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By Chris Kemlo and PBR Staff
Ontario Scouting Director

Ontario Insider: Updated Class of 2018 Player Rankings (August)

Our first rankings of the 2018 class take a look at the top 40 players in Ontario from what we have seen over the past summer at PBR events, local workouts and games from across the province, and a lot of time and thought put in from our staff. This 2018 class is not loaded with commitments, as the only commit so far has been our number two overall player Ben Abram (pictured right), the 6-foot-7 right-hander is committed to the University of Oklahoma. This class is a top notch hunting ground for college coaches with a lot of athletic players and arms that know how to pitch and get outs. We take a look at some of the players who lead the way in our top 40 of 2018 in Ontario.

Below we take a look at "What's New At The Top", "The Risers", "The Newcomers" as well as the top uncommitted prospects.

To view the entire list of 40 prospects please click here.

Also visit our scout blog, which includes velocity, pop times and in-depth scouting reports. The blog will be updated throughout the entire spring, with information on top prospects and top performances, click here.

Interested in attending a PBR Ontario event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

WHATS NEW AT THE TOP

Same thing with our 2015 class and first set of rankings we ever did, a Naylor leads the way. This time it is Noah Naylor (pictured right), a polished, athletic catcher who also sees time in the infield and will occasionally step on the mound. Naylor is making himself well known on the national scene currently, and the left-handed hitter is polished for a young age with explosiveness at the plate to go along with his athleticism he possesses.

Following Naylor is Abram at two, the tall and lean, 6-foot-5 right-hander Eric Cerantola. Cerantola has been up to 87 mph and is a fantastic athlete who excels in hockey as well. He is raw and lacks innings, and could be a gem once he gets the reps and continued development. Catcher Ryan Faragher and righty Griffin Hassall round out our top five. Faragher is a strong and physical catcher while Hassall is loose and easy off the mound with big upside.

Rounding out top ten are infielders Daniel Carinci and Leo Markotic, right-handers Thomas Murphy and Zach McQuaid, while the top outfielder Matt Jenkins comes in at the number 8 spot in the overall rankings.

OUTSIDE THE TOP TEN

Just outside the top ten is infielder Tyler Black (pictured right) and outfielder Denzel Clarke. Black was really good at our Top Prospect Games, athletic actions with a live arm from the infield, while Clarke is a good looking outfielder who has really come into his own over the last 3-4 months. Blake Buckle and David McCabe are two bats of the better bats in the class, with McCabe being a switch hitter who can play the corner in the infield at 6-foot-3, 215-pounds.

Left-handed arms Adam Parker, Carter Seabrooke, and Jason Boulanger find themselves at 15th, 18th, and 20th overall respectively. All three have easy arms and secondary pitches from the left side that project well, and were standouts for their club teams this summer.

OTHERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Outside the top 20 is still plenty of athletic players, guys with pop, and arms that are going to be big time arms. Outfielder David Walling and third baseman Sam Lebel are two players who have strength to their game while Walling looks the part and Lebels’ bat from the right side is something to bare down on.

Catcher Daniel Starrett is one of the better catch and throw guys in the province, while corner infielder Kyle Stevenson (pictured right) is a corner infielder with a right-handed bat that shows bat speed and power potential.

KEEP AN EYE ON

Right-hander Sam Jones (pictured right) is a 6-foot-4, 145-pound right-hander who looks like he could make a big jump in the rankings once he begins to fill out. Hunter Dent is a left-handed hitting catcher out of Windsor with a strong foundation and looks the part as someone who can get it done from both an offensive and defensive side of the ball. Braeden Barnett is an athletic infielder with smooth actions while Cam Arnold displayed power from the right-side at our Future Game Trials to go along with righty Angus Adams who had a compact delivery and the ball came out the hand real easy. The wild card of the class could be Matthew Panzica. A pitcher who also swings it and plays the outfield, he was limited with innings on the mound last year and seems to be healthy and ready to finish the year out strong. Loose and wiry, if Panzica gets back to old form, he becomes one of the top arms in the class and can see himself making a climb in the rankings.

We will continue to add from the top 40, with us expanding into the top 60 next week while continuing to contribute to the class of 2018.

For now, check out the Top 40 from Ontario in the class of 2018:

PBR Ontario Class of 2018 Top 40

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Noah Naylor	ON	St. Joan of Arc Catholic	2018	C
2	Ben Abram	ON	Georgetown District	2018	RHP	Oklahoma
3	Eric Cerantola	ON	Ste-Trinite	2018	RHP
4	Ryan Faragher	ON	St. Thomas Aquinas	2018	C
5	Griffin Hassall	ON	Bill Crothers	2018	RHP
6	Thomas Murphy	ON	All Saints	2018	RHP
7	Daniel Carinci	ON	Pickering	2018	SS
8	Matt Jenkins	ON	Crescent	2018	OF
9	Leo Markotic	ON	St. Martins	2018	SS
10	Zachery McQuaid	ON	Maxwell Heights	2018	RHP

***** To view the entire top 40, please click here.