David Martinelli

Dallas Baptist's everyday center fielder as a sophomore, Martinelli has slid over to right field as a junior in deference to freshman Jameson Hannah, but he intrigues scouts as a speedy (above-average) athletic outfielder with enough arm to play right field and the routes and speed to slide back to center field as at least a fringe-average defender. But Martinelli's draft stock has taken a big step forward because he's done a much better job of making contact this spring. After striking out 28 percent of the time as a sophomore and 31 percent of the time while hitting .141 last summer in the Cape Cod League, Martinelli has cut that to 14 percent as a junior. He's simplified his swing to a relatively tiny trigger and small load that has improved his ability to make contact, but the changes have reduced his power slightly. When he's trying to make contact his once-average power becomes more below-average power that leads to more doubles and less home runs. As a lefty bat with strength and speed, Martinelli's swing-and-miss tendencies as a sophomore leads to some concern among scouts, but he did show improvement as a junior. He projects as a likely second-day draft pick with some upside.