Over 250 Draft prospects headed to Combine
More than 250 players are slated to attend next week’s MLB Draft Combine at San Diego’s Petco Park, including 20 of the top 30 ranked on MLB Pipeline’s Draft Top 200 Prospects list. One hundred and thirty-nine from the Top 200 are set to take part in the event, now in its second year.
Cal Poly shortstop Brooks Lee (No. 5 on the Draft Top 200), Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada (No. 6), Louisiana State third baseman/outfielder Jacob Berry (No. 7), Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross (No. 9), Arizona catcher Daniel Susac (No. 11), Chipola JC third baseman Cam Collier (No. 12), James Madison outfielder Chase DeLauter (No. 19) and Gonzaga right-handed pitcher Gabriel Hughes (No. 20) headline the 137 collegiate players who are expected to be at the Combine.
Of the 118 high school athletes who will be attending, notable names include Mays HS (Atlanta) second baseman Termarr Johnson (No. 4), Bishop Gorman HS (Las Vegas) outfielder Justin Crawford (No. 13), American Heritage School (Plantation, Fla.) left-handed pitcher Brandon Barriera (No. 15), McQueen HS (Reno, Nev.) left-handed pitcher Robby Snelling (No. 16), IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) left-handed pitcher Jackson Ferris (No. 17) and North Allegheny HS (Wexford, Penn.) shortstop Cole Young (No. 18).
All players will have the opportunity to participate in pro-style workouts from 11 a.m.-12:50 p.m. on June 15 and 16 and from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on June 17 and 18. Strength and conditioning assessments will be done on June 16 and 17 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. High school players will also have the opportunity to compete in games against other high school attendees at 1 p.m. on June 15 and 16.
Off the field, not only will Combine attendees get the chance to interview and interact with MLB general managers and scouting directors, but they will also receive personal branding training.
Several ex-big leaguers will be on hand throughout the week, including Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman; several multi-time All-Stars such as Torii Hunter, Eric Davis, Mike Cameron, Dante Bichette and Charles Nagy; and former managers/execs in Jerry Manuel, Bo Porter, Mike Scioscia and Omar Minaya.
As part of its expanded coverage of the Combine, MLB Network will provide two days of on-site programming from Petco Park. Coverage will begin at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on June 16 and will be followed by six-and-a-half consecutive live hours on June 17, beginning at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT.
This year’s edition of the Combine also comes with a new wrinkle for fans. The June 17 session is open to the public from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. local time and is free to those with a ticket. Fans can claim up to four tickets at a time. More information can be found at www.padres.com/combine.
Last year’s inaugural Combine in North Carolina featured future No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, alongside fellow Top 100 prospect Ricky Tiedemann and other high picks such as Benny Montgomery (eighth overall), Sam Bachman (ninth overall) and Colson Montgomery (22nd overall) among the 167 participants.
The Combine will take place almost exactly one month before this year’s Draft, which is scheduled for July 17-19 in Los Angeles.