Finally, the 2023 Five Tool 55 update is live. As always, we try to provide some transparency and accountability with the rankings process. The list:

Some thoughts about the new list:

- Blake Mitchell and Travis Sykora are the unquestioned top two prospects in the state. Currently, the duo is in a tier of its own. Mitchell can literally do anything on a baseball field and Sykora's Area Code performance reinforced he's not just a very, very hard-thrower; he can actually pitch with three pitches, too.

- Most of the big movers into the top 10 were already discussed recently, but when I published that story, I didn’t have Ethan Mendoza all the way up at No. 4 then. And then I saw him again. And guess what? He kept hitting. Heck, he didn’t just hit. He hammered a bomb and didn’t swing and miss a single time.

Mendoza is a rare high school hitter. In a given year, there might be a few pure hitters who have the unique ability, relative to their peers, to time good velocity, see and handle spin, and consistently get the barrel to the baseball the way Mendoza does. When I watch him, I see a player who recognizes and tracks the baseball out of the hand intuitively, which isn’t as common of a trait as many would suspect.

Speaking of shortstops, we’re obviously very high on Jack Bell. I think he can stick at shortstop and play the position as well or better than anyone in the state with arm strength that seems to be a tick better each time I see him. Although there is a little swing-and-miss in the hitting profile, the left-handed swing and barrel feel are what you look for in a developing hitter; he swings a heavy barrel and the ball comes off the bat with some surprising impact, which suggests as he continues to fill out and add strength, there’s some future power in the profile. Most of all, I love how his baseball clock works on the dirt; he was routinely a step ahead of the action at Area Code, a setting where the speed of the game can sometimes overwhelm players.

- Barrett Kent was brilliant at Area Code. The ball is coming out of his hand cleaner and with more zip than his junior season and for a high school pitcher, it’s a pretty easy, clean operation on the mound with room for more. From the left side, Zane Adams followed an excellent junior season - cut short by an ankle injury - with just as impressive of a summer. We saw him multiple times and the strong stuff was very consistent.

- Obviously, being ranked inside the top 20 means you’re an extremely good player and prospect and I could see both TJ Pompey and Brayden Sharp making moves back up into the top 10 with a strong senior year. Sharp wasn’t quite as good and the velocity was down the two times I saw him in the summer compared to the high school season. This isn’t uncommon for a young pitcher who pitched very deep into the high school playoffs and then jumped right into the summer season. He’s an athletic, strong left-hander with a fast arm and I’d be surprised if he’s not sitting around 91-94 MPH during the start of his senior year.

As for Pompey, there’s a lot to like about the bat speed, athleticism, plus arm and potential on defense. If more consistency with quality contact and barrel path ignite a big senior year, he’ll be one of the most talked about and scouted players in the state.

- Sam Myers was a tough one for me to rank because his bat has shown to be similar to Mendoza’s. There’s not as much power and barrel rate, but he’s emerging as one of the better pure and consistent hitters in the class. He also can run, plays center well and has enough arm strength, too.

Speaking of left-handed hitters emerging as the best in the class, it didn’t take long to really appreciate how talented and natural of a hitter Ace Reese is. His at-bat and hard single off Keevyn Goss was one of the best at-bats I’ve seen all fall. Boots Landry belongs in the left-handed hitting discussion, too, but his defensive value puts him a little behind both Reese and Myers.

- This class doesn’t lack pitchers capable of making a big jump during their senior seasons. Heck, some began to do that this summer, like Easton Tumis, Kannon Kemp, Javier Torres and Alex Solis. Torres proved this summer he can carry his stuff deep into an outing. Aidan Coleman proved that last year, again this summer and probably has the biggest gripe for not being higher on the list. I’m looking forward to watching a high school start to see more than just an all-star game look.

Kemp’s stuff is extremely interesting with a lot of exciting potential. Like Tumis, I’ve only seen a short outing in person and am anxious to see/hear about the upcoming high school starts and how the stuff and strike-throwing looked over the course of an entire outing.

- The first word I think of when I read Micah Kendrick and JJ Kennett on the list is, “solid.” It’s rare to see either player with an elevated heart rate on the diamond because both offense and defense come so naturally. Kennett is a future leader at DBU with a good shot to stick behind the plate and Kendrick is one of the most skilled players in the state; I had a very limited look this summer, but I’m ready to jump all-in on the hitting ability, especially from the left side.

- I think there’s a chance Stephen Sepulveda ends up in the bullpen at the next level, but if he does, he’d also have a chance to be a very good backend reliever because he showed the best slider of the summer. His performance at the AABC Don Mattingly World Series was excellent and he created whiffs at a better rate than any other pitcher along with holding his stuff. If a distinct third pitch progresses, he’s proven capable of repeating his delivery, throwing strikes and working deep into a game as a starter. I really like the demeanor on the mound and I'd give this guy every chance to be a weekend starter at Baylor; he can set the tone for a pitching staff. The Water Moccasin.

- Mason Bixby, a TCU commitment from Johnson High School in San Antonio, recently underwent Tommy John surgery. It’s a bummer for a pitcher we’re a big fan of, but there’s no doubt he’ll be fine in the future. From a rankings standpoint, we moved him down because of the lack of summer look and the high school season being wiped out. Don’t be surprised if he’s a weekend starter sooner than later at TCU.

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor
Five Tool Baseball