JUCO Wire: Top 100 Draft Prospects
April 8, 2019
The spring season has reached its halfway point and we are just under two months until the 2019 MLB Draft. Which means it is time to revisit our initial Top 60 Junior College Prospects list.
There has been quite a lot of movement over the last six months, and our list certainly reflects that. The top 10 alone features five new prospects. With more time having passed, it has also allowed our network of 150+ scouts to get out and get eyes on more and more prospects. This has resulted in our original Top 60 being expanded to a Top 100.
The rankings are once again headlined by the 6-foot-8, 255-pound RHP Jackson Rutledge (San Jac JC; Kentucky recruit). Rutledge has been nothing short of lights out this spring with reports of his fastball reaching triple digits at-times. He currently leads the NJCAA in strikeouts with a whopping 106 in 64.0 innings pitched. Rutledge will be on-hand in New York City, NY in the MLB Green Room for the 2019 MLB Draft on June 3rd. The former No. 8 overall pick by the Atlanta Braves in the 2018 MLB Draft, RHP Carter Stewart (Eastern Florida State) was not on our initial list of 60 due to the fact that he had not yet enrolled in junior college. Now, he comes in at No. 2 in the Top 100.
SS Ivan Johnson (Chipola; South Carolina recruit) rises from No. 7 to No. 3 on our list. Johnson’s combination of overall athleticism and his hit/power tools make him the top ranked position player in the country. It should come to no surprise that Johnson is currently batting .404 with six home runs on the year. Another prospect rising into the top 5 is LHP Antoine Kelly (Wabash Valley). The long, lanky Kelly was on our radar in the fall at No. 16, but has made significant gains over the past six months. Reports have come back that his fastball is touching 97 mph. Couple that with his hard, sweeping breaking ball and one can see why he is a coveted arm.
*Prep Baseball Report's Top 60 JUCO Prospect list was compiled through a nationwide effort by PBR Scouting Directors and Associate Scouts, totaling more than 150 in number.
Top 100 JUCO Prospects
| PBR JC Rank | Name | State | High School | HS Class | Position | Junior College | Commitment |
| 1 | Jackson Rutledge | MO | Rockwood Summit | 2017 | RHP | San Jacinto JC (TX) | Kentucky |
| 2 | Carter Stewart | FL | Eau Gallie | 2018 | RHP | Eastern Florida State | Â |
| 3 | Ivan Johnson | GA | Kennesaw Mountain | 2017 | SS | Chipola (FL) | South Carolina |
| 4 | Antoine Kelly | IL | Maine East | 2018 | LHP | Wabash Valley JC (IL) | Â |
| 5 | Thomas Farr | GA | Sandy Creek | 2017 | RHP | NW Florida State JC | South Carolina |
| 6 | Jake Randa | KS | Shawnee Mission East | 2017 | OF | NW Florida State JC | Mississippi State |
| 7 | Andrew Peters | IL | Morris | 2017 | RHP | John Logan (IL) | South Carolina |
| 8 | Lucas Knowles | WA | South Kitsap | 2016 | LHP | Central Arizona | Kentucky |
| 9 | Jason Rackers | MO | Blair Oaks | 2017 | RHP | Jefferson (MO) | Tennessee |
| 10 | Dane Acker | TX | Brenham | 2017 | RHP | San Jacinto JC (TX) | Oklahoma |
| 11 | Hunter Perdue | VA | Grassfield | 2017 | RHP | State College of Florida | Florida State |
| 12 | Justin Fall | NJ | Toms River South | 2017 | LHP | Brookdale (NJ) | Arizona State |
| 13 | Jonathan Beymer | KY | Hopkinsville | 2017 | RHP | Wabash Valley JC (IL) | Campbell |
| 14 | Donovan Benoit | FL | Pensacola Catholic | 2017 | RHP | Santa Fe JC (FL) | Tulane |
| 15 | Adrian Chaidez | CA | Warren | 2017 | RHP | Cypress College (CA) | UCLA |
| 16 | Oraj Anu | FL | TNXL | 2017 | OF | Wallace-Dothan (AL) | Kentucky |
| 17 | Jakob Brustoski | OH | Green | 2017 | LHP | Sinclair (OH) | Texas Tech |
| 18 | Orlando Ribalta | FL | Miami Christian | 2016 | RHP | Miami-Dade CC (FL) | Â |
| 19 | Hunter Milam | AL | Russell County | 2018 | LHP | Gulf Coast State (FL) | Â |
| 20 | Haden Erbe | LA | Crowley | 2016 | RHP | Seminole State (FL) | West Virginia |