Carter Young

There are few more puzzling conundrums in this year’s draft than Young. He’s consistently gotten worse as a hitter in his three years at Vanderbilt. His stats this year (.207/.327/.383 with a 29% strikeout rate) would seem to indicate that he’s not even draftable, and Vanderbilt did bench him at the end of the season. But Young did hit 16 home runs and slug .559 as a sophomore, so there is some thought that he’s not as bad a hitter as he’s looked this season. Young is an above-average defender with excellent feet, good hands and an average arm. He’s also an average runner. He’s a reliable shortstop, but his glove isn’t exceptional enough to carry him in pro ball if he doesn’t figure out his problems at the plate. Young has a tough decision to make. He could opt to try to rebuild his draft stock in college ball, potentially as a transfer, or he could accept less money than he would have received out of high school to get his pro career started.