Top 20 high school hitters in the country entering the 2023 baseball season

Expect these 20 elite batters to excel on a national level this season

Michael Mullinax photo by Willie Prince

High school baseball is set to hit the ground running across the nation.

Earlier this week we featured 20 high school pitchers expected to be among the best in the nation in 2023. Now it's the top hitters' turn.

Fifteen of our 20 featured sluggers are seniors, several of whom are expected to be first-day picks in the MLB Draft in July if they choose that route over college.

Eric Bitonti, sr., SS, Aquinas (California)

Bitonti absolutely raked as a junior, hitting .526 with eight home runs and 41 RBIs, and the athletic Oregon commit also stole 17 bases and scored 55 runs. MLB scouts love the 6-foot-4 athlete's power potential and he doesn't turn 18 until December, factors that could help him land in the first round in July.

Drew Burress, sr., OF, Houston County (Georgia)

Burress isn't a big guy (5-10, 190 pounds) but he hits like a big guy. He slugged 17 home runs and hit nearly .500 as a junior while driving in 73 runs. Scouts love how frequently he finds the barrel on his swings, and he'll be playing for Georgia Tech next season if not the minor leagues.

Max Clark, sr., OF, Franklin Community (Indiana)

One of the projected top picks in the 2023 MLB Draft, Clark will try to become a three-time Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. He hit .577 with nine home runs, 41 runs scored and 32 RBIs as a junior, and the lefty also went 2-0 on the mound, posting a 0.44 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Derek Curiel, jr., OF, Orange Lutheran (California)

Curiel batted leadoff for Orange Lutheran as a sophomore, and the 6-foot-2 LSU commit leads off Perfect Game's Class of 2024 rankings as the top junior in the nation. The five-tool lefty has power to all fields and is an outstanding baserunner and defender.

Colt Emerson, sr., SS, John Glenn (Ohio)

Emerson is a top-flight athlete who earned all-state honors as a wide receiver as a junior but didn't play football as a senior to focus on baseball. Wise move. The left-handed hitter has risen to the top 5 of Perfect Game's Class of 2023 prospects, and the Auburn commit with lightning-quick bat speed seems like a shoo-in to go straight to the pros. But he'll try to win a state title at John Glenn first.

Konnor Griffin, jr., OF, Jackson Prep (Mississippi)

Griffin boasts a fastball in the low 90s on the mound, but handling the bat is the 6-foot-4 LSU commit's forte. He hit .472 as a freshman last season but reclassified to the Class of 2024 (he also played varsity baseball as an eighth-grader). Griffin helped lead Jackson Prep to its fifth straight state championship last year and will try to make it six this spring.

Dillon Head, sr., OF, Homewood Flossmoor (Illinois)

Speed is Head's top tool, but at the plate the smooth-swinging lefty is a line-drive machine. The 6-foot Clemson commit is a prototypical leadoff hitter, and he's one of the best defensive outfielders in the country.

Ethan Holliday, soph., 3B/SS, Stillwater (Oklahoma)

Holliday played third base as a freshman but he'll slide over to short this year to replace his brother Jackson, the top overall pick in last year's MLB Draft. The two sons of former MLB all-star Matt Holliday both bat left and throw right, and Ethan is on his way to ascending to his older brother's level. Over the summer he hit .407 in leading Team USA to a gold medal in the U15 Baseball World Cup.

Colin Houck, sr., SS, Parkview (Georgia)

Houck threw for over 6,000 yards in his career as Parkview's starting quarterback and could have played Division I football in college, but he's turning his attention 100% to baseball and soaring up the rankings as a result. The 6-foot-2 uber-athletic Mississippi State commit hit .412 with 15 homers last year and is primed for an even bigger senior season. 

Walker Jenkins, sr., OF, South Brunswick (North Carolina)

Jenkins entered South Brunswick's state championship series against South Rowan hitting .519, and he improved upon that by going 7-for-12 in the three-game series (South Rowan won 2-1). The UNC commit is expected to be one of the first high school players chosen in this summer's MLB Draft.

Andrew Lamb, sr., OF/C, JSerra (California)

The defending Southern Section Division I Player of the Year, Lamb hit .392 for Division I champ JSerra, which is considered the favorite to repeat in 2023. The sweet-swinging lefty who can catch or play the outfield is committed to play college baseball for USC.

Kevin McGonigle, sr., SS, Monsignor Bonner (Pennsylvania)

McGonigle led the Friars to a 25-2 season last year, hitting .506 with 11 home runs while drawing 19 walks compared with just two strikeouts. The left-handed-hitting shortstop is one of the most balanced average-and-power hitters in the country and is expected to be among the first high school players picked in the MLB Draft.

Blake Mitchell, sr., C, Sinton (Texas)

One of the most versatile players in the country, Mitchell has committed to LSU but is expected to be a first-round pick in the MLB Draft. As a junior he hit .459 and drove in 52 runs, plus went 5-0 on the mound and pitched a shutout to lead Sinton into the 4A state championship game, which the Pirates (36-1) won for their first state championship since 2002.

Aidan Miller, sr., 3B, Mitchell (Florida)

Miller shined at the U18 Baseball World Cup last summer, hitting .478 with two homers, three triples and eight RBIs. He's hit over .400 each of the past two high school season, and MLB scouts love his power potential. Miller also throws in the 90s as a pitcher, but his bat is what might make him a top 10 pick in this summer's MLB Draft.

PJ Morlando, jr., OF, Summerville (South Carolina)

Morlando is coming off a sophomore season hitting .506 with nine home runs while drawing 28 walks against just eight strikeouts. The 6-foot-3 left-handed hitter with prodigious power also thrived in the summer, being named Perfect Game's U16 Player of the Year. 

Michael Mullinax, jr., OF, North Cobb Christian (Georgia)

Mullinax had a breakout sophomore year, hitting .467 with seven home runs and 11 steals in leading North Cobb Christian to the state championship game, falling to Druw Jones and Wesleyan in the final. The slugger blessed with a rocket of an arm can mash from either side of the plate.

Arjun Nimmala, sr., SS, Strawberry Crest (Florida)

Nimmala didn’t put up big numbers as a junior, but scouts drool over his skills at the plate and in the middle of the infield. A big senior year could put him in the conversation for the top high school player picked in a draft that’s expected to be college-heavy at the top this year.

Cooper Pratt, sr., SS/3B, Magnolia Heights (Mississippi)

Pratt showed off his ability to hit premium pitching at the World Wood Bat Association World Series in October and has been soaring up draft boards since. The 6-foot-4 slugger has natural power and a skill set very similar to MLB Rookie of the Year favorite Gunnar Henderson.

Duce Robinson, sr., OF, Pinnacle (Arizona)

The top-ranked tight end in the Class of 2023 didn't put pen to paper Wednesday on National Signing Day, and some are speculating that baseball is the reason. The 6-foot-6 slugger has reportedly held private workouts recently with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, suggesting he might choose MLB over college football and/or baseball.

Nazzan Zanetello, sr., SS/3B, Christian Brothers College (Missouri)

Zanetello is coming off a huge summer on the showcase circuit, earning MVP honors at the Breakthrough Series in Florida. The 6-foot-2 line-drive machine plays shortstop in high school but has the athleticism to play the outfield and the arm to play third. He committed to Miami when he was 14 but flipped to Arkansas in October, though he's projected as an early-round pick in the MLB Draft.