A couple of things seem to be interesting fans these days: Our recently updated Top 100 list and, of course, how the 2023 Draft is shaping up. I took a little time out of working on a new mock, coming later this week, to answer questions from both buckets.

Looking at their stats the last few years it would appear that Elly De La Cruz is a superior prospect to Jordan Walker.  What elevates Walker over De La Cruz in your projections? -- @SherryStorm22

We answered this one in detail on this week’s MLB Pipeline podcast, so be sure to check it out. I’ll try to dig in briefly here. 

I think the argument that De La Cruz is a superior prospect based on stats comes from his 2022 season, which certainly was extraordinary. He went 20-40, after all, and finished with a .945 OPS in reaching Double-A for the first time. And now that he’s in Triple-A, we get to see all sorts of Statcast wonders (And you can check him out in this month’s Pipeline Game of the Month!). So I get it. 

The counter argument goes something like this: 1. We don’t only look at production to rank prospects; it’s a lot about what we think, or what the industry thinks, they will become in the big leagues. 2. De La Cruz’s approach makes one pause just a tiny bit. He struck out 30.8 percent of the time in 2022. 3. It’s not like Walker’s numbers are terrible, right? He’s at .303/.384/.510 in his Minor League career and is still learning to tap into his considerable raw power. 

And did you know that Walker is actually younger than De La Cruz? Only by a few months (Happy early birthday, Jordan!), but he’s been at higher levels, not to mention the big leagues, ahead of De La Cruz. Truthfully, there isn’t that much separating the top four on our current Top 100, and I think an argument could be made for any of them to be considered No. 1.

Phils fan. U have Collier in top 100, 1 pk after Crawford. And both HS,  Crawford over .300. What's he got that Crawford doesn't?? -- @GreenjackTom

I felt this was another opportunity to talk about how we do what we do -- and count me among the Justin Crawford fans who wouldn’t be surprised if he made it onto the Top 100 in the future. Both he and Cam Collier, now with the Reds, are very talented young hitters. For some context, we had Collier No. 8 and Crawford No. 13 on the 2022 Draft list. That alone doesn’t mean he should be ahead of Crawford, but let’s look at their scouting grades together:

Crawford: Hit: 55 | Power: 40 | Run: 70 | Arm: 55 | Field: 60 | Overall: 50

Collier: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 60 | Field: 50 | Overall: 55

Keep in mind that these are future grades, and we’ll adjust as this pair moves along. Crawford has an edge as being an up-the-middle player in center field with plus defense and nearly top-of-the-scale speed. But for now, the separator is the projection on the bats, with Collier having the ceiling of a plus hitter with solid power. Crawford is going to hit, but it was unclear coming into the Draft what kind of impact he’d have. Yes, he’s hitting over .300, but that alone, in 24 Single-A games, isn’t enough to jump him ahead of Collier, who also happens to be 10 months younger than Crawford.

Currently on your draft 150 y'all have Yohandy Morales at #23. He currently has a 1.127 OPS & 7 SBs. So my question is how far is Morales from positioning himself in the first half of the 1st round? -- @KyleWeatherly6

While I’m not exactly sure why you’d mention Morales’ stolen base totals to boost his status since speed is not going to be a part of his game at the next level -- and the fact he’s hitting .402/.471/.656 this year with Miami is a strong enough argument -- I’m going to answer this anyway.

The quick answer is: Not far at all. I’m working on a new mock for the end of the week, and on the latest podcast, in fact, we talked about how Morales’ name is indeed floating up to the middle of the round more. I don’t want to give anything away, but he’ll be in my mock this week for sure. College bats who perform like that, especially in the bigger conferences, almost always move up as the spring progresses, and Morales is no exception.

JJ Wetherholt has been tearing it up this year at WVU and projects to be a top pick in the ‘24 draft. If you had a choice between him & Jacob Gonzalez who would you choose, and where would he rank if he was eligible for the ‘23 draft? -- @2000sSports

Under normal circumstances, I would ignore a question about a 2024 guy because, bluntly, I wouldn’t know much, if anything, about him. Such is the nature of how immersed we are in this year’s Draft. But as luck would have it, someone recently asked me about Wetherholt, and I had asked around about him.

Your assessment is correct. Wetherholt is hitting an absurd .466/.530/.829 for West Virginia and leads Division I baseball in slugging percentage. From a pure performance standpoint, that obviously dwarfs Gonzalez’s .326/.440/.563 line, even if you allow for the fact that the SEC is better than the Big 12 Conference Wetherholt is in.

The one thing working in Gonzalez’s favor is that he plays shortstop currently and at least has a shot to play it in the future. Wetherholt is a second baseman now and profiles better there. That said, Wetherholt should get a chance to play short at WVU next year and show if he can stick there. In the end, I’d take him over Gonzalez, who currently is No. 8 on our Draft Top 150. I think that’s a pretty solid spot for him if he were on this year’s list, in that Jacob Wilson-Jacob Gonzalez territory.