Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Breaking Down the 2015 and 2016 Rankings by Position

December 6, 2014

By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

Over the past month, PBR Pennsylvania has updated its player rankings in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 classes. Setting aside the sophomores for now, below is a by-the-numbers breakdown of the ranked upperclassmen, with notes analyzing the data.

2015 Position 2016
345 All 170
94 (27.2%) RHP 44 (25.9%)
26 (7.5%) LHP 13 (7.6%)
47 (13.6%) C 26 (15.3%)
66 (19.1%) OF 30 (17.6%)
51 (14.8%) SS 22 (12.9%)
23 (6.7%) 2B/MIF 16 (9.4%)
21 (6.1%) 3B 9 (5.3%)
17 (4.9%) 1B 10 (5.9%)

  • The percentage that each position fills in the class rankings is fairly consistent between the two years, with no position varying more than 2.7 percent.
  • Pitching as a whole is, unsurprisingly, the most well-represented commodity. The value of left-handed pitching is perhaps underscored in the roughly 3.5-to-1 RHP-to-LHP ratio (the general population as a whole is approximately 9-to-1).
  • The outfield percentages should be viewed in the context that the outfield category is essentially three positions in one. A quick glance gives the impression that more than half of the ranked outfielders project as center fielders, which would put the center fielder percentage in the same range as catcher and shortstop, while the corner outfield percentage would be slightly below the combined corner infield percentage.
  • If you're a corner infielder (or a corner outfielder, for that matter), the best way to find yourself in the rankings (and on a college roster) is to show a strong potential to hit at the next level. Otherwise, the expectation is that college coaches will convert good athletes from other positions (for example, SS to 3B) to fill their corner spots.

PBR Executive Director Sean Duncan and National Supervisor Nathan Rode recently released combined rankings for the 2015 and 2016 classes in the PBR coverage area (which is now up to nineteen states plus Ontario). Let's take a closer look at the positions played by Pennsylvania players who made the overall rankings (i.e. those at the top of our state lists).

PA Prospects in PBR Overall Rankings
2015 (36 PA players): RHP (12), LHP (8), C (3), OF (6), SS (4), 2B/MIF (0), 3B (3), 1B (0)
2016 (25 PA players): RHP (11), LHP (4), C (2), OF (3), SS (3), 2B/MIF (0), 3B (1), 1B (1)

  • The percentages here are even more stark. Right-handed pitching (37.8%) and left-handed pitching (19.7%) account for more than half of the Pennsylvania players in the PBR overall rankings.
  • All nine outfielders are premium athletes who have the potential to stay in center field at the next level.
  • The shortstops are all quality athletes as well, although a number of them may be ticketed for a corner position (or possibly even the pitcher's mound) in college.
  • The percentage of corner outfielders (0%), second basemen (0%), and corner infielders (8.2%) on these two lists is below the already low percentages on the state lists.

Additional pa news: