In just over a couple of weeks after Santa Claus has delivered his gifts and joy, we’ll wave goodbye to 2023 and welcome in 2024. December is one of the rare months in Texas when the baseball calendar almost comes to a complete halt. I say “almost” because I’m sure somewhere there is a workout, a game being played, something happening on a field. I use a lot of this time to work on our rankings, plan for the upcoming spring season and write, which is why you’re here. 

The 2023 baseball calendar was packed: spring high school season beginning the first week of February with scrimmages and ending in early June with the THSCA All-Star Game; Five Tool summer schedule kicking off in late May and running through early August; two weeks at Area Code in August; fall Five Tool schedule, scout team games and prospect workouts after the summer. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I saw a ton of baseball during 2023. December is also a time to think back about the best of the best: best players, performances, games, moments and more. I saw a lot of really good players of all ages, teams, games, events and more. Before we move to 2024, I wanted to share some “best of” stories from my in-person looks while also emptying my scouting notebook and publishing a lot of reports that have been hanging out in my hard drive. And for fun, because the Five Tool Podcast almost always includes food discussion, some “best of” eating, too. 

Here’s my latest problem: I got carried away with the pitchers. At Area Code, I was often in charge of capturing video of the pitchers. So, I often left with a better feel for those prospects than the position players, although I have about 20 pages of handwritten notes on those guys, too. I say “problem” because this project ended up being just over 10,000 words, but my hope is that it’s the opposite of a problem for readers. I went back and ranked the best 55 high school pitching prospects I saw during the 2023 calendar year. Was it difficult to slot these guys in order especially since I saw almost all of them only one time in person? In my best Stone Cold Steve Austin voice… hell yeah. But the exercise was fun, and I think a creative way for me to publish a ton of leftover scouting reports that weren’t published. Let’s get to the list and the reports, which will be broken down into five parts to keep one story from being War and Peace. Here are pitchers ranked 23-33.

No. 23
Jason Flores – Naaman Forest (TX) – RHP – Texas commit

After seeing Flores twice in person during the summer, I believe he has one of the best baseball makeups you’ll find in Texas and probably the nation. There’s just something about the way he carries himself and competes that’s a little different than his peers. After his outing at the Texas Scouts Association All-Star Game this summer, I watched him stand on the top step at Minute Maid Park and stew over a mistake pitch that Matt Scott II blasted into the Crawford seats. Even though there was nothing demonstrative about his body language, you could tell he was livid with himself in a setting where there was a lot of giggling throughout the dugout. Those are the types of makeups I want to bet on reaching the MLB level and he showed it on the Area Code stage, too. While his fastball has a tendency to play down because of its shape, something I think can be easily corrected at the next level, he can easily pump heaters into the zone and touched 96 MPH at Area Code. He’s sometimes shown more of a true slider but his power slurve with high spin seems to be the go-to breaking pitch currently and he has enough feel of a changeup to project it as a usable third offering. In addition to the fastball shape, I think there are some things in the way Flores uses his back leg and parts of his delivery that can be tweaked to add efficiency and velocity.

No. 24
Bryce Navarre – Montgomery (TX) – LHP – Texas A&M commit

We covered Navarre in our story about best 2023 pitching performances HERE.

No. 25
Brayden Bergman – Plano East (TX) – RHP – Baylor commit

Each time I saw Bergman in person this fall, after an oblique injury sidelined him for most of the summer, he seemingly threw harder, which culminated with a 98 MPH bullet against McLennan while pitching for the Rangers North Texas Scout team. Additionally, Bergman, who is around 6-1 and 180 pounds, has proven consistently capable of spinning a quality curveball and will also sometimes show a different, more slider-like breaker, too. He can execute a 77-79 MPH changeup to his arm side, and it plays well off his fastball. Typically, he sits in the 92-95 MPH range early in outings, and the question scouts have is this: can he carry his stuff and simply get deep into outings? They’ll have an opportunity to see that this spring against a good schedule. 

No. 26
Easton Hawk – Granada Hills Charter (CA) – RHP – UCLA commitment

A 6-3, 195-pound right-hander, Hawk touched 95 MPH with his fastball and snapped off a two-plane curveball with spin around 2600 RPM. I’m a sucker for a quality splitter, and Hawk had what looked like a change/split at 79-80 MPH with spin as low as the 900 RPM range; it looked like a future nasty offering to help him against lefties. In 2.0 innings, he walked three, gave up one hit and struck out three. His frame should continue to fill out considerably and he typically keeps a pretty steady head in his delivery. It wouldn’t surprise me if he emerged as an impact starter at UCLA, but it does require some projection and belief he can carry the stuff.

No. 27
Will Sanford – Point Loma (CA) – RHP – Oregon commit

Sanford was a treat to watch. He carried himself with an energetic, confident bounce on the mound and threw 2.0 shutout innings with interesting stuff. The righty featured an 88-92 MPH fastball that had what looked like carry and good fastball shape through the hitting zone; a true curveball with spin up to the 2800 RPM range that recorded whiffs; and a very high spin, airbender-like changeup at 84 MPH that I wish I could have seen more of. At 6-0, 180 pounds, he’s not the most imposing right-handed pitcher, and there is some noticeable effort in the delivery that needs to be quieted to confidently project a starter’s outlook as a pro prospect. But he packed some big stuff at Area Code with and his impressive athleticism should aid his delivery long-term, especially as he gets stronger.

No. 28
Nathan Aceves – Huntington Beach (CA) – RHP – UCSB commitment

In 2.0 no-hit innings with one hit and five strikeouts, Aceves might have recorded the most check-swings and uncomfortable looking hacks of anyone on the Brewers roster. Opposing hitters, including lefties, simply did not look comfortable in the box and didn’t pick up the ball well out of his hand. His arm path does feature a bit of a shorter takeaway out of the glove with a hand break that hides from hitters, but I think the discomfort shown by hitters was more the result of his promising stuff – 90-93 MPH fastball (2300 RPM), 80 MPH tight slider (2100 RPM) and an 82 MPH changeup with angry tumble that dominated lefties late in counts. With this three-pitch arsenal, a future starter’s build (he’s already around 6-3, 200 pounds with some room to keep filling out through the upper half and a stronger lead leg would make a noticeable impact) and a lot to like about his arm/shoulders move, Aceves is poised to make a major impact at UCSB and isn’t done adding velocity.

No. 29
Lance Davis – Valley View (AR) – RHP – Arkansas commitment

An impressive pitcher physically who appeared to be around 6-3, 190 pounds with good movements, Davis showed one of the best right-handed sliders in the event which was clearly his best offering and at times completely dominated the opposition. At 82-85 MPH, the breaking ball attacked with true, short slider shape with some late depth and Davis found the feel for it early, which resulted in execution to his glove side. As for the fastball (91-93 MPH), which often had some natural run and came out of the hand with inconsistent control, it played down a tick as his outing progressed. I wish I could have seen the changeup more because I liked its look – it was an interesting third offering with some late tumble and something that could develop into a true third offering in the future. When Davis was on time with his arm action and plant, everything came out very smoothly and easily making it easily to be bullish on his long-term upside as a starter with a good, easy delivery. There isn’t a lot of depth to Davis’ takeaway and he rotates his shoulders quickly creating a fast arm through his finish when everything is synced.

No. 30
Zach Kmatz – Sandia (NM) – RHP – Oregon State commitment

Kmatz doesn’t mess around on the mound. He works quickly with focus and a quiet determination to be the one who controls the tempo and the battle. The New Mexico product easily repeated his delivery and fired 2.0 scoreless innings while giving up just one hit with one strikeout at Area Code. Up to 94 MPH with his fastball that featured some natural sink, Kmatz comes at hitters with a three-quarters slot that can sometimes dip to low three-quarters, especially when throwing his true, short 85-86 MPH slider. Kmatz also mixed in a firm 84-87 MPH changeup that should help his ground ball rate versus lefties. He proved through various Five Tool New Mexico events and again at the Arizona Fall Classic that his velocity is real and so is his approach.

No. 31
Dasan Hill – Grapevine (TX) – LHP – DBU commit

Up to 93 MPH with a high-spin breaking ball, Hill didn’t pitch much in the summer, after an excellent spring. But when he did, he grabbed the attention of scouts at Area Code. There aren’t many things more exciting than a projectable lefty who can spin a breaking ball and also shows velocity. In another fall look, Hill showcased a changeup that was better than just a third pitch in the arsenal, showcasing potential as a true weapon to consistently incorporate. There’s notable effort in the delivery and Hill’s control is sometimes inconsistent as he hunts for velocity. An offseason of added strength could showcase a better delivery this spring and make DBU sweat when the MLB Draft arrives. 

No. 32
Jackson Burns – Southwest Christian School (TX) – RHP – Texas Tech commit

The exciting thing about Jackson Burns is he already can touch 95 MPH and is an obvious candidate to throw harder in the future. When I saw him at the Texas Scouts Association All-Sar Game this summer, it was obvious his fastball was different than most of the pitchers there. It came out his hand with carry through the zone and created a different, loud sound in Minute Maid Park that was unmistakably different. At around 6-3, 220 pounds, Burns checks the physical boxes and moves well on the mound with good bend and his shoulders are flexible with good rotation. At Area Code, things sped up on him during his first outing and he couldn’t find his timing and control, but I remain convinced he’s going to throw enough strikes in the future to be a major starting pitcher prospect because we’ve seen him do it before. He can also really, really spin a breaking ball with RPM up to 2829 at Area Code (74-77 MPH curveball. See him during the spring and you might think his changeup is his best secondary offering. Burns is the type of prospect who has a legitimate chance to crack the top 10 of this list before he graduates high school.

No. 33
Drew Smith – Edward Little (ME) – RHP – UConn commit

Ended up throwing 5.0 shutout innings across two outings at Area Code and scattered four hits while issuing just one walk and striking out four. An impressive athlete with an ideal build for a prep righty, Smith is especially intriguing as a prospect because you can tell there’s a lot of development growth that can still occur on the mound and he’s not as specialized with a million reps like some pitchers from warmer-weather states are. And his football movements/metrics are impressive, too. Up to 94 MPH with his fastball, Smith flashed a true three-pitch mix that featured a 77-78 MPH changeup he had feel for turning over to create life and a 79-81 MPH slider. Ideal candidate to get to college and blow up and the way he carried himself on the mound was impressive.

Let’s Eat…
The Clam Shack (Kennebunkport, Maine) – Drew Smith’s inclusion on this list gives me a reason to list one of my favorite places to eat in Maine. The Clam Shack is exactly what it sounds like – a walk-up “shack” next door to a seafood market that specializes in deep-fried clams. Order yourself a lunch box and make sure a friend orders a lobster roll so you can steal a bite. Straightforward. Fresh. Delicious. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor