The Top 20 New York Mets prospects headlined by Brandon Sproat
The Top 20 Atlanta Braves prospects headlined by Drake Baldwin
The Top 20 Toronto Blue Jays prospects headlined by Trey Yesavage
The Top 20 Baltimore Orioles prospects headlined by Samuel Basallo
In recent years, Major League Baseball has seen a surge of pitching prospects drafted after the first round skyrocket up prospect lists. These pitchers generally have one or two things in common. They’re either exceptional movers with considerable projection, or they’re metric darlings with outlier pitch-shaping qualities.
For a couple years now, ever since arriving to Baton Rouge, Louisiana State outfielder Dylan Crews has been revered by just about everyone in the baseball industry as one of the most feared hitters on the amateur scene. A career .356 hitter with 40 homers to his name in just two seasons, Crews has put his name in the lights among some of the most impressive bats to ever bulldoze the SEC. The seemingly invincible Crews has bludgeoned pitchers with increasing authority the last two years. So how does one get him out? Is he already too advanced for college baseball? Is there a blueprint to balance the scales?
According to sources close to the event, only 70 percent of players who attended the 2022 MLB Draft Combine opted to take Major League Baseball’s pre-draft physical. Those who didn’t take the physical have currently voided their guarantee of receiving 75 percent of their future draft slot bonus. 255 players attended the event. Roughly 180 of those players took the physical.
One area in CBA talks where there does appear to be some likeminded thinking is using the MLB Draft as a reformation tool in anti-tanking efforts. You’d be hard-pressed to find a single soul in the game who doesn’t think some owners and front offices are purposefully running out less-than-stellar lineups to save money, and to a lesser degree, stockpile draft capital.
