2021 Hawaii Top MLB Draft Prospects
Today, Baseball America rolls out its state-by-state rankings for the 2021 MLB Draft. Additionally, you can find our:
500 Draft Rankings | 2021 MLB Mock Draft | MLB Draft Tracker
1. Aaron Davenport, RHP, Hawaii (BA RANK: 191)
Source: 4YR • Ht: 6-0 • Wt: 185 • B-T: R-R • Commitment/Drafted: Never Drafted
Davenport spent three seasons in Hawaii’s rotation and began to break out in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic shut down the season. He picked up where he left off in 2021 and posted a 3.74 ERA with 97 strikeouts and 21 walks in 86.2 innings as the Friday night starter for the Rainbow Warriors, including dominant showings in high-profile matchups against Arizona State, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton. Davenport is a 6-foot righthander with a fastball that sits 89-90 mph and tops out at 93-94. While his size and fastball don’t stand out, his curveball is a separator. It’s a high-spin, vertical hammer in the upper 70s that buckles hitters at the knees and gets whiffs and weak contact when they do swing. It’s a consensus plus pitch and maybe more. His changeup has developed and begun to flash above-average and he throws all of his pitches for strikes. Davenport’s size and velocity prevent him from being a top draft prospect, but he has a solid track record of performance and analytically-inclined teams like his spin rates and pitch data. He projects to be drafted in the middle of the draft’s second day.
2. Caleb Lomavita, C, St. Louis HS, Honolulu (BA RANK: 296)
Source: HS • Ht: 5-11 • Wt: 180 • B-T: R-R • Commitment/Drafted: California
Lomavita is the latest standout from St. Louis High in Honolulu, the school that produced Brandon League and Jordan Yamamoto among other big leaguers. He impressed as Hawaii’s only player at the Area Code Games last summer and solidified himself as the state’s top high school player this spring. Lomavita is an excellent athlete who projects to stick behind the plate. He is an average runner, rare for a catcher, and is a solid receiver with a plus arm. He’s touched 93 mph on the mound and has the hands and range to play third base if needed. Lomavita has solid bat speed and some nascent power, but he’s raw as a hitter and needs more reps against high-quality pitching. He is very academic and college-oriented and likely to stick with his commitment to Cal.
3. Cade Halemanu, RHP, Hawaii (BA RANK: 378)
Source: 4YR • Ht: 6-4 • Wt: 215 • B-T: R-R • Commitment/Drafted: Never Drafted
Halemanu sat 87-91 mph most of his college career before making a mechanical adjustment at mid-season this year and suddenly shooting up to 92-96 mph. He went 5-2, 3.60 as Hawaii’s Saturday starter and struck out 31 batters in his final 34 innings on the strength of that velocity bump. Halemanu is a big-bodied righthander at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds and throws his fastball at a steep downhill angle to get a lot of ground balls. His upper-70s curveball gets solid two-plane depth from his over-the-top release point and his upper-70s changeup is a decent third offering. Halemanu’s control is just okay and will likely push him to the bullpen, where his fastball and curveball can play up even more. He is young for the class and projects to be taken late on the draft’s second day or early on the third day.
4. Dustin Demeter, 3B, Hawaii (BA RANK: 450)
Source: 4YR • Ht: 6-2 • Wt: 200 • B-T: L-R • Commitment/Drafted: Marlins ’16 (38)
A 38th-round pick of the Marlins out of high school, Demeter missed a lot of time with injuries in his career at Hawaii but performed when healthy. He hit .325/.392/.553 and led the team with six home runs and 34 RBIs this season despite playing only 34 games. Demeter makes solid contact from the left side, manages the strike zone and flashes average pull-side power. He has tapped into his power more each season and still has room to increase his power output. Demeter has above-average arm strength and is a solid third baseman when he’s in the field, but frequent injuries have largely limited him to DH duty. He has had surgery on both hips and hasn’t played a full season since 2018. Demeter’s lefthanded bat has teams interested late on the draft’s third day. He is a redshirt junior who is old for the class.
5. Kole Kaler, SS, Hawaii
Source: 4YR • Ht: 5-10 • Wt: 170 • B-T: B-R • Commitment/Drafted: Never Drafted
6. Logan Pouelsen, LHP, Hawaii
Source: 4YR • Ht: 6-2 • Wt: 250 • B-T: L-R • Commitment/Drafted: Never Drafted
7. Adam Fogel, OF, Hawaii
Source: 4YR • Ht: 6-5 • Wt: 215 • B-T: R-R • Commitment/Drafted: Never Drafted
8. Joshua Reis, LHP, Mililani (Hawaii) HS
Source: HS • Ht: 6-0 • Wt: 190 • B-T: L-L • Commitment/Drafted: Hawaii
9. Tommy Tereschuk, RHP, Radford HS, Honolulu
Source: HS • Ht: 6-1 • Wt: 200 • B-T: R-R • Commitment/Drafted: Navy
10. Brayden Hiraki, LHP, Iolani HS, Honolulu
Source: HS • Ht: 6-0 • Wt: 175 • B-T: L-L • Commitment/Drafted: Cal State Northridge
11. Brock Perreira, C, Kaiser HS
Source: HS • Ht: 6-0 • Wt: 190 • B-T: L-R • Commitment/Drafted: Cal State Bakersfield
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