These 3 Draft prospects have helium ahead of College World Series

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I wrote my most recent mock Draft last week, before the most recent round of NCAA postseason play, and the college prospects I’m listing below all were mentioned in the “I expect him to go higher than this” category when I was talking to scouting directors. Some have only solidified their helium with strong Super Regional performances, and all three will continue to try to help themselves in Omaha.

Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Florida (No. 20): Purely on stuff, Waldrep belongs higher on our Draft Top 200, and he was in the past. But command issues and uneven results left some worrying about his ability to start at the next level, though there has always been a feeling of “he won’t drop too far” around him, especially with the lack of college pitching this year. He’s been better over his last four starts, but he's really turned it on in his regional and Super Regional outings, allowing just one run on eight hits over 15 combined innings, striking out 25 and walking only four. According to Synergy, he’s missed 38 percent of all bats in those starts (his splitter has an astounding 67 percent miss rate) and his fastball has averaged 96 mph. I had him going to the Rays at No. 19, but mentioned him as high as 13 and that might be more realistic now.

Brock Wilken, 3B, Wake Forest (No. 24): There are always guys you want to put into a first-round projection, names that come up repeatedly but you don’t find a good home for. That’s what happened this time around with Wilken. I ended up putting him at No. 36, the Dodgers’ first selection in this Draft, and that had a lot to do with me wanting to mention him as someone who could go higher. After an 0-for-4 in the first Super Regional against Alabama, he went 4-for-5 with three homers, showing off his plus power. He now has 30 home runs for the year, putting him in a tie for second among all Division I hitters. He’s also cut his strikeout rate considerably compared to last year, a big reason for his current 1.351 OPS.

Brayden Taylor, 3B, Texas Christian (No. 30): Taylor didn’t do anything of note in his Super Regional, going 0-for-5 with three walks in two games, but I’m including him here because of the up arrow next to his name. He was hitting under .270 in early May, but then it started to click, and he went off in regional play, going 8-for-14 with two homers and 10 RBIs. As I ran through teams in the late teens and 20s for last week’s mock, his name often came up, with an expectation that he’d be gone by then. I nudged him up to the Blue Jays at 20 from where Jim Callis put him (No. 22 to the Mariners the week prior) and could very easily see him landing in the middle of the round.