Here's a look at Vanderbilt's baseball signees for 2021 as the MLB Draft approaches.
| Player, pos, B/T | Draft risk |
|---|---|
Joshua Baez, OF, R/R Dexter Southfield (Boston, Mass.) The No. 24 overall prospect for the draft according to MLB.com, Baez is a 6-4, 220-pound, strong-armed, good athlete with big power and a lot of swing-and-miss to his game. | Drafted by Cardinals, 54th overall (2nd round) |
Greysen Carter, RHP, S/R Fairview (Louisville, Colo.) Big, athletic player with a mid-90s fastball and quality breaking ball. The No 167 player in the draft, according to Baseball America. | undrafted |
Bryce Cunningham, RHP, R/R Headland (Headland, Ala.) Threw 46 innings, notching 76 strikeouts and just four walks with an 0.76 ERA as a senior. | undrafted |
Davis Diaz, SS, R/R Acalanes (Pittsburg, Calif.) The 71st-ranked prospect for the '21 draft, according to MLB.com. He's a 5-11, 175-pound shortstop, a line-drive hitter who does virtually everything well. | Diamondbacks-348 (12) |
Devin Futrell, LHP, L/L American Heritage (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) The No. 224 prospect for the draft according to MLB.com, Futrell's fastball sits 88-90 and he'll complement that with a curve and a change-up. He's 6-foot-5 and 195 lbs. and scouts believe there's a lot of room for growth. | undrafted |
Ryan Ginther, LHP, R/L Station Camp (Hendersonville, Tenn.) A strike-thrower with s a low-90s fastball and a slider, his size (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) limits his upside as a draft prospect for now. But his Perfect Game rating (77 in the class) tells the story of what he could be as a college player, as he seems to have an advanced feel for pitching for his age. | undrafted |
Rob Gordon, SS, R/R Grady (Smyrna, Ga.) Gordon's not showing up in mock drafts or on draft lists, but he's a top-100 player in his high school class according to Perfect Game who gets high marks for his defense and is an improving hitter who's shown ability to barrel the ball. | undrafted |
Carter Holton, LHP, L/L Benedictine Miltary (Guyton, Ga.) Prep Baseball Reports's Georgia Player of the Year for 2021, Holton had an 0.36 ERA with 137 strikeouts in 59 innings, adding a 1.359 OPS with 12 homers as a first baseman. A four-pitch lefty, Holton dominated from his freshman year of high school on, producing video-game numbers throughout his career both ways. As he grew, the fastball started hitting the mid-90s and his professional stock improved (he's 128th in MLB.com's latest draft rankings). However, Holton's 5-foot-11 stature and the fact that Vanderbilt has left the door open for Holton to play both ways may help get him to campus. | Brewers-567 (19) |
Sam Hunt, C, S/R IMG Academy (Minneapolis, Minn.) A strong, versatile switch-hitter who projects as a catcher, Hunt's power seems to be his carrying tool. | undrafted |
Miles Langhorne, RHP, R/R Greenwich (Greenwich, Conn.) A four-pitch guy with a fastball in the low-90s, Langhorne's high school season ended in early June due to arm troubles. He was heavily scouted this spring, but didn't make MLB's list of 250 best prospects for the draft and ranked 393rd on BA's list, and perhaps that suggests he's headed to college. | undrafted |
Jordan Lawler, SS, R/R Jesuit College Prep (Irving, Texas) The potential top pick in the entire draft (every major service has him ranked inside the top five for the draft), Lawler is a do-it-all stud who's drawn some comparisons to Derek Jeter. He's got a smooth, easy swing and grades out better for pure hitting than power, but there's some pop there. He's a terrific defender with a good arm who can make all the plays a shortstop needs to make. There's been some chatter that Lawler, a straight-A student, will require a higher bonus than some teams are willing to pay, however, it would be a shock if the Commodores got him to campus. | Diamondbacks-6 (1) |
Kyle Magrans, RHP, R/R Clarksville (Clarksville, Tenn.) Throws a mid-80s fastball, a curve and a change-up and had a great two-way career at local Clarksville High, which earned him area Player of the Year honors. Perfect Game ranked him the 20th-best player in Tennessee in the 2021 class. | undrafted |
Kenneth Mallory Jr., OR (L/L) Mountain View (Lawrenceville, Ga.) A 6-foot-3, 195-pound outfielder with an athletic build and good hitting ability. | undrafted |
Anthony Migliaccio, C, S/R Detroit County Day Upper (Wyandotte, Mich.) Migliaccio is a switch-hitter who's got good speed for a catcher (which could land him in the outfield) and a solid all-around game. He's the No. 114 high school player in the class, but doesn't appear in MLB or BA's draft rankings; that, and the fact he's a good student, seem to play in Vanderbilt's favor. | undrafted |
Michael Morales, RHP, R/R East Pennsboro Area (Enola, Pa.) All the services love Morales, who's ranked as highly as the No. 54 overall player in this draft class (ESPN), with BA (111) ranking him lowest. He throws three good pitches, including.a 93-94 MPH fastball. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound righty showed out at the East Coast Pro showcase last August, which could make it tough for Vanderbilt to get him to campus if that performance is the lens through which scouts view him. | Mariners-83rd (3) |
Matthew Polk, OF, R/R Orange Lutheran (Long Beach, Calif.) A player whom FanGraphs describes Polk as a "contact-oriented prospect," Polk's got a good all-around game that made him the No. 109 high school player in the class, according to PG (which rated him as a shortstop). Polk seems to be considered more of an outfielder at the next level and has drawn professional interest for this draft. | undrafted |
Colton Regen, RHP, R/R Mt. Juliet (Lebanon, Tenn.) A speedy player who pitched and played right field this spring, Regen was slowed by arm issues which limited his time on the mound. He's got a good breaking ball, but didn't rank inside PG's top 500 players for the draft and isn't getting much coverage as a draft prospect for 2021. | undrafted |
JD Rogers, OF, L/L Carmel (Carmel, Ind.) Rated the No. 190 player in his class by PG, Rogers is a good athlete with a strong arm, runs well and has a bit of a long, left-handed swing. He hails from the same high school as former Commodore Conrad Gregor. | undrafted |
Christian Smith, OF (L/L) Grady (Atlanta, Ga.) A 6-foot-2, 175-pound outfielder, Smith, the 324-rated high school player by Perfect Game, is a left-handed hitter with good hitting skills and some projectabilty. There doesn't seem to be much draft-related discussion on him. | undrafted |
James Peyton Smith, RHP (R/R) East Robertson (Springfield, Tenn.) Smith's a 6-foot-4, 215-pound right-hander with a mid-90s fastball and a pair of breaking pitches who was picked for the Perfect Game All-American Classic last year. Smith's not listed on MLB's top 250, but BA ranks him at 146 and PG has him as the 60th-best high school player in the class. Based on stuff alone, Vanderbilt may not get him through the draft, but scouts see mechanical issues that need to be cleaned up and so enrollment is possible. | undrafted; however, Smith de-committed from VU and announced he was going the JUCO route in late-July. |
Jonathan Vastine, SS, L/L Barlow Senior (Barlow, Fla.) There are many tools-ier guys in the class, but Vastine's a good, all-around baseball player, a potential college shortstop whose defense is probably ahead of his offense. That said, he can be a quality offensive player due to his skill of making consistent, hard contact and plus speed. He's a smart player with good work ethic and the whole package is what makes him a prospect; he's ranked by all the services with ESPN (80) being the high and BA (208) the low rankings. | undrafted |
