Draft Prospects You Should Know: Hylan Hall

When you have the No. 3 overall pick, it’s never too soon to take a quick peek into this year’s MLB draft. This year’s draft class is loaded with excellent hitting prospects, but is relatively weak on the pitching side.

Draft Prospects You Should Know is a new series that features prospects who the White Sox could pursue in this year’s draft. As the June draft nears, we’ll return to many of these athletes and provide updates on whether their stocks are rising (or falling).

Age listed as of Day One of the Draft (June 3).

Hylan Hall
TNXL Academy (Altamonte Springs, Fla.)
Outfielder
Age 18
Bats Right
Throws Right

Rankings

Baseball America 164
MLB NA
FanGraphs NA

Hall brings a lot to the table: athleticism, instincts, plus speed, a quick bat, and a strong arm. An aggressive hitter in the box, he has shown the tendency to expand the zone at times and suffer his share of whiffs. However, many scouts believe Hall has the raw tools and bat speed necessary to hit at the next level. Committed to the University of Miami, Hall has a chance to bypass college entirely if he shows more feel to hit this spring.

Hall is quite athletic, as he runs the 60-yard dash in just 6.55 seconds according to PerfectGame. He is an aggressive hitter from the right side of the plate, with a quick and loose swing. He barrels up pitches and figures to serve as a middle-of-the-order bat in pro ball. Hall still is a bit raw defensively, as one would expect with his youth, but he makes up for it with athleticism, plus arm strength with solid carry and good accuracy. He’s listed at 6´2´´, 190 pounds.

Again, Hall may be a difficult sign due to his commitment to Miami. Because of his struggles during the offseason tournaments last year, his stock has taken a tumble. Baseball America is the only site that actually has Hall ranked, and that’s at No. 164, which would put him between the White Sox’s fifth and sixth round selections. The White Sox don’t often draft prep players, but the fifth round certainly seems a good spot to take a chance this year. If the Sox select Hall, they likely would have to pay an over-slot bonus to pry him from the Hurricanes. His closest White Sox comp may be Bryce Bush.

Here’s a video of Hall taking some swings at last year’s Perfect Game National Showcase in Tampa (thanks, 2080 Baseball!):

Previously, on Draft Prospects You Should Know

C.J. Abrams, Blessed Trinity (Ga.) H.S. SS
Hunter Bishop, Arizona State OF
Cameron Cannon, Arizona 2B/3B
Matt Canterino, Rice RHSP
Matt Cronin, Arkansas LHRP
Emmanuel Dean, Servite (Calif.) H.S. OF
Tyler Dyson, Florida RHSP
Daniel Espino, Georgia Premier Academy RHSP
Dominic Fletcher, Arkansas OF
Jonathan French, Parkview (Ga.) H.S. C
Ethan Hearn, Mobile Christian (Ala.) H.S. C
Zack Hess, Louisiana State RHSP
Rece Hinds, IMG Baseball Academy (Fla.) 3B
Jason Hodges, Marist (Ill.) H.S. OF-1B
Will Holland, Auburn SS
Seth Johnson, Oregon RHSP
Jack Leiter, Delbarton (N.J.) H.S. RHSP
Nick Lodolo, TCU, LHSP
Matthew Lugo, Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy (P.R.) SS/2B
Alek Manoah, West Virginia RHSP
Erik Miller, Stanford LHSP
Chris Newell, Malvern (Pa.) Prep H.S. OF
Bryant Packard, East Carolina OF
Kyren Paris, Freedom (Calif.) H.S. SS
Quinn Priester, Cary-Grove (Ill.) H.S. RHSP
Will Rigney, Midway (Texas) H.S. RHSP
Adley Rutschman, Oregon State C
Sammy Siani, Penn Charter (Pa.) H.S. OF
Landon Sims, South Forsyth (Ga.) H.S., RHSP
Josh Smith, Louisiana State SS
Andrew Vaughn, California, 1B
Matt Wallner, Southern Miss OF
Kenyon Yovan, Oregon RHSP
Ryan Zeferjahn, Kansas RHSP