PHOENIX — A year ago, Kellon Lindsey wasn’t thinking about the MLB Draft. He was too busy learning out routes and defensive alignments. An incoming senior at Hardee High School in Wauchula, Fla., Lindsey was a standout on the gridiron as a quarterback and defensive back. He also starred in baseball, but the two sports shared his attention equally.
But when the football season wrapped in the winter, Lindsey narrowed his focus to baseball and suddenly his game took off. By the mid-spring, he’d gone from a little-known name to a first-round prospect. Now he’s a few weeks away from what was an unimaginable scenario a year ago — having to make a decision between turning pro or going to his dream school, the University of Florida.
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2024 MLB Draft notes on risers Kellon Lindsey, Trey Yesavage; plus NHSI notes and more
Given that Lindsey, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound shortstop, is one of the fastest players in this year’s draft class (he’s been timed at 6.57 in the 60-yard dash), it perhaps isn’t surprising that his rise up the draft rankings has been meteoric. Still, even he has been a bit awed by the company he is suddenly keeping. He says it was surreal this winter to go to workouts and see retired MLB All-Star Gary Sheffield, whose son Noah is also in this draft class and was attending the same workouts. Scouts became a regular feature of Lindsey’s games this spring. He says at first it was a little distracting to see the scouts there, but now he’s gotten used to it.
“I just go out there and play my game every day,” he said at the MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field in Phoenix on Tuesday. “I just try to not acknowledge them more than anything, and just do my thing out there.”
Lindsey — who The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked 24 in his latest MLB Draft top-100 — has drawn comparisons to Philadelphia Phillies star Trea Turner for his plus speed, athleticism and build. The biggest question about Lindsey heading into the draft is whether he can add enough strength to get to more than average power. Lindsey says now that he’s solely focused on playing baseball, he’s been able to start adding muscle that will help him reach his power potential.
“Football, it takes a toll on your body, for sure,” he said. “All those years getting beat around, it’s tough on your body. Training-wise in the weight room, it’s tough to gain weight when you’re playing football and practicing all the time.”
Lindsey showed a smooth stroke in his batting practice session on Tuesday and hit two balls better than 100 mph. His farthest hit went 356 feet. He laughed when asked if he could reach the pools in right center at Chase Field yet.
“The pool’s pretty deep for me right now,” he said.
Spring riser Kellon Lindsey takes a few swings pic.twitter.com/R1KU4Meo0F
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) June 18, 2024
It is Lindsey’s speed that is his current standout tool, however. In high school, he terrorized opposing pitchers when he reached first base, stealing 53 bags in 49 games in his last two high school seasons, according to MaxPreps. He says pitchers often threw over five or six times when he reached first (the pick-off limit in pro ball should benefit him considerably).
“That’s how you know you’re in their head a little bit,” he said.
In addition to adding strength, with football in the rearview mirror, Lindsey was able to work on some mechanical aspects of his game, especially defensively. He feels he’s made significant strides at shortstop.
“I was making some plays that maybe I shouldn’t have made, so that was really exciting,” he said.
Lindsey comes from a family of athletes and looked up to his older brothers, who both played football and baseball. His family members are longtime Florida Gator fans, and he’ll likely have a difficult decision to make next month between going pro and playing in Gainesville for one of college baseball’s top programs. Lindsey says the decision whether to go to college or turn pro will come down to where he feels he can be developed most effectively.
“It’s going to be competitive from the jump and getting a chance to play there as a freshman, that’s going to be an awesome opportunity,” he said of potentially going to Florida. “That is one of the best colleges in the country. So I’m excited, whichever way this goes.”
Hitting highlights: LSU’s Jared Jones puts on show in BP
Jared Jones hit 28 home runs in 66 games for LSU this season and Law recently noted that the imposing first baseman may have the most power in the 2024 draft class outside of Florida’s Jac Caglianone. So it was no surprise that Jones, who Law ranked No. 52 in the class, had one of the most impressive batting practice sessions during the on-field workouts at the combine on Tuesday.
Jones led the Tuesday hitting group in exit velocity, with a blast he hit at 113.4 mph. He hit one ball that traveled 445 feet and another that flew 428 feet, the two longest blasts of the day. The projected distances for those two blasts (452.3 feet and 450.2 feet, respectively) were second and third longest, behind only the 453.4 feet of projected distance Central Bucks East (Doylestown, Pa.) High School infielder Chase Harlan produced on a ball that left the bat at 112.4 mph. Except for a bunt, Jones didn’t hit a ball softer than 92.4 mph in his sessions.
A draft-eligible sophomore, Jones has 42 home runs in 121 games over two seasons at LSU. The 6-5, 253-pound right-handed hitter stood out physically among the hitting group.
“He’s such an imposing figure, from a size standpoint,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said last week. “He steps in the box and you kind of feel him just from the size standpoint and he has great BP power.”
Jones is primarily a first baseman (he did catch two games as a freshman and one last summer in the Cape Cod League), and his value as a pro is going to come from that power bat. He struck out in 26 percent of his plate appearances as a sophomore, a high percentage but one that came down considerably from the 34 percent rate he had as a freshman. He also bumped his walk rate to 20 percent and posted a .301/.454/.747 line this season.
“He’s really improved in his time at LSU,” Johnson said. “I think he’s improved and is continuing to improve in terms of the quality of bats and in terms of narrowing down the strike zone, taking walks, being consistent and hitting the mistakes. He’s still evolving in that way, but I’m proud of the season he had.”
In addition to Jones and Harlan (who had three other hits that left the bat at 109 or higher), other Tuesday batting practice standouts were high school sluggers PJ Morlando and Myles Bailey, both of whom collected several exit velocities better than 108 and elicited several “oohs” and “ahhs” from those shagging flyballs in the outfield. Both stood out physically in among the group of high school hitters.
PJ Morlando with big-time power and exit velos in his BP so far pic.twitter.com/JZYEEjr1dR
— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) June 18, 2024
Morlando, a corner outfielder/first baseman from Summerville (SC) High School, ranked 36th on Law’s latest ranking. He’s committed to South Carolina and could be a tough sign if he slips past the first round. Bailey, a Florida State commit from Tallahassee, hit six balls harder than 109 mph and several more over 100 mph. Law did not rank the 6-4, 215-pound left-handed hitting corner infielder.
Pitching performances: Trey Gregory-Alford lights up the radar gun
Among the group that threw bullpens on Tuesday, Coronado (Co.) High School right-hander Trey Gregory-Alford stood out in terms of velocity, throwing the six hardest pitches on the day, topping out at 99.7 mph. He didn’t throw a fastball under 95 in his session. Gregory-Alford also threw a solid slider. He is 6-5, 235 pounds and he also played first base in high school. He opened a lot of eyes this summer on the showcase circuit and while pitching for Team USA.
Right-hander Jason Flores — a Texas commit from Naaman Forest High School in Garland, Texas — threw the fastest non-Gregory-Alford fastball, topping out at 95.7 mph. Flores has played all over the infield, in addition to pitching, but his future is likely to be on the mound. He drew a Rudy Seánez comp from one scout.
Coming into the combine, Presbyterian junior Daniel Eagen was drawing interest after he posted a 2.67 ERA and an 0.99 WHIP with 122 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings. He topped out at 95.7 mph, as well, on Tuesday and was in the 92-94 range with most of his fastballs. Eagen also showed a solid low 80s curveball with spin rates in the 2,400 rpm range.
(Photo of Lindsey at Hardee High School: Mike Janes / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)
