put up meaningful numbers and chase a title.
Read on for a look at 10 of the top contenders for high school baseball's highest honor (in alphabetical order).
Brock Porter, St. Mary's Prep
Photo: Mariusz Nowak
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 award (Pandemic)
2021 — Jack Walker, Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Baseball Player of the Year watch list
Roman Anthony, Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Considered
one of the top power hitters in the nation, Anthony is a big reason the
Eagles are ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps. He's belted 10 home
runs and 10 doubles with 37 RBI. He leads the team with a .505 average.
Perfect Game has Anthony ranked as the No. 6 outfielder in the nation.
Erik Blair, American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)
He
leads the team in pitching wins, and strikeouts, which might not be a
big deal in most cases until you understand that Brandon Barriera, the
nation's No. 3 left-hander by Perfect Game, is also in the rotation.
Blair is 7-1 with 69 strikeouts for a Patriot team that rose to No. 12
in this week's MaxPreps Top 25 before falling to Naples in the state
quarterfinals. Blair also leads the team in batting average (.447), hits
(34), and RBI (38). He also has five home runs.
Drew Burress, Houston County (Warner Robins, Ga.)
He's
the national clubhouse leader in home runs and RBI with 17 and 73,
respectively. Burress led the Bears to the Georgia 6A quarterfinals
while batting .486 with 45 runs and 11 doubles. Perfect Game ranks
Burress as the No. 25 player in the Class of 2023.
Elijah Green, IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Ranked
as the No. 1 outfielder in the nation by Perfect Game, Green could be
the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB Draft this summer. He batted .462 for
the 23-2 Ascenders with 40 runs and 32 RBI. He led IMG with 11 doubles
and nine home runs.
Druw Jones, Wesleyan (Norcross, Ga.)
The
son of former MLB All-Star Andruw Jones, Druw has Wesleyan in the
Georgia Class A Private championship game against North Cobb Christian.
If Elijah Green isn't the No. 1 high school pick in the MLB Draft, it
could be Jones. He is batting .568 with 63 runs, six doubles and 13 home
runs.
Jace LaViolette, Tompkins (Katy, Texas)
The
hitting talents of LaViollette are a big reason why Tompkins is ranked
10th in the MaxPreps Top 25. Batting .631 (53 of 84), LaViollette ranks
among the national leaders in triples (12) and slugging percentage
(1.381). He also has nine doubles and 10 home runs to go with 51 RBI. He
has three games with six RBI.
Nick Monistere, Northwest Rankin (Brandon, Miss.)
The
Cougars are the top-ranked team in Mississippi thanks to the two-way
talent of Monistere. Besides batting .420 with 33 RBI, 11 doubles and
eight home runs. On the mound, he's 10-1 with a 1.25 ERA and 108
strikeouts in 67 innings.
The top-rated high school catcher by Perfect Game, Moore is having a phenomenal season for the Lions. In leading his team to a 27-3 record and the Sac-Joaquin Section Division 1 semifinals, he's batting .542 with 47 runs scored, 50 RBI, 14 doubles, 7 triples and 13 home runs. He's also made one error in 217 total chances.
Brock Porter, St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
One of the nation's top pitching prospects, Porter has also been the top hitter for the season-long No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25. He's hitting a team-best .519 with 16 RBI and four home runs. On the mound, Porter is 5-0 with a 0.40 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 35 innings. He's projected to go midway through the first round of this year's MLB Draft.
Gavin Turley, Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Ranked No. 1 in the state of Arizona and No. 12 overall nationally by Perfect Game, Turley is among the nation's top home run hitters with 14. He's had three two-home run games and is batting .312 with 34 runs and seven doubles.
Drew Burress, Houston County
Photo: Corey Jones
