Given how much talent there is in the high school ranks this year, it is particularly important to think about ways to give your draft pool the most upside possible. One strategy is to draft a college player underslot, and use the savings to accumulate high schoolers above slot later in the draft. This is a tricky thing to do properly, because you do not want to punt on your first round pick, which is where most of the value comes from, and you also can't fully predict which high schoolers there will be to choose from in the later rounds. I wanted to write about a couple of the top college hitters outside the first round on most big boards that should be in contention for a first round pick as a money saver. I'm ranking these players based on two components, overall potential and round up traits. Something that would be considered an "round up" trait is being a cold weather hitter, where they have less reps and in theory are slightly behind the development curve in comparison to guys in the south. These traits give the overall draft pool some of the positive convexity you get when drafting a standard first round talent. The players listed here are roughly in the 40-80 range of most public big boards.
Josh Kasevich-Oregon
The prototypical college shortstop is very boring, but Kasevich is exciting. Kasevich brings a plus hit tool and above average raw to the table while being a capable defender at short, but hasn't shown his power in game. Kasevich has some late bloomer traits that make him interesting and have me rounding up on his power. Taking a cursory look at his spray chart, he's gone from an oppo hitter to more of a pull hitter, indicating that he can make adjustments. I have him with a first round grade, but industry consensus has him more of a second rounder.
Max Wagner-Clemson
His report is already on the site so I won't get into him too much, but he is a cold weather bat with some specifically interesting traits (impressive ability to do damage on pitches up in the zone) that give him intriguing upside. Lack of experience outside of this year is scary.
Dalton Rushing-Louisville
Rushing isn't a great defender behind the plate, but with the ABS coming at the time when he'd make his big league debut I'm not so concerned. He was hidden behind Henry Davis so he does not have much of a track record, but he performed well on the Cape and continued to a strong junior season. He has a hulking frame and has plus raw power, that he has no issue tapping in to because of his average hit tool. Most guys that look like him have contact problems, and while he runs a strikeout percentage that is a little hot (20%), he has a good approach at the plate. It's a good set of tools and while there may not be a ton of defensive value to bank on, you are getting a power hitter with real feel to hit
Sterlin Thompson-Florida
I might be cheating here as Pipeline has him #27, but I've seen him more in the 35-50 range so I'm including him here. Thompson has a good feel for hitting with enticing raw power that hasn't fully been developed yet. No real defensive home, has played 2B/3B/COF, don't love his actions in the dirt so most likely in the oufield for me. No real round up traits here as he is a Florida kid, but it's a hit over power profile in a power hitter frame so I think there is exciting upside here that hasn't shown up in the box score.
Cayden Wallace-Arkansas
Wallace played a full freshman season, unlike Max Wagner, and did fairly well hitting .279 with 14 HR, but ran a high K%. Wallace is a fringy hitter with big power and a physically filled out frame and a plus arm. Wallace and Wagner have pretty much the same profile, but I think there is more certainty that Wallace is a fringe hitter whereas Wagner has more variance.
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