Drew Gray

Gray would have ranked as the top prep prospect in Illinois this spring if he hadn’t transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he was able to play better competition and be scouted much more heavily with one of the more talented prep teams in the country. Gray is committed to Arkansas—where his brother Evan currently plays—as a two-way player, but his pro upside is greater on the mound. His stuff made a jump last summer and he now throws a fastball in the 90-94 mph range with big spin rates (2600-2700 rpm) that allows the pitch to generate plenty of whiffs up in the zone. The pitch looks like a potential plus offering when Gray spots it up in the zone, but he will occasionally get out of sync with his lower and upper half, and he also is more erratic in his command at the higher range of his velocity. Gray throws two breaking balls, including a mid-70s downer curve with top-to-bottom shape that looks like a potential chase pitch. His other breaking ball is a slider in the low 80s with more sweeping action. Gray will need to refine his control a bit more to make the most of his stuff, but with a still projectable, 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame he has room for more in the tank in the future.