The Pittsburgh Pirates have the first overall pick in the July 2023 MLB draft. Our draft preview looked at the top prospects for the pick.
At this stage, the draft is very much up in the air. Every Monday, we’ll recap notable performances from around the prep and college ranks, with video to give you an early look at who could be available to the Pirates. This is our second weekly recap of the weekend action for the top college draft prospects.
Dylan Crews was our first draft prospect profile on Saturday. He went 1-for-4 with a homer, walk and three RBIs on Friday against Butler. That was followed by a 1-for-3 day on Saturday, with a double, two runs and a walk in the first of two games against Central Connecticut State. He went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and two RBIs on Sunday. Crews has a .472 average in 11 games, with five doubles, two homers and 11 walks.
Here’s the Friday homer:
Dylan Crews backside bombs and @LSUbaseball further extends their lead pic.twitter.com/dWfSkiTa24
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) March 4, 2023
Here’s the two-run double on Sunday:
Need a 2-RBI double? Dial Dylan ☎️@__dc4__ | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/yzH1hoC4W0
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 5, 2023
LSU right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes is a top ten draft prospect, who is off to a great start. He tossed six shutout innings on one hit, no walks and 13 strikeouts against Butler. He has an 0.50 ERA, a .100 BAA and 36 strikeouts in 18 innings through three starts.
Here are some impressive fastballs:
Paul Skenes throwing flames (100 & 101mph fbs).
Chase Dollander is considered to be the top pitcher in the class right now. The University of Tennessee right-hander went six shutout innings against Gonzaga on Friday night, finishing with six hits, no walks and 11 strikeouts. His seasons stats show a 2.20 ERA, a .233 BAA and 30 strikeouts in 16.1 innings.
Here’s a highlight video from Friday:
Chase Dollander had his best outing of thus far tonight, throwing 6 shutout innings against a solid Gonzaga lineup, striking out 11 in the process while walking 0. Fastball was up to 96 and he held his velo the entire outing. Shape was fantastic, plenty of Sw/Miss and ASR pic.twitter.com/Iol8gxjtHu
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) March 4, 2023
Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford has a chance to go #1. He was recently rated as the top draft prospect by The Athletic, with his athleticism being the thing that pushed him ahead of Crews for Keith Law. He had a tough match-up against Miami this weekend.
Langford went 3-for-5, with a double, two homers, three RBIs and three runs on Friday. He went 1-for-2 with a walk, single, RBI and a run scored on Saturday. He went 2-for-4 with a double, homer, three runs and two RBIs on Sunday. He’s hitting .438/.554/.979 in 13 games, with six doubles, a triple and six homers.
Here are videos of the homers from Friday:
Projected 3rd overall draft pick, Wyatt Langford, hit TWO home runs last night!
The junior OF now has 5 in the Gators’ first 11 games
— Farm To Fame (@FarmToFame_) March 4, 2023
Aaaand…
Aaaand Wyatt Langford punches right back with a 112 MPH laser of his own. Shaping up to be a really fun weekend in Gainesville pic.twitter.com/WtxdIlEDPP
— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) March 3, 2023
Jacob Wilson from Grand Canyon University has a long shot at being the #1, but he’s still a top ten prospect now. The son of former Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson had a series against Texas State this weekend. He went 0-for-4 with a walk on Friday. He was 1-for-4 with a single on Saturday. He went 1-for-3 with three RBIs and a stolen base on Sunday. He has a .325 average through 11 games, with three doubles, two triples and a homer.
Here’s a video of five pitches, ending with a favorable result:
#PGDraft Spotlight
SS Jacob Wilson (@GCU_Baseball)
Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez from Ole Miss is another early name to watch. He went 2-for-5 on Friday, with a single and a double against Maryland. He went 2-for-5 with a single, double, walk and run scored on Saturday against Minnesota. His team played against Nebraska on Sunday. He went 0-for-2 with three walks, a HBP and three runs on Sunday. He has a .413 average in 12 games, with four doubles, two homers and ten walks.
Here’s a defensive highlight:
This is a Jacob Gonzalez fan account
Live on @BigTenPlus pic.twitter.com/dy8u5Eizzb
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) March 3, 2023
