2014 MLB Draft Profile: Trea Turner, SS, N.C. State

North Carolina State infielder Trea Turner is not a prototypical top draft prospect in a lot of ways. He's 6'2" and rail thin at 170 pounds. There is room for him to grow into his frame.

A 20^th round pick out of high school in 2011, he turned down a fairly large bonus from the Pirates to attend N.C. State. Coming from south Florida, you'd think that he would have had offers from Florida State, Florida, Miami, etc. but he went out of state because they weren't on him. He didn't hit enough for them. I bet they are kicking themselves for that, as are the Pirates for not signing him.

He immediately became a catalyst for N.C. State as a freshman, stealing 57 bases and batting .336/.432/.459 playing impressive third base. As a sophomore he improved from there hitting .393/.476/.613. He only stole 23 bases due to an ankle injury. He moved over to short and handled it very well and will likely be a short stop as a pro but could potentially move to 3B if a team feels like being creative. He has the arm for the hot corner but the footwork to stay up the middle and he's only getting better.

His strength isn't evident when he steps up to the plate but the way he swings the bat and slashes balls to the gaps, it becomes clear quickly. He isn't going to hit a ton of homers but he'll hit a dozen homers a year and hit enough extra base hits to be a threat. He has an easy swing and good loft on the ball when he squares it up. He has a solid approach at the plate making it more likely that he will continue to improve.

He has elite speed, an easy 80 on the scouting scale. He doesn't hit the ball on the ground or bunt to get hits as often as he could and takes a more standard approach, which is good and bad. It keeps him from getting pigeonholed in as a slap hitter, which he isn't, but it leaves room for improvement on the little things.

If things don't work out for him, he is majoring in Chemical Engineering but I don't think that's gonna be an issue. He'll be a top 15 pick this June and won't need to cook meth to make his millions ala Walter White. He should be a solid MLB short stop wreaking havoc on the bases, exciting anyone who watches other than the opposing team.