Thomas Dillard

Dillard has well above-average raw power, putting on impressive batting practice displays, and he’s a switch-hitter who is especially impressive when hitting lefthanded. Dillard has a compact build and a swing that is short and direct to the ball. He was Ole Miss’ best hitter as a sophomore—leading the team with 13 home runs as well as posting a team-best .439 on-base percentage and .563 slugging percentage. He’s been similarly productive as a junior, although his power largely disappeared in Southeastern Conference games. Dillard projects as an average hitter with a solid batting eye and above-average power potential. He has also been surprisingly productive on the basepaths despite fringe-average speed. He’s swiped 32 bags in 37 attempts the past two years. The question with Dillard is where he will play defensively. He’s primarily been a left fielder for Ole Miss, but this year he did catch a few midweek games for the Rebels. In left field, he’s a fringe-average defender. Scouts see him as a fill-in catcher, at best, in pro ball, with currently well-below-average defense. However, they do note that he hasn’t had much of a chance to focus on catching in college, as he’s played on the same team with Cooper Johnson—one of the best defensive catchers in college baseball.