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While a first full rendition of rankings for this class will not be released until the completion of the high school season in June, today we take a look at how our current short list of top prospects have performed early on in their first season of varsity competition.

We also take a look at additional freshmen that have had solid starts to their seasons.

An update to the current PBR Class of 2021 overall rankings will follow in the near future.

CURRENT PA CLASS OF 2021 Rankings

RANK	NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
1	Cole Wagner	PA	Red Land	2021	LHP	Georgia
2	Nick Bitsko	PA	Central Bucks East	2021	RHP	Virginia
3	Nick Kurtz	PA	Manheim Township	2021	LHP	Wake Forest
4	Joe Jaconski	PA	Springside Chestnut Hill	2021	SS	North Carolina
5	Sam Contacos	PA	Penn-Trafford	2021	C

+ Cole Wagner has made two appearances on the mound to date for Red Land (6-1). The 6-foot, 190-pound lefty is 1-0 over seven innings of work allowing four earned runs on eight hits while striking out seven against just one walk. Wagner has excelled at the plate hitting .529 with five doubles through seven games. The left-handed hitter has scored eight runs and has driven in seven while showing patience at the plate with five walks.

+ Nick Bitsko has made just one brief appearance on the mound for Central Bucks East (6-5) working 1.1 innings while striking out all four batters that he has faced. Offensively the 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-handed hitter is batting .304 with three doubles and a home run. He has scored 14 runs and has driven in six while walking seven times.

+ Nick Kurtz has gotten off to a solid start at the plate hitting .375 through 10 games for Manheim Township (4-6). The left-handed hitter has hit five doubles and two home runs while driving in six runs. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound lefty is 1-1 in three appearances with 8.2 innings pitched to date. Kurtz has struggled with command walking 11 against seven strikeouts.

Others to watch

Following is a look at additional prospects from the Class of 2021 that have had success while getting their feet wet this spring at the varsity level.

+ SS/RHP Derek Cease has made five appearances on the mound for Greater Nanticoke (7-3). The righty is 0-1 with a 3.57 ERA. Cease has worked 15.2 innings striking out 12 while allowing 12 hits.

+ SS/RHP Ben Chase has gone 2-for-8 at the plate with a walk and a run scored for Octorara (1-7). The righty has also worked one inning of relief allowing one hit and a walk while striking out two.

+ Catcher Colin Fitzgerald has four hits in 11 at bats for a .364 average in limited action thus far for Manheim Township (4-6).

+ RHP Luke Holman has made three appearances to date and has a 1-0 record for Wyomissing (4-4). The righty has not allowed an earned run in 7.1 innings of work yielding just four hits while striking out 16 batters against four walks.

+ OF/SS Chris Juchno has hit .345 with four doubles and a triple for McDowell (3-6) so far. The left-handed hitter has scored six runs to go along with four walks and three RBI.

+ C/OF Hunter Klotz is hitting .462 through six games for Central Martinsburg (1-5). The 6-foot-2, 185-pound left-handed hitter has a double, two runs scored and two RBI. He has shown discipline at the plate with eight walks and an on base percentage of .652.

+ C/2B Luke Lambert is hitting .333 through four games for West Allegheny (4-0). The right-handed hitter has scored four runs, with a double, two walks and an RBI for the Indians.

+ 1B/LHP Bobby Marsh has put up impressive numbers thus far for Bellefonte Area (5-1). The left-handed hitter is hitting .391 with three doubles and two home runs. He has five runs scored and five RBI. The lefty is also 1-0 on the mound. He has tossed four scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and only two hits allowed.

+ SS/RHP Aidan Masters is hitting .318 through seven games for Mt. Calvary Christian (4-3). He has a double, four RBI and seven runs scored. On the mound the righty has made five appearances totaling 15.1 innings. Masters has a 2.74 ERA with 23 strikeouts against 13 walks.

+ SS/RHP Andrew Muraco is hitting .355 with two doubles and 10 RBI through nine games for Franklin Regional (7-2). Muraco has scored 7 runs and walked seven times. He has also made one appearance on the mound allowing an earned run on one hit and one walk with one strikeout in 1.2 innings of work.

+ C/3B Jack Nugent is hitting .333 through the first 11 games of his high school career. The right-handed hitter five doubles and two RBI with five runs scored for Central Bucks East (6-5).

+ 2B/SS Jake Orr has put together a .391 average through eight games for McGuffey (3-6). The right-handed hitter has two doubles, three RBI and has scored six runs.

+ SS/RHP Zach Smith is hitting .357 with a triple, six runs scored and six RBI for The Perkiomen School (6-3). 

+ LHP Carter Welch has compiled a 2-1 record for Allentown Central Catholic (5-3). The 6-foot-1, 165-pound lefty has worked 17.2 innings with six earned runs allowed. Welch has struck out 18 batters against six walks and has allowed just 12 hits.

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