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Draft Prospect Watch: Starting at the Top

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The MLB draft is still three months away. In fact, the first round goes off three months from today. We are going to profile a new player here each Sunday, starting today (PS: Happy Easter). We are starting at the top with Georgia prep outfielder Druw Jones, son of long-time MLB star Andruw Jones. The Pittsburgh Pirates pick fourth overall, which means no one should be off-limits with so much time left before the draft, but I’m not here to get your hopes up about Jones. He’s the consensus top prospect in this draft for a reason…well, plenty of reasons actually.

Jones has above average tool ratings across the board according to MLB Pipeline. His 55 hit tool rating is his lowest mark. He has 60 power, 65 arm, 70 speed and 70 defense. An article by Keith Law, who saw Jones live and talked to multiple scouts first, backs up those ratings, though he was higher on his power rating, giving him a 70. Baseball America is a little lighter on him presently, saying the power could develop into a plus tool as he fills out his 6’4″ frame (currently listed at 180 pounds). However, they say some scouts have given his arm an 80 grade. He’s going to be a Gold Glove quality center fielder, but just to show his athleticism, he has the ability according to scouts that have seen him take infield, to play shortstop at a high level.

Just to summarize, you have three different sources who talk to plenty of scouts besides their own coverage, and four tools got mentioned at 70 or better. That’s almost unheard of for scouting grades. The only thing that keeps him from being one of those elite draft prospects everyone is sure will go first overall in any year is that scouts aren’t completely in love with his swing, but no one is giving him anything less than a 50 grade now.

Time to look at some videos. This one has a few homers, a couple of base hits, two steals and then it ends with him on the mound. He is not a potential two-way player, but it’s there to watch anyway

Here’s some BP/game action from last year. You can see some improvements since this video has been posted, plus he appears to have filled out some

and here’s the popular video from this year when he homered during overrated chants

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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