VA/DC 2025 Rankings Update: Risers
November 28, 2023
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With a week full of content on 2025's, here are five players that have made a sizeable jump in the rankings. These are players that have shown solid progression the past few months and their jump between the lines, has resulted in a jump in rankings.
Rankings Risers:
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Ian Baldwin 3B / RHP / Glen Allen, VA / 2025Large, 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame. Fairly evenly proportioned and still has some room to add strength. For a while now, Baldwin has displayed easy arm strength on the mound. During state games two things stood out helping Baldwin's case for a jump in rankings: 1) the effort has dialed back a touch and seems more in control 2) he had a much better feel for the zone than he has shown in our looks this summer and fall. Up to 88 with fairly normal effort and runs the fastball back over the glove side. The slider, while it is fairly firm, lacked in shape, but the splitter shows some promise, landing that more frequently than the slider. The next steps for Baldwin are showing the ability to maintain the velo in longer outings, controlling the zone consistently, and continuing to enhance the secondary offerings. Plenty of intrigue for this '25 arm.
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Austin Crew OF / OF / Ocean Lakes, VA / 2025Crew turned plenty of heads during the workout on Saturday at the Mid-Atlantic State Games. Has added some lean, functional strength to the 6-foot frame. Well above average bat speed (<75.9 mph), slightly above average hand speed (<22.1 mph), and some whip in the barrel. Crew showed carry to both gaps and the ability to impact the game at the plate. I liked that I saw at the plate in the spring, but it has been a while since we have gotten a good look at the Ocean Lakes outfielder. Ran a 6.92 this summer at the Phillies Scout Day and then turned out a 6.81 at the State Games. Very intriguing uncommitted outfielder that should be a big piece of the puzzle for the Dolphins this spring.
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Nick Newburn RHP / RHP / Langley, VA / 2025One of the more exciting arms at State Games was the Langley right hander. While he has generally been a low 80's arm when we have seen him, his velo jump, paired with the pitchability he already possessed, was the big reason for a rise in the rankings. The 6-foot-5 Newburn sat 84-86 and touched 87.2 on the mound. Although he landed the breaking ball for strikes, it is a bit softer and will need to firm up a bit, but had solid depth. The changeup was the best featured secondary pitch for me. Firm, killed spin, landed for strikes. XL frame, projection left, pitches and competes. Should be one of the better uncommitted arms in NOVA this spring.
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Ryan Petro LHP / OF / Gainesville, VA / 2025Compact 5-foot-9 frame. Slightly above normal effort, lands closed, and works from a three-quarter arm slot. Above average arm speed and the fastball has some hop through the zone. While we have generally seen Petro in the 82-84 range, our staff had a chance to see that velo creep up to 87 at the DC Open this summer. Sweeping slider with a higher end spin profile. Up to 2,750 RPM and averaged 17.9" horizontal movement. Sweeping slider with average feel for the zone and higher end spin gives him a formidable secondary pitch to create more intrigue to the profile.
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Graham Ward 3B / RHP / North Stafford, VA / 2025Ward is a two-way that has been trending up through the summer and has taken a nice leap this fall. We will start with the most intriguing part of the profile, the bat. Ward has shown really nice feel for the barrel every time we have seen him. While there is some sneaky pop in the bat, it is more doubles, line drives, and uses the middle well. Put together a couple of nice AB's when we saw him this fall and then capped it off with a stellar performance in Hampton at the beginning of November. More corner/corner defensive profile and a solid defender, but the bat carries the weight. On the mound he is a low-mid 80's arm with a fastball that has shown some really nice cut and ability to miss barrels and bats in the zone. More reliever profile if we are talking about an arm at the next level, but an athletic arm that is able to get outs and is efficient in the zone.
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