PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Editor's note: The above video is from April 14.
Former Red Land High School star outfielder Benny Montgomery is walking away with some hardware for his performance on and off the field this season.
Montgomery, 18, won Gatorade's Pennsylvania Baseball Player of the Year award.
The award "recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field," according to a press release.
This past season, Montgomery hit .420 with seven home runs and 22 RBI's while scoring 44 runs and stealing 19 bases.
He helped lead the Patriots to a 25-5 overall record.
Montgomery celebrated the award on his Twitter, writing, "Thank you Gatorade for the recognition! This one means a lot!"
Last week, Montgomery was among the select few prospects to take part in MLB's Draft Combine, a first-of-its-kind event that put the best available players in this year's draft against each other in drills.
It also gave prospective teams a chance to interview Montgomery.
He spoke on MLB Network about his experience and future:
MLB.com has released its latest 2021 MLB Mock Draft, and Montgomery is projected to go with the thirteenth pick to the Philadelphia Phillies.
MLB's Jonathan Mayo writes about Montgomery to the Phillies:
A lot of teams love Montgomery's tools, though some have questions about his swing, but he has as much chance as any hitter in this Draft to be a five-tool type at the highest level.
The scouting report on MLB.com offers further insight on how the industry views Montgomery:
Montgomery does a lot of things really well on the baseball field. All summer long, he showed off his close to top-of-the-scale speed (some scouts have 80 run times for him) and his tremendous raw power that helped him win the Perfect Game All-American Classic Home Run Derby. The main concern with the Virginia recruit had been with his ability to get to that power, with a bit of a rigid swing and flat bat path.
Though he lacks fluidity in his swing, the 6-foot-4 right-handed hitter did a very good job of making contact against good competition on the summer showcase circuit. A premium, fast-twitch athlete, Montgomery is a plus defender with an outstanding work ethic. He reminds some of Jayson Werth from his amateur days and will go to the team that believes the bat will play at the next level.
Despite some of the perceived flaws in his game, Montgomery appears to be a lock to go in the Top 20 of this July's draft.