Justin Boudreaux

Boudreaux has held down a starting job for three seasons for Southeastern Louisiana, moving down into the middle of the lineup. He's traded swings and misses for power and has produced, with 21 home runs the last two seasons and 2011 numbers on par with those of 2010 despite the less-lively bats (.932 OPS this season, .970 in 2010). More offensive than fellow Louisiana college shortstops Peterson and Nola, Boudreaux has both power and speed, as he's a 6.6-second runner over 60 yards and has the bat speed to catch up to good fastballs. His swings and misses tend to come when he doesn't adjust to breaking balls, and at times he's too stubborn for his own good, being slow to adjust to pitchers' gameplans. He needs to shorten up better with two strikes and protect the plate when behind in the count. Defensively, Boudreaux is a solid college shortstop who has pressed in his draft year, committing 27 errors. Some scouts like him better at second base, as he has enough arm strength to turn the double play. Others aren't confident in his athletic ability to stay in the middle infield and see him as a better fit at third base, where his bat may not play as well. Boudreaux has enough power to push his way into the sixth-to-10th-round range.