MaxPreps vs. Gatorade for state baseball players of the year

When it comes to picking a state player of the year, everyone has an opinion.

MaxPreps attempted to forecast the state players of the year back in February when we listed our top players in each of the 50 states. Gatorade also chooses a state player of the year in early June once the season, for most states, is complete.

So who did a better job of picking the state players of the year, MaxPreps or Gatorade? Here's a look at each player MaxPreps and Gatorade selected along with the choice of the state experts. The state experts could be defined as a sports writers association, a newspaper/media outlet that chooses an all-state team or a state coaches association. In cases where none of those choices apply, the Major League Baseball draft is used to help make the "expert" choice.

Alabama
MaxPreps Pick - Trevor Fitts, Pelham, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Keegan Thompson, Cullman
State Experts Choose - Daniel Koger, Huntsville - Besides leading Huntsville to the Class 6A state championship, he also led the state in strikeouts with 138 while also posting an 11-3 record. The Alabama Sportswriters Association also recognized Thompson on its Super All-State Team while Fitts, last year's Super State MVP, was a Class 6A all-state pick.

Alaska
MaxPreps Pick - Cory Clevenger, Dimond (Anchorage), Infield
Gatorade's Pick - Adam Manzer, West (Anchorage)
State Experts Choose - Kyle Frazier, South (Anchorage). No state MVP is chosen, but an all-tournament team is selected for the state tournament. Clevenger was an all-tournament pick while Manzer was not, since his team did not make the tournament. Frazier, of state champion South, might have been the top choice, however, based on his home run heroics in the postseason.

Arizona
MaxPreps Pick - Scott Hoffman, Desert Ridge (Mesa), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Kevin Cron, Mountain Pointe (Phoenix)
State Experts Choose - Cron. The Arizona Republic and the Arizona Coaches Association both chose Cron, and who could blame them. He set a state record for career home runs with 59 and season home runs with 27. Hoffman, the state player of the year as a junior, was a second-team all-state pick after hitting .436 with 15 home runs and 65 RBIs.

Arkansas
MaxPreps Pick - Dillon Howard, Searcy, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Howard
State Experts Choose - Howard. While there is no consensus state MVP chosen by a state coaches association or a major newspaper in Arkansas, Howard was the highest Arkansas player drafted this year, going in the second round to the Cleveland Indians. He's the sixth-highest Arkansas high school draft pick of all time, according to baseball-reference.com.

California
MaxPreps Pick - Henry Owens, Edison (Huntington Beach), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Robert Stephenson, Alhambra (Martinez)
State Experts Choose - Owens. While Stephenson did go nine spots ahead of Owens in the MLB Draft, Owens has already been chosen by Cal-Hi Sports as its State Player of the Year (MaxPreps releases its California all-state baseball team on Monday). Owens was also the Southern Section Division I Player of the Year and the Los Angeles Times All-Southland Player of the Year, although curiously he was not the player of the year in Orange County, where Ty Moore of Mater Dei was the pick of the Orange County Register.

Colorado
MaxPreps Pick - Grant McCabe, Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village), Outfield
Gatorade's Pick - Greg Bird, Grandview (Aurora)
State Experts Choose - Bird. The Denver Post went with Bird as its player of the year. McCabe was an all-state pick, however.

Connecticut
MaxPreps Pick - Mark Esposito, Amity Regional (Woodbridge), Third Base
Gatorade's Pick - Salvatore Romano, Southington
State Experts Choose - Romano was the choice as the state player of the year by the Connecticut Coaches Association. Esposito, one of the top-ranked third baseman in the country, injured his hamstring midway through the season and did not finish the year.

Delaware
MaxPreps Pick - Jerrell Allen, Milford, Outfielder
Gatorade's Pick - Lincoln Lamberton, Salesianum (Wilmington)
State Experts Choose - Allen. Drafted in the 11th round, Allen was the choice of the Delaware Coaches Association as the State Player of the Year.

Florida
MaxPreps Pick - Dante Bichette Jr., Orangewood Christian (Maitland)
Gatorade's Pick - Jose Fernandez, Alonso (Tampa)
State Experts Choose - Javier Baez. There is no official state player of the year in Florida now that the Florida Sports Writers Association no longer chooses an all-state baseball team. Further complicating the matter is that Baez's team, Arlington Country Day, does not play in the FHSAA and thus he was not eligible for any local awards by the Jacksonville Union Times. However, Baez was the highest drafted Florida player, going at No. 9 overall to the Chicago Cubs. That was five spots ahead of Fernandez and 42 spots ahead of Bichette.

Georgia
MaxPreps Pick - Kyle Carter, Columbus, Outfield/Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Matt Olson, Parkview (Lilburn)
State Experts Choose - Carter. Tough call here. Both Carter and Olson are juniors and thus were not drafted. The highest drafted player from Georgia was Kevin Matthews of Richmond Hill, and he was not the player of the year in the Savannah area. Larry Greene of Berrien would have been a good choice as well, although there were no all-area teams chosen in the Valdosta area. Carter is a two-time Bi-City Player of the Year and led Columbus to a state championship.

Hawaii
MaxPreps Pick - Michael Suiter, Punahou (Honolulu), Outfielder
Gatorade's Pick - Kalei Contrades, Saint Louis (Honolulu)
State Experts Choose - Chevas Numata, Pearl City. Contrades was the state pitcher of the year as chosen by the Honolulu Star Advertiser while Numata was the position player of the year. Suiter, the state player of the year as a junior, was second team all-state.

Idaho
MaxPreps Pick - Porter Clayton, Bonneville (Idaho Falls), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Cy Sneed, Twin Falls
State Experts Choose - Sneed. With Porter Clayton graduating from school early to play for the Oregon Ducks in the spring of 2011, Sneed became the choice by the Magic Valley Times-News as the area player of the year. He was also drafted in the 35th round by the Texas Rangers. There is no all-state team selected in Idaho by either a coaches association or a newspaper.

Illinois
MaxPreps Pick - Tim Barry, Oak Forest, Outfield
Gatorade's Pick - Charlie Tilson, New Trier (Winnetka)
State Experts Choose - Sam Travis, Providence Catholic (New Lenox). The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times both went with Travis, who had 17 home runs and more than 70 RBIs in leading Providence to the Class 4A state championship game. Both Barry and Tilson were all-state choices.

Indiana
MaxPreps Pick - Dillon Peters, Indianapolis Cathedral, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Peters
State Experts Choose - Peters was the consensus here as he earned state player of the year honors by the Indy Star for the second year in a row.

Iowa
MaxPreps Pick - Ethan Westphal, Martensdale-St. Mary's, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Austin Christensen, Kennedy (Cedar Rapids)
State Experts Choose - Hard to say here since Iowa hasn't completed its season yet with the state tournament getting underway next week. Christensen got his season off to a hot start, but Westphal and Martensdale-St. Mary's is in the midst of breaking the nation's longest win streak. His team can tie the mark of 83 in a row, set earlier this spring by Portsmouth (N.H.), with a win today in the district finals. Brandon Platts of Mason city was the highest Iowa draft choice, going to the Pittsburgh Pirates in round 13.

Kansas
MaxPreps Pick - Bubba Starling, Gardner-Edgerton, Pitcher/Outfield
Gatorade's Pick - Conner Knight, Maize
State Experts Choose - Knight. Starling would have been the choice here, but an injury kept him out of most of the early part of the season. He still picked up Metro Player of the Year honors by the Kansas City Star. However Knight was the state player of the year in Class 6A by the state coaches association while Starling, despite being the No. 5 overall pick in the MLB draft, was not even the Class 5A state player of the year.

Kentucky
MaxPreps Pick - James Shepherd, Lawrence County (Louisa), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Zachary Lucas, Butler (Louisville)
State Experts Choose - Mark Biggs, Warren East (Bowling Green). The state coaches association went with Biggs, who was also the highest drafted player from Kentucky. The Toronto Blue Jays chose Biggs in the eighth round.

Louisiana
MaxPreps Pick - Aaron Nola, Catholic (Baton Rouge), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Gavin Cecchini, Barbe (Lake Charles)
State Experts Choose - Nola. While Cecchini was an all-state pick by the coaches and sports writers association, Nola was chosen as the Class 5A state player of the year.

Maine
MaxPreps Pick - Tim Locke, Waterville, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Scott Heath, Westbrook
State Experts Choose - Samuel Balzano, Deering (Portland). The winner of the Dr. John W. Winkin Award, which is regarded as the state player of the year award in Maine, Balzano is the choice here over Heath, who was the area MVP by the Portland Press-Herald.

Maryland
MaxPreps Pick - Bobby Ruse, C. Milton Wright (Bel Air), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Austin Neary, Archbishop Spalding (Severn)
State Experts Choose - T.J. Pipik, Reservoir (Fulton). Interestingly enough, the Baltimore Sun selected both Ruse and Neary on the second team for its All-Metro picks. Pipik, however, was the newspaper's player of the year.

Massachusetts
MaxPreps Pick - Tyler Beede, Lawrence Academy (Groton), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - John Gorman, Catholic Memorial (West Roxbury)
State Experts Choose - Adam Ravenelle, Lincoln-Sudbury. While both Beede and Gorman were first team All-Scholastics picks by the Boston Globe, Ravellene was the Division I MVP after leading his team to a state championship. Beede went higher in the draft, picked in the first round by the Blue Jays. Ravenelle went in round 44 to the Yankees while Gorman went to the Red Sox in the 50th round.

Michigan
MaxPreps Pick - Joel Seddon, St. Clair, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Seddon
State Experts Choose - Eric Haase, Divine Child (Dearborn). The Michigan Coaches Association Dream Team MVP, Haase was also the highest drafted player from Michigan, going in round 7 to the Indians. Seddon was the next-highest pick, going to the Blue Jays in the 20th round. Seddon was also an all-state selection.

Minnesota
MaxPreps Pick - Austin Malinowski, Centennial (Circle Pines), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Robert Youngdahl, Hill-Murray (Maplewood).
State Experts Choose - Malinowski. The state player of the year by the Minnesota Coaches Association, Malinowski was also drafted ahead of Youngdahl, going to the Twins in the 16th round. The Red Sox drafted Youngdahl in the 37th round.

Mississippi
MaxPreps Pick - Luke Lowery, Sumrall, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Mason Robbins, George County (Lucedale)
State Experts Choose - Robbins. The state player of the year by the Mississippi Coaches Association and the Jackson Clarion Ledger, Robbins went to the Mets in the 20th round. While Lowery was the state MVP for Class 3A, he did not get drafted. His teammate, Connor Barron, was the highest drafted player from Mississippi, however, going to the Marlins in the third round.

Missouri
MaxPreps Pick - Tate Matheny, Westminster Christian (St. Louis), Outfield
Gatorade's Pick - Brett Graves, Howell
State Experts Choose - Johnny Eierman, Warsaw. The Missouri Coaches Association selects an all-state team but does not select a player of the year. The St. Louis Post Dispatch does select an All-Metro Team and both Matheny and Graves made the squad. However Graves was chosen as the All-Metro player of the year. That being said, Eierman was also an all-state choice and was selected much higher in the draft than Graves (Matheny is a junior), going to the Rays in the third round. Graves went to the Cardinals in round 26.

Montana
MaxPreps Pick - Ben Roberts, Sentinel (Missoula, Mont.), Outfield
State Experts Choose - Roberts. Gatorade did not choose a player of the year from Montana since it does not officially have high school baseball. Roberts, an outstanding all-around athlete, was drafted in the seventh round by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Nebraska
MaxPreps Pick - A.J. Ladwig, Millard West (Omaha), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Casey Gillaspie, Millard North (Omaha)
State Experts Choose - Gillaspie. Both Ladwig and Gillaspie were all-state, but Gillaspie was chosen state player of the year by the Lincoln Journal Star. Ladwig, however, was the only Nebraskan drafted, going in the 45th round to the Phillies.

Nevada
MaxPreps Pick - Joey Gallo, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), Infield
Gatorade's Pick - Jake Hager, Sierra Vista (Las Vegas)
State Experts Choose - Gallo. The Bishop Gorman junior was named the state player of the year by the Las Vegas Review Journal ahead of Hager, who was drafted in the first round of the MLB draft by the Rays.

New Hampshire
MaxPreps Pick - Joe Maher, Bedford, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Jordan Cote, Winnisquam Regional
State Experts Choose - Cote. Both Cote and Maher were drafted, however Cote went in the third round to the Yankees. Cote was also the Division III state player of the year while Maher was an all-state choice in Division II (Portsmouth's Keegan Taylor was the player of the year in that division).

New Jersey
MaxPreps Pick - Brandon Downes, South Plainfield, Outfielder
Gatorade's Pick - AJ Murray, Westfield
State Experts Choose - Murray. The Star Ledger lists Murray as its state player of the year while Downes was an All-Group 3 first team pick. Neither was the highest player drafted, however. That honor went to Kevin Comer of Seneca (Tabernacle), who was the No. 57 overall pick. Ironically, Comer was only a second team all-state choice by the Star Ledger.

New Mexico
MaxPreps Pick - Blake Swihart, Cleveland (Rio Rancho), Catcher
Gatorade's Pick - Swihart
State Experts Choose - Alex Bregman, Alburquerque Academy. Swihart seems like the odds-on favorite since he was a first-round draft pick by the Red Sox. However Bregman is also a star in the making as he broke the state record for home runs with 19 and led his team to the 4A state championship game. Bregman is currenty a member of Team USA 18U.

New York
MaxPreps Pick - Elvin Soto, Xaverian (Brooklyn), Catcher
Gatorade's Pick - Jon Demarte, Lakeland (Shrub Oak)
State Experts Choose - Andrew Zapata, Poly Prep. Another tough choice here since the New York Sports Writers Association has not released its all-state teams yet. Soto was bypassed in the draft and was not the City player of the year (that honor went to Zapata, who is only a sophomore). Demarte, interestingly enough, is a two-time player of the year by Gatorade, yet he was not the player of the year in his own county, as judged the Lower Hudson Valley newspaper, which chose Matt Duran of New Rochelle instead.

North Carolina
MaxPreps Pick - Mikal Hill, Mallard Creek (Charlotte), Shortstop
Gatorade's Pick - Dillon Maples, Pinecrest (Southern Pines)
State Experts Choose - Brett Austin, Providence (Charlotte). North Carolina does not choose a state MVP. The Carolina Observer has Austin as its area MVP and he is the highest-drafted North Carolina player, going with the No. 54 overall pick to the San Diego Padres. Maples was the fourth-highest drafted player from North Carolina while Hill, a third-team All-Observer selection this year after winning Player of the Year honors as a junior, was not drafted.

North Dakota
MaxPreps Pick - David Ernst, South (Fargo), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Ernst
State Experts Choose - Ernst. Easy choice here. He was the only North Dakota player drafted, going to the Cubs in the 47th round.

Ohio
MaxPreps Pick - Mike Mancuso, Brecksville-Broadview Heights (Broadview Heights), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Taylore Cherry, Butler
State Experts Choose - Patrick Porter, Kenston (Chagrin Falls). This is the toughest one of the bunch. Mancuso and Cherry were both all-state by the Ohio Coaches Association, but neither were MVP in their division. That honor went to Jacob Bosiokovic, a junior from Delaware Hayes. However Bosiokovic's stats aren't as impressive as Porter's, who is the Division II MVP (along with Jordan Meyer of Steubenville) and the Cleveland Plain Dealer Player of the Year. Further complicating the matter is that Porter wasn't drafted, but Matthew Wisler, an all-state pick in Division II, was the highest pick from Ohio going to the Padres in Round 7. We will stick with Porter, who is headed to Ohio State.

Oklahoma
MaxPreps Pick - Dylan Bundy, Owasso, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Bundy
State Experts Choose - Bundy, but it depends on who you ask. The national player of the year by nearly every organization that picks such a thing, Bundy has been honored by MaxPreps, ESPN, Baseball America, USA Today and Gatorade. The Tulsa World also picked Bundy as its state player of the year, but the Oklahoma City Oklahoman did not. It chose Archie Bradley of Broken Arrow instead. While Bradley is certainly a worthy choice, we will stick with Bundy.

Oregon
MaxPreps Pick - Sam Johnson, Westview (Portland), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Carson Kelly, Westview
State Experts Choose - Kelly. Named the Oregon 6A state player of the year by the coaches association, ahead of his teammate Johnson, who did not make the all-state team. Johnson pitched well for the Wildcats, going 8-3 with 96 strikeouts in 72.1 innings pitched. However Kelly, a junior, was spectacular on the mound and in the field for Westview.

Pennsylvania
MaxPreps Pick - Derek Fisher, Cedar Crest (Lebanon), Outfielder
Gatorade's Pick - Fisher
State Experts Choose - Fisher. No state MVP chosen here as of yet, although the Pennsylvania Sports Writers Association may select an all-state team later this month. Fisher was an all-area choice by the Patriot Express News and went in the sixth round of the MLB draft to the Texas Rangers.

Rhode Island
MaxPreps Pick - Harrison Barlow, South Kingstown (Wakefield), Shortstop
Gatorade's Pick - Barlow
State Experts Choose - Jeff Diehl, Cranston West. Diehl is the choice of the Providence Journal after leading his team to the Division I state title. He also went in the 23rd round of the MLB draft to the Mets.

South Carolina
MaxPreps Pick - Hunter Cole, Dorman (Roebuck), Outfielder
Gatorade's Pick - Jordan Montgomery, Sumter
State Experts Choose - Daniel Gossett, Byrnes (Duncan). This is a tricky one. The coaches association selected Gossett as the state player of the year while Montgomery received all-state honors. GoUpState also chose Gossett as its player of the year. Montgomery, however, outdueled Gossett in the state finals to lead Sumter to the 4A championship. Further murkying the waters is Taylor Guerrieri of Spring Valley (Columbia), who was the No. 24 overall choice in the MLB draft by the Rays - 396 spots higher than the next player from South Carolina (Gossett was chosen No. 502 overall by the Red Sox). Cole was also an all-state pick and went to the Nationals in the 49th round.

South Dakota
MaxPreps Pick - Steve Stanage, Yankton, Pitcher
State Experts Choose - Logan Landon, Lincoln (Sioux Falls). Stanage underwent Tommy John surgery last summer so he did not play baseball in the spring. Class A state champion Roosevelt (Sioux Falls) did not have a first team all-state choice, but state runnerup Lincoln had a solid player in Landon, who batted .500 and was also one of the team's pitchers. The South Dakota coaches association does not pick a state MVP and Gatorade does not select a player of the year for South Dakota.

Tennessee
MaxPreps Pick - Philip Pfeifer, Farragut (Knoxville), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Daniel Norris, Science Hill
State Experts Choose - Norris. Pfeifer might have been the choice here if not for an arm injury that knocked him out for a month. He had already broken the state record for career wins, but he ended up with only a 5-1 record for the season. Norris, meanwhile, was the top Tennessee player chosen in the MLB draft, taken in the second round by the Blue Jays.

Texas
MaxPreps Pick - Toller Boardman, Bellaire, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Josh Bell, Dallas Jesuit
State Experts Choose - Brandon Bergen, Brazoswood. Although undrafted, Bergen led Brazoswood to the 5A state championship with a 16-0 record and was the state player of the year by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Bell was a second round MLB pick by the Pirates and the Dallas Morning News player of the year. Boardman was not drafted and was a second team pick by the Houston Chronicle on the All-Greater Houston team.

Utah
MaxPreps Pick - Kayden Porter, Spanish Fork, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Porter
State Experts Choose - Porter. Named the overall state MVP by the Deseret News, Porter was also the MaxPreps National Junior Player of the Year.

Vermont
MaxPreps Pick - Ted Andrews, Essex (Essex Junction), Catcher
Gatorade's Pick - Nick Swim, Bellows Free
State Experts Choose - Swim. The top pitcher for Bellows Free, he led the team to a Division 3 state championship.

Virginia
MaxPreps Pick - Deshorn Lake, Menchville (Newport News), Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Nicholas Thompson, Western Branch
State Experts Choose - Kenny Towns, Lake Braddock. Virginia Preps selected Towns as its state player of the year and did not have Thompson nor Lake on its first team. Towns was also the Washington Post All-Metro Player of the Year.

Washington
MaxPreps Pick - Dylan Davis, Redmond, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Trevor Mitsui, Shorewood
State Experts Choose - Mitsui. The Class 3A state player of the year, Mitsui also went in the 12th round of the MLB draft to the Rays. His teammate, Blake Snell, was the top Washington player chosen, going No. 52 overall to the Rays. Davis was an all-state pick in Class 4A, but he was not drafted.

West Virginia
MaxPreps Pick - Maverick Myers, North Marion (Farmington), Shortstop
Gatorade's Pick - Tyler Payne, Hurricane
State Experts Choose - Caleb Ross, Cabell-Midland (Ona). Both Myers and Payne were Class AAA all-state picks by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association, but Ross was voted team captain.

Wisconsin
MaxPreps Pick - Cody Hanke, Marathon, Pitcher
Gatorade's Pick - Sam Mahar, Tremper (Kenosha)
State Experts Choose - Brendon Hayden, Wilmot. One of two Wisconsin players drafted, Hayden went to the Phillies in round 36. He was also a first-team all-state choice by the coaches association (no MVP was chosen). Hanke was a third-team pick while Mahar was not chosen all-state and, in fact, was second team all-district.

Wyoming
MaxPreps Pick - Brandon Nimmo, East (Cheyenne, Wyo.), Outfielder
State Experts Choose - Nimmo. Gatorade doesn't choose a player of the year for Wyoming because the state does not field high school baseball. However Nimmo was a first round choice by the Mets and he is the highest drafted player ever from the state.