3/25/21

Mack - Top 5 First Basemen (projected round pick) in the 2021 Draft

 


1.    Tommy White             (projected 2nd round)


1B/3B      6-2      220      IMG Academy (FL)

  

3-12-21 - top 50 HS players  -

 

40. Tommy White, 3B, IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.

 

One of the bigger sluggers in the 2021 class, White likely will end up at first base eventually as he's already 6'1", 220 pounds, but his power profile gives the NC State signee and current third baseman a shot to be productive enough at the plate to make such a move work.

 

 1-14-21  -  Baseball America

 

Tommy White

 

IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla. 3B

 

Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 240 | B-T: R-R

Commit/Drafted: North Carolina State

Age At Draft: 18.4

 

If you’re into hitters who swing with intent, look no further than IMG Academy third baseman Tommy White. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound North Carolina State commit leaves nothing on the table at the plate, consistently trying to do damage with every swing. White projects for plus power to all fields, and despite an extremely aggressive approach, scouts do believe he has good natural hitting ability, and some feel for the barrel. Scouts like the swing path and his mechanics at the plate and have pointed out that he tracks offspeed and breaking stuff well. White stood out early in the summer at the inaugural Ultimate Baseball Championship with Florida Burn and has some similarities to Red Sox 2020 third-rounder Blaze Jordan, as a right-right prep third baseman who might be better off at first base long term. While White does have solid hands at third base, scouts think his slower-twitch actions, well below-average speed and large frame will inevitably push him to first. That’s a difficult profile out of high school and adds plenty of pressure to his bat, but when he’s on it’s an impact, middle-of-the-order sort of offensive profile.


2.    Ryan Holgate                 (projected 2nd round)


1B/OF     Arizona 

 

2020 Arizona stat line - 15-G, 53-AB, .377/.459/.547, 1-HR, 7-BB 

 

3-5-21 - Joe Doyle @JoeDoyleMiLB

 

A lot of scouts really, really like Arizona OF Ryan Holgate this year in the MLB Draft. Have received a few "Trevor Larnach" comps on his profile. Have had two people tell me Holgate has 70-grade raw power. Huge bat. 

 

1-20-21 - D1 Baseball's top 100 College Prospects -

 

67 Ryan Holgate OF Arizona Pac-12 

 

1-14-21  -  Baseball America

 

Ryan Holgate

 

Arizona OF

 

Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 205 | B-T: L-L

Commit/Drafted: Twins 2018 (32)

Age At Draft: 21.1

 

Holgate impressed scouts with a solid bat and plus raw power out of high school, but made it to campus at Arizona after the Twins took him in the 32nd round. A 6-foot-1, 205-pound outfielder, Holgate’s game is centered around his power, which is at least plus and could be a tick better. Teams hoped he would hit better at the collegiate level, as he struggled to a .240/.378/.437 line as a freshman in 2019, but was hitting .377/.459/.547 through 15 games in the shortened 2020 season. 


3.    Wes Clark         (projected 3rd round)


1B      South Carolina 

 

3-2-21 - wtff 

 

University of South Carolina junior infielder/catcher Wes Clarke has earned a pair of national honors after his performance in games against Winthrop and Clemson last week. The Forest, Va., native has been named the National Player of the Week by both the Golden Spikes Award and Perfect Game.

 

Clarke belted five home runs in three games last week, driving in eight while having a 1.833 slugging percentage and a .688 on-base percentage. The junior went 3-for-3 with three home runs, four runs scored, three RBI and two walks in the 12-4 win over Winthrop on Tuesday night. Clarke drove in a run and walked in a 3-2 win over in-state rival Clemson on Saturday. He then got back on the home run train on Sunday, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, three runs scored, four RBI and a walk in the 8-7 walk-off win against the Tigers.

 

This is the second straight week Clarke earned the honor from Perfect Game. The Golden Spikes Award, run by USA Baseball, has a fan vote on Monday afternoons to pick the Player of the Week. Clarke earned 57 percent of the votes in the poll. 

 

2-23-21 - Joe Doyle  @JoeDoyleMiLB

 

There are roughly 12,495 Division 1 college baseball players.

 

South Carolina 1B Wes Clarke has 3 more homers than 12,494 of them after 4 games.


4,    Alex Toral                (projected 4-th-7th round)

 

1B      6-1     230      Miami          @AlexT_20 

 

2020 Miami stat line - 16-G, 54-AB, .296, .593-SLUG%, 5-HR 

 

2-22-21 - BA - Stock Watch -

 

Alex Toral, 1B, Miami (No. 147)

 

4-for-7, 6 BB, 1 K

 

Toral proved to be an on-base machine against Florida, which was a function of both poor strike throwing from the Gators pitch staff and also a solid approach from Toral himself. He walked three times during the opener after not getting much to hit in most of his at-bats. He then added three more over the next two games to finish with six walks to just one strikeout. When Toral was able to swing, he showed a pull-heavy approach that has hurt him in the past. Toral has plus-plus raw power out of a large frame, but didn’t showcase much in this series. It’s hard to see him offering much defensive or baserunning value at the next level—which adds pressure to his bat and power—and he made two errors in the field and also got thrown out trying to go first to third on a single. 

 

2-18-21 - Joe @JoeDoyleMiLB

 

Here's how 1B shakes out in my preseason ranks. Florida slugger Kris Armstrong leads the way, though there's some serious juice behind him in Miami's Alex Toral and Notre Dame's Niko Kavadas, among others.

 

1-14-21  -  Baseball America

 

Alex Toral

 

Miami 1B

 

Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 229 | B-T: L-L

Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted

Age At Draft: 22.5

 

Toral was a well-regarded prospect as a freshman in high school thanks to massive power potential that put lofty expectations on the South Florida first baseman. Toral struggled during his senior season at Archbishop McCarthy High and made it to campus at Miami, where he continued to look a bit lost at the plate as a freshman, hitting just .161/.322/.237 with a 33.9 strikeout percentage. After that season, Toral started to figure out an approach that was less pull-oriented and tapped into more of his plus-plus raw power, though his 24 home runs in 2019 still came with a strikeout rate north of 30%. Toral continued his improvement at the plate early in 2020 and walked (13) more than he struck out (nine) during his first 16 games. Toral has tweaked his stance and hand placement and gotten less steep in his bat path, which has kept his barrel in the zone longer. A first baseman only, there’s plenty of pressure on Toral’s bat to produce, but he does have the impact potential in the tank to profile fine there if he can continue refining his approach and identifying spin.


5.    Cade Beloso                (projected 5th-8th round)

 

1B    6-0    235   LSU 

 

2020 LSU stat line - 64-AB, .313/.353/.453, 1-HR 

 

College Baseball Daily -

 

4. Cade Beloso Louisiana State University (LA) Phipps Park Barracudas 1B RS Sophomore (draft eligible 2021) 6’0/235 L/L Riverridge, LA Draft Status: Undrafted  

 

Beloso made quite a splash in Baton Rouge and in the SEC during the 2019 season hitting 10 HR’s with 52 RBI’s as a true freshman. In the shortened 2020 season Beloso hit .313 with 1 HR and 12 RBI’s. The success followed him to South Florida where he hit .412 with 1 HR and 7 doubles. Beloso has a strong, compact frame with present power. He has a balanced lower half with good bat speed and consistently makes solid contact. Defensively he is athletic and moves well around the bag with a secure glove. We see him staying at 1B at the professional level. Beloso has consistently put up solid numbers in the best college baseball conference in the country which will make a solid selection in the 2021 MLB Draft. 

 

LSU -

 

A left-handed throwing, left-handed hitting first baseman with power … has played the past two seasons as LSU’s starting first baseman and should be one of the top power hitters in the SEC in 2021 … was named the 2018 Louisiana High School Player of the Year after leading John Curtis High School to the state championship … powerfully-built slugger who has great bat control and rarely strikes out … a member of the 2020 SEC Academic Honor Roll and the 2019 SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll as a sport administration major.

 

 

 

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