2022 MLB Draft Review: New York Yankees

Full list of draftees

While some teams like to play with the bonus pool to go well above or below slot, the Yankees played this draft extremely straightforward by paying exact slot value for each of their first five picks, never going more than more than $233,500 above slot at any point, and never going more than $92,300 below slot. They're getting better and better at developing pitching, so in this draft they picked up fifteen college pitchers out of their twenty picks. In fact, all twenty of their selections this year came from the college ranks as they looked to pick up quick moving talent that can be up in the majors and contributing by 2024-2025. The Yankees like their guys big and physical, and that was certainly the case here with each of their first seven selections standing at least 6'2" and an average overall size of 6'3", 210 led by their first round selection Spencer Jones at 6'7". Lastly, the Yankees already have west coast flair on the team between Californians Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, Aaron Hicks, and Kyle Higashioka, and this draft heavily featured the west coast as well from top to bottom including in each of the first five picks.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.

1-25: OF Spencer Jones, Vanderbilt. My rank: #29.
Slot value: $2.88 million. Signing bonus: $2.88 million.
The Yankees started off their draft class with one of the more interesting profiles available. Spencer Jones was a highly touted two-way prospect who earned some first round interest out of high school in the San Diego area back in 2019, but he got hurt his senior year and opted to head east to Vanderbilt. Despite showing a low 90's fastball and an above average curveball from a projectable frame, he never got on the mound in Nashville after Tommy John surgery cost him a third consecutive season. Meanwhile, his bat has developed slowly but steadily and he's gotten better and better throughout his time in the program. He began to turn the corner with a strong (.309/.409/.457) run through the Cape Cod League last summer, then fully broke out by slashing .370/.460/.643 with 12 home runs and a 64/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 61 games this spring. Standing a towering 6'7", he'll fit right into that Yankee lineup with fellow hard hitting skyscrapers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and he draws a lot of parallels to the former. Jones hits the ball extremely hard with some of the best high end exit velocities in the class, helping him tap power consistently in games despite more of a line drive, all fields approach. Speaking of his approach, he takes very good at bats despite not following the most straightforward development path. While he does strike out at a high clip, that's more due to his long limbs creating a longer bat path than due to chasing bad pitches. He's also a great athlete for his size, one that runs well enough with plenty enough arm strength to be an above average right fielder in time or even take a shot at center field. It's a package of tools you don't see often, so despite the swing and miss questions, the Yankees are getting huge upside in a guy who could hit in the middle of their lineup within a few years. At his ceiling, that could mean 30+ home runs per season with high on-base percentages if he manages his strikeouts.

2-61: RHP Drew Thorpe, Cal Poly. My rank: #93.
Slot value: $1.19 million. Signing bonus: $1.19 million.
I remember watching Drew Thorpe hold Vanderbilt to just two runs over seven innings in his very first college game back in 2020 (and ironically struck out Spencer Jones to close out his first inning), and since then he has quietly been one of the best pitchers on the west coast. He was at his best this spring, posting a 2.32 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, and a 149/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 104.2 innings highlighted by a fifteen strikeout performance against UC San Diego in March. Thorpe sits in the low 90's with his fastball and gets up to about 96 at his best, with some sneaky life on the pitch to boot. His best pitch by far is his changeup, a nasty offering with massive fading life. It's so good that he'll often pitch off of it rather than his fastball, something you rarely see at the amateur level. Previously, the southwestern Utah native struggled to spin a quality breaking ball, but his slider took a step forward this spring and now looks like an average pitch. Despite a delivery that can be a bit rushed at the end, Thorpe pounds the strike zone and rarely lets walks derail his outings. The Yankees will want to help continue improving his slider to give him a second out pitch, and his combination of stuff, command, and a sturdy 6'4" frame could help him move relatively quickly through the minors. While his stuff isn't quite explosive enough to warrant a potential top of the rotation projection, he's a good bet to become a mid-rotation guy in the near future.

3-100: RHP Trystan Vrieling, Gonzaga. My rank: #102.
Slot value: $611,400. Signing bonus: $611,400.
Gonzaga had a loaded pitching staff that featured Gabriel Hughes (now with the Rockies) and William Kepmner (Giants) as their two most famous names entering the season, but Vrieling made it a true three headed monster with a big junior season. He finished the year with a 4.91 ERA and a 107/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 80.2 innings, but he was much stronger early in the season (3.16 ERA, 79/25 K/BB through nine starts) before tiring later in the season (9.13 ERA, 28/21 K/BB over his final six starts). At his best, Vrieling features above average command of a very solid four pitch arsenal, looking like a potential #3 starter. His fastball sits in the low to mid 90's and tops out at 97 with steep plane and some riding life, while his curveball, slider, and changeup all flash above average. When he's going right, he can locate even the offspeed pitches well to both sides of the plate, making for a complete profile. However, his command deteriorated as he tired later in the season and he was hit hard, leaving him as a bit of an enigma. The 6'4" righty will need to build up his durability in the Yankees system and get more consistent with everything, and he's certainly in the right system to do so.

4-130: OF Anthony Hall, Oregon. My rank: #120.
Slot value: $456,500. Signing bonus: $456,500.
Anthony Hall is not a terribly dissimilar player to Spencer Jones, albeit with a half grade off the tools across the board. Also a San Diego-area product like Jones, he showed well in the Cape Cod League (.283/.382/.481, 4 HR) before breaking out this year at Oregon, where he slashed .333/.402/.640 with 14 home runs and a 43/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 60 games. Big and strong at 6'2", Hall can really put a charge into the ball with a leveraged, smooth left handed swing. He previously had trouble tapping that power in games as he didn't always swing at the best pitches, but he's progressively gotten more disciplined in the box and controls the strike zone much better now. That led to him increasing his isolated power (SLG minus AVG) from .184 last year to .307 this year while simultaneously dropping his strikeout rate from 21.7% to 16.6%. It's still a power over hit profile, but certainly a much more balanced one. Hall is a decent runner that can hold his own in a corner outfield spot, but he won't be a value add out there and it will be the bat that carries him up. At best, he profiles for 20-25 home runs a year with average on-base percentages, providing some nice upside for a guy whose floor is that of a platoon/bench bat with pop.

5-160: RHP Eric Reyzelman, Louisiana State. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $340,700. Signing bonus: $340,700.
Eric Reyzelman has some of the loudest stuff in the Yankees draft class at his best. A San Francisco transfer, he pitched well on the Cape (2.93 ERA, 38/8 K/BB in 27.2 IP) before landing at LSU this spring, where he put up a 4.04 ERA and a 66/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 42.1 innings out of the bullpen. He loves to attack hitters with his fastball, which is easily his best pitch for now sitting in the mid 90's and touching 99 in short stints. It has a ton of riding and running life on it as well, making it very tough to square up. He has a cutter, slider, curveball, and changeup all in his pocket, but he usually leaves them there and sticks with the old #1 as he's much more confident in that fastball. The slider stands out as perhaps his best secondary with good shape, though he does need to sharpen it up. The 6'2" righty is a very good athlete that moves well on the mound with an athletic delivery, and the arm strength is clearly already there. The Yankees' player development system will need to help him choose a couple secondaries to focus on and also get more consistent with his command, and if they can, he has a sneaky chance to start. If not, he can just lean on the slider and watch his fastball approach triple digits, which I'm sure the Yankees would not mind. The San Francisco Bay Area native is a really fun ball of clay and it will be interesting to see what he looks like in a few years.

6-190: RHP Chase Hampton, Texas Tech. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $264,000. Signing bonus: $497,500 ($233,500 above slot value).
The Yankees lone over slot bonus of the first ten rounds is Chase Hampton, a big righty out of Texas Tech. He was well known as a high school senior but went undrafted in the five round 2020 draft, so he headed across the state to Lubbock and has shown flashes of big potential. As a draft eligible sophomore this year, Hampton put up a 4.29 ERA and a 72/28 strikeout to walk ratio over 56.2 innings as the Red Raiders Sunday starter, finishing off the season with a twelve strikeout performance against Notre Dame at the Statesboro Regional. This seems like the kind of profile that could have gone back to school for his junior season and put it all together, which is why the Yankees bought in early with a large over slot bonus for a guy who went unranked on the MLB Pipeline top 250 and came in at #291 on the Baseball America 500 and #548 on Prospects Live. The fastball sits in the low to mid 90's but can touch the upper 90's early in his starts, showing nice riding action on the pitch. He mixes in a curveball, slider, and changeup, all of which flash potential and give the Yankees a lot to work with. Big and strong at 6'2", 225 pounds, the East Texas product has calmed down his delivery a bit since his high school days in Kilgore and has a chance to start if the Yankees are patient and get it right. He still needs to get more consistent with his secondaries and command but he's very young and brings a lot to the table. The profile is actually fairly similar to Eric Reyzelman above him, except that Hampton is much more physical (35 pounds heavier at the same height) and trusts his secondaries more while Reyzelman is thinner and more athletic with a little extra hop to his fastball at the same velocities.

7-220: RHP Cam Schlittler, Northeastern. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: $207,500. Signing bonus: $205,000 ($2,500 below slot value).
This is a big, strong pitcher that will be fun for the Yankees player development system to work with. Cam Schlittler had a nice season in the Northeastern rotation, where he out-pitched the more well known Sebastian Keane (also a Yankee draft pick) to the tune of a 3.53 ERA and an 85/32 strikeout to walk ratio over 91.2 innings. He's a huge guy listed at 6'6", and honestly he looks even taller standing up on that mound. The fastball sits in the low 90's but he can touch the mid to upper 90's when he reaches back, coming in with steep downhill plane albeit without much life. He shows great feel to spin the ball, with a sweepy slider flashing above average with great shape and a softer curveball looking average with more top to bottom movement. As with the two arms drafted before him, he does need to get more consistent with those secondaries and his command, but I think he'll get there. Schlittler is not a great athlete, relying more on his height than his lower body to get downhill towards the plate, though he does not throw with much effort and could start in pro ball. Perhaps toughest for some Yankees fans to get over will be the fact that he grew up in Walpole in the shadows of Gillette Stadium and less than twenty miles from Boston, so he's a New Englander through and through.

12-370: RHP Jackson Fristoe, Mississippi State. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $272,500 ($147,500 against bonus pool).
Jackson Fristoe seemed like a good candidate to go back to school after a tough sophomore season, but the Yankees picked him up for a large day three bonus to see what they could make of him. After a solid freshman season at Mississippi State, Fristoe regressed in 2022 and posted a 7.71 ERA and a 48/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 37.1 innings for a Bulldogs team that fell far short of expectations. He has a premium body at 6'4" and moves very well on the mound, with a low to mid 90's fastball that can touch higher with life. He throws a sharp cutter/slider in the upper 80's that could be a true weapon if he gets more consistent with it, and also flashes a less used changeup that's effective when it's on. His command is presently below average and the Yankees will need to help streamline his long arms and legs into a more consistent delivery, but the pieces are certainly there to build on. It's a relief profile for now, but you never know. Though the western Kentucky native is eligible as a true sophomore, he's a full year older than his graduating class and already turned 21 in March.

14-430: RHP Kris Bow, Southern Nevada JC. My rank: unranked.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $125,000.
Kris Bow has been one of the more interesting JUCO arms on the west coast for a few years now, and he finally put it all together with a great 2022 season in which he posted a 2.16 ERA and a 64/23 strikeout to walk ratio over 41.2 innings for the College of Southern Nevada. He has a low to mid 90's fastball with some riding life from a low release point, as well as a full arsenal of secondaries led by an above average slider. He has a very sturdy 6'4" frame and should be durable, but hasn't started on a consistent basis at CSN and he'll have to prove his stuff can hold up over longer periods of time. Still, he has a combination of size, arm strength, secondaries, and command that is difficult to find on day three of the draft, so he could be lightning in a bottle for New York. He just finished his third year at Southern Nevada after previously committing to transfer to Arizona, so he'll turn 22 early in the offseason.

18-550: RHP Sebastian Keane, Northeastern. My rank: #220.
Slot value: up to $125,000. Signing bonus: $125,000.
Sebastian Keane was one of the more famous recruits to ever reach campus at Northeastern, coming into Boston having spurned top five round interest out of his northern Massachusetts high school. He's been up and down for the Huskies, but unfortunately 2022 was more of a "down" and he finished with a 5.99 ERA and a 50/26 strikeout to walk ratio over 70.2 innings. Now he'll join rotation mate Cam Schlittler in the Yankees system, and they'll work to get him on track. Keane is a great athlete with a low 90's fastball that gets up to 96, while adding a slider that flashes plus at its best in addition to a less used curveball and changeup. The stuff can be extremely inconsistent, with his slider losing snap and his fastball sitting closer to 90 at times, and in 2022 he really struggled to miss bats. His 15.0% strikeout rate this year was by far the lowest on my list, a product of leaving too many pitches over the plate and that regression in his stuff. Still, he doesn't walk too many hitters and has shown flashes of dominance, such as in the Cape Cod League last summer, and has the athleticism and premium stuff at peak to become an impact arm. He's just really far away from that right now and trending in the wrong direction, which is why he's being drafted here in the eighteenth round and not thirteen to fourteen rounds higher like he was projected at his best. And one last piece of good news for Yankee fans – though he grew up in Massachusetts and went to college in Boston, Keane did grow up a Yankees fan, so he's not crossing rivalry lines here.

2022 MLB Draft: An early look at the SEC

2021 draftees: 68. Top school: Arkansas (9)
2021 preseason writeup (published 11/7/2020)

Top draftees:
1-2, Rangers: RHP Jack Leiter (Vanderbilt)
1-10, Mets: RHP Kumar Rocker (Vanderbilt)
1-14, Giants: RHP Will Bednar (Mississippi State)
1-19, Blue Jays: RHP Gunnar Hoglund (Mississippi)
2-40, Red Sox: OF Jud Fabian (Florida)
2-42, Diamondbacks: SS Ryan Bliss (Auburn)
2-44, Rockies: RHP Jaden Hill (Louisiana State)

Beyond hosting both College World Series final teams in Mississippi State, the SEC continued to show why it is college baseball's premier conference in 2021 by leading the way with 68 players drafted. Every team in the league had multiple players selected while five different schools saw at least seven players go in the draft. Meanwhile, Arkansas tied with Texas Tech for the second most players drafted of any individual school with nine, behind only UCLA's ten.

The SEC has always been known for premier pitching, with Vanderbilt righty Jack Leiter earning the largest signing bonus of any player in the draft and four pitchers going in the top nineteen picks a year ago. In 2022, however, the pendulum looks to have swung slightly to the position player side, with a deluge of big bats all jostling for position in the first round. By my count, I see about twelve players who are in a very good position to go in the first round, and while of course that won't be the case come July, it bodes well for the conference's chances of matching or bettering last year's mark of four first round draftees. The depth here is really impressive, and beyond the top couple of names, I really feel bad ranking any of these players outside of the top five and I see very little separation between the top and bottom of the list, which I extended to twelve after doing ten for the other conferences. One interesting trend I noticed was size, as the twelve players on the list average less than 6'1" in height and Hunter Barco (6'4"), the last player on the list, is the only one above 6'2". Not typical for a conference like this one.

1. 3B Jacob Berry, Louisiana State.
Bat: S. Throw: R. 6', 210 lbs. Born 5/5/2001. Hometown: Queen Creek, AZ.
2021: 17 HR, .352/.439/.676, 2 SB, 58/33 K/BB in 63 games.
LSU made a huge splash by hiring away Arizona head coach Jay Johnson this summer, and that move paid immediate dividends when all-everything slugger Jacob Berry decided to follow his coach across the country on Interstate 10. As a true freshman last spring (albeit the age of a sophomore), he was one of the best hitters in the entire country and served as the centerpiece to arguably college baseball's best lineup, slugging the Wildcats to their first College World Series appearance since 2016. He then cranked it up another notch with the US Collegiate National Team, slashing .387/.475/.871 with four home runs in eleven games against arguably the best amateur competition in the country. Berry may only be six feet tall, on the shorter side for a slugger, but he packs as much strength into that smaller frame as you could possibly expect. He trusts that strength and utilizes a simple, direct swing from both sides of the plate to tap into easy plus raw power very consistently in games, never having to sell out or swing out of his shoes to get there. The Phoenix-area product is a patient hitter that draws his walks and keeps his strikeouts to a reasonable level, and he's completely unfazed by high-end velocity and offspeed stuff. There is no doubt that Berry will handle the slight jump in competition from the Pac-12 to the SEC, and very few have any concerns about his ability to continue to produce at a high level immediately in pro ball once he's drafted. The bat will be the carrying tool, because he's a below average defender at third base with a choppy glove that may end up having to move to first base. He'll have plenty of bat to profile at first, but as a decent athlete with better mobility than you'd expect for his frame, a team may be able to run him out at the hot corner if they're patient and prioritize development in that part of his game. Regardless, offensive production is what earns the big bucks and he has it in spades, and between Berry (.352/.439/.676, 17 HR), Dylan Crews (.362/.453/.663, 18 HR), Cade Doughty (.308/.368/.546, 13 HR), Gavin Dugas (.295/.407/.641, 19 HR), and Tre' Morgan (.357/.441/.526, 6 HR), you'll be hard pressed to find a more intimidating lineup in 2022 than the one in Baton Rouge.

2. SS Carter Young, Vanderbilt.
Bat: S. Throw: R. 6', 180 lbs. Born 1/24/2001. Hometown: Selah, WA.
2021: 16 HR, .252/.341/.559, 9 SB, 84/31 K/BB in 61 games.
Jacob Berry has been a more consistent hitter to this point in his career, so I have him as the number one prospect in the conference, but Carter Young has the higher ceiling and probably a better chance to break through and earn a number one overall selection. An immediate contributor in his shortened freshman season in 2020 (.328/.373/.377), he carried that success over into the 2021 season and was one of the SEC's more dynamic players for much of the season, but he injured his shoulder in May and when he returned a few weeks later, he didn't look like the same player. The post-injury slump hurt his overall numbers and he finished with over a 30% strikeout rate, but after taking the summer off to rest and heal, his proponents expect huge things in 2022. Young, like Berry, is a switch hitter with power from both sides of the plate, taking healthy, uppercut hacks that really help him channel his lean strength into useable game power. The swing can get big at times, but when he's going right he's an extremely tough out that is equally willing to take you deep or slap a line drive the other way. There has always been swing and miss in his game, an issue exacerbated by the injury, but the hope is that a healthy 2022 combined with another year of development can help get that under control. On the flip side, the Washington state product is an above average defender who will definitely stick at shortstop, with a plus arm and plenty of range to positively impact the game with his glove. Teams love up the middle athletes early in the draft, and Vanderbilt is no stranger to producing that kind of talent between shortstop Dansby Swanson (first overall, 2015) and utility man Austin Martin (fifth overall, 2020). Young is a better defender than Martin and has more power than both, so how high he goes in 2022 ultimately hinges on the consistency of his hit tool.

3. RHP Peyton Pallette, Arkansas.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'1", 175 lbs. Born 5/9/2001. Hometown: Benton, AR.
2021: 1-2, 4.02 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 67/20 K/BB in 56 innings.
The first time I heard Peyton Pallette's name was a roller coaster day and I wrote about it here. Having no idea who he was, I watched him start off an extremely experienced and disciplined top of the Texas lineup six up, six down for two innings, never throwing a fastball under 95 and striking out the last two (Big 12 #6 prospect Trey Faltine and 2021 #196 overall prospect Ivan Melendez) on six consecutive fastballs. The dude just blew me away. After that sensational season opening start, he went on to have some ups and downs including rough starts against Alabama (1 IP, 4 ER) and Ole Miss (4 IP, 7 ER), but he showed enough to stand firm as the top pitching prospect in the best conference in baseball. Pallette sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, tops out around 97, and gets tremendous ride on the pitch that just seems to explode onto hitters. He adds a plus-plus curveball with elite spin rates that looks to be one of the best breaking balls in the entire class, just crashing down on hitters as if it was spiked like a volleyball. To this point, the Little Rock-area native doesn't use his changeup as much and it's a below average pitch, so that will certainly be a point of development in 2022 and beyond. Despite standing a skinny 6'1", he's a strong kid that holds his velocity deep into starts through a low effort delivery, portending to a safe bet future in the rotation. Pallette often shows above average command but can get hit when he falls behind in the count or grooves one over the plate, so just a bit more consistency in that regard will be another thing to work on if he wants to be the first pitcher off the board on draft day. Relatively young for the class with a May birthday and younger than true sophomore Jacob Berry, there's as much talent in his right arm as anyone in college baseball and he looks the part of a high ceiling ace with some minor smoothing out of the edges in his game. The fastball/curveball combination is elite and the arm strength, body control, and athleticism are there, so the focus just needs to turn to his changeup and avoiding those lapses in command.

4. C Hayden Dunhurst, Mississippi.
Bat: S. Throw: R. 5'11", 220 lbs. Born 9/19/2000. Hometown: Carriere, MS.
2021: 7 HR, .280/.385/.435, 3 SB, 44/32 K/BB in 65 games.
Hayden Dunhurst hasn't quite put it all together yet, but strong defensive catchers who can produce in power conferences are always in demand and he firmly fits that profile. One of the top recruits nationally to reach campus from the 2019 high school ranks, Dunhurst has seen his game translate much more smoothly to the SEC than many anticipated and he now finds himself in the conversation as one of the top catchers in a loaded college class along with Mississippi State's Logan Tanner, Arizona's Daniel Susac, and Georgia Tech's Kevin Parada. He may be a bit undersized for a power hitter at 5'11", but like Jacob Berry he packs a ton of strength into that shorter frame and shows plus raw power from both sides of the plate. To this point, it hasn't shown up in games as much because he has mostly focused on making contact and hitting for average, opting to use the whole field and look for line drives rather than turn on and lift balls out of the park. Some would like to see the southern Mississippi product accept more swing and miss into his game to allow the power to play up, but regardless he has plenty of bat to profile as a starting catcher in the big leagues. Dunhurst really shines on defense, where his cannon arm ranks among the best in college baseball and can completely shut down the running game. While that plus-plus arm is his calling card, he's also come along very nicely with his glovework and figures to be an above average defender in that regard with a little more work, making the whole defensive package extremely enticing. Usually you have take a "glove-first" catcher to get that kind of defense and just hope his bat comes along, but Dunhurst has the bat. He can take it a step further by putting it all together in 2022 and tapping that power without letting his strikeout rate creep up too much, and if he can, he may be able to push to the front of the college catching pack.

5. C Logan Tanner, Mississippi State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6', 215 lbs. Born 11/10/2000. Hometown: Lucedale, MS.
2021: 15 HR, .287/.382/.525, 0 SB, 48/39 K/BB in 67 games.
Hayden Dunhurst and Logan Tanner have very similar profiles and are very close on this list, but I ultimately decided to put Dunhurst first because he's a switch hitter, his tools are a touch louder, and Tanner could not take advantage of Dunhurst's slower College National Team run (.160/.267/.160) as he struggled in his own right (.182/.217/.318). Tanner, also a southern Mississippi native who grew up a couple counties over from Dunhurst, was not as highly rated a recruit but was fantastic for Mississippi State in its run to the College World Series championship. He's a very well-rounded hitter that shows above average power from a compact right handed swing, effectively deploying the strength in his sturdy frame into usable game power. His patient, mature approach at the plate helps him tap that power consistently against good pitching, though his pure bat to ball skills are more average and he can sometimes get himself into trouble in deep counts. Behind the plate, he's an extremely good athlete that figures to be a plus defender, showing plenty of agility back there that is apparent to any observer. His plus arm plays up even further due to that agility, with the ability to throw from multiple angles as evidenced by this great throw against Ole Miss. With above average power that he taps in games, a strong enough approach to work in pro ball and make up for any deficiencies in his pure contact ability, and strong defense at a premium position, there are very few weaknesses in this profile and Tanner has a chance to work his way up as a starting catcher.

6. RHP Landon Sims, Mississippi State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'2", 225 lbs. Born 1/3/2001. Hometown: Cumming, GA.
2021: 5-0, 1.44 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 100/15 K/BB in 56.1 innings.
I will usually be the low man on college relievers. Their track record is as poor as any demographic in the draft, as they're already often performing at maximum capacity and don't get that "bump" in stuff that college starters do in shifting to relief work in pro ball. That said, Landon Sims is different. Despite facing extremely tough competition in 2021, he still struck out 46.9% of his opponents with an elite fastball/slider combination that very few hitters have solved to this point. Sims sits in the mid 90's and will regularly touch 97 without exerting himself, and the pitch plays up further because he gets tremendous riding life that makes it appear to catch another gear halfway to the plate. If you want the dictionary definition of an "explosive" fastball, here's what it looks like from behind the plate. On top of that plus-plus pitch, we have another one in the slider. Sims' slider has devastating late bite, just diving into oblivion at the last possible second and leaving hitters looking silly like this. On top of having two plus-plus pitches, he shows above average command that really helps the two pitches play off each other, something you very rarely see from an amateur pitcher with that kind of stuff. He served as the closer in 2021, often pitching two or three innings at a time, but not because he lacks the ability to start. Mississippi State's staff was absolutely loaded and Sims' mentality on the mound fits perfectly in a closer's role, as he's a fire breathing competitor that will make damn sure you see nothing but his very best from start to finish. He lives for the big stage and relishes in high pressure situations, so he'll for sure be able to handle the bright lights of even MLB's larger markets. So why #6? First, the five players ahead of him project as a middle of the order slugger, an all-around catalyst, an ace, and back to back starting catchers, so that's all elite talent and nothing to be ashamed of falling behind. Second is the reliever thing, and you can see the track record in this tweet. When a starter converts to relieving in pro ball, his stuff takes a natural jump as he goes from throwing six or seven innings at a time to just one or two, but a college reliever doesn't get that bump. I really want to see how Sims' stuff holds up in a starting role in 2022 before feeling comfortable with him as a first round pick, especially as it pertains to holding velocity (he's usually about 93-95, T97 in relief) and keeping that devastating late snap on his slider. We also haven't seen much of a changeup because he really hasn't needed it. There's no reason not to think he can make that jump to starting, especially given his efficient delivery, ridiculous arm strength, strong command, and overall competitiveness on the mound, so he still ranks among the best in the SEC and therefore the best in college baseball. We'll just have to wait and see.

7. 3B Cade Doughty, Louisiana State.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6'1", 195 lbs. Born 3/26/2001. Hometown: Denham Springs, LA.
2021: 13 HR, .308/.368/.546, 1 SB, 32/22 K/BB in 58 games.
Cade Doughty does not have the loudest tools in the SEC, and certainly does not compare favorably to the other names on this impressive list when it comes to power, speed, or overall athleticism. However, the kid is somewhat reminiscent of another former LSU Tiger, Daniel Cabrera, in that he can just flat out play baseball. I actually like Doughty significantly more than I liked Cabrera, and I (like many others) am enamored enough with his natural feel for the game to rank him high on this list. Doughty was a highly regarded recruit coming out of the Baton Rouge-area high school ranks and I liked him then as well, and all he's done since then is just hit and hit and hit. Doughty is a very professional hitter that makes a ton of contact from the right side, consistently going with the pitch and working an all fields approach. With a bat path that is naturally long through the hitting zone, he has some margin for error on pitches he mistimes. Not just a slappy gap to gap hitter, he has plenty of leverage in his 6'1" frame and taps into above average power both to his pull side and the opposite field. The end product is a very well-rounded bat that has a chance to produce 15-20 home runs annually in the majors while posting relatively high on-base percentages, and I have a feeling he's going to end up closer to his ceiling than his floor. In 2022, he might want to get a bit more selective to try to draw a few more walks, as he tends to make contact early in the count and walked in just 8.5% of his plate appearances last year. He also provides value on defense, with good range and instincts in the infield and an above average arm that would make him a net-positive defender at either second or third base.

8. 2B Robert Moore, Arkansas.
Bat: S. Throw: R. 5'9", 170 lbs. Born 3/31/2002. Hometown: Leawood, KS.
2021: 16 HR, .283/.384/.558, 6 SB, 51/41 K/BB in 61 games.
Every year, guys come around that are just ballers. Last year it was Ryan Bliss, now with the Diamondbacks, and this year Robert Moore seems like the guy. The son of Royals general manager Dayton Moore, Robert is undersized and lacks big tools but can just flat out play baseball with the best of them. He graduated early from Shawnee Mission East High School in the Kansas City suburbs and enrolled at Arkansas when he was just 17, and promptly hit .317/.403/.444 as a freshman despite not being old enough to vote. Moore continued that success with a strong sophomore season at 18-19 years old and then hit .351/.415/.378 as one of the youngest members of the US Collegiate National Team. Standing just 5'9" and with a skinny frame at that, he works counts extremely well and is completely unfazed by elite, older pitching, taking professional at bats consistently day in and day out. The switch hitter is very mechanically sound in his swing from both sides of the plate, creating a ton of whip that gives him more power than you'd expect for his size, especially to the pull side. That power didn't really show up with wood bats for the CNT, where he had just one extra base hit (a double) in eleven games, and given his size it's fair to question how much he'll have in pro ball. It's not quite a Nick Madrigal profile because there is some swing and miss in his game, and he may have to decide going forward what kind of a hitter he wants to be and how much contact he'll trade for power. To me, how much the power will show up with wood bats is probably the most important question. Moore is a sparkplug on defense as well, playing a standout second base for Arkansas and potentially showing the ability to move over to shortstop in pro ball if he can get a little stronger and improve his arm a touch. Either way, he's a plus runner and has the range to play anywhere on the diamond. There are players you don't bet against, and Bob Moore seems like one of them with a Dustin Pedroia ceiling.

9. OF Jud Fabian, Florida.
Bat: R. Throw: L. 6'2", 190 lbs. Born 9/27/2000. Hometown: Ocala, FL.
2021: 20 HR, .249/.364/.560, 6 SB, 79/40 K/BB in 59 games.
We spent a lot of words on Jud Fabian in 2021, and we're going to do it again in 2022. Having graduated a semester early from Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Florida in 2018, he enrolled at Florida in time for the 2019 season and had established himself as one of the top prospects in the country (and #3 in the SEC) by the time the 2021 season rolled around. What ensued was an extremely up and down junior year for Fabian, who had four multi-homer games (including one against #2 overall pick Jack Leiter) but at one point also managed to strike out 15 times in 22 hitless plate appearances. The Red Sox still drafted him with the 40th overall pick and offered him a multi-million dollar signing bonus, but it wasn't anywhere close to the $3 million he had asked for (a price some other teams were reportedly willing to meet) and he's returning to school. Last year, Fabian was one of the youngest eligible players from a four year school, still two and a half months shy of his 21st birthday, so he'll be age appropriate for this year's draft and is younger than Hayden Dunhurst. He does a lot of things well and really only has one weakness in his game. The Ocala product has plus raw power and does an excellent job of lifting the ball, with a swing ideal for blasting balls out of the park that has done so consistently against the best arms in the country. As up and down as his season was, he never went more than four games without a home run in the regular season. He also has a very strong eye at the plate, effectively working counts and recognizing spin even against premium velocity and stuff. The problem with his bat, however, is that he simply lacks the barrel accuracy to consistently tap his power and get on base. Fabian's uppercut swing means that even though he rarely chases bad pitches, he often swings through hittable ones and can be prone to long bouts of coming up empty at the plate. In 2022, he'll have to prove he can be more consistent, because another year of ups and downs could knock him out of the top two rounds or so. However, even a small reduction in his strikeout rate where he at least avoids the major slumps that plagued him in 2021 could lock him into the first round. On defense, Fabian provides plenty of value with plus speed and range that will fit very well in center field, taking some pressure off his bat and also helping him out on the bases.

10. LHP Connor Prielipp, Alabama.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'2", 205 lbs. Born 1/10/2001. Hometown: Tomah, WI.
2021: 1-1, 3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 12/1 K/BB in 7 IP.
Connor Prielipp is somewhat of the mystery man in this conference. He began his college career perhaps as well as you could possibly expect, tossing 26 shutout innings with 43 strikeouts, six walks, and just nine hits allowed in five non-conference starts against Northeastern, UNLV, Harvard, Lipscomb, and McNeese State. The first four came in the shortened 2020 season, while the McNeese State start ended up being his only start of the 2021 season as his elbow gave out on him. He came back for two much less effective relief appearances against Auburn and LSU in mid-April and mid-May, respectively (2 IP, 3 ER, 4 K), but went down with Tommy John surgery and will likely miss the 2022 season as well. It's not often that an injured pitcher with just 28 collegiate innings to his name can make a first round push, especially when they were not a highly regarded recruit, but Prielipp really is special. His fastball sits in the low to mid 90's and has been up to 97, velocity he has maintained throughout his handful of starts. His slider is a plus pitch with late bite, darting under bats at the last second, and his changeup is an above average pitch in its own right. With a simple, easy delivery, the 6'2" lefty commands his pitches well and has all of the traits you look for in a frontline starting pitcher, and if he hadn't gotten hurt he may very well be the number one player on this list. However, the fact that we haven't seen how he handles a larger workload is important, as he'll be asked to throw roughly seven times his career high in innings in a big league rotation, and for that reason you can't project him as a starter with as much certainty as a guy like Peyton Pallette. Prielipp's five starts have also come against weaker competition, with the two worst innings of his career being the only two he threw against SEC teams (albeit while hurt). On talent alone, he might be the best in the conference, so his low ranking on this list is really just a byproduct of the depth of the conference combined with the unfortunate fact that we just won't have seen him pitch in a very long time come draft day.

11. OF Cayden Wallace, Arkansas.
Bat: R. Throw: R. 6', 205 lbs. Born 8/7/2001. Hometown: Greenbrier, AR.
2021: 14 HR, .279/.369/.500, 0 SB, 61/29 K/BB in 60 games.
Cayden Wallace was one of the top recruits to make it to campus following the shutdown, and he immediately made an impact by working his way into the middle of arguably the best lineup in the country as a true freshman. After swatting 14 home runs as a teenager playing an SEC schedule, he continued to produce with wood bats in the Cape Cod League and slashed .290/.352/.468 with two home runs over 18 games. Because he turned 20 over the summer and will be 21 a few weeks after the draft, he'll be eligible this year as a true sophomore. The first thing you notice with Wallace is the power, as he produces big exit velocities and crushes baseballs impressive distances from the right side. Not the biggest guy in the world at six feet tall, he packs in plenty of lean muscle and produces a ton of force. Evaluators saw him as power-over-hit in high school and that was the case during his freshman season, but he handled SEC pitching better than many expected right out of the gate and was unfazed by the premium stuff he saw on the Cape. There is still some swing and miss in his game with a right handed uppercut that can get a bit long at times, but the barrel does get into the hitting zone early and he does a great job of staying through the ball. As his pitch recognition skills sharpen with age, he should become an average hitter in the big leagues with the potential for plus power. The central Arkansas native is a below average runner but certainly not a base clogger, and his cannon right arm gives him a chance to be an average defender in right field. He played infield in high school and could stick at third base with some more seasoning, and he may get the opportunity to prove himself a bit at the position in 2022 after playing mostly right field in 2021. There's a little more projection required with Wallace because he doesn't control the strike zone as well as many of the names above him on this list, but he's also younger than most of them as well. Either way, expect big things from him in 2022.

12. LHP Hunter Barco, Florida.
Bat: L. Throw: L. 6'4", 220 lbs. Born 12/15/2000. Hometown: Jacksonville, FL.
2021: 10-3, 4.01 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 94/26 K/BB in 83 innings.
Hayden Dunhurst, Landon Sims, Cade Doughty, and Cayden Wallace may have been nationally-known prospects coming out of high school, but Hunter Barco was the most hyped of all of them at Bolles High School in Jacksonville, earning first round grades from some evaluators. His performance at Florida has been more up and down than he may have liked so far, but with a 3.52 ERA and a sharp 120/32 strikeout to walk ratio through 102.1 innings over two seasons, he remains very much a contender for the first round. Barco has a deep arm plunge in his delivery and comes from a low three quarters slot that gives a unique look to hitters, especially from the left side, getting down the mound well with his lower half and showing off his athleticism. His stuff can be inconsistent, with a fastball that can get up to 96-97 at its best but which has also been known to drop into the upper 80's. The slider is his best pitch, a plus, sweepy breaker when it's on that creates a lot of confused swings, while his split changeup gives him another above average pitch. Barco's in-zone command can come and go but he does a very good job of pounding the strike zone even when he isn't feeling as precise with his location, and only once in his twenty career starts has he walked more than three batters in an outing. The 6'4" lefty has projection remaining and is a very good athlete, and he gave a glimpse at his ceiling this summer when he struck out eight of the ten batters he faced for the US Collegiate National Team. On the docket for 2022 will be a bit more consistency, which could help him overtake Connor Prielipp, Landon Sims, and Peyton Pallette as the best arm in the conference.

Honorable Mentions
Given the depth of this conference, I wanted to touch on a couple more names that just missed. Vanderbilt's Spencer Jones was the first name off the list, as he hasn't received much playing time in Nashville but slashed an impressive .309/.409/.457 on the Cape and shows plus raw power from a 6'7" frame. He was one of the more famous players in the 2019 prep class out of high school in the San Diego area but made it to campus after injuries wiped out his senior season, and at the time he drew early round interest as a pitcher with a low 90's fastball and an above average curveball as well. He hasn't pitched at all for Vanderbilt and has only played in 48 games overall in two seasons, so it will be interesting to see how much he can tap that power in games on a consistent basis in 2022 and whether his strong plate discipline can translate to a plus hit tool despite the natural swing and miss you get with arms as long as his. And maybe we'll finally get to see him pitch. Tennessee's Blade Tidwell is another interesting draft-eligible sophomore who will turn 21 in June, coming off a strong true-freshman season in the Volunteer rotation where he had a 3.74 ERA and a 90/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 98.2 innings. The 6'4" righty has a power right arm that can run his fastball up to 97 with ease, sitting in the mid 90's and showing very good feel to spin both a slider and curveball as well. His control is ahead of his command but he pounds the strike zone consistently and rarely hurts himself with walks, giving him a high floor as a back-end starter with a mid-rotation ceiling. Florida's Brandon Sproat might have the strongest arm in the entire conference, but he has a 5.53 ERA and a 26/18 strikeout to walk ratio over just 27.2 innings because he's struggled to throw strikes. His fastball sits in the mid 90's and can touch 99 in relief, while his above average slider provides an out pitch. To this point, he looks like a reliever because of that below average command and the lack of a reliable changeup, but there are no glaring issues in his delivery and more consistent innings in 2022 might help him pull it together enough to earn a shot as a starter. Lastly, LSU's Eric Reyzelman is one of the more interesting transfers out there, having come over from San Francisco. While his numbers against weaker competition weren't that impressive over two years with the Dons (5.72 ERA, 56/36 K/BB in 50.1 IP), he was much stronger on the Cape this summer (2.93 ERA, 38/8 K/BB in 27.2 IP) and he's a breakout candidate for 2022. The 6'2" righty now sits in the low 90's with his fastball and can touch 96-97 in short stints, adding a full arsenal behind it headlined by an above average slider. Reyzelman has a very loose, athletic delivery with some deception and is young for the class, in fact younger than true-sophomore Tidwell despite being a junior.

Top 10 Draft Prospects to Reach NCAA - 2020

With all my draft reviews complete and college baseball players beginning to trickle back to campus, let's take a look at the top unsigned 2019 high school draftees who will be making their new head coaches very happy. I wrote on this subject prior to the 2018 season, which included guys like UCLA's Garrett Mitchell (.349/.418/.566), UNC-Wilmington's Greg Jones (.341/.491/.543), Florida's Brady McConnell (.332/.385/.576), Auburn's Tanner Burns (2.82 ERA, 101/23 K/BB), and Texas A&M's Asa Lacy (2.13 ERA, 130/43 K/BB), who were phenomenal in 2019. I didn't write one for the 2019 season, but that list would have included Vanderbilt's Kumar Rocker (3.25 ERA, 114/25 K/BB) and Mississippi State's JT Ginn (3.13 ERA, 105/19 K/BB), who have already made huge impacts on their respective programs as freshmen. Quite a few top 2019 high schoolers went unsigned in 2019, so let's see who the top freshman prospects (based on major league projection) will be come next spring.

All draft ranks are based on my 2019 draft rankings, which include both college and high school players and which are intended to project impact at the major league level, not necessarily at the collegiate level.

1. RHP Jack Leiter (Vanderbilt). 2019 draft rank: #31 (#10 High School)
Last year, Vanderbilt landed my #19 draft prospect in Kumar Rocker, who ranked just behind #18 Cole Wilcox (Georgia) as the second best prospect on my list to reach college, but he's certainly surpassed Wilcox now. This year, Vanderbilt will again land a truly elite pitcher in Jack Leiter, the son of former MLB pitcher Al Leiter. However, while Rocker is a big man with a big arm and big stuff, Leiter is a smaller kid with solid stuff who is much more about pitchability than flashiness. Jack, who comes from Northern New Jersey where he was high school teammates with Yankees 2019 first rounder and fellow Vanderbilt commit Anthony Volpe, stands 6'1" and only sits in the low 90's with his fastball, without too much projection for more velocity. He excels everywhere else in his game, as he adds a plus curveball which will be an immediate weapon for retiring SEC hitters, a slider that gets its share of swings and misses, and an advanced changeup for a high school arm. Leiter also commands and mixes everything very well, keeping hitters off balance. Together, Leiter's skill set should help him make an immediate impact and join Vanderbilt's rotation right away, especially after they lost Drake Fellows and Patrick Raby to the draft. However, Leiter is very old for an incoming freshman and turned 19 back in April, so he will be draft eligible in 2021 and may only stay in Nashville for two seasons. Still, Leiter and Rocker will give Vanderbilt a great pair of young arms to watch in that Commodore rotation until they both end up as likely first round picks in 2021.

2. LHP Hunter Barco (Florida). 2019 draft rank: #33 (#13 HS)
Though they lost Riley Greene (#3 HS), the best pure prep hitter in the country, and Matthew Allan (#5 HS), arguably the best prep pitcher in the country, to the Tigers and Mets, respectively, Florida was at least able to land a first round-caliber pitching prospect in Hunter Barco. The Jacksonville native was actually considered an early, early candidate for the 2019 first overall pick during his junior year of high school, but he failed to live up to those expectations during the summer and then this past spring. Still, as a 6'4" lefty who could hit the mid 90's with his fastball, he garnered significant interest and may have gone as high as the first round if his asking price was lower. Barco has been very inconsistent, but when he's at his best, he can sit in the low 90's with his running fastball, add a swing and miss slider, and miss bats with a good splitter. Add in his projectable frame, and he could be sitting in the mid 90's by the time the 2022 draft rolls around. However, with his low three quarters arm slot, he often loses his mechanics, which can cause his secondary pitches to flatten out and also impact his command. Barco's impact might not be as immediate as Leiter's, but with some coaching from the program which has produced a ton of top pitching prospects as of late (including Brady Singer, A.J. Puk, Alex Faedo, Logan Shore, and Shaun Anderson), he could have a higher ceiling.

3. OF Maurice Hampton (Louisiana State). 2019 draft rank: #39 (#15 HS)
Head baseball coach Paul Mainieri will be very happy to see Maurice Hampton on campus, but head football coach Ed Orgeron might be just as excited. The Memphis kid is a legitimate two-sport star who will play both sports in Baton Rouge, manning the outfield on the baseball diamond and the cornerback position on the gridiron. As you might expect, he's an exceptional athlete whose speed is currently his best asset but who also has the physical tools to develop into an all-around player. He generates some power from his quick swing, and he did a fairly good job of getting to it consistently in high school. He's also a very good defender who should stick in center field, and because he didn't turn 18 until August, he's very young for an incoming freshman. Hampton's game is raw, and with his attention continuing to be split between two sports, he won't have as much of a chance to grow as a player as maybe some other guys, but LSU cranks out outfielders (see Mikie Mahtook, Andrew Stevenson, Jake Fraley, Greg Deichmann, Antoine Duplantis) and he does have youth on his side. If he ever decides to focus exclusively on baseball, Hampton has five tool upside.

4. SS Brooks Lee (Cal Poly). 2019 draft rank: #41 (#16 HS)
The top three prospects are going to SEC powers Vanderbilt, Florida, and Louisiana State, which isn't all that surprising considering the success those three schools have had. However, our #4 guy will be headed across town from his home in San Luis Obispo to Cal Poly, where he'll play for a familiar head coach – his father Larry. The younger Lee has a very advanced feel for the game and, especially given Cal Poly's status as a mid-major program, should make an immediate impact once he steps on campus. His swing isn't the most mechanically-sound, in fact it's pretty choppy, but he has excellent feel for the barrel and has proven he can catch up to high velocity and quality stuff on the showcase circuit. He's not the fastest kid in the world, but he should be able to post high on-base percentages right away in the Big West and could find himself leading off fairly early on. He doesn't hit for a ton of power, but mechanical changes could help him get to it a little bit more. Defensively, he again plays above his tools, making all the plays cleanly at shortstop, and he should stick there throughout his college career. Once he turns pro, he may slide over to second base, but that won't be an issue until he's draft eligible in 2022.

5. RHP Bryce Osmond (Oklahoma State). 2019 rank: #53 (#25 HS)
The top prospect in the state of Oklahoma at either the high school or the college level, Bryce Osmond will make it to campus at Oklahoma State as one of the best recruits they've landed in a while. The Tulsa-area native is an athletic, projectable kid at 6'3" who can sit in the low 90's with his fastball at times while adding a good slider and commanding it fairly well. He's skinny at this point and will need to add some weight through the Cowboys' conditioning program, and that will help him maintain his velocity deeper into his starts. Osmond probably won't light the world on fire as a freshman in 2020, but if he gets more physical out in Stillwater, his quick arm could help him rise to the top of the Oklahoma State rotation and make him an early pick in the 2022 draft.

6. 1B/LHP Spencer Jones (Vanderbilt). 2019 rank: #59 (#27 HS)
Make that two big wins for Vanderbilt's incoming freshman class, as Jack Leiter will be the top incoming freshman (in terms of major league projection) in the country but Spencer Jones might have one of the highest ceilings. The San Diego native had a chance at being picked in the first round this year, but an elbow injury held him out for most of the spring and with his stock slipping, he decided to head across the country for school. Jones is a two-way player who is raw on both sides of the ball but shows tremendous upside with both. At 6'7", he has plenty of room to add good weight, and he's athletic for his size. On the mound, he sits in the low 90's with his fastball and shows a good curveball with depth, and he could easily get into the mid 90's once he adds weight and focuses on pitching alone. However, his bat is too good to pass up for now, as he shows plus raw power from the left side and can get to it consistently. He's limited to first base defensively, but with that pitcher's arm, he does provide some positive value there. Jones is all projection at this point and might not play much as a freshman, but Vanderbilt is hoping they have the second incarnation of former Louisville Cardinal and current Tampa Bay Ray Brendan McKay at this point.

7. OF Jerrion Ealy (Ole Miss). 2019 rank: #65 (#29 HS)
This is a similar story to LSU's Maurice Hampton. Not only will Ole Miss head baseball coach Mike Bianco be happy to see Jerrion Ealy on campus this fall, but so will head football coach Matt Luke. Hampton may be the slightly better baseball prospect, but Ealy is actually the better football prospect as a five star running back recruit (topping Hampton's four star rating) who could be NFL bound with some luck. However, we're hear to talk about baseball. Ealy entered the spring a potential first round pick, but a lackluster senior season dropped him to more of a second round projection and he instead will play both sports for the Rebels. He's only 5'10", but as you would expect for a short SEC running back, he's built like a tank and his exceptional speed is his best tool. A good defender in center field, his power is his calling card at the plate despite his size, though he struggled to get to it against mediocre Jackson, Mississippi-area pitching this spring. Ealy's mechanics broke down a bit and he got choppy with his swing a lot, so getting back to himself in the box and adding some loft will do him a lot of good. Focusing on baseball exclusively would help that, but he may never do that.

8. 3B Cade Doughty (Louisiana State). 2019 rank: #81 (#34 HS)
Unlike some of the guys ahead of him on this list, Cade Doughty could produce for LSU on day one. Doughty is an advanced player with good feel for the barrel at the plate, and at 6'1" he should begin to add power as he incorporates loft into his swing more consistently. Together, that makes him an impact hitter, especially at the college level, and that feel for the barrel should make him a productive hitter even if the power doesn't kick in immediately. He's also a good defender over at third base, so he'll provide value on both sides of the ball. The Baton Rouge-area native isn't the type of player that takes off in college and turns himself into a top ten pick, but he's a pretty safe bet to produce at a high level for three years before heading off to the draft in 2022.

9. RHP Brett Thomas (South Carolina). 2019 rank: #84 (#36 HS)
South Carolina lost its top recruit in Tyler Callihan (#14 HS) to the Reds, but they landed the fifth best incoming freshman pitcher in the country in Brett Thomas. The Gamecocks recently produced three top pitchers in Clarke Schmidt (17th overall, Yankees), Wil Crowe (65th, Nationals), and Tyler Johnson (147th, White Sox) in the same 2017 draft, and Thomas will hope to be the next in line. The Atlanta-area kid is already advanced and, assuming health, should slot right into the Gamecocks' rotation immediately. Physically developed at 6'5", he sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a hard curve from an overhand delivery, and he commands everything fairly well for a pitcher his age. However, he also missed time this spring with elbow issues, but he proved he was healthy later in the spring and hit the mid 90's with his fastball. Between his size, stuff, and command, he's an ideal pitcher for the SEC, and he'll just have to stay healthy to be a high pick in 2022.

10. UT/RHP Trey Faltine (Texas). 2019 rank: #85 (#37 HS)
The Texas Longhorns have landed perhaps the most versatile player in the incoming freshman class. Not only can he pitch and hit, but he can actually play anywhere on the diamond except for catcher. The Houston-area native, who is also regularly listed as Sammy Faltine, is an athletic 6'3" kid with exceptional feel for the game. At the plate, he has a quick bat and a line drive swing that enables him to spray line drives around the field against quality pitching, and there is some power projection in there once he gets stronger. Defensively, he can handle shortstop, center field, and everything in between, more due to his competency for the game than because of big time tools. This means two things; in college, he should be able to break into the starting lineup pretty quickly due to his advanced bat and his ability to play anywhere, but in pro ball, he might not be quite fast enough for center field or shortstop. Three years of development in Austin could give us a clearer picture. Now on the other side, he's a fine pitcher who should crack the Longhorn starting rotation, if not as a freshman then as a sophomore. He only sits around 90 with his fastball but he commands it well, and he adds three good secondaries in a curve, slider, and changeup, all of which could be above average in time. Three years in Austin will do him good not only to pick a position, but pick whether he wants to pitch or it, and he could take a big step forward from there.

Others: #87 Riley Cornelio (Texas Christian, #38 HS), #89 Chris Newell (Virginia, #39 HS), #94 Will Rigney (Baylor, #40 HS), #101 Jonathan French (Clemson, #42 HS), #110 Hayden Dunhurst (Ole Miss, #44 HS)

2019 Draft Review: Los Angeles Angels

First five rounds: Will Wilson (1-15), Kyren Paris (2-55), Jack Kochanowicz (3-92), Erik Rivera (4-121), Garrett Stallings (5-151)

Also notable: Zach Peek (6-181), Kyle Brnovich (8-241), Zach Linginfelter (9-271), Spencer Jones (31-931)

It was a pitching-heavy draft for the Angels, because after taking position players with three of their first four picks, they went on a run of 16 pitchers in 17 selections from the fifth through the 21st rounds. There are a lot of back-end rotation types in that range with reliever risk, though I would expect at least one or two of Garrett Stallings, Zach Peek, Davis Daniel, Kyle Brnovich, and Zach Linginfelter to break through as a starter. Back at the top of the draft, they picked up a couple of athletic infielders who play above their size, and overslot third rounder Jack Kochanowicz has some very high upside on the mound.

1-15: SS Will Wilson (North Carolina State, my rank: 16)

The Angels are getting an impact player on both sides of the ball here with Will Wilson. Wilson, who grew up outside of Charlotte in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, had a huge year for NC State by slashing .335/.425/.661 with 16 home runs and a 46/33 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games, showing a wide ranging skill set that will play at the next level. He's listed at 6' and 185 pounds, though even that seems a little rich for me because he's pretty slight when it comes to size. However, he plays above that size because he generates a ton of torque in his right handed swing, producing plenty of pull side power while also showing the ability to spray hard line drives anywhere around the field. His plate discipline is average, as he shows some swing and miss in his aggressive approach, but he also has made some progress with his pitch selection and I don't think it will be an issue in pro ball. Defensively, he's athletic and has the chance to stick at shortstop with his strong-enough arm, but he's not the quickest and I think his skill set is just a bit stretched there. If he moves over to second base, where I think his skill set is a better match, he should be an above average to plus defender there. Overall, he reminds me somewhat of Dustin Pedroia due to his size (though he's slightly taller), swing, and defense, and I think his numbers could be similar, just with a little more power and with a slightly lower on-base percentage. Also working in Wilson's favor is his age, as he doesn't turn 21 until later in July. He signed for $3.4 million, which was $490,000 below slot, and he is slashing .222/.333/.500 with a home run and more walks (three) than strikeouts (two) in his first five games at rookie-level Orem.

2-55: SS Kyren Paris (Freedom HS [CA], my rank: 49)

The Angels must know what kind of player they were looking for, because Paris is a similar player to Wilson. He's listed similarly at 6' and 165 pounds, and he's built similarly slight. He doesn't have quite as much power at this point as he is much more comfortable spraying line drives around the field, and his smooth right handed swing is well suited for that. He finds the barrel easily and should have no trouble posting solid on-base percentages, and if he fills out a little more, he could hit around 15 home runs per season. Defensively, he's more likely than Wilson to stick at shortstop as he shows a strong arm and natural feel for the position, and his above average speed helps him on both sides of the ball. Additionally, the Oakley, California native (between the East Bay and Central Valley) doesn't turn 18 until November, which makes him one of the youngest players in the entire draft, and his game is very advanced for his age. Overall, the best word to describe Paris' game is "smooth," and he'll hope to add more impact as he grows and matures. He signed away from a Cal-Berkeley commitment for $1.4 million, which was $90,000 above slot.

3-92: RHP Jack Kochanowicz (Harriton HS [PA], my rank: 69)

Using the money they saved on Wilson (plus a little extra), the Angels went overslot here to grab one of the second-tier high school pitchers in the third round. The Philadelphia-area native is 6'6" and gets great extension and angle on the ball, which makes his stuff plays up. His fastball sits in the low 90's and he adds a good curveball that gets some swings and misses, and it's easy to see him adding a little more power as he fills out and gets some pro coaching under his belt. Like most high school pitchers, he needs to work on his changeup and get a bit more consistent with his command, but neither are red flags at this point and his development should be fairly straightforward. Guys like this work out often and can turn into mid-rotation starters or better, but they also flop often and either get hurt or see their command fall apart or something. So, Kochanowicz could really become anything. Committed to Virginia, he signed for $1.25 million, which was $612,400 above slot.

4-121: OF Erik Rivera (Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, unranked)

A two-way player from Puerto Rico, Erik Rivera drew significant interest as a 6'2" lefty who could sit in the low 90's at times. However, the Angels selected him in the fourth round as a outfielder, and they're hoping he can ride his big raw power to a successful major league career. Rivera generates a ton of torque, loft, and whip from a big left handed swing, but with that violent process comes a tendency for his head to fly out and plenty of swing and miss. Those concerns are serious enough that scouts aren't sure that he'll be able to get to his raw power regularly in pro ball, and he'll probably have to tone down his swing a bit in order to make more contact. Defensively, he's not the fastest guy on the field but he has plenty of arm strength and should be able to play a solid right field. It took $597,500, which was $123,800 above slot, to sign him away from a Florida International University commitment, and he's slashing .167/.375/.250 with six strikeouts to three walks over his first five games in the complex-level Arizona League.

5-151: RHP Garrett Stallings (Tennessee, unranked)

Garrett Stallings doesn't have the highest upside in the world, but he's an advanced arm who really knows how to pitch. The 6'2" righty from Virginia's Hampton Roads area had his best college season this year, posting a 3.33 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and a 106/16 strikeout to walk ratio over 102.2 innings for Tennessee. He also had an exceptional, albeit brief, run through the Cape Cod League in which he posted a 2.50 ERA while striking out 21 and walking none over 18 innings, and his 3.76 in-conference ERA in the SEC was solid as well. Stallings only sits around 90 with his fastball, but he mixes in three solid offspeed pitches nicely and hitters never seem to have their balance against him. He also throws plenty of strikes, so while the margin for error for a guy like Stallings is small, he should be able to make it work. He projects as a #4 or #5 starter and signed for $312,500, which was $41,200 below slot.

6-181: RHP Zach Peek (Winthrop, unranked)

For the second straight pick, the Angels took a college starter who originally grew up in Virginia. Zach Peek, from the Lynchburg area, looks like a pitcher with a 6'3" frame, a three pitch mix, and a clean delivery. He was up and down as a junior, posting a 4.02 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 91/35 strikeout to walk ratio over 87 innings, though that ERA was inflated by a very rough start against Florida early in the season. Peek sits in the low 90's with his fastball and adds a decent curveball and a solid changeup, and he mixes all three pitches well enough to keep hitters off balance. He's skinny and can add a little more weight, so getting him on a pro conditioning program and helping him get more consistent with that curveball could make him a back-end starter. He signed for $267,800, which was $2,500 below slot.

8-241: RHP Kyle Brnovich (Elon, unranked)

Mariners' first rounder George Kirby may have been the best prospect in the Elon rotation this year, but it was Kyle Brnovich who won the 2018 Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Year Award and who started on Friday nights. Brnovich's award winning sophomore season saw him post a 1.71 ERA and a 147/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 105 innings, but he took a step back this year and finished with a 3.66 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and a 110/42 strikeout to walk ratio over 86 innings. His fastball only sits around 90 but he adds in a devastating breaking ball, one that I've seen classified as both a slider and as a knuckle curve. Either way, he can change the shape of it and it can function as two different pitches at times, but it will continue to be a true out pitch in pro ball. However, his changeup isn't anything special and his delivery features some effort, which has caused his command to come and go. When he's holding the strike zone effectively, he looks like a future #4 starter, but when he loses it, he looks more like a reliever. Given the effort in his delivery and his one good pitch, he's probably a reliever anyways, where his fastball could sit in the low 90's and help his breaking ball be more effective, but there is still a chance he could make it as a starter with a few adjustments. The Atlanta-area native signed for $168,700, which was $2,500 below slot.

9-271: RHP Zach Linginfelter (Tennessee, unranked)

The Angels' scouting corps must have had a heavy presence at weekend games in Knoxville, because five rounds after taking Friday night starter Garrett Stallings, they grabbed Saturday starter Zach Linginfelter. Linginfelter, however, is a very different pitcher from Stallings, and he finished a rollercoaster junior year with a 5.64 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and a 71/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 68.2 innings, including a 7.87 ERA in conference. He has a power arm that fires low to mid 90's fastballs, and that power arm got him drafted not only out of high school in Sevierville, Tennessee in 2016, but again as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2018. He also adds an inconsistent slider and changeup that help him miss tons of bats when he's on but which can also flatten out, though he also struggles to tie it all together because his mechanics are inconsistent and he struggles to spot his pitches. At 6'5" and 220 pounds, he has a big league body and should be durable enough to start, but it remains to be seen whether he can ever get consistent enough, with everything, to do so. He already turned 22 in April, so he's the age of a college senior rather than a junior, and his most likely long term destination is the bullpen. He signed for $150,800, which was $2,500 below slot.

31-931: OF Spencer Jones (La Costa Canyon HS [CA], my rank: 59)
The top two-way player in the 2019 draft class by far, Spencer Jones was a good spring away from being a first round pick as either a hitter or a pitcher, but a fractured elbow ended his season early on. With a Vanderbilt commitment in hand, he was already going to be a tough sign, and the injury made it even less likely he would be coaxed away from school. He fell to the 31st round, where his hometown (-ish) Angels picked him on the off chance he would change his mind, but even if there was a glimmer of hope for a massive overslot deal at that point, Vanderbilt went ahead and won the National Championship and probably dealt the final blow to Jones' chances of starting his pro career now. The Carlsbad, California native (near San Diego) stands 6'7" and has plenty of room to add good weight, and at this point he's all projection without much track record. On the mound, he sits in the low 90's with his fastball and should add more velocity down the road, and his curveball is already a very good pitch. However, he hasn't proven much beyond that fastball/curveball combination and he's very much a wild card when it comes to pitching. There is no less certainty for him at the plate, where he shows above average power from a whippy swing with loft. There are swing and miss questions there, mostly stemming from his lack of a track record, so you have to dream in order to project him down the road as a hitter. He'll get it figured out at Vanderbilt, where hopes to turn into the next Brendan McKay, though that seems just a bit rich.

2019 Draft Preview: Left Handed Pitchers

There aren't as many left handers as right handers, so I combined the list here. As with the right handers, none of these guys figure to go in the top five picks, and it's very possible, even likely, that only two get drafted in the first round. There is especially a dearth of high schoolers here, with only two or three expected to go on day one and all coming with signability questions, though the college left handers have much more depth. 

Tier I: Nick Lodolo, Zack Thompson

The first tier consists of two major conference starters, with no high schoolers cracking it. Nick Lodolo took a huge step forward with TCU this year, posting a 2.36 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and a 131/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 103 innings before the draft. After posting ERA's of 4.35 and 4.32 over his first two seasons in Fort Worth, respectively, Lodolo has gotten more consistent with his mechanics and his command this year. He's 6'6" and throws in the low 90's, adding a solid curve and changeup, but he's got the best of both worlds in that he's a proven major conference starter as well as a tall lefty with projection remaining. He could be a #2 starter at best but looks more like a #3 and will likely go in the top ten picks, with the Reds at #7 looking like the best bet. Over at Kentucky, Zack Thompson put an inconsistent 2018 behind him by posting a 2.40 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and a 130/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 90 innings this year. He's 6'3" and has been creeping up lists all spring long, using his low 90's fastball and full set of secondaries to carve up SEC hitters. His command has been more consistent this spring as well, though it still plays closer to average, and he overall looks like a #3 or solid #4 starter. He figures to go somewhere in the middle of the first round, likely in the top half.

Tier II: Hunter Barco, Blake Walston, Ethan Small

These three pitchers couldn't be more different. Hunter Barco was an early top prospect in this class with an exceptional showing on the summer showcase circuit back in 2017, but he was more inconsistent in 2018 before righting the ship a bit in Spring 2019. He's a 6'4" high schooler from Jacksonville who throws a from a lower arm slot, showing a low 90's fastball, a slider that flashes plus when he doesn't come around it, and a good splitter. His mechanics have been all over the place and dictate his success, so getting him to use a consistent arm slot will be the first thing on his drafting team's list. He figures to go at the end of the first round or in the comp round based on talent, but he'll be a tough sign away from Florida. Blake Walston is an uber-projectable arm out of Wilmington, North Carolina, standing 6'4" with plenty of room to add weight to his athletic frame. He can run his fastball into the low 90's but fades during his starts and can end up in the high 80's at times, also showing an inconsistent curve with good shape but without power at this point. He also has a slider and a changeup, and his command has been pretty good for a raw, projectable high school arm. He'll be a tough sign away from NC State and he needs a lot of work, but he has high upside and could be an ace when all is said and done. He looks like a comp or second rounder, but signability might affect that. Ethan Small is a 22 year old redshirt junior at Mississippi State, but he has been the best pitcher in college baseball this season. In 16 starts before the draft, Small posted a 1.88 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and a 160/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 96 innings against some of the top competition in the nation. His fastball only sits around 90 and his secondary stuff is closer to average, but his command and feel for pitching are so good that even the SEC's best hitters can't figure him out. There is deception in his delivery and he varies his timing, and if anybody can make a 90 MPH fastball work in pro ball, it will be Small, who figures to go in the second round and has #4 or #5 starter projection.

Tier III: Spencer Jones, Tommy Henry, Erik Miller, T.J. Sikkema, Brandon Williamson, Graeme Stinson, Matt Cronin

This is where the deep group of college lefties gets going. We'll start with Southern California high schooler Spencer Jones, a two-way player who looked to be a first rounder before an elbow injury cost him most of his senior season. He shows power at the plate but on the mound, the 6'7" lefty shows a low 90's fastball and a good curveball that should be solid building blocks. He's much more about projectability than present stuff, but he has some of the highest upside in the class, so it's hard to peg his draft position. On the college side, Michigan's Tommy Henry has been inconsistent this spring but shows fringe first round stuff at his best. This year, he had a 3.61 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and a 111/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 99.2 innings, showing really well early in the season but seeing his stuff flatten out at times later on. He's 6'3" and sits in the low 90's with a slider and changeup that can look plus at their best, though as I said before, they flattened out at times later in the season, and his command has played up well this year. He looks like a mid rotation starter at times but at others, his stuff looks fringy in terms of being a major league starter. He looks like a second rounder. Stanford's Erik Miller has also been inconsistent, posting a 3.15 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, and a 97/42 strikeout to walk ratio over 80 innings this season. He's 6'5" and shows great stuff, sitting in the low to mid 90's and adding a good slider that generates swings and misses, but he loses his mechanics at times and that leads to bouts of wildness. He struggled in the Cape Cod League, but a team that thinks it can clean him up could help him reach his ceiling as a mid rotation starter. He's a second or third rounder. Missouri's T.J. Sikkema has not been inconsistent, putting up a 1.32 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and a 101/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 88.2 innings, rivaling Small at times as the best pitcher in the SEC. He's just six feet tall but sits in the low 90's with his fastball, adding a good slider that also helped him put up a 1.72 ERA in the Cape Cod League. He's extremely competitive on the mound, which helps his stuff play up, his command is solid, and he won't be 21 until July, so he has a chance to outplay his #5 starter projection. He looks like a second rounder. Behind Lodolo in the TCU rotation, Brandon Williamson has been inconsistent but shows big stuff at times. He's 6'5" and posted a 4.19 ERA, a 1.53 WHIP, and an 89/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 77.1 innings. He shows a low to mid 90's fastball and a good slider from a smooth delivery, but he's been oddly inconsistent with both the level of his stuff and his command. A 6'5" lefty with velocity and an easy delivery is a scout's dream, but he's been inconsistent enough that he may be forced to the bullpen and may last until the third round. He has a high ceiling if he can put it all together. Duke's Graeme Stinson had a chance to go in the top ten picks with a good run through the ACC, but instead, it was a disaster. Stinson's transition to the rotation lasted just five starts before a hamstring injury, in which he posted a 4.58 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and a 26/9 strikeout to walk ratio over 19.2 innings. He's 6'5" and shows premium stuff at his best, running his fastball into the mid 90's with a wipeout slider that may be the best in the class, and that helped him put together one fantastic start in the Cape Cod League (5 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 12 K). However, there were durability concerns even before his hamstring injury, and now it looks like he'll be a reliever only in pro ball. Once healthy, he could move quickly in that role and he looks like a second rounder. Lastly, Arkansas's Matt Cronin is a pure reliever, having put up a 2.00 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and a 40/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 27 innings. He's 6'2" but with a running low to mid 90's fastball and a very good slider, he'll move quickly through the minors and could be a set-up man or even a closer. However, his command is fringy, so he's more of a solid relief prospect than an elite one. He should go in the second or third round.

Others: Ben Brecht, Antoine Kelly, Mason Feole, Avery Short, Hayden Mullins

2019 Draft Preview: First Basemen

This is more of a preliminary list of first basemen, as many current third basemen (Josh Jung, Kody Hoese, Drew Mendoza, Rece Hinds, etc.) could be forced across the diamond as pressure mounts on their glove-work. Once a player ends up at first, the pressure is immediately on the bat to perform because most of these guys aren't providing much value defensively. That said, there is a group of first basemen in this class that can really hit, and it's led by California's Andrew Vaughn, one of the best hitters in recent draft memory. Behind him, everyone else has questions about something, whether contact, power, or both, but all carry potent bats with high upside.

Tier I: Andrew Vaughn
The Cal slugger stands alone in the first tier. Andrew Vaughn is as good as it gets at the plate, following up his monster sophomore season (23 HR, .402/.531/.819, 18/44 K/BB) with a big junior season, slashing .374/.530/712 with 14 home runs and a 28/50 strikeout to walk ratio through 46 games (including .318/.465/.580 with five home runs in 24 games against a tough in-conference schedule). Vaughn is incredibly disciplined at the plate, walking just about twice as often as he strikes out and putting himself in a great position to handle higher level pitching. That helps him get to his big raw power often, as he has cracked 49 home runs over 154 games at Cal, slugging .690 along the way. Vaughn looks like a fairly safe bet to be a middle of the order masher, which should alleviate any concerns over his lack of defensive value. He figures to go either to the White Sox with the third pick or the Marlins with the fourth pick, with a small chance he falls to the Tigers at #5 or Padres at #6.

Tier II: Michael Busch, Logan Wyatt, Tyler Callihan
After Vaughn, we are unlikely to see another first baseman taken until the back half of the first round. There, three more bats come into play, though each has their share of question marks. UNC's Michael Busch followed up a big sophomore season (13 HR, .317/.465/.521, 30/55 K/BB) with a strong run through the Cape Cod League (6 HR, .322/.450/.567, 17/19 K/BB), then came out and slashed .285/.447/.543 with 12 home runs and a 34/50 strikeout to walk ratio through his first 51 games this season. Busch showcases big raw power with a keen eye at the plate, and that advanced plate discipline helped drive his performance on the Cape. Mechanically, he keeps his hands back well, but sometimes they look like they take a little bit too long to get going, which could lead to swing and miss concerns at the next level. Still, he has a very strong track record to stand on, and he could fit into the second half of the first round as a potential high on-base, home run-hitting producer, albeit with a bit more risk than Vaughn. Meanwhile, Louisville's Logan Wyatt has a fairly similar profile to Busch, showing a better present approach at the plate with a bit less power. After slashing .339/.490/.522 with six home runs and a 37/63 strikeout to walk ratio as a sophomore, he hit well on the Cape (4 HR, .305/.458/.438, 24/29 K/BB) and has been strong during his junior season, slashing .304/.472/.508 with eight home runs and a 36/57 strikeout to walk ratio through 52 games. Wyatt, like Vaughn, has an exceptional feel for the strike zone that should have no problem playing up at the next level, and while his power has played closer to average at Louisville, he has started to add some loft to his swing and could his his 6'4" frame to eventually hit 20-30 home runs per season. Given that Busch looks on track to land in that range as well, I actually prefer Wyatt as a prospect and would draft him before his ACC rival. That looks unlikely to happen, though, and Wyatt probably fits somewhere in the comp round in the 30-40 range. Tyler Callihan, a high schooler from Jacksonville, is actually a third baseman at this point, but I include him here due to the lack of present-first basemen and the strong possibility that he is forced across the diamond. Callihan stands just 5'11", small for a corner infielder, but he has great feel for the barrel and consistently sprays line drives and extra base hits around the field. The South Carolina commit also generates a fair amount of loft and torque in his swing, giving him the chance to turn those doubles into home runs down the line, and he's a better contact hitter (relative to his age) than Busch and possibly Wyatt at this point. He also may be able to stick at third base, where there would be less pressure for him to develop power. Like Wyatt, he figures to go somewhere in the comp round or early second round.

Tier III: Spencer Jones, Michael Toglia, Spencer Brickhouse
The third tier of guys obviously come with their own set of questions, all showing the tools to be impact hitters at the next level but but also having holes in their profile. Southern California high schooler Spencer Jones has one of the more unique profiles in this class, as he is the top two-way player in the draft and could very realistically, even likely, be drafted as a pitcher. Additionally, he opened enough eyes over the summer to earn some first round buzz, but an elbow injury (not Tommy John) cost him his whole spring, and he's really all projection and not much track record at this point. Standing 6'7", he generates a lot of power from the left side and made pretty good contact over the summer, giving him a ton of upside at the plate if he were to give up hitting and focus solely on improving and getting to that power. However, without much of a track record, it may be difficult for teams to pay enough money to keep him away from his Vanderbilt commitment. It's hard to project where he'll be drafted, but he currently looks like a second rounder based on talent alone. Over at UCLA, Michael Toglia has been right in the middle of a Bruins lineup that has powered the team to the top of the college baseball world (so far), though his numbers are down a hair from his sophomore season. After slashing .336/.449/.588 with 11 home runs and a 60/48 strikeout to walk ratio in 2018, he's down to .303/.374/.585 with 11 home runs and a 51/20 strikeout to walk ratio through 49 games in 2019. He has a simple swing (from both sides of the plate) with some loft that should help him continue to produce at the next level, but he also lacks the strong plate discipline that has pushed Busch and Wyatt into first round consideration. That led to a more pedestrian .209/.323/.388 line with seven home runs on the Cape, though switch hitters do take longer to develop sometimes and Toglia also won't be 21 until August, making him one of the younger college players available. He looks like a second rounder at this point with the potential to hit 20-30 home runs in the majors with middling on-base percentages – a classic #5 hitter. Lastly, despite there being more draft buzz around his teammate Bryant Packard coming into the season, Spencer Brickhouse has led the East Carolina offense by slashing .333/.473/.648 with 12 home runs and a 36/37 strikeout to walk ratio through 46 games. Standing at 6'4", he uses a simple swing and quick wrists to drive the ball into the gaps and over fences, though his low and wide setup at the plate sometimes causes the bat path to get a little long. He has solid plate discipline working in his favor and he has produced in college ball, so he shout fit somewhere into rounds three through five.

Others: Andrew Daschbach, Jason Hodges, Henry Gargus, Garrett Frechette, Joe Naranjo