2022 Draft Thoughts: Devin Bennett, Ian Richie, Clark Elliot, Josh Kasevich, Carter Rustad

 

2-6-22 - PG College Baseball @PGCollegeBall 

Devin Bennett @mccbaseball1 sat 87-90 mph touched 91 mph. Showed the curveball ball at 75-78 mph with varying shape as the primary off speed 

https://t.co/ttenseB8Ht 

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2-4-22 - https://www.maxpreps.com/news/AixjPJrhdE2_ZvQlE7haTQ/high-school-baseball-georgia-trio-tops-10-mlb-draft-prospects.html - 

Top 10 Draft Prospects 

10. Ian Ritchie Jr., Bainbridge (Bainbridge Island, Wash.), RHP 

Among the top power pitchers in the country with a fastball that has topped out at 97 and is consistently around 95. He also has a solid curve ball and reportedly has command of four pitches. At 6-foot-2, he's not as big as Lesko or Porter, the other right-handers on the list, but surprisingly he can still bring the same amount of power.

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1-15-22 - https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2022-mlb-draft-top-100-prospects/ - 

100 Clark Elliott Michigan OF 

Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 185 | B-T: L-R

Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted

Age At Draft: 21.8 

Elliott has a chance to join Jordan Brewer, Jordan Nwogu and Jesse Franklin as top-three round outfielders out of Michigan in the last four years. He’s been a solid, but unspectacular bat at Michigan over the last two years, hitting .263/.394/.405 with five home runs in 58 games, but stood out this summer in the Cape. He won the league’s batting title after hitting .344 and walked almost as many times (17) as he struck out (20), while stealing seven bags in seven attempts. 

Clark has an unorthodox swing with a sizeable leg kick to get started and a flat bat path, but it has led to plenty of contact against fastballs and more swing and miss against secondary pitches. He has an excellent feel for the strike zone and rarely chases outside of it, as evidenced by his 15.8% walk rate in 58 games with Michigan. Some scouts have labeled him an average runner, but he gets out of the box well and turns in plus run times and there’s a chance he can stick in center field.

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1-15-22 - https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2022-mlb-draft-top-100-prospects/ -

83 Josh Kasevich Oregon SS

Notes:

Ht: 6-2 | Wt: 200 | B-T: R-R

Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted

Age At Draft: 21.6

Kasevich is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound shortstop who does a lot of things well on the baseball field and is coming off a loud offensive season with Oregon where he hit .324/.397/.444 with almost as many walks (23) as strikeouts (24). Kasevich hits the ball hard and reportedly has standout average exit velocities, but he’ll need to elevate the ball more frequently this spring for that to translate to more than the four homers he managed in 2021. He has a flat bat path and hit the ball on the ground more than half the time. While he lacks lower half twitch, scouts think he is a reliable, steady college shortstop who should get a chance to stick at the position at the next level.

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12-30-21 - https://www.prospectslive.com/prospects-live/2021/12/29/2022-mlb-draft-top-300-prospects -

 161 Carter Rustad RHP Missouri Kansas City, MO 

Absolutely dominant stuff his freshman year at San Diego State, having now transferred to Missouri to work under the tutelage of Brian DeLunas. 24 Ks in 21 innings. Tall, long frame with immense potential. Rustad has touched 97 and has mechanics similar to James Paxton from the right side, but struggled to repeat his delivery in 2021 and got touched up a bit for the Aztecs. The stuff will play, now it's just a matter of commanding the baseball with authority.