High School Notebook: February 25

The No.1 prep prospect in the class of 2021, Lawlar was the best player on the summer circuit and cemented himself as the consensus top high schooler in the 2021 MLB Draft. The season hasn’t started yet in Texas but we were able to catch a scrimmage look as Lawlar got four at-bats along with pregame cage work and some defensive chances.

The physicality jumps out right away for Lawlar who has filled out nicely over the winter offseason and has done so without losing any athleticism. He looks extremely physical with good added strength but he still runs well and moves very fluidly at shortstop. He can still run, too, as he turned a 4.5 second time rounding first base following his laser double in his final at-bat of the day.

The defensive skills were excellent as per usual as he didn’t get many opportunities but still showed impressive balance on a charge play in the first chance of the game. The ball comes out of the hand with easy carry and Lawlar’s plus arm is absolutely a weapon. On a play at the plate he caught a relay on the run and fired a strike right at the catcher’s mitt from about 150 feet away. Lawlar projects as a shortstop at the next level with the combination of arm strength, athleticism, and instincts to stick there for the foreseeable future.

He didn’t get many chances offensively as his first three at-bats were a hit-by-pitch, walk, and another walk. Lawlar unloaded in his last at-bat, however, as he kept his weight back on a breaking ball and punished it into the corner in left field. Lawlar is able to control the entirety of the hitting zone with ease thanks to his keen eye along with the physical tools. There’s plus bat speed as he really accelerates nicely through the hitting zone. The Vanderbilt signee also has plenty of raw power that he’s shown in the past. From a discipline perspective, Lawlar doesn’t expand the zone and rarely gets beat with velocity or offspeed stuff. He’s the complete package as a hitter and coupled with the strength gains he’s made it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more power from him this spring.

When evaluating Lawlar you’re looking at a prospect who projects to have a bevy of plus tools without being worse than solid-average in any category. He’ll stick at shortstop and hit for average as well as power while potentially grading out as plus with both the hit and power tools. There is a long spring ahead for the Texas native but he certainly looks the part as the game comes extremely easy to him and there aren’t many glaring weaknesses to speak of. He’s projected to go in the top-10 of July’s draft and is certainly the favorite for the first prep prospect off the board.