2024 MLB Draft Player Profiles: College Outfielders

Draft week is here!

Welcome back to the final installment of our scheduled draft content. As draft week is in full swing, it’s time to break down a trio of outfielders who just might make their way to Seattle. Enjoy!

James Tibbs

Tibbs is considered one of the premiere college bats in the entire class. Taking home ACC player of the year this season, Tibbs has really come into his own after playing well in the Cape Cod league last summer. He’s been a producer for the Florida State Seminoles since coming to campus and has steadily improved each year.

With some of the best batted ball metrics in college baseball, Tibbs is considered one of the “data darlings” for the 2024 MLB draft cycle. It’s a simple left handed swing that employs a small rocking motion as his timing mechanism. His hand speed is solid and his swing path allows him to generate a ton of fly balls and line drives. When you impact the ball as loudly as Tibbs does, his ability to lift the ball allows for his power to play up in game. It’s firmly an above average bat.

The primary concerns with Tibbs involve his game outside of the bat. Tibbs is limited to a corner right now and has below average footspeed. The overall athleticism doesn’t blow you away, either. At the major league level, he profiles as a fine, if underwhelming corner outfielder with an acceptable arm. If you want to nitpick a bit, there is some concern over Tibbs and his platoon splits. It’s something that I’m sure teams are conscientious of, but his overall numbers and batted ball events are so good, he’s definitely still a top of the first round talent.

With a stellar eye, impeccable swing decisions, and an innate ability to lift the ball with power from the left side, Tibbs is considered to be the “safest” pick in this draft by many. You’re not drafting Tibbs for ceiling, but it’s tough to argue a quick moving outfielder who could be a solid contributor in your lineup for the foreseeable future is an unattractive option. With the system Seattle has, Tibbs would be a beautiful addition. I just can’t say that it’s likely he makes it to their first selection.

Carson Benge

Benge is one of the more polarizing players in the draft this season. For some, he’s a fringe top ten pick that oozes tools. For others, it’s a back of the first round guy that’s got some considerable work to do in order to carve out a major league contributor. I could see the Oklahoma State right fielder landing basically anywhere in the latter half of the first round, and it’s likely that he’ll make it to Seattle at fifteen.

Benge is an athletic right fielder that has a highly lofted swing from the left side with good twitch in his hands. His swing can get a little long at times with some hand movement pre-pitch, but he’s a good enough athlete where he can still cover the strike zone well enough. Benge rarely chases, makes plenty of contact, and can really punish a baseball. A two way player in college, Benge features a big arm in the corner and enough defensive skills to amount to an average right field defensive profile that can keep the run game in check.

The main concern with Benge is the product of his steep swing path. Trying to hit the ball in the air is good, but trying too hard to elevate can lead to inferior contact and mishits. With as much loft as Benge gets on his swing, his bat spends very little time in the zone and makes him prone to pounding balls into the dirt. It’s such a fine operation that doesn’t leave him a lot of room for error at the plate. He’s made it work for him thus far, but the concern is that against elevated competition, this might become a bigger problem.

If you’re taking Benge, you’re betting on his natural athleticism shining through. I’d like to tone down the swing a bit and get his barrel through the zone for a longer period of time, but his results thus far are hard to argue with. His approach is already so good and there are legit tools in the outfield where I’d be excited for the pick, but I think he’s probably at least a tweak away from unlocking his full professional potential. I’d be somewhat surprised if Seattle took him in the first as he doesn’t really scream “Mariner”, but in this draft, anything is possible.

Ryan Waldschmidt

Waldschmidt has ascended into the first round discussion this season with his tremendous performance for a Kentucky team that turned a lot of heads in the SEC. After an exceptionally brief but incredibly productive stint in the Cape Cod league last summer, Waldschmidt emerged as the Wildcats’ best hitter this season and manned left field for them all season.

Walsdschmidt is yet another “data darling” in this year’s draft. His ability to impact the baseball and command the strike zone while making consistent contact is a combination that’s tough to find. He’s able to get to a lot of pull-side power consistently and can spray line drives to the opposite field. His swing is incredibly simple with few moving parts and little to no stride whatsoever. Overall, it’s an excellent offensive package that should immediately translate to the next level.

Waldschmidt doesn’t have a great arm, but he’s rangy in a corner and can cover some ground with his above average speed. That footspeed carries over to the basepaths as well as he managed to nab 25 bags this season and should be an asset as a base runner. If you want to knock Waldschmidt, it’s that he’s most likely a corner outfielder that hits right handed. That said, I consider Waldschmidt another “safe” prospect in this draft, though with slightly more upside than Tibbs due to the athleticism difference. He’s a name to seriously watch for at fifteen.

That concludes our scheduled draft content! There’s just one thing we’d like from you: Your feedback. With the draft quickly approaching, we want to cover the players you, the reader, want to know about. We’ll be including the general consensus alongside some of the staff picks in a piece coming out later this week. If there isn’t anybody else you’re curious about, let us know what else you want to know about the draft. We want to make the draft day process as smooth as possible, and your comments allow us to make that happen.

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