In addition to the All-Star Game, another major event in the Major League Baseball in July is the MLB draft. Every year, many young talents are called here to enter the world of professional sports, and there are also many future stars who only emerge in everyone's field of vision at this time. For all teams, how to find the next star in the vast crowd is the key, and today we will show you which future superstars in baseball are included in this draft!
Druw Jones, outfielder, Wesleyan High School
In a word, Jones is one of the players with the highest ceiling in this class. As the son of former major league star Andruw Jones, Drew Jr. has almost perfectly copied his father's excellent defensive ability. His judgment of the ball's placement and defensive range are all top , 's strong arm strength. can accurately pass the ball to the infield, and some scouts even believe that if he moves to the shortstop position, he can also defend with ease. Jones' potential on the hitting end cannot be underestimated. Although he had problems with swing fluency before, it has been greatly improved this spring. This young man currently also has a good batting velocity. Although he is still very thin at present, after entering the league and gaining muscle in the future, his home plate hits will surely be further improved. It is also worth mentioning that Jones's ability to withstand pressure is also impressive. During a road game in March, Jones responded to overrated boos by hitting a home run. In short, this promising second-generation star can satisfy all your five-beat fantasies.
Jackson Holliday, shortstop , Stillwater High School
Another son of a famous star, Holliday’s father is 7-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner Matt Ha. Matt Holliday. Unlike his father, Jackson Jr. is a left-handed hitter, but he also inherited his father's excellent hitting ability. He has a smooth swing and excellent ball identification ability, which makes it difficult for him to strike out. This spring, Arizona performed very well against higher-level pitchers, which is the main reason for his recent surge in prices. So far, Halladay has only shown occasional weakness against some quality fastballs. With strong arm strength and excellent movement speed , this young man has a huge defensive range. He also won the best defensive player of the Central Oklahoma Athletic Conference in his senior year, but his defensive skills still need to be polished. As one of the best shortstop prospects in this class, Halladay is bound to cause competition among teams with high draft picks.
Elijah Green, outfielder, IMG Academy
As the son of former Pro Bowl tight end Eric Green, Green has also inherited his father's strong physical fitness . It's hard to imagine an 18-year-old kid holding a wood bat hitting a ball with an initial velocity of more than 100 mph, but it's not impossible for Green. In addition, he also has amazing speed and strong arm strength , which also makes him very dynamic on the court. However, his high vacancy rate and ball selection problems have affected his market somewhat, which will test the development ability of the team that selected him. Overall, Green is still a big diamond. Once the existing problems are corrected, he is expected to become a regular player in 30+30 in the future.
Temarr Johnson, infielder, Mays High School
In terms of pure hitting ability, many scouts believe Johnson is the best high school hitter they have seen in the past ten years.Although there was a small pause in the swing, he was still able to use his excellent hand-eye coordination and ball type recognition ability, combined with above-average power to produce high-quality shots. His mastery of the change ball is also much higher than that of his peers. Limited by his size and movement speed, Johnson's defensive range is very small, and there is a high probability that he will move to second base in the future. This also reduces his draft value. If he were two or three inches taller, he would probably be among the favorites for the No. 1 pick. The discussion was on.
Brooks Lee, shortstop, California Institute of Technology
Lee was originally a high school student ranked in the top 50 in the 2019 draft, but in order to play on the college team coached by his father, he first chose to enter college for further study. Li is a swing batsman with very high hitting talent. When playing to the left, he can hit the ball to all parts of the court with a smooth swing. Although he is not as smooth when playing to the right, he can also hit the ball with smoothly. Excellent hand-eye coordination swept the ball to the left half. He also has good home plate discipline. However, the overall pitching level in the Big West League is still low, and some scouts still have some doubts about whether he can play high-quality change balls. As he grew older, Li also showed strength above his level. On the defensive end, although he mainly guarded shortstop throughout college, due to his relatively tall size and mediocre speed, he should be very likely to move to second and third base in the future. Injury is currently his biggest concern. He missed a lot of games due to a back injury in high school, and also underwent hamstring surgery in his freshman year. Coupled with his strong body, it is doubtful whether he can afford continuous operations in the major leagues in the future. expressed concern. Overall, the shortstop has the highest floor of the class, but is also a less-than-safe safety.
Cam Collier, third baseman, Chipola College
Collier is one of the youngest players in this draft and will not turn 18 until November this year. After his sophomore year in high school, he chose to join Chipola College (one of the best baseball junior colleges in the United States) to hone his skills in preparation for the draft as soon as possible. Did you feel a hint of familiarity? Yes, that's how Bryce Harper entered the draft. Collier didn't hit a wall at all when he came to Zippola Academy. Although most of the pitchers he faced were 2-4 years older than him, he still delivered good results. This 17-year-old boy has a smooth swing and excellent hitting skills. Although his strength is still average, he should be able to put on a lot of muscles in the future as he grows older. With good anticipation and strong arm strength , his fielding at third base is pretty good, but many scouts are worried about whether his mobility can still handle third base after gaining weight. On the other hand, this It may also lower his defensive value.
Kevin Parada, receiver, Georgia Tech
As the best power play catcher in this class, Parada played a phenomenal season at Georgia Tech in 2022. His hitting measurements are An astonishing .361/.453/.709, 26 home runs broke the Georgia Tech home run record. Despite his weird hitting posture, he is able to make solid attacks on balls in the strike zone through his excellent hand-eye coordination and ball type identification skills, and he also showed good adjustment ability in the middle of the season. Compared with attacking, the defensive end is his biggest concern at present. Due to his lack of agility, his catching is not good enough, and his arm strength is relatively mediocre. Although his passing accuracy has improved a lot this season, it is still far from the major league level. There is quite a gap. In short, Parada is expected to bring a single-season output of 25-30 to the team that selects him in the future, but it is hard to say whether he can stay at the receiver position forever.In addition, Georgia Tech has produced two high-ranking seniors in the 21st century: Matt Wieters and Joey Bart, but they did not meet the original expectations of them, which will affect Pa What's going on with Lada?
Jacob Berry, third baseman, Louisiana State University
After playing a dominant freshman season at University of Arizona, Berry chose to transfer to LSU to continue to challenge higher. Level pitcher. The Southeastern Conference in which LSU is located has the highest pitching level in the entire NCAA, but this strong-hitting youngster was not affected at all and almost produced the same data as his freshman year. Berry has excellent hitting ability and strong power . His home plate discipline in college was particularly good . Among the batters who have hit more than 15 home runs in the NCAA this season, Berry is the least likely to be struck out. . In terms of pure hitting ability, Berry is arguably the best college hitter. However, compared to his hitting, his defense can be described as terrible. Although his fielding position is third base, due to his poor defense in his freshman year, he appeared at designated hitter most of the time. After transferring to LSU, the coach also tried to put him in the designated hitter position. Two corner outfields, but they also did not achieve very good results, which also greatly reduced his draft price. After all, using a high draft pick to get a designated hitter who can only hit is still a huge risk.
Jace Jung, second baseman, Texas Tech
The younger brother of Rangers rookie Josh Jung. Like his older brother, he also has excellent hitting ability, but unlike his older brother, Yes, Jace is a left-hander. He has an all-round offensive ability, his strength is above average, and his ball selection is very good. Throughout college, he even got more walks than strikeouts. However, his weird hitting action still makes some scouts worry about whether his college data can be transferred to the professional league in the future. After all, he struggled with wood bats in summer league. On the defensive end, Yong's arm strength is below average, and he lacks passing accuracy. Coupled with poor mobility, the fielding range is infinitely reduced. Although he mainly guards second base in college, there is a high probability that he will move to first base in the future. Or left field.
Gavin Cross, outfielder, Virginia Tech
Cross is a very strong outfielder with top bat speed and above-average power , also has very good destructive power between the bases , this year has also made great progress in selection . However, his hitting has obvious leg lift, which also makes some scouts worry about whether he can maintain the quality of his batting in the major leagues. It is also worth mentioning that his sample size against left-handers this year is very small, and whether he can solidly play left-handers is also a big doubt. Cross is also a defender above the level, and has at least proven that he can guard the two corner outfields. As for whether we can afford the center field in the future, it will take time to test. Another interesting thing is that Virginia Tech, where he is based, has not produced a first-round hitter for almost 30 years since 1982, and this year's Cross will most likely break this record.
Brock Porter, starting pitcher, St. Mary's High School in Orchard Lake
Porter, who was born in Michigan , is one of the best high school pitchers in this class. Although he is still relatively thin, he has a very good speedball, which can often reach 97-98mph, with a top speed of 100mph, and the speed is also very good. The speed ball, which has a huge speed difference with the speed ball and a large displacement range, is currently Porter's best change ball.His slider is also considered by many scouts to have great development potential, but it is currently not very controllable and the rotation speed is slightly low, making it almost difficult to lure batters. At this stage, this young man's ball handling and ball distribution still need to be polished. If his development goes well, he will be a reliable front-end rotation player.
Daniel Susac, catcher, University of Arizona
After Parada, another strong hit catcher this year is Susac from the University of Arizona. After entering college, Susak gave up his original left and right bow and focused on right-handed shooting. He has powerful power and can hit the ball to all areas of the court. However, when facing some high-quality change balls, he has a lot of empty swings, which is also an area that urgently needs improvement. Susak's catching ability is very good, and he has an arm like a cannonball (he also played quarterback in high school), and his blocking rate is quite impressive. But his excessive height makes some scouts worry about whether he can stay at the catcher position in the future.
Cole Young, shortstop, North Allegheny High School
Young is the kind of player who needs to be seen a few times to truly appreciate. Although he does not have much power, he has very good hitting skills , and also has a good understanding of the strike zone , and rarely misses. On the defensive end, 's above-average arm strength and excellent movement speed give him a large defensive range, but for now, he still lacks some defensive steps in guerrilla defense. It is also worth mentioning that this high school student will turn 19 years old a few weeks after the draft ends, which may affect the selection of some teams that pay more attention to draft age.
Justin Crawford, outfielder, Bishop Gorman High School
Another second-generation star, like his father Carl Crawford, Justin also has With the very terrible speed of . Although he has good hitting skills, Crawford is still very thin and lacks the ability to hit long balls. In terms of defense, little Crawford should be better than his father. The terrifying speed and powerful arm strength give him a huge defensive range. In the future, he should be able to easily afford the outfield defense in the major leagues. Even became a frequent visitor to Golden Glove Award .
Jett Williams, shortstop, Rockwall Heath High School
Jett, who is only 5 feet 8, is one of the shortest players in this draft, but it does not affect his ability in the draft at all. Deterrence on the strike end. His swing is clean and smooth, the bat speed is extremely fast, and he also has a very good initial batting speed, and can often hit flat flying balls like cannonballs. This young man's destructive power between the bases is equally astonishing. He has an astonishing speed of 160 yards in 6 seconds and 5 seconds. You can often see him turning a ball that looks like a one-base hit into a two-base hit, and a two-base hit into a double-hit ball. Three hits. On the defensive end, due to a previous shoulder injury, his arm strength seems to have been affected to some extent. Coupled with the lack of defensive footwork and height disadvantage, there is a high probability that he will move to second base in the future.
Who do you think is most likely to be elected as the No. 1 pick this year? Come and share your views in the comment area!
*This article was contributed by Butane21
