Follow @PBR Ohio 

By Jordan Chiero and Dylan Hefflinger
Ohio Director of Scouting / Editor in Chief/Scout 

Interested in attending a PBR Ohio event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

Ohio Insider: Updated Class of 2018 Player Rankings (March)

As the winter showcase season comes to a close and the spring high school baseball season gets underway, we at PBR Ohio would like to take a look at the Class of 2018 Player Rankings.

Our staff evaluated talent all across the Buckeye state during the winter season and we have had the pleasure of seeing a large group of solid players, both in the fall and winter. Prospects are popping up left and right, making velocity jumps, improving 60-yard dash times and showing more power with the bat.

With that being said, we will look into “What’s New At The Top”, some “Rising Prospects”, "The Newcomers" and take a look at some of the top uncommitted prospects.

What's New At The Top

The three biggest moves in the Top 20 were SS Grant Vera (Tiffin Calvert, pictured right), SS Devan Nail (Elyria), and RHP Tyler Hays (Copley).

Vera, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound shortstop out of  Tiffin Calvert, moved up to the 9th spot after strong performances at the Western Winter Showcase and the Central Ohio Preseason Preview. Elite defensive shortstops are hard to come by, but Vera shows all the signs of being just that. He displayed smooth, athletic actions with the ability to make plays on the move and 84 mph arm strength across the diamond. At the plate he has fluid efficient movements to his swing sequence that allow him to be on time and use the entire field. Vera was voted Player of the Winter by the PBR Ohio staff.

Nail, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound shortstop out of Elyria, is a newcomer to the rankings. He jumped to the 13th spot after his performance at the Northern Ohio Preseason Preview. With his frame and athleticism, Nail has one of the higher ceilings in the 2018 class. Nail showed off confident, fluid actions with advanced body control and the ability to throw from multiple arm angles. He profiles as a middle of the order bat at the next level with power potential to come as he matures. 

Hays is also a newcomer to the rankings coming in at the 19th spot after his impressive performances on the mound at the Northern Ohio Preseason Preview and Mahoning Valley. He has a projectable frame with room to fill out at 6-foot-4, 175-pounds and sat 84-86 mph with his fastball. Hays has an arsenal of off-speed pitches led by his 11/5 shaped curveball at 70-72 mph that has potential to be a swing and miss pitch. His slider that has some sharpness to it as it darts across the plate and decent feel for his changeup. Hays also flashed a developing splitter that had late sink when down in the zone.

The Risers

Along with Vera, many players made jumps in the rankings. Typically, this is the time players begin to show the results from hard work in the off-season and additional maturation.

Solon OF Ryan McCurry (pictured right) made a big jump in the 2018 class, moving up to the 31st slot after his performance at the Northern Ohio Preseason Preview. McCurry has really matured physically since the last time we saw him and it translated to his performance on the field as well as big improvements to his measurables. McCurry stood out at the plate by driving the ball with authority in batting practice and registering an exit velocity of 88 mph. He also showed advanced abilities in the outfield with fluid footwork and 86 mph arm strength to home plate.

Other notable jumps include Amherst Steele LHP Evan Shawver, a recent Nebraska commit, along with Highland SS Jackson Miller and Dublin Coffman SS/RHP Marcus Ernst.

THE NEWCOMERS

With many new players now on our radar, 30  players made their debut in the rankings. Along with Nail and Hays, here are some of the notable newcomers:

Brunswick INF Frank Ciacchi (pictured right) put his name in the conversation of top left-handed bats in Ohio for the 2018 class and moved into the 29th spot after his performances at the Northern Ohio Preseason Preview and Stark-Summit County Showcase. Ciacchi has advanced strength and bat speed for his age and does it with a simple approach and compact swing. That combination could allow him to hit for average and power as he matures. He took one of the more impressive batting practices we saw this winter by lacing balls gap to gap and hitting towering fly balls to his pull-side. Ciacchi showed that strength and bat speed by registering a top exit velocity of 92 mph.

RHP Jackson Meter jumped into the 32nd slot and continues the trend of impressive arms coming out of Defiance High School, earning a place in the rankings after his performance at the Border Preview. Meter has long limbs and a projectable frame at 6-foot-3, 205-pounds and sat 80-84 mph with his fastball, which is a six mph jump from the last time we saw him. His power curveball at 72-76 mph is hard to pick up out of his hand before dropping off the table with 12/6 action, making it one of the better breakers we saw all winter. Meter also showed feel for his changeup while maintaining fastball arm speed.

St. Xavier 1B Michael Grause (pictured right) earned the 44th spot in the rankings with his performance at the Cincinnati Preseason Preview. Grause is a physical prospect at 6-foot-4, 200-pounds and is very fluid/athletic for his size. At the plate he has a controlled, rhythmic loading sequence that allows him to create large amounts of energy and transfer that into contact. The ball jumps off his bat (92 mph exit velocity) and has power potential from the right side. Grause was also very impressive at first base with the ability to get off the bag athletically, while showing advanced range for the position.

Shortstops Aplenty

Looking for shortstop? The 2018 class is full of uncommitted, talented shortstops. Keep an eye on guys such as Grant Vera (Tiffin Calvert), Deval Nail (Elyria), Zach Dezenzo (Marlington), Marcus Ernst (Dublin Coffman), Nicholas Erwin (Grove City), Daunte DeCello (Badin), Cole Niekamp (Versailles), Jackson Miller (Highland), Ryan Strittmather (Elyria Catholic), Ryan Peltier (Chaminade-Julienne), Evan Fromwiller (Aurora), Greg Gilbert (St. Francis DeSales), Ryan Glowacki (Amherst Steele), Nate Meyer (Bishop Watterson), and Jack Deeds (Moeller) among others.

TOP UNCOMMITTED PROSPECTS BY POSITION:

Below we look to name the top two to five prospects in specific categories for the 2018 class. Beyond the top three, there are numerous prospects that can help a collegiate program in some capacity.

+ Top Right-Handed Arms: Nick Thwaits (pictured right), Casey Maniglia, Will Pfennig, Tristan Siemer, Jacob Greer
+ Top Left-Handed Arms: Josh Thompson, James Myers
+ Top Two-Way Prospects: Marcus Ernst, Tyler Hayes
+ Top Catching Prospects: Tyler McDonough, Nolan Clegg, Ryan Thompson, Mitchell Smith
+ Top Corner Infield Prospects: Cameron Swanger, Riley Fisher, Frank Ciacchi
+ Top Middle Infield Prospects: Grant Vera, Devan Nail, Zach Dezenzo
+ Top Outfield Prospects: Josh Thompson, Ryan McCurry, Austin Boyd

PBR OHIO CLASS OF 2018 TOP 80

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
1	Austin Becker	OH	Big Walnut High School	2018	RHP	Vanderbilt
2	Cal Conley	OH	Loveland	2018	SS	Miami (FL)
3	Nicholas Northcut	OH	Mason	2018	RHP	Vanderbilt
4	Nick Thwaits	OH	Fort Recovery	2018	RHP
5	Casey Maniglia	OH	Solon	2018	RHP
6	Keegan Fish	OH	Lakota West	2018	C	Ohio State
7	Tyler McDonough	OH	Moeller	2018	C
8	Nolan Clegg	OH	Toronto High School	2018	C
9	Grant Vera	OH	Tiffin Calvert Catholic	2018	SS
10	Will Pfennig	OH	Mason High School	2018	RHP

***** To view the entire top 80, please click here.