Max Ferguson

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #165 prospect in 2021 draft
  Ferguson helped lead The Bolles School in Jacksonville to back-to-back state championships in high school and entered this spring as an industry favorite with a chance to go among the first 50 picks in the draft. After a season in which he hit .264/.387/.485 with a 23% strikeout rate that might be on the optimistic end of potential outcomes for him. Scouts really liked Ferguson’s swing entering the year, but thought it backed up a bit this spring as he started to leak out over his front side more frequently. Entering the year, scouts saw a player with an average hit tool and good bat-to-ball traits, but he was clearly trying to hit for more power this spring and that approach led to less contact, albeit with a career-high 12 home runs—though almost all of those homers went to the pull side. Teams will probably want him to get back to a more contact-oriented approach with a wood bat at the next level, control the zone more efficiently and get on base to use his legs. Ferguson is a good athlete and a plus runner who has always stolen bases at a high success rate, and this spring went 15-for-19 (79%) in stolen base attempts. He’s played second base for Tennessee and has more than enough speed and athleticism to handle the position, but some scouts would like to see him in center field thanks to his running ability and the fact that he doesn’t always look natural with his defensive actions on the dirt.

• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Ferguson helped lead The Bolles School in Jacksonville to back-to-back state championships in high school and entered this spring as an industry favorite with a chance to go among the first 50 picks in the draft. After a season in which he hit .264/.387/.485 with a 23% strikeout rate that might be on the optimistic end of potential outcomes for him. Scouts really liked Ferguson's swing entering the year, but thought it backed up a bit this spring as he started to leak out over his front side more frequently. Entering the year, scouts saw a player with an average hit tool and good bat-to-ball traits, but he was clearly trying to hit for more power this spring and that approach led to less contact, albeit with a career-high 12 home runs—though almost all of those homers went to the pull side. Teams will probably want him to get back to a more contact-oriented approach with a wood bat at the next level, control the zone more efficiently and get on base to use his legs. Ferguson is a good athlete and a plus runner who has always stolen bases at a high success rate, and this spring went 15-for-19 (79%) in stolen base attempts. He's played second base for Tennessee and has more than enough speed and athleticism to handle the position, but some scouts would like to see him in center field thanks to his running ability and the fact that he doesn't always look natural with his defensive actions on the dirt.