2023 MLB Draft Watch: College Baseball Opening Day and Top 50 Prospects

(jpellgen / Flickr)

Activity is picking up across MLB Spring Training camps aa players are preparing for the upcoming World Baseball Classic and 2023 season. Meanwhile, today is Opening Day for college baseball, and thus begins our weekly 2023 MLB Draft Watch reports for Sox Machine / FutureSox. Each week weโ€™ll be watching college baseball games and gathering reports from the prep level tracking how the top draft prospects are faring.ย 

The 2023 MLB Draft is essential for the Chicago White Sox, who hold the 15th overall pick, as their farm system needs more impact players. There should be intriguing options to choose from in this class.

Favorites to go #1 Overall?

Dylan Crews, OF, LSU

After belting 18 home runs and an eye-opening .362/.453/.663 slash line in his Freshman year, Dylan Crews has been long considered the 2023 #1 overall prospect. He followed up his impressive debut by hitting 22 home runs with 72 RBI in 62 games last year for the LSU Tigers and increased his OPS to 1.153 (.349/.463/.691). 

Crews will be a front-runner for the Golden Spikes and Dick Howser awards in 2023, which puts heavy pressure on his shoulder. Thatโ€™s nothing new for Crews, but heโ€™s never played with this great of a supporting cast. If he can reduce his K% (18.2% in 2022) and continue increasing the power numbers, itโ€™ll be difficult for Pittsburgh to pass on Crews.

Chase Dollander, RHP, Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers enter 2023 with a big chip on their shoulder. After posting one of the best regular seasons in recent memory, the Vols were shocked by Notre Dame in the Super Regional. They are looking to reach Omaha in 2023 and will be led by the countryโ€™s best starting pitching staff. Leading the rotation is Vols Ace, Chase Dollander.ย 

In 16 games last year, Dollander had a 2.39 ERA with 108 K to 13 BB in 79 innings. His arsenal includes a 60+ grade fastball sitting at 95 mph but can reach up to 99 mph. Dollander pairs his elite fastball with a slider that also touches 90 mph. If it were possible for major league teams to grow pitchers in a lab, the desired outcome would be producing someone like Dollander. Dollander will get plenty of opportunities in a stacked SEC conference to showcase his talent.

Max Clark, OF,ย  Franklin Community High School (IN)

When watching the film of Max Clark, one cannot help but dream of witnessing a five-tool player in the making. At showcase events this past summer, Clark posted a 6.33-second 60-yard dash (75-grade) and a 4.03-second sprint from home to first base (70-grade). Thatโ€™s the type of elite speed to convince scouts Clark he can play in center field. Clarkโ€™s max velocity with his four-seam fastball off the mound was 92 mph, so thereโ€™s a chance for good arm strength.ย 

Iโ€™m burying the lede by mentioning Clarkโ€™s athleticism and defensive ability first. What has captured many within the industryโ€™s attention concerning Clark is the bat. His left-handed swing is smooth and repetitive. Consistently makes loud contact during showcase events and had a max exit velocity of 94 mph this past July with a wood bat. 

If Clark was draft-eligible last year, I think he would have gone first overall over Jackson Holliday.

Preseason Average Rankings Top 50 Prospects

Methodology: The Sox Machine/FutureSox Top 50 list is compiled of average rankings from MLB.com, Baseball America, Prospects Live, and Prep Baseball Report. It aims to build a consensus of the top prospects.

Note: Players in red font are either 1) Out for the season with an injury/suspension or 2) Missing the start of the season due to an injury/suspension

RankPlayerPositionSchool
1Dylan CrewsOFLSU
2Chase DollanderRHPTennessee
3Max ClarkOFFranklin (IN)
4Jacob GonzalezSSOle Miss
5Wyatt LangfordOFFlorida
6Walker JenkinsOFSouth Brunswick (NC)
7Enrique BradfieldOFVanderbilt
8Jacob WilsonSSGrand Canyon
9Paul SkenesRHPLSU
10Rhett LowderRHPWake Forest
11Aidan Miller3BMitchell (FL)
12Brayden Taylor3BTCU
13Noble MeyerRHPJesuit (OR)
14Hurston WaldrepRHPFlorida
15Kevin McGonigleSSMonsignor Bonner (PA)
16Thomas WhiteLHPPhillips Academy (MA)
17Matt ShawSSMaryland
18Will SandersRHPSouth Carolina
19Blake MitchellCSinton (TX)
20Yohandy Morales3BMiami
21Tanner WittRHPTexas
22Kyle TeelCVirginia
23Tommy TroySSStanford
24Arjun NimmalaSSStrawberry Crest (FL)
25Brock Wilken3BWake Forest
26Travis SykoraRHPRound Rock (TX)
27Charlee SotoRHPReborn Christian (FL)
28Bryce Eldridge1B/RHPMadison (VA)
29Roch CholowskySSHamilton (AZ)
30Travis HoneymanOFBoston College
31Maui AhunaSSTennessee
32Colin HouckSSParkview (GA)
33Adam HachmanLHPTimberland (MO)
34Jack HurleyOFVirginia Tech
35Cade KuehlerRHPCampbell
36Juaron Watts-BrownRHPOklahoma State
37Colt EmersonSSGlenn (OH)
38Teddy McGrawRHPWake Forest
39Grayson HittLHPAlabama
40Grant TaylorRHPLSU
41Cooper PrattSSMagnolia Heights (MS)
42Cole CarriggC/SS/OFSan Diego State
43Roman MartinSSServite (CA)
44Jake Gelof3BVirginia
45Dillon HeadOFHomewood-Flossmoor (IL)
46Cameron JohnsonLHPIMG Academy (FL)
47Carson MontgomeryRHPFlorida State
48Walker MartinSSEaton (CO)
49Liam PetersonRHPCalvary Christian (FL)
50Eric BitontiSSAquinas (CA)

Watch Board 1.0

The purpose of our Watch Board is tracking prospects I think could be available where the White Sox are picking. I donโ€™t mean to burst any bubbles, but dreaming of Dylan Crews, Chase Dollander, or Max Clark dropping to pick 15 will lead to getting your hopes up. If they fell that far down the board, something terrible would have happened in 2023.ย 

Instead, below are five players that Iโ€™ve circled and will be tracking to start the season. What makes this exercise fun is the White Sox draft tendencies under Director of Amateur Scouting Mike Shirley. Weโ€™ve seen the White Sox go the college power arm (Garrett Crochet), prep infielder (Colson Montgomery), and prep pitcher (Noah Schultz) routes under Shirley. Any player profile is a possibility.ย 

#13 – Noble Meyer, RHP, Jesuit HS (OR)

Noble Meyer has impressive numbers at showcase events as the top-ranked prep pitcher. His max four-seam velocity hit 98 mph at the national Perfect Game showcase, and the slider showed elite spin rates hitting at 3100 rpms. Thatโ€™s more spin than what Dylan Cease gets.ย 

Meyer is committed to Oregon but is widely considered a first-round talent. My only concern watching the film of Meyer is his delivery. Itโ€™s a low ยพ slot with little use of his lower half. Throwing at that velocity and spin is a lot of stress on an elbow. Meyer could benefit from learning to use his legs more like Max Scherzer and start throwing a two-seam fastball taking advantage of the deception from a low arm slot.

#14 – Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Florida

Thereโ€™s been a lot of chatter about LSUโ€™s incoming transfers of DH Tommy White and RHP Paul Skenes (9th-ranked prospect), but Hurston Waldrep transferring from Southern Miss to Florida, I think, could have the biggest impact. Waldrep was a strikeout machine last year, punching out 140 batters in 90 innings.ย 

Primarily a four-seam/slider pitcher, Waldrep has the type of velocity and spin that we see more major league right-handers utilize. During Fall Ball, Waldrep was sitting in the mid-90s and using a couple of variations of his slider. Waldrepโ€™s not afraid to use the slider against right-handed batters early in the count and will use a sweeping spike varation as his strikeout pitch. The command is a bit of touch and go. That will be an area of focus watching Waldrep as he faces a higher level of competition now pitching in the SEC.

#15 – Kevin McGonigle, SS/2B, Monsignor Bonner High School (PA)

Selecting Colson Montgomery in the first round has worked wonders for the White Sox. A left-handed hitting infielder that could be ready to take over for either Tim Anderson or Yoan Moncada certainly helps plan for the future. White Sox could use more Montgomeryโ€™s in the farm system, though. 

I think Kevin McGonigle could fit the bill. At the Perfect Game national showcase, McGonigle impressed with a max exit velocity of 96 mph (better than Max Clark), which was in the 98th percentile of all participants. In the cage, McGonigle can generate loft in his swing. 

Ultimately, McGonigle is more of a second baseman than a shortstop. Iโ€™m not crazy about his double cro-hop technique at shortstop, and his max infield throwing velocity was 86 mph (We are now seeing prep shortstops in the 90s mph). Iโ€™m impressed by McGonigleโ€™s hitting technique, so I have his name circled early.

#17 – Matt Shaw, SS, Maryland

Itโ€™s rare to see players from the Big Ten conference considered first-rounders, but Matt Shaw caught the attention of scouts during his 2022 campaign at Maryland and continued that momentum at the Cape Cod League. Exchanging contact for more power last year, Shaw jumped from hitting seven home runs during his Freshman season to 22 homers in his Sophomore campaign. That shift in focus dropped his batting average considerably (.332 in 2021 to .290 in 2022), but Shawโ€™s OPS increased to .986 (.290/.381/.604). Iโ€™m not crazy about his strikeout rate (15.8% in โ€˜22), but thereโ€™s a surprising amount of power in his swing.ย 

You see his strength when watching the film of Shawโ€™s time at the Cape, where he hit .360/.432/.574 with five home runs in 36 games. Itโ€™s alley-to-alley power where Shaw drives pitches out of the yard using metal or wood bats. Now, Iโ€™m not seeing a lot of pull power from his 2022 film. Something Iโ€™ll be keeping an eye on when watching Shaw in 2023.

#18 – Will Sanders, RHP, South Carolina

It was a good, but not great, 2022 regular season for Will Sanders. His highlights included a 14-strikeout start against rival Clemson and striking out 11 against Vanderbilt. Besides those two starts, Sanders had nine starts with five or fewer strikeouts. For the season, Sanders had 91 strikeouts in 89.1 innings. In the SEC Tournament against Florida, Sanders dazzled. Pairing his mid-90s fastball with a slider that dropped off the table away from right-handed hitters, Sanders struck out 10 in seven innings.ย 

Sanders has a similar build to Lucas Giolito (6โ€™6โ€, 230 lbs) and, in some ways, has a similar pitching style. Attacking right-handed hitters with fastballs up and attempting to get them to whiff on low and away sliders. Against left-handers, Sanders has a very effective changeup that has fading action. Perhaps thereโ€™s an opportunity to gain more velocity by shortening his throwing motion, but Sanders gets good downhill action with his current mechanics that adds deception to his fastball velocity.

Lil Jimmyโ€™s โ€œGood Looking Kidโ€ – Prep Player to Watch

Dillion Head, OF, Homewood-Flossmoor High School (IL)

In honor of our late friend, Jim โ€œLil Jimmyโ€ Osborn, I like to highlight a prep talent that could be on the White Sox radar. He loved the makeup of Marcelo Mayer, and sure enough, the Boston Red Sox young shortstop is the ninth-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com. Jimmy always had a good eye when picking out prep players to click.ย 

This yearโ€™s preseason pick is a local kid. Homewood-Flossmoor High School has produced White Sox media personalities in Jason Benetti, Scott Merkin, and Chuck Garfein. Our good friend, Laurence Holmes of 670 the Score and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, is also a Homewood-Flossmoor grad. The high school has produced three major leaguers in former White Sox draftee John Ely, Eric Hillman, and long-time pitching coach Larry Rothschild. No position player from Homewood-Flossmoor has made the majors. 

That could change with Dillion Head.

Head put up some impressive numbers in drills at the Perfect Game showcase. His 6.22 60-yard dash would be considered 80-grade, and when paired with his max throwing velocity of 91 mph, plenty of scouts see a future center fielder. The big question when it comes to Head is the bat. Currently ranked #45, Head will have to hit this Spring to move up draft boards. Heโ€™s currently committed to Clemson. 

When watching the film of Headโ€™s performance at the showcase, I was impressed with much barrel speed he generates from his left-handed swing. The barrel whips through the zone, and thereโ€™s potential for pull power. Headโ€™s max exit velocity at the showcase was 95 mph using a wood bat. I donโ€™t imagine Head being a slap hitter that utilizes his speed to do most of his offensive damage, like Vanderbiltโ€™s Enrique Bradfield. Instead, Headโ€™s profile might be similar to another Chicago-area draftee in Alek Thomas, who the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted 63rd overall in 2018.

Preseason NCBWA Top 25

RankSchool
1LSU
2Tennessee
3Stanford
4Florida
5Texas A&M
6Arkansas
7Ole Miss
8Wake Forest
9Vanderbilt
10Louisville
11Oklahoma State
12East Carolina
13North Carolina
14UCLA
15Maryland
16TCU
17Miami
18Virginia Tech
19Virginia
20Southern Miss
21Oregon
22Texas Tech
23Oregon State
24NC State
25Alabama

Games Iโ€™m Watching This Weekend

#9 Vanderbilt vs. #16 TCU – Friday, Feb. 17, 3:00 PM CT – Flo Sports

The College Baseball Showdown is one of my favorite early-season tournaments, and it starts with a big showdown between Vanderbilt and TCU. This a good opportunity to see Top 15 prospects in Vanderbiltโ€™s Enrique Bradfield and TCUโ€™s Brayden Taylor.ย 

South Carolina vs. UMass-Lowell – Friday, Feb. 17, 3:00 PM CT – SEC Network+

Did you know that former White Sox Danny Mendick attended UMass-Lowell? The Fightinโ€™ Danny Mendicks will face South Carolinaโ€™s Will Sanders. 

#4 Florida vs. Charleston Southern – Saturday, Feb. 18, 3:00 PM CT – SEC Network+

I think Florida will go with Brandon Sproat for the Friday night assignment over Hurston Waldrep. Iโ€™m looking forward to seeing how Waldrep looks in his first start, and itโ€™s a chance to catch #5 ranked prospect Wyatt Langford early.ย 

********

If you enjoyed this 2023 MLB Draft Watch column, sign up as a Sox Machine Patreon supporter at www.patreon.com/soxmachine. Every Wednesday, I’ll have a Patreon-exclusive column capturing highlights and providing reports of the top MLB Draft prospects.

Author

  • Josh Nelson

    Josh Nelson is the host and producer of the Sox Machine Podcast. For show suggestions, guest appearances, and sponsorship opportunities, you can reach him via email at josh@soxmachine.com.

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knoxfire30

Its slowly growing but I love the fact college baseball is becoming a little more mainstream. Tons of exciting action throughout the year not just the regions and world series.

My UNC bias is as big as ever, but hard not to fall in love with Vance Honeycutt who Ben Badler just listed as his possible #1 overall 2024 prospect. A legit 5 tool highlight reel in CF, definitely someone I am gonna be watching this year. As far as 2023 prospects the SEC is loaded definitely gonna be tuning into a bunch of games on SEC network.

knoxfire30

They were fun at the end of last year, got semi hot and just ran into a better Arkansas team that stymied their offense. Honeycutt is electric factory… his highlight reel was basically Adam Engel in CF but then a 25-29 season at the plate and on the paths…pretty darn impressive for a true freshman.

Jim Margalus

Comps are Vance Law and Rick Honeycutt.

ForsterFTOG

Crafty lefty Mormons with bad mullets are rare.

asinwreck

This is an uncannily accurate description of one of my grad school friends. (For the time. Haircut no longer applicable.)

HallofFrank

I don’t know draft rules well enough to know if this is allowed. But suppose the White Sox really wanted Dylan Crews. For ease of example, I’ll use last year’s bonus pool amounts. The slot value of the #1 overall pick was $8.84m and the total bonus pool for the 15th pick was $9.47m. If they wanted Crews that bad, could the Sox offer him $9.0m and basically punt the rest of the draft? I’m not saying I want this, I was just curious if they could try if they wanted to do it.

PauliePaulie

There is no rule against that. But they’d, and he’d, be risking any team picking him anyway and daring him to not sign.
And the Sox would then have no concrete conversations on bonus with any other player in the draft.

HallofFrank

Well, it’s the White Sox, so I suppose it may be asking too much, but it seems like they should be able to have other concrete conversations and have a plan A like this. After all, I assume teams make these sorts of adjustments all the time, no?

Anyway, I’m a little surprised we’ve not seen a team try something like this.

PauliePaulie

Sox did a lesser version of this in recent drafts. Going over slot on the first few picks, and signing a bunch of college seniors for minimal $ afterwards.
Puts a lot of pressure on those few over-slot guys to hit. And when they don’t, you have a 25th to 30th ranked farm system.

HallofFrank

Yeah but I suppose “lesser version” is the key phrase. I can borrow a line from the Marxist playbook here: “it’s not a bad idea, it just hasn’t been fully tried.” If the Sox successfully pulled this off in ’19 & ’20, for example, they’d essentially trade Andrew Vaughn, Garrett Crochet, and their 3 high school pitchers (Kelley, Thompson, Dalquist) for Adley Ruschman and Spencer Torkleson. I think I’d do that.

But, of course, this is all for fun. I agree it puts a lot of pressure on the top guys to perform and I’m sure there are logistical issues with it. But, man, it’d be fun if the White Sox somehow got Dylan Crews.

FishSox

That MO is somewhat common.

As Cirensica

Very nice gesture to Lil Jimmy. Excellent work here Josh. Thanks

PauliePaulie

Sorry to go off topic. Just wanted to say how happy I am about the Machado opt-out news. Now the Sox can sign him next offseason!

ForsterFTOG

(Insert hysterically laughing Ray Liotta GIF)

As Cirensica

Hahn probably pondering what Yonder Alonso and Jon Jay are up to these days.

Might want to add some Louisville players and some Zachs to your watch list.

Blow my Gload

It looks like Noble Meyer is pitching to Nick Madrigal in that video.

ChiTownMax25

Ohio is driving distance from Indiana, so I’m guessing the Sox take Colt Emerson.

FishSox

Sons college teammates father was chief scout with a couple of clubs. He made the comment to me once (paraphrase), there are more HS RHP draft busts than any other single pick.