Jake Mangum

Mangum turned down the Yankees as a 30th-round pick in 2017 and said no to the Mets last year as a 32nd-round pick. Instead of going pro, he decided to immortalize himself as one of the best players in the storied history of Mississippi State baseball. The son of Chicago Bears defensive back John Magum, Jake is the Southeastern Conference’s all-time hits leader. As a senior, he first wrested the Bulldogs’ hit record from Jeffrey Rea and then topped Louisiana State’s Eddy Furniss for the conference record. Mangum is much the same player who won the conference batting title with a .408 mark as a freshman. He’s never hit over .400 again, but he sprays the ball all around the field with excellent bat control. He’s a plus runner who can turn in a plus-plus time at his best. And he’s a solid defensive center fielder with an above-average arm. What keeps pro scouts from getting too excited is his complete lack of power—some scouts say it’s a 20, others say he may eventually have 30 power on the 20-to-80 scout scale. Some evaluators see him as a potential fourth or fifth outfielder because of his speed, defense and bat-to-ball skills, while others see his career following in the footsteps of Rea and Furniss—college greats whose pro careers quickly flamed out.