Shane Baz | RHP
Background
At 17 with a June birthday, Baz is one of the younger high school players in the 2017 draft class. He attends Concordia Lutheran High School in the Houston suburbs and is committed to Texas Christian.
Scouting Report
Texas is known for producing hard-throwers, and while Baez sits 92-95 mph and touches 97, he stands out most for his secondary staff. He has arguably the deepest arsenal in the entire draft class. Baz complements his four-seamer with an upper-80s cutter, a mid-80s slider, a low-80s changeup, and an upper-70s curveball. The cutter and slider are his top non-fastballs at the moment, though the changeup and curveball are quite promising as well. Baz often falls in love with his secondary stuff rather than attacking with his fastball, which is pretty much of the opposite of most live-armed high school kids. His athleticism and clean delivery help the 6-foot-3, 190-pound right-hander throw strikes. Baz also draws praise for his makeup and worth ethic. It’s worth noting he has legitimate pop at the plate and has committed to both pitch and play third base for TCU, though he is a far better pro prospect on the mound.
Miscellany
Both MLB.com and Baseball America ranked Baz as the 12th best prospect in the 2017 draft class while Keith Law (subs. req’d) isn’t as much of a fan. He ranked him 45th. The Yankees hold the 16th overall pick. The Yankees do love hard-throwers (who doesn’t?), and they’ve targeted prep kids with deep repertoires in the first round before (Ian Clarkin and Gerrit Cole, most notably), so Baz could pique their interest.
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