Today we released an updated version of Minnesota Class of 2019 Rankings, expanding the list by 50 prospects to a top 200 overall. With an increase in ranked prospects in the state, there’s naturally going to be a group of names making their first-ever appearance on their state’s class rankings; along with considerable re-shuffling of prospects across the board.

Even though the shuffling has been slight in the Top 10; Stillwater 2-way player and Oregon State commit Drew Gilbert takes over the top spot in the MN 2019 rankings. Gilbert was dominant in the MN State Tournament; leading Stillwater to the Class 4A State Championship with his bat, defense in the outfield, and two dominant starts on the mound. In his first outing; Gilbert was consistently 90-93 mph from the left-side, primarily 93, while touching one 94 and one 95. The quick twitch athlete also shows ability in the field covering considerable ground in the outfield, and is also a threat offensively with surprising pop in the bat to the pull side of the field, and looks capable of possibly being a 2-way threat at Oregon State.

Drew Gilbert- 9/15/18

Making a monumental climb up the rankings was Duluth Marshall's Peter Hansen. Previously we had seen Hansen at the MN Preseason All-State event in March, where the athleticism was evident, but still needed to progress and continue to develop. That was obviously accomplished as Hansen was one of the most talked about names on the summer circuit as his velocity continued to climb with each outing. Progressing from 83-85 mph in the early Spring; Hansen consistently showed upper 80's velocity with reports even coming in of him touching the lower 90's readily. As he still learns to pitch and continue to refine and command his secondary offerings; the Bradley University commit has an extremely high ceiling.

Peter Hansen- Pitching Video- 3/20/18

 

In all, 50 of the 200 prospects on the 2019 board have never appeared on a previous edition. RHP Erik Kubiatowicz's (North St. Paul) emergence has been profound. The righty busted into the ranks, up all the way to No. 11 in his debut on the board; and nearly cracking the top 10. We first saw Kubiatowicz in June at the MN Top Prospect Games where he showed above average athleticism as a 2-way player and reached as high as 88 mph on mound. Kubiatowicz backed up his performance in August at the Unsigned Senior Showcase where he sat comfortably in the upper-80’s; reaching 91 mph in his bullpen session with solid secondary offerings. Newer to pitching and requires some polish on the mound; the North St. Paul product has just begun to scratch the surface of his potential and projects to throw even harder in the future. One of the most intriguing arms still available in the class.

Erik Kubiatowicz- 8/21/18

Another prospect that leaped to the fore-front in the 2019 class is uncommitted 2-way player Drew Grindahl from Duluth East High School. Grindahl attended the MN Club League Showcase where he stood out as a shortstop; then transitioning to the mound showing the same athletic attributes and was as high as 89 mph with an above avg. breaking ball.

Drew Grindahl- Position Player Video- 9/8/18

 

Keep checking back with us later next week as we prepare to release highlights and updates on some of the highest risers within the expanded top-200 list. Below the Top 10 is Free to View.

RANK	NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
1	Drew Gilbert	MN	Stillwater	2019	LHP	Oregon State
2	Will Frisch	MN	Stillwater	2019	RHP	Oregon State
3	Eric Rinzel	MN	Holy Family Catholic	2019	C	Missouri
4	Ryan Sleeper	MN	Lakeville North	2019	LHP	North Carolina
5	Ben Pedersen	MN	Duluth Marshall	2019	RHP	Missouri
6	Will Anderson	MN	St. Michael-Albertville	2019	LHP	Minnesota
7	Bennett Theisen	MN	Minnehaha Academy	2019	RHP	Minnesota
8	Dalton McNamara	MN	Centennial	2019	SS	Missouri
9	Joey Danielson	MN	Eden Prairie	2019	C	North Dakota State
10	Trent Schoeberl	MN	White Bear Lake	2019	RHP	Minnesota

 

 

To see the recently released rankings list in its entirety, CLICK HERE.