We're very excited to kick-off this new weekly feature diving into your questions and providing what information we know. While I (@JoeDoyleMiLB) will be the one writing the piece, this is always a team effort. We’ll all see these questions and provide what insight we can. We all have different industry connections and different regional access, so I’ll be leaning on my team of Ralph (@ProspectJesus), Tyler (@TylerJennings24) and Ian (@FlaSmitty) for their expertise as well.
Without any more wasted breath, let’s dive into it.
This is a fantastic question, albeit one that is pretty impossible to answer right now. We have an entire spring season in front of us, so there’s a few months for prep guys to really pop into that upper-tier between now and July. That said, might as well take a stab at it.
For me, two guys really come to mind — Irmo, S.C. outfielder Will Taylor and Haughton, La. shortstop Peyton Stovall.
Taylor is a supreme athlete who’s signed on to play football at the University of Clemson. That said, his future may be on the diamond. Teams love the uber-athleticism and 80-grade speed in centerfield. Taylor showed a good hit tool during the summer of 2020, as well as the ability to really sting the ball into the gaps. There’s some power in the tank there. He figures to get a lot of looks from scouts this spring as folks try to figure out what’s next for him.
Stovall has really seen his name ascend in recent weeks and some teams are already throwing first round grades on his reports. It’s an immensely deep year for prep middle infielders, and beings Stovall is blossoming later than the Lawlars, Mayers, Watsons and Mooneys, he may sneak under the radar come draft day. He’s probably a second baseman at the next level and has a little Todd Walker in him.
Another couple names thrown out were Venice, Fla. outfielder Michael Robertson and Bullard, Tex. southpaw Hagen Smith.
Jaden Hill certainly had a rough weekend allowing 8 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks and a hit-batter in just 0.1 innings of work against the heavy-underdog Oral Roberts. Frankly, it was tough to watch, but I wouldn’t say it will define who Hill is.
Hill has a lot of things going for him in the eyes of scouts. He’s got a live arm (as is obvious by the velocity), a good pro body, and a solid feel for the slider. Also, he only began throwing the slider two years ago. It’s a totally incomplete project. Finally, he’s not afraid to throw his above average changeup either.
Hill has some qualities inside his profile that concern evaluators as well. While the fastball velocity is impressive, Hill’s heater has been hittable. He just doesn’t generate very much swing-and-miss with the pitch. There’s not a lot of deception in his delivery, and Hill doesn’t spin the ball particularly well either. All of his spin rates fall a tick under average. That’s not to say it’s something that couldn’t be improved at the next level, but he’ll need to perform moving forward if he’s to fend of the reliever risk concerns.
Henry Davis and Kevin Parada are certainly two of the best catchers in college baseball this season. When Parada’s signing bonus demands went unmet during the 2020 MLB Draft, most evaluators, including myself, were pretty pleased we were going to get the opportunity to see him blossom into a star at Georgia Tech. He looks well on his way.
As far as future value goes, I’d probably give Parada a half-grade edge in the projection department. But let’s keep in mind how early it is in his career.
Offensively, Davis has some similarities to a guy like Evan Gattis. It’s an above average hit tool with plus raw power. He doesn’t quite get to his full raw power potential yet, and some of that has to do with his flatter swing. That said, he gets very high marks for his discipline and approach at the plate.
Parada has a more conventional swing, although he’s tinkered with it a bit since arriving on campus. He’s got a fantastic feel for hit and power. He gets a little better extension than Davis does in his swing. Parada’s bat path is a little more prototypical than Davis’ as well. He looks every bit the next in the long line of super successful Georgia Tech backstops (Jason Varitek, Matt Weiters, Joey Bart).
Both players have fantastic throwing arms and are good bets to stick behind the plate moving forward, and that’s important in throwing a future value on a player, regardless of the parameters of the question.
I would agree, Kumar Rocker has been leaning on his slider pretty hard over the first three starts of the season, but when it’s this good, and folks know it’s coming, why not?
As far as the fastball goes, he did command the heater more efficiently in this last outing against the University of Illinois-Chicago. Also in regards to the fastball, his velocity is up a bit in 2021, so that’s obviously a positive as well. Like you said, fastball command will still be important moving forward.
I personally don’t think there’s a lot of reliever risk in Rocker. He’s got four pitches in the fastball, cutter, slider and changeup and commands them all well enough to feel comfortable moving forward. I would like to see more of the changeup as we move into conference play, and I’m sure we will. Rocker has the big, prototypical starter body too. He’s cleaned up his mechanics a bit this season to hopefully address the longevity of the season. Many compare the physical profile to a young C.C. Sabathia, but I’d argue Rocker’s body is in a better place than where Sabathia’s was for his debut.
I like this question. Passion for local amateur baseball is something I’ll always address.
The kid from Eastlake HS is Marcelo Mayer. And yeah, he figures to go very high in this draft.
There’s a tall, lanky shortstop by the name of Carson Williams from Torrey Pines that we like a good bit at Prospects Live. Williams is still figuring out how strong he really is. He’s got natural loft and a quick, rotational swing at the plate with burgeoning power. His body and leverage suggests more power is coming. He had a nice summer last year, and is also a standout on the mound, touching 94. That said, he’s likely a bat at the next level, but the athleticism is catching scouts’ attention. He’s a University of Cal-Berkeley commit.
Hunter Hargett is another promising player from the area. He’s a 6-foot-2 righty pitcher with a good fastball and a promising breaking ball he’s shown good feel for. He’s got a really quick arm attached to a powerful body. There’s some effort in the delivery, but he’s a good to familiarize yourself with. He’s committed to San Diego State.