Incredibly, 41 players who have participated in the top tier New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series powered by Program 15 events have gone on to be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft over the past three years. Even with a shortened version last year, nine alums ended up getting taken, including a new record of four first-rounders.
It’s never too early to start thinking about the upcoming 2021 MLB Draft, and Baseball America seems to agree; they just released their Top 200 rankings on Wednesday afternoon, and there are more than a few Future Stars Series players among them, with each of the four International Week events represented by at least one player.
37) Ian Moller
Moller is projected as a potential first-round pick based on these rankings, which would make him the third catcher with FSS ties to earn those honors; Noah “Bo” Naylor and Drew Romo being the others. The Iowa native has played in back-to-back International Week events at Fenway Park as a member of the National Team, and also was behind the dish at the inaugural National Combine in Lake Charles, LA in 2020.
40) Braden Montgomery
Montgomery has become one of the fastest-rising players in the 2021 MLB Draft, thanks in large part to what he’s been able to show teams at Future Stars Series events. He was a true two-way standout at both International Week and the National Combine, and provides a tantalizing total package for big league organizations who are hoping to get him out of his commitment to Stanford.
53) Edwin Arroyo
Arroyo is considered by many to be the top Puerto Rican-born player in the upcoming draft class, and was one of the big draws for scouts to see on the World Team in the most recent International Week event.
60) Anthony Solometo
Solometo was arguably the breakout star of 2020 International Week, delivering an electrifying performance for the World Team in which he struck out nine batters in three innings of work at Fenway Park, setting a new single-game event record. He’d previously pitched for Zoom Baseball Academy at the 2019 National Tournament in Cypress, Texas, where his unique delivery caught the attention of many scouts who were seeing him for the first time.
68) Braylon Bishop
As one of the youngest players at International Week in 2019, Bishop turned in one of the best hitting performances at the event, and continued to build momentum during the summer with the Sticks, for whom he’s played in the National Tournaments in each of the past two years.
73) Pete Hansen
Hansen was a big attraction at the 2018 National Tournament as a member of NorCal, where both of his outings drew significant attention. The lefty has since gone to pitch at the University of Texas, where he struck out 18 batters in 17 innings, allowed just two walks and zero earned runs in his shortened freshman season.
96) Nic Kent
Kent was one of the members of the National Team in the original International Week event held in Sugar Land, Texas back in 2017, and has since gotten off to a stellar start in his collegiate career at the University of Virginia. Kent, who starred for US Elite in the first ever National Tournaments prior to International Week, was the first Virginia freshman to earn First Team All-ACC honors in a decade in 2019 and was hitting .328 for the Cavaliers in last year’s shortened NCAA season.
101) Eric Silva
A UCLA commit, Silva started one of the games at the National Combine and didn’t disappoint, only helping a draft stock that’s been steadily climbing. While he also saw some time at the plate, most of the attention centered around what he was doing on the mound, where he struck out three batters over the course of his three-inning outing, one in which he didn’t allow a run.
107) Justin Colon
A strong showing at the National Combine made Colon a no-brainer selection for the World Team at the most recent International Week event, where the slick-fielding shortstop continued to excel. He reached base five times, including an RBI single during the opener at Fenway Park.
130) Roc Riggio
Injury hampered Riggio at the National Combine, but he made up for that and then some at International Week, where the affable Oklahoma State commit was really able to showcase his complete skill set. Not only did he reach base in each of the three games played, he was one of only a handful of batters to touch Solometo; Riggio memorably smacked an RBI double off of him at Fenway Park.
148) Ricky Tiedemann
Tiedemann was a fast riser last year, but ultimately went unselected in the shorter draft and instead went to Long Beach Junior College so he could remain eligible this year. That’s proven to be a wise choice; he struck out four of the eight batters he faced in relief at International Week as a member of the National Team in 2019 and remains one of the better pitching prospects available.
149) Brandon Neely
Neely had plenty of eyes on him during his outing at the 2019 National Tournament as a member of the Scorpions, and showed then why he’s being considered as a potential top-five round draft pick now. The Florida commit still managed to stand out on a team that had two first-rounders in Romo and Zac Veen, as well as Dylan Crews, who easily would have been selected last year had he not opted to instead honor his commitment to LSU.
156) Ryan Spikes
A Tennessee commit, Spikes’ homer early in the National Combine quickly went viral, and made the two-way standout a lock for an invitation to International Week. As a member of the National Team, he both hit and pitched at that event as well; he got two hits in the opener at Fenway Park, and had a 1-2-3 inning on the mound in Manchester, New Hampshire.
174) Drew Christo
Christo was set to play at International Week before a prior football commitment derailed that opportunity. Both he and Brady Christensen were among the big draws on a skilled Nebraska Prospects team at the most recent National Tournament in Lake Charles. He did manage to get to the National Combine, where he recorded six strikeouts, including one on Moller, who is the top-ranked FSS alum on this list.
190) Caedmon Parker
Parker is an obvious candidate as a fast riser this year; he’s already considered to potentially have the best command of any prep pitcher in this year’s draft class, and scouts like his projectable frame. He didn’t allow a hit over his two inning outing at Fenway Park at International Week, and retired three of the four batters he faced in his brief showing at the National Combine.
