SS Jordan Westburg, Mississippi State
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DoB: 2/18/1999. B/T: R/R
2020 Stats: 2 HR, .317/.432/.517, 2 SB, 15/6 K/BB in 16 games
Sometimes, players just look like ballplayers, even if the results on the field don't always match. Westburg didn't do much as a freshman at Mississippi State, then hit .294/.402/.457 with six home runs as a sophomore in 2019, a productive slash line that still didn't quite match his skill set. Then over the summer, he hit .326/.385/.516 with four home runs and a 19/9 strikeout to walk ratio over 25 games in the elite Cape Cod League, raising his profile to the fringes of the first round. A strong 2020 could have pushed him firmly into that first round, but his .317/.432/.517 line remained a bit mixed as he struck out in 20.3% of his plate appearances.
Despite a lengthy SEC career and a Cape Cod resume, Westburg remains a bit of an enigma. He shows above average to plus raw power in batting practice, a product of his quick hands, innate athleticism, and 6'3" frame. That raw power showed up on the Cape, where he hit four home runs with wood bats against elite pitching, but it hasn't quite been there with the Bulldogs, with whom he's hit ten home runs in 124 games. His swing is a bit rigid, and since it doesn't have a ton of loft, he hits more line drives in games. Additionally, his aggressive approach leads to mediocre K/BB numbers, including 69/39 in 2019 and 15/6 in 2020. Typically, approaches like that don't work well against higher level pitching, but he showed us differently in that 25 game sample on the Cape. Westburg is also a very good runner despite only stealing nine bases in his college career and none on the Cape. Defensively, he's fringy at shortstop, with the ability to stick with a few more refinements but also a good chance of ending up at second or third base, where he would be above average.
It's a weird, mixed profile for Westburg, one that features a lot of raw ability but not a ton of track record outside of the Cape, oddly enough. He's not quite as toolsy as Casey Martin, another SEC infielder with a very aggressive approach, but he is bigger and does have that Cape production under his belt. He's clearly a gifted athlete, and all it may take might be a little swing adjustment and better patience in the box, after which he could take off. It's a little bit more projection than you have to do with most college hitters in this range of the draft, but it might be well worth it anywhere from the back of the first round to the early second round.
2020 fielding and batting practice
2019 BP and game action with the US CNT
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