By Nathan Rode
National Supervisor

With the beginning of the season just a few weeks away, Prep Baseball Report has released the initial rankings for Florida’s Class of 2015. The Sunshine State is known for producing an abundance of baseball prospects and this year’s class certainly isn’t short on it.

The rankings were compiled by Rob Sidwell, Florida’s scouting director. Sidwell has a wealth of scouting experience, having spent the last 18 years with four different major league teams. He was most recently (2010-2014) with the Dodgers, covering the state of Florida, and worked in the same capacity with the San Diego Padres (2007-2010), New York Mets (2005-2007) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1996-2005). Sidwell is the signing scout for Andrew McCutchen, the 2013 MVP of the National League. In addition to scouting the state of Florida, Sidwell has made coaching stops as well. He coached at Flagler College in 1987, Florida International from 1990-1992 and Central Florida from 1992-1996.

SS Brendan Rodgers (Lake Mary HS, FL) is the head of the class and in the discussion to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 draft. He has an explosive bat that produces plus power and shows the potential to hit for average. He is also a good defender with excellent actions and a strong arm. He is committed to Florida State, but unlikely to make it campus because of his status as a professional prospect. LHP Juan Hillman (Olympia HS, FL) is the top pitcher in the state and thrives on throwing strikes. He also receives excellent instruction as he has former major leaguer Tom Gordon as a guardian.

Rounding out the top 10 are RHP Austin Smith (Park Vista HS, FL), RHP Triston McKenzie (Royal Palm Beach HS, FL), RHP Cole Sands (North Florida Christian HS, FL), 3B Julian Infante (Westminster Christian Academy, FL), OF Kyle Tucker (Plant HS, FL), OF Desmond Lindsay (Out-of-Door Academy, FL), MIF Ryan Mountcastle (Hagerty HS, FL) and SS Jonathan India (American Heritage, FL).

Florida’s 2015 class also has players with good bloodlines. Sands’ older brother Carson was a third-round pick of the Cubs in 2014. Tucker’s older brother Preston starred at Florida for four years before being selected by the Astros in the seventh round of the 2012 draft and finished the 2014 season in Triple-A. C Elih Marrero (Coral Gables HS, FL) is the son of Eli Marrero, the former major leaguer of 10 seasons.

A look at the Top 10:

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Brendan Rodgers	FL	Lake Mary	2015	SS	Florida State
2	Juan Hillman	FL	Olympia	2015	LHP	Central Florida
3	Austin Smith	FL	Park Vista	2015	RHP	Florida Atlantic
4	Tristan McKenzie	FL	Royal Palm Beach	2015	RHP	Vanderbilt
5	Cole Sands	FL	North Florida Christian	2015	RHP	Florida State
6	Julian Infante	FL	Westminster Christian	2015	3B	Vanderbilt
7	Kyle Tucker	FL	Plant	2015	OF	Florida
8	Desmond Lindsay	FL	Out of Door Academy	2015	1B	North Carolina
9	Ryan Mountcastle	FL	Hagerty	2015	SS	Central Florida
10	Jonathan India	FL	American Heritage	2015	SS	Florida

CLICK HERE to view complete Top 100 Rankings.