Draft prospects you should know: Braden Shewmake

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).

Braden Shewmake
Texas A&M
Shortstop
Age 21
Bats Left
Throws Right

Rankings

Baseball America 27
MLB 25
FanGraphs 28

Shewmake, winner of the SEC Freshman of the Year award in 2017, has been one of the most consistent collegiate players during his three-year career with the Aggies. Here are his results through May 22, 2019:

2017 64 G, 217 AB, .328/.374/.529, 18 2B, 2 3B, 11 HR, 69 RBIs, 11-of-16 SB, 15 BB, 31 Ks
2018 60 G, 240 AB, .325/.395/.450, 7 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 45 RBIs, 12-of-12 SB, 21 BB, 21 Ks
2019 56 G, 223 AB, .309/.364/.480, 12 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 46 RBIs, 7-of-9 SB, 19 BB, 25 Ks

As you can see, his slashing numbers have been extremely consistent, and he has neither walked (6.69%) nor fanned much (9.37%) in his college career. Also he’s been able to maintain consistent stolen base levels. His power numbers have been steady the past couple of years, but fall short from his impressive freshman campaign.

Shewmake (6´4´´, 190 pounds) is one of the best pure hitters in the draft, but has a fairly unorthodox approach and tends to get caught out on his front foot. With his build, many scouts believe that he is capable of more power at the professional level. Shortstop may not be the position for Shewmake long-term, due to his size and average speed. His arm is considered average though accurate, and he may be better suited for second base, third base, or the outfield down the road.

Shewmake does a lot of little things quite well, which gives him a fairly high floor. However, because he doesn’t do one thing exceptionally well, his ceiling is relatively limited. To make that case, MLB Pipeline gave him 50 grades for running, power, and fielding with 55 grades for arm and hitting.

Based on most mock drafts, Shewmake appears slated to be drafted in the latter half of the first round. If he were somehow to fall to the second round, which seems fairly unlikely, would the White Sox consider him with the 45th overall pick? This year’s draft is loaded with terrific shortstops in seemingly every round and in both the college and prep levels, so the White Sox may simply opt for someone with more upside with that selection. Also, there’s a strong possibility the White Sox may select either Bobby Witt, Jr. (if he should somehow fall to the White Sox with the third overall pick) or C.J. Abrams — both prep shortstops with significantly higher upsides. Thus, it seems unlikely that the White Sox would select Shewmake in the unlikely scenario he falls to 45.

Here’s a video of Shewmake playing for the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team against Japan last year, courtesy of 2080 Baseball: