Baseball America has unveiled their much-anticipated first mock for the upcoming 2023 MLB Draft ($), and Future Stars Series alum and current LSU outfielder Dylan Crews is at the top of the board, set to go to the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 1 overall.
In a brief excerpt from the subscriber-only story, one scout consulted for the story compares Crews to Wyatt Langford, who is nearly universally 1-2 or 2-1 with Crews on every major publication’s Draft rankings.
“In the end I would have leaned with Crews at No. 1 as well because of the Langford injury but also with the expected differences in their defensive profile,” he said.
Crews is currently off to a stunning start to his junior year, hitting .519 with five homers and 23 RBI in his first 17 games, also drawing a whopping 18 walks compared to just nine strikeouts. Future Stars Series development staff said at the time that “the sky is the limit” for Crews, and ultimately may be right if he’s able to maintain this spot in the actual draft itself in July, where he could become the first FSS alum to ever be taken first overall.
Langford, Louisiana State RHP Paul Skenes, Tennessee RHP Chase Dollander and prep outfielder Max Clark round out of the top five, with the story only projecting a potential first-round for right now.
Tommy Troy, another Future Stars Series alum who was teammates with Crews at the 2019 International Week event and is now a standout at Stanford, is projected at going off the board at No. 19 right now by the Tampa Bay Rays, where he’d reunite with fellow FSS alum and former college teammate Brock Jones, who Tampa Bay stole last year.
Compare Crews vs. Recent SEC Stars
Baseball America describes Troy as “just an advanced natural hitter and that could be something the Rays like in this range.” Future Stars Series scouts comped Troy to multiple long-time big leaguers at the time, accurately projecting both a high ceiling and ultimately sticking in the middle of the infield as he progressed.
Nearly a consensus first-rounder in early mocks and draft rankings, Troy is hitting .417 thus far this season, and has driven in at least one run in six of his first nine games played this season.
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