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High School  | Rankings  | 3/4/2015

Regional HS Preview: Great Plains

David Rawnsley     
Photo: Perfect Game

2015 Perfect Game High School Baseball Preview Index

For all of Perfect Game's regional previews as part of the 2015 high school baseball preview content, the Dream Team is available for free. The region top tools can be viewed with an Insider subscription. To learn more about Perfect Game's subscription packages and to sign up today please visit this link.


Great Plains Region: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota

Colorado had an unprecedented three players named as Perfect Game All-Americans last summer and that trio of shortstop Nick Shumpert, outfielder Greg Pickett and catcher Wyatt Cross is the center point of the Great Plains Dream Team. All three players have a strong chance to be high draft choices this June.

Two more highly talented players, Missouri outfielder Matt Vierling and 2016 Kansas righthanded pitcher Riley Pint, make the top tools list for this region a relatively short exercise, which hides a pretty strong overall talent base for this region. The 2016 Great Plains class will be very solid and deep and the first looks at the 2017's have been impressive as well, especially in Missouri.


Great Plains Region High School Dream Team


C - Wyatt Cross, Sr., Legacy (Colo.)
Cross stands out for his defensive abilities and tools. He's extremely quick and athletic despite his 6-foot-3, 195-pound build and is an outstanding thrower who regularly posts game pop times around 1.9 seconds. The North Carolina signee is also a lefthanded hitter with lots of power potential.

1B - Mitchell Hagan, Jr., Westside (Neb.)]
Hagan is 6-foot-3, 205-pound switch-hitter with a powerful swing from both sides of the plate. He's started at first base for the two-time defending Westside High School team since the beginning of his freshman year and is also the school's starting quarterback. Athleticism runs deep in the Hagan Family; one brother plays football at Northern Illinois and another is a standout tennis player at Iowa.

MIF - Cole Stobbe, Jr., Millard West (Neb.)
Stobbe was a starter for Millard West High School, one of the top programs in Nebraska, as a sophomore but really blossomed when given his first opportunity to play against national competition last summer and fall. The righthanded hitter showed power and consistency against high level pitching and even looked like he could stay in the middle infield after he starts to fill out his 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame.

MIF - Nick Shumpert, Sr., Highlands Ranch (Colo.)
Shumpert has been a fixture on the national travel circuit for three years and has stood out at any number of national level events, including the 2014 Perfect Game All-American Classic. He's currently ranked No. 5 in the country in the PG national class rankings.

3B - Ty Buck, Sr., Red Wing (Minn.)
Buck attends the same high school southeast of Minneapolis that produced 2012 PG All-American Ryan Boldt, who is now at Nebraska. Buck is a big and strong righthanded hitter who is nimble and athletic despite his 6-foot-4, 220-pound build and should be able to stay at third base defensively. He's also a two-way prospect and has been up to 90 mph on the mound with a very nice changeup. Buck participated as the hometown favorite in the 2014 Major League All-Star "Junior" Home Run Derby. He is committed to defending national junior college champion Iowa Western.

OF - Luke Farley, Sr., Columbus (Iowa)
Farley has been a dominating player in the Iowa high school ranks since he was in the eighth grade, when he hit .413-3-23 before ever attending a high school class. He upped that to .481-6-43 with 16 doubles and 15 stolen bases by the time he was a junior. The Iowa signee is a very good all-around athlete who runs a 6.9 60-yard dash and has a strong enough arm to have placed fifth in the state last year in the discus.

OF - Greg Pickett, Sr., Legend (Colo.)
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Colorado native has some of the best raw power in the country, with a very leveraged lefthanded swing that is capable of hitting towering Joey Gallo-style moon shots to all fields. Pickett has also shown the ability to work counts and handle the bat head to go the opposite way against higher level pitching. He's a corner outfielder all the way, although he has run down to a 7.07 in the 60-yard dash and thrown up to 92 mph from the outfield, and he also has played some first base.

OF - Matt Vierling, Sr., Christian Brothers (Mo.)
Vierling broke his ankle during the Missouri state playoffs in May and was unable to compete in the summer and fall so his national prospect profile is a bit low. But the 6-foot-4, 200-pounder is one of the more dynamic athletes you'll find on a baseball field, with speed, high level defensive ability and a powerful righthanded bat. There are also reports of him throwing up to 95 mph recently this winter off the mound.

UT - Ryan Mantle, Sr., Linn (Mo.)
Mantle is a dominant hitter during the spring, having hit .577-11-44 last year at Linn High School, but is used more as a closer, posting two wins and three saves in 2014 while striking out 47 hitters in 29 innings. During the summers with the St. Louis Gamers Mantle converts to a starting pitcher and has shown high level pitchability to go with a fastball that will reach 91 mph and a powerful curveball. Mantle will play both ways with Missouri State beginning next fall.

P - Riley Pint, Jr., St. Thomas Aquinas (Kan.)
Pint is only a junior but he may be the top high school pitching prospect in the country. The highly athletic 6-foot-4 righthander owns a fastball that regularly sits in the mid-90s and can maintain that velocity throughout a game. Pint's knuckle curveball is also a plus pitch in the low-80s with tight biting action and big depth. Pint went 8-0, 2.58 in 57 innings as a sophomore and has already committed to Louisiana State.

P - Spencer Van Scoyoc, Jr., Jefferson (Iowa)
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Van Scoyoc hit .400-6-38 with 19 doubles during his high school season last summer but gets more prospect attention, including an early commitment to Arizona State, for his potential on the mound. The lefthander pitches in the upper-80s with an excellent curveball and offers plenty more physical projection as he gets stronger. Van Scoyoc has plenty of places in his family to turn to for baseball advice. His grandfather, Jim, is a legendary Iowa Hall of Fame coach, his father Aaron played three years of minor league ball as a middle infielder and he counts former Orioles all-star righthander Mike Boddicker among his uncles.

P - Cole Baker, Sr., Dallas Grimes Center (Iowa)
Baker is a big and strong 6-foot-4, 215-pound righthander who has shown the consistent ability to pound the bottom of the strike zone with a heavy 88-90 mph fastball and a big breaking curveball. He won nine games as a high school junior, posting a 0.68 ERA and striking out 106 batters in 82 innings while throwing a perfect game in the state playoffs. Like his fellow Iowa Dream Teamer, outfielder Luke Farley, Baker also excels in another sport; he finished fourth in the state 3A meet in the 225 pound wrestling class. He is signed with Iowa.

P - Erik Miller, Jr., De Smet Jesuit (Kan.)
Miller is a very polished 6-foot-5, 205-pound southpaw who already has a verbal commitment to Stanford going into his junior season. He pitches in the upper-80s with his fastball and has a very good curveball that reaches 77 mph with hard biting action. Miller has shown the ability to spot both those pitches with maturity and there is plenty more in his arm and body in raw stuff as he physically matures.

P - Bo Weiss, Jr., Regis Jesuit (Colo.)
Weiss, the son of Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss, has a long and loose 6-foot-3, 175-pound build and shows plenty of his father's athleticism. He pitches in the upper-80s and was as high as 91 mph this past fall with plenty of projection on his fastball as he gets stronger. Weiss pounds the strike zone from a sound fundamental delivery and will mix in a curveball and changeup to go with his fastball.


Great Plains Region Top Tools


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