Christian Koss

Koss was a Cape Cod League All-Star last summer as a slick defensive shortstop and entered the year as one of the West Coast’s top draft prospects. He instead changed his approach to try and hit for more power, stumbled badly, and then carried his offensive struggles into the field with him. At his best, Koss is a sure-handed shortstop with the range, athleticism and above-average arm strength to stay at the position. His defense became erratic as his offense cratered early this spring, however, leading more evaluators to project him to second base. Koss has never been a natural hitter, and his attempt at more power this spring instead resulted in more strikeouts early on, but eventually he began to figure out a plan at the plate. He hit .483 (30 of 62) from May 1 on, raising his average from .228 to .307. He also hit five home runs this season after hitting one in his first two seasons. Overall he hit .307/.397/.490. His late turnaround has put him back into consideration for the draft's second day.