Perhaps it should be follow the draftee, but let's get this started.
Drew Ward, 3b, Leedey(OK) High School. 6'3 215. Born 11.25.94
Committed to the University of Oklahoma
Selected in the 3rd round, 105th overall pick.
2012-2103 stats: 31g, .556avg, 9hr, 40rbi, 55r, 56/8 BB/K ratio
Drew Ward is a high school shortstop that will definitely shift over to 3b at the professional level. For a third baseman, he has good size and athleticism, along with a very good arm. There is some talk about him shifting to first base as he fills out, but the present ability is there to play 3b for the foreseeable future. The bat is what makes him special. He has tremendous power to all fields, to go along with an advanced feel for hitting. Despite playing against poor competition locally, he shows very good plate discipline and doesn't chase bad pitches, despite seeing very few quality pitches. He also shows the ability to drive the ball the other way.
Most of the talk around Ward stems from his age. He was originally slated to be a part of the 2014 class, but decided to enter the 2013 draft. He was widely discussed as a top five pick in the 2014 class. Despite graduating early, he still turned 18 in November of his junior year, so he is already 18.5 years old as of the draft. Still a bit old for his class. People will question his ability now because he was always a year older than his peers so his numbers should stand out more.
Scouting reports:
http://sbb.scout.com/2/1272262.htmlhttp://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=287017Here's an interesting article from two years ago, after his ridiculous freshman season.
http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/tag/_/name/drew-wardAnother article from two years ago, hyping him as the potential top pick in 2014, as well as 2013 and drawing some comparisons to Bryce Harper.
http://www.perfectgame.org/articles/View.aspx?article=6617Some video of him
Breakdown of his swing:
4 home run game:
