Much like shortstop, the position of centerfield is largely a defense-first position where speed, athleticism and instincts play a huge role in a complete package. Yes, in order to reach the highest levels of baseball, the player will have to hit. But if that player wants to stick in centerfield throughout the duration of his development, innate feel for the game is critical in the grass.
Center fielders are athletes. They’re rangy, generally possessing long strides and the ability to beat a baseball to a spot on the field. These guys need to be athletic enough to glide backward on a well-hit ball, but also have the vision to read the ball off a bat and judge its depth and trajectory. A great center fielder has feel for working behind the baseball and giving themself the best opportunity to keep a runner stationary on the base paths. You want to see smooth, fluid footwork and the ability to not only present a strong throw back into the field, but an accurate one as well.
Natural center fielders can be hard to come by. Players get bigger and stronger, and a lot of times slower and more stiff as they develop. Quite often a drafted center fielder will end up in a corner because the rigors and demands of the position are too much. The elite center fielders are almost always identified as preps. The long, lean, rangy body that doesn’t look as though it adds weight easily. Ken Griffey Jr., Byron Buxton, and Torii Hunter were all first round picks in their respective draft, the former two being picked first overall. While we’ll focus on college center fielders here, it is important to note the 2022 class has Druw Jones in it, and he looks every bit the part of a future star.
2022 is a remarkably strong year for college outfielders, many of whom have a real shot of sticking in centerfield as professionals. Our no. 1 overall prospect Chase DeLauter certainly has a chance to play centerfield at the next level, but for the sake of realistic projection and future role, he’ll be included in our corner outfield preview. As much as we’d like to subscribe to the 6-foot-5, 240-pound superstar sticking in centerfield, the odds are stacked against him and his physical projection. Prove us wrong, Chase!
Brock Jones, Stanford
Jones is just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of on the field. A star footballer through high school and even his freshman year in Palo Alto, the 6-foot-1-inch outfielder gave up the gridiron to focus on baseball entering the 2021 season. A defensive back with speed and physical upside, Jones has poured those physical traits into his product on the field and he appears to be ascending to new heights headed into 2022.
In 56 games for the Cardinal this past season, Jones slashed .311/.453/.646 and hit 18 homers, stealing 14 stolen bases. It was enough to garner an invite to Team USA this summer where he’d hit three more dingers in just twelve games. Jones brings his competitive fire from the football field to his play on the diamond, dripping with well-placed ego and assertiveness. It’s one of the better power-speed combinations in the draft and the impact bat to go along with it. Jones ranked among the Top 75 in college baseball last season in terms of his peak batted ball exit velocities, as well as a keen ability to work a mature at-bat, walking almost 20 percent of his plate appearances. There’s still a good bit of swing-and-miss here, specifically with sliders and off-speed pitches, but given how green he is, it would surprise no one to see a mammoth jump in pitch recognition and the ability to hit spin this season.
Jones has the physical tools to play centerfield at the highest level, so long as the body doesn’t get too much bigger. He’s already a muscled-up, barrel-chested guy, so keeping his mobility and athleticism will be important moving forward. If that happens, you’re talking about an impact defender and an impact bat at a premium position in pro ball.
Jud Fabian, Florida
We meet again. Fabian, famously analyzed ad nauseam throughout the 2021 draft cycle, is back on the board in 2022 after refusing to sign with the Boston Red Sox as a second round pick. Fabian has been a mainstay in college baseball scouting circles after enrolling early at the University of Florida in 2020. He impressed everyone who saw him on the Cape as an 18-year-old, but has yet to really jump into that gear most expected from him during his time in Gainesville.
Fabian does just about everything well. He’s a solid defender in centerfield taking strong routes to the ball and possessing a throwing arm that’d be above average for his positional demographic. He’s got great feel for his positioning on the field and has shown the ability to hold runners from advancing. Where scouts want to see Fabian take the next step is in the batters box.
Fabian, pound-for-pound, has some of the best raw power in the class. It’s comfortably plus, and he’s getting to a lot of it in-game already. But his swing-and-miss concerns have held his profile back. At the midpoint in 2021, Fabian was striking out one-third of his plate appearances. He was able to stabilize that number to 29 percent before the end of the year, but the narrative had already written itself. If he can get his contact rate and strikeout rate back to healthy levels, preferably sub-25 percent in terms of punch outs, Fabian could hear his name called in the first-half of the first round.
Jace Grady, Dallas Baptist
Grady really kicked down the doors of college baseball in 2021 slashing .337/.417/.534 with four homers at Dallas Baptist. He’d follow that up with a sublime .346/.378/.538 line with four more homers on the Cape for Cotuit. Grady, a switch-hitter, simply rakes.
The bat is certainly the calling card here. Grady really checked every box in 2021. His contact rate, chase rate, strikeout percentage, walk rate, and even his exit velocities, they all graded out at least above average or better in college baseball last season. Grady uses the entire field and makes sound swing decisions. There’s a lot to like. If he can continue tapping into the power he showcased on the Cape, Grady has a chance to jump into day one consideration in July.
Defensively, Grady has solid average to above average speed with twitchiness and good burst in the field. He’s the ultimate field general in center, directing his corners and showing leadership on toss-up fly balls. Grady gets solid jumps and has range both to his left and right, as well as a keen feel for tracking the ball going backwards. Perhaps the only thing holding Grady back from being a premier centerfield prospect is a fringy arm that probably won’t grow a reputation for throwing out baserunners at the plate any time soon.
Grady is a fiery, passionate player who draws rave reviews for his presence in the clubhouse from his coaches and teammates. He’s not afraid to wear his emotions on his sleeve and display his competitive glow in-game. This kid is a manager’s dream.
Clark Elliott, Michigan
Michigan has a pretty strong track record developing pro-ready outfielders and Elliott figures to be next in line. He could become the fourth outfielder drafted in the Top 100 out of Ann Arbor in the last three years joining Jordan Brewer, Jordan Nwogu and Jesse Franklin. Elliott is a powder-keg package of tools, breaking out on the Cape this summer posting a .344/.464/.478 with two homers. Elliott manned centerfield for the storied Hyannis program.
Like Grady, Elliott is a slasher type at the plate with a line drive approach and an all-fields emphasis in his game. He’s short and compact to the ball, keeping his strikeouts down and his walk rate up. Most believe the hit tool is here to stay, though there are split opinions on whether he’ll ever hit for enough power to truly impact a lineup at the big league level. The consensus is he’ll grow into somewhere between below average and fringe-average power. Elliott has plenty of bat speed, but it’s not geared for game power at this time. Evaluators want to see Elliott take a big step forward in identifying spin out of the hand this season, becoming more of a force against breaking balls and off-speed pitches. He’s never had any issue whatsoever laying off pitches outside of the zone, but doing more damage on secondary pitches in the zone has been a work-in-progress.
Like many others on this list, Elliott gets high marks for his leadership, a staple coming out of the Wolverine program of late. He’s an above average runner with an above average arm, both of which figure to be an asset in centerfield as a pro.
Jared McKenzie, Baylor
All McKenzie has done since arriving to Baylor is hit, hit and hit some more. Following a 2021 campaign where he slashed .383/.453/.626, many pegged McKenzie a sexy Andrew Benintendi-esque type player destined to be selected in the first round this July. That helium faded a bit after fizzling out on the Cape, slashing .225/.316/.245 with very little impact at the plate. Couple that with a strikeout rate that buoyed around 31 percent and evaluators as a whole were left pretty perplexed. Still, the track record at Baylor is so dazzling that If he can bounce back with a big 2022, he figures to have plenty of suitors early on in July. Former Clemson shortstop Logan Davidson is the perfect example. In three seasons, Davidson slashed .290/.403/.530 for the Tigers with 43 homers. On the Cape over two summers, Davidson posted an anemic .201 batting average over 309 plate appearances with just three homers. He was selected in the first round in 2019.
McKenzie has a beautiful, picturesque lefty swing that produces ropes to all fields. He’s hardly ever struck out for the Bears, though he’s a super-aggressive hitter with very little interest in drawing walks. McKenzie isn’t going to wow anybody with his exit velocities or ability to launch the baseball, and for that reason most believe he’ll never be more than a 40-grade power guy. It’s unlikely he’ll ever hit in the middle of a lineup. Still, the ceiling with the bat here is a potential above average hitter with some juice; a la, Benintendi.
McKenzie is a feel type of player with fantastic instincts and a fluid, gliding way about him in centerfield. He gets solid reads and moves really well into the gaps, tracking down tough fly balls and sinking liners with confidence and ease. He’s a solid-average runner who gets the most out of his wheels, though he hasn’t yet shown a propensity to steal bases. Like many others on this list, McKenzie’s arm is fringy and only really fits in centerfield or potentially left field.
Others to Watch: Joe Lampe, Arizona State; TJ McCants, Ole MIss; Dom Pilolli, Charlotte; Pres Cavenaugh, UNC-Greensboro; Victor Scott, West Virginia; Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss; Mac Bingham, Arizona; Maurice Hampton, Samford; Spencer Rich, Clemson; Giovani DiGiacomo, LSU; Max Marusak, Louisiana-Lafayette; Henry Strmecki, Dayton