LEWISBERRY, Pa. — Editor's note: The above video is from April 14.
A York County high school senior may hear his name called in the first round of July's Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft.
Benny Montgomery, 18, is a star outfielder for Red Land High School and has been ranked as high as the 21st overall prospect in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Not only is Montgomery ranked as one of the top prospects in the upcoming draft, scouts graded his fielding and speed tools to be the best of any player in the class.
Now, MLB.com has released its first 2021 MLB Mock Draft, and Montgomery is projected to go with the seventeenth pick to the Cincinnati Reds.
MLB's Jonathan Mayo writes about Montgomery to the Reds:
He has as loud tools as anyone, especially raw power-wise, though not everyone loves his swing and the strikeout risk.
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 25 of this July's draft.