Top High School Players, 2019 MLB Draft Prospects Perform at Perfect Game All-American Classic

The 2018 Perfect Game All-Americans

52 of the top high school baseball prospects graced the field of Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, on Sunday, August 12th, playing in the 16th edition of Perfect Game All-American Classic. Some of the best players currently playing in Major League Baseball have competed in the contest as amateurs before going on to bright professional careers, such as: Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen, Madison Bumgarner, Kris Bryant, Francisco Lindor, and Rick Porcello.

Perfect Game provides countless showcases, tournaments, and leagues across the country in which many youth baseball talent participate. With thousands of kids each year performing at the various events in hopes of being chosen to play in the All-American Classic, just ahead of the beginning of their senior year.

There are a number of functions that take place leading up to the game, including: a home run derby sponsored by Rawlings, an annual awards banquet honoring the players in attendance for their work on and off the field, as well as a visit to the Rady's Children Hospital of San Diego — for which all proceeds from the game are donated.

Once the game began — won by the West for the third straight year, by a score of 4-2 — the field was full of future MLB talent, with the event having produced 623 draft picks, including 206 first round picks since it's inception. Comprised in those numbers are 60 all-star appearances, 15 Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards, seven MLB Rookies of the Year, four Most Valuable Players, and one Cy Young Award winner.

Time will tell what future accolades are in store for this class of Perfect Game All-Americans. Yet, a glimpse of the potential and promise they possess was on display, allowing for a projection of what is to come of each individual prospect. While each player certainly is uniquely talented and skilled enough to have garnered an invitation to play in the prestigious event, there were a few whose performance stood out amongst their peers. 

2018 Perfect Game All-American Classic Most Valuable Player, Corbin Carroll

Corbin Carroll (West)

With his team trailing 1-0 as he leadoff the bottom of the first inning, Carroll ignited the West offense so that it's deficit wouldn't remain much longer. The 5'10, 165-pound centerfielder showed he has some pop in his swing driving a 98-mph fastball from Daniel Espino out to deep centerfield, allowing him to show off his outstanding speed, easily making it to third with a triple. Standing on third, the energetic and electric kid from the state of Washington raced home when a pitch got past the catcher in the next at bat, getting a great jump, tying the game at 1. Patrolling the spacious centerfield at Petco Park, the future UCLA Bruin looked right at home, gliding into the right and left centerfield gaps turning opportunities into outs, making a few catches look effortless. The lefty batter and thrower, would finish the night reaching base all three times he came to bat — with two walks, two runs scored, and an RBI to earn MVP honors. 

Spencer Jones (West)

Entering the game at the top of the eighth inning with the West leading 3-2, Jones made an impact over the final two innings, both at pitcher and at the plate. Towering atop the mound at 6'7, he threw a scoreless frame in his sole inning of work, striking out two batters with his curveball that had late break and displayed depth at 80 mph. Also equipped with a 93 mph fastball, the versatile Vanderbilt-commit led off the the bottom half of the inning with a sharp-line drive single up the middle, before sliding into second with a stolen base a couple batters later. Playing in front of plenty supporters, the hometown kid from nearby La Costa Canyon, CA brought the fans in the seats to their feet when he raced home from third, beating a throw from the second baseman while the East had the infield in — extending the West lead to 4-2. It's safe to say the tall and talented prospect exhibited why he received the MLB/SiriusXM Two-Way Player Award at the Perfect Game Awards Banquet the previous night.

 Matthew Thompson (West)

Of all the players who took the mound, perhaps no pitcher made batters look more foolish than the Texas-native. Standing a slender 6'3, 184 pounds, the righty took the ball to begin the sixth inning with the score tied 2-2, throwing a perfect frame to earn the win as the West took the lead in the bottom half of inning. Committed to Texas A&M, Thompson showed Aggie fans what they hope to witness in College Station, as he struck out two batters and retired another on a groundout to third base. Featuring a fastball that topped out at an impressive 95 mph, it was his power-curve/slider showing sharp late movement which had hitters whiffing wildly. Furthermore, Thompson displayed plus-pitchability altering the timing of his delivery, helping keep hitters off-balance and commanding his fastball well within the zone, which aided in his cause to get them to chase his curve.

Matthew Allan (East)

While many of the 19 pitchers who took the mound in the game were impressive in their outing, only Allan struck out the side, while throwing a perfect inning. Entering the game for the East in the fifth inning, the soon to be senior at Seminole HS (FL) showed why he's one one of the most complete pitchers in the classs, striking out batters with each of the three pitches in his arsenal. Standing an imposing pro-ready 6'3, 210 pounds on the mound he broke over a curveball to catch Cade Doughty looking, got Maurice Hampton to whiff at a 94 mph fastball, and was able to sit down lefty, Gunnar Henderson swinging out in front of the lone changeup he threw all evening at 89 mph. Committed to the in-state Florida Gators, the righty relied mostly on his fastball, touching 95 mph, possessing positive command and trusted his breaking ball, showing sound horizontal plane, while maintaining sound arm action on all of his pitches to add to its deception.

Brennan Malone (East)

Coming on in the second inning to pitch, Malone looked like a Major League pitcher standing atop the mound at 6'5, 210 pounds. Still maturing physically it's scary to think, that the Charlotte, NC native has room to grow and could still add a couple ticks to his fastball which topped out at 97 mph — the second highest velocity in the game. The righty allowed one base hit and struck out the last two batters he faced swinging at his heater (96-97), leaving the baserunner stranded at third base. Committed to his in-state North Carolina Tar Heels, he also featured a curveball that came in at 80-82 mph which he controlled well, being able to locate in the zone, in addition to his fastball. Impressively, he threw an efficient 13 pitches, with 10 strikes, which should bode well for his continued development as a starting pitcher. 

Nasim Nunez (East)

There were a number of shortstop prospects on display at the Perfect Game All-American Classic, including some who had to play other positions due to the sheer number of individuals participating. Nunez received the start at the "6" for the East squad and didn't disappoint with his defensive effort, displaying why he was named Perfect Game's Top Defensive Prospect. The 5'9, 160-pound slick fielding infielder was seemingly all over the place, making plays when the ball was hit to him —likely none better than when he charged a softly hit groundball and was able to make a smooth, quick transfer and strong throw over to first, just nabbing the speedy Maurice Hampton. While at-bat the switch-hitting Dominican native, showed off his own speed beating out an infield single on a tapper down the third base line. He didn't stop there as he went on to steal two bases and help create a run of his own hustling home on a wild pitch. Overall the Clemson-commit displayed fluid body motion and control both in the field and when on the bases. 

Other Notes

• Considered the consensus top high school player in America, Bobby Witt, Jr. went 0-2, with a walk, while starting at shortstop, and later playing third base, for the West. At the Awards Banquet held the night prior to the game, the son of former MLB pitcher Bobby Witt was named winner of the Jackie Robinson Award, honoring the Perfect Game National Player of the Year. Committed to the University of Oklahoma, the 6'1, 185 pound Texas native is considered to be the potential number one overall pick for the 2019 MLB Draft.

• 6'4, 210 pound infielder Rece Hinds won the Rawlings Home Run Challenge earlier in the day, taking place during the morning, previous to the Padres-Phillies game, which proceeded the All-American game later in the evening. It was the second major home run competition the Niceville, FL native participated in this summer, finishing as the runner-up to Witt, Jr. in the High School Home Run Derby in Washington, D.C. that took place just before the MLB Home Run Derby last month. During the game itself Hinds — one of the dozen or so shortstop prospects — started at third base for the East, going 0-3. Committed to Louisiana State (LSU), he hit 13 home runs last season during the season and will team up with Brennan Malone in 2019, with both transferring to IMG Academy in Florida. 

• Although Daniel Espino wasn't on my short listed of standout performers, the starting pitcher for the East definitely still stood out with his fastball that clocked in at 97, 98, and 99 mph multiple times. While he began the game giving up a leadoff triple to Corbin Carroll, allowing him to score on a wild-pitch, ball four to the next batter, the young prospect from Panama was impressive in his inning of work. Using a loose arm action and leg kick, the 6'3, 200 pound righty was able to display quality control of his pitches which included a few breaking balls clocked between 76-82 mph. He used his fastball to strike out two batters, the last of which was placed perfectly on the outside corner at 97 mph to sit down lefty batting first baseman Henry Gargus looking. Derek Diamond opposed him as the starter for the West. Diamond is set to attend Stanford, while Espino has pledged to LSU. 

• With Brennan Malone and Rece Hinds set to attend IMG Academy for the upcoming school year, the prestigious prep team had three players selected to the game that will be on their 2019 roster, as they joined right handed pitcher Kendall Williams. The 6'6 hurler, who has spent the last two seasons at IMG, threw a scoreless eighth inning and was one of five players in the game committed to Vanderbilt. He's set to join another set of teammates who played in the game in Jack Leiter and Anthony Volpe, who have both pledge to play for the Commodores. Starring for Delbarton in New Jersey, Jack, the son of former New York Met and Yankee pitcher Al Leiter, is a righty pitcher, while Volpe is a shortstop prospect who appeared at second base during the game. Cypress Creek (TX) also featured two players as right-hander pitcher JJ Goss doubled up with him teammate Matthew Thompson, throwing a scoreless inning in the fifth — as they pitched in back-to-back innings. Another pair of teammates were a part of the winning, West squad as 6'5, first baseman Mahki Backstrom and 6'3 outfielder Damon Hale both attend Junipero Serra (CA). 

• Filtered among the number of quality athletes playing in the game were two elite football recruits Jerrion Ealy and Maurice Hampton, who have pledged to play both baseball and football in college. While both started in centerfield in the PG All-American Game, the two may meet in-between a different set of white lines in the future, as Ealy (East) is a running back committed to Mississippi (Ole Miss) and Hampton (West) has pledged to play defensive back at LSU — both in the SEC. Standing 6'0, 195 pounds, Hampton is a four-star recruit, ranked the 14th cornerback in the country according to 247 Sports composite rankings. Named the recipient of the Nike 5-Tool Award, Jerrion Ealy is a stout 5'10, 195 pound athlete that runs a 4.48 in the 40-yard dash. 247 has the speedy outfielder/running back placed third amongst all players at his position on the gridiron and the 49th overall prospect in the country.