Scouts dish on Draft prospects at PG All-American

August 14th, 2018

And with that, the summer showcase circuit has come to a close.
Sure, there are events here and there, but Sunday's Perfect Game All-American Classic served as the bookend to a summer of high-end events that included the PG National Showcase, USA Baseball's Tournament of Stars, the Under Armour All-America Game, the East Coast Pro Showcase and the Area Code Games.
While it is important not to put too much weight on any one event, that doesn't mean there weren't standouts who caught the eyes of the scores of scouts in attendance at Sunday's game, which the which the West won, 4-2, at Petco Park in San Diego. The scouts had evaluations from this game that will help inform follow lists for the spring (as well as MLB Pipeline's top 2019 Draft high school prospects list, which is coming in the near future, and our Draft Top 50, coming closer to the end of the year).
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Here is what some scouts had to say about the players from action over the weekend:
Matthew Allan, RHP, Seminole HS (Fla.)
Allan struck out the side in his inning of work, finishing off what's been a very strong summer for the right-hander. He was mentioned by multiple scouts for his perfect frame on the mound.
"He was 94-96 mph with a good breaking ball," another national scout said. "He's sort of built like was in high school. He's a strong kid with a pretty nice delivery."
Hunter Barco, LHP, The Bolles School (Fla.)
Barco began the summer off a little slowly, but started to show why he might be the top prep lefty in the class. He tossed a hitless inning, walking one and striking out one.
"He was good, nothing new," a scouting director said. "He was up to 93 mph and landed his breaking ball well."

Corbin Carroll, OF, Lakeside HS (Wash.)
Carroll took home MVP honors after going 1-for-1, with two walks, two runs scored, a stolen base and an RBI. The one hit was a triple off flame-thrower Daniel Espino. Carroll also made it to the final four in the event's home run derby, surprising many given his 5-foot-11, 165-pound frame.
"He's the guy people walked away talking about," one national crosschecker said. "He made himself some money."
"He's not going to be for everyone," said one scouting director, referring to his size. "It surprised a lot of people that he had that much power. And he played well in the game. His triple to the left-center gap was the most exciting play in the game.
"He's kind of like [2018 draftee] Alek Thomas, but I like him better. He grows on you. He can hit the ball farther than you think he can. He's going to have some power."

Daniel Espino, RHP, Georgia Premier Academy (Ga.)
As he has all summer, Espino lit up the radar gun. He did give up a run, giving up that triple to Carroll. But that's the only hit Espino allowed, while he walked one and struck out two.
"He was up to 98-99 mph," one national crosschecker said. "He did his thing."

Riley Greene, OF, Hagerty HS (Fla.)
Greene's summer has ebbed and flowed a bit. He was terrific at Tournament of Stars, but struggled a bit at East Coast Pro. His West Coast swing, which included a double on Sunday, has helped cement him as one of the best pure high school bats in the country.
"He swung the bat better," a cross-checker said. "He was good on Sunday and hit the ball hard a couple of times."

Spencer Jones, LHP/OF, La Costya Canyon HS (Calif.)
From the San Diego area, Jones is a big (6-foot-7) lefty who showed good athleticism, especially for his size. Not only did he throw a perfect inning, striking out two, Jones also singled and stole a base. "It's a good story, being the hometown guy," the scouting director. "He threw a nice inning and was up to 93 mph.

Brennan Malone, RHP, IMG Academy (Fla.)
Like Espino, Malone has set a fairly high bar in terms of his pure stuff, which has shown up at every event he's attended this summer. He gave up one hit in his inning, striking out a pair.
"He was up to 97 mph," the scouting director said. "He was good, like normal. Nothing different."

Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Colleyville Heritage HS (Tex.)
There's not much to see in the box score for the infielder many consider to be the best overall prospect in the 2019 Draft class. But even with his 0-for-2, scouts felt Witt still showed what he's all about.
"His tools are so good, he's so much better than the rest of the kids," the national scout said. "He was 3.95 down the line in one at-bat. The guy is really, really talented."
Matt Thompson, RHP, Cypress Ranch HS (Tex.)
The fact he threw a perfect inning, striking out two, is nothing out of the ordinary, as Thompson has been solid all summer. But he did it with a slightly tweaked arsenal, which made some scouts sit up and take notice.
"He had an 80-mph curveball all summer," a scouting director said. "But he showed an 84-mph slider now that was impressive. He got some swings and misses on it."