By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

After several events over the past few months has afforded the PBR Kentucky staff the opportunity to evaluate several players in the 2016 class, the time has come to release our initial player rankings.

With three years of high school baseball left for prospects that just began their sophomore year this fall, the rankings will undoubtedly change and expand significantly as players continue to develop and we continue to go through the process of scouting, evaluating, and gathering information on prospects around the state. 

Easton McGee sits at the top of the class.  The 6-foot-5, 180-pound right-handed pitcher from Hopkinsville HS is long and lanky with big-time projectability.  At the Underclass Games Event at EKU last month, McGee’s fastball sat 85-87 mph and touched 88.  He throws a late-breaking slider at 72-74 mph that should continue to develop into a power pitch, a 66-69 mph curveball with tight spin, and a solid changeup as well.

Ironically, the No.2 and No.3 ranked prospects in the state both attend Beechwood HS in Ethan Stringer and Brayden Combs.

Stringer is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound OF/RHP who was one of two players from the 2016 class to represent Kentucky at the PBR Midwest Future Games at Indiana University in August.  The athletic, two-way prospect has shown an 88 mph arm from the outfield, and a fastball up to 85 on the mound.  He is already receiving interest from several Division I programs.

At 6-foot-4, 225-pounds, Combs is hard to miss on the baseball field.  The physically advanced 1B/RHP swings it from the left side and shows plenty of power.  At this point, Combs is the premier power left-handed bat in the class.

Cameron Planck checks in at No.4.  The 6-foot-3, 190-pound, projectable RHP/1B from Rowan County HS has been impressive in the Fall Prospect Program, showing long and loose arm action with an 82-85 mph fastball and very good 72-74 mph breaking ball.

The No.5 spot belongs to Griffin McLarty.  At 6-foot-2, 160-pounds, McLarty has a lanky and projectable frame and showed well at Underclass Games Event last month.  His fastball sat 82-84 mph with good arm-side run, and he showed good feel for his 74-75 mph breaking ball with late bite.  McLarty also ran a 7.09 60, showed 81 mph arm strength across the infield from third base, and showed quick hands from the left side at the plate.

Subscribers can CLICK HERE and select the Class of 2016 from the drop down box to view the complete 2016 player rankings.

Here is a look at the Top 10:

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos
1	Easton McGee	KY	Hopkinsville	2016	RHP
2	Ethan Stringer	KY	Beechwood	2016	OF
3	Brayden Combs	KY	Beechwood	2016	1B
4	Cameron Planck	KY	Rowan County	2016	RHP
5	Griffin McLarty	KY	Oldham County	2016	RHP
6	Stewart Currie	KY	Daviess County	2016	RHP
7	Hunter Sullivan	KY	Elizabethtown	2016	RHP
8	Jakob Shuler	KY	Apollo	2016	C
9	Carson Coleman	KY	Lexington Catholic	2016	SS
10	Vincent Boils	KY	Southwestern	2016	C