College baseball is entering the last month of regular season play as conference tournaments will begin on May 23 and then Regionals on June 2. The number of reports, mock drafts, and updated prospect lists will be coming rapidly. That also includes us at Sox Machine / FutureSox as we attempt to untangle who the Chicago White Sox are leaning toward taking 15th overall.
As of now, there isn’t a clear direction. In the latest MLB.com mock draft from good friend Jim Callis, Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. would be his first-round pick for the White Sox. I’ve stated previously that I thought Bradfield Jr.’s poor start to 2023 would drop him out of the Top 10. Since then, Bradfield Jr. has excelled in hitting during SEC conference play with an impressive slash line of .333/.500/.590. His season numbers are now at .294/.451/.454 with a 19.2% BB rate and 30/35 in stolen base attempts.
There will be more about Bradfield Jr. in the upcoming weeks, but he’s still a Top 10 prospect in the Sox Machine / FutureSox 2023 MLB Draft Top 100 Average Rankings. For those new to these rankings, the purpose is to build a consensus among multiple publications: MLB.com, Baseball America, Prospects Live, and ESPN. Today, Keith Law released his Top 50 prospect list on The Athletic, but those are not included in this Top 100 list.
2023 MLB Draft Top 100 Average Rankings
| Rank | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | Dylan Crews | OF | LSU |
| 2 | Paul Skenes | RHP | LSU |
| 3 | Wyatt Langford | OF | Florida |
| 4 | Walker Jenkins | OF | South Brunswick HS (NC) |
| 5 | Max Clark | OF | Franklin HS (IN) |
| 6 | Chase Dollander | RHP | Tennessee |
| 7 | Jacob Gonzalez | SS | Ole Miss |
| 8 | Jacob Wilson | SS | Grand Canyon |
| 9 | Enrique Bradfield | OF | Vanderbilt |
| 10 | Rhett Lowder | RHP | Wake Forest |
| 11 | Arjun Nimmala | SS | Strawberry Crest HS (FL) |
| 12 | Noble Meyer | RHP | Jesuit HS (OR) |
| 13 | Hurston Waldrep | RHP | Florida |
| 14 | Aidan Miller | 3B | Mitchell HS (FL) |
| 15 | Brayden Taylor | 3B | TCU |
| 16 | Kyle Teel | C | Virginia |
| 17 | Blake Mitchell | C | Sinton HS (TX) |
| 18 | Tommy Troy | SS | Stanford |
| 19 | Kevin McGonigle | SS | Monsignor Bonner HS (PA) |
| 20 | Bryce Eldridge | RHP | Madison HS (VA) |
| 21 | Matt Shaw | SS | Maryland |
| 22 | Colin Houck | SS | Parkview HS (GA) |
| 23 | Charlee Soto | RHP | Reborn Christian HS (FL) |
| 24 | Brock Wilken | 3B | Wake Forest |
| 25 | Yohandy Morales | 3B | Miami |
| 26 | Thomas White | LHP | Phillips Academy (MA) |
| 27 | Colt Emerson | SS | Glenn HS (OH) |
| 28 | Dillon Head | OF | Homewood-Flossmoor HS (IL) |
| 29 | Juaron Watts-Brown | RHP | Oklahoma State |
| 30 | Jack Hurley | OF | Virginia Tech |
| 31 | Walker Martin | SS | Eaton HS (CO) |
| 32 | Roch Cholowsky | SS | Hamilton HS (AZ) |
| 33 | Nolan Schanuel | OF | Florida Atlantic |
| 34 | Ralphy Velazquez | C | Huntington Beach HS (CA) |
| 35 | Tanner Witt | RHP | Texas |
| 36 | Jake Gelof | 3B | Virginia |
| 37 | Colton Ledbetter | OF | Mississippi State |
| 38 | Cade Kuehler | RHP | Campbell |
| 39 | George Lombard Jr. | SS | Gulliver Prep (FL) |
| 40 | Travis Honeyman | OF | Boston College |
| 41 | Cooper Pratt | SS | Magnolia Heights HS (MS) |
| 42 | Jonny Farmelo | OF | Westfield HS (VA) |
| 43 | Travis Sykora | RHP | Round Rock HS (TX) |
| 44 | Cameron Johnson | LHP | IMG Academy (FL) |
| 45 | Chase Davis | OF | Arizona |
| 46 | Adrian Santana | SS | Doral Academy (FL) |
| 47 | Cole Carrigg | C | San Diego State |
| 48 | Alexander Clemmey | LHP | Bishop Hendricken HS (RI) |
| 49 | Will Sanders | RHP | South Carolina |
| 50 | Maui Ahuna | SS | Tennessee |
| 51 | Mitch Jebb | SS | Michigan State |
| 52 | Brandon Sproat | RHP | Florida |
| 53 | Hunter Owen | LHP | Vanderbilt |
| 54 | Alonzo Tredwell | RHP | UCLA |
| 55 | LuJames Groover III | 3B | North Carolina State |
| 56 | Eric Bitonti | SS | Aquinas HS (CA) |
| 57 | Cole Schoenwetter | RHP | San Marcos HS (CA) |
| 58 | Brice Matthews | 2B | Nebraska |
| 59 | Grayson Hitt | LHP | Alabama |
| 60 | Liam Peterson | RHP | Calvary Christian HS (FL) |
| 61 | Adam Hachman | LHP | Timberland HS (MO) |
| 62 | Kyle Karros | 3B | UCLA |
| 63 | Antonio Anderson | SS | North Atlanta HS (GA) |
| 64 | Kiefer Lord | RHP | Washington |
| 65 | Joey Volchko | RHP | Redwood HS (CA) |
| 66 | Ryan Lasko | OF | Rutgers |
| 67 | Mike Boeve | 3B | Nebraska-Omaha |
| 68 | Trent Caraway | 3B | JSerra Catholic HS (CA) |
| 69 | Jackson Baumeister | RHP | Florida State |
| 70 | Zander Mueth | RHP | Belleville East HS (IL) |
| 71 | Landen Maroudis | RHP | Calvary Christian (FL) |
| 72 | Sammy Stafura | SS | Walter Panas HS (NY) |
| 73 | Nazzan Zanetello | SS | Christian Brothers HS (MO) |
| 74 | Ty Floyd | RHP | LSU |
| 75 | Kemp Alderman | OF | Ole Miss |
| 76 | Michael Carico | C | Davidson |
| 77 | Luke Keaschall | 2B | Arizona State |
| 78 | Myles Naylor | 3B | St. Joan of Arc HS (ON) |
| 79 | Grant Taylor | RHP | LSU |
| 80 | Will Gasparino | OF | Harvard-Westlake HS (CA) |
| 81 | Tre' Morgan | 1B | LSU |
| 82 | Roman Martin | SS | Servite HS (CA) |
| 83 | Max Anderson | 3B | Nebraska |
| 84 | Josh Knoth | RHP | Patchogue-Medford HS (NY) |
| 85 | Kendall George | OF | Atascocita HS (TX) |
| 86 | Blake Wolters | RHP | Mahomet-Seymour HS (IL) |
| 87 | Nathan Dettmer | RHP | Texas A&M |
| 88 | Dylan Cupp | SS | Cedartown HS (GA) |
| 89 | Drew Burress | OF | Houston County HS (GA) |
| 90 | Teddy McGraw | RHP | Wake Forest |
| 91 | Christian Knapczyk | SS | Louisville |
| 92 | Paul Wilson | LHP | Lakeridge HS (OR) |
| 93 | Levi Wells | RHP | Texas State |
| 94 | Alex Mooney | SS | Duke |
| 95 | Ethan McElvain | LHP | Nolensville HS (TN) |
| 96 | Jace Bohrofen | OF | Arkansas |
| 97 | Sean Sullivan | LHP | Wake Forest |
| 98 | Caden Sorrell | OF | Marcus HS (TX) |
| 99 | Tanner Hall | RHP | Southern Mississippi |
| 100 | Jared Dickey | OF | Tennessee |
Subscribe to skip adsAdvertisement
Top 10 College Position Players
| Rank | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | Dylan Crews | OF | LSU |
| 2 | Wyatt Langford | OF | Florida |
| 3 | Jacob Gonzalez | SS | Ole Miss |
| 4 | Jacob Wilson | SS | Grand Canyon |
| 5 | Enrique Bradfield | OF | Vanderbilt |
| 6 | Brayden Taylor | 3B | TCU |
| 7 | Kyle Teel | C | Virginia |
| 8 | Tommy Troy | SS | Stanford |
| 9 | Matt Shaw | SS | Maryland |
| 10 | Brock Wilken | 3B | Wake Forest |
Top 10 College Pitchers
| Rank | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | Paul Skenes | RHP | LSU |
| 2 | Chase Dollander | RHP | Tennessee |
| 3 | Rhett Lowder | RHP | Wake Forest |
| 4 | Hurston Waldrep | RHP | Florida |
| 5 | Juaron Watts-Brown | RHP | Oklahoma State |
| 6 | Tanner Witt | RHP | Texas |
| 7 | Cade Kuehler | RHP | Campbell |
| 8 | Will Sanders | RHP | South Carolina |
| 9 | Brandon Sproat | RHP | Florida |
| 10 | Hunter Owen | LHP | Vanderbilt |
Top 10 Prep Position Players
Subscribe to skip adsAdvertisement
| Rank | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | Walker Jenkins | OF | South Brunswick HS (NC) |
| 2 | Max Clark | OF | Franklin HS (IN) |
| 3 | Arjun Nimmala | SS | Strawberry Crest HS (FL) |
| 4 | Aidan Miller | 3B | Mitchell HS (FL) |
| 5 | Blake Mitchell | C | Sinton HS (TX) |
| 6 | Kevin McGonigle | SS | Monsignor Bonner HS (PA) |
| 7 | Colin Houck | SS | Parkview HS (GA) |
| 8 | Colt Emerson | SS | Glenn HS (OH) |
| 9 | Dillon Head | OF | Homewood-Flossmoor HS (IL) |
| 10 | Walker Martin | SS | Eaton HS (CO) |
Top 10 Prep Pitchers
| Rank | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | Noble Meyer | RHP | Jesuit HS (OR) |
| 2 | Bryce Eldridge | RHP | Madison HS (VA) |
| 3 | Charlee Soto | RHP | Reborn Christian HS (FL) |
| 4 | Thomas White | LHP | Phillips Academy (MA) |
| 5 | Travis Sykora | RHP | Round Rock HS (TX) |
| 6 | Cameron Johnson | LHP | IMG Academy (FL) |
| 7 | Alexander Clemmey | LHP | Bishop Hendricken HS (RI) |
| 8 | Cole Schoenwetter | RHP | San Marcos HS (CA) |
| 9 | Liam Peterson | RHP | Calvary Christian HS (FL) |
| 10 | Adam Hachman | LHP | Timberland HS (MO) |
Observations from Top 100 Rankings:
- LSU outfielder Dylan Crews is the unanimous #1 prospect, and he should be. Entering weekend play, Crews is hitting .486/.633/.851 with 23.7% BB and 10.6% K rates. Crews are putting together one of the best college-hitting seasons ever.
- Tennessee RHP Chase Dollander was considered the best pitching prospect before the season, but now that honor belongs to LSU RHP Paul Skenes. In 11 starts, Skenes has a 1.93 ERA in 65.1 innings with an eye-opening 124 K to 12 BB. Skenes is striking out 50% of the batters he’s faced in 2023.
- Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford is the other contender to be taken first overall. Despite suffering a groin injury, Langford is hitting .403/.543/.784 with more extra-base hits than Crews.
- I’m still expecting a run on college players early in this draft, with ten college players ranked in the Top 15.
- The draft class weakness is prep pitching. While there are impressive data points from some of the top young arms, they all come with significant red flags, either with delivery or injury history.
- Local kid Dillon Head from Homewood-Flossmoor has positioned him solidly in the first-round territory. It’s been discussed within circles for a few weeks, and Callis wrote about it in his latest mock, that teams are debating between Bradfield Jr. and Head. It’ll come down to preference between selecting a college player or taking the chance to develop a prep talent.
- Texas RHP Tanner Witt has returned to pitching after having Tommy John surgery in 2022. Against TCU on May 1, Witt didn’t have a good outing as he allowed 3 ER in 0.2 innings. He’s a name to monitor as the rust breaks off during the stretch run.
- For those looking ahead - here are three college pitchers to monitor as possible second-round targets for the White Sox: South Carolina RHP Will Sanders, Florida RHP Brandon Sproat, and Vanderbilt LHP Hunter Owen.
Subscribe to skip adsAdvertisement
