The amateur scouting service Perfect Game has released its inaugural European prospect rankings, with players from six countries accounted for in its Top 10 rankings. Eleven countries were represented in the Top 50, including one each from Belarus, Bulgaria, Sweden, and Switzerland.
According to Perfect Game, Czechia’s RHP Michal Kovala is the top European prospect, followed by Raydley Legito (Netherlands) and Tobias Kiefer (Austria).
Kovala, a native of Ostrava, is currently pitching at Combine Academy in Lincolnton, NC, with the scouting service citing his low-90s fastball as one of the reasons for its grade on the young righty hurler. In addition, Kovala pairs his fastball with a changeup that “is a true difference maker as he turns it over with confidence, generating late tumble while pairing it with a late biting slider to the bottom of the zone.”
Perfect Game’s Top 10 also includes Dominic Scheffler, who has committed to play for NCAA Division I’s Seattle University Redhawks in 2023, and Bulgaria’s Yoanis Aleksandrov, whose prospect credentials were on show at last year’s Federation Cup qualifying tournament in Bratislava. Playing for the Sofia Blues, Aleksandrov hit three homers in just 14 at-bats, with five of his six hits at the competition (two doubles accompanied his three homers) going for extra bases.