Casey Cook

School: North Carolina
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.8
BA Grade: 40/High
Tools: Hit: 55. Power: 45. Run: 45. Field: 50. Arm: 45.

Cook played in only four games during his 2022 freshman season with North Carolina before a shoulder injury ended the rest of his campaign. Once he got healthy and on the field everyday, the 6-foot, 195-pound lefthanded-hitting outfielder proved to be the most advanced pure hitter on a strong offensive Tar Heels club. Cook hit well over .300 in both of his first full season, then jumped from three homers in 2023 to 18 homers in 2024 and is a career .324/.425/.508 hitter with a 17.4% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate. In some ways he’s the antithesis of teammate and likely first-rounder Vance Honeycutt. Where Honeycutt has huge physical tools and pure hitting questions, Cook has more solid-average or fringy tools but an extremely advanced hitting approach and consistent lefty swing. He sees the ball well out of the hand, makes a lot of contact and doesn’t chase too frequently, though changeups and curveballs gave him a bit of trouble at times this spring. Cook has fine raw power, but certainly took advantage of Chapel Hill’s lefty-friendly home park. He will need to be an above-average hitter to drive value because he’s likely not fast enough for center field and will need to play either left or right—with left being his most likely spot. Cook’s carrying tool is the most important one, but his upside is more limited and he’ll go as far as his pure hitting ability takes him.