Ryan Clifford

Clifford has been famous on the national scene for years, after competing with USA Baseball’s 12U and 15U national teams, as well as playing against older competition in travel ball with the Canes. A big and physical, 6-foot-3, 206-pound lefthanded hitter, Clifford is a bat-first prospect who is close to physically maxed out and will be 19 shortly after the draft. Clifford has a clean bat path and a sound approach at the plate, but he generates his power more with strength than standout bat speed, and because of that, scouts think he’ll have to excel at pitch recognition and timing to get to an above-average bat at the next level. Clifford doesn’t have standout supplemental tools: he’s a fringy runner who is just adequate in a corner outfield spot with solid arm strength. Clifford’s lengthy track record of hitting as an amateur could give teams confidence to select him among the top three rounds. If not, he’ll be draft-eligible in 2024 at Vanderbilt, where he could try and do his best JJ Bleday impression and prove his hitting chops in the SEC.