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PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S TOP TEN LIST
WEEK 7: 2/18/08 - 2/24/08
 
AMERICAN HERITAGE: TEAM FOR THE AGES?
Thursday February 21, 2008
Florida’s American Heritage High is a clear-cut choice by PG Crosschecker as the nation’s No. 1 high school team. In fact, it may arguably have the greatest collection of talent on one high school team in the last decade—or at least since a Seminole (Fla.) High that featured first baseman Casey Kotchman went wire-to-wire in 2001, winning 31 straight games.

The Patriots are loaded at virtually every position and feature a pair of Aflac All-Americans in senior 1B-LHP Eric Hosmer and senior C Adrian Nieto. Hosmer (.380, 10 HR), an Arizona State recruit, is the nation’s top-ranked prep hitting prospect and almost a cinch to be drafted in the first round in June. Nieto (.376-5-18), one of the top catching prospects in the country and a South Florida recruit, is also a target in the early rounds of this year’s draft.Florida’s American Heritage High is a clear-cut choice by PG Crosschecker as the nation’s No. 1 high school team. In fact, it may arguably have the greatest collection of talent on one high school team in the last decade—or at least since a Seminole (Fla.) High that featured first baseman Casey Kotchman went wire-to-wire in 2001, winning 31 straight games.

Led by American Heritage, we’ve unveiled our ranking of the nation’s top 100 high school teams. We’ve also provided a full preview of the No. 1 Patriots, and will provide mini-profiles on all the remaining teams in the top 100, beginning next week. Those profiles will be available to Insider-level subscribers only.

Here’s how we see the nation’s top 10 high school teams. Regular, in-season rankings of the top 50 teams will appear every two weeks beginning in mid-March.
 
Ranking School 2007 Record
1. American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla. 23-6
2. Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas, Nev. 35-6
3. H.B. Plant HS, Tampa 20-6
4. Woodrow Wilson HS, Long Beach, Calif. 32-3
5. Cypress Fairbanks HS, Cypress, Texas 32-7
6. St. John’s College HS, Washington, D.C. 23-6
7. Moody HS, Corpus Christi, Texas 39-3
8. Don Bosco Prep, Teaneck, N.J. 26-2
9. Winter Springs (Fla.) HS 25-2
10. Walton HS, Marietta, Ga. 32-7
-- Jeff Simpson Top Ten List Archives
ALVAREZ SETS TONE AT HOT CORNER
Wednesday February 20, 2008
Vanderbilt junior third baseman Pedro Alvarez is the No. 1-ranked prospect for this year’s draft, but he’s hardly the only top college third base prospect for this year’s draft. There are at least another 8-10 third sackers who could work their way into the top four or five rounds in June.

With the college season scheduled to start in earnest on Friday, we’ll unveil the top college prospects at each position over the next three days as part of our pre-season All-America checklist. The information is available to Insider-level subscribers, but you can take a sneak preview at the 15 prospects we have listed in the talented third base crop, and mini-scouting reports on each.

While all 10 are scheduled to play third base in college this season, not everyone is projected to play the position at the pro level. The most noteworthy player on the list who will end up elsewhere is Arizona State’s Brett Wallace, who spent his first two college seasons at first base for the Sun Devils and is expected to return to that position at the next level.

Led by Alvarez, here’s how we see the top third-base prospects in this year’s college crop. All are eligible for this year’s draft.
 
Ranking Player, Pos., School Projected Round
1. Pedro Alvarez, Jr., Vanderbilt High 1st
2. Brett Wallace, Jr., Arizona State Supplemental 1st
3. James Darnell, Jr., South Carolina Supplemental 1st
4. Conor Gillaspie, Jr., Wichita State 2nd
5. Logan Forsythe, Jr., Arkansas 2nd
6. Nick Romero, Jr., San Diego State 3rd-4th
7. Chris Dominguez, So., Louisville 3rd-6th
8. Mark Sobolewski, So., Miami 4th-6th
9. Jermaine Curtis, Jr., UCLA 4th-6th
10. Alex Buchholz, Jr., Delaware 4th-6th
-- Allan Simpson Top Ten List Archives