2017 Top 100 MLB Draft Prospects

SEE ALSO: Preseason High School Top 100

SEE ALSO: 2017 Draft Archive

The Top 100 Draft Prospects ranking is fluid and constantly changing throughout the spring. Baseball America aims to capture industry consensus with this list. Roughly three months from the draft, it’s safe to say no consensus has been reached beyond the top two players in the draft class, and there’s a lot to sort out between now and when we expand the list to 200 and eventually the BA500 at the end of May.

The Twins, picking first under new leadership in Derek Falvey, are believed to be carefully considering and evaluating a group of nine players at the top of the draft. Sources within the scouting departments of teams picking in the top 10 are scrambling to figure out which players best suit them. Some of the top prospects entering the season have battled inconsistency, showing flashes of elite tools but giving teams cause for caution.

At the top of the class, there are two fascinating two-way prospects in Southern California prep legend Hunter Greene and Louisville superstar Brendan McKay. No one has improved their stock as much as McKay, as he’s marrying an elite pure hit tool with developing power in a .466/.575/.741 slash line; most teams thus far appear to favor him as a first baseman. On the mound, where he’ll tickle 95 mph and show a plus curveball from the left side, he’s got a 0.36 ERA and a robust 41-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The caveats: At least one of his potential suitors at the top of the draft prefers him as a pitcher, where most peg him as a future No. 3 starter, and no college first baseman has ever gone No. 1 overall.

According to decision-makers at the top, Greene’s polish and potential on the mound exceed his upside as a righthanded hitting shortstop with top-of-the-scale raw power. He’s pitching in the upper 90s like it’s easy and has reached 102 mph with his lively fastball. He draws loose comparisons to Dwight Gooden because of how advanced he is on the mound at such a young age—he’s still too young to vote, not turning 18 until next August. The caveat: No prep righthander has ever gone No. 1, either.

That combination of velocity, youth, athleticism and maturity (Greene scored a 31 on the ACT last fall—the national average is 21) could help Greene convince the Twins and Falvey to make Greene the exception. Cost will be a significant factor as well.

According to industry sources, the Twins are considering nine players for the No. 1 pick, starting with Greene and McKay. The other seven: college righthanders J.B. Bukauskas (North Carolina), Alex Faedo (Florida) and Kyle Wright (Vanderbilt), Vanderbilt outfielder Jeren Kendall, Virginia first baseman Pavin Smith and prep outfielders Austin Beck (Lexington, N.C.) and Royce Lewis (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.).

Beyond the top two, the order of the players is harder to solve than a Leslie Knope scavenger hunt. “No one has separated themselves,” is a common refrain from scouts from area supervisors to crosscheckers to special assistants on up to scouting directors.

That’s still true of the college pitching class in the Southeastern Conference, where top righthanders Alex Faedo (Florida), Tanner Houck (Missouri), Alex Lange (LSU) and Kyle Wright (Vanderbilt) all have had their struggles. Lange and Faedo face off Friday in what’s sure to be one of the most heavily scouted games of the spring.

There are players improving their stock and those whose stock has taken a hit. Here’s a rundown of some of them, presented from highest to lowest of where they appear on the updated Top 100.

Rising

Austin Beck, of, North Davidson HS, Lexington, N.C. (4): Beck is the nation’s highest riser, showing elite all-around tools and joining Lewis and Adell in the toolsy prep outfielder conversation. He missed last summer due to a knee injury though, and teams weren’t able to evaluate him with a wood bat against professional caliber pitching. Decision-makers are cautious of his mechanics and aggressive approach. Hard-working area scouts have seen Beck show feel for hitting with wood as an underclassman, and the team that ends up taking him will likely be one that trusts its area scout’s conviction in Beck.

Seth Romero, lhp, Houston (10): Romero has improved his body and is showing a fastball at 93-96, though he doesn’t always pitch there. He also has flashed two plus offspeed offerings from the left side. Romero has posted a 2.53 ERA and a 57-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio against solid college lineups thus far.

Heliot Ramos, of, Leadership Christian Academy, Guaynabo, P.R. (15): A split-camp player, Ramos kicked off last summer with a strong showing at the Perfect Game National Showcase, an event that is not universally attended by decision-makers who are in the process of signing players from the previous year’s draft. He was the MVP of last summer’s Under Armour All-America Game, where he tripled off Hall and homered off lefthander Jacob Heatherly. Ramos missed the East Coast Pro Showcase due to a family medical situation and then had a suspect performance at the WWBA showcase last fall. Ramos’s draft stock began to balloon again in January, and there are teams who believe he will be able to stay in center field as 60-to-70 grade runner with good reads off the bat. Other teams, however, are wary of his swing-and-miss history and the right-right prep outfielder demographic, and see him landing in right field, which takes him out of day one consideration for them. The overall picture of his draft stock should clear up in early May at Puerto Rico’s annual Excellence Tournament, and he could be a high riser during private workouts prior to the draft.

Adam Haseley, of/lhp, Virginia (18): Another of the class’ two-way talents, Haseley has hit his way up the ladder as an athletic center fielder with hitting ability, emerging power and middle-of-the-diamond defense. He has exceptional bat control and a refined understanding of the strike zone. He has extensive performance track record dating back to his high school days.

Jake Burger, 3b, Missouri State (22): Scouts are split on Burger’s defense but agree his power (21 homers last year, nine this year) ranks ahead of his hitting ability. He has the arm strength to play third base, and teams that believe he can play the hot corner could start considering him in the second half of the first round.

Logan Warmoth, ss, North Carolina (24): One of the safest bets on the board, Warmoth is a Cape Cod League performer (.270, 4 HR) who also is hitting this spring (.364, 4 HR), making him a rare commodity. He’s likely hitting his way toward being the first college middle infielder picked.

Griffin Canning, rhp, UCLA (28): Canning is the latest Bruins ace who has taken a step forward as a junior. He locates his four-seam fastball well, competes and earns average grades for his fastball, curve, slider and changeup, all of which flash above-average. With a 1.89 ERA and 43-13 strikeout-walk ratio in 33.1 innings, he’s pitched his way into the first round.

Falling

Brady McConnell, ss, Merritt Island (Fla.) HS (47): McConnell is a projection play with a lanky 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame and hasn’t gotten off to a great start offensively.

Michael Gigliotti, Lipscomb (48): A Cape performer (.310) with 70 speed, Gigliotti just hasn’t hit this spring, batting .238 with four extra-base hits. Scouts have mentioned “scratching our heads” and “not the same guy” when discussing one of last summer’s breakout performers.

Evan Skoug, c, Texas Christian (83): Skoug is a bat-first catcher, and he’s just not hitting, off to a .197 start with 34 strikeouts in 71 at-bats. “If he’s not hitting,” one crosschecker said, “what can you do with him? He’s just pressing so much right now.”

J.J. Schwarz, 1b/dh, Florida (NR): Schwarz ranked No. 15 on our preseason Top 100 College prospects, but that was with the assumption he’d catch some as a junior. Instead, he’s a righthanded-hitting first baseman/DH with a fairly grooved swing who’s not hitting. All of Schwarz’s value is in the bat, and he’s hitting .226 with two homers.

Rank	Player	Position	School	Video	Ht.	Wt.	B/T	College/Drafted
1	Hunter Greene	RHP/SS	Notre Dame HS		6-3	205	R/R	UCLA
2	Brendan McKay	1B/LHP	Louisville		6-2	212	L/L	Padres ’14 (34)
3	JB Bukauskas	RHP	North Carolina		6-0	196	R/R	D-backs ’14 (20)
4	Austin Beck	OF	North Davidson HS		6-1	200	R/R	North Carolina
5	Jeren Kendall	OF	Vanderbilt		6-0	190	L/R	Red Sox ’14 (30)
6	Kyle Wright	RHP	Vanderbilt		6-4	220	R/R	Never drafted
7	Royce Lewis	SS/OF	JSerra Catholic HS		6-0	190	R/R	UC Irvine
8	Nick Pratto	1B	Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS		6-2	200	L/L	Southern California
9	Alex Faedo	RHP	Florida		6-5	220	R/R	Tigers ’14 (40)
10	Seth Romero	LHP	Houston		6-3	240	L/L	Never drafted
11	Pavin Smith	1B	Virginia		6-2	210	L/L	Rockies ’14 (32)
12	DL Hall	LHP	Valdosta HS		6-0	180	L/L	Florida State
13	MacKenzie Gore	LHP	Whiteville (N.C.) HS		6-1	185	L/L	East Carolina
14	Jordon Adell	OF	Ballard HS		6-3	200	R/R	Louisville
15	Heliot Ramos	OF	Leadership Christian Academy, Guaynabo, P.R.		6-2	185	R/R	Florida International
16	Alex Lange	RHP	Louisiana State		6-3	201	R/R	Never drafted
17	Tanner Houck	RHP	Missouri		6-5	218	R/R	Blue Jays ’14 (12)
18	Adam Haseley	OF	Virginia		6-1	195	L/L	Never drafted
19	Wil Crowe	RHP	South Carolina		6-2	250	R/R	Indians ’16 (21)
20	Mark Vientos	SS/3B	American Heritage HS, Plantation, Fla.		6-4	200	R/R	Miami
21	Keston Hiura	2B/LF	UC Irvine		6-0	188	R/R	Never drafted
22	Jake Burger	3B	Missouri State		6-2	210	R/R	Never drafted
23	Shane Baz	RHP	Concordia Lutheran HS, Tomball, Texas		6-3	190	R/R	Texas Christian
24	Logan Warmoth	SS	North Carolina		6-0	189	R/R	Never drafted
25	Clarke Schmidt	RHP	South Carolina		6-1	205	R/R	Never drafted
26	Brendon Little	LHP	State JC of Florida		6-2	215	L/L	Giants ’15 (36)
27	Garrett Mitchell	OF	Orange Lutheran HS		6-2	205	L/R	UCLA
28	Griffin Canning	RHP	UCLA		6-1	170	R/R	Rockies ’14 (38)
29	Nick Allen	SS	Francis Parker School, San Diego		5-8	155	R/R	Southern California
30	Brian Miller	OF	North Carolina		6-0	186	L/R	Never drafted
31	Hans Crouse	RHP	Dana Hills HS		6-5	185	L/R	Southern California
32	M.J. Melendez	C	Westminster Christian School, Palmetto Bay, Fla.		6-0	190	L/R	Florida International
33	Bubba Thompson	OF	McGill-Thoolen Catholic HS, Mobile, Ala.		6-1	180	R/R	Alabama
34	Drew Waters	OF	Etowah HS		6-2	200	S/R	Georgia
35	Quentin Holmes	OF	Monsignor McClancy Memorial HS, East Elmhurst, N.Y.		6-0	180	R/R	Mississippi State
36	Adam Hall	SS	A.B. Lucas Secondary School, London, Ont.		6-0	165	R/R	Texas A&M
37	Tanner Burns	RHP	Decatur HS		6-0	210	R/R	Auburn
38	Daniel Cabrera	OF	Parkview Baptist HS, Baton Rouge, La.		6-0	190	L/L	Louisiana State
39	Jacob Heatherly	LHP	Cullman HS		6-3	200	L/L	Alabama
40	Calvin Mitchell	OF	Rancho Bernardo HS, San Diego		6-0	195	L/L	San Diego
41	Nick Storz	RHP	Poly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn, N.Y.		6-5	255	R/R	Louisiana State
42	Joe Perez	RHP	Archbishop McCarthy HS		6-3	210	R/R	Miami
43	Alex Scherff	RHP	Colleyville (Texas) Heritage HS		6-2	210	S/R	Texas A&M
44	Jeremiah Estrada	RHP	Palm Desert (Calif.) HS		6-0	185	S/R	UCLA
45	Jake Eder	LHP	Calvary Christian Academy, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.		6-4	220	L/L	Vanderbilt
46	Riley Adams	C	San Diego		6-4	210	R/R	Cubs ’14 (37)
47	Brady McConnell	SS	Merritt Island (Fla.) HS		6-1	170	R/R	Florida
48	Michael Gigliotti	OF	Lipscomb		6-1	176	L/L	Never drafted
49	Trevor Rogers	LHP	Carlsbad (N.M.) HS		6-6	185	L/L	Texas Tech
50	Matt Sauer	RHP	Ernest Righetti HS, Santa Maria, Calif.		6-4	200	R/R	Arizona
51	Sam Keating	RHP	Canterbury HS, Fort Myers, Fla.		6-3	190	R/R	Clemson
52	Hunter Ruth	RHP	Buchholz HS, Gainesville, Fla.		6-1	190	R/R	Florida
53	Hagen Danner	RHP/C/3B	Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS		6-1	200	R/R	UCLA
54	Tristan Beck	RHP	Stanford		6-4	190	R/R	Brewers ’15 (34)
55	Alex Toral	1B	Archbishop McCarthy HS, Southwest Ranches, Fla.		6-0	220	L/L	Miami
56	C.J. Van Eyk	RHP	Steinbrenner HS, Lutz, Fla.		6-2	200	R/R	Florida State
57	Bryce Bonnin	RHP	Barbers Hill HS, Mont Belvieu, Texas		6-1	185	R/R	Arkansas
58	Daniel Ritcheson	RHP	Bishop Alemany HS		6-3	200	R/R	San Diego State
59	Ricky Tyler Thomas	LHP	Fresno State		6-1	175	R/L	Never drafted
60	David Peterson	LHP	Oregon		6-6	242	L/L	Red Sox ’14 (28)
61	Jake Thompson	RHP	Oregon State		6-2	204	R/R	Cubs ’13 (34)
62	Nate Pearson	RHP	Central Florida JC		6-6	245	R/R	Never drafted
63	Jacob Pearson	OF	West Monroe (La.) HS		5-11	195	L/R	Louisiana State
64	Stuart Fairchild	OF	Wake Forest		6-0	195	R/R	Nationals ’14 (38)
65	Evan White	1B	Kentucky		6-3	200	B/L	Never drafted
66	Ryan Vilade	3B	Stillwater (Okla.) HS		6-2	200	R/R	Oklahoma State
67	Taylor Walls	SS	Florida State		5-10	180	B/R	Never drafted
68	Luis Campusano	C	Cross Creek HS, Augusta, Ga.		5-11	210	R/R	South Carolina
69	Seth Corry	LHP	Lone Peak HS, Highland, Utah		6-1	185	L/L	Brigham Young
70	Jake Mangum	OF	Mississippi State		6-0	185	B/L	Never drafted
71	Luis Gonzalez	OF	New Mexico		6-0	185	L/L	Never drafted
72	Gavin Sheets	1B	Wake Forest		6-5	235	L/L	Braves ’14 (37)
73	Chris McMahon	RHP	West Chester (Pa.) Rustin HS		6-1	185	R/R	Miami
74	Tristen Lutz	OF	Martin HS, Arlington, Texas		6-3	200	R/R	Texas
75	Chris Seise	SS	West Orange (Fla.) HS		6-3	170	S/R	Central Florida
76	Jeter Downs	SS	Monsignor Edward Pace HS, Miami		5-11	190	R/R	Miami
77	Matt Whatley	C	Oral Roberts		5-10	190	R/R	Never drafted
78	Jordan Anderson	OF	James Clemens HS, Madison, Ala.		6-2	200	R/R	Mississippi State
79	Cole Brannen	OF	The Westfield School, Perry, Ga.		6-1	190	L/R	Georgia Southern
80	Blayne Enlow	RHP	St. Amant (La.) HS		6-4	180	R/R	Louisiana State
81	Connor Wong	C	Houston		6-0	181	R/R	Never drafted
82	Devin Hairston	SS	Louisville		5-7	162	R/R	Never drafted
83	Evan Skoug	C	TCU		5-11	200	L/R	Nationals ’14 (34)
84	Luke Heimlich	LHP	Oregon State		6-0	190	L/L	Never drafted
85	Kevin Smith	SS	Maryland		6-0	188	R/R	Never drafted
86	Sam McMillan	C	Suwanee (Fla.) HS		6-1	195	R/R	Florida
87	Corbin Martin	RHP	Texas A&M		6-2	200	R/R	Never drafted
88	Colton Hock	RHP	Stanford		6-5	220	R/R	Never drafted
89	Caleb Sloan	RHP	Regis Jesuit HS, Aurora, Colo.		6-3	210	R/R	Texas Christian
90	Daniel Tillo	LHP	Iowa Western CC		6-5	215	L/L	Twins ’15 (39)
91	Ernie Clement	SS/OF	Virginia		6-0	165	R/R	Never drafted
92	Kyle Hurt	RHP	Torrey Pines HS, San Diego		6-3	200	R/R	Southern California
93	Landon Leach	RHP	Pickering HS, Ajax, Ont.		6-4	215	R/R	Texas
94	Brad Dobzanski	RHP	Delsea (N.J.) HS		6-3	195	R/R	Kentucky
95	Daulton Varsho	C	Wisconsin-Milwaukee		5-10	200	L/R	Never drafted
96	Shane Drohan	LHP	Cardinal Newman HS, West Palm Beach, Fla.		6-2	190	R/L	Florida State
97	Greg Deichmann	OF	Louisiana State		6-2	191	L/R	Twins ’16 (26)
98	K.J. Harrison	1B	Oregon State		6-0	208	R/R	Indians ’14 (25)
99	Zac Lowther	LHP	Xavier		6-2	235	L/L	Never drafted
100	Terry Fuller	1B	Griffin (Ga.) HS		6-4	210	L/R	Chipola College (Fla.)