With the draft now a few days away, I present my ranking of the top 100 prospects in the 2020 draft class. This is not a projection of where any players will be selected, and doesn’t take players’ signability (expected bonus demands) into account. I ranked the players based on their projected value as professional players, considering their tools, ages, mechanics, instincts, and other factors as described to me by scouts and executives who’ve seen these players. It is possible that some on this list won’t be drafted due to the five-round format and their options for college, and a player’s absence from this list is not a prediction that he won’t be drafted in the top 100 picks.
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1. Austin Martin, 3B/OF, Vanderbilt, Age on draft day: 21
Martin may not be the first overall pick this year, but he’s the best overall prospect due to his combination of performance, athleticism and all-around quickness. There’s some Javy Báez to his hand speed, although unlike the young Báez, Martin rarely strikes out. We haven’t seen a top college prospect this athletic since George Springer in 2011, although before the draft Springer had the two-strike approach of a turnip. Martin punched out barely 10 percent of the time in 2019, and just twice in 69 plate appearances before baseball shut down in March. He did have issues with throwing at the start of this season, prompting the move to center field, and we don’t know if it was an injury or something else. He’s going to end up at a skill position — center, third, second, maybe shortstop if his arm is back to normal — and hit for average with developing power. That’s the kind of probability with upside you want at the first overall pick.
2. Spencer Torkelson, 1B, Arizona State, Age: 20
Torkelson hit everyone’s radar in the spring of 2018 when he hit 25 home runs as a freshman to lead all Division I hitters, then hit 7 more on the Cape that summer to finish one off the league lead. Torkelson is extremely strong, hitting for all this power with almost no stride and a two-handed finish that makes his swing almost short by comparison to most power hitters, and while he’s shown some swing-and-miss he’s also been willing to take walks, leading the country this spring before the shutdown. He’s a good enough athlete that he might be able to handle left field, although I’d bet on him spending most of his career at first base. There’s some question over how good his pure hit tool is — whether it’s truly plus or whether it’ll settle in at average when he’s consistently facing better pitching — but even if he’s a 50 hit/70 power guy in the end, that’s someone who hits fourth and makes a handful of All-Star teams.
3. Asa Lacy, LHP, Texas A&M, Age: 21
Lacy separated himself from the rest of this year’s very strong college pitching crop in the brief spring season, showing he could hold 93-94 mph deep into games, touching 98 mph, with a plus changeup and above-average slider. Lacy’s got a great starter’s build and his delivery works, with a big step-over stride and good timing. He works well to both sides of the plate, although his command and control are still inconsistent; the ability to reach back for 97-98 mph is great, but his stuff is good enough that he could just hold 92-93 mph all game and probably throw better strikes. If he’d had a full spring, and kept this up, more people would likely see him as a candidate to go 1-1. If there’s a future No. 1 starter in the class, I think it’s him.
4. Max Meyer, RHP, Minnesota, Age: 21
Meyer is up to 99 mph with a wipeout slider that reached 93 mph this spring, and if he were 2 or 3 inches taller, he’d probably be in the mix at No. 1 overall. His arm is really quick, but the delivery works well and he’s on time. He’s a very good athlete and has no trouble repeating the delivery or throwing strikes. There is reliever risk here, but I don’t think it’s from his height — it’s from how hard he throws, and how often the Gophers have asked him to throw his slider, so that we don’t really know how he’ll fare when he tries to pitch more off his fastball (or whether he can hold up throwing that many sliders). I’d take the bet, especially since there’s 2-3 WAR reliever potential here if he can’t handle starting.
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5. Zac Veen, OF, Spruce Creek (Fla.) HS, Age: 18
Veen provides the best combination of probability and upside among high school hitters in this class, although he’s not at the top of the board in either category (Robert Hassell or Austin Hendrick would be the former, Jordan Walker might be the latter). Veen is an athletic and still very projectable 18-year-old center fielder who has one of the best swings in the class. He’s a left-handed hitter with a smooth swing, accelerating his hands quickly to produce hard contact and huge power. He plays center now and has the above-average speed for it, but as his body matures he may end up in right. There’s some concern about his present hit tool, as he will swing and miss against good high school stuff, but you can project on the hit tool to end up at 55 or better, which would make him a star.
6. Emerson Hancock, RHP, Georgia, Age: 21
Hancock was supposed to be the top college starter in the class, and he’s probably still the top right-hander, although he didn’t look quite as dominant in four starts this spring in his sophomore year. Hancock can sit 93-97 mph with a plus changeup, although the Bulldogs barely called his change in the start I saw this spring against Santa Clara. He throws two distinct sliders, neither of them average. Hancock’s arm is consistently late relative to his foot strike, and his head shakes at release, which isn’t very common in major-league starters and correlates with worse command. He’s definitely better than what I saw this spring, because he’s going to use his changeup a lot more (I saw two in his whole outing), but I see more of a No. 3 or 4 starter given the delivery and lack of an average breaking ball.
7. Nick Gonzales, 2B, New Mexico State, Age: 21
When the shutdown started, Gonzales, a sub-six foot second baseman at New Mexico State, was leading the NCAA in home runs, thanks in no small part to five home runs in one day against the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, who went 7-45 last spring. Gonzales hits “small,” with a big leg kick but minuscule stride and very little weight transfer, showing plus bat speed with a grooved swing that has produced contact and power. His production in school has been aided by home games at 3,900 feet above sea level — although he also mashed on the Cape last summer, hitting for average and power there, too. He played primarily at shortstop this spring before the season ended, but his arm and range are short for the left side of the infield and he’s going to end up at second. His home run output doesn’t project to carry over into pro ball but he does project to hit for average with some doubles power with solid defense at second, enough to make him a safe pick in the first round for a team that wants a likely regular.
8. Reid Detmers, LHP, Louisville, Age: 20
Detmers is the most polished pitcher in the draft class, with plus command and three 50 to 55-grade pitches, enough that since the start of spring 2019 he’s struck out 215 batters in 135 innings with 39 walks. Detmers has a very easy, low-effort delivery, which may explain why his command is so advanced, and he’s shown he can work all around the zone with his 88-93 mph fastball, tight-breaking curveball and solid-average changeup. He earns some comparisons to Brendan McKay, also of Louisville, but they’re quite different — McKay had more power and a better changeup, Detmers has better present command at the same age and an even easier delivery. You’re taking some risk with the average fastball, which could slip a little when he’s pitching every fifth day rather than every seventh, but the command and pitch mix gives him mid-rotation upside.
9. Robert Hassell III, OF, Independence (Tenn.) HS, Age: 18
Hassell’s swing rivals Veen’s for the best in the draft, and many teams view him as the best hitter in the class, which could be enough to push him into the top 10. Hassell has a classic left-hander’s swing with plus bat speed and some loft for hard, line-drive contact, more a hitter for high average with maybe 15-20 homer power as he fills out. He’s a solid-average runner with a plus arm who should be at least a 55 defender in right. His value is in the swing, and the potential for a 60 or better hit tool down the road.
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10. Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) School, Age: 18
Crow-Armstrong may have done as much to help himself in the brief time before the season ended as any high school hitter in the draft. Multiple scouts have told me he’s the best defensive outfielder in the class, a future 70 glove in center field who’s also a 60 runner and has a plus arm. At the plate, he’s gotten quite a bit stronger since last summer, and was making consistently hard contact this spring before Harvard-Westlake ended its season. Crow-Armstrong has good feel to hit and bat speed, although his front side can go soft sometimes and there’s more swing-and-miss than you might want to see for a high school hitting prospect — although he’s faced better competition than most prep hitters do. The defensive and positional value give him a higher floor than most teenagers in the class have, and the possibility for a 60 bat with 50 power gives him a star ceiling.
11. Heston Kjerstad, OF, Arkansas, Age: 21
Kjerstad came out strong to start the year in non-conference play and showed scouts enough to push himself into the top half of the first round and into the second tier of college position players after the big two of Torkelson and Martin. He has outstanding hand acceleration, so while his hands are a little loose and busy at the start of his swing, he can get the bat head to the zone on time and still produce hard contact. That said, Kjerstad did strike out 65 times last spring, 22 percent of the time, the seventh-highest total among SEC hitters. He never got to start conference play this year to show if he could boost that contact rate, so questions about his hand path remain. He’s played right field and first base for the Hogs, with right his most likely position, where he should be an average defender. With 37 homers in 150 games for Arkansas, and the bat speed to make hard contact, Kjerstad can show 60+ raw power and has 25-30 homer potential if he makes enough contact to get to it.
12. Garrett Mitchell, OF, UCLA, Age: 21
Mitchell was a premium prospect out of Orange Lutheran HS in 2017 but was seen as unsignable due to his commitment to UCLA, doubts about how ready his bat was for pro ball, and concerns around a chronic health issue (Mitchell has Type 1 diabetes). Mitchell raked enough as a sophomore and early this spring to put himself squarely into the first round — especially given his 80 run times and plus defense in center field. The questions about his bat are at least partly answered; he hit .350/.419/.550 from the start of 2019 until the shutdown and only struck out 12 percent of the time, although I have seen him have timing issues and meet the ball out front, so it’s a contact quality issue rather than swing-and-miss. Even if he’s just a 45 hit/45 power guy in the end, his defense and speed make him a potential regular for some team that can get comfortable with an everyday player who must manage a chronic health condition.
13. Cade Cavalli, RHP, Oklahoma, Age: 21
Cavalli was a two-way player until this spring and had very little pitching experience before his sophomore year. But giving up playing a position seems to have worked for him, as he started throwing more strikes before the shutdown and pushed himself high into the first round. Working without a windup, Cavalli throws bullets up to 97 mph, sitting not far below that, with a hammer slider and power curveball to go with it. Despite some deception in his delivery, he gives up more hard contact than he should, and teams still haven’t found a satisfactory explanation for it. He should have the weapons to be a No. 2 starter, assuming his little-used changeup improves with usage, and is clearly the top guy in the second tier of college starters in the class. The lack of track record and that question about why he’s slightly hittable keep him out of the upper echelon.
14. Cole Wilcox, RHP, Georgia, Age: 20
Wilcox was a first-round talent out of high school in 2018, but was looking for more than teams would pay and chose to go to Georgia, where he’s now age-eligible as a sophomore and offers one of the biggest arms among starters. Wilcox has hit 100 mph and will often sit 94-96 mph, with a slider that flashes plus in the mid-80s and a changeup that’s solid but that the Bulldogs rarely called. His fastball can play down a little from its velocity, as his arm is trackable and hitters see it well. His arm can be a tick late, but he repeats it well enough and has shown he can hold velo deep into starts. He has No. 1 or 2 starter upside, but would need a fair amount of development help to get there, and right now projects more as a No. 4 who leaves you wanting a bit more.
15. Ed Howard, SS, Mount Carmel (Ill.) HS, Age: 18
Howard is one of the few true shortstops in the draft class at either the high school or college level, and that alone makes him at least a top two rounds guy, while the upside in his bat is probably going to make him a first-rounder. Howard is very projectable at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, and is an above-average runner with very good hands, giving scouts no doubt he’ll stay at short in the long term. His bat speed is excellent and he rotates well for future power as he fills out. Howard did struggle at the end of the summer of 2019, and we don’t know if that was due to a sore shoulder or fatigue or just trouble with better competition — and he didn’t get to play this spring to answer any of that. In a draft with more polished shortstops, he might slip to the supplemental round and end up an overslot guy, but this year he seems likely to go somewhere in the back half of the first.
16. Mick Abel, RHP, Jesuit (Ore.) HS, Age: 18
Abel is the best high school pitcher in the class, which is a bit peculiar to say since he never got on a mound this spring. He established himself over the last two summers as a capital-g Guy, regularly working 92-95 mph with a power curveball in the low 80s, getting on top of the ball well in a delivery that takes advantage of his 6-foot-5 frame. He also has a solid-average changeup that he hasn’t had to use much, and of course, didn’t get to show off any progress he might have made this offseason because his school’s entire schedule was canceled. High school pitchers are inherently risky, but among that group, Abel seems to offer the best mixture of high upside (No. 2 starter, if not more) and probability (if healthy, he’s almost certainly a starter), and should be one of just a couple of prep arms to go in the first round.
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17. Patrick Bailey, C, North Carolina State, Age: 21
Coming out of high school in Charlotte in 2017, Bailey was seen as a defense-first catcher who might have a chance to hit. Three years with the Wolfpack have flipped that on its head, as now Bailey is seen as a bat-first catcher who’s good enough to stay at the position but not more than that on defense. He’s a switch-hitting catcher with enough power to profile as an asset to any lineup for that position. He’s more balanced right-handed with some leakage when he hits left-handed. Behind the dish, he’s an adequate receiver with a quick transfer that helps his grade 50/55 arm play up. It hurts Bailey a little that he’s never really hit for high averages — .288 last spring and .296 this year before the shutdown — but he doesn’t strike out too often and has consistently posted strong walk rates. He seems like a safe top-20 pick because he’s going to catch, and he’s going to produce something with the bat.
18. Nick Bitsko, RHP, Central Bucks East (Pa.) HS, Age: 17
Bitsko is a real enigma for teams drafting in the first round this year. He was originally in the class of 2021, but reclassified in the fall to enter the 2020 draft, so he wasn’t scouted last spring and summer to the extent that other prep arms were. He also didn’t get to pitch at all this spring, throwing one bullpen for scouts right before the shutdown. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound UVA commit has only been able to post video of himself throwing to try to improve his standing, such as the Instagram video he shared last week where he was up to 98.5 mph. That’s not the same as game conditions by a long shot, but it doesn’t hurt. Bitsko has been up to 96 mph with good depth on a plus curveball, getting on top of the ball well with great extension out front but with a lot of effort to his delivery. He’s in the top tier of high school arms, below Abel but otherwise a candidate to be the second prep arm off the board, with mid-rotation upside if he stays a starter.
19. David Calabrese, OF, St. Elizabeth Catholic (Ontario, Canada) HS, Age: 17
Calabrese gets a lot of comparisons to a young Jacoby Ellsbury as a plus-plus runner who rivals Crow-Armstrong for the best defensive center fielder in the draft. He’s short to the ball with a good approach, staying back to make more contact at the cost of power, although his body points to double-digit homers down the road. Scouts did get to see him briefly against young pro pitchers this March before his team’s tour of Florida ended abruptly, so they have a sense of how he might handle velocity or better spin. He’s also one of the youngest players in the class, turning 18 in late September, which will appeal to teams like Cleveland, the Dodgers, or the Giants who all value player age very highly in the draft.
20. Dillon Dingler, C, Ohio State, Age: 21
Dingler is a strong defensive catcher with a plus arm and at least average receiving skills, so when he came out this spring and hit .340 with 5 homers in 13 games before the season ended, he helped boost his stock into first-round territory. He’s a strong kid who rarely strikes out, but hadn’t converted that into production — he hit below .300 in both of his first two years at Ohio State — until this year. Dingler broke his hamate bone last spring and didn’t play over the summer, so teams didn’t get as many looks at him as they’d like, and there are questions about his long-term durability. He’s the best defensive prospect among college catchers this year, and profiles as a solid regular who hits for power with some on-base skills but a modest batting average.
21. Austin Hendrick, OF, West Allegheny (Pa.) HS, Age: 18
Hendrick has some of the best raw power among high school bats in the class but gets dinged for his age, as he’ll turn 19 a few days after the draft. He also didn’t get to play at all this spring, which hurts him a little bit, although it may matter less given how much he showed last summer. Hendrick makes exceptionally hard contact with a very noisy approach that sometimes sees him collapse his back side, so he’s a power over hit guy for now — which means he has significant upside with 30+ homer potential but risk that he doesn’t hit enough to get there. He’s committed to Mississippi State and would be sophomore-eligible in two years — just like J.T. Ginn was in 2018 — so he’s not expected to come cheaply.
22. Nick Swiney, LHP, NC State, Age: 21
Swiney looked like a back-end starter who might go in the second or third round before this spring, but was 90-95 mph in the early going with a 60 curveball and started getting some late first-round consideration as the Wolfpack’s Saturday starter. He’d had below-average control as a reliever in his first two years in college but walked just 6 players in 28 innings as a starter this spring. He gets way out over his front side at release, so his fastball should play up a little bit even though it’s probably going to settle in at average velocity. He has a smaller frame, so he may not be a 200-inning starter, but he has the swing-and-miss pitch and now the control to profile as a No. 4.
23. CJ Van Eyk, RHP, Florida State, Age: 21
If the season had ended after week one, Van Eyk might have gone in the top 15 picks, but he struggled with command the next few outings and may even slip out of the first round entirely. Van Eyk can work with a triptych of above-average pitches in a 91-95 mph fastball, knockout curveball that’s nearly 12/6, and a hard-fading changeup, although he can only paint to his arm side because he starts on the extreme third-base end of the rubber and cuts himself off a little in his landing. His delivery isn’t great, with a moderate stride, that aforementioned cutoff and an arm stroke that just barely gets pronated in time, but there’s also nothing here to say he can’t start or eventually get to average command. Scouts like his competitiveness within games, and he has the pitch mix to profile as a No. 4 starter.
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24. Bryce Jarvis, RHP, Duke, Age: 22
Jarvis, the son of former big leaguer Kevin, saw his velocity jump almost 10 mph from last spring (when he was a 37th-round pick as an age-eligible sophomore) to this year, so he’s up to 96-97 mph now with an above-average slider and changeup and some feel for a curveball as well. Even in previous years, he was seen as a strike-thrower and fierce competitor who just didn’t have the pure stuff to profile as more than a fifth starter, but this is a starter’s arsenal and he pitched like a mid-rotation prospect this spring before the season ended. His delivery is very quick and his arm doesn’t always catch up to his lower half, which, along with a smaller build, gives him some bullpen risk. As long as he’s showing plus velocity, however, he has that No. 3 starter potential.
25. Tyler Soderstrom, C/3B, Turlock (Calif.) HS, Age: 18
Soderstrom’s dad Steve was the sixth overall pick in 1993 out of Fresno State and made three major-league starts for the Giants in 1996, but Tyler is all bat, a catcher now with very little chance to stay there in pro ball but whose offensive promise makes him a likely first-rounder. He starts with a very wide setup and has no stride, just a scant toe-tap in his swing. He’s pretty short to the ball and produces consistently hard contact, but despite his size, right now there isn’t power, and he’s going to have to change something mechanically to get to it. He’s a below-average defender and scouts project him to move off the position, both for his deficiencies there and the desire to get his bat to a position where he’ll play every day; he’s worked out at third base and looks good enough there now that he’ll probably start his pro career at the position.
26. Jared Shuster, LHP, Wake Forest, Age: 21
Shuster has been 91-94 mph as a starter with a changeup that can be plus or even better and some feel for a slurvy breaking ball that has been gradually improving over his time with the Deacons. He really hides the ball well from hitters, which helps his fastball play up, and gets on top of it through release to get depth on the breaking ball. His control seemed to tick up this spring after a very strong showing on the Cape last summer, but the shutdown kept him from showing if he could continue throwing strikes through conference play. If that newfound control is real, he’s a fourth starter with a chance for a little more because of the changeup and the deception.
27. Tanner Burns, RHP, Auburn, Age: 21
Burns might have gone in the top 50 picks in 2017 if he’d been signable, but ended up at Auburn, where he had success for two-plus years in the toughest conference in college baseball. He was 94-97 in high school and has been up to 97 in college as well, with a solid-average breaking ball and changeup, and walked 30 guys in his last 102 innings since the start of the 2019 season. He’s a six-foot right-hander with some effort, however, and did have minor shoulder soreness late in the 2019 spring, so there’s some concern about his ability to hold up as a starter … but he’s got the three-pitch mix and control that someone has to give him a chance to do it in pro ball.
28. J.T. Ginn, RHP, Mississippi State, Age: 21
Ginn is draft-eligible as a sophomore because he’s already 21, and he entered this year as a probable top-10 pick just two years after turning down a seven-figure bonus from the Dodgers, who took him with the 30th overall pick in 2018. Ginn can show two dominant pitches in his fastball and slider, both of which can be 70s on the right night, and in brief showings in the fall he flashed a plus changeup as well, all of which together would have made him one of the top two or three starters in the class. Unfortunately for Ginn, he blew out his elbow this spring and required Tommy John surgery after he threw just three innings in one start, which may confirm previous concerns about the head-whack in his delivery. He might be a reliever, but the chance for three plus pitches in a starter is going to attract a lot of suitors even with the elbow surgery.
29. Jordan Walker, 3B, Decatur (Ga.) HS, Age: 18
Walker might be the highest-upside high school position player in the draft class, a 60 runner with 60 raw power and a 60 arm, with athleticism for days and a highly projectable body … but will he hit? Walker has quick hands at the plate and takes a furious swing with big hip rotation for power, but his timing and pitch recognition definitely lag behind the first-round bats in the class. He can handle third base for now, but at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds already, he’s probably going to outgrow the infield and move to right. If you think his hit tool can develop over time, he’s a clear first-rounder because of his body and all of his other tools, but it’s presently a 35 or 40 hit tool and there are teams that don’t believe he’ll ever hit enough to get to the majors.
30. Justin Lange, RHP, Llano (Texas) HS, Age: 18
Lange has put on about 50 pounds of muscle in the last year, and along with it saw his velocity bump up from the upper 80s/low 90s to up to 100 this spring. He works with a cutter and changeup for now, as he hasn’t found a consistent breaking ball, and there’s effort in the delivery to get to that upper-90s velocity. He’s a superb athlete, however, and has just begun to scratch the surface of his potential, ideal for teams willing to wait on a kid who has the raw ingredients (velocity, athleticism, size) you need to be a front-line starter but needs help developing as a pitcher.
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31. Jared Kelley, RHP, Refugio (Texas) HS, Age: 18
Kelley remains one of the top four high school pitchers in the class, although he lost a little ground this spring before his school’s season ended. Kelley is the prototypical Texas prep pitcher, big and hard-throwing, listed at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, but heavier than that when he pitched this spring. He’s been up to 98 mph with a plus changeup but in the past has had trouble finding a consistent breaking ball, although he had at least one outing this spring where he flashed an average slider. His arm is very quick and his delivery works well, contributing to a history of throwing strikes. He’s going to have to work on his conditioning in pro ball and could use a better slider to profile as a mid-rotation starter.
32. Alika Williams, SS, Arizona State, Age: 21
Williams is one of the few legitimate shortstops in the college class this year, with no doubt that he’ll stay at the position and enough chance to hit that he might end up a regular. At the plate, he has a short, slashing stroke that produces very high contact rates without any power; he’s struck out just 49 times in 549 plate appearances as a Sun Devil, with 55 walks but with an isolated power of just .100 even though he plays half his games in Tempe. In the field, he has quick hands and good footwork along with an above-average arm. It’s a low-ceiling profile but the lack of true shortstops gives him value in this draft.
33. Tanner Witt, RHP, Episcopal (Texas) HS, Age: 17
Witt has run up boards this spring as a projectable, athletic kid who’s already 90-95 mph with huge spin on his breaking ball. He’s 6-foot-6 and gets on top of the ball well from a high 3/4 slot that drives the ball down into the zone, and his delivery works well enough that you can project him to start. He needs innings and work on a third pitch, but he’s so athletic that teams interested in rolling the dice on a high-ceiling prep arm are looking at him in the late first round.
34. Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP, South Carolina, Age: 21
A shortstop until his senior year of high school, Mlodzinski only threw 10 innings last spring due to a broken foot but dominated on the Cape last summer with an above-average fastball/slider combo. He’s been sitting mid-90s with big run on his fastball along with a power slider and enough of a changeup to work as a starter. He gets deception from a short arm stroke but has a hard time repeating it. He had no history of effectiveness before going bananas last summer, posting a 40:4 strikeout to walk ratio for Falmouth, and pitching well this spring before the shutdown. A team may take him in the first round, seeing a potential mid-rotation starter with his three-pitch mix.
35. Aaron Sabato, 1B, North Carolina, Age: 21
Sabato was undrafted out of high school, but the draft-eligible sophomore pushed himself into first-round consideration in the last year-plus with huge exit velocities, patience and power. Sabato has a career OBP at UNC of .459 in 83 games, along with 25 homers, with a surprisingly short swing that produces big power from his pure strength. He’s probably best-suited to DH, which may not matter to NL teams given the likelihood that the universal designated hitter arrives in the next few years. He mashes enough, with on-base skills and power, that he’s probably going in the top 40 picks even without a position.
36. Corey Collins, C, North Gwinnett (Ga.) HS, Age: 18
Collins was a potential first-rounder before an elbow injury required nerve transplantation surgery last summer; he returned this spring to DH and play a little first base, but didn’t get to catch before the shutdown. Collins has shown he can hit high-end pitching, with a balanced swing and strength to drive the ball out to center. He has a solid-average arm and receiving skills, projecting to stay behind the plate long-term as long as his arm allows it, giving him a chance to develop into someone like a Patrick Bailey, who’s going in the first round this year. If Collins ends up at Georgia, he could do the same thing in 2023.
37. Kevin Parada, C, Loyola (Calif.) HS, Age: 18
Parada has good bat speed and feel to hit, with the athleticism and makeup to develop into a quality catcher in time, but right now he’s not there. His arm strength is fine but his release is slow, with a high elbow that costs him time in getting the ball to second base, and he’s just adequate at receiving, getting by on that athleticism rather than skill. He’s committed to Georgia Tech but could go in the second round as one of the top three or four high school catchers in the draft.
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38. Clayton Beeter, RHP, Texas Tech, Age: 21
Beeter might have the best single pitch in the draft in his curveball, an absolute yellow hammer with spin, bite and depth, a pitch he can land for strikes and use to get swings and misses. He pairs it with a 94+ mph fastball that doesn’t have the same kind of secondary characteristics and that plays below its velocity, along with a hard slider and a changeup, so he has a starter’s arsenal — and he pitched much better as a starter, walking 20 batters in 20 innings in 2019 as a reliever, then walking only four (three in one outing) in 21 innings in the Red Raiders’ rotation this spring. He’s a redshirt sophomore, as he had Tommy John surgery and missed the 2017-18 season.
39. Garret Crochet, LHP, Tennessee, Age: 21
Crochet is one of the bigger wild cards in the class, having missed the first three weekends of the spring for undisclosed reasons, then returning for an unannounced, 3 1/3-inning relief outing that only a few area scouts saw on the final weekend of the spring. Crochet has a huge arm, up to 99 with a grade-70 slider that wipes out left-handed batters, helped by some cross-body action to his delivery, but struggled to get right-handed batters out last year and doesn’t pitch as well to his glove side. He flies off the rubber but gets his arm in good position when his front foot lands, and he has average control if not command. He’s got substantial reliever risk, but also has one of the best pure arms in the draft, and someone will probably take him in the first round in the hopes that he can remain a starter.
40. Jordan Westburg, SS, Mississippi State, Age: 21
Westburg could sneak into the first round to a team that thinks he might stay at shortstop and isn’t too concerned with his high swing-and-miss rates. Westburg is an above-average athlete, and has the arm for the left side of the infield, but doesn’t have the hands or quick feet of a typical big-league shortstop. At the plate, Westburg makes good quality contact, commensurate with his size and strength, but has a leak at the plate, leading to trouble recognizing pitch types and picking up changes in speed. He strikes out too often — 69 times last spring, 21 percent of his total plate appearances — and hasn’t hit for the kind of power that might balance out concerns about contact. There’s first-round interest in him despite these question marks, likely because of the possibility of a shortstop who can make hard contact.
41. Markevian “Tink” Hence, RHP, Watson Chapel (Ark.) HS, Age: 17
Hence is one of the youngest prospects in the draft, as he won’t turn 18 until August, but is already 92-96 mph with a hammer curveball, along with a two-seamer, slider and changeup. He’s very athletic with a strong lower half, but his narrow frame means he doesn’t have the same projection as many other high school pitchers. There hasn’t been a big leaguer drafted out of an Arkansas high school since Travis Wood in 2005, one of just two from the last 20 drafts (Dustin Moseley, 2000), so Hence is facing long odds. He has such a strong arsenal for a 17-year-old and enough athleticism that some team is likely to take him in the top two rounds.
42. Casey Martin, SS, Arkansas, Age: 21
Martin is one of the highest-ceiling college position players in the class, but gets in his own way too often and really struggled at the plate to start this year, never getting a chance to right the ship. Martin is a dead-pull hitter who tries to crush fastballs but struggles with breaking stuff, with pull-side power but a tendency to get around the ball. He’s a plus-plus runner with the arm to play all over the field, with some chance to stay at shortstop and the potential to be above-average at second or third. Ultimately his value is going to come down to whether he can put the ball in play; he struck out 79 times in 2019, leading the SEC, and was striking out at an even higher rate (30 percent) in mostly non-conference play when the season ended. There’s huge risk here but also the potential for an above-average regular if a pro team can help him recognize spin and use the whole field.
43. Ricky Tiedemann, LHP, Lakewood (Calif.) HS, Age: 17
Tiedemann won’t turn 18 until August and is already 89-92 mph with feel for three pitches and projection for more velocity as he gets older. He’s got a very quick arm, with a future plus changeup and solid-average if slurvy breaking ball. He’s already 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, and makes good use of his height with a long stride to the plate, although his arm can lag a little bit behind his front leg. He’s committed to San Diego State but would make a good overpay for someone in the second or third rounds.
44. Austin Wells, C, Arizona, Age: 20
Wells is a draft-eligible sophomore, as he’ll turn 21 in July, and is likely to go in the top two rounds as a bat despite the lack of a clear position for him in pro ball. He’s a below-average defender and already big enough that he might outgrow the position, but either way scouts don’t give him any chance to stay back there. He can hit, though — .357/.476/.560 in a year-plus for the Wildcats, .308/.389/.526 on the Cape last summer — with a pull-oriented approach, although he’s a good enough hitter to use the whole field. That’s probably enough to make him a top-two rounds pick this year, especially given scouts’ confidence that he’ll hit and hit for power in pro ball, even if he has no current position.
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45. Chris McMahon, RHP, Miami, Age: 21
McMahon is the typical late first-round/early second-round college right-hander, a strike-thrower with three pitches, a pretty good delivery, and nothing plus or even consistently above-average. His best pitch is his fastball, which can reach the mid-90s but sits more 91-95 mph, and his breaking ball is slurvy to the point where he may be better off going to a true slider. He hadn’t missed a lot of bats for the Hurricanes until this spring, when he punched out 38 percent of the batters he faced in his four starts, including 9 strikeouts in six innings against Florida. There’s still untapped potential here, and teams that value deliveries and reliability will probably look at him in the late first or Competitive Balance A rounds.
46. Tommy Mace, RHP, Florida, Age: 21
Mace looked like a future first-rounder in his freshman year at Florida, but hasn’t continued on that upward trajectory since then and remains an upside play even as a college junior. He’ll hit 96 mph with his four-seamer but it’s straight and ordinary, so his two-seamer and cutter are better current weapons for him. He has a changeup that’s promising but he seldom uses and his slider is fringy. He’s 6-foot-6 and his delivery is sound, while scouts praise his feel for pitching, so there’s every reason to send him out as a starter and see if changing his pitching plan helps him miss more bats.
47. Masyn Winn, RHP/SS, Kingwood (TX) HS
Winn is a sub-six-foot right-hander with premium stuff on the mound, touching the upper 90s in short outings, with enough effort that his head is looking away from the plate at release. I think he might be a better prospect as a hitter, as he has lightning in his hands at the plate with good loft in his finish. If he hits at all he’s going to come into power. He obviously has the arm for the left side of the infield, and if he has to move off shortstop he’d be fine at third. He might be a first-rounder this year if he were taller or if teams didn’t have concerns about him after he was sent home early from MLB’s PDP league last summer. The combination of bat speed, athleticism and arm strength is going to be hard for teams to pass up.
48. Alex Santos, RHP, Mount St. Michael (N.Y.) Academy, Age: 18
Santos is a projectable high school right-hander who threw just once this spring before the shutdown but seems like a target for someone with their second or third pick looking for upside. His velocity is mostly average now, touching an occasional 94-95 mph, with an inconsistent curveball that will show you plus but is often below-average. He has a solid changeup and his arm action works, although he has a little head jerk at release that may be affecting his command and control. He’s committed to Maryland.
49. Slade Cecconi, RHP, Miami, Age: 20
Cecconi was a top 100-caliber prospect out of high school but was unsignable away from his commitment to Miami, to the point where he didn’t even meet with scouts for the desultory home visits they do before the draft. He’s flashed first-round stuff for the Hurricanes for brief stints, showing plus velocity and a plus slider, but has had trouble keeping his command intact for entire outings as a starter. He may not have the third pitch to turn a lineup over multiple times, but the two pitches he flashes now are enough that someone will probably roll the dice on developing him as a starter.
50. Petey Halpin, OF, Mira Costa (Calif.) HS, Age: 18
Halpin got stronger this winter, giving him more chance for power down the road, but it slowed him down from a 60 runner to 55 and raised some questions about his ability to stay in center field. He has bat speed but is very handsy, throwing his hands at the ball without much loft in the finish and with a soft front side on too many swings. He’s athletic and has a plus arm to play right field, but would definitely have more value if teams were sure he could stay in center. He’s probably a second-rounder but this profile — the high school outfielder who might move to a corner but doesn’t have clear corner-outfielder power — often does better in college.
51. Hudson Haskin, OF, Tulane, Age: 21
Haskin is an age-eligible sophomore who turned 21 in December and mashed last year as an older freshman for the Green Wave, hitting .372/.459/.647 to finish third in the AAC in on-base percentage and second in slugging (to teammate Kody Hoese). Haskin’s swing is unorthodox — he loads high and waits to move his hands forward, so there’s length to the swing, but his hands are strong and he controls the bat head well through contact. He’s a plus runner with a chance to stay in center and enough arm strength to move to right. If he can handle center field, he’s got a chance to be an above-average regular even without average power; if not, he might be a quality fourth outfielder who plays all three spots but doesn’t quite have the thump to be a regular in a corner.
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52. Nick Loftin, SS, Baylor, Age: 21
Loftin is a very steady shortstop who rarely strikes out, succeeding despite lacking any real plus tools. He’s punched out in less than 10 percent of his plate appearances across his college career, doing the same on the Cape, with no power at all, but with a really good, sound swing that should continue to produce high contact rates in pro ball. He’s not flashy at shortstop but will make all the plays expected of him, and there’s no expectation he’ll have to move to another position. He’s one of the safest bets in the draft, a definite major-leaguer and probably a regular at short, but without much upside either.
53. Daniel Cabrera, OF, LSU, Age: 21
Cabrera hit well, but not exceptionally so, in his first two years at LSU, but was off to a great start this spring when the season ended, leaving him unable to show if he’d made real gains by hitting in the SEC. Cabrera is a solid defensive right fielder who’s going to have to hit for average to be a regular or more; he has a simple left-handed swing with good bat speed but can overstride and struggle with adjusting to changing speed. The swing says he should hit, but he hasn’t done it often enough to be a first-rounder in this class, especially after he struck out in more than a quarter of his plate appearances in conference play last year. He’s an interesting upside play as a bet on a good swing and the improved eye he showed in small samples last summer and this spring.
54. Kyle Harrison, LHP, De la Salle (Calif.) HS, Age: 18
Harrison’s fastball jumped up this spring, giving him a solid two-pitch combo in the fastball and changeup, but his arm action is inconsistent, giving him trouble with command and finding a solid-average breaking ball. He has good feel to pitch and the fastball does miss bats, so the lack of projection on his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame is less of a concern. He could be a back-end starter.
55. Carson Montgomery, RHP, Windermere (Fla.) HS, Age: 17
Montgomery took a step forward this spring before the season ended, sitting 90-94 mph as a starter with tighter break on his curveball, and looked like he might get into the comp round rather than heading to Florida State. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound right-hander won’t turn 18 until September but is already well-developed physically. His hips are slow to rotate and he doesn’t always get online to the plate, often landing too closed to get to his glove side. He has a chance for a three-pitch mix that would make him a No. 4 starter with some delivery help and improved command.
56. Logan Allen, LHP, FIU, Age: 21
Allen is a consistent strike-thrower with nearly three years of strong performances for FIU and on the Cape, working with three solid-average pitches and a simple delivery he repeats well. He’s well-built for a starter’s workload and has weapons to get hitters on both sides out. He’s the prototypical “safe” college lefty, a starter as long as he doesn’t lose velocity in pro ball, without the upside of most prospects who’ll go in the same range in the draft.
57. Bobby Miller, RHP, Louisville, Age: 21
Miller can show big velocity on a four-seamer and a power slider, but does so with a pretty high-effort delivery that includes a very stiff landing on his front leg, and hasn’t shown average control at any point in his college career. His fastball seems to play up in the zone despite just average spin rates, and his changeup is a distant third pitch. He’s an interesting college pitcher because of the velocity and arm speed, but there’s definitely reliever risk here.
58. Ian Bedell, RHP, Missouri, Age: 20
Bedell is a polished college starter who was particularly good on the Cape last summer and seemed to push himself into the top two rounds. He’s a pitchability right-hander with more command than stuff, working with just average velocity and a four-pitch mix but nothing plus. He’s got a compact delivery he repeats well and gets some deception to help the stuff play up. His ceiling is limited by his pure stuff but he has a good chance to be a back-end starter.
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59. Cam Brown, RHP, Flower Mound (TX) HS, Age: 18
Brown started a bit slow this year, appearing a little out of shape and throwing 88-91, but was 93-96 on the team’s road trip down to Houston, with an improved slider. His arm action works but he cuts himself off at his landing, making it hard for him to get to his glove side. The shutdown probably hurt him more than most high school players since he didn’t get to show that bigger velocity for the rest of the spring, and if he doesn’t go in the top couple of rounds he could easily be a first-rounder in three years out of TCU.
60. Drew Romo, C, The Woodlands (Texas) HS, Age: 18
Romo is the best defensive catching prospect in the class, a plus receiver with a plus arm, but the bat is very questionable. He’s a switch-hitter, but left-handed he leaks way out over his front side, with some of the same right-handed, and his bat speed isn’t great either way. He’s good enough behind the plate to go out to pro ball right now but he seems more likely to go LSU in the fall, where he could be a first-rounder in three years with even adequate performance against SEC pitching.
61. Nick Garcia, RHP, Chapman, Age: 21
Division III Chapman has produced a couple of big leaguers, including Tim Flannery and Randy Jones, but none since Paul Swingle made nine appearances in 1993. Garcia is poised to be the school’s highest draft pick since Don August went in the first round in 1984. Garcia didn’t even move to the mound until his sophomore year, but has shown solid control (if below-average command) and a pretty easy delivery. He’s mostly a velocity/upside play now, as his slider and curveball are both fringy, but he’s athletic and the delivery works. You can definitely dream of him becoming a league-average starter but he’ll take longer than a typical college arm to get there.
62. Jackson Miller, C, Mitchell (Fla.) HS, Age: 18
Miller is a bat-first catcher right now with an advanced feel to hit, albeit without much raw power. He’s undeveloped behind the plate but has an above-average arm and enough hands and athleticism to stay at the position in the long term. If the defense develops, he projects as an everyday catcher who hits for average — with a bonus for hitting left-handed — with below-average power. He’s committed to Wake Forest.
63. Justin Foscue, 2B, Mississippi State, Age: 21
Foscue has gotten some first-round buzz but the tools and performance don’t really back that up. He’s a dead pull hitter who nearly bars out with a deep, high load, showing power to left field but struggling to go the other way. He’s a below-average defender whose arm limits him to second base. He rarely strikes out, however, under 10 percent of the time in his college career, with 15 walks and just 3 strikeouts this spring in 69 plate appearances before the shutdown. Some teams see that and his exit velocities and think there’s a future plus hit/power combination.
64. Sam Weatherly, LHP, Clemson, Age: 21
Weatherly was among the players most hurt by the truncated season, as he had just moved to the rotation and was like a brand-new pitcher. He’d walked a player an inning as a pure reliever in 2019, but cut that by a third in 22 2/3 innings this year while striking out 46 percent of the batters he faced. Weatherly has two elite pitches in his high-spin, downward-breaking slider and his high-spin low-90s fastball, but has effort to his delivery, including some head whack, and no real history of throwing strikes before this year. A full spring might have given him more of a chance to show scouts he could start, but the shutdown deprived him of that. There aren’t many pitchers in this draft with two pitches to match his, and he’s a premium athlete who should be able to make adjustments with pro coaching, with mid-rotation or better upside but low probability.
65. Cole Henry, RHP, LSU, Age: 20
Henry was a junior when Braxton Garrett was a senior at Florence High School in Alabama, but went to LSU rather than signing out of high school and is now an age-eligible sophomore. He’s had nothing but success as a starter in Baton Rouge, working with an above-average curveball and solid-average to above-average fastball, but it’s a max-effort delivery and he’s already missed time in college with a sore elbow. He could be a back-end starter if he can handle the workload, but there’s definitely reliever risk here.
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66. Gage Workman, 3B, Arizona State, Age: 20
Workman won’t turn 21 until October, which appeals to the many teams who value age very highly in their models, but also led the Sun Devils in strikeouts last year and was second in the Pac-12 in strikeouts when the season ended this spring. He’s strong but has a no-load approach that doesn’t make much use of the lower body to generate power. He’s got the arm and agility to stay at third base and could potentially move to second depending on the needs of the team that drafts him. There are some raw ingredients to like here but he has to improve his contact rate and also drive the ball more frequently.
67. Dax Fulton, LHP, Mustang (Okla.) HS, Age: 18
Fulton had a chance to be the first high school lefty off the board, but he had Tommy John surgery in the fall and while he’s still likely to be drafted, it might be with someone’s second or third pick. Fulton is 6-foot-6 and works in the low 90s with the makings of a plus curveball, but has a very high-effort delivery that puts a lot of stress on his arm. There’s definite upside here, assuming his stuff returns, but also real risk if his arm action stays the same.
68. Jordan Nwogu, OF, Michigan, Age: 21
Nwogu is one of the higher-upside athletes in the college class this year, a plus runner with plus raw power, but in many ways is still raw like a high school prospect. He has a very wide setup at the plate with no stride, which doesn’t help at all with pitch recognition, so he rakes against fastballs and struggles with spin. He’s fast enough for center field but doesn’t have the instincts or arm for it, and almost certainly has to play left. Ultimately his value is in his bat, where he has bat speed and strength but just has to pick up secondary stuff far better in the future. Perhaps narrowing his stance and giving him some forward momentum will help. He’s shown a willingness to walk and there’s at least 20/20 potential here if he gets to the power.
69. Dalton Fowler, LHP, Northwest Mississippi Community College, Age: 20
Fowler is a still-skinny (6-foot-6, 195 pounds) lefty who’s already up to 95 mph and can really spin his curveball when he gets on top of it, with good feel for a changeup as well. His arm slot is low and he can see his breaking ball flatten out, while his control is still erratic, but there’s significant upside here and he could easily be a top-two rounds pick next year if he heads to Oklahoma and gets stronger.
70. Zach DeLoach, OF, Texas A&M, Age: 21
DeLoach really made his bones with a huge summer on the Cape in 2019, hitting 353/.428/.541 for Falmouth to finish third in the league in OBP and slugging. He’s got a very quick but flat swing, rotating his hips too late to really generate much launch angle for power, but posts high contact rates everywhere he plays, and might be a candidate for a swing overhaul that take advantage of his strength. He’s an average runner with an average arm and probably ends up in an outfield corner, so he’ll have to hit for more power to profile as a regular. But given his potential for an above-average hit tool, he has a pretty high floor as a fourth outfielder.
71. Zach McCambley, RHP, Coastal Carolina, Age: 21
McCambley started and relieved for Coastal in his first two years, but pitched well as a starter on the Cape last summer and carried it forward into this spring with four more good starts before the season ended. He has one of the best curveballs in the draft, arguably the second-best after Beeter’s, with a high spin rate on that and his fastball, which sits solid-average but plays above that. There’s effort in his delivery and he has to work on a third pitch but the two pitches he has right now would make him more than a back-end starter, and I expect some team to draft him with the intention of developing him in the rotation.
72. Cade Horton, RHP/SS, Norman (Okla.) HS, Age: 18
Horton is a prospect both as a pitcher and as a shortstop, but he’s better on the mound, where he shows a lot of feel and polish with a three-pitch mix, including a fastball up to 93-94 mph, a slider and changeup. He’s calmed down his delivery since he was an underclassman and throws more strikes now, although neither his arm nor his bat is very quick. He’s committed to the University of Oklahoma to play both baseball and football.
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73. Carson Seymour, RHP, Kansas State, Age: 21
Seymour is a draft-eligible sophomore, having sat out the 2019 season after he transferred from Dartmouth, and has flashed first-round stuff from a workhorse body (6-foot-5, 250 pounds). He’s up to 99 mph with the potential for a plus slider in the mid-80s, with a delivery that generally works when he’s not rushing through it. He might be unsignable because of the potential for him to return next spring and establish himself as a first-rounder with a full season.
74. Bryce Bonnin, RHP, Texas Tech, Age: 21
Bonnin was awful last year for Texas Tech, walking 45 in 64 innings. This year, he started throwing more strikes, fanning 27 batters in 14 2/3 innings with 6 walks, but with a 7+ ERA. He’s got two plus pitches in a plus fastball that he can use to miss bats on top of the zone and a power slider at 85-88 mph, and he’s pretty athletic as a former two-way player in high school. He can repeat his delivery but loses it when he tries to overthrow. Given his fastball life, he might be able to succeed without throwing max effort, and in that case, he has real potential as a starter.
75. Brandon Birdsell, RHP, San Jacinto College, Age: 20
Birdsell was a 39th-round pick in 2018, threw all of seven innings in one year at Texas A&M, then transferred to San Jacinto for this spring, where he was 90-96 mph with a plus slider right at the end of the junior college season. He’s 6-foot-2 with a very quick arm and his delivery looks like it’ll work in a starting role. After struggling with strikes for the Aggies, he walked 9 in 29 innings this spring. He’ll need to develop a clear third pitch, and work on command, but there are starter elements here and he should go on day two.
76. Trent Palmer, RHP, Jacksonville, Age: 21
Described as an “analytics darling” to me, Palmer is a thick-bodied starter with good life on his fastball and breaking ball along with a solid splitter. He didn’t have much history of starter-level control until this spring, and scouts don’t love his body, questioning whether he’s athletic enough to work out in the rotation. He’s probably a reliever in the long run but has enough chance to start to go in the third round.
77. Jake Vogel, OF, Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS, Age: 18
Vogel is a 70 runner who can stay in center field with an arm that will show plus, but he’s listed at just 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, so he’s going to have to hit for average as there’s very little chance for power, especially with his short, no-load approach at the plate. He’s a good enough defender that any team that believes he has a shot to hit would probably have interest in the second or third rounds.
78. Isaiah Greene, OF, Corona (Calif.) HS, Age: 18
Greene had a coming-out party of sorts last summer, showing he could hit good fastballs and playing with some more energy than he had in the past. He has loose hands and some bat speed, with very inconsistent swing mechanics. He’s a plus runner who needs work on his reads on balls and on his routes in the outfield. He might just be a late bloomer but there’s enough running speed and bat speed here for someone to take a chance in the third or fourth round.
79. Connor Phillips, RHP, McLennan Community College, Age: 19
Phillips is one of the top junior college prospects in this draft, a 19-year-old who already shows two above-average pitches in his riding fastball and slider, with projection left. The slider has a chance to be plus at 86-87 mph already, although his delivery is crude and hard to repeat, so to improve his command he’ll probably need help cleaning up his mechanics. He’s raw but very promising and should go out as a starter.
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80. Drew Bowser, 3B, Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) School, Age: 18
Bowser is probably unsignable with a strong commitment to Stanford, which might be his best baseball option anyway given how much work he needs on both sides of the ball. A shortstop in high school, Bowser has to move to third base as he moves up the ladder, as he has plenty of arm for the left side of the infield but not the footwork or quickness. He has raw power, but his swing is long and his bat speed is just so-so; he even had trouble catching up to the better high school fastballs in SoCal this spring. He’s probably better off going to Palo Alto to try to develop as a hitter and a third baseman, as it doesn’t seem like scouts like his present ability enough to buy him away from that.
81. Jake Eder, LHP, Vanderbilt, Age: 21
Eder is the rare pitcher who went to Vanderbilt and regressed; he’s still 92-94 mph with a bucket of averages and his command and control haven’t improved since he got to Nashville. He looks the part of a starter, and did well enough in that role over the last two summers, but pitched like a future fifth starter this spring for the Commodores before the season ended. He needs a swing-and-miss pitch or another full grade of command to profile as more than a back-end guy or swingman, but some team might bet on his size and frame in the hopes that they can make the necessary adjustments.
82. Andrew Abbott, LHP, Virginia, Age: 21
Abbott has mostly worked as a reliever for the Cavaliers, although he did make six starts over the last two summers in the Cape Cod League, showing a 55 fastball and 60 curveball in short outings with fringy control despite a pretty simple delivery. He’s a six-footer but seems like he can repeat his arm action enough to try him as a starter, although the path of least resistance would be to leave him in relief and move him quickly up the minor-league chain.
83. Beck Way, RHP, Northwest Florida State College, Age: 20
Way left Belmont Abbey after one year to transfer to junior college and may go high enough this year to skip his commitment to LSU. He’s an athletic and still-projectable 6-foot-4 right-hander with above-average velocity already and a chance for three solid-average or better pitches, getting some deception from a funky delivery, and threw more strikes this year (with a 6 percent walk rate) than he had at Belmont Abbey or on the Cape last summer. He’s a little raw but has clear starter upside and room to add some velocity going forward.
84. Carson Tucker, SS, Mountain Pointe (Ariz.) HS, Age: 18
Tucker’s older brother Cole was a first-rounder as a 17-year-old in 2014, while Carson is already 18 and has a lot of his brother’s feel for the game and instincts with lesser tools. He has quick hands at the plate and a slashing stroke for contact, with a little loop length at the start of the swing that might need some tightening as he faces better velocity. He’s a steady defender at short with an average arm, a fair bet to stay at the position but probably as an average defender down the road. The lack of plus defensive tools or even future-average power caps his ceiling and he’s more of a second- or third-round talent than a first-rounder like his brother.
85. Jared Jones, RHP, La Mirada (Calif.) HS, Age: 18
Jones has been 92-96 mph as a starter with feel for a changeup, lacking a consistent breaking pitch and giving hitters a good enough look at the ball that his fastball has played down so far, even against high school competition. He also doesn’t have great feel to pitch yet, with an approach of throwing hard and harder, all pointing toward a possible relief future. He’s an above-average athlete with the physical ability to make adjustments given instruction, although it doesn’t help that he’ll be 19 in August.
86. Zavier Warren, SS/C, Central Michigan, Age: 21
Yes, Warren played shortstop this spring for CMU and also caught four games, while he played third base for Bourne on the Cape last summer, so you might say he’s versatile. He’s probably a utility guy rather than a regular given his below-average power — he doesn’t lack strength but his swing is so short that he doesn’t get to drive the ball — but his ability to play so many positions, and to produce some on-base value as a switch-hitter, should make him a third- or fourth-round pick.
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87. Tyler Brown, RHP, Vanderbilt, Age: 21
Brown has worked as a reliever at Vanderbilt, making just two starts as a freshman, but some team could take him to try to work him back into a rotation. He’s 92-94 mph in relief with a hard slurve at 82-84 mph that can flash plus, with the potential for a third pitch in the changeup and above-average control. He has indicated he wants to return to Vanderbilt, however, which might make him unsignable this year.
88. Chase Hampton, RHP, Kilgore (Texas) HS, Age: 18
Hampton is 92-94 mph with a solid-average breaking ball and a good frame to grow into more velocity. He’s more thrower than pitcher now, although he has calmed down his delivery enough that scouts think he can develop into a starter in time. He’s committed to Texas Tech.
89. Werner Blakely, SS, Detroit Edison Public School Academy, Age: 18
Blakely, an Auburn commit, is a very strong defender at shortstop with a projectable, loose body, showing very quick hands at the plate but limited experience facing good pitching and questions about the long-term hit tool. He’s a solid projection high school pick given the high probability he stays at shortstop and the potential for him to get stronger in a few years.
90. Burl Carraway, LHP, Dallas Baptist, Age: 21
Carraway is a pure reliever who hasn’t been able to hold velocity when stretched out, but can sit 96-98 mph in short stints with a plus curveball from a high 3/4 slot. He’s a great athlete who should throw more strikes than he does; he’s walked 28 guys in the last year-plus for DBU in 51 innings, which will have to improve for him to profile as more than a middle reliever.
91. Jack Blomgren, SS, Michigan, Age: 21
Blomgren is a high-probability college shortstop who should stay at the position and play average to above-average defense there in the majors while putting the ball in play at a high rate without any impact. He’s posted solid walk rates as an amateur but had just 5 homers across two-plus years with the Wolverines, and probably hits eighth or ninth in a major-league lineup. There’s enough positional value here to make him a safe pick in the third or fourth rounds.
92. Tyler Gentry, OF, Alabama, Age: 21
Gentry has some of the best right-handed power among college bats in the draft, with 17 homers in 73 games for the Crimson Tide since he transferred in from junior college before the 2019 season. It’s a power over hit approach, however, and he collapses his back side through contact. He struck out 27 percent of the time in the SEC last year, and his huge start this year came in non-conference play; the shutdown prevented him from showing whether he could improve on that this spring. The power would make him a regular in an outfield corner if he hits enough to get to it.
93. Blaze Jordan, 1B, DeSoto Central (Miss.) HS, Age: 17
Jordan has been internet-famous for a while now, but it was more style than substance, and he probably won’t get into the first round. He has raw power and puts on shows in BP, but has no stride at the plate so his swing is all hands, making it impossible for him to get to that power in games. He is very young for the class, having reclassified from the 2021 draft — he won’t turn 18 until December — which will appeal to some model-based clubs. You can dream of unlocking that raw power if you rework his swing, but as a first baseman, he has to get to the power to have a chance to be a regular.
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94. Ian Seymour, LHP, Virginia Tech, Age: 21
Seymour got off to a great start this year, fanning 40 guys in 20 1/3 innings with just 5 walks in four starts for the Hokies, showing a tick more velocity than he had in the past but still sitting at solid-average with good feel for a changeup. His delivery is very funky, starting on the extreme third-base end of the rubber with a really wide arm swing and some recoil, although he gets pronated in time and has a lot of deception. He might be a back-end starter with a fringy breaking ball, but if any of his three pitches improve he’d have more probability to stick in a rotation.
95. Jeff Criswell, RHP, Michigan, Age: 21
Criswell has been on the circuit since high school and has made some steady improvements to his stuff — he’s up to 95 mph now with a slider and changeup that both project to average — but he only has grade-40 control and even with a somewhat cleaner delivery still has effort and can’t keep his head steady through release. He has some starter elements but hasn’t shown the control to get there.
96. Kyle Hurt, RHP, USC, Age: 22
Hurt has been up to 96 mph with an above-average changeup as a starter for USC, but has had trouble throwing strikes, and his 12/6 curveball hasn’t been as good in college as it was in high school. He seemed to be trending upward this spring, finishing with a stellar outing against TCU, and could still slip into the third round to a team willing to bet that his breaking ball is still in there and that he could have three 55s with a little help. He just turned 22, which may make him very signable for a college junior.
97. Seth Lonsway, LHP, Ohio State, Age: 21
Lonsway had his worst outing right before the season ended, walking 8 batters in two innings at Stetson, continuing his long track record of well-below-average control of above-average stuff. He’ll work up to 93 mph regularly while occasionally flashing higher, with a curveball that can be plus, and he’s a solid athlete whose delivery the Buckeyes’ staff has tried to adjust so he can throw more strikes. He has starter ingredients but you can’t project him as even a fifth starter unless he improves his control by a full grade or more.
98. Jack Leftwich, RHP, Florida, Age: 21
Leftwich has premium stuff, enough to project as a mid-rotation starter, but doesn’t miss as many bats as the radar gun or the scouting report say he should. He’ll sit 90-94 mph and can run it higher, with an above-average slider and average changeup, but has some trouble repeating his delivery and doesn’t get a lot of deception. If he’s willing to sign rather than returning to Florida’s rotation for 2021, he’d be an interesting project as a starter with a fairly high floor as a reliever.
99. Gavin Williams, RHP, East Carolina, Age: 20
Williams sits in the mid-90s with a solid-average curveball, showing some effort from a 6-foot-6, 240-pound frame. He’s worked almost exclusively in relief for the Pirates, throwing only three innings this spring due to a finger injury, and probably continues in that role in pro ball, although given his size and velocity, I wouldn’t be shocked if some team tried to start him.
100. Luke Waddell, SS, Georgia Tech, Age: 21
Waddell is an extremely likely big-leaguer, a definite shortstop who very rarely strikes out but hits with zero power. (In 113 plate appearances on the Cape over two summers, he hit one double.) He should see the majors thanks to his defensive ability and could end up a 9-hole hitter on a second-division team because of his ability to put the ball in play.
(Photo of Garrett Mitchell: Katharine Lotze / Getty Images)
