Diving Into Statcast Data For 10 Standout Complex League Prospects

With more than a month of Complex League play behind us, we’ll soon start to see some of the standouts promoted to full-season ball. Those full-season debuts are often a mixed bag. Often lurking behind great in-game performances are concerning trends regarding swing and miss, chase and underlying power.

Geoff Pontes took a deeper dive into Statcast data for the 10 top complex league performers in order of wRC+ through Jun 11. He examined contact rates, chase rates and exit velocity data for each player.

You’ll find a wide array of outcomes. Notables include…

• Two high-performing Yankees prospects

• A RoboScout darling in the Tigers system

• One touted Rockies prospect who needs more refinement

• A potential analytical superstar in the Dodgers system

Baseball America subscribers can see the full breakdown below.

Do you want daily updates on top prospect performers delivered directly to your inbox? Sign up for our free Prospect Report! The BAPR arrives every morning and has fresh insights, prospect stats and a helium pick — one prospect on the rise you need to know — Monday through Friday.

College World Series Predictions, Superlatives

At long last, Omaha has returned. We’ve asked our two college baseball experts, Teddy Cahill and Peter Flaherty, to make their picks and dish out their superlatives. Check them all out below in this order:

• CWS Champion

• Runner-up

• Most Outstanding Player

• Underclassman To Watch

• Impact Under-The-Radar Player

• Favorite Jersey

College World Series Champion

Teddy: Florida. The Gators have been as impressive as any team in the NCAA Tournament, have Omaha experience and have the best player in the field in Jac Caglianone. Sure, they were just a game over .500 in the regular season. But there’s never been a question about their talent and their ability to beat top competition (they own series wins against Texas A&M, Mississippi State, LSU and Georgia), it was just about consistency. Now, Florida looks like it has figured out a formula that works and won’t be overwhelmed by the big stage.

Peter: Tennessee. I know, I know, this is the boring, chalky pick, but none of the seven other teams can match the Volunteers’ depth on both sides of the baseball. Texas A&M when fully healthy could have, but the losses of Braden Montgomery and Shane Sdao will certainly be felt. Tennessee is 2-0 in series against teams in the CWS field, and it also owns a standalone win over Texas A&M in the SEC tournament. It’s a team that’s been here before—after all, this is the Vols’ third trip to the CWS in the last four seasons—and this feels like the year Tennessee finally gets over the hump.

College World Series Runner-Up

Teddy: Virginia. Am I living a little dangerously with this pick? Maybe. This is the Cavaliers’ third Omaha trip in the last four years, but the last two have been short stays (1-4 combined). Virginia has the best offense in the country, and its pitching staff has really come on strong down the stretch (16 total runs allowed in five NCAA Tournament games). If the Cavaliers carry that success into Omaha, they can make a lot of noise.

Peter: NC State. I could be a little bit of a prisoner of the moment here with the Wolfpack, but I seriously considered picking them to win the title. The bracket they’ll need to come out of is a tough one, as it includes red-hot Florida, battle-tested Kentucky and resilient Texas A&M, but they have been firing on all cylinders for the better part of two months. There is no easy at-bat for opposing pitchers to navigate in their lineup, they have three solid starters as well as a dynamic late-inning duo and they’ll be playing with an extra-large chip on their shoulder as they try to avenge their COVID-shortened CWS trip in 2021.

The full predictions/superlatives are below.

Action begins Friday afternoon in Omaha and we’ll have live coverage from every game. Here are some additional links to help get you ready…

• The eight impact players who will shape the CWS

• Top 2024 draft prospects for every CWS team

• How two-way star Jac Caglianone set records, became top draft prospects

• The NCAA Division I home run record fell again this year 

• You can find the full schedule here

Our annual MLB Draft issue is here, headlined by Georgia star Charlie Condon. This issue is loaded and includes…

• 88-pages

• Mock draft, five key themes, scouting reports for the top 100, Best Tools, a Top 200 list and so much more

• A feature on Georgia’s Charlie Condon, plus stories on two-way star Jac Caglianone, pitching standouts Chase Burns and Hagen Smith, college home run data and this year’s underwhelming high school class

• We name our High School and College Players of the Year and All-America teams

Make sure to preorder your copy today before supplies run out. Note the pre-sale ends and issues ship on July 1.

The 10 Hottest Underclass Names In The 2024 Transfer Portal

Thousands — yes, thousands — of players are already in the transfer portal, and we’d expect even more in the coming days and weeks. Baseball America’s Peter Flaherty has sifted through to organize the 10 best underclassmen who could make a big impact in 2025. Baseball America subscribers can find the full list and new reports for each player below.

June 13, 2024: Yanks Bash Royally, Brav-O's Go Different Ways, Mason Miller Walked Off

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