[Tigers Fan]

Duty and Ryan will be tough for Pikeville. Varney will be tough for Belfry. Lawrence will be good as they always are. Prestonsburg will compete with Allen, Luke Hall and now Johnson on the mound. I think JC will be decent but I think Paintsville will win the 57th.

Here’s how I see it playing out:

57th: Paintsville, JC
58th: Prestonsburg, Lawrence
59th: Pikeville, Shelby Valley
60th: Belfry, Pike Central

I think the 58th district championship could be a war with Pburg and Lawrence.


Top 10 Players (this is hard due to pitching vs. offense/defense):

1. Duty - Pikeville
2. Fletcher - Lawrence
3. Allen - Prestonsburg
4. Varney - Belfry
5. Stanley - Pikeville
6. Hall - Pikeville
7. Kincheloe - Paintsville
8. Lauffer - Paintsville
9. Preece - JC
10. Crum - Pike Central

Again, you almost have to have two separate rankings just because of the pitching vs. offense/defense differential.

Not sure about this order of players but you are right about needing two lists.  I’d have a list for pitchers and base the other list on the five tools of baseball. 

duty, Allen and varney pitching list.  They can hurt you in the field and don’t hit very well but can hurl it
preece is a defensive liability but has ton of power
fletcher hall and Lauffer can do it all
Stanley is mediocre in the field but has a good arm and okay speed.  
crum doesn’t deserve to be on the list.  Hicks kid is better on his team 


a lot of others could be top 10
valley has Bentley who is good in the field and can pitch but not a great hitter
horne  from paintsville
sheppherd and Montgomery from JC
johnson from pburg is legit 
burgett kid that transferred from Floyd to pike high will open some eyes and may compete for ss at his new school
Ryan from Pikeville has a case
Taylor from valley

just a few of the kids who are top ten worthy

Lots of good players in the 15th region. 

Pitchers to watch include Duty, Allen, Montgomery and Varney.
Strong position players also including Fletcher, Crum, Preece, Sheppard. HatfieldMcCoy I disagree with you on Crum. He is Pike Centrals best player and had a very strong summer season/camp circuit. He also holds multiple impressive college scholarship offers already.
Should be a fun season.

We can agree to disagree.   If you have watched PCC as much as I have, you would know that Crum is not strong in the field.  
Also, he is not dominate in the mound against any team that has a pulse.  
Preece is a liability in the field and had to be moved from third to first to limit his errors in the field.  
I will agree that Fletcher and Shepherd are for for real.  
what schools have made the impressive scholarship offers?

I am not sure we are talking about the same player. Crum has started at SS for Pike Central since his Freshman year (started in the infield for them as an 8th grader also). He does not pitch for PC or his summer/travel team. One of the best hitters in the 15th region for years.

I have watched this young man play for years including in the summer circuit against elite competition where he has excelled defensively and offensively. His play has certainly caught the attention of college coaches. Although mine and your opinion of him as a player may differ, college coaches are paid to look at players objectively and I can tell you there are multiple college coaches that feel he will be a big time player at the college level.

I am friends with a college coach who is currently recruiting him. They have offered him a full scholarship. They love his game including his versatility including his ability to play multiple positions defensively and his offensive game. I was told by this coach and other contacts that he has multiple current college scholarship offers from other schools as well. I do not know this young man personally but do not feel it is my place to name the schools on a public message board. I am sure he will let us know when and where he chooses to play college ball. Not a lot of kids from the 15th region have multiple scholarship offers to play baseball at the next level but he is one of them.