10 standouts from Under Armour All-America Game
CHICAGO -- Four days after winning the High School Home Run Derby as part as the All-Star Game, Bobby Witt Jr. seized the spotlight again.
A shortstop from Colleyville (Texas) Heritage High and a leading candidate to go No. 1 overall in the 2019 Draft, Witt took MVP honors at the annual Under Armour All-America Game on Friday night. He punctuated an 8-2 victory for his American team with a ninth-inning home run deep into the left-field bleachers at Wrigley Field. Witt fouled off five consecutive two-strike pitches before hammering a curveball down in the zone from Ramona (Calif.) High right-hander Derek Diamond.
Witt reached base in four of his five plate appearances, drawing a pair of walks, getting hit by a pitch and driving a ball to deep left-center. The son of longtime big league pitcher Bobby Witt didn't get to show off his speed or glovework, but he's a well-above-average runner with plus arm strength and defensive skills at short.
The 2017 Under Armour Game produced 13 first-rounders for the 2018 Draft, and this year's contest was similarly loaded with talent. Here are nine other players (listed alphabetically) who stood out in Chicago:
CJ Abrams, SS, Blessed Trinity Catholic High (Roswell, Ga.)
Abrams displayed his game-changing speed when he got from the left side of the plate to first in 4.0 seconds to beat out an infield hit in the eighth inning, then followed with a stolen base. He also smoked a 95-mph fastball from IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) right-hander Brennan Malone for a first-inning double, and he also looked smooth at shortstop (his normal position) and center field.
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Hunter Barco, LHP, The Bolles School (Jacksonville, Fla.)
The top high school southpaw in the 2019 Draft, Barco worked at 91-92 mph and struck out two of the four batters he faced. He fanned Memphis (Tenn.) University School outfielder Maurice Hampton on a nasty 83-mph splitter/changeup and Selah (Wash.) High shortstop Carter Young on a 91-mph fastball.
Corbin Carroll, OF, Lakeside High (Nine Mile Falls, Wash.)
A prototypical leadoff hitter with at least plus speed, a discipline approach and a quick lefty stroke, Carroll pulled a 93-mph fastball from Seminole High (Sanford, Fla.) right-hander Matthew Allan in the third inning and subsequently swiped third base. He reached in three of his four trips to plate, drawing a walk and lining a single to right field.
Daniel Espino, RHP, Bulloch Academy (Statesboro, Ga.)
Espino threw the hardest pitch in Under Armour Game history, clocking 99 mph in a perfect second inning to eclipse the 98-mph heater recorded two years ago by Hunter Greene, who went on to become the No. 2 overall pick in 2017. Espino delivered three other fastballs at 98 -- his softest one arrived at 96 -- and also flashed a promising curveball and changeup.
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Riley Greene, OF, Hagerty High (Oviedo, Fla.)
The best pure hitter in his prep class, Greene rivals Abrams as the No. 2 high school prospect behind Witt. He had the most impressive at-bat of the game in the first inning, spoiling a two-strike 96-mph fastball on the outside corner from Malone before crushing a hanging slider off the right-field scoreboard. Greene also singled and drew a walk in three subsequent plate appearances, showing a tremendous eye at the plate.
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Jared Jones, RHP, La Mirada (Calif.) High
One of two rising juniors in the game, Jones won't be Draft-eligible in 2020, but he certainly looked ready now by operating with a 95-96 mph fastball and whiffing Trinity Catholic High (Ocala, Fla.) outfielder Jud Fabian with a 95-mph heater. He also mixed in a power curveball during a perfect seventh inning.
Jack Leiter, RHP, Delbarton School (Morristown, N.J.)
Leiter not only has terrific bloodlines -- his father Al, uncle Mark and cousin Mark all pitched in the big leagues -- but he also has one of the better curveballs in the high school ranks. He worked around a walk and an infield single to strike out the side in the fourth, getting Puerto Rico Baseball Academy (Gurabo, P.R.) outfielder Erik Rivera and Hampton on 78-mph benders and Fabian on a 94-mph fastball, all swinging.
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Andre Tarver, OF, Ringgold (Ga.) High
One of the more physical Under Armour performers at 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Tarver did a nice job of staying back on breaking balls. He singled twice to the opposite field on curveballs from Ledford High (Thomasville, N.C.) left-hander Chris Villaman and Diamond, and he also added a walk and a stolen base.
Matthew Thompson, RHP, Cypress (Texas) Ranch High
Thompson has one of the quickest arms among 2019 prepsters and pumped 92-94 mph fastballs during a perfect fifth inning. He recorded his lone strikeout with a 93-mph fastball against Yucaipa (Calif.) High catcher Michael Carpentier, who impressed behind the plate by throwing out two basestealers.