Taylor Gushue

Gushue passed on the draft out of high school, graduating early in December 2011 so he could enroll at Florida the following spring, so he is young for the college class with a December 1993 birthday. Gushue played mostly first base as a freshman, in deference to 2012 College Player of the Year Mike Zunino, but has been a stalwart as a catcher the last two seasons and one of the Southeastern Conference's top hitters, batting .389/.449/.583 in league play. Now 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Gushue has the strength and frame to catch every day, and he has improved defensively over his college career. He's a good receiver who has at least an average arm, with some scouts grading it above-average even though he had thrown out just 20 percent of the 50 basestealers who had tested him this year. Gushue also has solid instincts at the plate, though he lacks the bat speed to be an elite hitter, and his struggles last summer in the Cape Cod League (.224, 20 strikeouts in 76 at-bats) likely will keep him from going out higher than the third round. He's strong and has a flat swing plane with an approach that could use some polish. Scouts grade him as a below-average hitter with average raw power.