His hard-hit and barrel rates are already well above what is typical for a big league shortstop, and he still has more room for mass on his frame. Previous ranking: No. He ran a 6.95 ERA in Triple-A throughout 2022 but the hitting environment in Reno isnt fair to pitchers, and Jamesons stuff, control, and athleticism are all on par with a good teams fourth starter. His plus velocity and uphill approach angle make Halls fastball extremely difficult for hitters to get on top of, and righty batters who are trying to anticipate the heater often end up embarrassing themselves against his changeup, which generated a whopping 54% whiff rate in 2022. The floor for Ortiz looks something like Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a slick-fielding utilityman with plus bat-to-ball ability, but not enough power to be a true everyday option, essentially a 45-grade player. He looked great at the start of the Fall League before pitchers figured out they could get him to chase whatever and started junk-balling him to death. For the best pitching staff in the country, Beam picking up the slack will be key to a productive season. Lawlars hit tool projection is a bit of a conundrum. Here at The Duel, we'll have you covered every step of the way, starting with the first step of draft prep identifying this year's top fantasy baseball assets. An approach or swing change could lead to a breakout and Acuas approach might also cause him to perform beneath this ranking, so consider him a volatile prospect even though hes on a 40-man. Not all of this is coming from raw power, its more from the quality of the contact Merrill makes. He still has some relief risk. Stone was an athletic small-school prospect with a powerful drop-and-drive delivery and short, vertically-oriented arm action who the Dodgers selected late in the shortened 2020 draft. Fall Nuggets: Mississippi State, Illinois, Nebraska, UConn, Iowa, Troy, Illinois St., HPU, Indiana St. 2022 Top 100 College Baseball Programs: Top Five, Updated February 28, 2023 | More on the Top 25, Mid-Major Madness: Surging Oral Roberts, Woffords Galanie Headline Notebook, ECUs Parker Byrd Keeps Chasing Baseball Dream After Leg Amputation, Midwest Connection: Statement Wins For the Big Ten, Round Rock, Rumble In The Jungle, and The Rest of Week Two The D1Baseball Podcast, Rogers Rewind: Everything That Caught My Attention In Week Two, Stat Roundup: How The Top 100 Prospects Performed In Week Two, Auburns Irish Came In Hitting, Hasnt Stopped, SEC Midweek Game Primer Feb. 28, March 1, SEC Player and Pitcher of the Week Week 2, SEC Baseball Weekend Two Recap Highway To Hoover, Mississippi State Gets Back on Track Behind Yntema. In the past, Ortizs high-effort delivery and sub-optimal fastball shape put him on the starter/reliever line, but hes thrown plenty of strikes across multiple seasons while simultaneously developing more velocity and comfortably projects as a starting pitcher now. His 40-man timeline presents the Cardinals with what would likely be a seamless transition from MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt to Walker if they so choose, with Walker possibly DHing most days during Goldys contract year. Ortiz put up some silly offensive numbers as an amateur, including a .422/.474/.697 line as a junior at New Mexico State that was caricatured by the elevation of Las Cruces, which is one of the most hitter-friendly environments in college baseball. But Browns fastball has the sort of action that gives pitchers margin for error in the strike zone, and his stuff is so nasty that he can be imprecise and still beat hitters. Quero is a bat-first catching prospect far away from the big leagues. Ramos footwork around the bag needs polish, and his frame is big enough that his range might eventually be an issue there depending on how he fills out, but in limited action Ramos looks fine enough to justify continued development at the keystone. 1 team loses in college baseball, as Iowa dominates top-ranked LSU Over the last year, Prez has added about 30 pounds, experienced a two-tick fastball velocity bump, and incorporated a second, harder breaking ball that has become his primary non-fastball weapon. MLB Second Half Team Projections: Who Should Buy or Sell. It might not be long before Montgomerys bat is better than Yon Moncadas, so perhaps a proactive shift to third base is a good idea. He still threw a ton of strikes and went in the fifth round of the 2021 draft, projecting as a high-floor, low-ceiling depth starter based on his command. His infield actions are smooth and athletic, his swing has a gorgeous, pronounced finish, and he has the right amount of overt physical projection that he might mature into the unteachable, star-making Goldilocks Zone, where he stays at short and also has impact power. Parada was the rare high-profile California high schooler who left the state for college, traveling all the way to Atlanta for two years at Georgia Tech. VIDEOS: Mississippi State tosses 1-hit shutout to win2021 CWS title|Watch Miss. He is a fringe receiver and ball-blocker with a 45 arm. We started with those base rates for every player on this years list and then manually tweaked them depending on our more specific opinions about the player. Of course, Nolan Arenados presence through 2027 dictates a move regardless of how Walker looks over there. With a good team around him, expect more of the same from Dettmer, who will lead this A&M pitching staff. Copyright 2023 Baseball America Enterprises. 5. Moreover, in his 221 innings of career work in the minors, hes allowed just eight home runs. Falling out of the Top 25 is Oregon, which was swept last weekend by UC Santa Barbara. Yorke was the biggest surprise of the 2020 drafts first round. Wood was a divisive amateur prospect, with some scouts seeing him as a center fielder with 70 raw power projection and others seeing him as an eventual first baseman with hit tool risk. The 20-year-old ends it near (or sometimes in) a kneeling position in the box because hes swung with so much effort. Though he lacked present power and typical frame-based power projection, there was enthusiasm surrounding Frelicks catalytic offensive qualities. 39Arizona StatePac-126AZ2-9302916 If he does that while getting to most of his power, hell be one of the better players in baseball its just that De La Cruz has struck out a concerning 30% of the time. The Rangers took him 50th overall and he signed for $1.25 million. Leiter was wild in his first full season, but we dont want to come off him too severely since he has looked like a solid fourth starter basically every other year hes been on the prospect radar. Hes not a great defender right now, and probably wont ever be better than a 40-grade glove, but Davis frames high strikes well and has plus raw arm strength. His pop times are routinely in the 1.85-1.95 range in part because Endy has a strong arm, but also because hes almost always leaving his crouch before he even receives the pitch on steal attempts, which hastens his exchange. 40Notre DameACC10IN1N/ANR8868 lvarez has been one of the more hyped prospects in the Mets system since signing out of Venezuela in 2018 for nearly $3 million, and he has largely lived up to that hype. If he does end up having relevant chase issues, he might track like a left-handed hitting Brendan Rodgers, but Johnsons makeup and personality are so universally lauded that its fair to expect him to make relevant adjustments and become a key cog on Pittsburghs next competitive team. Poised to be a post-2023 40-man add, Flores worked just over 100 innings in 2022. Elko, already a popular and accomplished player in college baseball, was elevated to cult hero status late last season, when he played on a torn ACL and thrived, hitting seven of his 16 total home runs after the injury. Even if he plays nothing but first base from the jump, Walker will still produce enough power to be a consistent 3-WAR All-Star, and theres superlative thump here even at that position. Top-ranked LSU is the marquee team in the four-team Round Rock Classic taking place from Feb, 24-26 in Round Rock, Texas. June 17: The 2022 College World Series begins in Omaha. Brown is the Mewtwo of pitchers, engineered as a facsimile of another powerful entity using science and technology. Lesko is arguably the most polished and complete high school pitching prospect to come along in a decade. LHP Henry Weycker Virginia Techs entire pitching staff had a good week, with quality outings from each of their starters. Though his lower half looks a little stiff and he plays defense with a high center of gravity, hes capable of acrobatic defensive plays and at least has a shot to stay at shortstop long-term. 4 Last Week: 3-1 Overall: 6-1, 0-0 in ACC (0-0 vs. Top 25) Weekend Record: 2-0 Results Feb. 22: Xavier: W 12-8 Feb. 24-26: Bowling Green State: W 2-1, L 9-6, W 14-1 Upcoming Feb. 28: Eastern Kentucky Shriners Hospitals For Children College Classic (Houston) March: 3: vs. (12) Texas A&M March 4: vs. (11) Texas Christian March 5: vs. Michigan Louisville was tested this week, needing to score late in their first two wins against Xavier and Bowling Green. California is now tied with Texas for most teams in the top 100 with 10 apiece. Cincinnatis present roster situation funnels him to third base, but Jonathan Indias injury history, Joey Vottos age and handedness, and the Reds willingness to play Kyle Farmer at shortstop in the past likely mean that Steer will see time all over the infield throughout the next few years, and this flexibility along with his hitting skill should make him nearly an everyday, every-inning player despite some of his defensive blemishes. Even though Stones delivery looks like the sort that can create a power pitchers angle and shape on his fastball, it isnt a dominant in-zone pitch, and his slider/cutter plays more due to command rather than pure stuff. Indeed, the way Mead plays defense isnt typical for an infielder at all; its as if he grew up not watching big league defenders every summer, which might be true. He has a cartoonish leg kick and his hands load similarly to Javier Bezs, and while Neto doesnt have quite the same all-world whip as Bez, he is a plus rotational athlete who hits some epic pull-side homers. He doesnt track pitches especially well (his head often flies all over the place) and he has mediocre barrel variability, so hes likely to swing and miss at an above-average clip in the big leagues, but hes going to get to an absurd amount of power for a catcher and produce at an All-Star offensive level for that position. 24ArizonaPac-124AZ13272222 He has incredible defensive range, especially to his right, and his footwork around the bag is balletic. NC State has one more week of non-conference play before its schedule stiffens with ACC competition. Frelick has a hit-over-power offensive skill set that fits in center field, where were projecting hell improve defensively over time. 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