Buford High School’s Dylan Lesko stays close to home in this mock draft
Fangraphs has not had much draft information for us this year, but Eric Longenhagen was able to get a mock draft together on the day of the draft with some exciting picks falling to the Atlanta Braves. At 20th overall Longenhagen projects high school right handed starter Dylan Lesko and at 35th overall he went with Arkansas third baseman Cayden Wallace.
Lesko is arguably the top arm in this draft, and would be seen universally as such were it not for his Tommy John surgery this April. He features perhaps the best changeup we’ve ever seen from a prep arm, a premium mid-90’s fastball, and a breaking ball that has taken major steps forward and also flashes plus potential. His combination of absurd stuff, athleticism, and command projection made him a top five candidate before his surgery. Were he to fall to Atlanta he would represent the highest upside player in the system, and while multiple people have projected him there it is not clear if he would fall to 20. Longenhagen also mentions Oklahoma’s Cade Horton and Tennessee’s Blake Tidwell as options, though in Horton’s case it seems every more likely he also would not fall to 20.
Cayden Wallace has not had strong connections to Atlanta, but is a player that we like here at Battery Power. Wallace produced elite exit velocities with regularity while in school at Arkansas and has given more and more confidence that he will hit at the professional level. Wallace has athleticism and a strong arm at third base, though it’s not entirely clear yet he will stick at the hot corner.
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