The ‘Hotlist’ is a series that provides weekly insight into the high school baseball scene spanning the country, curated by Prep Baseball’s state directors who are situated nationwide, with vital intel on the prospects who are in their own backyards. Each week, we’ll publish our ‘Hotlist’ on varying topics that are timeliest to the national baseball calendar at that point in time.

This week’s topic: With the 2025 rankings update on deck, our scouts and state directors shared the junior from their backyards who gained the most momentum over the course of this calendar year. This could be the No. 1 player in the state who has evolved into a surefire draft prospect, or an under-the-radar player who’s burst onto the scene throughout this past year, now headed into the offseason.

+ Learn of our directors stationed nationwide by visiting the staff directory.
+ View which Prep Baseball events are headed your way next at this page.
+ Read about previously published ‘Hotlist’ topics here.

🔥The ‘Hotlist’ (11/29):

Texas

+ Baron Mannis, LHP, Argyle HS, TCU commit:
“Mannis ascended from unranked to a top-20 player in Texas over the course of 2023. The lefty from Argyle was dominant at our Top Prospect Games: North Texas event, held at the campus where he'd eventually commit, and he earned a bid to the Prep Baseball Future Games following his performance there. At LakePoint, Mannis was one of the national standouts on the weekend. He was dominant in his outing, showing a fastball-curveball combo that was unhittable. His metrics on his fastball really stand out, with an IVB that averaged over 22 inches of movement, reaching an 87.4 mph high. The elevated fastball pairs nicely with his big, over-the-top breaking ball that gets swingz and misses in the zone. Mannis should be a big part of what Argyle is looking to do this year.”

– Brandon Gowins, Texas Scouting Director