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2015 MLB Draft Board: High school outfielders
Daz Cameron,OF, Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy, McDonough, Georgia: Hits right, Mike Cameron’s son, Florida State commit, could be similar to his father. Glove ahead of the bat at this point, but there is odd disagreement about exactly how good he can be. Some see a multi-tooled star, others see "merely" a solid player. Reportedly floating large bonus demands. Target Territory: First round.
Kyle Tucker, Plant HS, Tampa, Florida: Hits left, University of Florida commit, Preston Tucker’s brother. If Cameron isn’t the top prep outfielder it is probably Tucker, projects to hit for both power and average despite unusual swing mechanics. More athletic than his brother, lean at 6-4, 175. Target Territory: First round.
Trenton Clark, OF, Richland HS, North Richland Hills, Texas: Hits left, Texas Tech commit, long history of hitting well against top competition, very good running speed, good batting eye, should develop respectable power as well, also a fine defender in center field. Target Territory: First round.
Garrett Whitley, OF, Niskauyna HS, New York: Hits right, Wake Forest commit, attracts observers looking for the next Mike Trout from cold-weather state, power and speed potential stand out and bat more polished than you might expect. Got some first-overall buzz for a while but cooler heads prevailing; still Target Territory First round.
Nick Plummer, OF, Brother Rice HS, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan: Hits left, University of Kentucky commit, cold-weather bat thrived on showcase circuit, very polished, similar to Clark in that regard although doesn’t have as much speed and defensive projection. Target Territory: First round/comp round.
Jahmai Jones, OF, Wesleyan HS, Roswell, Georgia: Hits right, North Carolina commit, exciting athlete with speed, developing power, will hit for average, makeup rated as outstanding, still just 17 years old. Target Territory: Comp round.
Eric Jenkins, OF, West Columbus HS, Chadbourn, North Carolina: Hits left, UNC-Wilmington commit, stands out for speed/defensive ability in center field, an immature hitter at this point who will need development time. Projects as leadoff man if bat develops as hoped. Target Territory: Comp round/second round.
Demi Orimoloye, OF, St. Matthew HS, Orleans, Ontario, Canada: Hits right, University of Oregon commit, born in Nigeria. Plus projection with both power and speed, understandably somewhat raw, draft stock has fluctuated, projections varying between first round and third. We’ll split the difference. TT: Second round.
Mitchell Hansen, OF, Plano HS, Texas: Hits left, Stanford commit, clean swing from left side with 6-4, 200 frame that promises more power to come. On merit looks like a second round type, but Stanford scholarship makes him a signability risk and slot will depend on bonus demands as much as talent. TT: Second round.
Bryce Denton, OF, Ravenwood HS, Brentwood, Tennessee: Hits right, Vanderbilt commit, projects well as a power hitter with a good measure of polish and strong makeup as well. Strong throwing arm but doesn’t run great, some see him as a third baseman. Signability risk like most Vanderbilt guys. TT: Second round.
Alonso Jones, OF-INF, Columbus HS, Georgia: Switch-hitter, Vanderbilt commit, superb speed in the 80-grade range, unfortunately missed most of the spring with a broken hamate so hard to get a present read on his bat. Slot will depend on bonus demands. TT: Difficult to gauge, we’ll say third given uncertainty but that might not be high enough to sign him. Would be a first round candidate in three years if he goes to college.
Kep Brown, OF, Wando HS, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina: Hits right, Miami-Fl commit, spring ruined by torn Achilles tendon. As with Jones the injury clouds things; power bat would put him in second or third round range if healthy but that will depend on signability factors; he might be better off going to school and shooting for the first round in three years.
Chad Smith, OF, South Gwinnett HS, Snellville, Georgia: Hits left, University of Georgia commit, seems to get lost in the shuffle among Georgia preps but some people really love him; very young at 17, has a chance to hit for average, OBP, decent power. TT: Fourth round.
Desmond Lindsay, OF, Out-of-Door-Academy, Sarasota, Florida: Hits right, North Carolina commit, another injury victim, in his case a bad hamstring. Good power/speed potential but another guy who has signability concerns due to injury and college commitment. TT: Fourth round.
Ryan McKenna, OF, St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Berwick, Maine: Hits right, Liberty University commit, cold-weather player with excellent athleticism, speed, strength. Reports on bat are mixed. TT: Fifth round.
Garrett Zech, OF, Naples HS, Florida: Hits right (but throws left, which is a red flag for traditionalists), South Florida commit, fast, has some power potential, reports on bat are mixed but he hit very well this spring. TT: Fifth round.
Marquise Doherty, OF, Winnetonka HS, Kansas City, Missouri: Hits right, University of Missouri commit, raw power/speed player but likely to go to college and play football and baseball unless drafted higher than this projection: TT: Fifth round.
Dayton Dugas, OF, Sam Houston HS, Lake Charles, Louisiana: Hits right, Wichita State commit, power hitter with athleticism, track record erratic and opinions vary a great deal, some see him in top three rounds, others outside top ten and heading to college. TT: No clue.
Blake Perkins, OF, Verrado HS, Buckeye, Arizona: Hits right, Arizona State commit, renowned for speed, excellent defense, throwing arm. On current merits looks like a sixth round pick but could go much higher in three years if he goes to college and develops more pop.
Danny Reyes, OF, Mater Academy, Miami Springs, Florida: Hits right, University of Florida commit, excellent power potential and well-known on showcase circuit but production can be inconsistent, stock hard to peg. TT: Fifth round right now, but could be a first-rounder after three years of college.
Doak Dozier, OF, Arlington Heights HS, Forth Worth, Texas: Hits left, throws right, University of Virginia commitment, all tools above average particularly speed, arm. Rawness makes him something like a fourth or fifth round guy right now, which might not be enough to keep him from college.
Greg Pickett, OF, Legend HS, Aurora, Colorado: Hits left, Mississippi State commit, excellent power and some feel for hitting, strong 6-4, 200 frame, good arm. Mixed opinions on this one too: some say he needs to go to college, other say he’s a third-round talent. TT: Fifth round.
Miles Gordon, OF, St. Ignatius of Loyola HS, Oakville, Ontario, Canada: Hits right, University of San Francisco commit, part of strong Canadian class this year, good glove, runs well, has some pop. TT: Sixth round.
Isaiah White, OF, Greenfield HS, Wilson, North Carolina: Hits right, East Carolina commit, extremely fast with gap power, rather raw but all tools are here, might be more signable than some of the other guys in this range though a good college career would push him up. TT: Sixth round.
Reggie Pruitt, OF, Kennesaw Mountain HS, Georgia: Hits right, Vanderbilt commit, projected to go to college to add strength to already-present speed but stock increased after scouts coming to see Tyler Stephenson got a better look at Pruitt. TT: Sixth round, probably not enough to keep him from Vandy.
Reynaldo Rivera, OF-RHP, International Baseball Academy, Puerto Rico: Hits left, Chipola JC commit, strong arm but left-side power is more impressive and could make him an impact bat with more refinement. TT: Seventh round.
Sense a theme here? If these guys don’t sign, the 2018 college outfield crop could be excellent. There are many other interesting high school outfield bats and feel free to discuss your favorites.
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