Showing posts with label Maurice Hampton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maurice Hampton. Show all posts

Thursday, August 15, 2019

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)

Monday, July 22, 2019

2019 Draft Review: San Diego Padres

First five rounds: CJ Abrams (1-6), Joshua Mears (2-48), Logan Driscoll (CBB-73), Hudson Head (3-84), Matt Brash (4-113), Chris Lincoln (5-143)
Also notable: Drake Fellows (6-173), 3B Jack Stronach (21-623), Maurice Hampton (23-683)

The Padres have high hopes for everyone they drafted this year, but the focus really comes down to two players: first rounder CJ Abrams and third rounder Hudson Head. Abrams is an ultra-athletic shortstop with a chance to be the team's future leadoff man, while Head signed a massive overslot bonus in the third round as a kid oozing with upside. Every other pick this year, save for 14th rounder Bodi Rascon, was at or below slot in order to save up for Head's deal. In all, there is a ton of upside in this draft, but aside from possibly Abrams, there are no sure things to be found as the Padres pushed all their chips to the middle.

1-6: SS CJ Abrams (Blessed Trinity HS [GA], my rank: 4)
2018 competitive balance pick Xavier Edwards is performing well in A ball for the Padres, so they decided to take a very similar player in CJ Abrams sixth overall this year. Abrams is a high school shortstop from the Atlanta area who can just flat out play. At 6'2" and ultra-athletic, Abrams can flat out fly and he uses that standout tool for impact both offensively and defensively. He's not just a speedster, as his excellent bat to ball skills help him make the most out of that speed by consistently putting the ball in play, and his long levers enable him to hit for some impact on top of that. He'll never be a power hitter, but he has the chance to develop average pop with that athleticism, though his calling card will always be his speed and contact ability. Reviews of his defense are consistently positive, but just how positive they are varies. He's currently a shortstop, where his speed and athleticism (do I sound like a broken record yet?) enable him to get to everything and generally make all the plays, though he has to work on his consistency there. His fallback will be center field, where his elite speed could make him a Gold Glover and where he already has experience with excellent results. To me, the biggest question isn't his defensive home, but his plate discipline; strikeouts will likely never be a concern with his hit tool, but given his speed, drawing walks will be huge, and honestly the difference between being a successful leadoff man or not. He'll have to show more patience at the plate if he does indeed want to flirt with .400 on-base percentages consistently. Overall, he projects for high averages (OBP projection pending) and 10-15 home runs per season with plenty of stolen bases, though those power numbers could tick up as he matures. An Alabama commit, Abrams instead signed with the Padres for $5.2 million, which was $540,000 below slot, and he's slashing .413/.450/.661 with a pair of home runs, 13 stolen bases, and a 10/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 24 games in the complex-level Arizona League; that'll play.

2-48: OF Joshua Mears (Federal Way HS [WA], my rank: 112)
This was an interesting pick by the Padres, as Baseball America put Joshua Mears at #93 on their list, MLB.com had him at #118, and I settled between them by putting him at #112. Mears, a high  schooler in the Seattle area, is the exact opposite of Abrams and will be a project. He's listed at 6'3", 230 pounds, and he shows a ton of power from a whippy swing with plenty of loft already. However, his hit tool is average at best, well below at worst, and completely unproven either way. Whether he can get to that big raw power consistently is going to be a huge question going forward, and the Padres will need to work hard with him to refine his approach and help him find the barrel against pro pitching. Defensively, he actually gets average reviews despite his size and he should be either a slightly below average right fielder or an average left fielder, so while he won't be providing any positive value out there, he at least won't be a butcher. Mears is raw around most of his game and carries a ton of risk, but his upside is that of a #4 or #5 hitter who can hit 25-30 or more home runs per season. On the plus side, scouts have said he's a good kid and a hard worker. Committed to Purdue, he signed for $1 million, which was $540,000 below slot, and he's slashing .209/.311/.330 with two home runs and a 32/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 23 games with Abrams in the Arizona League.

CBB-73: C Logan Driscoll (George Mason, unranked)
I played against Logan Driscoll in high school, but I ultimately didn't get to him in my research before the draft and he therefore didn't crack my rankings. In a weak year for college catching, his .343/.462/.598 slash line, nine home runs, and 31/31 strikeout to walk ratio over 47 games for George Mason stood out, even if he was facing mediocre competition in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Driscoll is noted for his plate discipline and may be able to get up to average power, though he likely tops out 15 home runs per season. The Northern Virginia native could use some work defensively but he's already pretty good back there and has good arm strength, so he's not at immediate risk of being forced off the position and he should hold his own back there. That takes pressure off the bat, which will be important because he slashed just .204/.250/.235 with a 19/4 strikeout to walk ratio over 28 games in the elite Cape Cod League last summer and hasn't proven his bat against higher level pitching. However, his plate discipline and feel for the barrel should help him in that transition. He projects as a backup catcher at this point, but if he can make that offensive breakthrough at the next level, he does have a chance to start. Driscoll signed for $600,000, which was $257,400 below slot, and he's slashing .176/.176/.235 with five strikeouts to no walks over five games with short season Tri-City.

3-84: OF Hudson Head (Winston Churchill HS [TX], my rank: 136)
So if you add up all the money the Padres saved over their first three picks, you get roughly $1.3 million; well, here's where it went. Hudson Head's massive overslot deal netted him first round money – the most ever for a third rounder – and he will take his high upside into the Padres system. Head ranked at #122 on MLB.com and #128 at Baseball America, while I wasn't completely sold and put him at #136, though I did note him as "interesting" in my notes. Head is a pop-up prospect with very little track record against advanced pitching, and while 6'1" is barely average these days for high level prospects, he packs a lot of athleticism into his listed 180 pounds. The San Antonio high schooler is not too dissimilar to Mason House, the Padres' third rounder two years ago and a fellow pop-up Texan without much experience against advanced pitching, though House has struggled in pro ball and has yet to reach full season ball. Head uses his athleticism to generate good power in this left handed swing, though it has a lot of moving parts and will need to be quieted down and smoothed out in pro ball. He has also really improved his feel for the barrel and that enables him to get to his power more often, but again, he's unproven against advanced pitching. A plus runner, he has a chance to be a plus defender in the outfield as well with his strong arm and some pro refinement. Overall, Head comes with a ton of upside that could mean 20-20 production with high on-base percentages and good defense in a best case scenario, especially if the Padres are willing to spend a fortune on him here, but he'll need a lot of work and the team's big investment comes with no guarantees. Head signed away from his Oklahoma commitment for $3 million, which was almost $2.3 million above slot, and he's slashing .327/.456/.527 with an 18/11 strikeout to walk ratio over 15 games with Abrams and Mears in the Arizona League.

4-113: RHP Matt Brash (Niagara, unranked)
Matt Brash is an off-the-radar pick who was unranked both on MLB.com's top 200 and Baseball America's top 500, so I'll do my best here. The Kingston, Ontario native was easily the best player on a mediocre Niagara team this year, posting a 2.43 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and a 121/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 85 innings, though he did face mediocre competition in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Brash is a 6'1" righty who comes from a crouch in his delivery before exploding back upwards and firing what are allegedly low 90's fastballs according to a YouTube video I watched that claimed to show him throwing 93. All the moving parts in his delivery likely hold his command back, though 29 walks in 85 innings is pretty solid and he looks like he does a good job of keeping that delivery in sync for the most part. Still, the delivery might push him to the bullpen, but I haven't seen enough of him to know for sure. He also throws a pair of breaking balls and a changeup, though I couldn't find video on those two. Brash signed at slot for $512,400, and he has a 1.69 ERA, a 0.75 WHIP, and an 8/0 strikeout to walk ratio over 5.1 innings between the Arizona League and Class A Fort Wayne.

5-143: RHP Chris Lincoln (UC Santa Barbara, unranked)
In the fifth round, the Padres took their first Californian in Moreno Valley native Chris Lincoln. Lincoln served as UC Santa Barbara's closer this year, posting a 3.57 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and a 40/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 35.1 innings. He's a 6'4" righty with a low to mid 90's fastball and a slider that flashes plus, but his mechanics are mediocre and he'll need some work in pro ball. He comes open early in his delivery, giving hitters a good look at what he's about to throw, and he also throws with a lot of effort. The latter isn't all that important because he throws strikes for the most part and he'll be a reliever in pro ball anyways, but the former will be important to fix to help his stuff play up against pro hitters. Lincoln has the upside of a set-up man if he can get his mechanics in sync and get more consistent with that slider, which can miss bats at times but which can also flatten out and get hit hard. However, there is a fair amount of risk, even for a college reliever. He signed for $325,000, which was $57,700 below slot, and he has a 4.50 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and a 5/2 strikeout to walk ratio over six innings in the Arizona League.

6-173: RHP Drake Fellows (Vanderbilt, unranked)
There may not be a bigger spotlight in college baseball than the one that shines on Vanderbilt's Friday night starter, and over the past two seasons, the man under that spotlight has been Drake Fellows. Not only that, but this may have been the best Vanderbilt team ever, one which took home the program's second NCAA Championship this year, so it's safe to say that Fellows has experience with pitching under pressure. The Chicago-area native was a big part of Vanderbilt's success this year, going 13-2 with a 4.09 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, and a 133/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 116.2 innings against stiff competition. The numbers aren't the flashiest, but he got the job done and also did so as a freshman (3.30 ERA, 68/17 K/BB) and as a sophomore (3.92 ERA, 107/35 K/BB). Fellows comes at you with a low 90's sinker that helps him get a lot of ground balls, also adding a slider that can miss a lot of bats when he keeps it down. He also adds a changeup, though he needs to get more consistent with it, and his command has ranged from above average in the past to closer to average this season. With his competitiveness and composure that comes with pitching in his position, he has the ceiling of a back-end starter, though his bulldog mentality might also work as a fastball/slider guy in the bullpen. He signed for $260,000, which was $29,000 below slot, but after a long season and postseason I'm not sure if we'll see him in the minors this year.

21-623: 3B Jack Stronach (UCLA, unranked)
Fifth rounder Chris Lincoln is from Moreno Valley, but I wanted to get a true San Diego native in here with UCLA's Jack Stronach, who went to Helix Charter High School in La Mesa just east of the city. Stronach slashed .317/.378/.418 with two home runs and a 25/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 56 games for the Bruins, showing little power to speak of but proving to be great at putting the barrel on the ball. Standing 6'3" and 195 pounds, the left handed hitter is more content with just spraying the ball around the field, which is easy for him because he rarely swings and misses. Overall, it's a utility infielder projection due to the lack of power, low walk rate, and lack of speed, but he'll definitely pick up his share base hits and boost his batting average. He signed for $100,000 and is slashing .161/.224/.210 with a 15/3 strikeout to walk ratio over 18 games with Tri-City so far.

23-683: OF Maurice Hampton (Memphis University HS [TN], my rank: 39)
Third rounder Hudson Head got all the bonus pool money, so 23rd rounder Maurice Hampton will be packing it up and heading to Louisiana State, which is not only exciting for head baseball coach Paul Mainieri, but for head football coach Ed Orgeron as well. That's right, like Ole Miss commit and Diamondbacks draftee Jerrion Ealy, Maurice Hampton is committed to LSU to play both baseball and football. The super-athlete from Memphis is, as you would expect from an SEC cornerback, extremely fast, and that enables him to play a great center field. Hampton also uses his strength and smooth, quick swing to produce good power, and he has a shot at being a plus hitter if he ever chooses to focus on baseball exclusively. As one would expect, playing football has held his development back a hair, which has caused him to be inconsistent with his hit tool and which has held his power back from playing in games as much as he'd like, but the tools, and certainly the athleticism, are there. He also doesn't turn 18 until August, making him young for his class, and that will play to his benefit as well. While you may hear his name a lot on the gridiron over the coming fall football seasons, Hampton has a chance to develop into a five tool player across Nicholson Drive at Alex Box Stadium in the springs.

Monday, May 20, 2019

2019 Draft Preview: High School Outfielders

This isn't a particularly deep class of high school outfielders, with the Atlanta area usually sending us a boatload but remaining quiet this year, but once you get past the top two rounds or so, more names do start to appear. Most of the better bats in this high school draft class will be found on the infield (see Bobby Witt, Brett Baty, Rece Hinds, Tyler Callihan), but it's not empty and there certainly are some headliners.

Tier I: Riley Greene, Corbin Carroll
The two headliners in this year's high school outfield class live three thousand miles apart on perfectly opposite corners of the country, and their skill sets might be just as far apart as well. Riley Greene, playing ball in Orlando and committed to Florida, is the best pure bat in the high school class save for Witt. Greene is imposing at the plate at 6'1" and gets to his plus raw power very consistently, making him as safe a bet as any high schooler to hit in pro ball. He has a big swing, but his very good approach at the plate and hand-eye coordination help him keep his swing and miss rate low, and those two traits combined should help him grow into 25-30 home run pop in the majors. Combine that with his projected high on-base percentages, and Greene should be a solid middle of the order hitter down the road. He's just so-so in the outfield, likely ending up in left field, but he won't be a liability and the added pressure on his bat won't be an issue. He'll definitely go in the top ten picks, more than likely in the top six. Seattle native Corbin Carroll is safely behind Greene on most draft boards, but he provides a very different vision of a player. At a listed 5'11" and 160 pounds, he doesn't look like an impact hitter, but he has one of the best hit tools in the country among high schoolers with an exceptional feel for both the barrel and zone that help him get on base consistently even against high-level competition. Carroll does a good job of using his load to gain ground on the ball, allowing him to drive through the ball and giving evaluators hope that he can add power down the road as he fills out. He's a good defender in center field who should be able to stick there, with his plus speed helping him track down balls in the gaps. He looks to go somewhere in the top half of the first round, though closer to the middle than the front.

Tier II: Sammy Siani, Maurice Hampton, Jerrion Ealy, Trejyn Fletcher
If Greene and Carroll were about as different as it gets, then the four players in this tier (save for Siani) are actually pretty similar. Sammy Siani, younger brother of Reds 2018 fourth rounder Mike Siani, plays ball in Philadelphia and offers an interesting tool set. He's just 5'11" but he has a smooth, uppercut swing that could produce close to average power down the road. Despite his power-oriented swing, he actually does a very good job of getting the bat on the ball consistently and catching up to good pitching, so with less of a need to worry about his strikeout rates climbing to high, he can continue focusing on trying to drive the ball into the gaps and over fences. He's pretty good defensively so that's a slight boost, and he has a fairly wide range of outcomes due to his potential power upside. He looks like a second round pick at the moment. Over in Memphis, Maurice Hampton offers some really interesting upside with his intense athleticism (he's committed to LSU to play both baseball and football) and present tools. Hampton has a quick swing and above average raw power, though like most two-sport athletes, he needs to refine his hit tool and learn to translate his batting practice power into game power. He also needs to get a little more patient at the plate, as increasing his walk rate could help him employ that SEC cornerback speed on the bases. Defensively, that speed makes him a solid center fielder, though he's raw there as well. With an August birthday, Hampton is one of the younger players in the class. which will give him some extra time to refine his game if he chooses to give up football. He looks like he could go in the comp round, but signability will make that uncertain. Interestingly, Hampton isn't the only two-way SEC recruit this year, as Jackson, Mississippi's Jerrion Ealy is committed to Ole Miss as a running back. At 5'10" and 190 pounds, he's built like a running back, too, and that athleticism makes him a really interesting baseball prospect. Ealy hits the ball hard and showed impressive feel for the barrel over the summer, but it's been a rough spring as he has shown that he has a long way to go offensively. His mechanics need to be ironed out so that he can smooth out his swing and add loft, and given his mediocre performance this spring, he comes with a lot of risk. He's better defensively than Hampton at this point, showing a better chance to stick in center field, though he's also a full year older with an August birthday. When Hampton turns 18, he'll turn 19 less than three weeks later, and he looks more like a second or third round pick, also clouded by signability concerns. Trejyn Fletcher isn't committed to an SEC school to play football, but it's a good thing we're talking about baseball because Vanderbilt has a spot waiting for him in its dugout for next season. Despite the lack of gridiron skills, Fletcher is just as interesting as Hampton and Ealy because he reclassified from a junior to a senior this year (which would be age-appropriate for him anyways), and oh yeah, he might be the best high school baseball prospect in Maine history. The Portland native is just as raw as you would expect for a kid from what I as a Virginian consider the Arctic, showing a very choppy, short swing that won't work in pro ball. That said, he's extremely athletic and has been rising on draft boards recently, shooting up potentially into the second round, and his solid glove and strong arm will buy the bat some time to develop. He has high upside and a lot of risk, but it looks like he might get drafted early enough for a team to keep him from following the path that infielder Ryan Flaherty paved from Portland to Vanderbilt.

Tier III: Chris Newell, Trey Faltine, Glenallen Hill Jr., Joshua Mears
These four don't offer quite the upside of the previous four, or if they do, they have a bit less of a chance to get there. Chris Newell, like Siani, lives in the Philadelphia area, and he actually has a fairly similar left handed swing to him. However, while Siani is currently hit over power due to his feel for the barrel, Newell is more power over hit and is already driving the ball with more authority than Siani, at least when he gets to it. There is more swing and miss in his game, giving the uppercut less of a chance to work in pro ball, and he has a fairly similar defensive profile to his crosstown Trey Faltine has one of the more interesting profiles among the guys who aren't SEC football players, as he's probably the most versatile player in the entire class. Faltine, from the Houston area, can play any position but catcher and he's also a legitimate pitching prospect, which I'll leave for a later writeup while I throw him in the outfield group for this one. Offensively, he has a great feel for the barrel with a swing that is more geared for contact than for power, and at 6'3", he could add some power down the road. He's not exceptionally fast but he can play any position, using his instincts to perform well anywhere from shortstop to center field. Despite his feel for the game, he overall lacks the current in-game impact of some of the players ahead of him, but once he decides what position he wants to play and gives up pitching (if he ends up as a position player at all), he should be able to channel his focus into becoming a top of the order hitter with high on-base percentages, some power, and average to slightly above average speed. He looks like a third or fourth rounder at first glance but could sneak into the second round. Glenallen Hill Jr. is the son of former big leaguer Glenallen Hill, and the Santa Cruz native has used his big, powerful swing to put himself on the map as a potential power hitter despite standing just 5'9". He's not too much unlike the Rangers' Willie Calhoun in that regard, though he's faster, can switch hit, and is limited to the outfield defensively. Hill's swing is a thing of beauty, but he has struggled with contact at times and because of his size, the power plays closer to average. Those two issues combined make him more of a third or fourth round prospect, though he has some real upside if he can find a way to get to his power consistently and use his speed to play good defense in the outfield. Lastly, Seattle area-native Joshua Mears doesn't quite match his cross-town opponent Corbin Carroll, but he's got some pop coming from a 6'3", 235 pound frame. Combine that with a good swing that generates plenty of whip and loft, and that will get scouts' attention. He has some swing and miss in his game and he's mediocre defensively, but the upside at the plate if he can gain a better approach at the plate will make him a solid pick in the third or fourth rounds.

Others: Hylan Hall, Dasan Brown, James Beard, Hudson Head