A top 2020 baseball prospect is transferring and could reclassify.
Trejyn Fletcher, the No. 1 player in Perfect Game’s 2020 class and an ALL-USA Preseason selection, has enrolled at Deering High School (Portland, Maine) after attending Trinity-Pawling School (N.Y.) for two years, Deering confirmed to USA TODAY.
He plans to reclassify to 2019, according to the Press Herald. Doing so would either allow him to play at Vanderbilt a year early or be eligible for the 2019 MLB amateur draft if he successfully petitions the league.
Greg Sabers, the Perfect Game vice president of showcases and scouting, does not think Fletcher will struggle to adjust to the competition next year, no matter the route he takes.
“He’s been playing with that class all last year, at major events,” Sabers said. “He has a pretty advanced skill set and just been playing with those same players, it wouldn’t be a huge adjustment for him.”
Fletcher jumped to the No. 1 spot in the 2020 class in Perfect Game’s last update after a dominant summer. Sabers said that advanced stats showed a “monster” year against elite competition during the season and PG tournaments.
Traditional stats also show this: In 31 at-bats against top-500 talent, he hit .538 with two home runs and a .613 on-base percentage.
“He just can kind of do it all,” Sabers said. “He’s got the five-tool potential.”
Despite the talent and apparent readiness of Fletcher, Sabers speculated he wouldn’t be picked as high if he is in the 2019 draft as he would in 2020. Scouts would have to “scramble” to get inventory of his abilities as Fletcher tries to prove he’s better than some top 2019 talent.
“Quite a few other (2019) position prospects, just at the high school level, have kind of established themselves with scouts,” Sabers said. “To jump ahead of those guys would be a little tough at this point.”
Sabers thinks he could be an early-round pick in 2019.
If Fletcher were to be in the 2020 draft, though, Sabers thinks a big summer could boost him to the top half of the first round.
As for Fletcher’s 2019 ranking on Perfect Game, Sabers said Saturday the outlet hadn’t yet started to compare him to the senior class.
Based on what he has seen, though, Sabers estimated Fletcher landing in the 10-20 range.
“There’s kind of like about six to eight players that have established themselves at the top and he would fit right in that next range,” Sabers said.