Marcus Littlewood

Littlewood was on the 2008 Team USA 16U squad, and his bases-clearing double brought home a gold medal in the Pan Am Youth Games against Mexico. Last year, he was named Utah's high school player of the year. While he's been on the prospect map for awhile, however, Littlewood draws mixed opinions on his ultimate value. Skeptics say he has no standout tools: He's not rangy enough to stay at shortstop and won't hit enough to play third. Those that like him see him as a player whose sum is greater than his parts. Littlewood is a slow-twitch athlete, which shows up in his swing and his speed. He is currently a below-average runner. He lacks the range to stay at shortstop, though his hands are soft and his arm is at least average. He is a natural righthanded hitter and took up switch-hitting as a freshman in high school. He profiles as a .270 hitter and, even after outslugging Kris Bryant at a spring workout for the Blue Jays by hitting 15 home runs in a row, he'll likely hit no more than 12-15 homers a season as a pro. Littlewood's father Mike was drafted as a third baseman out of Brigham Young by the Brewers in 1988 and is now the head coach for Dixie State in Utah. Having grown up around the game, he has great baseball instincts, works hard and plays the game the right way. He's probably a third-round talent, but a team that likes him may have to take him as high as the supplemental first round to buy him out of his commitment to San Diego.