Speedy Yow Set To Play In VBL

Will Yow, one of the fastest high school players in the country, is signed to play with the Charlottesville Tom Sox this summer.

Here is the scouting report on Yow, one of the top high school prospects in the country, from MLB.com

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 40 | Run: 80 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

It’s a fairly regular occurrence for some high school bats from the Mid-Atlantic states to pop up as the Draft approaches. Jackson Merrill, a first-rounder in 2021 from Maryland is the big name, while Jonny Farmelo (2023) and Griffin Burkholder (2024) were Virginia products who went in the top two rounds of their Drafts. In some ways, Yow is ahead of his predecessors because none of that trio landed on MLB.com’s December Draft Top 100. It’s still hard to pinpoint where the Virginia prep shortstop fits because he didn’t do much on the summer showcase circuit, though he certainly opened eyes in Jupiter, Fla., this fall at Perfect Game’s WWBA World Championship.

All conversations about Yow start with his speed. He might be the fastest player in the class, a true 80 runner, one who some scouts clocked doing a 6.15 60-yard dash at the Border Battle this fall. But while he has a slight build, he’s a super-twitchy athlete with some projection, he makes a ton of contact and he gets to some impact, even with a wood bat in his hands. He may never be a slugger, but no one predicted Trea Turner would hit 20-plus homers in the big leagues, either.

That’s relevant because Yow does give off some Turner vibes. Like Turner from his amateur days, scouts aren’t sure if Yow and his average arm can stick at shortstop long-term (Turner has played over 1,100 games at the position), so teams might not want to look away from him at the premium position. After his pop-up performance in Jupiter, Yow decommitted from Richmond and signed on with Virginia for college in his Charlottesville backyard.