Josh Kuroda-Grauer

School: Rutgers
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.5
BA Grade: 45/High
Tools: Hit: 55. Power: 30. Run: 60. Field: 50. Arm: 45.

Kuroda-Grauer has been a reliable presence in Rutgers’ lineup since his 2022 freshman season, but he turned in a sensational 2024 campaign when he was second in D-I baseball to only potential 1-1 pick Charlie Condon with a .428 average while also adding career bests with a .492 on-base percentage and .590 slugging percentage. A 6-foot, 190-pound righthanded hitting shortstop, Kuroda-Grauer is a contact hitter who sets up with a loose, upright stance in the box and features a big and slow bat waggle with a lower handset. He can spray the ball to all fields and made contact at a strong 89% clip this spring, including a 94% in-zone contact rate. There’s not much raw power in the tank and Kuroda-Grauer didn’t homer at all in 26 games with Bourne in the 2023 Cape Cod League, but he has a chance for an above-average hit tool thanks to his bat-to-ball skills. Kuroda-Grauer has spent the last two seasons as an everyday shortstop, though he has played second base and outfield in the past and ultimately might have an arm that’s best suited for second. He’s a reliable defender with solid hands and instincts and could be a solid-average defender at the keystone. Kuroda-Grauer will turn in plus run times from home to first and this spring went 24-for-27 (88.9%) on the bases.