MLB Draft: Top High School Prospects From The Summer, Fall Circuits (Part 2)
Image credit: Cam Caminiti (Mike Janes/Four Seam Images)
The following is part two in our series highlighting prep standouts from the summer and fall circuit. The list below is not a ranking, but an attempt to highlight top performers and the most interesting prospects this year’s evaluation periods.
The 25 players listed below are in alphabetical order. There are four parts planned for this series.
Talan Bell, LHP/OF, Hagerty HS, Oviedo, Fla.
Commit: Clemson
There are a number of talented two-way players in the 2024 prep class, and Bell is one of them. Listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, Bell has a smaller frame, but he’s lean and athletic with exciting talent in his left arm. Bell shoved over three innings at the Area Code Games and struck out six batters while showcasing solid control and feel for a four-pitch mix.
He threw his fastball in the 90-93 mph range and got a lot of miss with the pitch—eight in total in this outing—and did a nice job changing speeds with an 83-85 mph changeup that flashed above-average and had solid tumbling action. He split usage of an 83-84 mph slider with sweeping action and slurve-like shape at times, and also mixed in a consistently average 75-76 mph curveball that had better finish and sharper bite than the slider.
Mason Brassfield, LHP, Bakersfield (Calif.) Christian HS
Commit: Texas Christian
A 6-foot-4, 190-pound lefthander with a great pitcher’s frame, Brassfield showed impressive stuff at a few events this summer, including Perfect Game’s National Showcase and the Area Code Games. At those events he pitched mostly in the 89-92 mph range, but he has gotten his fastball up to 94. The pitch has solid life with carry and a tick of run to his arm side. His control with the pitch is a bit erratic at the moment. Brassfield does have a bit of violence in his delivery with a head whack and a fall off to the third base side, but he also provides impressive arm speed from a higher, three-quarters slot.
His best secondary is a low-to-mid 80s slider that has short biting action and spin rates in the 2,400-2,500 rpm range. It is especially effective against lefthanded hitters. Brassfield threw a pair of changeups in his Area Code Games outing, both at 84 mph, and they looked like fine pitches, though it was tough to get a great read of how good the cambio truly is. He looks like the sort of pitcher who will throw harder in the future and already has a solid breaking ball to his name.
Cam Caminiti, LHP/OF, Saguaro HS, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Commit: Louisiana State
Caminiti was one of the top-ranked players in the 2025 class before he reclassified into the 2024 class. Since then he’s been one of the most exciting lefthanders of the group, and like both Bell and Brassfield is still a two-way player in high school. Caminiti has a lean pitcher’s frame with future strength potential and is listed at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds. He has an easy operation and a fluid arm action, with a crossfire landing.
Caminiti has been up to 96 mph and sits in the 90-94 mph range, and the heater is currently his best swing-and-miss pitch. It overwhelms hitters and racks up whiffs, even though he overthrows at times and will miss the edges of the strike zone. He throws two breaking balls, though both can be inconsistent at times and need more refinement. The first is a slider in the upper 70s with sweeping shape and the second is a curveball in the low-to-mid 70s that has more top-down, 1-to-7 shape. The latter looks like a decent backdoor breaking ball to righthanded hitters, but he often gets around the breaking balls or leaves them up and to his arm side. Caminiti will also throw an 81-84 mph changeup that has a bit of arm-side fading life and looks like a serviceable pitch to both lefties and righties when he spots it down in the zone.
Hunter Carns, C/OF, First Coast HS, Jacksonville, Fla.
Commit: Florida State
Carns was one of the most impressive power hitters on the circuit this year. In 27 logged games with Synergy in 2023, the 6-foot, 195-pound catcher hit .324/.430/.761 with eight home runs, two triples and three doubles. Carns is fairly unassuming in the batter’s box, with an average frame that doesn’t scream “slugger.” But when he uncorks a swing, his bat speed and power potential become quite obvious. He has twitchy hands and does a great job getting extended to the pull side.
He homered against an 82 mph slider at PG National that left his bat at 101 mph. Later at the event, he turned around an 89 mph fastball that had a 106 mph exit velocity. He has a crouched, open stance and loads the barrel properly, while getting his foot down in a toe tap position before his hips and hands follow with tons of force. There is a bit of swing and miss, particularly against breaking balls. Carns is a plus runner with solid arm strength, though his actions behind the plate are a bit stiff at times and he seems like a bat-first prospect at the moment.
Jack Detienne, RHP, Verona (Wisc.) HS
Commit: Xavier
Detienne is an ultra-lean righthander with a lanky, 6-foot-2, 170-pound frame and two loud pitches. There is a bit of effort to his delivery and some length to his arm stroke, but he has been up to 96 mph with his fastball. He has also flashed a high-spin curveball that looks like a potential plus pitch. Pitching for the Southeast-based Nationals team at the Area Code Games, Detienne struck out a pair of batters and walked three in three innings while pitching in the 91-96 mph range.
He needs to improve his strike throwing to make the most of his velocity, as he overthrew and yanked the pitch at times, and was a bit scattered overall. His 79-82 mph curveball has excellent bite and three-quarter shape when he hits on it, with spin rates in the 2,500-2,600 rpm range. When he gets around the pitch or leaves it up, the breaking ball will hang up a bit and look more fringe-average or below. At its best, it is a breaking ball that induces ugly chases out of the zone.
Kale Fountain, 3B, Norris HS, Firth, Neb.
Commit: Louisiana State
Fountain is an extra-large, 6-foot-5, 230-pound corner infielder who has big time raw power and showed it off this summer at the Area Code Games. He showed plus raw power in batting practice and also homered once to the pull-side in game—turning around an elevated 90-mph fastball that left his bat at 98 mph and traveled and estimated 376 feet. After seeing him hit the ball it’s not shocking to learn that he’s already the Nebraska high school career home run record holder and still has a full senior season to add to that total.
Fountain doesn’t always get on plane and there’s enough swing-and-miss to wonder what sort of pure hitter he’ll be, but he generally makes solid swing decisions and walked as often as he struck out in 20 games logged by Synergy this year. He is a stiff mover who will need to improve his actions to stick at third base, though he does have above-average arm strength that would play nicely at the position.
Noah Franco, LHP/OF, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.
Commit: Texas Christian
Like Caminiti, Franco was originally a member of the 2025 class, but he reclassified to 2024 and similarly to Caminiti, he’s currently a two-way player with upside as a hitter and lefthanded pitcher. However, while most scouts seem to prefer Caminiti on the mound, the industry might be more split about whether Franco has more upside with the bat in his hand or the baseball.
He has been up to 94 mph on the mound and has a high-spin, slurvy breaking ball that has potential to be a solid pitch, and he’s also mixed in a 78-82 mph changeup—though he needs to throw this one for strikes more often, and improve his control all around.
Franco was a consistent standout this summer and fall as a hitter. He slashed .321/.437/.488 with two home runs, one triple and six doubles in 38 logged games in Synergy. He was annihilating the baseball through four games in Jupiter at Perfect Game’s WWBA World Championship before he injured his ankle. He has a strong, 6-foot-3, 197-pound frame and takes big, violent hacks from the left side, but drives the ball with authority when he connects and also showed some deft footwork around the bag at first base.
Trey Gregory-Alford, RHP, Coronado HS, Colorado Springs, Col.
Commit: Virginia
Gregory-Alford is an extra-large, 6-foot-5, 235-pound righthander who has big stuff to match his big frame. He has touched 97 mph with his fastball and is consistently in the 93-95 mph range in short outings, with impressive arm side running life. His velocity will tick down out of the stretch, but he has the arm speed and strength of a pitcher who should be throwing in the upper 90s consistently in the future. On top of the fastball, Gregory-Alford has a high-spin slider in the low 80s with good tilt that regularly induces ugly swings on balls beneath the zone and in the dirt. There is some reliever risk given the effort with which he throws, a mostly two-pitch mix and largely scattered control overall. In terms of stuff and size he stacks up with many arms in the class.
Owen Hall, RHP, Edmond North (Okla.) HS
Commit: Vanderbilt
Hall has a fantastic pitcher’s frame at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds with long levers and tons of growth potential in the future. He also flashed three intriguing pitches at the Area Code Games this summer. In three innings there, he struck out seven batters and walked two. Hall has a bit of depth in his arm stroke, as well as a hooking action, and he is a bit erratic with his fastball at times. But when he puts the ball over the plate he works quickly and overwhelms hitters—like the second inning of this look when he struck out the side.
He touched 97 mph and pitched in the 91-95 mph range for the most part and racked up nine whiffs with the pitch. His go-to secondary was an 80-85 mph slider that was mostly a fringe-average pitch in this look, with decent, 10-to-4 movement that flashed some bite at times to the glove side, but he got around the pitch more frequently. Hall also mixed in an occasional 87-89 mph changeup that he threw with solid arm speed. Hall has also thrown a mid-70s curveball with more top-down shape that could wind up being a better swing-and-miss breaking ball, though he didn’t throw it at the Area Code Games.
Aiden Harris, 3B, PDG Academy, Fredericksburg, Va.
Commit: Virginia
Harris is young for the class and will still be 17 on draft day, but he doesn’t look like it with a large and muscular, 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame. He has tremendous raw power and a pull-heavy approach that leads to massive home runs to left field—both in batting practice and in game. At Perfect Game’s National Showcase at Chase Field, he caught an 81 mph breaking ball that was left up and hit a no-doubt blast that measured 110 mph in exit velocity. Harris is a power-over-hit offensive profile who has long levers and a decent amount of swing and miss in his game. He also has a tendency to step in the bucket and leak out to the pull side, which could leave him exposed on the outer third. Harris has above-average arm strength and has been up to 93 mph on the mound.
Caleb Hoover, 1B/RHP, Rockwall-Heath HS, Rockwall, Texas
Commit: Oklahoma State
Hoover helped put on one of the better batting practice displays at the Area Code Games this summer, when he went back and forth with fellow Rangers teammate Sawyer Strosnider (mentioned below) and deposited balls on top of the building behind San Diego’s right field fence. A 6-foot-3, 215-pound lefthanded hitter, Hoover is filled out and strong with easy raw power to the pull side, though he didn’t have much in-game success in this event, going hitless in 14 plate appearances with six strikeouts and two walks.
He also hopped on the mound and struck out the side while throwing a 90-92 mph fastball with solid spin rates around 2,400 rpm and mixed in a slow, slurvy breaking ball in the mid 70s as well as an 80-82 mph changeup.
Hoover comes from an athletic family and also plays football at Rockwall-Heath High—the same school that produced Mets first rounder Jett Williams in 2022. His brother, Josh, is a quarterback at Texas Christian and his father, Alex, was a linebacker at Colorado State.
Jaydon Aukai Kea, C, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.
Commit: Vanderbilt
Kea’s raw power stacks up with nearly anyone in the 2024 high school class. The powerfully built, 6-foot-1, 210-pound righty is frequently in the final rounds or winning high school home runs derbies, and he has a tremendous ability to backspin the baseball out of the yard in batting practice. There are more questions about his pure hitting ability and at-bats against live pitching, however, as Aukai Kea has an aggressive approach and expands the zone frequently. He is also just a bit late and just a bit under pitches too frequently to tap into his impressive raw power. There’s a slight hitch in his load and an already low handset means he gets under the ball at a decent clip, and he also is late at times getting his front foot down.
Naulivou Lauaki Jr., RHP, Springville (Utah) HS
Commit: Oregon
Lauki Jr. is an extra-large righthander with a filled out, 6-foot-4, 255-pound frame. He struck out a pair of batters in a two-inning Area Code Games outing and threw a fastball in the 90-94 mph range. Lauaki Jr. throws from a lower, three-quarters arm slot and has a fairly balanced delivery and finish and he showed solid feel for a fastball and slider early before that command backed up in the second inning. All of his whiffs came via the fastball, but his 78-81 mph breaking ball looked like a solid pitch, with 10-to-4 shape, spin rates in the 2,400-2,500 rpm range and solid movement. He has a workhorse frame, and also showcased impressive raw power in batting practice, though his slower bat speed probably makes him a more exciting prospect on the mound.
Brendan Lawson, SS, Lawrence Park Collegiate HS, Toronto
Commit: Florida
The top Canadian prospect in the 2024 draft class, Lawson showed a strong blend of hitting ability, impact and defensive actions in the middle of the infield. Listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Lawson has an impressive physique and a bit of room to fill out and add more strength in his upper half, though his strong lower half provides a great hitting foundation presently. He has a unique setup at the plate with his hands starting above his head, before a toe tap and a hand press in his load before firing a quick bat through the zone. He can drive the ball with some pop to the pull side, though he is mostly a line drive hitter presently who could develop more home run power in the future. There’s a bit of swing and miss in Lawson’s game—particularly against spin—but he does a nice job of staying within the strike zone. He has solid hands, footwork and arm strength that could give him a chance to stick up the middle if he doesn’t outgrow the position.
Andre Modugno, 3B, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.
Commit: Duke
Modugno was advanced physically as an underclassman. He put on power displays in batting practice at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. that weren’t all that far off then-teammate and eventual 2022 first-round pick Elijah Green. Now in his draft year, Modugno is a physically imposing 6-foot-5, 215-pound slugger with some of the best raw power in the class. He has outstanding strength and plus bat speed that creates tons of force and allows him to generate 100+ mph exit velocities with a wood bat.
At Perfect Game’s National showcase, Modugno turned around 89 mph fastballs multiple times—once for a triple crushed to center field that came off the bat at 105 mph and a second time a low line drive that came off his barrel at 104 mph. While Modugno is large, he moves surprisingly well for his size and is an above-average runner underway, and he also has double-plus arm strength and has been up to 97-98 mph on the mound. Modugno struck out 17 times in 22 logged games in 2023, and he has a high miss rate at 35% in that stretch, but he also slashed .377/.462/.698.
Collin Mowry, C, Lincoln-Way Central HS, New Lenox, Ill.
Commit: Louisville
Louisville has done an excellent job developing catchers in recent years and they could have another talented backstop on the way in Mowry. A number of scouts commented that he was one of the most impressive all-around backstops in the prep class this summer and fall. Mowry has a filled out, muscular frame and is listed at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds. He showed good actions behind the plate and blocked well at the Area Code Games. He showed a solid-average throwing arm with good carry and a quick exchange.
While Mowry was in the middle of a loaded midwest White Sox lineup at the event, he showed quick hands in the righthanded batter’s box, barreled the ball hard on a number of occasions and performed well all year, with a .343/.465/.657 slash line across 15 logged games included solid zone discipline and modest swing-and-miss tendencies.
Jake Neely, RHP, Clark HS, San Antonio
Commit: Arizona State
Neely pitched twice this summer at the Area Code Games. He missed plenty of bats in both of his appearances while touching 94 mph from an over-the-top arm slot. A 6-foot-3, 205-pound righthander, Neely has a lean, athletic frame with more growth potential in the future, and he mostly pitched in the 90-93 mph range this summer, though he has hit 96 at peak velocity. Neely throws two solid breaking balls, the first an upper 70s, lower 80s slider with short downer action and the second a slower curveball with similar downer shape and hard finish. The former is a better strike pitch for Neely, while the latter seemed to be a better swing-and-miss offering for him this year. There are three exciting pitches in the repertoire, though he has below-average control that he’ll need to sharpen moving forward. Neely has thrown a mid-80s changeup, but he mostly works with his fastball, slider and curveball.
Dante Nori, OF, Northville (Mich.) HS
Commit: Mississippi State
Scouting departments who don’t love older, maxed out players might be more critical of Nori, who is a 5-foot-11, 188-pound outfielder who will turn 20 in October of 2024. Teams who love pure hitters and performers, though, should love him. Nori was one of the most consistent in-game performers of the circuit, and through 37 logged games with Synergy, he hit .376/.555/.541 with 28 walks and 16 strikeouts.
Nori has plus bat-to-ball skills and a simple, direct swing from the left side with few moving parts to speak of, a natural ability to use the opposite field and a willingness to shorten up and spread out in two-strike counts. He’s also a 65 or 70-grade runner who gets out of the box well and can cover plenty of ground in the outfield, and his strong frame has led to some impressive power showings in batting practice—though during games he’s much more of a low line drive sort of hitter.
Nori will surely be a polarizing prospect because of his age. For context, Brett Baty who was one of the most notoriously critiqued “old prep players,” had a November birth date. Nori’s birthday is nearly two months sooner. But it’s hard to argue with his hitting ability and up-the-middle profile.
Braylon Payne, OF, Fort Bend Elkins HS, Missouri City, Texas
Commit: Houston
An athletic and lean lefthanded hitter and outfielder, Payne has table-setting, top-of-the-lineup tools led by his double-plus speed. He’s young for the class and doesn’t turn 18 until a month after the draft, and has tons of physical projection with a 6-foot-1, 180 pound frame. Mostly a singles hitter now, Payne has a slappy, level swing and solid pure bat-to-ball skills with some sneaky pop when he catches a fastball on the inner half and turns it to the pull side. He’s capable of turning ground balls into singles and blooped flairs into doubles thanks to his excellent speed. He gets out of the box quickly and is also a savvy base runner.
Payne does have some refinements to make offensively. He has a significant step in the bucket action in his lower half and consistently pulls out with his lower half. Additionally, while he has good contact skills, he could improve his pitch recognition to better sit back on breaking balls and drive them with authority. Payne performed well at Perfect Game’s WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, where he went 5-for-11 (.455) with two walks and no strikeouts.
Mavrick Rizy, RHP, Worcester (Mass.) Academy
Commit: Louisiana State
Rizy is one of the tallest pitchers in the class and is listed at 6-foot-9, 225 pounds with a lean, athletic and lanky frame that still has plenty of room for added strength and mass. He has extremely long levers and some depth in his arm stroke, which could create issues repeating his release point, but Rizy’s operation is fairly clean overall for someone of his size.
He pitches in the 89-93 mph range and has been up to 94. Early in outings he works in the 92-94 mph range, but in his third inning at the Area Code Games he was back down to 89-92. Increased strength should allow him to hold that velocity longer into outings in the future. He also flashed a decent breaking ball in the 77-82 mph range. The pitch has solid spin in the 2,400-2,600 rpm range and he flashes some bite when he gets on top of the pitch, though it remains inconsistent for the time being.
Mikey Ryan, SS, Archbishop Rummel HS, Metairie, La.
Commit: Louisiana State
Ryan is a 6-foot, 185-pound shortstop with a short and compact swing. He impressed at Baseball Factory’s All-American game at Globe Life Park in Texas, where he showed plus bat speed from the right side and an ability to hit hard line drives to all fields. Ryan didn’t show a ton of raw power, and he might never be a huge power threat, but he has a chance to be an above-average hitter.
There is a bit more swing and miss in Ryan’s game than you might expect given how compact and direct his swing is, mostly against breaking balls and off-speed offerings. In 25 logged games this year, Ryan hit .302/.429/.476 with two home runs, two triples, one double and nine walks compared to 20 strikeouts. He’s a plus runner who gets out of the box quickly and has a quick first step when stealing bases.
Wyatt Sanford, SS, Independence HS, Frisco, Texas
Commit: Texas A&M
Sanford is a lean, lefthanded-hitting shortstop with solid defensive actions and big league bloodlines. His father, Chance, had a cup of coffee in the big leagues during parts of the 1998-99 seasons and played shortstop, second base and third base. Sanford has a 6-foot-1, 172-pound frame with solid bat speed and a clean bat path. He makes a lot of contact and can hit line drives into both gaps, though he has below-average raw power and doesn’t look like the sort of hitter who will ever have much more than solid-average juice.
Instead his offensive value comes from contact skills and strong swing decisions. In 26 logged games this year he slashed .349/.494/.508 with seven doubles and twice as many walks (16) as strikeouts (eight). He made contact at an 84% clip in that sample and almost never misses a fastball, with a 92% contact rate overall against fastballs and a tremendous 97% rate against fastballs inside the strike zone.
Sanford is an above-average defender at shortstop who moves well in the field with above-average speed. He has reliable hands and fluid actions and can make challenging plays thanks to his athleticism and the fact that he has above-average arm strength and a quick exchange. There’s no obvious reason to think he’ll move off the position at the next level, which gives him a solid all-around profile as a prospect.
Sawyer Strosnider, OF, Brock (Texas) HS
Commit: Texas Christian
Strosnider is a bit old for the class and will be 19 years old on draft day, but the 6-foot-2, 180-pound lefthanded hitter showed plus raw power at the Area Code Games and broke the window of a building behind the right field fence in an electric batting practice back-and-forth along with Rangers teammate Caleb Hoover. Strosnider has quick hands and a deep toe tap before firing with a steep swing and pull-heavy approach. He has an aggressive approach in games and will chase out of the zone consistently—particularly against spin—and has fairly serious contact questions as well.
Still, he makes a lot of hard contact and can drive the ball with authority when he does connect. He also has the strength to mishit balls deep into the gaps for extra-base hits when other players would have simply flied out. Strosnider has a strong arm and has thrown a fastball in the 90-92 mph range.
Cade Townsend, RHP, Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic HS
Commit: Mississippi
A lean righthander with a 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame, Townsend has a few interesting traits now and exciting physical projection that could help everything he throws take a big jump forward in the near future. Townsend works from the third base side of the rubber and throws from a higher, three-quarters arm slot that is almost fully over the top and delivers the ball with solid arm speed and a bit of violence with a downer head whack.
He pitches in the 88-92 mph range and has been up to 94 and his fastball has a bit of cutting action at times. He has advanced feel to spin a breaking ball, and will throw both an upper-70s slider and a mid-70s curveball that have above-average potential, though the pitches will blend together in shape at times. He spins both in the 2,500-3,000 rpm range, but showed better feel to land his downer curve inside the strike zone at the Area Code Games, though both pitches have swing and miss potential.
Townsend also throws a mid-80s changeup that has some solid tumbling life at times, but he will slow his arm speed down as well.
Dalton Wentz, SS/RHP, Amherst County (Va.) HS
Commit: South Carolina
A 6-foot-2, 215-pound switch-hitter and righthanded pitcher, Wentz has impressive bat speed and a dynamic swing that’s probably more advanced from the left side. He put on a show at the Area Code Games batting practice, where he did a nice job driving the ball to all fields and showcasing his strength. He struggled more in games at the event, with eight strikeouts and one walk in 12 plate appearances, but he did have a number of tough matchups. He finally put things together in one of his last at-bats of the event, when he jumped on a 91 mph first-pitch fastball from righthander Adam Haight and pulled it down the line over the right field fence for a 344-foot homer.
Wentz takes big hacks and is consistently looking to do damage at the plate, and that leads to lots of misses. Through 18 logged games in 2023, Wentz posted a 34% miss rate overall. He has a strong arm and throws fastballs in the 90-92 mph range and could potentially be a legitimate two-way player in college, though scouts seem to be more excited about his upside as a hitter. Wentz is older for the class and turns 19 in late July next year.
