Prep Baseball Report

Florida Reprents Itself well in the 2017 National Rankings



By Justin Burgess
Florida Area Scout

With the recent publication of the 2017 national rankings, we would like to recognize the top players who represented Florida. Like the 2015 and 2016 class, the Sunshine State was a powerhouse in the 2017 rankings as 61 players were represented in the top 300. Here are the four players who made it into the top ten of the national rankings:

Mark Vientos SS, Flanagan HS 2017

Coming in at the number one spot in the country is the 6-foot-3, 185 pound Miami commit Mark Vientos. He has a tall, lean, athletic, and projectable body with light feet and soft hands in the field. He shows a loose, above average ML arm across the diamond. At the plate he gets a good separation, possesses plus bat speed, and gets good leverage in his swing. Mark already has average ML power in batting practice. The Miami area always produces talent that shows in the draft, and every few years there is a talented shortstop that seems to draw a lot of attention. Not to jump to any conclusions, but Vientos has drawn comparisons to Alex Rodriguez and Manny Machado because of his frame and tools.

Alejandro Toral 1B, Archbishop McCarthy 2017

Ranked at number four in the country is another Miami commit, 1B Alejandro Toral. At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, Toral is one of the better power bats in the country and is an overall pure hitter. He drives the ball to all fields and shows above average ML power as he is able to hit 400+ foot home runs in batting practice on a regular basis. Alejandro is also the top hitter for national powerhouse Archbishop McCarthy and helped lead them to another state championship this past season.

Jordan Butler LHP, Alonso HS 2017

The number three ranked player in Florida comes in at the number six spot in the national rankings. The 6-foot-1, 185 pound LHP and Florida commit is probably the best left handed arm in the country. He shows great presence and confidence on the mound and usually gets better throughout the game. His fastball sits 87-89 mph and he runs it up to 90-91 mph with run. Jordan shows a very good breaking ball that sits in the 74-77 mph range and throws a solid 75-76 mph changeup. All three pitches are thrown for strikes in any count. Butler is also a great hitter but his future is definitely on the mound as his velocity will increase with strength and maturity.

Robert Touron RHP, Gulliver Prep 2017

Touron comes in at number eight in the national rankings and is the number three right-handed arm. At 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, he possesses a lanky, athletic, and projectable body. Touron shows a loose, quick, and whippy arm from a ¾ slot. His fastball is tough to hit as it has good, late arm side run at 87-90 mph and can be ran up to 92 mph. He shows a sharp 71-74 mph breaking ball that stays down in the zone and breaks late. Robert is one of only two players in the top ten who is still uncommitted in the national rankings. However, the school that lands him will be very excited as they will be bringing in a guy who can contribute immediately.

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