Florida Premier Sports

The high school class of 2007 was special, to say the least. A mix of dominant arms and pure hitters were selected in the first round, making up for more selections than the college class. Several teams went over slot to get their man, and it seems 2008 may not be very different.

The 2008 high school group may not live up to 2007 in an overall view, but there are a few individuals that have several plus tools, making them not only favorites for early picks, but also shoo-ins for one of Baseball America's All-America teams.

Baseball America once again asked major league scouting directors to select players they felt were the top names to look for when June 5 arrives and kicks off the 2008 draft.

The selections aren't based solely on statistics, rather the players' overall future potential. Michael Palazzone had a shoulder injury in 2007 that limited him to just three high school contests. He impressed scouts with his summer team, the East Cobb Braves, and has shown that he is healthy enough to pitch.

This year's group of outfielders not only can hit, but they can burn on the basepaths. Xavier Avery and Jay Austin have both run 60-yard dashes under 6.4 seconds and L.J. Hoes stole 23 bases in 29 games in 2007. And Brent Warren is getting considerable attention after having two life-threatening heart ailments.

FIRST TEAM
Pos.	Player, School	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SO	BB	SB	Commitment
C	Kyle Skipworth, Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.	.422	83	32	35	11	3	8	45	19	12	4	Arizona State
1B	Eric Hosmer, Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.	.380	76	25	29	5	0	9	20	15	18	10	Arizona State
2B	Cutter Dykstra, Westlake (Calif.) HS	.337	83	18	28	6	1	3	16	15	11	14	UCLA
3B	Harold Martinez, Braddock HS, Miami	.500	70	18	35	10	3	3	24	-	-	8	Miami
SS	Tim Beckham, Griffin (Ga.) HS	.512	-	-	-	5	5	6	36	-	-	-	So. Cal
OF	Isaac Galloway, Los Osos HS, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.	.365	96	32	35	10	8	2	28	14	4	14	SD State
OF	Robbie Grossman, Cy-Fair HS, Texas	.420	110	33	37	10	2	4	19	23	22	16	Texas
OF	Xavier Avery, Cedar Grove HS, Ga.	.668	45	24	40	7	-	5	29	-	-	47	Georgia
UTIL	Aaron Hicks, Wilson HS, Long Beach, Calif.	.370	100	46	37	7	4	1	21	19	27	44	So. Cal

Pos.	Player, School	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	Commitment
RHP	Gerrit Cole, Lutheran HS, Orange, Calif.	3	0	1.20	8	2	29	12	11	36	UCLA
RHP	Sonny Gray, Smyrna (Tenn.) HS	7	1	1.20	9	0	51	10	22	97	Vanderbilt
LHP	Kyle Lobstein, Coconino HS, Flagstaff, Ariz.	5	2	0.76	10	1	46	21	25	74	Arizona
RHP	Tim Melville, Holt High, Wentzville, Mo.	10	1	0.89	12	1	63	33	21	117	North Carolina
LHP	Robbie Ross, Lexington (Ky.) Christian Acad.	4	5	2.95	12	1	42	35	12	67	Kentucky
UTIL	Aaron Hicks, Wilson HS, Long Beach, Calif.	3	0	1.13	13	3	19	12	8	27	So. Cal

SECOND TEAM
Pos.	Player, School	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SO	BB	SB	Commitment
C	Adrian Nieto, Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.	.376	50	17	19	5	3	5	18	13	6	0	South Florida
1B	Ricky Oropesa, Etiwanda (Calif.) HS	.547	75	33	41	11	-	11	46	7	16	-	So. Cal
2B	Rolando Gomez, Flanagan HS, Pembroke Pines, Fla.	.447	103	34	46	14	0	9	29	12	14	7	Miami
3B	Ethan Martin, Stephens County HS, Ga.	.440	75	38	33	7	1	10	26	7	28	12	Clemson
SS	Casey Kelly, Sarasota (Fla.) HS	.317	101	27	32	4	2	4	19	23	14	23	Undecided
OF	J.P. Ramirez, Canyon (Texas) HS	.504	111	42	56	14	4	10	39	9	12	12	Tulane
OF	Brent Warren, Xavier HS, Cedar Rapids, Iowa	.441	111	46	49	13	1	6	48	11	21	-	Oregon State
OF	Jaff Decker, Sunrise Mountain HS, Peoria, Ariz.	.534	88	45	47	14	5	7	38	8	29	18	Arizona State
UTIL	Anthony Gose, Bellflower (Calif.) HS	.405	84	21	34	7	4	2	32	8	9	11	Arizona

Pos.	Player, School	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	Commitment
RHP	Alex Meyer, Greensburg (Ind.) HS	3	4	3.45	-	2	47	28	39	72	Kentucky
LHP	Jarret Martin, Centennial HS, Calif.	6	1	4.15	14	0	59	32	60	81	Cal State Full.
LHP	Brett DeVall, Niceville (Fla.) HS	7	3	2.31	-	0	72		27	81	Georgia
RHP	Daniel Webb, Heath HS, West Paducah, Ky.	8	2	2.00	-	0	73	42	36	116	Kentucky
RHP	Michael Palazzone, Lassiter HS, Marietta, Ga.	3	2	2.10	5	0	20	13	1	30	Georgia
UTIL	Anthony Gose, Bellflower (Calif.) HS	9	3	1.83	12	0	61	39	14	67	Arizona

THIRD TEAM
Pos.	Player, School	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SO	BB	SB	Commitment
C	Taylor Hightower, Cartersville (Ga.) HS	.319	91	-	29	6	-	1	20	-	8	3	Mississippi
1B	Clark Murphy, Fallbrook (Calif.) HS	.346	81	22	28	5	0	7	19	19	24	5	UCLA
2B	Riccio Torrez, Brophy Prep, Phoenix, Ariz.	.455	101	45	46	9	1	16	47	13	18	7	Arizona State
3B	Zack Cox, Pleasure Ridge Park HS, Ky.	.524	124	58	65	20	5	10	57	12	26	10	Arkansas
SS	Niko Vasquez, Durango HS, Las Vegas	.464	97	37	45	12	1	6	33	8	17	6	Oregon State
OF	Rodarrick Jones, St. John HS, La.	Statistics unavailable
OF	L.J. Hoes, St. John's College HS, D.C.	.488	82	36	40	7	0	7	40	3	17	23	North Carolina
OF	Jay Austin, North Atlanta HS, Atlanta	.631	76	32	48	18	2	7	22		29		Southern California
UTIL	Matt Ramsey, Farragut HS, Knoxville	.299	117	38	35	9	2	1	29	14	10	12	Tennessee

Pos.	Player, School	W	L	ERA	G	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	Commitment
LHP	Nick Maronde, Lexington (Ky.) Catholic HS	10	1	0.78	11	0	65	-	22	110	Florida
LHP	Brett Mooneyham, Buhach Colony HS, Calif.	6	2	1.25	12	0	56	32	56	90	Stanford
RHP	B.J. Hermsen, West Delaware HS, Iowa	11	0	1.16	11	0	67	37	10	108	Oregon State
RHP	Taylor Jungmann, Georgetown (Texas) HS*	13	0	0.41	16	1	84	40	26	142	Texas
LHP	Scott Silverstein, St. John's College HS, D.C.	5	2	1.80	9	0	44	28	13	68	Rice
UTIL	Matt Ramsey, Farragut HS, Knoxville	6	2	2.47	9	0	51	39	14	59	Tennessee

*Stats with Rogers (Texas) HS

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