Taj Marchand

Marchand did nothing but hit his way up draft boards all summer long. He was one of the top performers at legitimately every single event hitting an astounding .468 across a healthy enough sample size to draw some conclusions. That success only continued into the spring. Marchand is tearing the cover off the baseball and has looked like a potential early day one pick.

At the plate, Marchand features a quick right-handed swing with some bat speed. He toe taps before lunging forward onto his front side, lagging his bat behind and rotating quickly. Marchand will likely be a guy who runs high chase rates in pro ball, he's an awfully agressive hitter who looks to do damage when at the plate. He takes big hacks early on in counts, an approach that has worked more than well for him up to this point.

Despite the swing with plenty of moving parts and higher intent, Marchand is well regarded as a guy who makes a ton of contact, something he did better than almost anyone last summer, and continued to do this spring. While the high chase rates may concern some, Marchand has the bat-to-ball skills to fight off pitches outside of the zone, something that will likely aid that concern. Marchand has a flatter swing path, but he has a clear understanding of how to backspin the baseball. The power shows up to all fields, and with some room left in his 6-foot- 2 frame, it's easy to dream on above average power potential.

Marchand has a chance stick at shortstop with athletic actions and an above average arm, though he's had some troubles with errors this spring. While he's a fringe-average runner, he could jump a grade with some added strength to his wiry frame. It's an intruiging total package, and one that is sure to draw plenty of interest early on this July.