College baseball conference tournaments are about to start, so it's time for an updated MLB draft rankings as games get underway ahead of the NCAA tournament.
The top four players stay in the same order as our most recent draft rankings, but there's a lot of shuffling beyond that. As referenced in last week's first mock draft, there's a lot of disagreement beyond the top three or four players. Justin Lebron and Chris Hacopian are sliding a bit while prep position players Eric Booth Jr., Jacob Lombard and Trevor Condon are all moving up to fill that void. The collegiate bats projected to go in the middle of the first round are disappointing many evaluators, and the college pitchers ranked 15th through 24th that finish strong are likely to scoot up the board down the stretch.
Further down the list, Bo Lowrance, Archer Horn and Cole Prosek are moving into the late first round while Jace Mataczynski and Luke Williams have been rising this spring into the second round. Jack Slightom, Kolby Stringer, Landon Thiel and Cole Dennis are the top popup prep pitchers from this spring, and they all have a shot at seven figures.
Building on the first entry in our MLB draft buzz blog, the top college-reliever-to-pro-starter candidates are LSU's Deven Sheerin and Florida's Luke McNeillie, with Arkansas' Carson Wiggins a stealth option coming back from elbow surgery and Clemson's Justin LeGuernic a long-time favorite from his high school days.
These players were ranked using the FV (future value) system that I apply for pro prospects. The number in parentheses is the player's age on draft day, a key number in every team's draft model; in short, younger players allow for more projection.
60 FV Tier
1. Roch Cholowsky (21.3), SS, UCLA
2. Grady Emerson (18.4), SS, Fort Worth Christian HS (TX), Texas commit
55 FV Tier
3. Vahn Lackey (21.0), C, Georgia Tech
50 FV Tier
4. Jackson Flora (21.1), RHP, UC Santa Barbara
45+ FV Tier
5. Eric Booth Jr. (18.0), CF, Oak Grove HS (MS), Vanderbilt commit
6. Ryder Helfrick (21.4), C, Arkansas
7. Drew Burress (21.6), CF, Georgia Tech
8. Jacob Lombard (18.8), SS, Gulliver HS (FL), Miami commit
9. Cameron Flukey (21.2), RHP, Coastal Carolina
45 FV Tier
10. Justin Lebron (21.7), SS, Alabama
11. Jared Grindlinger (17.2), RF/LHP, Huntington Beach HS (CA), Tennessee commit
12. Trevor Condon (18.5), CF, Etowah HS (GA), Tennessee commit
13. Liam Peterson (21.1), RHP, Florida
14. Gio Rojas (19.0), LHP, Stoneman Douglas HS (FL), Miami commit
15. Cole Carlon (21.1), LHP, Arizona State
16. Cade Townsend (21.2), RHP, Ole Miss
17. Derek Curiel (21.1), CF, LSU
18. Tegan Kuhns (21.1), RHP, Tennessee
19. Chris Hacopian (21.9), 2B, Texas A&M
20. Mason Edwards (21.0), LHP, USC
21. Ace Reese (21.2), 3B, Mississippi State
22. Bo Lowrance (18.8), 3B, Christ Church Episcopal HS (SC), Virginia commit
23. Logan Reddemann (21.3), RHP, UCLA
24. Hunter Dietz (21.3), LHP, Arkansas
25. Aiden Robbins (21.5), CF, Texas
26. Sawyer Strosnider (21.0), RF, TCU
27. A.J. Gracia (21.7), CF, Virginia
28. Logan Schmidt (18.0), LHP, Ganesha HS (CA), LSU commit
29. Tyler Bell (21.0), SS, Kentucky
30. Archer Horn (18.4), SS, St. Ignatius Prep HS (CA), Stanford commit
31. Chase Brunson (21.0), CF, TCU
32. Cole Prosek (19.1), 3B/C, Magnolia Heights HS (MS), Mississippi commit
33. Eric Becker (21.2), SS, Virginia
34. Brody Bumila (18.4), LHP, Bishop Feehan HS (MA), Texas commit
35. Coleman Borthwick (18.2), RHP, South Walton HS (FL), Auburn commit
40+ FV Tier
36. Tyler Spangler (18.8), SS, De La Salle HS (CA), Stanford commit
37. Connor Comeau (17.9), SS, Anderson HS (TX), Texas A&M commit
38. James Clark (18.8), SS, St. John Bosco HS (CA), Duke commit
39. Zion Rose (21.1), CF, Louisville
40. Will Brick (18.1), C, Christian Brothers HS (TN), Mississippi State commit
41. Carson Bolemon (19.3), LHP, Southside Christian HS (SC), Wake Forest commit
42. Ben Blair (21.3), RHP, Liberty
43. Andrew Williamson (21.0), RF, UCF
44. Aiden Ruiz (19.3), SS, Stony Brook HS (NY), Vanderbilt commit
45. Caden Sorrell (21.3), CF, Texas A&M
46. Ethan Kleinschmit (21.2), LHP, Oregon State
47. Ty Head (21.0), CF, North Carolina State
48. Kaden Waechter (18.9), RHP, Jesuit HS (FL), Florida State commit
49. Jack Radel (21.6), RHP, Notre Dame
50. Wes Mendes (21.8), LHP, Florida State
40 FV Tier
51. Landon Thome (18.7), SS, Nazareth Academy HS (IL), Florida State commit
52. Jake Brown (21.5), RF, LSU
53. Chris Rembert (21.0), 2B, Auburn
54. Jensen Hirschkorn (18.6), RHP, Kingsburg HS (CA), LSU commit
55. Sean Dunlap (18.3), C, Crown Point HS (IN), Tennessee commit
56. Rocco Maniscalco (17.2), SS, Oxford HS (AL), Mississippi State commit
57. Daniel Jackson (21.7), C, Georgia
58. Sean Duncan (18.2), LHP, Terry Fox HS (CAN), Vanderbilt commit<
59. Kaiden McCarthy (17.9), RHP, Vermont Academy HS (VT), Tennessee commit
60. Ethan Norby (21.5), LHP, East Carolina
61. Beau Peterson (18.9), 3B, Mill Valley HS (KS), Texas commit
62. Carson Tinney (21.3), C, Texas
63. Will Yow (18.6), SS, St. Anne's Belfield HS (VA), Virginia commit
64. Jace Mataczynski (18.3), SS, Hudson HS (WI), Auburn commit
65. Ruger Riojas (23.0), RHP, Texas
66. Luke Williams (18.6), SS, Franklin Regional HS (PA), Virginia commit
67. Joey Volchko (21.1), RHP, Georgia
68. Blake Bowen (18.5), CF, JSerra Catholic HS (CA), Oregon State commit
69. Joseph Contreras (18.2), RHP, Blessed Trinity Catholic HS (GA), Vanderbilt commit
70. Gavin Grahovac (21.5), 1B, Texas A&M
71. Jack Natili (21.3), C, Cincinnati
72. Bo Holloway (18.8), LHP, Christ Presbyterian HS (TN), Vanderbilt commit
73. Keon Johnson (18.3), SS, First Presbyterian HS (GA), Vanderbilt commit
74. Logan Hughes (21.2), LF, Texas Tech
75. Myles Bailey (21.0), 1B, Florida State
76. Brett Renfrow (21.5), RHP, Virginia Tech
77. Carson Bailey (21.4), LHP, McLennan JC (TX), Uncommitted
78. Jacob Dudan (21.5), RHP, North Carolina State
79. Hudson DeVaughan (19.4), RHP, Mooresville HS (IN), Alabama commit
80. Ryan Peterson (22.3), RHP, Sam Houston State
81. Taj Marchand (17.9), SS, James Island Charter HS (SC), Ole Miss commit
82. Cooper Harris (18.1), RHP, Flower Mound HS (TX), Texas commit
83. Malachi Washington (18.1), CF, Parkview HS (GA), LSU commit
84. Cole Koeninger (18.9), SS, Keller HS (TX), Tennessee commit
85. Ryan Marohn (21.4), LHP, North Carolina State
86. Deven Sheerin (20.9), RHP, LSU
87. Brendan Brock (21.9), C, Oklahoma
88. Will Gasparino (21.5), CF, UCLA
89. Denton Lord (18.6), RHP, South Walton HS (FL), Mississippi State commit
90. Matt Ponatoski (18.4), RHP, Archbishop Moeller HS (OH), Kentucky commit
91. Will Adams (18.3), 1B, Hoover HS (AL), LSU commit
92. Gary Morse (19.0), RHP, Orange Lutheran HS (CA), Tennessee commit
93. Peyton Bonds (20.9), CF, Rutgers
94. Caden Bogenpohl (21.3), CF, Missouri State
95. Kevin Roberts Jr. (18.0), CF, Jackson Prep HS (MS), Florida commit
96. Noah Wilson (19.1), CF, McCallie HS (TN), Vanderbilt commit
97. Shane Sdao (22.8), LHP, Texas A&M
98. Gabe Gaeckle (21.8), RHP, Arkansas
99. Savion Sims (19.1), RHP, Prestonwood Christian HS (TX), Oklahoma commit
100. Dominic Santarelli (18.7), LF, St. Joseph Catholic HS (WI), LSU commit
101. Alex Weingartner (18.5), CF, St. Augustine Prep HS (NJ), Penn State commit
102. Ethan Bass (18.8), CF, Glenbrook North HS (IL), Wake Forest commit
103. Jake Schaffner (21.8), SS, North Carolina
104. Trey Ebel (17.8), SS, Corona HS (CA), Texas A&M commit
105. Roman Martin (21.9), SS, UCLA
106. Brayden Dowd (20.9), CF, Florida State
107. Ryan Lynch (21.1), RHP, North Carolina
108. Wilson Andersen (18.5), RHP, Jesuit HS (FL), Mississippi State commit
109. Carson Kerce (21.7), SS, Georgia Tech
110. Blake Bryant (18.9), RHP, Citizens Christian HS (GA), Clemson commit
111. Henry Ford (22.0), 3B, Tennessee
112. Noah Danza (18.2), SS, Gloucester Catholic HS (NJ), Mississippi State commit
113. Kollin Ritchie (21.8), CF, Oklahoma State
114. Kade Lewis (21.1), 1B, Wake Forest
115. Lucas Nawrocki (18.6), LHP, Aledo HS (TX), LSU commit
116. Maddox Molony (21.8), SS, Oregon
117. James Jorgensen (18.8), RHP, Jesuit HS (TX), Texas commit
118. Jarren Advincula (21.5), 2B, Georgia Tech
119. Bryce Hill (18.3), RHP, Greenwich Country Day HS (CT), Stanford commit
120. Jason Decaro (20.2), RHP, North Carolina
121. Carter Beck (21.0), CF, Indiana State
122. Ethan Wachsmann (18.1), RHP, Grandview HS (CO), Wake Forest commit
123. Jack Slightom (18.2), RHP, Lyons Township HS (IL), Cincinnati commit
124. Kolby Stringer (18.3), RHP, West Marion HS (MS), LSU commit
125. Nathaneal Davis (18.4), CF, Bishop Moore HS (FL), LSU commit
126. Trey Beard (21.8), LHP, Florida State
127. Jake Carbaugh (18.0), RHP, Plant City HS (FL), Mississippi State commit
128. Mulivai Levu (21.9), 1B, UCLA
129. Aidan Knaak (21.8), RHP, Clemson
130. Steele Murdock (21.3), RHP, UC San Diego
131. James Tronstein (18.3), SS, Harvard Westlake HS (CA), Stanford commit
132. Evan Dempsey (21.0), RHP/RF, Florida Gulf Coast
133. Caden Ferraro (21.6), LF, Texas Tech
134. Daniel Cuvet (21.2), 3B, Miami
135. Tre Broussard (20.8), CF, Houston
136. Alex Hernandez (21.0), RF, Georgia Tech
137. Coleton Brady (17.8), RHP, TNXL Academy HS (FL), UCF commit
138. Dalton Wentz (21.0), 3B, Wake Forest
139. Luke McNeillie (21.3), RHP, Florida
140. Tommy LaPour (21.3), RHP, TCU
141. Robbie Lavey (20.8), C, George Washington
142. Cole Dennis (17.9), RHP, Bishop Snyder HS (FL), Jacksonville commit
143. Kyle Jones (21.4), CF, Florida
144. Maxx Yehl (22.1), LHP, West Virginia
145. Carson Wiggins (21.0), RHP, Arkansas
146. Anthony Murphy (19.3), CF, Corona HS (CA), LSU commit
147. Duncan Marsten (21.0), RHP, Wake Forest
148. Landon Thiel (18.4), LHP, Jackson HS (OH), Ohio State commit
149. Jack Dugan (19.0), SS, Lipscomb Academy HS (TN), Tennessee commit
150. Dylan Bowen (19.4), SS, Hanover Central HS (IN), Oklahoma State commit
151. Justin LeGuemic (20.8), LHP, Clemson
152. Taylor Rabe (21.9), RHP, Ole Miss
153. Rintario Sasaki (21.2), 1B, Stanford
154. Chris McHugh (21.0), 1B, North Carolina State
155. Cody Boshell (19.2), 1B, Bishop Snyder HS (FL), Tennessee commit
