Keith Law's scouting report: 5 players to watch in the CWS championship
The best players aren't always in Omaha, but there are still notable players to watch in these final games.
theathletic.com
A transfer from two-year Northwest Florida State College, Delucia has had a very strong finish for Ole Miss in their run to the CWS Finals, with his two highest strikeout totals of the year coming in June. He’s been 92-94 mph with a little late hop to the fastball, and gets some chases from right-handers on a short low-80s slider. He had huge trouble with left-handed batters this year, giving up a .406 on-base percentage to them, in part because Ole Miss calls for his slider against them more than his changeup, a pitch that should be good enough for him to use against college hitters. He’s probably going to end up with three fringe-average pitches in pro ball, and he has solid-average control, which would make him an organizational depth starter who could end up a middle reliever in the best case scenario. He’s a fourth-year junior who’ll turn 22 in August, so he could be a money-saver for someone in rounds 6-10.
Hayden Dunhurst, C, Ole Miss
Dunhurst is a premium defensive catcher who could have gone in the top two rounds with a good year at the plate, but he had his worst year for Ole Miss in 2022, hitting .235/.379/.395 with a 32.5 percent strikeout rate. The big concern is that he was destroyed by decent velocity – not the typical guy who can hit a fastball but chases sliders down and away, but a guy pitchers could beat just with pure velocity. He could play a very long time in the minors thanks to his defensive skills, including a plus arm, but if he can’t hit velocity he won’t get past double A, and might be better served going back to Ole Miss to try to re-enter the draft off a better performance next year.
