Mack – Draft News – Clayton Beeter, Garrett Mitchell, Zach DeLoach, Itchy Burts, Tanner Burns

Baseball Prospect Journal -

            Clayton Beeter, RHP, Texas Tech

Texas Tech righty Clayton Beeter is in the mix to be selected as high as the second half of the first round. Numerous teams are high on Beeter, but his draft status remains unknown because he doesn’t have the track record other college pitchers have in this year’s class.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound righty served primarily as Texas Tech’s closer as a redshirt freshman last season. He earned All-American honors last year and returned this season as Texas Tech’s No. 1 starter. In 21 innings, Beeter recorded a 2.14 ERA with 33 strikeouts (14.1 per nine innings) and four walks allowed this season.

In his four starts this spring, he had an electric repertoire of pitches, which was headlined by his mid-90s fastball and above-average breaking ball.

Multiple scouts that I have spoke with are extremely high on Beeter and believe he’s one of the top college starting pitchers in this year’s draft. One area scout even said he might have been a top-10 pick last year had he been eligible and displayed the stuff he did this spring all of last year as a starter.

Prospect Insider -

19. Garrett Mitchell, OF — UCLA

There are a lot of folks that have Mitchell going in the Top 10 — I’ve seen him around the interwebs as high as No. 5 — but it’s not a Top 5 profile.

Despite good size at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Mitchell is a hit and run player. He defends well in center and should stick there, but scouts don’t love the swing when it comes to generating power.

“I think he can make an adjustment and get to more,” said an area scout. “We see that happen. But yes, you read my notes on him and you’d think he was 5-11 and 180 pounds.”

He has a good arm, so if had to move to a corner it works fine, and he makes good contact with his line drive swing.

If Mitchell was a prep prospect, clubs might see him as the perfect Top-10 pick, since it’s easy to get value from his speed, defense and ability to make contact and hit for average, while you hope to instruct more power out of his physical tools by helping him make swing adjustments.

He has shown decent power in BP, but one checker sees the swing changes as “pretty big, this isn’t an overnight thing,” so I see why he landed here.

I noticed Keith Law had Mitchell at No. 23 in his first rankings from the middle of March, so it would seem he’s heard the same on the UCLA star.

Athlon Sports     offered up their list of their top 50 college prospects that will be available in the 2020 draft.

One is –

            39. Zach DeLoach, OF, Texas A&M

2020 (JUNIOR): Started all 17 games for the Maroon and White... batted .462 (24-for-52) with 25 runs, 17 RBI, three doubles, six home runs, 14 walks and six stolen bags... in the series sweep of Miami (2/14-16), hit .778 (7-for-9) with seven runs, one double, two home runs, five RBI and four walks... went 2-for-2 with three runs, one double and one walk in the win over Stephen F. Austin (2/18)... in game on of the series against Army (2/21), was 2-for-5 with two runs, two home runs and five RBI... was 2-for-3 with one run, one walk and two stolen bases in the midweek win over Houston Baptist (2/25)... went 2-for-3 with three runs and a walk in the win over Texas A&M Corpus Christi (3/3)... in the series sweep of New Mexico State (3/6-8), hit .385 (5-for-13) with three runs, two home runs, and six RBI... had a two home run performance in game three of the New Mexico State series, recorded a two-run home run in the second and a three-run inside-the-park home run in the fifth...

BA  -

            6. Itchy Burts, 2B/OF, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Burts is probably best known for his unique name. After all, he has topped the Baseball America list of best names in college baseball for three years running.

But he’s also a serious baseball player. He hit .401 as a sophomore in 2018 and has a career .337 batting average in 576 at-bats. That’s the type of bat that any coach would love to have in his lineup for another season.

Bleacher Report prediction for the Mets first round pick at #19 –

          RHP    Tanner Burns           Auburn

          MLB.com - April: "He hasn't had much need for his changeup, though it has some sink and shows some signs of becoming an average third pitch. Burns lacks size and while he's strong and athletic, he comes with durability concerns because of his shoulder issues as a sophomore and a history of seeing his stuff dip later in the season."

Prospects Live - Mar. 24th: "His fastball sits 92-94 mph touching 96 mph at its hottest and features some tail and run late. His primary secondary up to this point, is a low-80s slider with tight movement, and mostly vertical drop."

Dan Zielinki - Baseball Prospect Journal - Mar. 22nd: "He throws a mid-90s fastball. He might not have the upside as some of the other college pitchers but profiles as an effective major-league starter."

Jeff Ellis - 247 Sports - Feb. 14th: "The concerns with him are two-fold--height and injuries. He stands six feet tall and has had a few nagging injuries, though nothing major. His stuff is good, but not great, but it plays up because he spots it so well. If Burns was 6' 5" and had no injury issues, he would be talked about as a top ten pick."

Carlos Collazo - Baseball America - Jan. 31st : "Burns has been a workhorse in two years with Auburn, taking 32 starts and throwing 165.7 innings while posting a 2.89 ERA over that period. While he’s short for a typical innings-eater profile, Burns has a strong, mature frame and has been as reliable as anyone in the college game."

2019 stats before the halt – 4-starts, 3-1, 2.42, 1.00, 22.1-IP, 32-K