The Dodgers spent the 142nd overall pick on James Baldwin III.
Follow the jump for his pre-draft profile.
James Baldwin III Position: OF School: Pinecrest HS State: NC Height: 6’3’’ Weight: 195
Bats: R Throws: R Birth Date: 10/10/91 Seiler Rating: 3C1 Commitment: Elon
James Baldwin III is a powerful high school outfielder from Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, North Carolina, which is just outside Fort Bragg in the area of Fayetteville. Baldwin is the son of long-time Major League pitcher James Baldwin, who also graduated from Pinecrest twenty years ago. The younger Baldwin isn’t the pitcher that his dad was, though he does pitch for his high school team. Instead, he’s gotten his name in the spotlight due to good raw tools and good bloodlines. Though he wasn’t a big prospect entering the spring, he showed enough over the course of time to get noticed by scouts from a few teams, and he could easily become a solid Major League outfielder with the ceiling as a solid-average center fielder. At the plate, he’s a raw hitter that struggles heavily with offspeed stuff, and he only projects to be an average hitter in his prime. He’s always going to struggle with getting the bat on the ball against quality pitching, so strikeouts will be a thing to watch in terms of his development. He has plus raw power, though, and he adds in above-average speed, making him a solid offensive threat. Defensively, he’s rather raw in the outfield, but thanks to his speed, he could become an average defender in center field with an above-average arm. If he fills out a little too much, he could be an above-average defender in right field, and he has the power in his bat to carry him there. He’s raw in most phases of his game, which is why he looks like a seventh to twelfth round prospect, but he’s supposed to be fairly signable, and he could be plucked away from Elon in that range.