2023 MLB Draft Review: Chicago White Sox

Full list of draftees

The White Sox brought on a wide variety of skill sets in this class, with no two players possessing the same profile. It started with Jacob Gonzalez, at one point considered a top five talent in the class, on a large under slot deal, and that helped them later land Chicago-area native George Wolkow for a massive over slot bonus in the seventh round. Overall, I think it's a decent class that could provide contributors in a lot of different roles.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-15: SS Jacob Gonzalez, Mississippi {video}
Slot value: $4.49 million. Signing bonus: $3.9 million ($588,600 below slot value).
My rank: #15. MLB Pipeline: #18. Baseball America: #11. Prospects Live: #7.
Jacob Gonzalez was considered a potential top five prospect in the class entering the season and didn't really do too much to relinquish that status, so the White Sox getting him here in the middle of the first round for a sizable discount (close to slot value for pick #19) is very nice value. He burst onto the scene with a massive freshman season in 2021 (.355/.443/.561), then bounced back from an up and down sophomore year (.273/.405/.558) with another strong junior season, slashing .327/.435/.564 with ten home runs and a 28/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 54 games. He's an extremely professional hitter and always has been, walking more than he struck out in each of his three seasons in Oxford. He has some of the best hand-eye coordination in the class, making a ton of contact both inside and outside the zone and rarely ever striking out. This enables him to have success with a fairly unorthodox swing, in which he throws his weight up the first base line to yank balls hard to the pull side and generate strong batted ball data. For most, this selling out to the pull side would cause them to pull off soft stuff away and many teams were lower on him for that reason. However, Gonzalez's barrel control enables him to reach those tougher pitches and he's made this approach work extremely well against strong competition in the SEC, so I'm not particularly concerned about his ability to make it work in pro ball. The only concern is that if he does need to begin employing a more balanced, all-fields approach in the upper minors or in the majors, it could take away from his power production which is maximized by his current approach. As it stands, the Southern California product has above average power, but it could drop to average with a more refined approach. Still, it's very reasonable to expect 15-20 home runs per season with high on-base percentages as the median outcome, and he could be a 20-25 home run bat or more with those high on-base percentages at his ceiling. A below average runner, he has shown well at shortstop anyways because of his strong internal clock and body control, with a strong arm that aids his cause. He may move to third base in the future, where he should be at least an average defender if not above average. He hasn't quite gotten going yet in pro ball, where he is slashing .216/.305/.284 with one home run and a 16/12 strikeout to walk ratio in 23 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low A Kannapolis.

2-51: RHP Grant Taylor, Louisiana State {video}
Slot value: $1.66 million. Signing bonus: $1.66 million.
My rank: #77. MLB Pipeline: #102. Baseball America: #80. Prospects Live: #79.
Last year, the White Sox took a second round chance on an injured SEC hurler while he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery. A year after taking Peyton Pallette out of Arkansas, the White Sox did it again in grabbing Grant Taylor out of LSU despite the fact that he has just 31 collegiate innings under his belt after missing 2023 with Tommy John surgery. Taylor had an unremarkable freshman season in 2022, but really made a name for himself with a strong run through the Cape Cod League (2.14 ERA, 30/2 K/BB in 21 IP) and continued to show well in fall practice. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball but can reach back for the upper 90's early in starts, with the ability to cut or ride it depending on what he needs. Taylor can really spin a breaking ball, with a potentially plus curveball in addition to an above average slider that he has begun to effectively work into a cutter, though to this point he hasn't used his changeup much. It's a really nice pitch mix that could produce five average or better pitches once he gains more conviction in his changeup, and it all comes from a sturdy 6'3" frame that should lend itself well to starting. Beyond health, the main question mark is command, as Taylor ran an elevated 13.9% walk rate as a freshman in 2022 but pounded the zone with conviction on the Cape and in fall practice. If he can hold that command together, and the White Sox believe he can, he has a shot to be a mid-rotation starter.

3-84: RHP Seth Keener, Wake Forest {video}
Slot value: $833,900. Signing bonus: $800,000 ($33,900 below slot value).
My rank: #91. MLB Pipeline: #108. Baseball America: #131. Prospects Live: #66.
Seth Keener was ineffective as a freshman then stepped into a larger role as a sophomore, but still put up an uneven performance. He always had the arm strength, though, and put it together for an excellent junior season in which he posted a 2.69 ERA and a 94/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 70.1 innings despite pitching in a hitter-friendly home park. Keener has electric stuff, sitting in the low to mid 90's and touching 97 with his fastball, which comes in with some hop to boot. He leans heavily on a plus slider and still misses a ton of bats even when hitters know it's coming, while his changeup has the makings of a solid average pitch. Everything plays up because he gets great extension down the mound, a product of his great athleticism and mature 6'2" frame. While he's more of a control over command type, he repeats his delivery well and pounds the strike zone with conviction, so his misses still tend to be competitive offerings that keep him in every at bat. Keener is a Cape performer (2.61 ERA, 29/11 K/BB) and has a chance to start in pro ball even though he served as a swingman at Wake Forest. So far, he has allowed one run over six innings on seven strikeouts and two walks in the Arizona Complex League.

4-116: C Calvin Harris, Mississippi {video}
Slot value: $574,600. Signing bonus: $600,000 ($25,400 above slot value).
My rank: #183. MLB Pipeline: #133. Baseball America: #167. Prospects Live: #157.
In the fourth round, the White Sox picked up a semi-local kid in Calvin Harris. Harris is a native of Peosta, Iowa, a small town just west of Dubuque near the Field of Dreams site and about three and a half hours northwest of Chicago. He has been a very productive hitter for Ole Miss the past two seasons, and in 2023 slashed .321/.398/.579 with 12 home runs and a 40/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 54 games. Four of those home runs, a third of his season total, came in one game against Missouri on May 6th in what was the offensive performance of the season in college baseball. Overall, Harris lacks a standout tool but does a lot of things well. He clearly has some power, though overall it's probably closer to average in the long run, a product of his sturdy 6' frame packed with plenty of strength. He does a decent job of controlling the zone and makes a fair amount of contact, with a very reasonable 16.4% strikeout rate and a nice 11.9% walk rate this past spring. SEC pitching did expose some holes in his swing, but he did perform well regardless. In drafting him this high, a bit ahead of where most boards had him, the White Sox clearly believe in his ability to catch, which is a question mark for some evaluators. He handles himself well behind the plate with solid glovework, though he hasn't fully regained his arm strength after recovering from Tommy John surgery. If he can get that done, he has a chance to be an average defender with an average bat – not the most exciting profile, but pretty valuable for a catcher. So far, he's slashing .244/.355/.321 with one home run and an 18/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 22 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low A Kannapolis.

5-152: LHP Christian Oppor, Gulf Coast JC [FL] {video}
Slot value: $404,700. Signing bonus: $550,000 ($145,300 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #225. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #329.
Christian Oppor gives the White Sox another small town Midwesterner, having grown up in Columbus, Wisconsin a little northeast of Madison and about two and a half hours northwest of Chicago. The A's took him as a draft and follow prospect but ultimately did not come to terms with him, allowing him to be available to the White Sox here in the fifth round for fourth round money. Oppor had an inconsistent season for Gulf Coast JC in Florida, where he posted a 6.24 ERA and a 76/38 strikeout to walk ratio over 53.1 innings, but the White Sox are buying the athleticism and arm strength here. Oppor touched 98 early in the spring but sat more in the low 90's throughout the season, with some flat plane from a lower release point. While the fastball is his best pitch, he does show solid feel for his changeup that functions as his best offspeed pitch, while his slider is very much a work in progress. Oppor is very young, having only turned 19 in July, making him younger than some high school seniors in this draft class. He also has a very athletic delivery and accesses his prodigious arm talent with ease, so once the White Sox help him begin to repeat that delivery better, his strike throwing should improve from the below average grade it has now to something closer to average. There is a lot to work with here from the 6'2" lefty even if he is a long way off. He has allowed two runs (one earned) over 7.2 innings in the Arizona Complex League, striking out nine against two walks.

6-179: LHP Lucas Gordon, Texas {video}
Slot value: $317,400. Signing bonus: $300,000 ($17,400 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #277. Prospects Live: #466.
Lucas Gordon has a similar feel to Pete Hansen a year ago, as a soft tossing Californian lefty coming out of the University of Texas with a strong track record to his name. Indeed, after putting up a 3.05 ERA and a 77/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 85.2 innings as a sophomore, he improved to a 2.63 ERA and a 103/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 102.2 innings as a junior this year despite so many other pitchers seeing their numbers take a step back. Gordon sits around 90 with his fastball and tops out around 93-94 with some running action, making for a fringe-average pitch. He can work in a couple of slurvy breaking balls that get nice depth but lack power and bite, so his best pitch is an above average changeup that misses a ton of bats. With an easy, repeatable delivery and a strong track record of above average command, Gordon does have a shot crack it as a back-end starter if he can add a little more power to his stuff. If not, he'll end up as a fastball/changeup lefty reliever that can throw a few innings at a time. In 5.2 innings in the Arizona Complex League, he has allowed two runs (one earned) while striking out eight and walking five.

7-209: OF George Wolkow, Downers Grove North HS [IL] {video}
Slot value: $248,300. Signing bonus: $1 million ($751,700 above slot value).
My rank: #84. MLB Pipeline: #71. Baseball America: #79. Prospects Live: #179.
For the second year in a row, the White Sox gave a seven figure bonus to a high schooler from the Chicago suburbs, following up Oswego East's Noah Schultz last year with Downers Grove North's George Wolkow this year. Wolkow signed way above slot value here in the seventh round, earning early third round money (close to the slot value for pick #73) to sign away from a South Carolina commitment and stay home. He is also the youngest player in the entire 2023 draft as the only kid born in 2006 taken this year (feel old yet?) after reclassifying from the 2024 class. He has earned comparisons to a left handed Aaron Judge due to his massive 6'7", 240 pound frame that you don't see every day from a 17 year old, and he's got the power to match. The ball jumps off his bat as he exerts plus power to all fields, and he tapped it in games around DuPage County this year despite it really only being his junior season. The youth does become apparent with his hit tool, though. Similar to Blaze Jordan a few years back, he was a bit uneven against older competition on the showcase circuit and needs more seasoning in that regard. Like many big sluggers, he can be slow getting going with his swing and sometimes struggles to catch up to quality stuff in the zone. A fringy runner, he'll be limited to an outfield corner in pro ball but his above average arm could help him stick in right field. The White Sox are buying the power here and hope that his youth is the main reason behind his inconsistent hit tool, and that he'll pull it together as he matures. So far in the Arizona Complex League, he is slashing .225/.392/.325 with one home run and a 17/9 strikeout to walk ratio through 13 games.

8-239: OF Eddie Park, Stanford {video}
Slot value: $199,900. Signing bonus: $200,000 ($100 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #196. Prospects Live: #182.
If George Wolkow's youth, size, and power put him on one extreme, then Eddie Park occupies the other extreme. On the older side for a college junior, he's four and a half years older than Wolkow and is coming off his best season for Stanford, slashing .333/.413/.475 with six home runs and a 25/37 strikeout to walk ratio over 63 games. Though he hit those six home runs in 2023 (after hitting none in 2021 and 2022), he has near bottom of the scale power with some of the lowest top end exit velocities in the entire class, rarely cracking 100 MPH this year. Instead, he uses his quick left handed swing and short follow through to slap balls around the field, with excellent feel for the barrel and the ability to elevate and turn on the ball when he needs to. Park rarely chases and rarely swings and misses, leading to just a 7.8% strikeout rate in 2023 as he forced defenses to make plays. He doesn't ever need to become a power hitter, though those low exit velocities will put pressure on his ability to continue to use the whole field and find holes, something that gets tougher as pitching and defenses get better in pro ball and the Major Leagues. Park is an above average runner that can stretch for extra bases at times, and that also gives him a shot to stick in center field. Not overly physical, the San Jose native doesn't have much of an arm and will have to move to left field if a better defender locks down center field. He's hitting about as expected so far, slashing .283/.377/.283 with a 13/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 16 games between the Arizona Complex League and Low A Kannapolis.

12-359: RHP Mathias LaCombe, Cochise JC [AZ] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $450,000 ($300,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #372. Prospects Live: #361.
The White Sox emptied the last remaining money from heir bonus pool into Mathias LaCombe, giving him early fifth round money here in the twelfth round. LaCombe is from way off the beaten path, having grown up in Toulouse, South of France before coming over to the states to pitch at Cochise JC in an empty stretch of desert on the Mexican border. After an unremarkable year in 2022, he broke out in 2023 with a 1.74 ERA and a 97/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 67.1 innings, quickly establishing himself as a legitimate prospect. He sits in the low 90's with his fastball but can reach back for 97 in short stints with running action. His slider has nice sweeping action to it, though it does need to add power, and his changeup is a bit behind the other two. He has a bit of a raw delivery where he looks like he's just flinging the ball at times, but he still repeats it well and fills up the strike zone. With projection remaining on his 6'2" frame, LaCombe is great clay for the White Sox player development program to get their hands on and mold into an impact starting pitcher.

2023 MLB Draft: an early look at the SEC West

2022 draftees: 41. Top school: Arkansas (9)
2022 preseason writeup (published 10/17/2021, full SEC)

Top 2022 draftees:
1-6, Marlins: 3B Jacob Berry (Louisiana State)
CBA-34, Diamondbacks: RHP Landon Sims (Mississippi State)
2-48, Twins: LHP Connor Prielipp (Alabama)
2-49, Royals: 3B Cayden Wallace (Arkansas)
2-55, Reds: C Logan Tanner (Mississippi State)
2-62, White Sox: RHP Peyton Pallette (Arkansas)
CBB-72, Brewers: 2B Robert Moore (Arkansas)

Ironically enough, the SEC West exactly matched the SEC East last year with 41 players drafted among the seven teams, though no team could reach double digits on its own like Tennessee did. In all, the SEC's 82 players drafted smashed the previous year's mark of 68 while also easily beating the second place ACC's total of 57 draftees. Arkansas (9) and Auburn (8) led the way last year for the division, but this year it looks like LSU will lap the competition with a loaded roster that features half of the top ten prospects in the division, including arguably the top prospect in the entire class in Dylan Crews. Three of the top ten prospects here are transfers, highlighting the incredible influx of talent heading to the SEC that will only continue to grow, and two are presently in the conversation for the first overall pick. Moving further down the list, there is a tightly packed tier of players all in that late second to fourth round range, with little daylight separating them at this point.

1. OF Dylan Crews, Louisiana State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6', 205 lbs. Born 2/26/2002. Hometown: Longwood, FL.
2022: 22 HR, .349/.463/.691, 5 SB, 56/42 K/BB in 62 games.
At this point, Dylan Crews has to be the favorite to go first overall. A first round talent out of Lake Mary High School in the Orlando area back in 2020, he struggled on the showcase circuit leading up to his senior season and the COVID shutdown didn't give him much of an opportunity to rebuild his stock. Many teams viewed him more as a second round talent at that point due to questions about swing and miss, but Crews knew who he was and pulled his name out of the draft so he could attend LSU. As it turns out, all he did was slash .356/.458/.677 with 40 home runs over 125 games, and with Ivan Melendez out of college baseball and into the Diamondbacks system, it's safe to say he's now the best hitter in the world at the amateur level. From the minute he stepped on campus in Baton Rouge, it has been readily apparent that he simply does not belong in college baseball, and opposing pitchers are paying dearly for that. So how does he do it? Crews possesses the most explosive right handed swing in college baseball, producing elite exit velocities with astonishing consistency. Hitting from a wide base, he can hit the snot out of the ball to any field, putting tremendous carry on his line drives that just never seem to come down, even when he goes the other way. Not just a power hitter, he also possesses a very strong eye at the plate and rarely expands the strike zone. With those big, explosive hacks he takes, there will always be some swing and miss and his strikeout rate actually rose from 15.3% as a freshman to 18.2% as a sophomore, but that's still a very solid number for a power hitter in the SEC and it hasn't inhibited his production for the Tigers one iota. His time with the US Collegiate National Team was a bit more up and down, but you'd be hard pressed to find any scouts that are particularly concerned by that. The fact of the matter is that Crews has simply bullied some of the best pitching in the country for two years now with no signs of slowing down, showing off the potential for 30+ home runs per season with high on-base percentages, perennial All Star-caliber production. He brings a solid glove, too, with above average speed and a plus arm that makes him a bit of a weapon out there. He started all 62 games for the Tigers in center field last season, and may have a shot to continue doing so in pro ball until a quicker defender pushes him to right field.

2. SS Jacob Gonzalez, Mississippi.
Bat: L. Throw: R. 6'2", 200 lbs. Born 5/30/2002. Hometown: Glendora, CA.
2022: 18 HR, .273/.405/.558, 4 SB, 32/50 K/BB in 65 games.
There may not be a more complete player in the country than Jacob Gonzalez. A well-known prospect out of high school, he set the college baseball world on fire as a true freshman by slashing .355/.443/.561 with twelve home runs and more walks (38) than strikeouts (34). That's just something you don't see often in the SEC. The power was just as potent in 2022 with 18 home runs, but his overall numbers weren't quite as gaudy (.273/.405/.558) as pitchers often pitched around him. Still, you'd be hard pressed to find a hole in his game. The Southern California native has an extremely disciplined approach at the plate, running a 16.7% walk rate and just a 10.7% strikeout rate in 2022 against some of the best pitching in the country. Hitting from a wide base, he does a great job of leaving the hands back and getting that coveted hip/shoulder separation that enables him to both track pitches deep as well as generate plus raw power from the left side. Gonzalez prefers to yank line drives to the pull side, and he has such strong pitch selection skills and plate coverage that he can get away with that approach easily even against elite competition. Not just an elite hitter, he also provides plenty of value on defense as well. Gonzalez has started all 132 games at shortstop for Ole Miss the past two seasons, showing off a plus arm and solid feel for the position that will give him a chance to stick there in pro ball. He's not the quickest player on the diamond, though, so a stronger defender may be able to push him to third base if he slows down at all with age. Still, that would be an above average glove at third combined with a 25+ home run bat and high on-base percentages, a perennial All Star projection if it works out. The discipline and underlying ability to hit the ball hard point to a high floor as a solid everyday third baseman, and with a late May birthday, he's fairly young as far as college juniors go. This may be the safest pick in the draft at this point combined with a very high ceiling. He's very much in play for the first overall pick at this point.

3. RHP/DH Paul Skenes, Louisiana State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'6", 235 lbs. Born 5/29/2002. Hometown: Lake Forest, CA.
2022 (@ Air Force): 10-3, 2.73 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 96/30 K/BB in 85.2 innings.
2022 (@ Air Force): 13 HR, .314/.412/.634, 0 SB, 40/21 K/BB in 52 games.
Make that three players in a row who had fantastic true freshman seasons, though Paul Skenes did his damage in the Mountain West as opposed to Dylan Crews and Jacob Gonzalez in the elite SEC. Still, as an 18 year old in 2021, Skenes hit .410/.486/.697 with 32 extra base hits in 48 games, all while hopping on the mound and putting up a 2.70 ERA out of the Air Force bullpen. Like Gonzalez (and unlike Crews), his bat came back to earth a little bit in 2022 but he still hit .314/.412/.634 in 52 games, while his pitching took a big step forward and he held down the Friday night starter role all season long. He is one of numerous famous transfers heading to Baton Rouge this spring, and he does so as perhaps the best two-way player in the country. He's a better prospect as a pitcher right now, even if he's a career .367/.453/.669 hitter. Skenes has seen his fastball steadily tick up throughout his college career, from the low 90's early on into the mid 90's more often lately and touching as high as 99 in the fall. Coming from a three quarters slot, he puts high spin rates and good carry on the pitch in addition to tough angle from a crossfire delivery. He adds a hard, tight slider that plays average for now and stands out more for velocity than movement, while his changeup flashes plus at its best and gives him a weapon to play off his fastball. The 6'6" righty also shows improving command and spots the ball especially well to his glove side, so if he can miss a few more bats with that slider, he becomes a very intriguing #2 starter candidate. At the plate, Skenes packs plenty of punch as well. He shows above average raw power from the right side and was an on-base machine at Air Force, though those long arms that help him send the ball deep also lead to some swing and miss concerns with a strikeout rate over 20% in both of his seasons so far. As a below average athlete that may find himself as a 1B/DH type in the long run, there will be a lot of pressure on the bat to come along, but that transition from the Mountain West to the SEC will be no easy task. If he does keep hitting against that famous gauntlet, suddenly a unique prospect becomes even more interesting. To boot, the Southern California native is young for the class with a late May birthday, in fact one day before fellow SoCal product Gonzalez.

4. RHP Nathan Dettmer, Texas A&M.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'4", 215 lbs. Born 4/26/2002. Hometown: San Antonio, TX.
2022: 6-3, 4.99 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 82/25 K/BB in 92 innings.
Nathan Dettmer is yet to put it all together in College Station, but he has the stuff to become the next great Aggie arm. He earned a dozen starts as a freshman with promising results, then brought a 3.13 ERA into the month of May this year but embarked on a late season slide that saw him allow thirty earned runs over a seven start stretch, ballooning that ERA to 5.40. He salvaged the season with a dominant showing against Notre Dame in the College World Series, bringing his final mark down to 4.99, but the best is likely still ahead for Dettmer. He sits in the low to mid 90's with his sinker and ran it as high as 99 in the fall, and if he can maintain that higher velocity going forward, we could be in turbo sinker territory. The San Antonio native also flashes plus with his slider with nasty bite at its best, while his changeup plays well off his sinker to give him a third above average pitch. However, despite a big league arsenal, he has struggled to miss bats so far with the Aggies and ran just a 20.1% strikeout rate last year. His control is ahead of his command to this point and he gets hurt when his pitches catch too much plate, so next on his to do list will be refining that command and potentially even creating more deception to keep hitters from picking up his stuff out of the hand. The 6'4" righty has the stuff and frame to become a mid-rotation starter at the big league level, but he'll have to miss more bats this year for evaluators to be comfortable even if he projects as more of a ground ball guy in pro ball. Like many other names on this list, his age will be a bonus, not turning 21 until late April.

5. OF Colton Ledbetter, Mississippi State.
Bat: L. Throw: R. 6'1", 200 lbs. Born 11/15/2001. Hometown: Hoover, AL.

2022 (@ Samford): 16 HR, .318/.407/.640, 14 SB, 28/30 K/BB in 57 games.
The SEC is filled with famous transfers like Paul Skenes, Tommy White, Hurston Waldrep, and Maui Ahuna, among many others, but don't sleep on Samford transfer Colton Ledbetter. Auburn struck gold when they took Sonny DiChiara from the Bulldogs a year ago, and Mississippi State is looking to do the same with Ledbetter. Not only is Ledbetter following DiChiara's path from Samford to the SEC, but they're actually from the same hometown of Hoover in the Birmingham suburbs, home of the SEC Tournament. He's coming off a huge season at Samford in which he showed a broad array of tools, which he backed up with a strong .380/.478/.675 run through the NECBL, one of the top non-Cape summer leagues in the country. Ledbetter has a very athletic 6'1" frame that he deploys into a loose left handed swing, channeling that strength into big bat speed and separation that helps him project for plus power. Not only that, but he walked more (12.1%) than he struck out (11.3%) against a solid SoCon schedule and nearly did so again in the NECBL. His combination of power and plate discipline should help make the jump to the SEC much more manageable, where he could really rise up boards with more exposure. Ledbetter is also a good runner that stole 26 bases in 30 attempts between Samford and the NECBL, giving him an outside shot to stick in center field if he doesn't slow down with age. Even in left field, he has the bat to be an every day player at the big league level.

6. 1B Tre' Morgan, Louisiana State.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'1", 190 lbs. Born 7/16/2002. Hometown: New Orleans, LA.
2022: 5 HR, .324/.414/.462, 0 SB, 26/25 K/BB in 62 games.
This is a profile you don't see often, but it's one you really, really want to see work out. Tre' Morgan joined Dylan Crews in putting up a fantastic freshman season at LSU in 2021, slashing .357/.441/.526 with six home runs despite not turning 19 until after the season, then nearly matched it in 2022 at .324/.414/.462 with five home runs. Morgan is an extremely disciplined hitter in the box with a plus hit tool, utilizing a short, simple left handed swing that helps him guide the barrel to the ball with consistency and helping him post just an 8.8% strikeout rate last year. While he can elevate the ball when he needs to, that's not really his game and the power hasn't shown up much in games, and it's unlikely that he'll ever be a big home run threat. For a first baseman, that's unusual even if he projects to get on base at a high clip, but Morgan is no ordinary first baseman. He has tremendous range, footwork, and instincts around the bag that make him an elite defender by that position's standards, bailing out his infielders on poor throws on one play and then going over his shoulder to catch a fading foul popup on the next. An above average athlete with an above average arm, he would make a very solid third baseman if he were right handed, but unfortunately that's not on the table for the southpaw. It's a profile reminiscent of Evan White, the seventeenth overall pick out of Kentucky in 2017, though Morgan has the advantage of batting left handed even if he is a couple inches shorter. The New Orleans native doesn't project to go quite that high, fitting more in the third round range right now. White doubled his home run total from five to ten between his sophomore and junior seasons, and if Morgan can do something like that and show average or better power in 2023, he could creep closer to that range. To boot, he's very young for a junior and won't turn 21 until right around draft time, giving him extra time to tack on a little more physicality.

7. RHP Christian Little, Louisiana State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'4", 210 lbs. Born 7/5/2003. Hometown: St. Louis, MO.
2022 (@ Vanderbilt): 1-2, 3.72 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 46/17 K/BB in 38.2 innings.
Christian Little is one of the most enigmatic prospects in the SEC, likely to draw very split opinions as he enters his junior season. Arguably the top arm in the 2021 high school class entering the season, he instead enrolled early at Vanderbilt well shy of his 18th birthday. Working as a midweek starter, he showed promise but was hit around a bit as you'd probably expect from a 17 year old, then took a modest step forward as a swingman in 2022 as he dropped his ERA from 5.48 to 3.72, upped his strikeout rate from 25.4% to 27.7%, and improved his walk rate from 11.4% to 10.2%. Heading to the Cape Cod League, he had an opportunity to put it together on a big stage, but never found his groove there either. So now, that leaves us with a post-hype prospect that never put things together at Vanderbilt but is still set to play his entire junior season at just 19 years old as he transfers to LSU. Little sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and can reach 98 with riding action, adding a cutter, curveball, and changeup that all flash above average even if none have stepped forward to become a true strikeout pitch. Control is ahead of command here as the St. Louis native tends to get hit over the plate, and he'll need to get more consistent with at least one of if not multiple offspeed pitches to navigate pro lineups going forward. The good news is that given his extreme youth, he could choose to go back to school next year and still be very young for the 2024 class if things don't come together in 2023, even though his eligibility will run out before he's old enough to drink. At this point, I am choosing to bank on Little's youth, arm strength, and frame and I think he'll figure things out enough to crack it as a big league starting pitcher.

8. LHP Grayson Hitt, Alabama.
Bat: R. Throw: L. 6'3", 195 lbs. Born 12/11/2001. Hometown: Germantown, TN.

2022: 4-3, 5.34 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 68/30 K/BB in 60.2 innings.

Grayson Hitt was one of the best pitching prospects to reach campus following the 2020 draft, but he struggled mightily as a freshman before landing a full time role in the rotation in 2022. Still, his 5.34 ERA and so-so peripherals left room for improvement. As it turns out, that improvement showed up in a big way in the fall, where he was Alabama's most impressive arm and set himself up for a potential breakout in 2023. His fastball now runs up to 97 while sitting in the low to mid 90's, albeit with steeper angle. His slider has emerged as an above average pitch with two plane bite, while his curveball and changeup represent fringier show-me options that he's still working to hone. While he didn't miss a ton of bats as a sophomore (24.5%), he actually bumped his strikeout rate up to 26.6% in the Cape Cod League over the summer and could continue to rise in 2023. With a projectable 6'3" frame and a repeatable delivery, he looks the part of a starting pitcher so long as his command continues to make the necessary improvements. He has an up arrow next to his name right now and those highest on him think he could pitch his way into the first round with continued success in the spring, though he fits more in the second to third round range right now.

9. RHP Grant Taylor, Louisiana State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'3", 220 lbs. Born 5/20/2002. Hometown: Florence, AL.
2022: 4-1, 5.81 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 39/21 K/BB in 31 innings.
In 2018, a big right handed pitcher graduated from Florence High School in North Alabama and made his way to LSU, where he would be draft-eligible as a sophomore and earned a second round selection from the Nationals in 2020. Grant Taylor is hoping to follow the exact same path as Cole Henry three years later, and despite a mediocre freshman season, a very strong run through the Cape Cod League (2.14 ERA, 30/2 K/BB in 21 IP) has him in the right position. Taylor's fastball has been steadily ticking up, now sitting in the low to mid 90's and frequently reaching 95. He throws a four seam, two seam, and cutter, so he can really vary the shape of his fastball to work in different locations and against different types of hitters. His best pitch is an above average hammer curveball that flashes plus with hard bite, giving him a true strikeout option, while his slider and changeup are also solid pitches he can pull out when he needs them. It's a strong four pitch mix from a durable frame, but the command has come and gone so far. He ran a 13.9% walk rate last year at LSU then lived in the zone on the Cape, so how that balances out this year will be closely watched. If he can hold onto average command, it's a mid-rotation starter profile, but there is one drawback that's partially out of his control – LSU has an incredibly crowded rotation outlook this year between Skenes, Little, Blake Money, Ty Floyd, Samuel Dutton, and Will Hellmers, among others, and it may not be easy to earn innings as a starter.

10. 2B Cole Foster, Auburn.
Bat: S. Throw: R. 6'1", 195 lbs. Born 10/8/2001. Hometown: Plano, TX.

2022: 9 HR, .267/.395/.488, 2 SB, 46/29 K/BB in 53 games.
One of the more famous names to reach campus from the 2020 high school class, Cole Foster didn't play much in 2021 but showed well as a full time player in 2022 and is looking to build on that foundation in 2023. He brings average tools across the board, even if he lacks a true carrying tool. A switch hitter, Foster takes good at bats and finds good pitches to hit, frequently barreling the ball up from both sides of the plate. He did run a 21.3% strikeout rate last year, which is a little higher than you'd like to see for this profile, so it's probably more of an average hit tool than above average. He has an average build at 6'1", and as he adds strength he has the quick bat and feel for the barrel to tap into above average, 20+ home run power at his ceiling, though that power is closer to average right now. It's not the most exciting offensive profile, but I like the way he's trending and I get a good feeling overall that he'll develop into at least a useful part time bat. A decent athlete, he has the ability to play all over the diamond, though he's not quite explosive enough for shortstop or center field. He likely profiles best as an offensive-minded second baseman, but the flexibility should help him move up.

Honorable Mentions
The last five names on this list are all pretty close, with many being more or less interchangeable, and there are a couple names that just missed the list that fit in the same tier. Texas A&M first baseman Jack Moss is coming off a huge year for the Aggies (.380/.437/.520), showing big exit velocities from the left side. His swing can get a bit swoopy and his inside-out approach doesn't lend itself to much over the fence power, which is a question for a 1B/LF defensive profile. Meanwhile Arkansas righty Jaxon Wiggins has one of the best fastballs in the conference, sitting in the mid 90's and touching triple digits with explosive riding life. For now, he's kind of a one tool player with a fringy slider that stands out more for its velocity than its movement in addition to a solid changeup that flashes above average at its best. His command is fringy and he ran a 13.8% walk rate last year, and I think it comes down to what MLB development organization he ends up in – a team like the Dodgers or Mariners could make him an impact starting pitcher, but in the Nationals or Tigers organizations he likely ends up a middle reliever.