Program 15’s Future Stars Series held its fifth annual Main Event showcase at the beginning of October, moving from Fenway Park the last two years to Citi Field this time, with a host of the top high school prospects for the 2022 MLB Draft. While one of the best players, Turner Spoljaric (yes, that’s Paul’s son, and you’re old) couldn’t make it due to illness, the talent there was impressive and a very strong sign of how good the high school position player class will be next year.
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One other name readers of a certain age might recognize is Cameron Collier, son of journeyman outfielder Lou Collier, who played for five teams in eight seasons around the turn of the century. While Lou was a smaller guy with no power, listed at a generous 5-foot-10 and hitting eight homers in 813 career plate appearances, Cameron is already 6-2 at age 17, with the potential for above-average power as he fills out, and he’ll be one of the youngest players in the draft because he reclassified from 2023 to this upcoming year.
His bat will eventually determine whether he’s a top 10 or even top five pick, or more an upside play at the back of the round, although right now I’d bet on the former. He has bat speed and advanced pitch recognition for someone so young, striking out just once in the three games of the event and showing the ability to pick up offspeed stuff and stay back on it. Right now, it’s hit over power, but there’s no reason to think he can’t come into power in time.
Collier is a shortstop now and could stay there, with a plus-plus arm and plenty of quickness, although I could also see him growing out of the position, or some team deciding his bat is more advanced than his glove — I wouldn’t be surprised if he needed help with footwork at the next level – and shifting him to an easier position to get him to the majors faster.
• Javier Santos Tejada (Albany, Ga.) was the breakout star of the event, hitting 98 once and sitting 94-96 with an average-ish curveball. His arm is very quick and his fastball had clear life up in the zone, with hitters consistently looking late on the pitch. He’s a 6-0 right-hander, so there will be some teams less inclined to take him in the first round, but as of right now he’s only committed to a junior college and would probably be more signable because of it.
• Right-hander Griffin Stieg (McLean, Va.) was up to 95 from a low slot that made him a very tough look for right-handed batters, with some depth on the curveball despite the slot because he keeps his hand on top of the ball through release — much the way Chris Sale got to a plus slider after the White Sox drafted him and got him on top of the ball more.
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• Right-hander Cole Phillips (Boerne, Texas) was up to 95 with a power slurve, 79-82 with depth like a curveball. He’s 6-3 and about 200 pounds, with room for more, along with a good delivery and some clear athleticism — definitely the sort of Texas high school pitcher who hits 97 on a cold day in February and suddenly the whole industry rushes in to see him.
• Riley Stanford (Buford, Ga.) is a two-way prospect who plays with right-hander Dylan Lesko, right now the top pitching prospect in the class. Stanford has arm strength, 93-96 at Citi Field with a power curveball in the low 80s, and he’s athletic enough that there’s upside in his delivery, too — he’s often late and his command wavers, but shortening him up a little might work wonders. At the plate, he has power and hits the ball hard, and was one of only three hitters at the event who didn’t strike out at all (7 PA). He’s probably a right fielder in the long term.
• Omari Daniel (Smyrna, Ga.) showed a tremendous two-strike approach — something I often wonder if it is going extinct at the high school level — and is a wiry kid with above-average speed and a plus arm at shortstop. Given his frame, I could see him more as a top-of-the-order bat, a shortstop who makes a lot of contact without power, although he’s not so small that I’d rule out future power given some of the transformations we’ve seen in pro ball.
• Jarvis Evans, Jr. (Buford, Ga.) is a 6-6, 220-pound lefty who was 89-92 with big depth on a curveball and an average changeup that flashed plus. He’s teammates with Santos Tejada.
• Agyei Quinichett (Atlanta) was one of the last pitchers in the event, with just a fringe-average fastball that touched 90, but he located it well, showed depth and angle on a curveball and good tumble on a changeup. He’s a good athlete who also plays shortstop (but didn’t in this event), not physically projectable at 6-0, 185, but for any of the teams that believe the easiest thing to do with pitchers is add velocity, he could be very attractive for his pitch mix and apparent ability to throw strikes. He was the only pitcher at the event to strike out more than half of the batters he faced (six out of 10).
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• Henry Bolte (Palo Alto, Calif.) is a Texas commit and one of the best athletes in the high school position player class, a plus runner and above-average defender in center with power potential. But he struggled at the plate in this event, punching out on fastballs and breaking balls, often staying too open through contact.
• C.J. Carmichael (Sugar Grove, Ohio) is extremely projectable, 6-1 or 6-2, and just 170-odd pounds, although he might be taller than that, with a plus arm and very good hands at shortstop. He needs to get stronger, but has the build and frame for it.
• Keep in mind this is just a fraction of the top high school prospects for next year — many didn’t participate because of commitments to other sports or because they had shut down for the season. And if you were paying attention, you might notice that Georgia is where it’s at; you can add Termarr Johnson, Druw Jones (yes, Andruw’s son), and Dylan Lesko to the gigantic pile of high school prospects there. If anyone has an Airbnb I can rent for the spring …
(Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that this was the fifth annual Main Event showcase, not the third.)
(Photos: Mike Ashmore / Courtesy of Future Stars Series)
