Carlos Lopez

One of the oldest players in the draft, Lopez turns 24 on July 16. He originally committed to play for coach Dave Serrano--when Serrano was at UC Irvine. He followed Serrano to Fullerton in 2008 and outlasted his coach by two seasons. After redshirting because of a knee injury in 2009, Lopez went on to have a very productive season as a four-year starter. He was drafted in the 37th round as a redshirt freshman after hitting .354 with seven homers in 2010, but his power production dropped with the BBCOR bats over the next two years--he hit just three homers combined over that stretch and went undrafted both years. Lopez hit four homers as a senior, but his game is all about working counts and smacking line drives all around the diamond. In four college seasons, Lopez has a 94-76 walk-strikeout mark, and he has posted on-base percentages of .400 or better in each season. Lopez has a pretty lefthanded stroke, but his lack of power makes him a better fit as a nice organizational player with great makeup than as a big league first baseman. Earlier in his career, his defense earned comparisons to Michael Jackson--glove for no apparent reason. But he has worked hard to become a serviceable defender.