The Perfect Game Pre-Draft Showcase, held Wednesday at PG’s home base in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was one of Perfect Game’s original events back in the early 1990s. It was created as a vehicle to expose the top Iowa high school players, whose high school seasons didn’t begin until the summer, to the pro scouting community before the draft.

The event has evolved include players from all over the country. The 2008 edition included players from diverse locations such as New York and Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia, and Washington and British Columbia—and, of course, Iowa. Current major league all-stars Carl Crawford (Texas) of the Tampa Bay Rays and Brian McCann (Georgia) of the Atlanta Braves are among the past standouts.

But given the event’s origin, it was only fitting that the biggest star of the this year’s pre-draft was an Iowa high schooler, righthander B.J. Hermsen of West Delaware High in Masonville.

Hermsen is hardly a player in need of more exposure; he is an Aflac All-American who signed with two-time defending College World Series champion Oregon State. He was projected to be an early-round pick in this year’s draft, possibly a supplemental first-rounder, but his stock had sunk this spring as he didn’t shown the raw stuff or the pitching ability he’s previously shown—though his subpar showing may have been the lingering effects from a broken left collarbone suffered playing football late in the fall.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Hermsen showed Wednesday that he should still be considered a potential high pick in June, pitching consistently in the 90-92 mph range from the windup. He was generally on the side of his 75-78 mph curveball, but the pitch has hard, tight spin and can be a plus big league pitch when he gets more two-plane break to it. Hermsen used his lower body better in his delivery than earlier this spring and attacked hitters with ideal aggressiveness. He’s also a strike machine who probably threw about 80 percent strikes.

Hermsen’s biggest fan is and continues to be Perfect Game president Jerry Ford, who said afterwards, “I think that B.J. Hermsen could be the best Iowa prospect since Bob Feller. I really do. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him throwing 94-96 mph later this summer. He’s going to be a big league pitcher for a long, long time.”

Some of the other notable performers of the showcase included:

Cecil Tanner, rhp, Ware County HS, Waycross, Ga. A 6-foot-7, 200-pound righthander, Tanner still looks like he may be still growing. He also might have the longest legs in the 2008 draft class right now. He’s not especially coordinated yet, but has partially solved that problem by not using his lower half much in his delivery. Tanner’s arm is loose and effortless, and he threw 90-91 mph with a pretty sharp 76 mph curveball and had an idea how to pitch. Give him some strength and coordination, and a leverage point in his release, and he could throw really, really hard some day.

Jackie Bradley, of, Prince George (Va.) HS. Bradley is a lithe 5-foot-11, 180-pound lefthanded-hitting outfielder who has always been a performance standout playing for the Richmond Braves in World Wood Bat Association events. He has signed with South Carolina. We’d never had him in a showcase environment before and were stunned when he threw 101 mph (along with a 97 and 98) from the outfield during drills. Although he took the mound and threw 90 mph with a sharp slider, Bradley is clearly a position prospect now. He may end up like another former South Carolina player, outfielder/righthander Marcus McBeth, who played mostly outfield in college and converted to the mound as a professional and has pitched in the big leagues.

Stosh Wawrzasek, rhp, Walnut Grove SS, Langley, B.C. Stosh did what he does every time he takes the mound. He threw strikes with a 90-93 mph fastball and a 78 mph curveball. He’s 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds with wide shoulders and a barrel chest, but his present stuff is impressive and impressively consistent. It would be surprising if someone doesn’t take him in the top three or four rounds.

Cody Bentley, ss-rhp, Kelly HS, Pound, Va. Bentley has always been a PG favorite. He got up at 3 a.m. on the East Coast Wednesday morning, flew into Cedar Rapids just before the workout started, ran 6.69 in the 60, threw 92 from the infield, 89 mph from the mound, made the defensive play of the day at second base and hit the ball hard. The mystery is why, despite his being a very good student, Bentley doesn’t have a solid college scholarship offer. Any coach looking for a potential two-way standout for his program, please take note.

Steven Upchurch, rhp, Faith Academy, Mobile, Ala. Upchurch has overly-busy mechanics that are hard to repeat, but his arm is loose and quick, and his fastball sat at 89-91 mph. He also showed a very advanced changeup. The amazing thing was that he did that with a fractured right hand, injured by a line drive in his last high school game. The PG staff didn’t know about it until after he pitched. That may account for his lack of a workable curveball, a pitch that’s flashed very good spin in the past.

Adam Frost, ss, St. Norbert (Wis.) College. Frost is a 5-foot-11, 165-pound junior at a Division III school in Wisconsin. He’s considered the top prospect for this year’s draft from that state and established his credentials when he ran 6.49 in the 60 and showed a cannon (94 mph) across the infield in drills. His BP wasn’t anything to remember but he laced the ball hard to the alleys in the games. Frost’s game defense was flawless. He moves easily and quickly, and plays with a level of confidence that belies his humble background. Further investigation shows that Frost hit .386-7-36 in 36 games this spring, with 23 steals. He could be a very interesting, small-school sleeper based on what he showed Wednesday.