Logan Warmoth | SS

Background
The 21-year-old Warmoth was not drafted out of an Orlando high school in 2014, yet he managed to take over as North Carolina’s starting shortstop as a freshman. He’s a career .310/.378/.453 hitter with the Tar Heels, which includes a .336/.404/.554 line with nine home runs and 18 steals in 63 games this spring. Warmoth hit .270/.330/.450 in the Cape Cod League last year, which is a strong showing with wood bats against elite college pitching.

Scouting Report
Warmoth is a divisive prospect. Those who like him see a line drive right-handed swing and the ability to square up all kinds of pitching. Those who aren’t quite as sold see a guy without one standout tool, just a bunch of average tools. Warmoth has some power and speed, and he has good range and hands in the field. More than a few folks think he’s destined for second base long-term. Everything plays up a bit because Warmoth knows the game well and has great baseball instincts. See him on a good day, and he’ll look like an above-average hitting shortstop. See him on a bad day, and he’ll look like an average hitting second baseman.

Miscellany
The scouting publications are pretty split on Warmoth, though they all agree he’s a first round talent. Keith Law (subs. req’d) is the high man and ranks him as the seventh best prospect in the 2017 draft class. Baseball America ranks him 19th and MLB.com rank him 27th. The Yankees hold the 16th pick. Warmoth is, by far, the best college middle infielder in the draft class, which leads me to believe he’s going to drafted pretty high, possibly before the Yankees pick.