Top 200 Draft Prospects ranking unveiled

Greene, McKay remain 1-2 while Wright moves up to No. 3

June 5th, 2017

With a week remaining before the start of the 2017 Draft, scouting staffs are gathering to line up final Draft boards in preparation. Discussions, spirited debates, whatever you want to call them, will assuredly happen as evaluators will try to ensure their organization picks the right player with each pick.
Many of those having those conversations in the scouting industry were surveyed for MLBPipeline.com's new Draft Top 200 list, an expansion and reshuffling of the Top 100 list released just over a month ago.
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The list is based solely on perceived talent and upside, and it does not take things like signability into account. If everyone on this list were taken in succession, it would stretch into the seventh round, or deep into Day 2 of the Draft. The Draft begins June 12 with broadcast coverage on MLB Network and MLB.com, and it continues on June 13-14 on MLB.com.
While there's been a quite a bit of movement up and down the list, the very top of it remains relatively unchanged. Notre Dame High's (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) Hunter Greene and his electric right arm remain in the top spot, where Greene has been since the initial Draft Top 50 was released in December. Louisville's two-way star Brendan McKay, who could still be taken in the top five as either a first baseman or a left-handed pitcher, is still at No. 2.
That's where things diverge a bit from the initial Top 100. Vanderbilt's Kyle Wright, many people's guess for who the Twins will take No. 1 overall, has moved up from fifth to third. After a slow start to his junior season, he has separated himself as the best college player (well, pitcher only) in this class, and many would agree the gap between each of the top three isn't particularly large at this point.

Six of the remaining seven in the new Top 10 were that high on the list a month ago, with the only change being North Carolina high school lefty MacKenzie Gore and California prep shortstop/outfielder Royce Lewis swapping places. The one new addition is Virginia's Adam Haseley, a two-way talent in college who will most certainly be playing the outfield at the next level.

The past month has allowed scouts to get more looks at all of the prospects being considered for selection starting on June 12. Their evaluations of strong and weak performances, to go along with things like injuries, have helped reshape the rankings, both within and outside the Top 100.
Biggest risers
No. 60 -- Gavin Sheets, 1B, Wake Forest (+41)
Along with Top 100 teammate Stuart Fairchild (No. 57), Sheets helped Wake Forest host a regional this past weekend. Sheets didn't miss the initial Top 100 by much, then raked his way onto the list, with a .319/.424/.648 line to go along with 20 homers heading into regional play.

No. 61 -- Drew Ellis, 3B/1B, Louisville (+40)
Like Sheets, Ellis was strongly considered for the first Top 100, then hit his way onto the list. His .376/.467/.728 line with 17 homers is comparable to his teammate McKay's output.
No. 62 -- J.J. Matijevic, 1B, Arizona (+39)
Another college performer who mashed his way into the Top 100, Matijevic has been the Wildcats' best hitter (.389/.440/.650), including 10 homers and 64 RBIs.
No. 48 -- Evan Skoug, C, TCU (+38)
Thee biggest leaper of anyone from the initial Top 100, Skoug slumped badly early on this spring, then caught fire. His 16 homers and 55 RBIs led the Horned Frogs as they entered regional play.
Biggest fallers
No. 125 -- Asa Lacy, LHP, Tivvy HS, Kerrville, Texas (-38)
Sometimes a market correction is needed. Lacy may have been run up the list a little too high on the initial Top 100 (No. 87), and his current ranking is more reflective of where the consensus lies with the prep lefty.

No. 123 -- Colton Hock, RHP, Stanford (-30)
The hope was that Hock would get a chance to start after looking good in that role in the Cape Cod League. He's closed for Stanford and had success, but the stuff hasn't been as good and he never pitched out of the rotation.
No. 116 -- Adam Hall, SS, AB Lucas SS, London, Ont. (-28)
Hall has some tools, but he's pretty raw. Canadian high schoolers often rise/fall after an annual trip to Florida, and the shortstop didn't wow scouts during that stretch.
No. 81 Daniel Tillo, LHP, Iowa Western (-26)
Tillo hadn't pitched a ton before this season and experienced a dead arm period. That hurt the left-hander's stock.