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Draft prospects with rising, falling stocks
- Updated: May 3, 2016
Joey Wentz had a dead arm that prevented him from pitching last summer, so he traveled the high school showcase circuit as a first baseman and made an impression with his power. He smacked a 543-foot homer during the Junior Home Run Derby, part of the All-Star Game festivities in Cincinnati, and projected as a third- to fifth-round pick as a hitter.
Wentz built his arm strength back up with an offseason throwing program, and now there’s no chance that he’ll get drafted as a position player or make it anywhere close to the third round. He allowed just two hits while striking out 60 in his first 30 innings this spring for Shawnee Mission East High (Prairie Village, Kan.) while showing the potential for three plus pitches. Add Wentz’s impressive size (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) and athleticism, plus the fact that he’s left-handed, and pro teams love him all the more.
• Eight players who could go No. 1 in the Draft
“It comes out good,” said an area scout who has Wentz in his territory. “He’s athletic and has a good delivery and can pitch. He throws 90-95 mph with more velocity to come, and it doesn’t have to because the angle on his pitches is so good. He’s like Cole Hamels in high school, with a little less stuff but more physical.”
After not making MLBPipeline.com’s preseason Draft Top 50 Prospects list, Wentz made the biggest leap of anyone onto our updated Draft Top 100 that came out last week, checking in at No. 12. Here are four more players who have thrust themselves into mid-first-round consideration:
Forrest Whitley, RHP, Alamo Heights HS/San Antonio, Texas (unranked in December, No. 13 in April) He tightened up his 6-foot-7 frame by dropping 25 pounds to get to 225, and his stuff has kicked up a notch. Whitley consistently shows a 92-97 mph fastball, a power curveball and a solid changeup, and there no longer are questions about whether he’ll get picked high enough to give up his Florida State commitment.
Alex Kirilloff, OF, Plum HS/Pittsburgh (unranked in December, No. 18 in April) The best Pittsburgh-area prep prospect since Neil Walker went 11th overall to …
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