The 2023 Midseason Prospects Top 100 for Prospects Live, led by Elly De La Cruz.
College Baseball Preseason Top 25 Rankings
The Preseason Top 25 of 2023 is upon us and the LSU Tigers stand alone atop our proverbial mountain. Jay Johnson and staff have put together a Wardaddy lineup with a stable of arms the envy of the rest of college baseball. Outfielder Dylan Crews enters the season as our Preseason Player of they Year. He’s complimented by a myriad of premium arms in Paul Skenes, Thatcher Hurd, Grant Taylor, Ty Floyd, Blake Money, Christian Little and more. Pitching depth was an issue at times in 2022 for the Tigers. That doesn’t appear to be a problem in 2023.
Tennessee is our No. 2 overall ranked team and it’s a close second. The Volunteers are headlined by elite arms headlined by our Preseason Pitcher of the Year; Chase Dollander. Mix in guys like Chase Burns, Wyatt Evans and Drew Beam and they’ll be a headache for opposing lineups. Tennessee brings a ton of wallop into their lineup this season too.
Two teams we’re rather bullish on are the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (No. 3) and the Iowa Hawkeyes (No. 18). Both of these programs have more pitching than they know what to do with. Wake Forest also features some real offensive firepower in 1B/OF Nick Kurtz, supplemented by a stable of really nice hitters. Iowa doesn’t have quite as much thump in their lineup, but they do possess an anchor in 1B/OF Keaton Anthony. On the pitching side, Iowa may have the two pitchers with the best pure stuff in college baseball in RHP Marcus Morgan and RHP Brody Brecht. They’ve both struggled with command at times, but if they lock it in, the Hawkeyes may have two first rounders in 2024 there. True freshman Cade Obermueller has also been up to 96 this spring and has an argument to go really early next July too.
This Pirates Draft Model suggests a stunner with the No. 1 overall pick
By way of winning the first ever MLB Draft lottery, The Pittsburgh Pirates find themselves in far too familiar of a position. Holding the first overall pick in an MLB Draft. When Ben Cherington turns in the selection on July 9, it will mark the franchises’ sixth No. 1 overall selection. The most of any franchise in MLB history. Certainly not something owner Bob Nutting and the powers that be are looking to boast about. Could Paul Skenes be the answer?
2023 MLB Draft - Mock Draft 2.0
The 2021 and 2022 MLB Drafts were both a bit prep-heavy at the top featuring five and four preps in the Top 10 picks respectively. It was high school shortstops galore. Early projections point to 2023 being a bit heavier on the college side; generally a good sign for the health of a draft class historically speaking.
2023 MLB Draft - Mock Draft 1.0
The 2021 and 2022 MLB Drafts were both a bit prep-heavy at the top featuring five and four preps in the Top 10 picks respectively. It was high school shortstops galore. Early projections point to 2023 being a bit heavier on the college side; generally a good sign for the health of a draft class historically speaking.