How Many Georgia Tech Baseball Prospects Made the Athletic's Final Top 100?
The 2022 MLB Draft is less than a week away and Georgia Tech is going to have multiple players drafted this year. The Yellow Jackets had one of the best offenses in school history and are set to put some potential stars into this year's MLB Draft.
With the draft rapidly approaching, it is time for the best MLB prospect analysts to release their prospect list. Keith Law, Senior baseball writer at The Athletic just released his final top 100 ahead of Sunday's draft and it has a couple of recognizable names on it for Georgia Tech fans.
7. Kevin Parada
Any prospect list is almost certainly going to have Parada on it and it is no secret why. He was the best offensive player on one of the best offenses in college baseball, setting the single-season record for home runs in a season and being at the top of the ACC in most major hitting categories. Law ranked Parada seventh overall and here is what he had to say about the Georgia Tech catcher:
"Parada has been one of the best hitters in college baseball this year, tying for sixth in Division 1 with 26 home runs while walking nearly as often as he struck out on the season (32:30 K: BB), and does so despite one of the more bizarre setups you’ll see in a hitter and while handling the most difficult position on the diamond. Parada sets up at the plate with the bat slung over his shoulder like a bag of golf clubs, but gets the bat to the zone on time, even against better velocity. His plate discipline and pitch recognition are both advanced for an amateur and he’s shown some ability to make adjustments in-season already. Behind the plate, he’s adequate as a receiver with fringy arm strength, good enough to stay there because he hits so well. With 20-25 homer power and a potential 60-hit tool at a position of permanent scarcity, he offers some of the best pure value in the draft class".
It is almost a lock that Parada goes in the top ten of the draft and he will look to make his mark as soon as possible.
83. Zach Maxwell
Georgia Tech did not have a good pitching staff this past season, but there are a number of teams out there that think Zach Maxwell has the stuff to be an intriguing prospect. Here is what Law had to say about the Yellow Jackets pitcher:
"Maxwell couldn’t stay in the Ramblin Wreck’s rotation despite a fastball up to 101 mph with elite spin rates and a mid-80s slider that misses bats. He just doesn’t throw anywhere near enough strikes, walking a man an inning as a starter to begin 2022, then cutting his walk rate to 22 in 32 innings as a reliever, with 50 strikeouts. He has no third pitch for lefties, giving up a .409 on-base percentage to them this year. Yet that two-pitch combination is among the best in the draft, a perfect target for a team that believes in its pitching development".
While he might not be a first-round pick, Maxwell should be taken in the first few and see if he can develop more than he did while at Georgia Tech.
Who was missing?
I was surprised to not see Chandler Simpson on the top 100 list. Simpson was the nation's leader in batting average and I think he is going to be a solid pro at the Major League Level.
The first round of the MLB Draft will be held Sunday night at 7:00 P.M.
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