Jamie Cameron

This week, we’ll spend some time looking at prospects the Cubs might take with the 81st overall pick. As usual with these pieces, the goal is not to make predictions, rather, to give an overview of the type of talent that might be available to teams with this pick. I’ve used these prospects’ current ranking on the Consensus Board to cluster prospects for each team. Image courtesy of Brock Beauchamp The Cubs are in an interesting position entering the 2023 MLB Draft. They have $8.9 million to spend, and three top 100 picks (they forfeited their second-round draft pick after signing Dansby Swanson). The 2023 Draft class is loaded with talent, one of the strongest in years. In the buildup to the Draft, we're going to share some names to watch at particular spots that give an indication of the caliber of talent that might be available for a particular pick. Today, we'll dig into the Cubs pick at #68 overall. Jace Bohrofen Position: OF, Age: 21, School: Arkansas, Height: 6’2, Weight: 200, B/T: L/R, Rank: 59 Bohrofen was a legitimate prep prospect in Oklahoma when his senior season was significantly impacted by COVID 19. After making it to campus at Oklahoma, injury and middling performance impacted his playing time, as it did in his 2022 season after transferring to Arkansas. He put it all together in 2023 however, having an excellent offensive campaign. Bohrofen has a compact left handed swing, has improved his contact numbers and already has above average power to all fields. He parlayed this into a .318/.436/.612 line with 16 home runs and 15 doubles in 2023. While he strikes out too much (29 K% in 2023), he also walks a decent amount (15 BB% in 2023). Defensively, it’ll be a corner spot with solid defense and an average arm. The offensive profile will play though, particularly if he can build on the improvement to his hit tool in 2023. Luke Keaschall Position: SS, Age: 21, School: Arizona State, Height: 6’1, Weight: 190, B/T: R/R, Rank: 71 Keashcall spent his first two college seasons at the University of San Francisco and was a veteran of the Cape Cod League before transferring to Arizona State for his junior season. Playing shortstop for the Sun Devils, he offers a hit over power package at the plate. He has a good approach and there's not a ton of swing and miss in his profile. Through the end of the 2023 season Keaschall hit .353/.443/.725 with 18 home runs and 18 steals. That's an impressive return for a significant step up in competition. Keaschall doesn't walk much (10 BB%) but he doesn't strike out much either (13 K%). His long term home isn't shortstop, as he doesn't have the arm. A shift to second base makes sense. It's a really solid floor overall, particularly if he can continue to develop his power stroke. Kemp Alderman Position: 1B, Age: 20, School: Ole Miss, Height: 6’4, Weight: 240, B/T: R/R, Rank: 84 Alderman is a slugging first baseman who offers massive power and not a ton of defensive value, although you could try him in right field as he has a plus arm. At the plate, he has easy plus (maybe double plus) power and has put up some of the better EVs in college baseball in 2023. He's put together a loud season in 2023, .376/.440/.709 with 19 home runs in the SEC is impressive, and he's running a 12 BB% and 19 K%. There's some swing and miss to his profile, but the power is legit. Sean Sullivan Position: LHP, Age: 21, School: Wake Forest, Height: 6’4, Weight: 190, B/T: R/L, Rank: 86 Sullivan is a transfer from Northwestern who has been a revelation for the Demon Deacons this season. He's a left-hander who operates with a funky motion and a low release point which gives his fastball a ton of deception, even though it only sits in the low 90s currently. Sullivan also boasts two above average breaking pitches, a sweeping slider and a changeup with good fade. Sullivan does a good job throwing strikes and would be a great fit for a team that thinks they can add some velocity to the fastball. In 2023 he managed a 3.11 ERA, striking out 70 in his first 46 1/3 innings, while allowing just 15 walks in a tough conference. Sullivan has been one of the pitching stories of the 2023 college baseball season. Who are your favorite prospects mentioned? What are other names that intrigue you with this pick? Join our draft speculation in the comments below. View full article

This week, we’ll spend some time looking at prospects the Cubs might focus on with the 68th overall pick. As usual with these pieces, the goal is not to make predictions, rather, to give an overview of the type of talent that might be available to teams with this pick. I’ve used these prospects’ current ranking on the Consensus Board to cluster prospects for each team. Think of this more as a 'state of play' of what the board might look like when we get to pick 68. Image courtesy of Brock Beauchamp The Cubs are in an interesting position entering the 2023 MLB Draft. They have $8.9 million to spend, and three top 100 picks (they forfeited their second-round draft pick after signing Dansby Swanson). The 2023 Draft class is loaded with talent, one of the strongest in years. In the buildup to the Draft, we're going to share some names to watch at particular spots that give an indication of the caliber of talent that might be available for a particular pick. Today, we'll dig into the Cubs pick at #68 overall. Nazzan Zanetello Position: 3B, Age: 18, School: Christian Brothers HS, MO, Height: 6’2, Weight: 170, B/T: R/R, Rank: 58 Zanetello is a prototypical ‘toolsy’ prep prospect that broke onto the scene during the showcase circuit in the summer of 2022. The descriptor might be a misnomer for him though, as it implies a rawness and lack of polish that Zanetello doesn’t really show. He has a well-rounded profile, underpinned by exceptional athleticism. He has a slightly long swing at the plate, but drives the ball with purpose and has a ton of projection left, which should lead to at least above average power, with an average hit tool. He’s put up plus, but inconsistent run times although his speed is at least above average. Defensively, he’s played shortstop, outfield, and third base, with his strong athletic profile allowing him positional flexibility and instinctive, smooth defensive actions should help him maintain it. Zanetello is committed to Arkansas; he could easily be a prospect with a lot of loud tools in a few years time if he decides to turn pro. Brandon Sproat Position: RHP, Age: 22, School: Florida, Height: 6’3, Weight: 220, B/T: R/R, Rank: 60 Sproat has an unusually large range of rankings from the inputs used in the Consensus Board, anywhere from the 40s to the low 100s, representative of how enigmatic a performer he has been for Florida. He was one of the highest picks not to sign in the 2022 Draft (3rd round, Mets) leaving him as one of the oldest starting pitching prospects in the 2023 Draft. Sproat has a solid four-pitch arsenal with undeniable arm talent, but there are a lot of orange flags in the profile for me. His fastball sits 94-98 mph; he’s been up to 100 mph but doesn’t have a lot of interesting characteristics. His breakers are a slider that's a legitimate swing-and-miss pitch, and a more generic curveball. He also has a changeup with a lot of fade that he doesn’t use a ton. Sproat has struck out 106 in 84 innings of work thus far in 2023, walking 36. If a team can help him improve his control and refine his pitch shapes, the arm talent is there to sit in the middle of a rotation. Max Anderson Position: 3B, Age: 21, School: Nebraska, Height: 6’0, Weight: 215, B/T: R/R, Rank: 63 Anderson is coming off a monster breakout for Nebraska in 2023. While this was his first big college season, some of his underlying numbers have suggested this might be coming. There’s a ton to like about his offensive profile, particularly for model heavy teams. He hits the ball really hard (90th percentile EV ~105 mph), doesn’t strike out much and has good in-zone contact numbers. There are some areas to refine, though. He will expand the zone and chase, and he rarely takes a walk, so there’s refinement in the approach needed. Additionally, Anderson will need to continue working on loft, as he has had a high ground ball rate throughout his collegiate career. The bat speed is there though for above average power. Defensively, the actions are fine but the arm is fringy, it’s probably an average defensive third base profile at best. The offense more than fits the bill though. I think he’ll wind up as an early day two pick. Kiefer Lord Position: RHP, Age: 21, School: Washington, Height: 6’3, Weight: 190, B/T: R/R, Rank: 66 Lord has been a sneaky below the radar college arm that become more noticeable as the college season has gone on. A transfer from Carleton (MN) to the University of Washington, Lord has taken advantage of a more data rich college environment in 2023. His fastball is his best pitch currently. It sits around 94-95 mph and gets up to 97 mph. With some additional projection, that could end up a triple digit pitch. It has good ride and plays really well up in the zone. He has two breakers, a slider and curveball. The slider is better at the moment and has good two-plane tilt, although Lord has shown the ability to spin the baseball so there’s room for improvement on the curveball. He also has a changeup he’s used sparingly. Lord has walked 17 hitters in over 72 innings of work in 2023 (struck out 75) which represents a step forward for his control. There’s a lot to like here, a solid four pitch arsenal, with projection left. If someone can help him tweak the breaking pitches, he could be a really effective starting pitcher. Josh Knoth Position: RHP, Age: 17, School: Pachogue Medford HS, NY, Height: 6’1, Weight: 190, B/T: R/R, Rank: 67 Knoth is the definition of a helium arm. He wasn’t on the Consensus Board at all through March, April, and appeared in the top 100 in May. He’s a cold weather arm, so that’s understandable. It’s also easy to see why folks are so excited about the Ole Miss commit. Knoth hails from the same high school as Marcus Stroman and is himself an undersized right-handed starting pitcher. He throws his fastball up to 96 mph with good arm speed from a three quarters slot. The asset for Knoth currently is his ability to spin a baseball. He has a hard breaking curveball with elite spin rates (~3200 rpm) that he can land for strikes. It has a ton of bite and just falls away from hitters. Knoth also has a changeup which needs refinement. His control should develop to at least average, if not better. Knoth will be 17 on draft day, which will give him a boost in models. It’s easy to be excited about the projection here if Knoth continues to add velocity and works towards a serviceable third pitch. Who are your favorite prospects mentioned? What are other names that intrigue you with this pick? Join our draft speculation in the comments below. View full article

In the coming weeks, we’ll spend some time going in-depth on players whom the Cubs could target with their first pick in next month's MLB Draft, at No. 13. This week, we’re looking at pitchers. For these pieces, we’ll use the positions of players on the Consensus Board as a proxy for who they might take, as opposed to trying to predict what each team will actually do. The goal is to give a flavor of the kind of talent and options that might be around when that pick hits, as we all know trying to predict the draft is perilous at best. Image courtesy of Brock Beauchamp Chase Dollander Position: RHP, Age: 21, School: Tennessee, Height: 6’3, Weight: 195, B/T: R/R, Rank: 7 Dollander was a consensus top three pick for the early part of the season. His fall down the rankings is due as much to the rise and dominance of Paul Skenes as it is to his own uneven performance in 2023. So what does Dollander offer, and what type of emphasis should we place on his 2023 performance? While Dollander’s production and stuff has taken a step back in 2023, he’s still an excellent prospect with a diverse, high-quality arsenal of pitches. His fastball sits 94-96 mph (although it’s hit 99 mph) and is thrown from a low release in his three-quarters slot. It’s not an elite pitch, but serves to set up his breaking pitches exceptionally well. Dollander has a curveball which is above-average and has an excellent chase rate (and a pitch he can land for strikes). His best pitch is probably his slider, a nasty sweeper with a ton of horizontal movement that’s death on hitters. He also has a changeup which has a ton of fade and could be another plus pitch for him. The foundation of four pitches, three of which could be plus, is still incredibly exciting. Two challenges have plagued Dollander in 2023. He’s lost some control, walking almost double the amount of hitters than he did in 2022 at the time of writing. Additionally, his slider metrics have ticked back, resulting in him throwing the pitch less, and having to rely more heavily on his fastball. There have been a number of smart baseball folk suggesting Dollander’s challenges in 2023 are more mechanical than anything else. There’s a front of the rotation arm in there, who's already proved it over the course of the 2022 season. Hurston Waldrep Position: RHP, Age: 21, School: Florida, Height: 6’2, Weight: 205, B/T: R/R, Rank: 13 Waldrep has an argument for the best series of secondary pitches in the entire draft. Originally a relief pitcher for Southern Miss, he transferred to Florida after breaking out as a starter in 2022, amassing 140 strikeouts in just over 90 innings of work. His pitching arsenal is led by a fastball that sits 95-97 mph and has good carry to it, which helps it play up in the zone. The command of the fastball has been inconsistent and he’s been made to throw it far too much for the Gators. Waldrep has a great sweeping slider, which is a 70-grade pitch and a whiff machine already. That’s paired with a curveball that has more 12-6 action to it. Finally, he throws a devastating split-change that he’s been able to land for strikes at the bottom of the zone and has a whiff rate north of 60%. Waldrep’s control has been shaky (42 walks in 72.2 innings at the time of writing in 2023). He has a drop and drive approach on the mound and great arm speed but a noisy delivery. He might be the best argument there is for ignoring performance outcomes in college baseball. He has one of the most complete repertoires of any starter in the draft and a chance for three secondary pitches that are at least plus. I think he has the second most upside of a pitcher in the draft outside of Skenes. Noble Meyer Position: RHP, Age: 18, School: Jesuit HS, OR, Height: 6’5, Weight: 200, B/T: R/R, Rank: 14 Meyer has established himself as the top prep arm in the 2023 draft. Hailing from Jesuit High School in Oregon, the same one that recently produced Mick Abel, Meyer has big projectability that will have organizations excited about what his future holds. Meyer broke out in the summer of 2022 on the showcase circuit, featuring a fastball that sat 95-97 mph, thrown from a slightly deceptive slot that gives hitters fits. He’s been up to triple digits with the pitch this year in shorter starts. He pairs it with a great slider that is generating a ton of swing and miss that he has impressive command over for a prep arm. Meyer also has a changeup that is more of a work in progress. His pitching motion is athletic and repeatable. There’s still a ton of projectability left for Meyer as he fills out more and adds strength. He has a great starter profile and teams with a track record of developing high school pitching should be incredibly excited about Meyer’s long term upside. Rhett Lowder Position: RHP, Age: 21, School: Wake Forest, Height: 6’2, Weight: 200, B/T: R/R, Rank: 15 Lowder qualifies as the highest-floor, lowest-ceiling member of the four top college pitchers available in July. There’s still plenty to like about Lowder’s profile however and he shined at Wake Forest in 2023, one of the college programs most noted for an analytical approach to player development. Lowder has 3 pitches he uses regularly. His fastball is a sinker, typically thrown in the 92-95 mph range, although he has reached back for 97 mph. He gets a ton of ground balls with it. He’s also thrown a more typical four seam fastball at the top of the zone to get hitters a different look. For secondary pitches he throws a slider, with more downward break than sweep. His best pitch is a changeup which has a ton of fade and is one of the better examples in the whole class. Lowder caps his profile off with good control and command of all of his pitches. In 2023 he walked just 17 in around 90 innings of work with 108 strikeouts at the time of writing. Lowder has a polished, middle of the rotation profile and is likely open to an analytically minded approach. Thomas White Position: LHP, Age: 18, School: Phillips Academy, MA, Height: 6’5, Weight: 210, B/T: L/L, Rank: 24 White is the one name to make the list who appears a little down the consensus board. There’s a real lack of quality left-handed pitching options in the 2023 draft, with the distinct possibility that a left-handed college pitcher won’t be taken in the first round for the first time in over 30 years. On the prep side, White is the best available. White has been on the prospect map forever. He has a tall but wiry frame at present and will likely have a jump in velocity as he adds more weight. His fastball sits 93-95 mph currently, thrown from a low angle, combined with great extension, making it very tough for hitters to pick up. White has experimented with both a slider and curveball, often mixing the two. The curveball is already an above average pitch and his ability to spin the baseball suggests White should be able to develop at least one of those into a really effective offering. White has also shown propensity for a changeup, although he’s used it less than his breaking pitches and it’s average at the moment. White is more of a ‘projection pick’ that a ‘current talent’ pick, but he has all the ingredients to develop into a really effective starting pitcher. He’s currently committed to Vanderbilt. Which of the players profiled do you like best as a fit for your team? Is there anyone you’ve read about or watched who you think is missing? Draft speculation is the best speculation, so join the discussion in the comments. View full article

I think Davis' breakout is legit. Contact% over 80+ (increase of about 10%), Barrel% up, 90th percentile EV north of 108mph. He's the player on my board currently not ranked top 15 who I think will go top 15 (which means I'll probably be wrong lol).

Yes, for sure finished product. I think there's an opportunity to be more clear about comps (which I should just stay away from altogether). Here's my thought: Production comp - who would the numbers be similar to? Aesthetic comp - element of swing o delivery that mimics current or former player. In Troy's case, it's a production comp to established Dozier.

In the coming weeks, we’ll spend some time going in-depth on players whom the Cubs could target with their first pick in the 2023 Draft. They didn't get lucky in the lottery in December, so they'll pick 13th, but there should still be some interesting talent on the board at that time. We’ll start by profiling some hitters, before looking at pitchers next week. For each installment, we’ll use the positions of players on the Consensus Board as a proxy for who they might take, as opposed to trying to predict what each team will actually do. The goal is to give a flavor of the kind of talent and options that might be around when that pick hits, as we all know trying to predict the draft is perilous at best. Kyle Teel Position: C, Age: 21, School: Virginia, Height: 6’1, Weight: 190, B/T: L/R, Rank: 10 Few players have done more to help themselves in the 2023 college season than Kyle Teel. A dearth of catching talent (both collegiate and prep) and Teel’s impressive offensive breakout have him primed to be a top-15 pick--possibly top-10. Offensively, Teel projects to have above-average hit and power tools, although the former is currently the carrying tool. He has good bat speed and plenty of analytics-friendly outputs of his approach at the plate. His in-zone contact rates are excellent, and despite some swing-and-miss, Teel spoils plenty of pitches outside the zone, such that he’s a tough out. Defensively, there’s work to do, but he should stick behind the plate. He’s one of the best athletes in the entire college class and his excellent movement skills should help him improve quickly defensively (in addition to a plus arm). Teel has put up a monster 2023. At the time of writing, he owns a .414/.480/.668 line with 11 home runs in 55 games. Tommy Troy Position: 2B, Age: 21, School: Stanford, Height: 5’10, Weight: 195, B/T: R/R, Rank: 12 Troy has been a riser on the consensus board since the beginning of the draft process. I don’t typically like player comps, but Troy and Brian Dozier are a really good fit. Troy has really good barrel control from the right side of the plate and lightning-quick hands help him produce solid power to all fields with good analytical numbers underlying his power. Troy does have some swing-and-miss to his game, though, and will expand the zone. In 2023, he’s taken a small step back with approach, chasing more and walking less as a result. Defensively, Troy profiles as a second baseman, with good quickness but choppy defensive actions and an average arm. Expect him to be a .270-ish hitter with 25-30 home runs as a pro. At the time of writing, Troy had a .404/.485/.717 line with 13 home runs and 16 stolen bases. Jacob Wilson Position: SS, Age: 21, School: Grand Canyon, Height: 6’3, Weight: 190, B/T: R/R, Rank: 13 Wilson is a prospect who has divided opinion thus far in the pre-draft process. On the plus side, it’s an excellent hit tool, led by outstanding bat-to-ball skills and solid line-drive power. On the other hand, Wilson doesn’t walk a ton, and hasn’t produced much in the way of home-run power to date, despite having the frame for it. Defensively, he has good actions and an average to above-average arm, but not a ton of lateral quickness. If he doesn’t stick at shortstop, he’s going to be a power-deficient third baseman or move to a corner outfield spot. Wilson will likely be a top-15 pick for an org that thinks they can coax more power into his swing. I have doubts about that, and the defensive home. At the time of writing, Wilson had a .423/.473/.659 line with 6 home runs on the year. Matt Shaw Position: SS, Age: 21, School: Maryland, Height: 5’11, Weight: 185, B/T: R/R, Rank: 15 Shaw has been floating around the teens of most draft boards throughout the pre-draft process, currently owning a tight cluster of rankings between 15th and 20th overall. Shaw is a solid-floored prospect due to the fact that he does a little bit of everything well. At the plate, it’s a slightly unconventional swing with a big leg kick to start out but it has a track record of results. Shaw has a track record of hitting in college and on the Cape, using all fields and possessing in-game power to all fields. He’s improved his approach in 2023, increasing his BB% and decreasing his K%. Defensively, he’s not a shortstop, although he has an above average arm and solid defensive actions. Given his solid all-round offensive profile, he’d provide the most value for a team at second base although he could stick at third also. In 2023 Shaw has put together a .359/.457/.743 line with 23 home runs and 17 stolen bases. He’s a legitimate offensive threat. Aidan Miller Position: 3B, Age: 19, School: Mitchell HS, FL, Height: 6’2, Weight: 210, B/T: R/R, Ranks: 16 Miller is the younger brother of Jackson Miller, a catching prospect drafted by the Reds in 2020. Miller is one of the most physical prep bats in the class, generating exceptional bat speed with a steep swing that generates plus raw power, although it hasn’t shown up a ton in games yet. Miller’s operation at the plate is quite noisy, a hand hitch and big leg kick are both present in his swing, but he has a sound approach and generates frequent hard contact. Defensively, Miller is very athletic and is already well filled-out for a 19 year old at 220lbs. If he maintains his athleticism, it’ll be a solid third base profile with the perfect offensive profile to match. If it he doesn’t, he could move to a corner outfield spot and still put up the offensive numbers to carry the position. Evaluators haven’t seen as much of Miller at the front end of this season as he had a broken hamate bone which caused him to miss time. As a result, Miller’s evaluations have a bit more range to them than some other prospects in this area of the draft board. All that said, he’s one of the best prep bats in the class and should go in the 12-25 range. Miller is committed to Arkansas. Also considered: Arjen Nimmala, SS (9), Blake Mitchell, C (19), Colin Houck, SS (21) Which of the players profiled do you like best as a fit for the Cubs? Is there anyone you’ve read about or watched who you think is missing? Draft speculation is the best speculation, so join the discussion in the comments. View full article

The Cubs enter the 2023 MLB Draft with the 19th most money to spend ($8,962,000) They hold three top 100 picks (13, 68, and 81). 2023 is one of the deeper draft classes in recent years. Let's take a look at some of the prospects available to teams in July. Image courtesy of Brock Beauchamp How to Use This Tool This is hopefully easy to navigate. For a full explainer on the what, why, and how, here’s the explainer for V1. For each ranked player, you’ll see position, age, ranking, school, first name, last name, height, weight, handedness (S=switch), future value (not yet), and writeup. Every top 100 player has a writeup, if you hover over the report icon for that player, it’ll give you notes on players tools, strengths, areas of growth, and recent performance. What’s New for V2? Here’s some brief notes about V2 of the Consensus Board: The rankings are based on a consensus from 10 draft boards that provide a range of evaluations from well-known industry standard boards, to more data-driven boards. I DID NOT update writeups for the players who remained in the top 100 from the beginning of May. I’ll update them a final time on a rolling basis between June and July. I added ten more writeups for prospects who moved into the consensus top 100 since the beginning of May. If you see a prospect outside the top 100 with a writeup, it means they’ve fallen out (I’m not adding new reports outside the top 100). Finally, I color coded the top 75 players to track risers and fallers between V1 and V2. Specifically: Light green - moved up 5-9 spots Dark green - moved up 10+ spots Light red - moved down 5-9 spots Dark red - moved down 10+ spots What’s Next? The Consensus Board will get one more big update, to be published at the beginning of July. Additionally, there will be updates to the notes of the most significant prospects, accounting for their end of season performance (particularly for college players), in addition to future value grades added for prospects in the final version of the board. The final rankings will also be published as articles at all three sites. I recognize that some folks may prefer to consume rankings as an article, so I’ll publish them with write ups as part of a 2 or 3 part series in the final week leading up to the draft, working to get players highlights added to those pieces. If you have questions or feedback about the process or generation of the board, please use the comments. I want readers at all three sites to feel well-informed and excited about the draft and the influx of talent to their favorite teams. Whether it's an idea to make the rankings better, catching a mistake (I’m sure there are some), or a comment on who you want your team to draft, we’d love to hear from you. Jeremy Nygaard and I will be working to provide y’all with comprehensive draft coverage as July gets closer, so let’s chop it up! 2023 Consensus MLB Draft Board V2 View full article

The Cubs enter the 2023 MLB Draft with the 19th most money to spend ($8,962,000) They hold three top 100 picks (13, 68, and 81). 2023 is one of the deeper draft classes in recent years. Let's take a look at some of the prospects available to teams in July. Last year, I published the first ever ‘Consensus Draft Board’, exclusively at Twins Daily. I also wrote, after the fact, about some commitments to making it better for 2023, and I think I’m delivering on those. So what is a Consensus Board? What’s new for 2023? What? I love drafts in sports, always have, likely always will. As data, information, and the availability of information to the public has transformed so has our understanding of the draft process. Nowhere is this more true than the NFL. While I’d argue that MLB leads all sports in its use of data to inform player development and performance, there is so much less data publicly available for the draft and amateur prospects, in addition to less draft-related content. The MLB Draft is always inherently unpredictable, with wildly discrepant rankings depending on what evaluators value. The Consensus Board (inspired by Arif Hasan’s NFL Consensus Board), takes as many inputs as I have available to me, and creates a consensus ranking for prospects. Last year, I took rankings from BA, Prospects Live, MLB, The Athletic, and ESPN and created a consensus top 56 players for the 2022 MLB Draft. They were published at Twins Daily in two articles. You can find part one of that series here, and part two here. The results were encouraging. After day 1 in 2022 (through 80 picks), 63 of our top 70 players had been drafted, with 3 more heading to college. Not bad. How to Use This Tool You’ll find the Consensus Board linked at the bottom of this page. Hopefully it’s easy to navigate. For each ranked player, you’ll see position, age, ranking, school, first name, last name, height, weight, handedness (S=switch), future value (not yet), and writeup. Every top 100 player has a writeup, if you hover over the report icon for that player, it’ll give you notes on players tools, strengths, areas of growth, and recent performance. What are the Strengths and Flaws of This Approach? There’s inherently some value in consensus. The MLB Draft is so much more complicated than other sports. Combining rankings into a consensus can eliminate some of the noise and outliers from different evaluators models and processes. In year one, there were two major challenges: Consensus rankings with a relatively small number of inputs can lead to missing a great evaluation of a prospect that someone else has noticed or caught onto. The rankings lag significantly behind current performance. Because major outlets (like MLB dot com) only update their rankings twice or three times from December to July, there’s often a disagreement in early versions of the board between consensus ranking and production (i.e. some players are higher than they should be, and some lower). I’d offer that the final version (July) of the board has the most value and will (hopefully) offer the most accuracy. What Next? The chances are, unless you’re a draft junkie, this version of the board won’t be that relevant to you. However, as we get closer to the draft, it will become more so. The Consensus Board will get two further updates, to be published at the beginning of June, and the beginning of July. Readers will be able to see all three sets of rankings side by side to notice how prospects have moved up and down in the rankings as we approach the draft. Additionally, there will be updates to the notes of the most significant prospects, accounting for their end of season performance (particularly for college players), in addition to future value grades added for prospects in the final version of the board. Finally, the final rankings will also be published as articles at all three sites. I recognize that some folks may prefer to consume rankings as an article, so I’ll publish them with write ups as part of a 2 or 3 part series in the final week leading up to the draft, working to get players highlights added to those pieces. If you have questions or feedback about the process or generation of the board, please use the comments. I want readers at all three sites to feel well-informed and excited about the draft and the influx of talent to their favorite teams. Whether it's an idea to make the rankings better, catching a mistake (I’m sure there are some), or a comment on who you want your team to draft, we’d love to hear from you. Jeremy Nygaard and I will be working to provide y’all with comprehensive draft coverage as July gets closer, so let’s chop it up! Consensus Draft Board V1: May Edition View full article