As Major League Baseball's 2023 amateur draft creeps closer, scouts across the league are already preparing to take a deep breath and then, well, return to the grind to check out next year's class. In this sport, the search for talent never pauses for long.
As is the custom here at CBS Sports, we're using today to highlight five notable players we expect will be relevant in next year's draft. We want to be clear that we've limited consideration for this piece to collegiate players, and that we're not necessarily saying these are the five best in the class -- just that we think they will be relevant come next summer.
Do note: the players are presented in no particular order.
1. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, Florida
The Gators had two top picks on this year's roster, in outfielder Wyatt Langford and righty Hurston Waldrep, yet it was often Caglianone who dominated headlines with awesome displays of strength in the box and on the bump. He launched 31 home runs overall and posted a 1.046 OPS in SEC play. He also started 16 games as a pitcher, touching 99 mph while striking out more than 10 batters per nine. We know what you're thinking -- our advice is to pocket those Shohei Ohtani comparisons.
Scouts prefer Caglianone as a hitter, but the reality is that he needs to improve his command of the strike zone on both sides. Consider the following statistics from conference play: as a pitcher, he walked or plunked 41 batters in 41 innings; as a hitter, he recorded 3.5 times more strikeouts than walks. Both are red flags that Caglianone will have to correct for moving forward in order to land near the top of the class.
2. Vance Honeycutt, CF, North Carolina
Honeycutt, who elected to attend college despite being drafted out of high school by the Giants, put himself on the national radar during his freshman season. He homered 25 times and swiped 29 bags (on 34 attempts), all the while showing off an above-average glove in center.
Honeycutt had a mixed sophomore season. He improved his strikeout and walk rates, reducing his overall K/BB ratio from 2.20 to 1.04. Unfortunately, his in-conference OPS dropped from .924 to .813, and he homered just three times in 25 ACC games (as compared to 10 times in 30 games as a freshman). Honeycutt still showed athletic promise and a flair for making dramatic catches in the outfield, so he's a good spring of hitting away from reintroducing himself to the top of the board.
3. Brody Brecht, RHP, Iowa
Brecht, a former two-sport athlete, combines a linebacker's body with a closer's arsenal. He stepped away from football last season to focus exclusively on baseball, and he subsequently posted a 3.74 ERA and struck out 109 batters in 77 innings.
Brecht has elite arm strength (he's been clocked over 100 mph in the past) and a swing-and-miss slider. The catch is that his command remains well-below-average. This season, for instance, he walked more than 18% of the batters he faced (that rate was over 20% during conference play). For perspective, no MLB pitcher with 100 or more innings in 2022 walked more than 13% of the batters they faced.
If Brecht can show any improvements with his location, his arm strength is enticing enough to make him a top-10 candidate.
4. Tommy White, 1B, LSU
You may recall White from spring 2022, when he earned the nickname "Tommy Tanks" as a member of the North Carolina State program. He transferred to LSU and moved to third base ahead of his sophomore season, then went out and posted a higher OPS (1.193 vs. 1.179).
White will be a polarizing member of next year's class. There's no denying his offensive potency or his ability to impact the ball, but teams are often reluctant to spend premium draft capital on players they regard as right-right first basemen. There have been exceptions in recent years -- Spencer Torkelson and Andrew Vaughn both went within the first three picks -- so perhaps White will join that group next summer.
5. Hagen Smith, LHP, Arkansas
We'll conclude with Smith, a funky lefty who posted a 3.64 ERA and struck out more than 35% of the batters he faced in 2023. Those marks both held solid during SEC play (3.07 and 35.1%), which is something teams love to see when they're evaluating potential first-round picks.
Smith has a starter's frame and a fastball that can touch into the upper 90s. He delivers the ball using an unorthodox delivery from a sidearm slot, making him tough on lefties in particular. His track record makes him one worth watching in 2024, though it's fair to note that teams would like to see him throw more strikes: he's walked more than five batters per nine innings over his first 38 collegiate outings.
