2B/SS Griff O’Ferrall
Age: 21
B: Right T: Right
HT: 6/1 WT: 195
Hometown: Richmond, VA
2024 Stats: 63 G, 323 PA, .325/.367/.454, 64 R, 20 2B, 5 HR, 52 RBI, 17 SB, 22 BB, 24 SO
While he doesn’t have the same draft pedigree as former Virginia teammate Kyle Teel, O’Ferrall has been of the most consistent bats for the Cavaliers over the last three years. During his time at Virginia, he’s slashed .324/.367/.454 with 45 doubles, eight home runs, 133 RBI, and 50 stolen bases. He’s your prototypical sum-of-all-parts type player who does just about everything right.
Very mature and polished at the plate, O’Ferrall is one of the toughest players to get out. He has some of the best, if not the best, bat-to-ball skills in the 2024 MLB Draft class, totaling 200 hits over the last two seasons while sporting a 12.1 K% in 2023 and an insane 7.5 K% this year. Every time I saw him in live looks this year, it was a battle for the pitcher to get him out. He will foul off pitch after pitch until he gets a hit or the pitcher finds a way to put him away. His swing, which generates a ton of barrels, is made for line drives, and he can often get enough power to go gap to gap. The power is still below-average overall, and he won’t hit many balls over the fence.
O’Ferrall has a compact, wiry frame with solid athleticism that can play very well up the middle of the field. He has quick twitch reactions on the field, and his improved arm strength allows you to believe he can stick at shortstop. He’s got above-average speed on the basepaths and isn’t afraid to try and take an extra bag. His good reads allow him to pile up more stolen bases than expected.
I mentioned in my other live looks that he reminds me of a Matt Shaw-light on the offensive side of the ball due to his lack of power. Shaw is one of those guys who did everything offensively above average. O’Ferrall likely has a better hit tool but less power. A better overall comparison on both sides of the ball might be Nick Loftin, but with a better hit tool. Loftin was above-average run, field, and throw but with an average hit tool and below-average power. O’Ferrall is the same in terms of run, field, throw, and power but has a plus-hit tool, giving him more upside. He likely makes for a good utility player at the next level, and teams will likely be going after O’Ferrall late on day one.