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Green was always the riskiest of the group but had physical tools that drew comparisons to Ronald Acuna Jr. Concerns about his contact rate have proven true, though, and after whiffing 206 times in Single-A in 2024, he’s hitting under .200 in High-A this year.
Overview: While the top high school bats have yet to perform, the Red Sox got anthony at the end of the second round with the 79th pick. His status as the top prospect in the minors before his recent call-up earns him the top slot in this redraft. Just to show how tough drafting is, though: The Red Sox drafted two high school shortstops before they selected Anthony.
I have Neto ahead of Holliday for now, in part as Neto is a shortstop while Holliday has had to move to second base (and not just because of Gunnar Henderson — Holliday’s range and arm wouldn’t play at shortstop). Holliday is three years younger and just 21 years old, so there’s still plenty of time for his bat to improve. Neto was the 13th pick out of Campbell, in the Big South Conference — a late riser his draft year. He reached the majors with the Angels in 2023, and his power has been even better than projected, with 23 home runs in 2024 as part of an notable 5.1-WAR season. You’d like to see him improve his strikeout-to-walk ratio,but he’s the best Angels draft pick as Mike Trout.
2023
1. Pittsburgh Pirates
New pick: Paul Skenes | Original pick: Paul Skenes
2. Washington Nationals
New pick: Jacob Wilson | Original pick: Dylan Crews
Where new pick was originally drafted: 6
3. Detroit Tigers
New pick: Wyatt Langford | Original pick: Max Clark
Where new pick was originally drafted: 4
4. Texas Rangers
New pick: Max Clark | Original pick: Wyatt Langford
Where new pick was originally drafted: 3
5. Minnesota Twins
New pick: Walker Jenkins | Original pick: Walker Jenkins
6. Oakland Athletics
New pick: kristian Campbell | original pick: Jacob Wilson
Where new pick was originally drafted: 132
7. Cincinnati Reds
New pick: Dylan Crews | Original pick: Rhett Lowder
Where new pick was originally drafted: 2
8. Kansas City Royals
New pick: Colt Emerson | Original pick: Blake Mitchell
Where new pick was originally drafted: 22
9. colorado rockies
New pick: Kevin McGonigle | Original pick: Chase Dollander
where new pick was originally drafted: 37
10.Miami Marlins
new pick: Chase Dollander | Original pick: Noble Meyer
Where new pick was originally drafted: 9
Other notable players from 2023: Bryce Eldridge, Zyhir Hope, Luke Keaschall, George Lombard jr., Aidan Miller, Arjun Nimmala, Nolan Schanuel, matt Shaw, Kyle Teel
Best draft: Detroit Tigers. Certainly, it’s way too early to tell here. Maybe it’s just the Pirates with Skenes. The Red Sox got Campbell in the fourth round with frist-rounder Teel going to the White Sox in the Garrett Crochet trade. But let’s go with the Tigers as Clark and McGonigle, both high school selections, have hit well in the lower minors and could be excellent all-around players if their power develops. Second-rounder max Anderson is having a big season in Double-A, and fifth-round pitcher Jaden Hamm, out of Middle Tennessee State, has also been in Double-A all season after having a strong year in 2024 in High-A.
Top pick that hasn’t worked out: Dylan Crews. by no means are we writng Crews off — we still have him going seventh in the redraft — but his early scuffles in the majors, including a .196 average in 2025, are surprising given the numbers he put up at LSU (.426/.567/.713 as a junior). The plate discipline he had in college hasn’t translated to the pros, and he didn’t tear up the minors in 2024.His MLB numbers also pale in comparison to Langford, who went two picks later. Still, we need more than 300 plate appearances before passing final judgment.
Overview: Remember,it wasn’t a slam dunk for the Pirates to take Skenes. Pitchers come with their obvious injury risks, while Crews and Langford where two of the more accomplished college hitters in recent years. But still, they clearly made the right choice.
Wilson was a bit of a surprise pick at sixth overall for the A’s. Scouts loved his elite contact ability coming out of grand Canyon University, but you don’t project anyone to hit .350 in the majors and wilson has a chance to do that. His power has been the biggest surprise, as he’s already exceeding the Nico Hoerner comparisons.He’s not going to be a gold Glove shortstop, but he’s competent enough there to slot ahead of Langford in the redraft at No.2. The ultimate strength of this draft will rely on the talented group of high school hitters — Clark, Jenkins, Emerson, McGonigle, Miller, Eldridge, Nimmala and others — who look good so far with some of them starting to get tested in the upper minors. Eldrige is super intriguing: The 6-foot-7 slugger is just 20 years old and already in Triple-A for the Giants.
