Draft 13 – Dominic Smith, Matt McPhearson, Zack Collins, Rowdy Tellez

Dominic Smith, Serra HS in Gardena, CA - We've looked at some fine prospects, but we haven't looked at a guy who has the goods to be a great offensive and defensive first baseman in the bigs. Until now. There's no doubting Smith's pure hitting ability. The experts love it, and it doesn't have a whole lot of trouble showing through on videos like the one on your right. Smith has a nice, easy swing, and the consensus is that the power is going to be there. Baseball America (subscription) says he just needs to hit the weight room. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1648635-2013-mlb-draft-prospects-5-best-first-basemen-in-the-2013-draft-class  

Matt McPhearson, OF, Riverdale Baptist HS (MD) - Maybe the best leadoff-type hitter in the 2013 MLB draft, the 5’-10” left-hander has blazing speed (6.19/60) and knows how to steal bases. As a junior, he went 68-for-72 in stolen bases attempts over 39 games. This year, he hasn’t quite swiped bases at the rate he did last year as he has battled a nagging hamstring, but he still has gone 26-for-29 over 23 games. He also has improved his swing and is hitting .484 with seven extra-base hits, 23 RBI and has drawn 19 walks for a .602 OBP/.613 SLG. He isn’t going to hit for a lot of power but he can get on base and wreak havoc once he gets on. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2013-mlb-draft-9/33241#WdxR2YIG1GzGdJCZ.99  

Zack Collins, American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) - Although a catcher for the Patriots, scouts project Collins as a first baseman at the next level. He has enough power to be a middle of the order type of hitter thanks to his bat speed. He batted .394 with 33 RBI, eight doubles and five home runs for the Patriots this year. Seen as a first rounder on a few mock drafts a few months ago, Collins is now seen more as a second or third round selection. http://www.maxpreps.com/news/z2-sul7VukOjgmdQ7ZXW0g/mlb-draft--top-10-corner-infielders.htm

When you think of power-hitting first basemen who swing from the left side of the plate, you tend to think of guys like Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard and, to a somewhat lesser extent, San Diego-era Adrian Gonzalez. That's the kind of fraternity Rowdy Tellez could join somewhere down the line. Baseball America has Tellez down as the best left-handed power bat in this year's draft class, and their reasoning doesn't require much of an explanation. Just listen to the sound of the ball coming off his bat in the video on your right  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1648635-2013-mlb-draft-prospects-5-best-first-basemen-in-the-2013-draft-class