Major League Baseball's amateur draft is just over a month away. As such, this and next week's edition of Prospect Watch will highlight how each team's first selection from last year's draft has performed. The American League is first up. Do note that all the statistics used in this article are accurate as of Wednesday.
Now, let's get to it.
Prospect Watch
| 1 |  |
| SS Jackson Holliday: Last summer, Holliday was the No. 1 pick in the draft. Now, he's the top prospect in the minors. He's obliterated A-ball pitching this season across two levels, hitting .379/.503/.641 with six home runs in 42 games. None of that is a typo, and oh, by the way, Holliday won't turn 20 until December. | |
| 2 |  |
| SS Mikey Romero: Romero, the sweet-swinging 24th pick by way of California, had a fruitful introduction to pro ball last season, hitting for a .874 OPS across two levels over 19 games. He's yet to make his season debut this year because of back stiffness. | |
| 3 |  |
| LHP Noah Schultz: Schultz, a physical southpaw from Illinois whom the White Sox picked 26th, has made six professional appearances to date, all coming last season. He suffered a strained forearm in the spring that has sidelined him since, but he's supposedly nearing his return to action. | |
| 4 |  |
| OF Chase DeLauter: DeLauter, a polished small-school hitter who slipped to the 16th pick last summer, has yet to make his professional debut due to injury. He was expected to miss at least four months after fracturing his foot in February. Barring a setback, that puts him on schedule to finally break the seal sometime over the next month or so. | |
| 5 |  |
| 2B Jace Jung: Jung, the 12th pick, was thought to be one of the more polished hitters in last year's class thanks to his feel for contact and the strike zone. It's puzzling, then, that he hasn't yet aced his first professional test in the form of Low-A pitching. Between this season and last, Jung has hit .226/.357/.358. That's not going to get it done. | |
| 6 |  |
| OF Drew Gilbert: The Astros used their first first-round pick since 2019 on Gilbert, a high-energy outfielder from Tennessee who scouts worried wouldn't hit enough to be more than a reserve. He's put those concerns to bed so far by hitting .336/.421/.573 across two levels, including Double-A. At this rate, Gilbert could be putting himself in position to make his big-league debut sometime next season. | |
| 7 |  |
| OF Gavin Cross: The Royals took Cross with the ninth pick last summer, ostensibly because they liked his well-rounded game. Unfortunately, he hasn't performed well out of the gate as a professional. In 44 High-A games this season, he's hit .195/.292/.420 with eight home runs and a 34% strikeout rate. The sample size is large enough at this point to develop some concerns about what's going on. | |
| 8 |  |
| SS Zach Neto: Neto, the 13th pick last summer, has already reached the majors. In 42 games since debuting, he's hit .246/.325/.384 (95 OPS+) with three home runs. He's shown a better feel for the strike zone than his ugly walk rate (4.5%) suggests, and he's graded well defensively, according to Statcast's measurements. Considering Neto was wrapping up his collegiate career at Campbell this time last year, we have to give him credit for playing as well as he has against big-league competition. | |
| 9 |  |
| SS Brooks Lee: Lee was one of our favorite players entering the draft, but that didn't stop him from slipping to Minnesota at pick No. 8. He's a switch-hitting infielder whose high baseball IQ helps him overcome middling athleticism. The Twins pushed him to Double-A this season and he's thus far held his own, batting .268/.342/.435 in 42 games. | |
| 10 |  |
| OF Spencer Jones: The Yankees took Jones, a 6-foot-6 outfielder blessed with equally large power, with the 25th pick. He'd shown an improved feel for making contact at Vanderbilt, and that carried over to his initial pro-ball introduction. It hasn't sustained this year, however, as he's struck out in nearly 35% of his High-A plate appearances. Jones is batting .264/.311/.509 overall with seven home runs, but it's fair to write that the sky-high strikeout rate is more concerning than his overall line is encouraging. | |
| 11 |  |
| C Daniel Susac: Scouts had their concerns about Susac's aggressive approach and defense heading into last summer's draft. That didn't stop the A's from picking him 19th overall on the basis of his strength and positional value. He's spent this season in High-A, batting .280/.353/.427 with three home runs in 41 games. He has the highest OPS on the roster among players with 100-plus plate appearances. | |
| 12 |  |
| SS Cole Young: Young was perceived to be a polished, if not flashy, prep infielder. He's lived up to his billing, batting .281/.418/.421 with 13 stolen bases on 16 tries and more walks than strikeouts in 44 Low-A games. It seems like only a matter of time before he moves up a rung. | |
| 13 |  |
| 1B Xavier Isaac: The Rays went off the map when they took Isaac, a high school first baseman from North Carolina, with the 29th pick. Although he was an exit-velocity god, scouts had concerns about his lack of repetitions against top-flight competition. So far this season, he's batted .234/.403/.372 in 32 games against Low-A competition. Isaac ranks second on the roster among qualified batters in OPS. | |
| 14 |  |
| RHP Kumar Rocker: The first big surprise of the draft had the Rangers popping Rocker at No. 3 in what was, for him anyway, the culmination of an eventful year. (Remember, he'd not signed with the Mets the previous summer after they disliked what they saw in his post-draft physical.) Rocker made his organizational debut as part of last year's Arizona Fall League, and then reported to High-A for six starts this season. He posted a 3.86 ERA and a 6.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio in those contests before it was determined he required Tommy John surgery. | |
| 15 |  |
| LHP Brandon Barriera: Barriera, one of the top prep arms in the class, was selected by Toronto at No. 23. He didn't make his pro debut last summer, having ended his high-school season early to avoid a costly injury, but he's since appeared in four Low-A games. Barriera has compiled a 5.40 ERA and a 3.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 13 innings. There's no sense worrying too much about those marks. He's an athletic southpaw with a promising arsenal who could become at least a mid-rotation starter provided he develops as the Blue Jays hope. | |
