2023 MLB Draft Report: NCAA Regionals Recap

My NCAA Baseball bracket is very busted, thanks to a chaotic Regionals round. Out of the 16 regions, I only got six correct in large thanks to big upsets seeing Arkansas, Clemson, and Vanderbilt as Top 8 hosts who got knocked out. I thought Arkansas and Clemson had tough draws, but Vanderbilt not coming out of their Regional is a surprise.

While watching the action last weekend, I noticed three particular college hitters that could be available for the White Sox at Pick 15. Luckily, the two of them faced each other in Regionals.

After a solid start to the 2023 season, Brayden Taylor cooled off during the opening of Big 12 conference play, only to pick up his production in the postseason. Against Arizona, Taylor made a huge impression.

In his first at-bat, Taylor squared up a low breaking pitch that he hit out to right-center field for a three-run home run. During their next plate appearance, Taylor drove in two more runs with a single and picked up another RBI single in his third at-bat. It was a 4-for-5 day at the plate for Taylor with an HR and 6 RBI. That level of production speaks volumes.

TCU's Brayden Taylor has been on a roll late after a strong start to 2023 and hit a skid. BIG day going 4-for-5 with 6 RBI against Arizona last night. Here's a shot of his 3-run HR #2023MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/zut1TcOsNy

Taylor grades out average defensively at third base. He has enough lateral range and quickness to stick at the position, but I’m not expecting him to be a Gold Glover. It's about the swing for Taylor, which he falls under the "Ball in Air" camp. That's a draw for me.

I’ll be watching more films of Taylor during Super Regionals, but if the White Sox want to add more polished bats to their farm system, he could be a good first-round selection. White Sox could use more left-handed power, and while Taylor may not be a 60-grade power hitter, his ability to generate loft in his swing could put him on the path of being a 25 HR / 35 Doubles type of hitter.

It was a bit of deja first watching Chase Davis swing like I was watching former Colorado Rockies left-hander Carlos Gonzalez at the plate. Very open stance, high leg kick to time pitches, and aggressive hacks. In his first at-bat against TCU, Davis did an excellent job of hitting an inside fastball and splitting the gap for a double.

College World Series longshot I like (with minimal research):Arizona 100-1 because Chase Davis has the sweetest swing since Robinson Cano pic.twitter.com/Nu0AAewQ24

Like Gonzalez, Davis's type of swing makes me think he will handle inside heat and breaking pitches well. Opposing pitchers attacking inside may have to aim closer to Davis's hands to jam him or induce whiffs. But a big question is how will Davis handle pitches away from him? If opposing pitchers can stay on the outside corner with heat or spin backdoor sliders, does the swing Davis has to allow him to generate any opposite-field power?

More film watching is needed to answer that question, but against TCU, Davis had a good day going 1-for-3 with a walk and double. In Arizona's final game, which they lost to Santa Clara, Davis went 0-for-4. Not a tremendous Regional performance for Davis, but he had a monster Pac-12 Conference Tournament hitting 2 HR with 12 RBI.

I’m not surprised Miami didn't advance out of the Regional, but Yohandy Morales had himself a weekend. In four games, Morales went 8-for-18 with 4 HR and 9 RBI. He did his part and then some to help Miami's chances of advancing.

Man, this is an easy 110 EV from Yohandy Morales… really easy juice to the biggest part of the yard. 📈 pic.twitter.com/fOCKQwW4PJ

Morales displayed over the weekend excellent bat speed with loose hands crushing pitches on the inner third. They even had a couple of homers go out with an exit velocity greater than 110 mph. Those highlights make me think Morales will be off the board by the White Sox pick. The biggest concern with Morales will be strikeouts, and I think whatever team selects him must live with that weakness. He didn't even take a walk during the Regional round. It's an aggressive swinger profile for Morales.

Based on the White Sox's current lineup of hitters fits in with what they have. Now the question will be, is this a profile the White Sox are fine with? Or do they want to pivot away from acknowledging the faults of this offensive attack? Because Morales will be like a version of Luis Robert Jr. at the plate. A low OBP but paired with a high SLG.

I’m hoping to do better than 37.5% success rate in Super Regionals.

#1 Wake Forest over #16 Alabama

#2 Florida over $15 South Carolina

#5 LSU over #12 Kentucky

#7 Virginia over Duke

#8 Stanford over Texas

TCU over #14 Indiana State

Oregon over Oral Roberts

Tennessee over Southern Miss