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High School  | General  | 2/9/2023

Georgia Region Preview

David Rawnsley     
Photo: Colin Houck (Perfect Game)
High School Preview Index

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The 2023 class in Georgia is a bit down by the state’s normal standards, with “only” six players, none of them pitchers, garnering spots in the 2022 PG All-American Classic.  Two-sport standout Colin Houck has the best chance of being a first round pick among the state’s standouts heading into the spring with junior Michael Mullinax, the fourth ranked player in the 2024 class nationally, having perhaps the highest ceiling.



Fortunately, the 2024 class is loaded, giving the state plenty of talent to pick from.  In what may seem like a strange twist, six of the country’s top 50 2024 players are shortstops from Georgia.  That would seem unusual if four of the top 53 players from the 2023 class nationally weren’t shortstops from Georgia as well.  Maybe Georgia is surpassing Southern California as the hot bed of shortstops in the country.

Parkview High School enters the spring as the top ranked team in the state and holds down the fourth overall spot in the initial PG National Rankings.  The Panthers are led by three All-Region selections, including Houck and a pair of outstanding junior pitchers in left-hander Ford Thompson and right-hander Thorpe Musci.

Georgia Region Dream Team

 C –  Ariston Veasey (Jr., Starrs Mill HS, Ga.)
Veasey is the type of athlete who could excel all over the field, including at pitcher, but that athleticism coupled with elite level arm strength makes him a perfect fit defensively behind the plate.  Veasey’s bat continued to develop into a weapon in 2022, as he hit .386-3-29 in 55 PG games to go with 16 doubles and 12 stolen bases.

1B –   Edward Phelps III (Sr., Georgia Premier Academy, Ga.)
Phelps is a primary third baseman but has played plenty of first base in the past and might have the position in his future.  The Georgia signee’s best position is in the batter’s box where he’s hit .426-9-87 with 39 stolen bases in 235 at-bats in PG play over the past two years.

MIF –   Dylan Cupp (Sr., Cedartown HS, Ga.)
A 2022 PG All-American and 2019 14U Select Festival player, Cupp is one of the most consistent and polished middle infielders in the country and excels on both sides of the ball.  He’s been named to 44 WWBA All-Tournament teams in his PG career and played on an incredible 28 tournament championship teams, most playing with the East Cobb Astros.

MIF –  Antonio Anderson (Sr., North Atlanta HS, Ga.)
Anderson may have the highest ceiling of any Georgia player as a 6-foot-3, 205-pound switch-hitter with middle infield athleticism and actions.  He started tapping into his big power potential as a junior and hit .321-5-19 with 29 walks in 37 PG games in 2022.

3B –  Colin Houck (Sr., Parkview HS, Ga.)
Houck has been better known athletically as a three-year quarterback starter at Parkview HS with a plenty of SEC/ACC offers for football but rode a huge 2022 performance to fully committing to baseball at the next level.  His best present tool is his right-handed bat, which accounted for a .412-15-44 line for Parkview last spring.

OF –  Drew Burress (Sr., Houston County HS, Ga.)
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound has elite physical tools, including 6.47 speed and a 97 mph outfield throwing arm but is better known as an offensive performer on the field.  He was named the Georgia high school Player of the Year in 2022 after hitting .486-17-76 and carried that through to the summer and fall, hitting .329-11-46 in 146 PG at-bats.  He’s the top ranked prospect in Georgia in the PG class rankings.

OF – Isaiah Drake (Sr., North Atlanta HS, Ga.)
Drake now attends North Atlanta High School, giving that team one of the top athletic duos in the state along with All-Region shortstop Antonio Anderson.  Drake is a classic speed player, with a compact 5-foot-10, 180-pound build and 6.15 speed in the sixty.  The left-handed hitter has more thump in his bat than you’d expect, though, and hit .449-5-30 with 26 steals in 38 PG games in 2022.

OF –  Michael Mullinax (Jr., North Cobb Christian HS, Ga.)
Mullinax is the fourth ranked player in the 2024 class and combines both high level tools, including 6.5 speed and 96 mph outfield arm strength, with a consistent high level of performance.  The switch-hitter has hit a combined .380-6-80 with 76 stolen bases in 112 PG games over the past two years and hit .467 with seven home runs as a sophomore at North Cobb Christian HS.

RHP Jeffrey "Mac" Heuer (Sr., Home School, Ga.)
The extra strong 6-foot-4, 230-pound Heuer is the top ranked pitch in the senior class in Georgia and is signed with Texas Tech.  He features a fastball that will top out at 95-96 mph to go with a mid-70’s curveball and low 80’s change up. Heuer struck out 50 hitters in 28 PG innings while walking only 9 hitters and was especially dominant in the late summer and fall.

RHP Luke McNeillie (Sr., Milton HS, Ga.)
McNellie may be the most projectable pitcher in the state, with a slender 6-foot-3, 165-pound build and plenty of athleticism.  He works in the 90-93 mph range with his fastball with an outstanding change up, a power curveball and a good feel for throwing strikes.

RHP Thorpe Musci (Jr., Parkview HS, Ga.)
Musci and fellow junior Ford Thompson (below) give the powerhouse Parkview HS program one of the best 2024 pitching duos in the country.  Musci is more the power pitcher of the two, working up to 94 mph on his fastball to go with a low 80’s slider and a solid change up.  He stuck out 25 hitters in 17 innings in a relief role for Parkview as a sophomore.

LHP Ford Thompson (Jr., Parkview HS, Ga.)
Thompson went 6-3, 1.46 with 74 strikeouts and only 22 walks in 48 innings for Parkview as a sophomore and was even better in PG play, striking out 45 hitters in 25 innings.  He worked in the 88-91 mph range as a sophomore with outstanding feel for shaping his curveball and an advanced change up.

RHP Connor Shouse (Jr., Pickens County HS, Ga.)
Shouse is a primary shortstop with solid switch-hitting ability and elite level arm strength but his future is most likely on the mound.  He threw 93-95 mph during a relief appearance at the WWBA World Championships last October and was dominant in an appearance at the National Underclass Main Event Showcase last month.  He resembles a young Dylan Cease in his size, tools and development at the same age.

UT –  Tai Peete (Sr., Trinity Christian Academy, Ga.)
Peete is ranked 23rd in the country and third in Georgia in the PG 2023 class rankings as a left-handed hitting shortstop but would potentially be a top 100 prospect as a right handed pitcher as well.  He’s been up to 93 mph on his fastball to go with a curveball and plus change up and has struck out 95 hitters in 60 PG innings over the last two seasons.


Georgia Region Top Tools


Best Hitter for Average: Michael Mullinax (Jr., North Cobb Christian HS, Ga.)
Mullinax combines all the virtues you’d want in a high average hitter.  He’s a switch-hitter who is better from the left side, he has barrel skills (110 walks vs. 85 strikeouts in his PG career) and he’s a plus runner who is going to create hits with his legs.

Best Hitter for Power: Drew Burress (Sr., Houston County HS, Ga.)
There’s a point when it comes to power where one just ignores Burress’s size and acknowledge that he led the state of Georgia in home runs last spring and unofficially led the PG circuit in bombs during the summer and fall.  Colin Houck would be an obvious runner-up in this category.

Best Runner: Isaiah Drake (Sr., North Atlanta HS, Ga.)
Georgia always features plenty of speed players but none is faster than Drake.

Best Defensive Catcher: Ariston Veasey (Jr., Starrs Mill HS, Ga.)
Veasey has the athleticism to play all over the field defensively but his separator as a defensive prospect is his arm, which somehow seems to play up behind the plate as compared to in the outfield or on the mound.  It might be the best catcher’s arm in the country regardless of class.

Best Defensive Infielder: Dylan Cupp (Sr., Cedartown HS, Ga.)
Nothing about Cupp’s numbers make him stand out as a defender but he’s a sum of the parts player who will always make the right play, always make the routine play and often make a difficult play look routine.

Best Defensive Outfielder: Michael Mullinax (Jr., North Cobb Christian HS, Ga.)
The Georgia starting outfield features three centerfielders in Mullinax, Burress and Drake, with Mullinax getting the nod to actually start in center if the team actually took the field, with the strong-armed Burress in right field and the speedy Drake in left field.

Best Defensive Arm: Connor Shouse (Jr., Pickens County HS, Ga.)
While most feel that Shouse’s future is on the mound, you can’t ignore his defensive arm strength when he goes down to Florida to the National Underclass Main Event in December and throws 97 mph from both the infield and outfield.  Interestingly, Shouse also has some catching in his background.

Best Fastball: RHP Jeffrey "Mac" Heuer (Sr., Home School, Ga.)
Georgia isn’t full of power arms at present but Heuer qualifies as the hardest thrower for now, with a consistent mid-90’s fastball that topped out at 96 mph in 2022.  His burly 6-foot-4, 230-pound build adds to the power pitcher package.

Best Off-Speed Stuff: RHP Luke McNeillie (Sr., Milton HS, Ga.)
McNeillie’s change up is a present plus pitch in the low 80’s with outstanding arm speed, life and feel for the zone.  His curveball isn’t far behind, with big depth and 2500+ spin rates.  He’s very capable of pitching backwards with his command of his off-speed and often does.

Best Pitchability: LHP Ford Thompson (Jr., Parkview HS, Ga.)
In this day and age when you completely over-match top hitters while rarely breaking 90 mph, that stands out.  Like Thompson’s line from the 2022 WWBA 16U National Championships, where he struck out 14 hitters in 8 no-hit innings while only walking 2 hitters.

Best Multi-Sport Athlete: RHP Dylan Lonergan (Sr., Brookwood HS, Ga.)/SS Bryce Clavon (Jr., Kell HS, Ga.)
Lonergan ranks 241st in the country as a strong-armed right-handed pitcher but is far more accomplished on the football field as a four-star quarterback with a scholarship to Alabama.  Clavon is more accomplished on the baseball field by comparison, ranking ninth in the 2024 class, and seems just as serious about continuing to play football at the next level.  He threw for 2,668 yards and 24 touchdowns last fall while also rushing for 789 yards and 15 more touchdowns.
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