Without spring baseball, we’re left with a major void to fill in our lives. As we sit back and reflect on what could have been in 2020, the collective minds at PBR came up with the idea of creating ‘Dream Team’ rosters from each state we operate in. 

Some states are made up entirely of their own players, others are a combination of multiple states. All in all, there will be 32 teams created with the following roster requirements: C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, SP, RP.

The interactive 32 team bracket will appear on the Prep Baseball Report instagram account today. The user tag is @prepbaseball. Follow along with the action and be sure to show your support for Team Washington. 

Now, let's check out the squad....

CATCHER

Jessada Brown, CHief Sealth, UC Santa Barbara commit

While the 2020 class offers some depth at the position, we turned to 2021 Jessada Brown (Chief Sealth) for his combination of strength, speed and arm strength. An above average athlete, Brown has gotten noticeably stronger over the past year and was poised for a huge spring in 2020.

1ST BASE

Corey jarrel, Brewster, washington commit

Corey Jarrell (Brewster) has an ideal profile for 1B with his left handed hitting, left handed throwing skill set. His 6’2 frame is built to handle more weight in the future so it’s likely he will tap into more power down the road. Offensively he has a mature, polished approach at the plate and a fluid lefty stroke with exceptional contact ability. He moves very well on defense and has the chance to fill an OF spot if needed as well.

2ND BASE

nate clow, beamer, USC commit

Overall, the INF assignments were a really difficult decision. The main reason being is that 3 of our top 4 players in the state are all currently primary shortstops. Therefore, there was no way to avoid moving 2 premium defenders off of their position. Ultimately, we went with the smooth fielding, strong armed Nate Clow (Beamer) as our choice for 2nd. His clean actions profile well for any INF spot and his left-handed power provides a huge boost to his overall player profile at 2b. 

3RD BASE

Cole FOntenelle, Skyline, washington commit

Switch hitting middle infielders are tough to come by. Even more so if they’re 6’3, 190 pounds with projection left on their frame. Given his skill set and chance to hit for power from both sides of the plate, Cole Fontenelle (Skyline) was an easy choice to slide over to the hot-corner. His defensive ability and arm strength will fit nicely on the left side of the diamond and he’ll also be a strong presence in the middle of the line-up

SS

kyle russell, curtis, washington state commit

As mentioned earlier, we could have gone a number of ways at SS for this team. In the end, Kyle Russell (Curtis) won out with his above average athleticism and twitchy fielding actions. At the plate he has a short, quick stroke with plenty of bat speed. The physical tools should keep him in the middle of the diamond in the long-run and it shouldn’t be long before his offensive game takes off to the next level.

OF

tyler forner, camas, uncommitted

malakhi knight, marysville-getchell, oregon state commit

evan scavotto, puyallup, portland commit

The top remaining uncommitted position player in the 2020 class, Tyler Forner (Camas) was an easy choice for the first spot in the OF. His combination of plus-speed and impressive raw power is tough to match. Next, we dipped into the ‘21 class for Malakhi Knight (Marysville-Getchell). The MVP of the Underclass Area Code games had a huge summer and firmly cemented himself into the upper echelon of 2021 prospects. We’ve also seen him run his FB up to 92 mph on the mound. Although OF might not be his primary position, we’ve seen Evan Scavotto (Puyallup) hold down corner OF responsibilities before. Sliding him into that 3 OF spot gives a huge boost to the line-up with his above average hitting ability and high motor attitude. 

DESIGNATED HITTER

kelly corl, o'dea, washington commit

There’s no doubt Kelly Corl (O’Dea) could have ended up at one of the INF spots and done an exceptional job. As one of the best pure hitters in the state, he slides into the DH role on this loaded roster and provides a consistent, mature approach with the ability to drive the ball to all fields.

STARTING PITCHER

rhp reilly mcadams, ingraham, washington commit

Pitching depth is a major strength in the 2020 class for Washington this year. We considered several arms for the starting pitcher spot on this squad and even thought about grabbing a 2021 arm as well. Jonah Giblin (Bainbridge) was exceptional at the Super 60 back in February and has taken significant steps forward with his 3-pitch-mix. Cooper Barnum (Skyview), Logan Mercado (Tri-Cities Prep) and Tyler Hoeft (Federal Way) would have provided tremendous depth and diverse skill-sets if we have the chance to put together a full rotation and bullpen. Then if you throw in the ‘21 arms to the mix, Max Debiec (O’Dea), Nate Leibold (Ballard) and Kai Francis (Bainbridge) all have tremendous present ability with the chance to make additional gains in the future. Eventually, we stuck with our pre-season rankings and gave Reilly McAdams (Ingraham) the nod. Without a Spring season, we won’t be able to see where his game is currently at for the foreseeable future. But his combination of projectability, arm action, FB command and quality breaking ball give him the chance to be a quality starter at the next level.

RELIEF PITCHER

rhp duke brotherton, mercer island, washington state commit

Again, with pitching being such a strength in the state, there wasn’t a bad choice to make in terms of our relief pitcher. We continued to stick with our rankings and keep our #2 arm in the mix with Duke Brotherton (Mercer Island). Another tall, lean and projectable righty. Brotherton has shown more velocity on his arsenal as of late and brings a level of  pitchability that makes him a tough match-up every time he toes the rubber.