After years of following its development, we’re ready to close the book on the class of 2023 in Texas. Well, let’s say we’re finishing the Five Tool evaluation book because we’re excited to follow the progress of these players at the next level. Some of these players will be fortunate enough to play baseball for 10, maybe 15 more years. So, in many ways, so much of their baseball journey has yet to be written. 

But for us, the final 2023 Five Tool 55 for the state of Texas is our way of graduating high school players and sending them off to the next level, whether that’s junior college, college or the MLB Draft. Before we get to the list, I’d like to encourage newcomers to read our 2021 story about our rankings process to get a better idea for our thought process and how we try to, as best as we feasibly can, come up with this list. 

I take a lot of pride in trying to put a face and name to these rankings and also provide some transparency. In addition to the final Five Tool 55 for the 2023 class in Texas, I’ll also provide detailed commentary about many of the players on the list, why they ended up where they did and some of the scouting associated with their status as prospects. The final list, which I’m sure will lead to no disagreement and angry Twitter replies and DMs:  

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL LIST OR CLICK THE FIVE TOOL 55 BADGE ON A PLAYER'S PROFILE

And we'll begin our coverage with the final top 10...

Like Jett Williams last season, Sinton’s Blake Mitchell went wire-to-wire as the No. 1 prospect in this class and he is a tier above anyone on the list. And like Williams, Mitchell should hear his name called during the first round of the upcoming MLB Draft. The best prep catcher prospect in the country, Mitchell has a rare blend of physicality and athleticism to accompany a plus-plus arm behind the dish. Even if Mitchell becomes just an average hitter on the MLB scale, his defense and power could make him a smashing success, assuming he sticks at catcher, which I’m a believer in. 

How talented is Mitchell? I think if he focused purely on pitching only, he would rate as the No. 1 player in the state as a pitching prospect with four pitches that rate future average or better, headlined by a fastball that can touch the upper 90s and one of the best curveballs in the state. And if he only played shortstop in high school with a projected move to third base in the future, he’d be in the mix as a surefire top five player in the state and maybe No. 1 there, too. As long as I do this, I don’t know if I’ll see another prospect as uniquely talented as Mitchell. 

Round Rock right-handed pitcher Travis Sykora showed two things scouts were looking for this season: the ability to consistently pitch deep into games effectively and feel for pitching. A unique athlete at 6-6 who repeated his delivery and threw strikes, Sykora is known for his heater that’s touched 101 MPH. But he was at his best during the playoffs when he worked 94-97 MPH with a tick more ride and run to his fastball and confidently used his slider to pitch; he’s very, very interested in the mental side of pitching, how to attack hitters and is an excellent candidate to put in the work at the next level with good work-ethic and makeup. 

I’m especially excited about Sykora because he’s nowhere close to a finished product, and I think the industry, for lack of a better word, has dissected him too much and ignored the obvious - he's tall, athletic, can throw 101 MPH and has done an excellent job taking care of himself with obvious areas of growth to develop. I also believe he had the second-best WHIP in the nation this season. Although he’s been a famous name seemingly forever, he isn’t a pitcher who has spent years in a lab fine-tuning everything with little room for growth; the right development situation could see Sykora explode. Can the fastball shape improve? Absolutely. Was the slider good sometimes and average other times? Yes. Are there a lot of uniquely special ingredients including good makeup? Yep. 

Speaking of that, we get to the first part on the list where the rankings were juggled about 526 times before I finally settled on this: No. 3 Barrett Kent (Pottsboro), No. 4 Zane Adams (Porter), No. 5 Kendall George (Atascocita) and No. 6 James Ellwanger (Magnolia West). Ranking Kent at No. 3, despite a good but not great spring, differs from the industry some, although if we assigned an overall prospect grade for all these guys chances are it would be the same; you could but this foursome in any order and it would make sense. Please read that part again before you blow up my DMs; think of these guys as 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D. 

Back to Kent: I have a strong conviction – call it a gut feel – that the Arkansas signee is going to blow up at the next level whether that’s college or professional baseball. The 6-4, 215-pound right-hander is an underrated athlete who even ran track in the past and has arguably the best delivery in the class with notable arm/hand speed. Like Sykora, Kent isn’t a highly refined, specialized pitcher; he was more likely to be hunting in the offseason than in a pitching lab and I envision immediate physical gains in a college/pro strength program coupled with an already good fastball that comes out of the hand well with carry that will immediately tick up with physical gains. At Area Code last year, Kent looked like one of the best pitching prospects in the entire event and after a fantastic outing at the MLB Draft Combine, he might be rounding into that form just in time for the draft. 

Regardless, my gut feel is sooner than later we’re going to hear about Kent being 6-4, 230 pounds with immediate gains made in a strength program; throwing a lot of strikes, touching 99 MPH and sitting comfortably 94-97 MPH with a future 70 fastball; and I think both the changeup and slider could be future 55-grade pitches. Here’s what I really like about Kent the most: he’s not afraid. He flew into Dallas after USA Baseball’s PDP last year, immediately drove to the 2022 AABC Don Mattingly World Series and pitched a few hours later; he wasn’t in awe at Area Code and performed at an elite level; he didn’t hesitate to go to the MLB Draft Combine and wanted the ball there, too. I admit there is a hint of reliever risk because the strike-throwing wasn’t good this spring, especially for an athlete with a good delivery. But I’m betting on Kent because when I’ve seen him at his best, it was better than any pitcher in the state and there’s obvious room for growth.

Like Kent, I’ve always been impressed with the way Zane Adams has competed. After a bad ankle injury wiped out the end of his junior high school season, Adams still competed in events like TSA All-Star Game and Area Code despite being less than 100-percent. Then as a senior, he routinely dominated competition with the best left-handed curveball in the state, a promising changeup thrown with fastball conviction and a fastball up to 94 MPH that he pounded the zone with. A skinny 6-4, I don’t think Adams is ever going to look like Kent, but he is going to get stronger at the next level, which should enhance his already impressive strike-throwing and future command profile. I think Adams, if he’s signable, is a second or third-round pick in the upcoming draft. 

By now, you probably have heard how fast Kendall George is and how scouts would put a 90 on the run grade if they could. It’s legendary speed. But George isn’t just really fast. He’s also a good athlete and one of the toughest players to strike out in the nation; part of that is George understanding how hard it is for anyone to throw him out when he puts the ball in play, but much of it is impressive bat-to-ball skill and feel for making contact. What fascinates me most about George is my high school looks were just okay relative to what you’d expect from an elite prospect. But when the competition was better, George was better. We always look for players who can hit actual stuff and velocity and perform against the best of the best. He was a star for Team USA’s 18U World Cup winning team last summer, performed at an elite level on the summer circuit at various USA or select events and always performed in Five Tool’s top events. 

So, why not No. 2 in the state? Understand that when teams are debating whether to spend a million dollars or more to sign a prospect, everything gets dissected, picked apart and then some. Some scouts share the same questions I have – the arm is probably a 30 on the scouting scale; he’s very unlikely to ever hit for power; he’s one of the fastest high school players we’ll ever see but his baserunning decisions and technique can improve; the center field defense requires some projection (there were times Sam Myers played center field for 2023 Texas Twelve Maroon and Myers is a 55 runner). We don’t typically see many professional outfielders who don’t hit for power. So, that puts pressure on George’s legendary speed to always make an impact and for his defense to be able to stay in center field (besides Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, who has a 70-grade hit tool, tough to find any corner outfielder in a MLB lineup who doesn’t hit for power). 

But at the end of the day, I see George as a player who is drafted before the end of the third round and maybe in the backend of the second round with a good chance to eventually make a MLB roster because of his low strikeout rate, athleticism and speed. Plus, when the swing is right - and it was improved this season - it is one of the better ones in the state.

For over a year, I heard from people who coached Ellwanger that a jump was coming. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting. Then, it happened. He didn’t just take a jump. He leapt over a damn skyscraper. After starring in both basketball and tennis, Ellwanger teased a breakout during his first couple of appearances on the mound for eventual 5A state champion Magnolia West. Then, the DBU signee became the story of the state when he put on a show against rival Lake Creek – 7.0 IP, 1ER, 2H, 3BB, 14K with the final pitch of the game hitting 96 MPH after hitting 98 MPH multiple times in the first inning. Our report from that outing: CLICK HERE.

Then, he did it again during the state semifinal when he carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and punched out 17 batters in absurdly dominant fashion. Some of the outings in between were good, but the stuff and velocity fluctuated, including during an outing I saw versus Pflugerville in the playoffs. But we’ve seen multiple times what’s in there – a dominant right-handed starter with a good heater, feel for two spinning two distinct breaking balls (sometimes, the slider looks like the best option and other times it’s the curveball), and a splitter that’s a weapon versus left-handers. A good athlete who loves to compete and is affectionately nicknamed “Big Game James” by his summer Twelve Baseball teammates and coaches, Ellwanger will be fascinating to follow during the MLB Draft because if he set his price around $1.5 million, I think he’d get it. But if he goes to DBU, a program who is among the best at developing, it wouldn’t shock me if he left as a first-round pick as a draft-eligible sophomore. 

Every time I’ve seen Lovejoy outfielder Aidan Smith play, he’s hit. Every time. He barely struck out during his high school season, timed fastballs at Area Code, was MVP of last year’s AABC Don Mattingly World Series, plays with a great motor and also has a true chance to stick in center field long-term with notable defensive tools. Some scouts have reservations about how the right-handed swing is going to translate and how much power is in the bat, but up to this point, he’s checked every box and is a good candidate to keep improving. Smith is a Mississippi State signee and often is mentioned in the same sentence with Flower Mound Marcus’s Caden Sorrell because of their very similar prospect status in the DFW area. 

Sorrell is a left-handed hitting outfielder who runs well and has also been up to 90 MPH off the mound. With a good 6-3, 200-pound frame that is going to carry some more muscle and strength just fine, Sorrell turned heads at the Five Tool Festival by smashing three homers and winning MVP honors. It’s a dangerous, quick barrel but the barrel accuracy can get away from Sorrell at times, which is what scouts seemingly question the most – how much quality contact can he make and how much power can he tap into? His package of future tools is really exciting and if it all clicks, he could be a “boom” type of prospect from this class. Among the smartest thing any evaluator can do right now is bet on players who come from MLB bloodlines and both of Sorrell’s grandfathers made the big leagues.

Coming in at No. 9 on the list is The Woodlands left-handed pitcher and left-handed hitting outfielder Brayden Sharp. After a playoff look at Sharp on the mound, I was able to leave knowing I saw a true plus pitch – his splitter. His velocity hasn’t come all the way back to what it was when I saw him bump 95 MPH as a junior, but he’s a good, strong athlete with a current plus pitch and the makings of quality fastball shape with ride. Like Kent, Sharp didn’t throw as many strikes as an athlete like him should, making him a candidate to really take off at the next level as he tweaks his delivery and better leverages his physical gifts, although the flip side is there is some risk associated with the profile. Sharp would be a Five Tool 55 prospect purely as an outfielder, but his upside is highest on the mound. 

Flower Mound right-handed pitcher Jacob Gholston rounds out the top 10, although picture a note beside the name because Gholston was unable to make his final high school start in the state tournament because of a shoulder injury issue. I don’t know the details, but I think I speak for everyone: we all hope it’s a very minor and a non-issue moving forward. When healthy, Gholston, a lean, 6-6 righty, is one of the best strike-throwers in the class, an especially impressive feat for a young player with so much height/length in his physical profile. Along with the physical projection and good movements on the mound, Gholston features a solid three-pitch mix with a slider and changeup that should complement his future plus fastball well. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor