1.
Jeren
Kendall Vanderbilt
Red Reporter
- At this stage, Jeren Kendall is regarded to be
“easily” the top college position prospect. While the consensus behind that
wasn’t necessarily 100% going into 2016 draft, plenty of scouts were saying the
same things about Senzel when the Reds held the number two pick last season. A
fast-twitch athlete with five-tool potential, Kendall stands out most with his
plus-plus speed and also possesses deceptive strength. He has learned to
incorporate his lower half in his left-handed swing while at Vanderbilt and has
good balance at the plate. There's more swing and miss in Kendall's game than
scouts would like, leading to some concerns about his pitch recognition and
whether he'll reach his offensive upside.
2.
Jordan
Adell Ballard HS (LA)
DRB
- Possibly the best athlete in this draft class, Adell’s potential is extreme.
He can run as well as anyone, he’s got prodigious power, and he profiles well
at any of the 3 outfield positions. The best quote I could find to describe his
speed is this one:This year at the Perfect Game National Showcase, Jordon ran a
6.19, the seventh-fastest time ever recorded by Perfect Game. They go on to
compare his time to Mike Trout who clocked a time of 6.5. If the Rays are
looking for a bat and are willing to make it one that has all of the tools
required to become the best 5-tool outfielder the franchise has ever had, Adell
is their target. While some may prefer to go the safer route and grab one of
the College arms in this draft, the Rays have an opportunity to get a franchise
altering player who could be fast-tracked once he turns pro. With his makeup
and abilities, the sky’s the limit.
3.
Quentin
Holmes McClancy Memorial HS (NY)
-
Fangraphs
- Holmes has abundant energy and easily runs well enough
to play center field, though the rest of his skillset is middling. The bat
speed and arm strength are both fringe to average and Holmes’ overall offensive
approach is unpolished, though that is unsurprising for a cold-weather
prospect. The carrying tool here is Holmes’ instinctive defense which, aided by
impressive speed, projects to plus in center. Holmes glides from gap to gap and
his reads both back toward the wall and in on shallow flies are good. There’s a
chance for some offense down the line, especially given considering Holmes’
physical projection, but this is absolutely a glove-first prospect right now.
We’ve players like this go as high as the second round in recent years, with
Rangers and Nationals 2015 second rounders Eric Jenkins and Blake Perkins
representing some contemporary examples.
4.
Michael
Gigliotti Lipscomb
When The Giants Come To Town
- Michael Gigliotti is a true CF with current gap power and lots of room to
gain size and strength. He has shown
elite on-base skills and has led all of college baseball in bunt hits over the
last 2 years. As you can see, he has
performed well in wood bat summer leagues although his K's spiked a bit in the
CCL. He definitely has a lot of the
qualities the Giants look for in a hitter, up-the-middle defense, contact and
on-base skills and gap power. Given
approximately equal talent, I think the Giants will and should favor pitching
in the draft, but if they think Gigliotti is the BPA, they could grab him at
#19.
5.
Connor
Uselton Southmoore HS (OK)
Dynasty Digest
- Conner Uselton is an 18 year old, 6'3 185 lbs, outfielder from Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. He is going into his senior year at Southmoore High School. Uselton
is one of the top high school prospects for the upcoming 2017 MLB Draft. You
can find my scouting report for this potential 5-tool outfielder below: Hitting:
Uselton has the potential to be a huge threat at the plate. He is a
right-handed hitter with tons of pop. Throughout multiple Perfect Game
Showcases, he has shown the ability to hit very well off of some of the best
talent in the country. He shows great hand quickness through the zone and
superb extension through the zone into his followthrough. This dangerous
combination could lead to 55-65 power (on a 20-80 scale). My one concern in his
swing is the fact that he casts his arms back and loads his hands a little too
long, which could lead to quite a few strikeouts. With that said, it should
also lead to more power, which means there is some positives and negatives
about this habit. His body has plenty of room to fill out with muscle as well,
so his offensive potential is immense. Scouting Grades: Hit: 50/60 Power: 55/65
6.
Garrett
Mitchell Orange Lutheran HS (CA)
- Fangraphs
- As an underclassman Mitchell had some top-of-the-draft buzz because, among
other things, he could absolutely fly, had projectable power and scouts hoped
his swing would smooth out as he developed adult physicality. But Mitchell’s
swing, clunky and stiff, remains a bit of a mess. Despite that, he has found a
way to make it work in games to great success and is able to produce more power
than most of his peers during batting practice.
7.
Calvin
Mitchell Rancho Bernardo HS (CA)
DRB
- Mitchell is the kind of prospect that sometimes gets pre-draft helium effect
based on latest performances. The sound of the ball coming off his bat tells
you all you need to know about his power, and he’s had success in events like
the home run derby as a result. 2016 Stats: 34 GP, .371/.473/.828, 41 RBI, 12
HR, 18 BB, 21 SO - The patience at the plate, the prodigious power, all added
up he’ll be an enticing player for the Rays to evaluate. Considered by many to
be the best bat in this draft, he’ll be hard to overlook. Detractors of his
being selected in top 5 point to his possibly being limited to LF due to a
questionable arm and defensive abilities.
8.
Cole
Turney William B Travis
HS (TX)
Baseball Factory
- Cole showed a well-rounded set of tools at the November 2014 Under Armour
Baseball Factory National Tryout in Tomball, TX, his first event with us. He
was a two-way player at the time, with a nice left-handed stroke to go with
6.75 speed in the 60 yard dash and an 85 mph fastball — all advanced for a
player with just one year of high school baseball under his belt. The depth of
his abilities became more clear at the 2015 Under Armour All-America Pre-Season
Tournament, where he earned Top 10 honors among 2017 graduates. By the time we
saw him again, in November 2015 at the Under Armour Futures Texas Showcase, he’d
added 15 pounds and grown one inch such that he was listed at 6-foot and 190
pounds, up from 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds as we first saw him. With just a quick
look it was apparent that his body had changed, and with a quick listen it was
apparent that the ball was coming off his bat differently as well.
9.
Cole
Brannen Westfield Schools (GA)
Baseball Factory
- When we first saw Cole in June 2013 as a rising freshman, he was a shortstop.
He remained in the infield through three events with us in 2014 before showing
in the outfield for the first time in March 2015, by which time his 60 yard
dash had improved from 7.21 to 6.85. By the July 2015 Baseball Factory Under
Armour National East Showcase he’d completed his move to the outfield, and had
lowered his 60 yard dash all the way down to 6.43 — marking an improvement of
nearly eight tenths of a second in a little more than two years. At the July
2015 event, and again at the October 2015 Baseball Factory Under Armour Futures
South Showcase, an even bigger difference became apparent — raw power. In July
with a metal bat in his first round of BP, he launched a couple of long home
runs on top of the building behind the right field wall at The Chuck at
Homeplate, sending numerous scouts scrambling in an effort to get him to use a
wood bat for his second round. He complied that day, and gave us a longer look
with wood in October, and both times showed an exciting combination of bat
speed and leverage.
10. Keston Hiura UC
Irvine
Knuckleball
- Appearing in 17 games as a designated
or pinch hitter, he slashed .289/.356/.553 and led Team USA with three home
runs despite getting significantly fewer plate appearances (43) than some other
players on the team. He also provided the signature moment of the team’s
international tour when he hit what became the game-winning home run in the
eighth inning of the series finale with Cuba, clinching Team USA’s first-ever
series win in Cuba.
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