The kid who brings out utterances like “baseball rat”, someone who “plays the game the right way”, who’s “scrappy” and “gritty”. That’s who we’re going to be talking about today. The old-fashioned, brown nose, traditional leadoff types. The criteria is a bit loose, but the idea is to highlight players who put the game in motion, make a lot of contact, use their legs, and are a presence on the basepaths. 2025 draftee Kane Kepley exemplifies this type of player perfectly. None of the hitters mentioned are quite Day 1 talents as things currently stand. At least, not for this year…
SS Jake Schaffner – North Carolina
Schaffner had a strong showing at North Dakoka State, taking his talents to Chapel Hill, where he has replicated his performance, and then some. An elite contact hitter, Schaffner has gone from bottom of the scale exit velocities to pretty solid contact quality …