By Greg Williams

Six months ago, April 13, 2012 to be exact, Prep Baseball Report arrived in Pennsylvania. In that short time we have conducted eight events, 300 prospects have been ranked and roughly 250 news articles have been written.

What have we learned? …

• Pennsylvania players are very talented. The No. 1 ranked player in the Class of 2013, A.J. Bogucki is a perfect example. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound RHP appears to be headed for great things. Bogucki has committed to North Carolina, but with a 92mph fastball and quality complimentary pitches, Bogucki will more than likely have a difficult decision to make come June.

• A large percentage of the baseball talent in the state is centered around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia which not coincidentally is also where a large percentage of the state’s population is located. That does not mean however that there are not talented players in other areas. Colton Hock, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound RHP committed to Stanford recently. He is the first prospect in Pennsylvania from the Class of 2014 to commit and attends Bloomsburg HS in the central portion of the state.
  
  
• Pennsylvania players can compete with players all over the country. Team Pennsylvania had a solid showing at the Under Armour Midwest Future Games in August. The group of 15 prospects from the Class of 2014 played three games against talented players from Michigan, Missouri and Illinois, losing just once. Just two weeks ago, Pennsylvania players returned from the WWBA Underclass World Series in Ft. Myers, Florida with 15 All-Tournament selections. Of those who were recognized, J.J. Matijevic and Zach Jancarski were named to the prestigious Prime Nine Team which recognizes the top nine players at the event that showcased 168 teams.
  
  
• There are still an abundance of talented seniors in Pennsylvania who have not made a commitment. Over half of the prospects currently ranked in the Top 150 in the Class of 2013 have yet to make a college selection. Our Unsigned Senior Showcase on November 11 promises to be an excellent opportunity for college coaches to see many of these players together in one venue.
  
  
• College coaches utilize Prep Baseball Report as a valuable resource for information on prospects coming out of our state. Prior to PBR there was no definitive source for information on Pennsylvania players.
  
  
• There are many prospects who are extremely talented and who are worthy of being ranked who we have yet to see. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t learn of a talented player who has flown under our radar to date. We appreciate and encourage the help that we receive from college, high school and travel baseball coaches.
  
  

Our schedule of events needs to be altered. Like in any new endeavor, the first effort at anything is a trial and error. We now have a better feel for most prospects’ summer schedules and will be making adjustments to ours accordingly. We will for the first time this winter be getting a look at prospects from the Class of 2017 and 2018 at our Future Prospects Instructional Showcases in December.