1. If your favorite player is missing, then chances are a lot higher it was a copy/paste fail and not my complete and utter lack of baseball knowledge. I mean, sure, it could still be the latter, but if there’s somebody obvious that I’ve ignored, please give a gentle reminder in the comments or via email (robozga at gmail dot com). It’s also possible I mentally shifted a guy’s position in my head, so don’t rule out your player suddenly popping up on another position list.

2. Players designated as FAVORITEs were given that tag prior to the season, or, in some cases, upon enrolling in college. In other words, just because a guy is a FAVORITE doesn’t mean he’s automatically guaranteed a high placement on the list. I’m stubborn about which players I like, true, but I’m also quite cognizant of the fact prospect status is fluid.

3. Final opinions are all mine, but information has been culled from a variety of sources. Like anybody likely reading this site, I’m an avid follower of all things Baseball America and Perfect Game. Seriously, if you are into the draft/prospects at all, I highly recommend getting subscriptions to both sites. I also have a small but trustworthy network of friends in the game I occasionally call upon for information on prospects, especially those off the beaten path. Consider the little scouting notes section on each player a synthesis on what I’ve read, heard, and seen about each player. I’m in no way an expert and literally nothing I write, positively or negatively, influences what pro teams actually do on draft day. I’m just a baseball loving guy who has taken a hobby way, way, way too far.

4. I’m happy to answer any and all questions I can over email or in the comments. Also, for the sake of my already waning sanity, I didn’t include everything I had on every player — you’ll see some blank spots sprinkled throughout — so please don’t hesitate to ask if there’s something about a specific guy you want answered.

5. There’s a little more science in scouting college prospects than when it comes to evaluating high school guys. This is all art and totally up to interpretation. The rankings are rankings because they are…rankings (I say it every year, but next year I want to do tiers), but that doesn’t mean Prospect #3 is leaps and bounds better than Prospect #15. I’m not trying to preempt any criticism of the list or anything, just getting it out there that nothing I write should be taken as more than the semi-educated opinions of what some weird guy on the internet thinks about a bunch of ballplayers. Cool? Cool. Here we go…

***

1. 3B/2B Cavan Biggio (St. Thomas HS, Texas): strong hit tool; average power upside, but needs to get stronger; great approach, patient and aggressive all at once; good defensive tools; average at best speed; average at best arm; smart hitter; line drive machine; born to hit; carries himself like a pro; great pitch recognition; FAVORITE; 6-1, 180 pounds

2. 3B/SS Travis Demeritte (Winder Barrow HS, Georgia): outstanding defender; above-average power upside, not a ton at present and average for others; line drive machine; well above-average arm strength; love his approach; average speed; lightning quick bat; PG Matt Dominguez comp; reminds me of Moran a bit as a hitter coming out of HS; little bit of Jason Esposito to his game as well; 86-90 FB, 91-92 peak; really good 75-79 CB, plus upside; average 78-81 CU; FAVORITE; 6-1, 185 pounds

3. 3B Trey Michalczewski (Jenks HS, Oklahoma): really intriguing bat; above-average power upside; strong; lots of bat speed; slow starter with average at best speed underway; strong defensive tools; good athlete; love his approach; 6-3, 200 pounds

4. 3B Ryan McMahon (Mater Dei HS, California): good athlete; good power, above-average upside; great approach; good defensive tools; 55 arm; PG Corey Seager comp; personally love his power upside, think he’s got 20+ HR upside; great hands; FAVORITE; 6-3, 190 pounds

5. 3B/1B Drew Ward (Leedy HS, Oklahoma): very strong; good athlete; untapped upside; intriguing natural talent with bat; big raw power; impressive pitch tracking and recognition; really like his approach; could be a catcher long term; strong arm, but mechanics out of whack; PG comp Jim Thome; profile reminds me some of Phil Nevin; 6-4, 200 pounds

6. 3B/2B Andy McGuire (James Madison HS, Virginia): good athlete; above-average to plus arm; good range; intriguing tools at plate; average speed; steady defender; good present gap power, average to above-average raw; below-average speed; reminds me some of CJ Hinojosa last year; FAVORITE; 6-1, 190 pounds

7. 3B/RHP Dylan Manwaring (Horseheads HS, New York): big power upside; really good defender; plus arm; advanced pitch recognition; smart hitter; 88-92 FB; 78-82 SL; FAVORITE; 6-3, 205 pounds

8. 3B Joseph Martarano (Fruitland HS, Idaho): plus athlete; football star; plus to plus-plus raw power; quick bat, violent swing but in a good way; early PG comp Mitch Nay; far more nimble and athletic at third than anticipated; raw as hitter, especially in terms of pitch recognition; has been better than I thought in certain aspects of game; BA comp: Mark Trumbo; 6-3, 240 pounds

9. 3B/SS Jan Hernandez (Carlos Beltran Academy, Puerto Rico): strong arm; really good defensive tools; interesting power, taps into it well for a prep player and profiles as at least average; average speed; average hit tool; below-average speed; reminds me defensively of Javier Baez; 6-3, 200 pounds

10. 3B John Sternagel (Rockledge HS, Florida): average raw power; good enough defender; average arm; strong hit tool; confident he’ll hit; below-average speed; FAVORITE; 6-2, 200 pounds

11. 3B/SS Weston Wilson (Wesleyan Christian Academy, North Carolina): really good defender; average speed; really intrigued by bat; easy frame to dream on, if he grows into it as hoped he could be a monster; FAVORITE; 6-4, 180 pounds

12. 3B/RHP Ryder Jones (Watauga HS, North Carolina): really good defensive tools; strong arm, plus at times; average or better power; not a perfect comp, but reminds me some of Billy Rowell; slow; 88-92 FB; good 77-78 SL; 6-4, 200 pounds

13. 3B Lachlan Fontaine (Sutherland SS, British Columbia): power upside; good athlete; above-average arm; should be solid defender with reps; 6-3, 200 pounds

14. 3B/SS Dustin Peterson (Gilbert HS, Arizona): strong hit tool that I’m higher on than most; little less than average speed; little less than average arm; above-average power upside; could also play 2B; 6-2, 180 pounds

15. 3B/2B Wesley Jones (Redan HS, Georgia): really good athlete; strong (65) arm; thoughts on power diverge: some say good, others limited…I split the difference personally, call it average; really good defensive tools; could be tried behind plate; way too aggressive for his own good; average at best speed, slow starter; very raw across the board; 87-89 FB; 78 CU; 6-2, 180 pounds

16. 3B/RHP Blake Tiberi (Holy Cross HS, Kentucky): quick bat; power upside; strong arm; above-average speed; good defensive tools; like the bat; 5-11, 200 pounds

17. 3B Tucker Neuhaus (Wharton HS, Florida): strong hit tool; plus arm strength, can get wild; interesting power upside, average or better; really good defensive tools; 6-3, 200 pounds

18. 3B Tyler Bozeman (Centennial HS, Tennessee): average arm; really like his approach; power upside questionable

19. 3B Jonah Arenado (El Toro HS, California): average or better arm; steady glove; interesting power; average upside with hit tool; 6-3, 200 pounds

20. 3B/RHP Jeff Paschke (Santa Barbara HS, California): good athlete; interesting power; strong arm; quick bat; 85-90 FB, 92 peak; CB and SL both need work; 6-4, 185 pounds

21. 3B Ronnie Gideon (Hallsville HS, Texas): intriguing power upside; physically strong; quick bat; strong enough arm; average speed; slow; 6-3, 220 pounds

22. 3B/RHP Angel Alicea-Nieves (Montverde Academy, Florida): above-average speed; above-average arm; good defensive tools; 88-90 FB

23. 3B/RHP Evan Fraliex (Lexington Catholic HS, Kentucky): good power; quick bat; very good defensive tools; 85-87 FB; good 73-75 CB

24. 3B Angel Luis Perez Rodriguez (Colegio San Felipe HS, Puerto Rico): good speed; above-average arm; plus bat speed; 6-1, 185 pounds

25. 3B/SS Blake Hennessey (Arlington County HS, Florida): average or better speed; good defender; strong arm; strong overall; 6-1, 180 pounds

26. 3B/SS Daniel Pinero (Western Tech Institute, Ontario): good instincts; strong arm; good speed; intriguing power; 6-6, 180 pounds

27. 3B Nick Zammarelli (Lincoln HS, Rhode Island): good athlete; average raw power; average at best arm; 6-2, 200 pounds

28. 3B Derek Rustich (Grossmont HS, California): good defensive tools; good athlete; impressed by power; 6-4, 220 pounds

29. 3B Darian Carpenter (Varina HS, Virginia): plus arm; good raw power; like his bat speed, can turn around velocity

30. 3B/RHP Bobby Dalbec (Legend HS, Colorado): strong arm; impressive bat speed; strong; above-average power; below-average speed; 91 FB; 6-5, 230 pounds

Ten bonus names make it a nice and even 40…

31. 3B/SS Bryce Only (Huntley HS, Illinois): advanced bat; power upside; 6-1, 200 pounds

32. 3B David Greer (Desert Mountain HS, Arizona): good defensive tools; strong arm; quick bat; power upside

33. 3B/RHP Will Craig (Science Hill HS, Tennessee): good defender; very strong; 89 peak; 6-3, 210 pounds

34. 3B/1B Hunter Simmons (St. Francis HS, California): interesting hit tool; slow; 6-3, 200 pounds

35. 3B/1B JC Escarra (Mater Academy, Florida): average at best power

36. 3B/OF Mark Karavotis (Maui HS, Hawaii): average at best arm; interesting hit tool

37. 3B Kezlin Douglas (South Windsor HS, Connecticut): good athlete; good defensive tools

38. 3B/SS Reid Humphreys (Northwest Rankin HS, Mississippi): average speed; good enough arm; TJ survivor

39. 3B Ryan Sullivan (Hopkinton HS, Massachusetts): above-average arm; strong

40. 3B/RHP Antony Diana (Somers HS, New York): good athlete; pretty swing