Site icon Prospects Worldwide

Top 10 Prospects Returning to School for the 2021 Draft

<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- Display Ad --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-7814068302911952" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1407500180" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<ul class&equals;"wp-block-social-links is-style-pill-shape is-layout-flex wp-block-social-links-is-layout-flex">&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li class&equals;"wp-social-link wp-social-link-twitter wp-block-social-link"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;&commat;ZackMatt4" class&equals;"wp-block-social-link-anchor"><svg width&equals;"24" height&equals;"24" viewBox&equals;"0 0 24 24" version&equals;"1&period;1" xmlns&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;w3&period;org&sol;2000&sol;svg" aria-hidden&equals;"true" focusable&equals;"false"><path d&equals;"M22&period;23&comma;5&period;924c-0&period;736&comma;0&period;326-1&period;527&comma;0&period;547-2&period;357&comma;0&period;646c0&period;847-0&period;508&comma;1&period;498-1&period;312&comma;1&period;804-2&period;27 c-0&period;793&comma;0&period;47-1&period;671&comma;0&period;812-2&period;606&comma;0&period;996C18&period;324&comma;4&period;498&comma;17&period;257&comma;4&comma;16&period;077&comma;4c-2&period;266&comma;0-4&period;103&comma;1&period;837-4&period;103&comma;4&period;103 c0&comma;0&period;322&comma;0&period;036&comma;0&period;635&comma;0&period;106&comma;0&period;935C8&period;67&comma;8&period;867&comma;5&period;647&comma;7&period;234&comma;3&period;623&comma;4&period;751C3&period;27&comma;5&period;357&comma;3&period;067&comma;6&period;062&comma;3&period;067&comma;6&period;814 c0&comma;1&period;424&comma;0&period;724&comma;2&period;679&comma;1&period;825&comma;3&period;415c-0&period;673-0&period;021-1&period;305-0&period;206-1&period;859-0&period;513c0&comma;0&period;017&comma;0&comma;0&period;034&comma;0&comma;0&period;052c0&comma;1&period;988&comma;1&period;414&comma;3&period;647&comma;3&period;292&comma;4&period;023 c-0&period;344&comma;0&period;094-0&period;707&comma;0&period;144-1&period;081&comma;0&period;144c-0&period;264&comma;0-0&period;521-0&period;026-0&period;772-0&period;074c0&period;522&comma;1&period;63&comma;2&period;038&comma;2&period;816&comma;3&period;833&comma;2&period;85 c-1&period;404&comma;1&period;1-3&period;174&comma;1&period;756-5&period;096&comma;1&period;756c-0&period;331&comma;0-0&period;658-0&period;019-0&period;979-0&period;057c1&period;816&comma;1&period;164&comma;3&period;973&comma;1&period;843&comma;6&period;29&comma;1&period;843 c7&period;547&comma;0&comma;11&period;675-6&period;252&comma;11&period;675-11&period;675c0-0&period;178-0&period;004-0&period;355-0&period;012-0&period;531C20&period;985&comma;7&period;47&comma;21&period;68&comma;6&period;747&comma;22&period;23&comma;5&period;924z"><&sol;path><&sol;svg><span class&equals;"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text">Twitter<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<li class&equals;"wp-social-link wp-social-link-twitter wp-block-social-link"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;&commat;ProspectsWorldW" class&equals;"wp-block-social-link-anchor"><svg width&equals;"24" height&equals;"24" viewBox&equals;"0 0 24 24" version&equals;"1&period;1" xmlns&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;w3&period;org&sol;2000&sol;svg" aria-hidden&equals;"true" focusable&equals;"false"><path d&equals;"M22&period;23&comma;5&period;924c-0&period;736&comma;0&period;326-1&period;527&comma;0&period;547-2&period;357&comma;0&period;646c0&period;847-0&period;508&comma;1&period;498-1&period;312&comma;1&period;804-2&period;27 c-0&period;793&comma;0&period;47-1&period;671&comma;0&period;812-2&period;606&comma;0&period;996C18&period;324&comma;4&period;498&comma;17&period;257&comma;4&comma;16&period;077&comma;4c-2&period;266&comma;0-4&period;103&comma;1&period;837-4&period;103&comma;4&period;103 c0&comma;0&period;322&comma;0&period;036&comma;0&period;635&comma;0&period;106&comma;0&period;935C8&period;67&comma;8&period;867&comma;5&period;647&comma;7&period;234&comma;3&period;623&comma;4&period;751C3&period;27&comma;5&period;357&comma;3&period;067&comma;6&period;062&comma;3&period;067&comma;6&period;814 c0&comma;1&period;424&comma;0&period;724&comma;2&period;679&comma;1&period;825&comma;3&period;415c-0&period;673-0&period;021-1&period;305-0&period;206-1&period;859-0&period;513c0&comma;0&period;017&comma;0&comma;0&period;034&comma;0&comma;0&period;052c0&comma;1&period;988&comma;1&period;414&comma;3&period;647&comma;3&period;292&comma;4&period;023 c-0&period;344&comma;0&period;094-0&period;707&comma;0&period;144-1&period;081&comma;0&period;144c-0&period;264&comma;0-0&period;521-0&period;026-0&period;772-0&period;074c0&period;522&comma;1&period;63&comma;2&period;038&comma;2&period;816&comma;3&period;833&comma;2&period;85 c-1&period;404&comma;1&period;1-3&period;174&comma;1&period;756-5&period;096&comma;1&period;756c-0&period;331&comma;0-0&period;658-0&period;019-0&period;979-0&period;057c1&period;816&comma;1&period;164&comma;3&period;973&comma;1&period;843&comma;6&period;29&comma;1&period;843 c7&period;547&comma;0&comma;11&period;675-6&period;252&comma;11&period;675-11&period;675c0-0&period;178-0&period;004-0&period;355-0&period;012-0&period;531C20&period;985&comma;7&period;47&comma;21&period;68&comma;6&period;747&comma;22&period;23&comma;5&period;924z"><&sol;path><&sol;svg><span class&equals;"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text">Twitter<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;li>&NewLine;&NewLine;<li class&equals;"wp-social-link wp-social-link-youtube wp-block-social-link"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;youtube&period;com&sol;channel&sol;UCpO0Mz-8tnHNKqQk8oJSDcg&quest;view&lowbar;as&equals;subscriber" class&equals;"wp-block-social-link-anchor"><svg width&equals;"24" height&equals;"24" viewBox&equals;"0 0 24 24" version&equals;"1&period;1" xmlns&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;w3&period;org&sol;2000&sol;svg" aria-hidden&equals;"true" focusable&equals;"false"><path d&equals;"M21&period;8&comma;8&period;001c0&comma;0-0&period;195-1&period;378-0&period;795-1&period;985c-0&period;76-0&period;797-1&period;613-0&period;801-2&period;004-0&period;847c-2&period;799-0&period;202-6&period;997-0&period;202-6&period;997-0&period;202 h-0&period;009c0&comma;0-4&period;198&comma;0-6&period;997&comma;0&period;202C4&period;608&comma;5&period;216&comma;3&period;756&comma;5&period;22&comma;2&period;995&comma;6&period;016C2&period;395&comma;6&period;623&comma;2&period;2&comma;8&period;001&comma;2&period;2&comma;8&period;001S2&comma;9&period;62&comma;2&comma;11&period;238v1&period;517 c0&comma;1&period;618&comma;0&period;2&comma;3&period;237&comma;0&period;2&comma;3&period;237s0&period;195&comma;1&period;378&comma;0&period;795&comma;1&period;985c0&period;761&comma;0&period;797&comma;1&period;76&comma;0&period;771&comma;2&period;205&comma;0&period;855c1&period;6&comma;0&period;153&comma;6&period;8&comma;0&period;201&comma;6&period;8&comma;0&period;201 s4&period;203-0&period;006&comma;7&period;001-0&period;209c0&period;391-0&period;047&comma;1&period;243-0&period;051&comma;2&period;004-0&period;847c0&period;6-0&period;607&comma;0&period;795-1&period;985&comma;0&period;795-1&period;985s0&period;2-1&period;618&comma;0&period;2-3&period;237v-1&period;517 C22&comma;9&period;62&comma;21&period;8&comma;8&period;001&comma;21&period;8&comma;8&period;001z M9&period;935&comma;14&period;594l-0&period;001-5&period;62l5&period;404&comma;2&period;82L9&period;935&comma;14&period;594z"><&sol;path><&sol;svg><span class&equals;"wp-block-social-link-label screen-reader-text">YouTube<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;li><&sol;ul>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading">Written By&colon; Zack Silverman<br>Follow Him on Twitter&colon;&nbsp&semi;<strong><a rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;ZackMatt4" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank"><span class&equals;"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">&commat;ZackMatt4<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;strong><br>Follow Prospects Worldwide on Twitter&colon;&nbsp&semi;<strong><a rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;ProspectsWorldW" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank"><span class&equals;"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">&commat;ProspectsWorldW<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;strong><&sol;h2>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-black-background-color has-black-color is-style-wide"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Every year&comma; a couple highly regarded college prospects here and there decide to stick around an extra year&comma; most recently guys like Mississippi State&&num;8217&semi;s Jake Mangum and LSU&&num;8217&semi;s Zach Watson and Zack Hess&period; This year&comma; it obviously happened to a lot more guys&comma; so we&&num;8217&semi;ll have a ton of high level talent not only heading to campus&comma; but returning to campus next year&period; Below I&&num;8217&semi;ll walk through the top college prospects to go undrafted and return to school&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Nine out of ten names are pitchers&comma; which is a testament to the incredible depth of college pitching in this year&&num;8217&semi;s class&period; It wasn&&num;8217&semi;t just that run we saw in the back half of the first round &lpar;Jarvis&comma; Cavalli&comma; Shuster&comma; Miller&comma; etc&period;&rpar;&comma; but a truly deep class that went well past the top 100 names&period; With so many options available&comma; teams didn&&num;8217&semi;t have to take risks on upside plays like Tommy Mace or Gavin Williams&comma; and these kids decided to return to school to bet on themselves&period; Guys like Williams&comma; Brandon Birdsell&comma; and Trenton Denholm will still be age-appropriate come draft day&comma; though many others will be older than their competition and Mason Erla will be a few months shy of his 24th birthday by the time the 2021 draft rolls around&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">1&period; RHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Tommy Mace<&sol;strong>&comma; Florida<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Florida had two pitchers with draft aspirations in the shortened 2020 draft&comma; but both Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich elected to return to school&period; Mace was the top college player on my personal list to go undrafted&comma; with the chance to have gone as high as the second round&period; He was a well known draft prospect coming out of high school in the Tampa suburbs in 2017&comma; a classic projection right hander as a 6&&num;8217&semi;6&&num;8243&semi; beanpole&period; Three years later&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;s made some incremental progress&comma; but Mace clearly believes &lpar;he would prefer the verb &&num;8220&semi;knows&&num;8221&semi;&rpar; he has more in the tank&period; His fastball sits in the low 90&&num;8217&semi;s and can get up to 96&comma; while his cutter&sol;slider hybrid is an effective&comma; above average offspeed pitch and his changeup gives him a third reliable offering&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">It&&num;8217&semi;s a fairly ordinary package&comma; but there is still a lot of projection left in his lanky frame and his stuff has steadily gotten sharper throughout his career with the Gators&period; After putting up a 4&period;85 ERA and a 119&sol;50 strikeout to walk ratio over 152&period;1 innings over his first two seasons&comma; he improved to a 1&period;67 ERA and a 26&sol;5 strikeout to walk ratio over 27 innings this year&comma; including an excellent outing against a very tough Miami lineup&period; As a slightly above average strike thrower&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;s not nearly as raw as most projection arms&comma; and his competitive nature helps him significantly&period; He&&num;8217&semi;ll return as the ace of one of the best rotations in college baseball next year with Leftwich and rising-sophomore Hunter Barco&comma; perhaps second behind only Vanderbilt&&num;8217&semi;s one-two punch of Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter&period; Mace could have easily pitched his way into the Top 50 picks with a strong run through SEC play this year&comma; so he&&num;8217&semi;ll hope to do that next year&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">2&period; RHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Gavin Williams<&sol;strong>&comma; East Carolina<&sol;p><div class&equals;"LYBhtPmo" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- Display Ad --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-7814068302911952" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1407500180" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Gavin Williams&comma; like Tommy Mace&comma; was a projectable 6&&num;8217&semi;6&&num;8243&semi; high school arm in 2017&comma; hailing from Fayetteville&comma; North Carolina&period; He hasn&&num;8217&semi;t made quite as much progress as Mace during his time at East Carolina&comma; having only thrown 68 innings for the Pirates with a 3&period;57 ERA and a 70&sol;32 strikeout to walk ratio along the way&period; That said&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;s also eight months younger and won&&num;8217&semi;t be much older than most of the regular juniors next year&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">He throws a premium mid 90&&num;8217&semi;s fastball that can touch triple digits in shorter stints&comma; and with his now-filled-out 6&&num;8217&semi;6&&num;8243&semi;&comma; 240 pound frame&comma; that velocity comes out pretty naturally&period; He adds a big&comma; slow curveball in the low to mid 70&&num;8217&semi;s&comma; one with great shape but which needs to add power&period; There&&num;8217&semi;s an above average changeup as well&comma; which rounds out his arsenal nicely&period; The command is sort of shaky&comma; but it&&num;8217&semi;s not terrible&comma; and he really hasn&&num;8217&semi;t been on the mound all that much anyways&period; More consistent innings in the ECU rotation next year could do wonders for his stock&comma; and I could see him pitching himself into the top 50 picks pretty easily with a strong stint in the rotation&period; He probably projects as a reliever&comma; but the upside is certainly there and I wouldn&&num;8217&semi;t rule him out as a starter if he makes the necessary adjustments&period; One big thing he could do would be to add power to that curveball&comma; which he is certainly capable of with his arm strength&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">3&period; LHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Seth Lonsway<&sol;strong>&comma; Ohio State<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Seth Lonsway marks a third straight pitcher who was a big name for the 2017 draft out of high school&period; Lonsway grew up in Celina&comma; Ohio&comma; a small town just off the Indiana border&comma; and after sitting out the 2018 season&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;s become a mainstay in the Buckeyes rotation&period; This year&comma; he put up one of the most unique stat lines in college baseball&comma; holding a 3&period;00 ERA and striking out 42 batters in just 18 innings &lpar;more than half of those he faced&excl;&rpar; but also walked 18 in that same span&comma; including eight in his final start against Stetson&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Lonsway has an electric left arm that sits in the low to mid 90&&num;8217&semi;s on his fastball&comma; getting up to 96 with relative ease&period; He adds a power curveball that misses bats in bunches&comma; as well as a more lateral slider and a solid changeup&period; The ball explodes out of his hand and has completely confounded college hitters&comma; but he really struggles to repeat his release point and that has led to massive command struggles&period; By walking eight in his final start&comma; he didn&&num;8217&semi;t give pro teams much confidence he could fix that&comma; and he&&num;8217&semi;s betting on himself by going back for his redshirt junior season&period; If his command struggles continue&comma; teams will be more convinced that he&&num;8217&semi;s a reliever and he could fall out of the Top 100 picks&comma; but even cutting his walk rate to perhaps 4&period;5 per nine could do wonders in proving he can start&period; Aside from his command&comma; really&comma; there&&num;8217&semi;s no reason to believe he can&&num;8217&semi;t&period; And Ohio State will love to have him back because the Big Ten can&&num;8217&semi;t handle the stuff&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">4&period; RHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Kevin Abel<&sol;strong>&comma; Oregon State<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">This one makes a lot of sense&comma; because Kevin Abel has barely pitched since his freshman season and there were rumors he was considering returning to Corvallis even before the draft was shortened to five rounds&period; If you&&num;8217&semi;re a college baseball fan&comma; then you definitely recognize this name&comma; because Abel went 5-0 with a 0&period;62 ERA and a 41&sol;8 strikeout to walk ratio over 29 innings in the 2018 NCAA Tournament&comma; knocking down LSU&comma; Washington&comma; Mississippi State&comma; Arkansas&comma; and Arkansas again in order&period; In that last start against the Razorbacks&comma; he tossed a compete game&comma; two hit&comma; ten strikeout shutout to take home the National Championship&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">That was all as a true freshman&comma; but he went down with Tommy John surgery 16&period;1 innings into his sophomore season in 2019 and we haven&&num;8217&semi;t seen him since&period; Now&comma; we&&num;8217&semi;ll be able to see Abel again in orange and black&comma; and fans in Corvallis couldn&&num;8217&semi;t be more excited&period; The last time we saw him throw&comma; the San Diego native sat in the low 90&&num;8217&semi;s with his fastball and added an above average curveball and a plus fading changeup&comma; and for a freshman&comma; he commanded it all pretty well&period; With natural&comma; healthy progression&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s easy to see him having above average command at this point&comma; but of course he&&num;8217&semi;s been rehabbing instead&comma; so it&&num;8217&semi;s hard to say where that command is today&period; Either way&comma; with a very solid three pitch mix&comma; a 6&&num;8217&semi;2&&num;8243&semi; frame&comma; and plenty of big game experience&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;ll be in a great position to lead Oregon State&&num;8217&semi;s rotation next year&period; Adding a little bit of power to his curveball&comma; which stands out more for its depth than any kind of hard bite&comma; in addition to taking that step forward with his command&comma; would make him a great mid-rotation starting prospect&period; While the three names ahead of Abel on this list have a fairly wide range of outcomes&comma; I see Abel as the most straightforward despite the injury&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">5&period; RHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Brandon Birdsell<&sol;strong>&comma; Texas Tech<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Technically&comma; Brandon Birdsell isn&&num;8217&semi;t &&num;8220&semi;returning&&num;8221&semi; to Texas Tech because he&&num;8217&semi;s coming from San Jacinto CC&comma; where he joined Cubs fourth rounder Luke Little and Nationals fifth rounder Mitchell Parker on an insanely talented pitching staff&period; Having lost Clayton Beeter &lpar;Dodgers&comma; competitive balance round&rpar;&comma; Bryce Bonnin &lpar;Reds&comma; third round&rpar;&comma; and John McMillon &lpar;Royals&comma; undrafted free agent&rpar; from last year&&num;8217&semi;s pitching staff&comma; Texas Tech will get a needed boost from bringing on Birdsell&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">What he lacks in track record&comma; he makes up for in projectable starter traits&comma; and I guess teams wanted to see him prove them in Lubbock &lpar;or he bet on himself to prove them beyond teams&&num;8217&semi; expectations&rpar;&period; His velocity has crept up throughout his college career and was the highest it&&num;8217&semi;s ever been in his final start of the 2020 season&comma; where he sat in the mid 90&&num;8217&semi;s&period; He showed a loopy slider in high school outside of Houston that had some nice depth but lacked any sort of power&comma; but he&&num;8217&semi;s tightened it up really well and it looks like an above average pitch at its best&period; With a projectable&comma; durable 6&&num;8217&semi;2&&num;8243&semi; frame&comma; a clean delivery&comma; and solid strike throwing ability&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;s really gathering his starter traits together nicely and Texas Tech will look to help him continue on that upward trend&period; Unlike the other names on this list&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;ll be a junior next year rather than a senior&comma; so he&&num;8217&semi;ll fit right in with other college arms age-wise&period; With a full season of success in the Red Raiders rotation&comma; Birdsell could have his stock in a much stronger place a year from now&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">6&period; RHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Trenton Denholm<&sol;strong>&comma; UC-Irvine<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">This is probably the first one on the list where I&&num;8217&semi;d expect it was more a product of the short draft than him wanting to bet on himself and pricing himself out&period; Had their been a sixth round&comma; my guess is Trenton Denholm would have been drafted&period; The Sacramento-area native is a really fun pitcher to watch&comma; and he&&num;8217&semi;s been productive too with a 1&period;90 ERA&comma; a 0&period;84 WHIP&comma; and a 118&sol;30 strikeout to walk ratio over 123&period;1 innings for UCI over the past two seasons&period; Sure&comma; the Anteaters play in a relatively pitcher-friendly park and don&&num;8217&semi;t have the toughest schedule around&comma; but Denholm has been perhaps even more impressive over two seasons in the elite Cape Cod League&colon; 32&period;2 innings&comma; one unearned run&comma; and a 41&sol;10 strikeout to walk ratio&period; <&sol;p><div class&equals;"a8ZSkjru" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- Display Ad --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-7814068302911952" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1407500180" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Undersized at a skinny 5&&num;8217&semi;11&&num;8221&semi;&comma; he makes up for average stuff with an extremely competitive demeanor on the mound and a willingness to attack hitters with everything he has&period; He throws his fastball in the low 90&&num;8217&semi;s&comma; topping out around 93&comma; adding two solid breaking balls in a curveball and a slider&period; His changeup is perhaps his best pitch with nice fading action&comma; but his stuff really works best when he&&num;8217&semi;s locating it well&period; The good news is he possesses the above average command to make it work&comma; though it&&num;8217&semi;s hard to see him adding much more velocity&period; If he can get a slight velocity bump in 2021&comma; that would help push him more into the top 100 picks&comma; though his undersized frame and lack of a true strikeout pitch probably push him into a long relief role&period; I wouldn&&num;8217&semi;t bet against him though because he&&num;8217&semi;s shown the ability to get everything out of what he has&comma; and with a really late birthday that makes him the age of a rising junior rather than the rising senior he is&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;ll be fun to track in 2021&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">7&period; OF&nbsp&semi;<strong>Parker Chavers<&sol;strong>&comma; Coastal Carolina<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">After six pitchers&comma; we finally get to our first position player&period; Parker Chavers &lpar;great baseball name&rpar; raked for two seasons at Coastal Carolina&comma; slashing &period;319&sol;&period;435&sol;&period;554 with 22 home runs&comma; 19 stolen bases&comma; and a 101&sol;78 strikeout to walk ratio over 119 games from 2018-2019&period; The Montgomery&comma; Alabama native also homered seven times while slashing &period;274&sol;&period;354&sol;&period;478 over 44 games against top pitching in the Cape Cod League over the summer&comma; setting himself up for a big 2020 season&period; However&comma; shoulder surgery meant that didn&&num;8217&semi;t happen&comma; and Chanticleers fans thought they had seen the last of him when the season shut down&period; Now&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;ll bring his potent bat back to Conway for the 2021 season&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">He&&num;8217&semi;s a tooled up outfielder who stands out most for his above average raw power&comma; a product of natural athleticism and strength despite a smaller 5&&num;8217&semi;11&&num;8221&semi; frame&period; There&&num;8217&semi;s plus speed as well&comma; though it plays more as above average on the field because his game is raw overall&period; He has some strikeout concerns that were more evident against top pitching on the Cape than they were against a relatively ordinary Sun Belt schedule&comma; and his base running and defense are in need of more refinement&period; Chavers has a great opportunity to get that done in 2021&comma; but he was already pretty old for a college junior this year and he&&num;8217&semi;ll be nearly 23 by the time the next draft roles around&period; If he doesn&&num;8217&semi;t refine his overall game significantly by then&comma; Chavers will be much more of a day two money saver than a true top 100 prospect&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">8&period; LHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Andrew Abbott<&sol;strong>&comma; Virginia<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Back to the mound&comma; Andrew Abbott is the first true reliever on this list&period; A product of Virginia&&num;8217&semi;s rural Southside region&comma; Abbott has been UVA&&num;8217&semi;s part-time closer over the past three seasons&comma; putting up a 3&period;24 ERA and a 165&sol;49 strikeout to walk ratio and nine saves across 108&period;1 innings&period; With an uptempo delivery&comma; a smaller frame&comma; shaky command&comma; and a two pitch arsenal&comma; there is very little chance he gets to start in pro ball&comma; so he&&num;8217&semi;ll head back to Charlottesville to prove he can be a sure-thing type of arm&period; He throws a low to mid 90&&num;8217&semi;s fastball that tops out around 95 and brings a plus curveball from the left side&comma; which helped him strike out 28 batters in 13&period;1 innings in 2020&period; Abbott is aggressive with his pitches and attacks the zone with a bulldog&comma; closer mentality&comma; but he struggles to locate his pitches consistently and that gives him below average command despite that willingness to pitch in the zone&period; In that sense&comma; he&&num;8217&semi;s a lot like Burl Carraway-lite&comma; though Carraway&&num;8217&semi;s fastball is a little faster and his curve is a little sharper&period; He&&num;8217&semi;s relatively young for a college junior and will only turn 22 around draft time&comma; so he won&&num;8217&semi;t be that old&comma; but sharpening his command a little bit will definitely be key in keeping himself in the top tier of relief prospects given the extra development time&period;<&sol;p><div class&equals;"aBlWLlHa" style&equals;"clear&colon;both&semi;float&colon;left&semi;width&colon;100&percnt;&semi;margin&colon;0 0 20px 0&semi;"><script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block&semi; text-align&colon;center&semi;" &NewLine; data-ad-layout&equals;"in-article" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"fluid" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-7814068302911952" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"2531094727"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script><&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">9&period; RHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Carson Seymour<&sol;strong>&comma; Kansas State<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">This is a clear case where going back to school could really help&comma; or really hurt&comma; your draft stock&period; Carson Seymour grew up in Southern California but began his career at Dartmouth&comma; then transferred halfway back across the country to Kansas State&comma; where he&&num;8217&semi;ll stay put&period; Seymour is a big 6&&num;8217&semi;5&&num;8243&semi;&comma; 250 pound righty with very little track record to speak of&comma; instead enticing scouts with his arm strength and one great final start in which he tossed six shutout innings &lpar;one unearned run&rpar; with nine strikeouts against Stanford&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">His best pitch is a low to mid 90&&num;8217&semi;s fastball that he has run up to 99 in the past&comma; adding an inconsistent slider and curveball that can flatten out at times and look like above average to plus pitches at others&period; He definitely has the build to start&comma; but his command is even more inconsistent than his secondary pitches and he throws with a fair amount of effort&period; Seymour was hoping that strong Stanford start could be the start of a big run through Big 12 play&comma; which was badly needed given his lack of a track record&comma; but scouts weren&&num;8217&semi;t comfortable with an unproven arm with just 28 college innings to show&period; He&&num;8217&semi;ll head back to Manhattan &lpar;Manhattan&comma; Kansas that is&rpar; to refine his game a bit more&comma; which is certainly possible given the lack of mileage he has on his arm&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"font-size&colon;32px">10&period; RHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Mason Erla<&sol;strong>&comma; Michigan State<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Mason Erla is definitely going to be an interesting one&comma; because he&&num;8217&semi;s almost 23 already and will be coming up on 24 by the time the 2021 draft rolls around&period; Erla has been a solid but unspectacular arm throughout his career at Michigan State&comma; but an uptick in velocity in 2020 led to a 1&period;04 ERA&comma; a 1&period;00 WHIP&comma; and a 42&sol;6 strikeout to walk ratio over 26 innings&comma; albeit against a relatively weaker schedule&period; The 6&&num;8217&semi;4&&num;8243&semi; righty comes from a low three quarters arm slot and now sits in the low to mid 90&&num;8217&semi;s with his fastball&comma; adding a solid average slider and changeup to go along with it&period; With solid average command as well&comma; he has enough starter traits to make it work&comma; and could be a big league starting pitcher if a drafting team is willing to be patient&period; It&&num;8217&semi;s not that he&&num;8217&semi;ll take a long time to work his way up&comma; it&&num;8217&semi;s just that he&&num;8217&semi;ll be almost 24 and might not hit the big leagues until he&&num;8217&semi;s 26 or 27&period; Erla probably fits better as a reliever anyways due to a lack of a true strikeout pitch&comma; and he could move much quicker in that role&period; Either way&comma; 2021 will be about proving his newfound velocity is for real and building off those four strong starts in the 2020 season&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-large-font-size wp-block-paragraph">Others&colon;<br>3B&nbsp&semi;<strong>Jamal O&&num;8217&semi;Guinn<&sol;strong>&comma; Southern California<br>RHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Jack Leftwich<&sol;strong>&comma; Florida<br>SS&nbsp&semi;<strong>Luke Waddell<&sol;strong>&comma; Georgia Tech<br>LHP&nbsp&semi;<strong>Ryan Webb<&sol;strong>&comma; Georgia<br>C&nbsp&semi;<strong>Casey Opitz<&sol;strong>&comma; Arkansas<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<hr class&equals;"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-background has-black-background-color has-black-color is-style-wide"&sol;>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;prospectsworldwide&period;com&sol;category&sol;2021-draft&sol;"><span class&equals;"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">Check out our other MLB Draft content <&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Follow us on Twitter&nbsp&semi;<a rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;twitter&period;com&sol;ProspectsWorldW"><span class&equals;"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">&commat;ProspectsWorldW<&sol;span><&sol;a><&sol;strong><br><strong>SUBSCRIBE To our&nbsp&semi;<strong><a rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;youtube&period;com&sol;channel&sol;UCpO0Mz-8tnHNKqQk8oJSDcg"><span class&equals;"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">YouTube channel<&sol;span><&sol;a>&excl;<&sol;strong>&nbsp&semi;For amateur and Minor League prospects<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;<script async src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;pagead2&period;googlesyndication&period;com&sol;pagead&sol;js&sol;adsbygoogle&period;js"><&sol;script> &NewLine;<&excl;-- Display Ad --> &NewLine;<ins class&equals;"adsbygoogle" &NewLine; style&equals;"display&colon;block" &NewLine; data-ad-client&equals;"ca-pub-7814068302911952" &NewLine; data-ad-slot&equals;"1407500180" &NewLine; data-ad-format&equals;"auto" &NewLine; data-full-width-responsive&equals;"true"><&sol;ins> &NewLine;<script> &NewLine; &lpar;adsbygoogle &equals; window&period;adsbygoogle &vert;&vert; &lbrack;&rsqb;&rpar;&period;push&lpar;&lbrace;&rcub;&rpar;&semi; &NewLine;<&sol;script>&NewLine;<&excl;-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v&period; 2&period;0&period;99 -->&NewLine;<div class&equals;"quads-location quads-ad2" id&equals;"quads-ad2" style&equals;"float&colon;none&semi;margin&colon;0px&semi;">&NewLine;&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;

Exit mobile version