The White Sox shift gears in the upcoming week to go from drafting players to now negotiating signing bonuses. First-round pick, Andrew Vaughn, should sign soon and possibly start his career with the White Sox in Kannapolis or Winston-Salem. Date to circle on the calendar is June 20th which is the first game after the All-Star Break for South Atlantic, Carolina, and Southern League.
While Rick Hahn and his assistant GM’s work on that task, Nick Hostetler and his team of scouts are back on the road as showcases for the 2020 MLB Draft are happening next week. One, in particular, is the Perfect Game National Showcase at Chase Field in Phoenix as they will have DiamondKentics data, a similar product to TrackMan, available for all prospects participating. Plus, there are key Sophomore’s still playing as the NCAA postseason moves into the Super Regionals round.
Using Fangraphs projected standings, the Chicago White Sox are working towards a 71-91 record which is a 10-game improvement from last year. However, that record would net the seventh pick in next year’s MLB Draft, so Hostetler is probably working on another Top-10 pick next year.
Who are some of the players to keep an eye on this Summer? Here are the different tiers of players who rank high on 2020 prospect lists.
College Starting Pitching
SEC Baseball is going to be a lot of fun to watch next year. Eight starting pitchers are projected to be first-round grade from the conference. Leading the way is the Georgia duo of Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox. Both right-handers light up the radar gun consistently hitting 96+ mph with Hancock pairing his velocity with a very effective changeup, and Wilcox pitches work with more sink.
Vanderbilt’s Hugh Fisher is helping the Commodores out of the bullpen but should shift into the starting rotation in ‘20. Fisher’s fastball comes in between 94-97 mph and paired with a plus-slider. LSU’s Cole Henry is also another bullpen arm that should be starting games next year.
One of the first players announced to play for Team USA this Summer is Texas A&M’s, Asa Lacy. In 2019, Lacy struck out 115 batters (37.34 K%) in 76 innings and should take over Friday starting duties next season.
Auburn’s Tanner Burns and Mississippi State’s JT Ginn had very similar results in 2019. Both pitchers struck out 95 batters with ERA’s close to each other (Burns 2.80 ERA / Ginn 3.12 ERA), and we could get another look at them this season during the Super Regionals.
Outside of the SEC is left-handed Reid Detmers from Louisville who was fantastic in 2019. In 89 inning, Detmers struck out 138 batters (40.47 K%) with a 2.42 ERA and earned my nomination for the NCBWA NCAA Pitcher of the Year.
College Bats
If you like Andrew Vaughn, you’ll like Arizona State first baseman, Spencer Torkelson. Comparing the two, Vaughn has a better batter’s eye and understanding of the strike zone, but Torkelson has more power. Back-to-back 20+ homer seasons, Torkelson will play for Team USA this Summer and Cape Cod where he will look to repeat his outstanding 2018. In 25 games in the Cape, Torkelson hit .333/.472/.704 with 7 HR 25 RBI and 20 walks to 25 strikeouts.
Catcher Patrick Bailey of NC State will get a lot of hype. I think he’s a grade lower than Joey Bart and Adley Rutschman, but he plays good defense and has a loud bat. His Freshman season numbers were better than this year’s, but if Bailey can make the jump in improvement his Junior season like Bart and Rutschman, we could see another college catcher go in the Top 5 in next year’s draft.
At shortstop, there are two players to watch and both are in the SEC: Vanderbilt’s Austin Martin and Arkansas Casey Martin (No, they’re not related). Austin Martin has been playing third base during Vanderbilt’s run to the Super Regionals but can play shortstop. Very good defensively with a plus-contact bat with gap power. Casey Martin is the shortstop with 50 FV power stroke but does have an issue with contact as he struck out 23% of the time in 2019.
In the outfield, check out UCLA’s Garrett Mitchell. Super athletic who made good strides offensively in 2019 as he carried a 1.023 OPS (with nine triples). Back to Arkansas, Heston Kjerstad can bring the boom, but like his teammate Casey Martin, has a problem with strikeouts.
Prep Players
You are going to hear a lot about two prep players this Summer: Pete Crow-Armstrong and Blaze Jordan. Crow-Armstrong, known as PCA through scouting circles, has performed excellently at national showcases and is projected to stick in center field. Jordan is not as athletic as Crow-Armstrong, but he just reclassified his school standing and will eligible for the 2020 Draft. FanGraphs has a future raw power grade of 70 for Jordan who will only be 17 years old next June. His projected position is first base, and I’m sure there will be debates in 11 months from now who is the better first base prospect: Torkelson or Jordan.
Two other outfielders from the prep field are Zac Veen and Dylan Crews. Veen is someone that does everything well across the board getting many FV 50+ grades on all skills, and Crews is known to have advanced abilities at the plate.
For prep pitching, Mick Abel is leading the upcoming class with his 95-mph fastball and plus curveball. Abel will be pitching in next week’s Perfect Game showcase. Jared Jones has a better fastball than Abel with some reports of him hitting 98 mph. Jones will be in Chicago this Summer already committing to the Under Armour Showcase at Wrigley Field in July.
