Draft eligible college players I'm watching opening weekend

Opening weekend of the college baseball season, who to watch of the draft eligible players.

While major league pitchers and catchers report this week, college baseball is kicking their season off this weekend with a full slate of games.

This year’s draft is loaded at the top regarding college players, so this weekend is an excellent opportunity to get some eyes on who may be available, but also just a chance to finally watch some baseball after a long off-season.

Here are a few that I will be watching this weekend regarding draft-eligible players.

Jonathan Santucci

He may not have the best overall stuff in this draft (easily goes to Chase Burns or Brody Brecht), but Santucci has quickly become one of my favorite pitchers in this class.

A lefty who can get up to the mid-90s with his fastball, Santucci produced a whiff rate of over 30% last year with the pitch.

Duke kicks the college schedule off, at least what’s available on ESPN+, at 11 am against Indiana.

An injury limited him to seven games last year, and he had some walk issues as well, but he is a very interesting arm to watch in a class of college pitchers that seems wide open.

Trey Yesavage

Not quite built like Gavin Williams (few are), but Yesavage is another ECU pitcher who could start on the borderline first-round border but catapult up into a clear-cut first-day pick.

Yesavage has four pitches that could be, at the very least, average, including a fastball he’s gotten up to 98 mph previously.

He went from the bullpen as a freshman to second-team All-American as a starter last year, so he’s already taking steps forward in his college career.

With such a wide array of pitches, there’s the upside to taking another step forward, and he’ll be one of the more exciting arms to watch in what is probably the second-tier (for now) starting pitchers at the college level.

Any Wake Forest starter

Chase Burns has looked fantastic so far in scrimmages and has the stuff to be in the 1.1 mix easily, but questions about his ability as a starter will be tested this season. The fastball/slider combination alone will give college hitters fits all season.

He doesn’t have the most upside, but Josh Hartle wouldn’t surprise many if he’s the first pitcher from this class to reach the majors he’s that advanced. His arsenal includes a plus slider, and if the velocity ticks up a bit, he could quickly jump into the top 10 discussions.

Michael Massey has the stuff to be a Friday night starter for many schools but will be the Sunday guy for Wake Forest. He will be converting to the rotation after coming out of the bullpen last year, so how his stuff plays in longer outings will determine his value overall, but the explosive fastball/slider could put him in the first-round conversation should things turn the right way.

Ryan Johnson

He has a funky delivery and throws from a lower arm slot while still dialing the fastball up to triple digits on occasions (he sits in the mid-90s) and throws the slider over 50% of the time - that usually sounds like a reliever, but Johnson has starter potential.

There’s a lot of movement on his pitches, and he has excellent control (5.9% walk rate last year), so the hopes of him being a starter will rely on him further developing a third pitch.

Cam Smith

We’ll throw a hitter in here at the end; Smith has been a late addition to my watch list after seeing his home run swing (with an EV of 111 mph) in a scrimmage the other day that followed with a late-night binge session of every video I could find of him.

He has a strong swing with a lot of raw power, and while he had some swing-and-miss issues as a freshman (he’s a draft-eligible sophomore), he put together a solid Cape Cod League stint.

Smith has a big frame (6’3”, 221 pounds) and a strong arm. It will be interesting if he shows that he can stick at the position or if he moves quickly enough to be considered for right field with his arm.

Added Sources

Baseball America

MLB Pipeline