2023 MLB Draft Review: New York Yankees

Full list of draftees

The Yankees lost their second and fifth round draft picks after signing Carlos Rodon, pulling in a college-heavy class after starting with one of the best high school shortstops in the country. It's a class that fits the Yankees' developmental strengths, focusing on hitters with strong batted ball data more so than positional flexibility as well as pitchers with power arms and projectable offspeed stuff.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-26: SS George Lombard, Gulliver HS [FL] {video}
Slot value: $3.07 million. Signing bonus: $3.3 million ($235,000 above slot value).
My rank: #27. MLB Pipeline: #31. Baseball America: #31. Prospects Live: #28.
The Yankees were consistently tied to a slew of prep bats towards the end of the draft cycle, and the rumors came true when they picked up George Lombard, a toolsy shortstop out of Florida. He had been a bit streaky throughout much of his prep career, but he came out of the gate red hot during his senior season and never looked back. Standing 6'3", he is beginning to fill out his projectable, athletic frame and has plenty of room to continue adding strength naturally. He channels that strength into a powerful right handed swing that produces above average power for now, and his swing is geared to tap it in games. As I mentioned, the hit tool had been streaky at times, but when he's going right, you can't get anything by him. Fool Lombard once, and he'll adjust within the at bat to ensure you can't get the same pitch by him again. It's a really well-rounded offensive profile for a kid who just turned 18 in June, putting him on the younger side for the high school class. In the field, there are split opinions on whether he sticks at shortstop, but I think he has a good shot. The arm is closer to average than plus, but it plays up because he has a quick release and the body control and the ability to throw from multiple angles. Foot speed will be the other determining factor, as he's a solid runner for now but may slow down as he gets stronger. Still, with the potential for 20+ home runs per season and high on-base percentages while likely sticking in the infield, it's a potential All Star profile that is well worth the over slot bonus here to keep him from a Vanderbilt commitment.

3-97: LHP Kyle Carr, Palomar JC [CA] {video}
Slot value: $692,000. Signing bonus: $692,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #174. Baseball America: #123. Prospects Live: #280.
It was down year for junior college prospects, allowing Kyle Carr to push to the front and be the first one drafted this year. He began his career at San Diego but didn't make much of an impact, instead transferring to Palomar College in his hometown of San Marcos, California. Carr was lights out for the Comets, going 12-1 with a 2.31 ERA and a 111/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 78 innings, looking stronger and stronger as the season progressed and closing it out with back to back scoreless starts of double digit strikeouts against Southwestern and East Los Angeles. The 6'1" lefty sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and touches 97, holding that velocity throughout his starts with nice life as well. His slider has sweeping action but is very inconsistent at this point, needing to add significant power in order for its bite to play better. While he rarely uses his changeup, it's actually ahead of his slider at this point with fading action to the arm side when he commands it. Carr is skinny but has room to fill out, with a very athletic delivery that helps him generate his velocity effortlessly while pounding the strike zone. The Yankees likely see this as a package they can continue to refine over the long term, with all the puzzle pieces in place already to become a starting pitcher with more development. Though his fastball is his lone established average pitch, it's not hard to imagine a strong Yankees pitching development system bringing those secondaries along. He fits very well in this organization and signed away from a TCU commitment for slot value to get there.

4-129: 2B Roc Riggio, Oklahoma State {video}
Slot value: $506,800. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #156. MLB Pipeline: #130. Baseball America: #139. Prospects Live: #224.
If you watch college baseball, especially if you watched in 2022, then you know who Roc Riggio is. He was actually a well-known prep prospect as well out of Thousand Oaks High School in California, where he was teammates with A's 2021 first round pick Max Muncy and A's 2023 first round pick Jacob Wilson. Riggio had looks in the top five rounds, but made it to campus at Oklahoma State where he made an immediate impact, especially capturing national attention with his high energy, in-your-face style of play at the 2022 Stillwater Regional where he went 15-27 with four home runs in five games. Though he got more national exposure in 2022, Riggio quietly put together a better season in 2023 where he slashed .335/.461/.679 with 18 home runs and a 48/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 59 games. He's a compact player at just 5'9", but he leaves it all on the field with big left handed hacks with natural loft and adjustability to help him hit for power and average despite average exit velocities. He did struggle on the Cape a little bit last summer (.200/.258/.339) and we'll see how the power plays with wood, but he's still trending in the right direction and has a long track record of hitting quality pitching dating back to his prep days. Defensively, the Southern California native isn't remarkable, with a gritty style of play that will work at second base or the potential to move to left field with his fringy arm and speed. The Yankees are buying the bat and the energy here and he'll look to provide both.

6-192: RHP Cade Smith, Mississippi State {video}
Slot value: $285,400. Signing bonus: $282,900 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #390.
Cade Smith did not rank highly on any public boards, but fits the Yankees profile of athletic, physical power arms. He has been a key cog in the Mississippi State rotation for a couple of years now, but never quite put it together in Starkville and in 2023 posted a 5.23 ERA and a 46/28 strikeout to walk ratio over 43 innings. He throws a low to mid 90's fastball that can touch 96 in relief, with nice life on the pitch that the Yankees can work with. His power slider has gotten harder and sits in the mid 80's now with lite tilt, and he can work it into more of a cutter in the upper 80's as well. The 6'1" righty is athletic on the mound with the sturdy frame to handle a future in the rotation, though to do so he'll have to clean up his inconsistent command that led to a 14.4% walk rate in 2023. He's cleaned up his delivery a little bit in Starkville but there's still more ground to cover. This seems like a project not too dissimilar to Chase Hampton a year ago (and Smith was selected just two picks later in his respective draft, #190 vs #192) and Hampton is quickly establishing himself as one of the best pitchers in the system.

7-222: 1B Kiko Romero, Arizona {video}
Slot value: $224,700. Signing bonus: $197,500 ($27,200 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #198.
Kiko Romero is a senior sign, set to turn 23 in September, but he has plenty of track record with the bat. He mashed for three years at Central Arizona JC, parlaying an especially huge 2022 season into a spot on the Arizona squad in 2023. He continued to rake in Tucson, slashing .345/.441/.724 with 21 home runs and a 56/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 59 games, putting up one of the better offensive seasons in the Pac-12. Only listed at 5'11", 185 pounds, he's plenty strong for his size and has room to continue filling out. He holds his hands high in his stance, with a slight hitch before bringing them down to with strong barrel accuracy and natural loft in his left handed swing. Romero produces strong batted ball data that should continue to play in pro ball, and he had no problem transitioning from the Arizona JuCo circuit to the Pac-12 while actually lowering his strikeout rate from 25.4% to 19.6%. The Tucson native could stand to get a little more disciplined in the box, which may be his biggest hurdle transitioning to pro ball, but he has a pretty adjustable barrel and has stepped up against good competition before. He played mostly first base at Arizona and that's where the Yankees drafted him, but he's a pretty good runner that actually stole 19 bases at Central Arizona last year and could make it work in a corner outfield spot. He profiles as a future bench/platoon bat with some power.

8-252: RHP Nicholas Judice, Louisiana-Monroe {video}
Slot value: $188,000. Signing bonus: $185,500 ($2,500 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #175. Baseball America: #420. Prospects Live: #162.
The Yankees got great value here in the eighth round with Nicholas Judice. Another senior sign, he was an unremarkable reliever for three years at Louisiana-Monroe before his velocity took off in 2023 and he posted a 3.82 ERA and a 41/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 33 innings. Judice is a massive, 6'8" right hander that comes from a low, wide arm slot that creates an extremely unique look for hitters. He sits comfortably in the low to mid 90's but has the arm strength to eventually touch triple digits in short stints, with running and sinking life. The Baton Rouge native can also spin a nasty, sweeping slider that dives across the plate and flashes plus, while he's been working to incorporate a fringier changeup into the mix as well. Though he filled up the strike zone at ULM, he allowed more free passes in his brief Cape Cod League stint after the season and likely develops into average command. If the Yankees are willing to be patient with the 22 year old and work on the changeup and command, they could develop him into a back-end starter, but he fits better as a power fastball/slider reliever that provides a different look in high leverage spots.

10-312: RHP Brian Hendry, Oklahoma State {video}
Slot value: $164,400. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
Out of the Yankees' eighteen picks this year, Brian Hendry was the only one from the northeast. A South Jersey native from Medford, where the Pine Barrens meet the Philadelphia suburbs, he pitched three years at St. John's from 2019-2021 but never put it together, finishing with a 5.12 career ERA. After missing the 2022 season, he showcased some impressive stuff in the Cape Cod League that summer and got picked up by Oklahoma State, but where he pitched to a 6.63 ERA and a 51/14 strikeout to walk ratio over 36.2 innings. Hendry sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, which can touch 97 in short stints with downhill plane and some riding action. He can really spin the ball, with a pair of distinct power breaking balls in a curveball and a slider that both miss bats in bunches, while his changeup gives him a fourth usable pitch. Though Hendry is experienced and has a pretty easy delivery, he is very much control over command and that ultimately led to his stuff getting hit over the plate. He was a swingman at Oklahoma State and may be able to continue earning spots in pro ball, but he'll have to tighten up that command in order to do so. As a fifth year senior sign, Hendry is also extremely old and will turn 24 in October, so he'll want to get moving up that pro ladder quickly.

15-462: C Tomas Frick, North Carolina {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #448.
This is more of a depth play than an upside play. UNC's starting catcher since he stepped on campus as a freshman, Tomas Frick broke out in 2023 by slashing .322/.408/.571 with 12 home runs and a 36/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 59 games. He lacks a standout tool, instead showing well in a broad array of categories. Frick makes a lot of contact from the right side, showing the ability to get to balls all over the zone with a quick bat and a simple swing. There's some sneaky power to the pull side, though he lacks projection in his compact 6' frame and will likely top out with fringy pop. The Upstate South Carolina native is also a solid defender behind the plate, making up for average actions with a strong arm and a frame built for blocking baseballs. Set to turn 23 in October, he profiles best as a backup catcher who could move relatively quickly.

18-552: OF Coby Morales, Washington {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
Coby Morales began his career at Cypress JC in California, then transferred to Washington. He was unremarkable as a sophomore in 2022, but broke out in 2023 by slashing .332/.432/.548 with 12 home runs and a 59/40 strikeout to walk ratio over 55 games. Morales is big and strong at 6'3", with above average power playing to all fields from big left handed hacks. A patient hitter, he does a good job of waiting for a pitch he can drive, though he can get in trouble deeper in counts with fringy pure bat to ball skills that lead to elevated strikeout rates. That's the tradeoff this late in the draft, but getting this kind of power/on-base combination in the eighteenth round is always a nice find. Morales is not a great runner and will likely be limited to an outfield corner, where he profiles as a power hitting platoon bat.

20-612: RHP Bryce Warrecker, Cal Poly {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $150,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #286. Prospects Live: #433.
The second 6'8" righty drafted by the Yankees this year, Bryce Warrecker brings an interesting profile to the table. He didn't do much over his first two years at Cal Poly, but earned a spot in the Cape Cod League and was named the league's Most Outstanding Pitcher, where he posted a 2.03 ERA and a 36/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 40 innings. Returning to San Luis Obispo for his junior season, he turned in middling results with a 4.96 ERA and a 79/25 strikeout to walk ratio over 81.2 innings. Warrecker works off deception, coming from a low three quarters slot where he hides the ball well behind his big frame. The fastball sat in the low 90's on the Cape but dipped into the upper 80's at times with Cal Poly, and either way it's not likely to be an overpowering pitch in pro ball. His slider has shown flashes, with more depth at times and sweep at others, and it missed a lot of bats on the Cape. He also shows an above average changeup, giving him a solid three pitch mix. The Santa Barbara native commands everything well and kept advanced Cape hitters off balance consistently. In order to miss more bats in pro ball (he ran just a 22.6% strikeout rate on the Cape and 21.7% at Cal Poly this year), he'll need to find a way to add more power to his stuff, which may only come with a move to the bullpen. There, he could work as a junkballing reliever that gives hitters fits for a couple innings at a time.

Undrafted: RHP Aaron Nixon, Mississippi State {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: unreported.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
The Yankees plucked one of the better undrafted arms in Aaron Nixon, who was a key piece of the Texas bullpen for two years before transferring to Mississippi State this year and posting a 2.66 ERA and a 24/10 strikeout to walk ratio over 20.1 innings. It's a power arm that gets up into the mid 90's in relief, while his downer slider has flashed plus at times and should get there consistently with pro coaching. A former two-way player out of high school in the Rio Grande Valley area, he's also a strong athlete on the mound that repeats his delivery fairly well, though the command is fringy. He's a pure reliever going forward but a sleeper that could move up quickly and provide the Yankees with middle innings help in the near future.

2023 MLB Draft Review: Philadelphia Phillies

Full list of draftees

Lacking a third and a fifth round pick after signing Trea Turner in the offseason, the Phillies bet big on three high school bats with their first three picks, including arguably the best all-around hitter in the class outside of the consensus top two, Walker Jenkins and Max Clark. That Aidan Miller fell into their laps at the end of the first round and only required a small over slot bonus is a huge boon for Philadelphia. Behind Miller, their class is filled with players that were in that next batch of names I would have liked to research if I had more time. Beyond there, it's a physicality-laden class with fourteen of their final seventeen overall picks listed at 6'2" or taller and six coming in at 6'4" or taller.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-27: SS Aidan Miller, J.W. Mitchell HS [FL] {video}
Slot value: $2.97 million. Signing bonus: $3.1 million ($131,200 above slot value).
My rank: #17. MLB Pipeline: #13. Baseball America: #20. Prospects Live: #22.
The Phillies successfully floated Aidan Miller down to their first pick, injecting a consensus mid-first round talent into their system at the back of the round. Miller is one of the best all-around hitters in the prep class, perhaps the single best high school bat after the consensus top two. He already packs tremendous strength into his 6'2" frame, helping him produce plus power that shows up consistently in games and against high level competition. Though he has an excellent track record of performance, there are some questions about his load, which includes a sizable hitch that entails pointing his bat straight in the air, stabbing backwards, and pulling his hands back into a hitting position before his swing. Though some scouts are concerned by this, others see it more as a timing mechanism and point to his ability to catch up to velocity with no trouble. The Tampa-area native can chase high fastballs at times, but generally sees the ball very well east-west and takes strong at bats. This is a hitter that could hit for both power and average at a high clip in the majors. Beyond the bat, there are some minor questions. He's not a quick twitch athlete and will have to work hard to stick at third base, where his plus arm is plenty but his range will have to hold where it's at to avoid a move to first base. Miller also missed most of his high school spring season with a broken hand and hasn't been seen much since last summer, and lastly, he's very old for the class, having turned 19 back in June. Committed to Arkansas, it took over $100,000 above slot value to pull him away from Fayetteville (between the slot values of the 25th and 26th pick) which honestly looks like a steal to me.

3-98: SS Devin Saltiban, Hilo HS [HI] {video}
Slot value: $685,100. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #182. Baseball America: #149. Prospects Live: #172.
Devin Saltiban is a split-camp prospect due to his track record. Not much of a prospect before the season, a strong senior season pushed him up boards and he came stateside to the MLB Draft Combine and MLB Draft League to get more exposure against advanced pitching. He held his own, slashing .262/.354/.405 with a pair of home runs and a 10/5 strikeout to walk ratio over eleven games in the league, leading the Phillies to be comfortable enough to take him in the third round. Though undersized at 5'10", Saltiban stands out for his physicality and athleticism, with the ability to generate big bat speed and potentially above average power from the right side. That eleven game run through Draft League represents the majority of his exposure to higher level pitching, so how his bat plays in pro ball is still a question, one the Phillies are confidently rolling the dice on. Drafted as a shortstop, Saltiban has mostly played the outfield to this point. As an outfielder, he's a good runner that has a shot to stick in center field with further refinement and the right kind of physical development, and at worst looks like an average corner outfielder if he slows down. The Phillies will see how that skill set works on the infield, where his innate body control and athleticism could make him an interesting candidate to stick. It's a real boom or bust pick for Philadelphia, who are plucking him away from a hometown commitment to the University of Hawaii.

4-130: OF TayShaun Walton, IMG Academy [FL] {video}
Slot value: $501,600. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #168. Baseball America: #262. Prospects Live: #236.
The Phillies made it three straight prep bats with TayShaun Walton, like Devin Saltiban a powerful, athletic outfielder who wasn't seen much on the showcase circuit. Unlike Saltiban, who played way off the beaten path in Hawaii and was hard to get eyes on, Walton played on a loaded IMG Academy squad alongside two of the top 103 prospects in the country by my list, Cameron Smith and Zion Rose. He's bigger than Saltiban, standing 6'3" with plenty of present strength and physicality. The swing is more geared for line drives than fly balls right now, but he already puts up high exit velocities and it's easy to dream on more power as he learns to elevate the ball more. He made a lot of contact and controlled the zone well against strong Florida high school competition this spring, which should help him make the swing adjustment without too much of an issue. More known for his bat than his glove, the southern Virginia native is an above average runner that plays average outfield defense, with left field his most likely long term destination. As a right handed hitter with a left field profile, pressure will be on his bat to develop, but the upside is very high here. He is committed to the University of Miami.

6-193: RHP George Klassen, Minnesota {video}
Slot value: $282,900. Signing bonus: $300,000 ($17,100 above slot value).
My rank: #172. MLB Pipeline: #190. Baseball America: #217. Prospects Live: #204.
In George Klassen, the Phillies are getting one of the most electric arms in the class. That said, the lightning in his right arm is yet to manifest into results. Tommy John kept him off the mound during his true freshman season in 2021, then in 2022 he either walked or hit 21 of the 50 batters he faced (42%) and finished with a 14.09 ERA. He cleaned things up a little in 2023 and actually earned his way to a rotation spot, where he pitched to an unremarkable 5.72 ERA and a 49/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 56.2 innings. The numbers, of course, are nothing to write home about, but the stuff is. Klassen sits in the upper 90's with his fastball and has run it as high as 102 in short stints, giving him some of the best velocity in the entire country. While the pitch can show some riding life in short stints, it's more of a running fastball over longer outings. He has flashed plus with his hard slider that reaches the upper 80's, and this spring has shown more of a curveball, cutter, and changeup than in the past, though the changeup lags behind the rest of the arsenal. His stuff has looked better in relief than it does over longer starts, when it gets inconsistent and can flatten out. Additionally, the Wisconsin native has well below average command, with his 17.9% walk rate this spring actually showing a dramatic improvement from 2022, when he had absolutely no feel for where the ball was going. At this point, he has an idea, but that's where we're at, an idea. He has cleaned up his delivery a bit this spring but it still features considerable head whack, and overall it's almost certainly a relief profile. Klassen has some similarities to so-far-successful Phillies 2021 fifth rounder Griff McGarry, though McGarry's fastball has better shape profile and he had a few great starts down the stretch during his draft season, which Klassen did not. I'm interested to see how Klassen's stuff eats when he's pushed back to the bullpen.

7-223: RHP Jake Eddington, Missouri State {video}
Slot value: $222,900. Signing bonus: $225,000 ($2,100 above slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #216. Prospects Live: #286.
Jake Eddington spent his freshman season at Alabama, then missed the 2022 season with an injury and transferred back to his home state in 2023. He was up and down in his lone season at Missouri State, posting a 4.20 ERA and a 59/40 strikeout to walk ratio over 55.2 innings, including gems against Illinois State and Murray State and ugly starts against Bradley and Indiana State. Eddington sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, touching 97 with average movement. He stands out most for a potentially plus slider with deep two-plane bite that missed a ton of bats in 2023. He also shows a changeup, but it's a third pitch. The 6'2" righty native struggled to throw strikes in 2023 and often found himself behind in the count, walking 15.6% of his opponents, but he has a loose, athletic delivery and could conceivably creep closer to average command as the Phillies smooth him out. Eddington will likely move to the bullpen and let his fastball/slider combination eat, though the Phillies may initially run the southern Missouri native out as a starter. Though he's a redshirt sophomore, he's very old for the class and turned 22 back in April.

10-313: RHP Cam Brown, Texas Christian {video}
Slot value: $164,400. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #191. Baseball America: #201. Prospects Live: #184.
Back in the summer of 2019, Cam Brown was one of the most dominant arms on the high school showcase circuit and had pushed his way into second round consideration. However, he didn't look quite right during his brief senior season before the COVID shutdown and made it to campus at TCU. There, he has continued to tantalize with big league stuff but has struggled to string together any kind of consistency, falling to the Phillies in the tenth round here. My eighth ranked prospect in the Big 12 heading into the 2023 season, he entered the season with a lot to prove but wound up showing more of the same, posting a 5.20 ERA and a 62/40 strikeout to walk ratio over 55.1 innings. It was nice to see him improve his strikeout rate from 20.6% to 24.4%, though his walk rate also jumped from 13.0% to 15.7%. Brown sits in the mid 90's with his fastball, regularly touching 97 and holding his velocity consistently. His best pitch is an above average slider in the mid 80's that functions as his primary out pitch, while his firm changeup is a third pitch at this point. The 6'3" righty is sturdily built and looks like he can handle 200 innings in the majors, but he struggles to repeat his delivery, which can get stiff, and is prone to regular bouts of below average command. Unless the Phillies can smooth something out in that regard, he likely ends up a reliever, where he may approach triple digits and can lean hard on his slider. The talent is certainly there, though, and it's not out of the question that the Phillies could find a way to keep him in the rotation.

11-343: C Kehden Hettiger, Sierra Canyon HS [CA] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $400,000 ($250,000 against bonus pool).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #177. Baseball America: #322. Prospects Live: unranked.
The Phillies went way over slot in the eleventh round, giving Kehden Hettiger fifth round money to sign away from an Oregon commitment. Hettiger is physically imposing at a filled-out 6'2", which is befitting of a prospect that is very old for a high school senior, having turned 19 back in May. A switch hitter, he has significant raw power that plays better from the left side, though he's not elevating the ball consistently yet. The swing is long with some moving parts, including a hitch in his load, but he performed well this spring regardless and generally takes good at bats with strong pitch selection. Defensively, he shows an above average arm behind the plate but will need significant work on his glove in order to remain a catcher as he moves up the ladder. In this case, the Phillies are buying into the Los Angeles native's power and feel to hit and hoping the finer aspects of his game follow along, especially given the spotty track record of high school catchers.

Undrafted: OF Keaton Anthony, Iowa {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: $125,000.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #326. Prospects Live: #372.
Keaton Anthony has a chance to be one of the better undrafted free agent signings in the class, though it should be noted that he was suspended at the end of the season as part of the investigation into gambling accusations against the Iowa baseball program. Anthony got just one at bat as a freshman, but has absolutely raked over the past two seasons for a combined .373/.477/.688 slash line and 23 home runs in 96 games. Additionally, he dramatically cut his strikeout rate from 16.4% as a sophomore to 11.1% as a junior. Here, the Phillies are purely buying the bat. Built like a slugger at 6'4", he has plus raw power to all fields and has shown the ability to tap it in games for two years now. His swing can get a bit grooved, but he did a great job of making contact in 2023 even against the stronger arms in the Big Ten, though the B1G is admittedly not quite the level of competition of the SEC or ACC. Anthony is a non-defender, mostly playing DH at Iowa and occasionally seeing time on the mound, in fact throwing twenty innings for the Hawkeyes this spring with a 4.95 ERA. The Phillies may try him at first base, left field, or right field, where his arm strength will hopefully make up for his lack of speed.

2023 MLB Draft Review: Houston Astros

Full list of draftees

The Astros went their own way in this draft, with many of their selections not lining up with public boards and perception, but they have drafted well in the past and I trust what they're doing. The hitters represent an emphasis on batted ball data, especially between guys like Brice Matthews and Cam Fisher who possess some of the best raw exit velocities in the class. The pitching, meanwhile, was all on the college side, led by one of the more interesting arms at the top of the college class in Alonzo Tredwell. Houston also picked up two Houston-area natives, which is a nice tie in.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-28: SS Brice Matthews, Nebraska {video}
Slot value: $2.88 million. Signing bonus: $2.48 million ($402,500 below slot value).
My rank: #37. MLB Pipeline: #57. Baseball America: #57. Prospects Live: #41.
The Astros stayed in their own backyard with their first pick, grabbing Brice Matthews out of Nebraska. Though he spent his college career in Lincoln, Matthews grew up in Humble, Texas, in the shadows of IAH Airport and attended Atascocita High School less than twenty miles northeast of Minute Maid Park. After two middling seasons at Nebraska, Matthews broke out for a massive junior season in 2023 by slashing .359/.481/.723 with 20 home runs with a 53/47 strikeout to walk ratio over 54 games. He has huge bat speed from the right side that produces plus-plus raw power and elite batted ball data overall. He has also become a more patient hitter as he's developed, and with strong adjustability in his right handed swing he can get the barrel to the ball all over the zone. With a pull-oriented approach, he does run into some swing and miss in the zone and ran 20% strikeout rate in 2023, a little higher than you'd like especially in the Big Ten. It's still a strong overall offensive profile with the potential for 25-30+ home runs per year and solid on-base percentages. A former high school quarterback and a successful one at that, his athleticism is apparent on the diamond but his actions at shortstop are a bit raw. He has a chance to stick there with further development but with a solid arm and plus speed he could really end up anywhere on the diamond. His $2.48 million signing bonus was more than $400,000 below slot value, giving the Astros an opportunity to spend big later in the draft.

2-61: RHP Alonzo Tredwell, UCLA {video}
Slot value: $1.3 million. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #69. MLB Pipeline: #63. Baseball America: #64. Prospects Live: #86.
Alonzo Tredwell has a bit of a different profile, and he makes a fun one for the Astros with some parallels to their second round compensation pick a year ago, Andrew Taylor. Tredwell drew considerable attention during the 2021 draft despite undergoing Tommy John surgery but made it to campus at UCLA, and he's been lights out for the Bruins. After a huge freshman season out of the bullpen (2.11 ERA, 62/6 K/BB in 47 IP), he stepped into the rotation in 2023 with good results, posting a 3.57 ERA and a 51/12 strikeout to walk ratio over 45.1 innings. The profile here is fairly unique – standing 6'8" with great body control, he gets down the mound extremely well with a combination of extension and height that makes his release point fairly unique. While his fastball only sits in the low 90's and tops out around 96, he gets nice riding action on the pitch and that unique release point really gives it a different look. He shows a curveball and slider, both with downer action, as well as a slider, though he's still gaining feel for that offspeed stuff. The slider stands out as perhaps his best offspeed pitch for now. The Southern California native pounds the strike zone with above average command and moves well on the mound, so any added velocity would really play. The biggest drawback with Tredwell's profile is health, as he didn't pitch after April 22nd with back problems and that's a bit more on the complicated side when it comes to nagging injuries. If he can stay healthy and add a little velocity, he has a chance to be a mid-rotation starter.

3-99: RHP Jake Bloss, Georgetown {video}
Slot value: $678,500. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #147. MLB Pipeline: #178. Baseball America: #250. Prospects Live: #121.
If Alonzo Tredwell has some similarities to Andrew Taylor, then Jake Bloss has some similarities to the Astros' third round pick last year, Michael Knorr. Bloss began his career at Lafayette, where he was unremarkable as an underclassman but had a nice junior year in 2022. Graduating in three years, he transferred to Georgetown to get a masters' degree in finance, and with eligibility remaining, he joined the baseball team as well. Fourteen appearances later, he hung his hat on a 2.58 ERA and a 96/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 76.2 innings, including some outstanding outings against Iona, Hartford, Creighton, and St. John's. The stuff all got considerably louder while he retained his strong pitchability, and now he may want to put the finance world on hold as a legitimate starting pitching prospect. Bloss now sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, touching 97 with riding action. He has feel for two distinct breaking balls in a deep curveball and a shorter slider, with the ability to work in a changeup as well. Well built at 6'3", he pounds the strike zone with solid command and feel for pitching, giving him every chance to work his way up as a back-end starter. Though he's a senior sign, he's on the younger side for his class and isn't too much older than some juniors drafted this year. He has a chance to work up the ladder quickly like Knorr, who is already showing well in High A.

4-131: OF Cam Fisher, Charlotte {video}
Slot value: $497,600. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #112. MLB Pipeline: #210. Baseball America: #141. Prospects Live: #120.
In Cam Fisher, the Astros pulled in some of the best raw power in the class. Fisher began his career at Ole Miss but didn't play, spent a year at Walters State Community College near his hometown in Tennessee, then transferred to Charlotte in 2022 and took just two seasons to set the school's all time home run record at 48. In fact, 2023 was his best season yet as he slashed .348/.507/.813 with 30 home runs and a 63/64 strikeout to walk ratio over 64 games. The 30 home runs were third in all of Division I, behind only likely 2024 first rounder Jac Caglianone and 2023 first rounder Brock Wilken (Brewers). Fisher can crush a baseball with the best of them, with elite 90th percentile exit velocities approaching 110 MPH and a natural ability to lift the ball with authority. Fisher is also an extremely patient hitter that rarely chases and effectively works counts to find a pitch he can elevate. If he doesn't, he's more than happy to draw a walk and did so over 20% of the time in 2023. The drawback in the profile here is swing and miss in the strike zone, as he can get overpowered by higher quality stuff (especially offspeed) and that will be a concern in pro ball when pitchers are more capable of living in the zone when they choose to. If Fisher can find a way to shore up his bat to ball ability in the zone, he has a chance to be a real impact hitter for Houston. Defensively, he runs well enough to handle a corner outfield spot but overall profiles as an average corner outfielder. The most likely outcome here is as a power hitting platoon bat.

5-164: SS Chase Jaworsky, Rock Canyon HS [CO] {video}
Slot value: $360,800. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #395.
This is a real sleeper pick for the fifth round. Chase Jaworsky went unranked on most public boards and only holds a commitment to Utah Valley University, in stark contrast to many top drafted preps typically headed to blue blood programs. He's a trajectory pick, as he wasn't even considered a prospect until recent strong showcase and spring performances late in his high school career. Jaworsky is skinny and projectable at 6'1", with a simple left handed swing that channels his core strength for some power to the pull side. As he fills out and learns to get his arms extended a little more, the power could continue to develop. Otherwise, he doesn't have much track record against higher level pitching, and much of his exposure came from playing on the same Colorado-based travel team as Giants second rounder Walker Martin. He's also a good runner with a good shot to stick at shortstop, though I couldn't find much video fo his defense.

11-344: OF Nehomar Ochoa, Galena Park HS [TX] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #348. Prospects Live: #385.
Nehomar Ochoa gives the Astros a second hometown pick. Originally from Venezuela, he moved to the Houston area as a kid and grew up in Galena Park, just seven miles east of Minute Maid Park amidst the ports and oil refineries along Buffalo Bayou. A two-way player in high school that earned considerable interest as a pitcher, where he was up to 95, he'll be a position player only in the Astros' system. Ochoa is big and strong at 6'4", with above average raw power that he has tapped against his Houston-area competition. He hasn't been seen much against higher level competition on the showcase circuit, so the Astros are buying into that power and his strong track record locally. Ochoa is also young for the class, exactly one year younger than Chase Jaworsky (who is on the older side for the class) to the day, which always helps with projectability. The arm plays in the outfield and he plays solid defense. Committed to the University of Houston, it sounds like he'll instead sign with, well, Houston.

15-464: C Garret Guillemette, Texas {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #339.
The Astros plucked Garret Guillemette out of the University of Texas in the fifteenth round. A California transplant, he grew up in the Los Angeles area and began his career at Southern California, where he was solid but unspectacular, then broke out to slash .298/.401/.541 with eleven home runs and a 52/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 64 games in his lone season in Austin. Standing 6'1", Guillemette has a classic catcher's profile with a sturdy frame, some pop, and the ability to control the strike zone. His pure bat to ball skills are average and he did strike out close to 20% of the time in 2023, so the bat likely limits his ultimate ceiling to that of a backup catcher. He's fairly strong behind the plate, with a good arm and the defensive feel for the game to stick.

16-494: C Will Bush, Tyler JC [TX] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
Will Bush gives the Astros a fourth player with Texas ties. A native of North Richland Hills in the Fort Worth area, he attended Tyler Community College in East Texas and raked to the tune of a .357/.510/.617 slash line, eight home runs, and a 35/50 strikeout to walk ratio over 53 games. Moving on to the MLB Draft League this summer, he hit just .185/.313/.185 in a seven game sample. Just a freshman, he only turned 19 in March and comes with much more boom/bust potential than Garret Guillemette. Bush is big and strong at 6'4", 230 pounds, with big raw power from the left side that he's still learning to tap in games. A patient hitter, he walked at a sky-high 23.7% clip for Tyler JC this spring, and continued to draw walks in the MLB Draft League even if the rest of the production wasn't really there. He's otherwise raw at the plate, with a very open stance and a high hand set that may or may not need to be tweaked in pro ball. It's a similar story behind the plate, with a strong arm that will help keep him back there.

2023 MLB Draft Review: New York Mets

Full list of draftees

Steve Cohen's massive spending spree pushed the Mets' first pick back to #32, but they still landed a consensus first round talent in Colin Houck for a surprisingly reasonable signing bonus. They did get two extra picks after the fourth round as compensation for losing Jacob deGrom and Chris Bassitt, and they also got an extra third round pick for failing to sign Brandon Sproat last year (who they ironically drafted again this year). The two major themes of this packed draft class were college pitchers and high school shortstops, with each of the Mets' first eleven picks falling into those categories. Behind Houck, New York also drafted A.J. Ewing and Boston Baro, the three of whom combined to sign for over $800,000 above their respective slot values. I'm a big fan of the Houck pick, personally, and I think that pick makes the Mets' draft.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-32: SS Colin Houck, Parkview HS [GA] {video}
Slot value: $2.61 million. Signing bonus: $2.75 million ($142,500 above slot value).
My rank: #13. MLB Pipeline: #12. Baseball America: #21. Prospects Live: #18.
Arguably the best prep shortstop in the country, Colin Houck somehow made it to the Mets at pick #32 despite buzz he could go as high as the top ten. Perhaps even more surprisingly, he only signed for slightly above slot value, with his $2.75 million bonus sitting between the values of the 29th and 30th picks. This all amounts to a huge coup for the Mets, as Houck is as talented as they come. The Atlanta-area product is an excellent athlete who had Division I football offers as a quarterback, and that athleticism translates seamlessly to the diamond. He's a well-rounded hitter with more polish at the plate than you'd expect from a two-sport star, showing the ability to recognize offspeed stuff and work counts effectively. Utilizing a clean, powerful right handed swing, he shows off above average power in games, especially this spring where he teed off against strong Atlanta-area competition. Some swing and miss can occasionally creep into his game when he gets too big and tries to yank balls to the moon, though he usually does a good job of staying within himself and he's a very impactful hitter when he does. Defensively, Houck shows off the plus arm that served him well on the football field, and his athleticism helps him make all the plays at shortstop. He's more of an average runner than a plus one, so there is the potential that he gets forced to third base by a better defender, but the Mets will give him every shot to stick at shortstop and it's very possible that renewed focus on baseball alone could help him pull his defensive game together fully. Houck had been committed to Mississippi State before the Mets brought him on.

2-56: RHP Brandon Sproat, Florida {video}
Slot value: $1.47 million. Signing bonus: $1.47 million.
My rank: #88. MLB Pipeline: #54. Baseball America: #48. Prospects Live: #48.
A year ago, the Mets drafted Brandon Sproat in the third round at 90th overall, but couldn't come to terms with him and he was the second highest pick to go unsigned, behind fellow Mets 2023 draftee Nolan McLean. This time, they got the deal done at slot value and they'll get an older, wiser, more developed version of Sproat. One of the major concerns that held his stock back was a low 21.5% strikeout rate in 2022, but he bumped that up to 28.8% in 2023 while holding down a 4.66 ERA across over one hundred innings. He's all about the arm strength, sitting in the mid 90's deep into his starts and touching as high as 101 in short bursts. The fastball can get straight, often playing below its impressive velocity, but he does have a full arsenal of secondaries to keep hitters off balance. The Pensacola-area native shows solid feel to spin the ball, with his slider likely ahead of his curveball and a cutter to go with them, though he really stands out for an above average changeup that plays very well off his fastball. Sproat is more control over command and his walk rate ticked up to 10.3% in 2023 from 8.6% a year ago. The 6'3" righty also has some effort and moving parts in his delivery, including a double leg break as he extends towards the plate, that might point to a future in the bullpen, but he has so much present arm strength that he still maintains his stuff over longer outings. In drafting him this early despite turning 23 in September, the Mets are buying in on Sproat as a starting pitcher and hoping they can find a way to add some bat-missing qualities to his fastball. Given his age, he'll want to move fairly quickly.

3-91: RHP/OF Nolan McLean, Oklahoma State {video}
Slot value: $747,600. Signing bonus: $747,600.
My rank: #184. MLB Pipeline: #97. Baseball America: #184. Prospects Live: #289.
Ironically, the only player drafted higher than Brandon Sproat last year to go unsigned was Nolan McLean, the Orioles' third round pick at #81 overall. Even more ironically, this pick is actually compensation for failing to sign Sproat last year. McLean is very well known to scouts, having been an early round draft prospect out of high school in the Raleigh area in 2020 before being draft eligible as a sophomore in 2022 and again as a junior in 2023. A year ago, it was seen as a tossup whether he'd be a hitter or a pitcher in pro ball, maybe leaning pitcher, and though the Mets drafted him as a two-way player, his future likely lies on the mound. After mostly working one inning at a time in 2022, he earned a longer leash and often went three to four innings in his outings in 2023. There is plenty of arm strength here, as he can sit in the mid 90's in short stints while topping out around 98, with nice running life to boot. He has steadily improved his feel for spin and his slider now flashes plus, while his curveball and changeup are usable pitches as well. Like Sproat, McLean is more control over command but has looked more polished as he's gotten more innings under his belt. A tremendous athlete, the 6'4" righty originally committed to Oklahoma State as a quarterback as well, so he has projection remaining and moves well on the mound. Most of the signs point to him being a reliever in the long run, but if the Mets are taking him in the third round and have him give up hitting, they may have hopes of trying to stretch him out. The Mets did draft him as a two-way player, and there is certainly talent on that side of the ball as well. He has massive raw power, as evidenced by this 478 foot opposite field home run last year, and has clubbed 36 home runs over his three years in Stillwater. He's also a patient hitter, running low chase rates and walking at a very healthy 17.6% clip in 2023. However, McLean has a very grooved swing and struggles to make contact even on pitches over the plate, with his 107 strikeouts in 2022 setting a Division I record and his 37.3% strikeout rate in 2023 being equally as frightening. It's hard for me to see him tapping his power in pro ball with swing and miss issues like that. Defensively, Oklahoma State moved him to the outfield in 2023 to take pressure off his arm, but he is athletic enough to handle third base. I expect him to move to pitching full time sooner rather than later.

3-101: RHP Kade Morris, Nevada {video}
Slot value: $666,500. Signing bonus: $666,500.
My rank: #119. MLB Pipeline: #142. Baseball America: #166. Prospects Live: #123.
Kade Morris gives the Mets an interesting arm to play with. Earning a bigger and bigger role at Nevada every year, he served as the Wolfpack's Friday night starter this spring with solid results, posting a 5.42 ERA and an 85/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 81.1 innings despite playing in one of college baseball's most hitter-friendly environments. Morris sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball and can touch 97 at best, though the pitch has modest life and gets hit when he leaves it over the plate. He drops in an above average slider that functions as his main bat misser, while his deeper curveball looks like an average pitch and his changeup has made nice progress in Reno. He improved his strikeout rate from 18.5% as a sophomore to 22.5% as a junior, but it's still a lower number than you'd expect given his stuff and the Mets will want to find a way to help him continue that upward trend. The 6'3" righty still has projection remaining and is a very good athlete on the mound, giving New York a lot to work with to help him on his progression towards becoming a major league starting pitcher. He doesn't walk a lot of hitters and I think all the ingredients are there save for a lack of deception. The Central Valley native is also on the younger side for the class, nearly a year younger than Nolan McLean, signed for full slot value.

4-123: RHP Wyatt Hudepohl, Charlotte {video}
Slot value: $536,500. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #299. Prospects Live: #216.
Wyatt Hudepohl pitched two seasons at Kentucky, then transferred to Charlotte this spring where he has stepped into a larger role. Making seventeen starts, he posted a 4.27 ERA and a 129/27 strikeout to walk ratio over 105.1 innings, including a seventeen strikeout complete game against Old Dominion and five more double digit strikeout games after that, including in the Clemson Regional against Lipscomb. The stuff here is pretty interesting – Hudepohl sits in the low 90's with his fastball, touching 95-96 at best with nice riding action, while adding a power curveball and a hard changeup with nice fade. He can also work the fastball into a cutter. The entire four pitch mix plays as at least average to above average, and when it's all working, he can be impossible to hit as you can see from the numbers above. The 6'4" righty has some effort in his delivery, getting deep into his back leg before pushing off towards the plate, but has shown the ability to maintain his stuff and control over long outings while leaning on his offspeed and should get a shot to crack it as a starter. He has a chance to be a solid #4.

4C-134: SS A.J. Ewing, Springboro HS [OH] {video}
Slot value: $483,000. Signing bonus: $675,000 ($192,000 above slot value).
My rank: #139. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #171. Prospects Live: #101.
A.J. Ewing was a favorite of many evaluators before the draft, and it looks like the Mets were big fans too. The second straight pick out of the Cincinnati area, Ewing showed very well on the showcase circuit and continued to perform back in Ohio, steadily climbing up boards. He's very skinny at a listed 6', 160 pounds, but stands out for springy athleticism on top of his track record of performance. Ewing can really whip the barrel through the zone for a kid his size and has shown nice pull side power with metal bats, and if he can tack on 15-20 pounds of muscle in pro ball, it should play with wood as well. He can handle quality offspeed stuff and moves well in the box in general, making him a very projectable hitter to dream on. In the field, his athleticism is apparent on the dirt and the Mets will send him out as a shortstop, though he needs to use a longer arm stroke to make throws on balls to his right and may fit better at second base, where he can more easily flick the ball to first base. This profile hinges on added physicality as he matures, which would help both in the power and defense departments. He's a little old for the class already. Previously committed to Alabama, he signed for nearly $200,000 above slot value.

4C-135: RHP Austin Troesser, Missouri {video}
Slot value: $478,200. Signing bonus: $350,000 ($128,200 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #143.
Austin Troesser didn't get much love on public boards (credit to Prospects Live for being in on him), and he wound up signing for early sixth round money here at the end of the fourth round. Troesser has been a valuable member of the Missouri bullpen the past two seasons, and in 2023 put up a 4.73 ERA and a 53/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 45.2 innings for the Tigers. He primarily stands out for a low to mid 90's fastball that gets up to around 98 at best, playing up with riding life and helping him miss a high number of bats. The slider is a little more inconsistent at this point but has looked good at times, while he hasn't really needed much of a changeup in the bullpen. He'll stay in the bullpen going forward, where the Mets will look to help him continue adding velocity and find consistent feel for that slider. The 6'3" righty has thrown strikes in his career at Missouri and profiles as a medium leverage reliever.

5-159: LHP Zach Thornton, Grand Canyon {video}
Slot value: $378,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #165. Baseball America: #190. Prospects Live: #142.
Zach Thornton was on the annual shortlist of names I would have researched if I had a few more days before the draft. Every year you have to cut it off somewhere, and Thornton just missed. He put up a great season at Grand Canyon, posting a 3.87 ERA and a 91/18 strikeout to walk ratio over 88.1 innings, numbers which look even better when you consider college baseball's offense-friendly environment this year. The stuff isn't all that loud, with a fastball hovering around 90, touching 94, a pair of breaking balls that stand out more for their depth than their velocity, and a seldom-used changeup. Instead, the calling card is his pitchability, as the Kansas native mixes his pitches exceptionally well to keep hitters constantly off balance. He gets the kind of swings you see when position players pitch in MLB and mix 85 MPH fastballs with 38 MPH eephuses, which is also a testament to the deception in his delivery. To succeed in pro ball, the 6'3" lefty will have to add considerable strength to his lanky frame. If he can get his fastball more consistently into the low 90's and add some power to his breaking balls, he becomes a very interesting back-end starting pitching prospect. For now, he'll likely go torment low minors hitters used to seeing poorly located 96 instead of deceptive 89.

8-246: SS Boston Baro, Capistrano Valley HS [CA] {video}
Slot value: $192,900. Signing bonus: $700,000 ($507,100 above slot value).
My rank: #181. MLB Pipeline: #224. Baseball America: #98. Prospects Live: #127.
In their biggest over slot splurge of the draft, the Mets went and spent late third round money to sign eighth rounder Boston Baro away from a UCLA commitment, where he would have been competing for playing time with one of the top incoming shortstop recruits in the country in Roman Martin. Baro is an advanced prospect for a high schooler, taking impressively professional at bats and performing very well against strong Southern California pitching this spring. Very skinny at 6'2", there is very little impact power in the bat at this point from a line drive approach, though the Mets hope that he can get to fringy power in time as he fills out. Doing so would elevate the profile considerably. He's very light on his feet at shortstop and moves well to both sides, making all the plays consistently with enough arm strength to make it work. He figures to stay at shortstop initially, though in competing with Colin Houck and A.J. Ewing from this class alone, he may be forced to second base in the long term. Like Houck and Ewing, Baro is on the older side for the class and will be 19 before his first professional season is through.

9-276: 3B Nick Lorusso, Maryland {video}
Slot value: $175,100. Signing bonus: $50,000 ($125,100 below slot value).
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #292. Prospects Live: #194.
The Mets went with a bit of a hometown pick in Nick Lorusso, who grew up in Monroe in Fairfield County, Connecticut a little northeast of New York City. He began his college career at Villanova, where he had a solid but unremarkable three years. Since he transferred to Maryland in 2022, though, he's been a different hitter. After hitting five home runs in three years at Villanova, he broke out for fifteen in 2022, then in 2023 had one of the better offensive seasons in the country by slashing .379/.446/.765 with 26 home runs and a 46/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 61 games. Lorusso is strongly built at 6'2" and effectively channels that strength into a powerful right handed swing, with impressive batted ball data that should continue to play with wood. Against moderately strong pitching in the Big Ten, he hammered all kinds of pitches and looked like an advanced hitter in the box, which should be expected given that he'll turn 23 in September. A third baseman at Maryland, he's just alright over there and may ultimately move to first base, where his bat should profile just fine. Lorusso will want to move quickly given his age but he did provide the Mets with $125,100 in savings.

12-366: RHP Brady Kirtner, Virginia Tech {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: #428.
Brady Kirtner is a pure reliever profile, but an interesting one nonetheless to nab here in the twelfth round. A local kid from Christiansburg who stayed home to attend Virginia Tech just down the road, he didn't get into a game as a true freshman and had an uneven redshirt freshman season in 2022, but took a step forward in 2023 with a 4.62 ERA and a 36/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 25.1 innings. Kirtner sits in the mid 90's with his fastball in short stints, up to around 96 with nice riding action, while his slider flashes nice late bite at times and can generate ugly swings with high spin. Skinny at 5'11" and utilizing an uptempo delivery, he's unlikely to make the transition to the rotation especially considering his shallow arsenal and fringy command. But he's trending in the right direction and if the Mets can help him continue down that path, perhaps by adding a little more velocity and improving his command by smoothing out the delivery a little, he has a future as a fastball/slider reliever in Flushing.

13-396: RHP Ben Simon, Elon {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
There is not a ton of information out there on Ben Simon, but I wanted to highlight him quickly as another hometown pick. Simon grew up in East Windsor in Central Jersey and attended nearby Highstown High School along the Jersey Turnpike a little east of Trenton. After an up and down freshman season, he has been a valuable reliever at Elon the past two seasons with a combined 3.36 ERA and a 68/19 strikeout to walk ratio over 56.1 innings. At 5'11", he's mostly physically maxed out and likely remains in the bullpen with average control. I only found video of him throwing two pitches, both riding fastballs up and away from lefties for strikeouts from what looks like a moderately low release.

19-576: RHP Christian Little, Louisiana State {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #197. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #306. Prospects Live: #161.
It's unlikely that Christian Little signs here, but he's a famous name and deserves a spot in this writeup. One of the top high school pitchers in the entire class in 2021, he instead reclassified and enrolled early at Vanderbilt at just 17 years old. He held his own in two seasons as a swingman for the Commodores, then transferred to LSU for his junior season in 2023 where things did not quite go as planned, with a 7.79 ERA and a 42/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 34.2 innings. Little has plenty of stuff, sitting in the low to mid 90's and touching 98 with his fastball, also showing the ability to cut it in the upper 80's. His offspeed stuff is inconsistent, though the slider flashes above average and he also shows a curveball and changeup. The biggest thing holding him back has been command, as he regularly falls behind in the count and has to find a way to dig himself out. The delivery can get rigid, which doesn't help, and now in three years in the SEC he has not progressed as a prospect. The good news is that not only is the arm strength absolutely still there, but he is also extremely young for the class, nearly three years younger than Brandon Sproat and still nearly two years younger than some college juniors. If he goes back to LSU for another season, which it looks like he will, he'll still be young for the class in 2024.

2023 MLB Draft Review: Los Angeles Dodgers

Full list of draftees

Luxury tax penalties pushed the Dodgers' first pick outside the top 35 for the second year in a row, but they're one of the best teams in the league at drafting and developing so they can withstand the bump. Last year, they picked Louisville's Dalton Rushing with their first pick at #40 overall, and all he has done since is tear the cover off the ball in the low minors and looks like a steal already. And though they had that first pick pushed back, they did get two extra picks after the fourth round as compensation for losing Trea Turner and Tyler Anderson to free agency. Overall, this class leans on athleticism more so than present physicality and projection, with many draftees clocking in at 170 pounds or less. The Dodgers are looking for unique, unteachable traits that they can then leverage in their excellent player development system, something they've had a lot of success with in the past.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.
Note that the number before a player's name indicates their draft position. "2-50" would indicate that a player was drafted in the second round with the fiftieth overall pick.

1-36: OF Kendall George, Atascocita HS [TX] {video}
Slot value: $2.36 million. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #68. MLB Pipeline: #65. Baseball America: #114. Prospects Live: #59.
If you look at most public boards, mine included, this pick may appear to be a bit of a reach. But we know better than to question the Dodgers' draft strategy at this point. Kendall George is a legitimate talent that rode a very loud spring down in the Houston area to this high pick. He has always been a plus-plus runner, a tool which carries his profile and especially adds value in today's game with more stolen base attempts. After looking overmatched last summer on the showcase circuit, he looked like a different ballplayer this spring and rocketed up draft boards. He's not the biggest kid in the world at a skinny 5'10", but he has lightning quick hands that whip the barrel through the zone with authority and help him pack more punch than you'd expect. The power is well below average for now and home runs will never be a primary part of his game, but as he fills out a little bit that explosive bat could help him tap 10-12 home runs per season down the line. The swing works well to all fields and lends confidence that he can continue to get on base regularly in pro ball. Defensively, the speed makes him an asset in center field, though he doesn't have much of an arm. George projects as a top of the lineup table setter that can wreak havoc on opposing pitchers and catchers, with enough pop to keep pitchers honest and great defense in center field. He's committed to Arkansas and at this point in the draft, I wouldn't expect his bonus demands to be too outlandish.

2-60: 3B Jake Gelof, Virginia {video}
Slot value: $1.34 million. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #54. MLB Pipeline: #35. Baseball America: #40. Prospects Live: #74.
Jake Gelof had an unremarkable freshman year at UVA, but over the past two seasons he has been without question one of the best hitters in the ACC, slashing .347/.450/.735 with 44 home runs over 123 games. The younger brother of A's rookie and Team Israel veteran Zack Gelof, Jake's bat packs a little more punch than his brother's in exchange for being slightly less of a pure hitter. The younger Gelof takes huge hacks from the right side, getting to baseballs all over the zone with his arms extended and catching them out front to elevate with authority. Despite the big hacks, he has very strong feel for the barrel and projects as a potential average pure hitter, with a fairly patient approach and solid contact rates. Although not very projectable, he's plenty strong right now with a filled out 6'1" frame and shows plus raw power already. It's the kind of bat that profiles in the middle of the order at his ceiling so long as he continues to make contact and control the zone against more advanced pitching. Defensively, he has shown well at third base and has enough arm to stick over there, though he has heavy feet and may move to first base if he slows down at all with age. That will put more pressure on the bat, but you don't put up the numbers he did in the ACC by accident. This is a little later than he was expected to get drafted but as a college player, I imagine he'll probably sign around slot value.

3-95: RHP Brady Smith, Grainger HS [TN] {video}
Slot value: $705,500. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #192. MLB Pipeline: #138. Baseball America: #422. Prospects Live: #313.
In the third round, the Dodgers went down to Northeast Tennessee to grab a skinny right hander with big time stuff and athleticism. Many in the industry saw Brady Smith as a candidate to get to college at Virginia Tech and fill out a little bit, but the Dodgers bit early and will see what they make him into. Smith currently sits in the low 90's with his fastball, topping out around 95 with flat plane and carry that makes it play up. He shows real feel to spin a breaking ball, with a sharp curveball and an improving slider in addition to a decent changeup. It all comes from a very skinny 6'2" frame that has some room to fill out, though for now he's not overly physical. Smith is also a great athlete that gets down the mound well with great extension. There's a lot to like in the whole package between the loose arm, feel for spin, and athleticism, though his development does hinge on his physical development. He'll need to add about twenty pounds of muscle to stick as a starting pitcher and withstand a full season's workload, something the Dodgers have plenty of experience with in the arms they've developed. This is probably the best possible landing spot for the kid from Bean Station, Tennessee. This is earlier than he was expected to get drafted, but with that Virginia Tech commitment in hand, I imagine he'll still require more than the $705,500 slot value to sign.

4-127: LHP Wyatt Crowell, Florida State {video}
Slot value: $516,800. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #127. MLB Pipeline: #112. Baseball America: #135. Prospects Live: #228.
Wyatt Crowell is a very interesting one. A key member of the Florida State bullpen as a sophomore in 2022 (2.12 ERA, 72/17 K/BB in 51 IP), he was poised to step into the rotation after the Seminoles lost their entire weekend rotation to the draft and transfer portal. Crowell showed extremely well in fall practice to push himself into second round consideration, but his velocity backed up as a junior and he ultimately succumbed to Tommy John surgery. In short stints, the Atlanta-area native can sit in the mid 90's and touch 98 with his running fastball, though this spring it dipped closer to 90 in longer outings. Still, he managed to put up a strong, albeit brief season (0.87 ERA, 33/11 K/BB in 20.2 IP) on the strength of his plus slider, a deadly offering that misses bats in bunches. He has worked in a curveball and a changeup at times before, but right now the money is on the slider. Before his injury, Crowell showed great ability to harness his lively stuff with average albeit inconsistent command, utilizing a loose delivery and an athletic frame. Like Brady Smith, he's not very physical at all, with less projection in his skinny 6' frame. The size, combined with his uneven 2023 and the surgery, makes his future in a major league rotation a big question mark. The Dodgers tend to blur the line between starter and reliever anyways, and he likely profiles as a slider-heavy lefty long reliever in the long term. I'm very interested to see where Los Angeles goes with this one once he gets healthy next spring. I imagine he may require a little bit above slot value to sign.

4C-136: OF Dylan Campbell, Texas {video}
Slot value: $473,700. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: #164. MLB Pipeline: #171. Baseball America: #360. Prospects Live: #189.
Dylan Campbell struck me as a guy that would get drafted earlier than most public boards had him, and that turned out to be the case. He has gotten better and better every year at Texas and put up a career year in 2023, slashing .339/.436/.603 with 13 home runs and a 43/39 strikeout to walk ratio over 64 games, at one point riding a 38 game hitting streak. Though he may not have the highest upside in this class for the Dodgers, he does nearly everything well on the diamond starting with a patient approach in the box and a simple right handed swing that helps him get the barrel to the ball extremely consistently. He packs plenty of strength into his 5'11" frame, showing off average power in games despite rarely selling out to get to it. He actually performed better against his Big 12 schedule (.385/.455/.667) than he did overall, showing a scalable offensive profile that should be able to transition easily to pro pitching. Ultimately, he may not project to be more than a platoon bat/fourth outfielder, but he'll be a good one. In the field, the Houston native is a good runner with a plus arm (as evidenced by this incredible throw in the Stanford Super Regional) that will fit well in right field and should be able to handle center in a reserve role. It's about as well-rounded a profile as you're going to find in this range of the draft. In this range of the draft, he might take a slight under slot deal, but as a junior I don't imagine it will be too steep of a discount.

4C-137: RHP Eriq Swan, Middle Tennessee State {video}
Slot value: $469,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #240. Baseball America: #209. Prospects Live: #263.
Eriq Swan is a project for the Dodgers, but they're always up for those. After two unremarkable seasons at Middle Tennessee State, he broke out with three excellent appearances in the Cape Cod League last summer, but promptly put up a 6.49 ERA and a 71/45 strikeout to walk ratio over 61 innings as a junior back in Murfreesboro. Swan is all arm strength, comfortably sitting in the mid to upper 90's over long starts and touching as high as 101 with his fastball. It lacks deception, though, and plays down from its velocity. He shows flashes with a hard, downer slider and a fading changeup, but they're inconsistent for him right now. The biggest issue with Swan is his below average command, which leads to him falling behind in the count and letting hitters sit on his fastball, which is hittable over the plate when hitters know it's coming. The 6'6" righty has short arm action and doesn't have too much wasted movement in his delivery, but Los Angeles will have to find a way to get him in the strike zone more consistently, both with his fastball and with his offspeed stuff. Swan looks like a reliever in pro ball, where he could sit around 100 with his fastball and not worry so much about hitting spots exactly. He hasn't signed yet but I don't imagine he'll be too terribly expensive in this range.

5-163: 1B Joe Vetrano, Boston College {video}
Slot value: $364,400. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #186. Baseball America: #318. Prospects Live: #240.
Joe Vetrano climbed prospect lists with a hot run at the end of the season, and was one of the next players I would have looked more closely at if I had more time before the draft. Like Dylan Campbell above him, he's gotten better and better every year at Boston College and had his best yet in 2023, slashing .315/.407/.671 with 22 home runs and a 58/34 strikeout to walk ratio over 56 games. Vetrano takes thunderous hacks from the left side, showing off plus-plus raw power from a strong 6'3" frame and tapping it consistently in games. He's fairly aggressive and shows more swing and miss than you'd like from a first baseman, but with his power that's a tradeoff the Dodgers will make. A former pitcher, Vetrano shows off a strong arm but will likely wind up an average defender at first base, where his bat will have to carry him. He profiles as a platoon or bench bat, but the power gives him considerable upside. He won't be too expensive a sign at this range in the draft.

9-280: RHP Ryan Brown, Ball State {video}
Slot value: $173,600. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: #237. Baseball America: #265. Prospects Live: #249.
This feels like a classic later round Dodgers pick. Ryan Brown has a lot he does well, but he also has a lot he does not do well, and the Dodgers have a strong track record with these types of arms. After redshirting his true freshman season, he showed well as a reliever during his redshirt freshman season at Ball State (2.14 ERA, 65/38 K/BB in 46.1 IP) and got off to a red hot start in 2023, striking out 27 of the 43 batters he faced (62.8%!) over his first three appearances against Charlotte, Rutgers, and Canisius. However, his season got a bit derailed from there, as he ran into a buzzsaw at Wake Forest, later hurt his knee, then eventually went down with Tommy John surgery, finishing the season with a 4.76 ERA and nearly a walk per inning. Brown sits in the low to mid 90's with his fastball, touching 96 with the flat plane and carry the Dodgers love and do well with. He spins in a fringy slider that he lacks feel for, but his go-to out pitch is a plus-plus splitter that left MAC hitters simply confounded. The 6'2" righty is athletic on the mound but has a lot of moving parts in his delivery, leading to below average command that often ends up with him leaving his pitches up, spiking them in the dirt, and falling behind in the count. The Dodgers will look to clean up that delivery and help get him executing his pitches more effectively, which given the athleticism and arm talent should be a doable task. Brown is also young for the class and won't turn 21 until October, so he'll still have plenty of time to work through things once he comes back from surgery. He profiles best as a reliever in the mold of a fellow small Indiana school-turned Dodger, Ryan Pepiot, though Pepiot has managed to stay in the rotation with better feel for spin. Brown has not signed yet and it's hard to project what it will take to get him to do so.

15-460: SS Jordan Thompson, Louisiana State {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: #377. Prospects Live: #326.
It took fifteen rounds, but the Dodgers finally got their first Californian with their seventeenth pick. Jordan Thompson hails from Chula Vista in the San Diego area, but headed across the country to play at LSU and ultimately win a National Championship. He's a three year starter at shortstop for the Tigers, proving central to the team's recent success. He's a loose bodied defender with great range and buttery smooth actions around the dirt, and during LSU's run towards the championship, head coach Jay Johnson actually shifted him back and forth between shortstop and second base depending on where he thought the batter was more likely to hit the ball. This may have been to Thompson's detriment as he made numerous unforced errors in that time, but it doesn't change his reputation as one of the better gloves in the class. At the plate, he doesn't necessarily stand out, with a career .260/.363/.419 slash line and 25 home runs over 195 games. Despite standing 6'1", he's not very physical and employs a line drive approach with a loose right handed swing. He can turn on the ball for moderate power with metal bats, but it remains to be seen how that power will play with wood, with below average power the most likely outcome. He has a moderately patient approach, but struck out at a 22.7% rate in 2023 and might be a fringy pure hitter as well. There's not a ton of offensive upside, so the Dodgers are buying the slick glove with the hope that his extensive experience against premium pitching in the SEC will translate to enough offensive impact that he can hold down a utility infielder role. And who knows, with his athletic frame and the Dodgers' player development system, they could change his approach in the box to help him attack pitches with more intent and tap a little more power.

18-550: LHP Sterling Patick, West Hills HS [CA] {video}
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
Sterling Patick wasn't ranked by any major outlet and seems like a candidate to get to school at UC Santa Barbara, but the Dodgers took him here in the eighteenth round just in case they could find the money to change his mind. He's a hometown kid, coming out of South Hills High School in West Covina, about twenty miles east of Dodger Stadium on I-10. Patick sits in the upper 80's with his fastball for now, touching 91 with crossfire angle. He drops in a big, looping curveball with two-plane bite similar to Reid Detmers when he grips it right, and does possess a changeup. It's a pretty free and easy delivery from a very skinny 6'1" frame that has room to get stronger, and he's young for the class which helps the projection a little bit. Patick will need to add considerable physicality to his frame in order to add velocity to both his fastball and his offspeed stuff and make it as a starter.

20-610: TWP/QB D.J. Uiagalelei, Oregon State
Slot value: up to $150,000. Signing bonus: has not yet signed.
My rank: unranked. MLB Pipeline: unranked. Baseball America: unranked. Prospects Live: unranked.
To be honest, I know nothing about D.J. Uiagalelei as a baseball player and I don't feel inclined to research it, but this is certainly a unique pick. Uiagalelei was reportedly up to the mid 90's with his fastball in high school and the Dodgers appear to be interested in giving him a shot to pitch if his football career doesn't work out. For now, the former St. John Bosco (Bellflower, CA) star is competing for the quarterback position at Oregon State after transferring from Clemson, where most college football fans likely heard his name or saw him play.

2023 MLB Draft Team by Team Reviews

Below you will find the links to all thirty of my team by team 2023 MLB Draft reviews as they are posted. I will work in reverse order of the team's first pick, starting with the Dodgers and finishing with the Pirates. You can access my full draft rankings here.

Arizona Diamondbacks (published 9/2)

Atlanta Braves (published 7/27)

Baltimore Orioles (published 8/24)

Boston Red Sox (published 8/29)

Chicago Cubs (published 9/1)

Chicago White Sox (published 8/27)

Cincinnati Reds (published 9/11)

Cleveland Guardians (published 7/31)

Colorado Rockies (published 9/8)

Detroit Tigers (published 9/21)

Houston Astros (published 7/16)

Kansas City Royals (published 9/10)

Los Angeles Angels (published 9/3)

Los Angeles Dodgers (published 7/14)

Miami Marlins (published 9/4)

Milwaukee Brewers (published 8/21)

Minnesota Twins (published 9/17)

New York Mets (published 7/15)

New York Yankees (published 7/22)

Oakland Athletics (published 9/15)

Philadelphia Phillies (published 7/18)

Pittsburgh Pirates (published 9/24)

San Diego Padres (published 7/23)

San Francisco Giants (published 8/26)

Seattle Mariners (published 8/2)

St. Louis Cardinals (published 8/4)

Tampa Bay Rays (published 8/12)

Texas Rangers (published 9/19)

Toronto Blue Jays (published 8/6)

Washington Nationals (published 9/23)

2023 MLB Draft: an updated look at the Nationals' #2 Pick

Before the season started, I explored ten options for the Nationals with the second overall pick while also taking a look at their recent draft history. A few months later, the picture remains fairly similar, but with the draft fast approaching in three months, we can start to feel a little more comfortable predicting those names. 

At this point, I would put about six names firmly in the mix - a quartet of SEC stars and a pair of high school outfielders. Of course, things can and will change between now and July, but if the draft were today, I would give it a ~90% shot that the pick is one of these six names. There's always the chance they could go under slot and save money to spend later, but given the fact that they won't be able to pick higher than tenth next season, plus their history of usually paying at least full slot in the first round, I doubt it. Let's take a look at those six names.

Number next to every player indicates their rank on my most recent draft board update.

OF Dylan Crews, Louisiana State (#1)
Dylan Crews entered the season as more or less the top prospect in the class, and he's only cemented it so far this spring by slashing .510/.645/.882 through 31 games (yes, you read that right). It will be very, very difficult for the Pirates to pass up his generational bat with the first overall pick, but if they do, the Nationals should be all over him. Crews hits the ball harder than anybody in college baseball, spraying scorching line drives around the the field with incredible consistency, giving him potential 70 grade power in pro ball. Additionally, he's taken a step forward this spring as a pure hitter, controlling the strike zone with a professional approach and rarely missing on pitches in the zone. On the rare occasions in which he does, he makes great adjustments throughout his at bats and won't get fooled twice, which keeps the strikeouts way down. He hammers velocity, recognizes and waits back on offspeed, and is more or less impossible to get out. While his bat stands out more than his glove, he's a solid defender that has shown well in center field this spring and would fit well in a corner with that deep crop of young outfielders the Nationals possess. He should fly through the minors and could be in Washington by the end of the 2024 season with the potential for 30+ home runs annually and .400+ on-base percentages.

OF Wyatt Langford, Florida (#2)
While they're built differently as athletes and get to their production in different ways, the end result for Wyatt Langford is starkly similar to Crews and would make for a great consolation prize if the Pirates do indeed nab the LSU outfielder. After barely playing as a freshman, he has torn up the SEC over the past two seasons with huge numbers and shows no sign of slowing down now that he's back from a lower body injury that cost him a couple weeks in March. Like Crews, Langford shows plus-plus raw power from the right side and taps it consistently in games, though Crews gets to his peak exit velocities a little more frequently. Which of course is no knock on Langford, and more just another example of how elite Crews is. While Crews is whippier and more rotational in the box, Langford's power comes more from pure strength and leverage. Like Crews, he has great feel for the barrel and controls his at bats extremely well, rarely chasing and forcing pitchers to come to him. It's a plus hit tool that could help him tap 30+ home runs annually while getting on base at a high clip, hitting in the middle of the order. He also has a similar defensive profile to Crews, sliding over to center field this year now that the elite Jud Fabian is gone to the Orioles' system. He's a surprisingly strong runner for his size and might have a better shot to stick in center than Crews, though Crews has a better arm and would provide more value in a corner.

RHP Paul Skenes, Louisiana State (#4)
At this point, Paul Skenes feels like the most likely pick here as an elite, safe bet, high ceiling college arm with a traditional profile. He has consistently gotten better and better and better and now looks like a potential generational talent on the mound. In fact, if pitchers weren't so inherently risky nowadays, I would have him as the #2 prospect on this list. A transfer from Air Force, he has turned himself into a monster on the mound for LSU and through eight starts he has a 1.14 ERA and a 91/8 strikeout to walk ratio over 47.1 innings, good for a 52.9% strikeout rate. To put that in perspective, the highest strikeout rate of any college pitcher taken in the first round last year was Cooper Hjerpe's 39.6% - and his 161 strikeouts led all of Division I. He does it with a fastball that now sits in the upper 90's and has reached as high as 102, and he can run it or let it ride depending on the situation but usually opts for the former. Skenes' slider has taken a massive step forward this season as well, adding significant sweep while maintaining its hard upper 80's velocity. It's a pitch that could strike out major league hitters today. This spring, he's also shown feel to work it into more of a power curve with short, vertical bite. His changeup has long been a star pitch as well and profiles as plus with great fading action, but he's gone more to the slider this spring because, well, nobody can hit it no matter how much he throws it. With a big, durable frame, above average command, and that service academy work ethic, he seems like as safe a bet as you can get from a pitcher. I would have a really, really hard time seeing Mike Rizzo pass on Paul Skenes if he's available at the second overall pick.

RHP Chase Dollander, Tennessee (#5)
Paul Skenes has taken a massive step forward this spring. Crews and Langford also look like better hitters than they were a year ago, and that's saying something considering the kind of 2022 seasons they had. Meanwhile, Chase Dollander is the only player in this quartet to take a step backwards this season, but he remains an elite prospect. After posting a 2.39 ERA and a 4.2% walk rate last year, he's up to a a 4.19 ERA and a 7.7% walk rate this year, while his strikeout rate has held steady around 35%. He sits in the mid 90's with his fastball and runs it up to 98, and while last year it showed explosive riding action that made it a plus-plus pitch, it has played more as straight plus this spring with moderate riding life. He still snaps off a nasty, plus slider with hard sweeping action, while also flipping in a more traditional curveball and changeup. He's a very good athlete on the mound that gets great extension to help his pitches play up further, with above average command to both sides of the plate even as he's taken a slight step backwards in that regard. It's still a profile with four average or better pitches, two of which are plus, and above average command from an athletic, durable frame, with plenty of upside especially if he recaptures his 2022 magic. He has every bit as much of a chance to be an ace as Paul Skenes, with potentially a little more variance in the profile. At this point, he's trending in the wrong direction and Mike Rizzo probably prefers Skenes at this point at second overall, but if he gets hot down the stretch, he'll certainly be in play.

OF Max Clark, Franklin Community HS [TX] (#3)

Playing in colder weather in central Indiana, Max Clark just got going recently, so there's not much to update on since the preseason writeup. He's still a potential five tool player with an extremely projectable frame and the ability to impact the game in a wide variety of ways. Previously more of a line drive, gap to gap hitter that let his power come naturally, he is showing a little bit more loft in his swing this spring that could help him tap additional power as he grows into it. And he'll certainly grow into it, with a very projectable 6'1" frame and natural leverage in his left handed swing. Given his prodigious hit tool, which has him taking great at bats against high level pitching, recognizing spin, and using the whole field with ease, I don't think this added loft will cause any level of concerning swing and miss. Looking at current Nationals outfielders, he's not quite as big as James Wood or Elijah Green and will never have quite as much power, but he's a better pure hitter than both and has the speed to stick in center field. He's a prime candidate to progress naturally and get steadily better as he rises through the system, and he may not require as much patience as the average prep because of how advanced he is right now. I haven't heard his name thrown around as much for the Nationals but I would be thrilled if he was the pick. He's committed to Vanderbilt and will not come cheap.

OF Walker Jenkins, South Brunswick HS [NC] (#6)
As with Max Clark, we don't have a huge sample size for Walker Jenkins quite yet but he has been going a little longer in coastal North Carolina. And in the early going, the returns have been very impressive. Impressive enough that the Nationals draft a high school bat in the first round for the third year in a row, and a high school outfielder for the second year in a row? It's tough to say, but it's a good problem to have. Jenkins has more power than Clark and is probably more similar to Wyatt Langford as a prospect, though he has the advantage of batting left handed. It's comfortably plus raw power that he taps in games from a very strong 6'3" frame, a "big league body" as they say, and natural loft and leverage in his left handed swing. He never needs to sell out for home runs, which has helped him grow as a pure hitter as well with a disciplined approach and improving pitch recognition. The pure hit tool is still probably a bit behind that of Langford, Clark, and Dylan Crews, but he's also the youngest player in this set of six and he has had no problem with advanced pitching wherever he has gone. Jenkins has been dinged up by injuries at times in the past, but he's fully healthy now and that shouldn't be an issue. He profiles similar to Crews as a defender, with some speed and a strong arm that will make him an asset in right field. At this point, the Nationals will probably lean on the SEC track record of Crews or Langford if they're going to draft a bat, but Jenkins' combination of youth, physicality, and performance would be tough to pass up if perhaps they wanted to cut a deal. He is committed to North Carolina.