Compiled by Allan Simpson

Baseball America's Top CRSCBL Prospects

1. L.J. Hoes, of, Youse's Orioles (Sr., St. John's College High, Washington, D.C .)

SCOUTING REPORT: Already tabbed as one of the top high school prospects for the 2008 draft, Hoes played as a boy among men this summer and yet was not overmatched, hitting .333-0-9 in 63 at-bats. He was a gap-to-gap hitter with line-drive power. A versatile athlete who played two outfield positions along with second base at the Cal Ripken Sr. League all-star game, he is a plus defender with above-average arm strength. Hoes, who has verbally committed to North Carolina, was selected to play with Team USA’s junior national team that is in Mexico at the COPABE junior championship attempting to qualify for next year’s World juniors.

2. Alex Buchholz, 3b/2b, Youse's Orioles (Jr., Delaware)

SCOUTING REPORT: Buchholz has had two high-profile seasons at Delaware , batting .378-18-64 as a freshman and .387-11-63 as a sophomore. He didn’t hit quite to that level this summer (.270-1-21), but he nonetheless impressed scouts with his bat speed and power to all fields. While he spent most of his first two college seasons at second base, Buchholz played third base this summer and displayed the best infield arm in the Cal Ripken Sr. League.

3. Chris Jackson, ss, Youse's Orioles (Jr., Virginia Commonwealth)

SCOUTING REPORT: Jackson had a solid summer playing shortstop for the Orioles, hitting .304-1-21 with league highs of 49 hits and seven triples—a carryover from a productive .341-4-57 season as a sophomore at Virginia Commonwealth. He committed just six errors while displaying soft hands and a fringe-average arm. A short, fast swing produced a lot of balls to the gaps and occasional power.

4. Brian Anderson, rhp, Bethesda (Sr., San Francisco)

SCOUTING REPORT: Anderson has the size and stuff—a 91-93 mph fastball and 85-87 mph slider—to warrant early-round draft consideration, but he continues to be dogged by command issues. He walked 19 in 38 innings this summer while going 3-1, 2.63—a marginal upgrade from the spring when he was 0-2, 4.91 and walked 17 in 33 innings at San Francisco.

5. Steve Domecus, c, Rockville (So., Moorpark)

SCOUTING REPORT: At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Domecus was the top physical athlete in the Cal Ripken Sr. League this summer. He showed above-average power potential at the plate, tying for the league home run lead with six while winning the Home Run Derby at the all-star game. He also has sound catching and throwing skills, but needs work in his overall approach to hitting as he batted just .252 on the summer and hit .216 as a freshman at UC Santa Barbara.

6. Jon Karcich, 3b, Bethesda (So., Santa Clara)

SCOUTING REPORT: Karcich committed just five errors in 153 chances this summer, primarily at the hot corner. He showed good hands and good arm strength, and projects as a super-utility player at the next level. Karcich demonstrated an ability to hit to all fields, both for average and power, and batted .289-3-16 on the summer—leading the Big Train in homers and slugging percentage.

7. Justin Grimm, rhp, Youse's Orioles (Fr., Georgia)

SCOUTING REPORT: Drafted in the 13th-round by the Boston Red Sox in June out of a Virginia high school, Grimm spent the summer working for a team with strong ties to another American League East organization. He showcased a loose, live arm with a fastball in the mid-90s and a good feel for his secondary pitches. Overall, he went 1-1, 5.12 with six walks and 13 strikeouts in 19 innings, but did not make the trip with the Orioles to the AAABA championship.

8. Eddie Bach, lhp, Youse's Orioles (Jr., Maryland-Baltimore County)

SCOUTING REPORT: Bach missed half of the 2007 college season with a tender elbow, but was cleared to pitch in June for the Orioles and showed impressive velocity for a lefthander with a fastball in the 89-92 mph range. He also threw in an acceptable curve and changeup for good measure, though was just 0-2, 6.75 overall.

9. Jarrett Parker, of, Herndon (Fr., Virginia)

SCOUTING REPORT: A strong athlete with a projectable body and excellent bat speed with power to all fields, Parker was the top hitter for Herndon this summer. He hit .311-3-22 and also showed a nose for getting on base as his .434 on-base average was the second-best in the league. He also had above-average speed on the bases.

10. Evan Frederickson, lhp, Bethesda (Jr., San Francisco)

SCOUTING REPORT: A huge lefthander with an above-average arm, Frederickson is capable of pumping his fastball at a steady 92-94 mph and complementing it with an off-speed pitch in the low to mid-80s. But Frederickson will go only as far as his control takes him and his inability to throw a ball over the plate consistently has been a significant issue to this point in his college career. He went just 1-3, 12.96 this summer with 16 walks (and also 16 strikeouts) in eight innings of work, a carryover from two undistinguished college seasons at Virginia Tech, where he was a collective 2-4, 5.48 with 78 walks and 68 strikeouts in 57 innings. Frederickson has elected to transfer to San Francisco for his junior year—the same school as summer teammate Brian Anderson (No. 4 on this list).

11. Justin Bour, 1b, Youse's Orioles (So., George Mason)

SCOUTING REPORT: Bour has exceptional power potential and made national headlines as a freshman at George Mason when he hit seven home runs in a week, including two grand slams in a game. He hit 14 homers in the spring overall, while batting .301 with 56 RBIs. He carried over his run-producing exploits to the summer, leading the Cal Ripken Sr. League with 29 RBIs while batting .250 with five homers. Bour’s older brother Jason, a catcher selected in the 23rd round of this year’s draft by the Reds, previously played for the Orioles and was named MVP of the 2006 AAABA tournament.

12. Jack Amidei, rhp, College Park (Jr., Mesa State)

SCOUTING REPORT: Amedei generated 90-92 mph heat, showed good command of that pitch and a slider, and was capable of holding his velocity deep into games. In 50 innings, he walked 23 and struck out 53—second-most in the league. He showed a fluid delivery and had excellent poise on the mound.

13. Bert Smith, 2b, Bethesda (Jr., Jacksonville State)

SCOUTING REPORT: An effective hitter at the top of the order, primarily because of above-average speed, Smith led the league in runs (39) and hits (49) while batting .301-0-17 with 20 stolen bases. As a sophomore in the spring at Jacksonville State , Smith was even more effective in his role as a table setter, batting .359-2-34 with 31 stolen bases. He has good hands for a middle infielder, but a slightly below-average arm—even by second base standards.

14. Jake Laber, lhp, Silver Spring-Takoma (Sr., North Dakota State)

SCOUTING REPORT: A durable and crafty lefthander who led the league in innings (52) and strikeouts (56), Laber was very tough on lefthanded hitters. He neutralized them with the combination of an 87-90 mph fastball, an improving changeup and a plus late-breaking curveball. He also picked off a league-best five base runners. Laber came off a 6-6, 3.89 spring with 68 strikeouts in 83 innings at North Dakota State to go 3-4, 2.44 with the Thunderbolts.

15. Bryan Hamilton, rhp, Youse's Orioles (So., Charlotte)

SCOUTING REPORT: An aggressive, bulldog-type pitcher with a fastball at 92 mph, Hamilton displays the mental toughness required to anchor the back-end of a bullpen. He went 2-1, 2.08 with a save in 10 appearances, after going 6-1, 2.18 with four saves in 20 outings for Charlotte in the spring.

16. Joe Velleggia, c, Youse's Orioles (So., Old Dominion)

SCOUTING REPORT: Velleggia hit just .246-2-15 for the Orioles during the regular season, but stepped up his game during the team’s run to the AAABA title by hitting .415 with 10 hits and RBIs to earn tournament MVP honors. Big and strong with a significant presence behind the plate, Velleggia is an above-average receiver with a fringe-average arm.

17. Eric Allen, of, Rockville (Sr., Morehead State)

SCOUTING REPORT: An extremely disciplined hitter who tied for the league lead with 28 walks, Allen hit .299-3-28 overall. His .448 on-base average and .496 slugging percentage were both league-leading figures. He has line-drive power to all fields and is a pure center fielder with good instincts for the position. He’s a gamer in the true sense of the word.

18. Matt Zoltak, lhp, Youse's Orioles (So., Clemson)

SCOUTING REPORT: A crafty lefthander who challenges hitters on every pitch, Zoltak has an 88-90 mph fastball with good command of his secondary pitches. He hides the ball extremely well, showing deception on his pitches similar to Florida Marlins lefthander Dontrelle Willis. On the summer, he went 2-1, 1.19 with 32 strikeouts and only 10 walks in 30 innings. His freshman season at Clemson produced a 1-3, 5.66 record.

19. Keith Moreland, rhp, Bethesda (Jr., Charlotte)

SCOUTING REPORT: Moreland was on the rebound from Tommy John surgery that cost him the 2007 spring season at Charlotte , but his velocity continued to increase during the summer and reached the high 80s by the end of the season. He also had command of a plus slider. He has a projectable pitcher’s body, went 4-0, 3.11 with 20 walks in 38 innings on the season and started the league all-star game.

20. Zach Anderson, rhp, Maryland Redbirds (Jr., Buffalo)

SCOUTING REPORT: Anderson used an 88-90 mph fastball and an above-average changeup to go 3-2, 2.55 with 42 strikeouts in 42 innings for the Redbirds.