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College  | Story  | 5/20/2021

Scout Take: Vanderbilt

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Carter Young (Vanderbilt Athletics)
College Player Report Database

Previously Featured:
April 30: Kumar Rocker
May 1: Jack Leiter, Hunter Owen, Hugh Fisher



Players Featured: Carter Young, Enrique Bradfield, Dominic Keegan, Isaiah Thomas, Jack Bulger, CJ Rodriguez

What Happened: The Commodores headed to Gainesville to battle a struggling Florida team but ended up giving the Gators a shot in the arm as they were upset, losing two-of-three games. Kumar Rocker got the win on Friday night and Jack Leiter got hit around on Saturday, while Hunter Barco and company were able to hold Vanderbilt at bay on Sunday to capture the third game of the series. 

Carrying Tool: Workhorse arms. This was the first start that both Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter clearly didn’t have their best stuff, but the projection for Vanderbilt on the whole runs through those two arms. Both are potential top-five picks as Rocker has seen his stuff go up and down at times this season but has some of the best competitiveness and off-speed stuff in the draft. Leiter got hit around this series and will have his workload limited heading into the postseason but has shown no-hit stuff at times this year. 

Concerns: Following the aces. There have been some injuries to the ‘pen this year but the concern about who follows Rocker and Leiter will have to be answered if they’ll make it back to Omaha. Nick Maldonado has been excellent, but outside of him some of the usual suspects have been banged up or unsuccessful in relief. The third starter role has also fluctuated between two freshmen getting their lumps in Christian Little and Patrick Reilly, along with Thomas Schultz. 

Best Player on the Field: Enrique Bradfield. On a field with two potential top-five picks, it was the true freshman Bradfield who might have stood out the most. He’s got the best speed in college baseball and that was evident in how much attention he was paid by the opposing pitching staff. Bradfield wreaks havoc on the bases, has an easy line drive swing, and is a Gold Glove defender as he’s developed into one of the most exciting players in college baseball.  


Carter Young

Shortstop Carter Young has enjoyed a breakout season for the Commodores as the former prep star has played himself into a probable (as probable as you can get a year and a half out) first round pick in 2022. A Washington native out of Selah, Young was a hot prospect name on the prep circuit, playing for Team USA twice and earning a reputation thanks to his smooth glove and loose, projectable swing. Since arriving on campus, Young has gotten bigger and stronger while retaining his athleticism overall, showing that the projection on him as a prep seems to be coming into fruition closing out his sophomore year. 

He checks all the boxes from a physical standpoint with a lean, athletic frame and still room to add more strength despite what he’s added since high school. The swing from the left side is incredibly smooth with natural loft and plus bat speed. Young gets his hands in a great launch position and the sheer velocity and whip he generates is very impressive. Young is a switch-hitter but the swing from the left side plays much better than the right, with better looseness and overall barrel control. He’s found his power stroke this year, getting well into the double digits in terms of home runs and shows off that raw power during batting practice as well. He only had a handful of hard hits this weekend but that included a double as he turned an above average run time as well. 

Defensively he projects to stick at shortstop long term with soft hands, clean footwork, and quality range to either side. The arm strength is above average and he’s made a number of terrific plays this year, specifically to his backhand. He’ll get clunky at times, and usually it seems to come on the routine plays, but he also made a terrific diving play on Sunday as he has the capacity to wow you at moments at shortstop. 

The aforementioned power has been the biggest surge in the profile and one that gives him top-half of the first round upside come next year. Unfortunately, with improvements come weaknesses to the profile, as Young has been very strikeout-prone this year. The strikeout rate is above 30 percent on the season and his propensity to swing and miss comes from pitches of all varieties. This may end up being a moot point as shortstops who hit close to 20 home runs don’t come around often in the college game, but that’s the one key that scouts will be looking for him to clean up both over the summer and heading into next season. Regardless, Young has been one of the more impressive hitters on one of the best teams in the country and absolutely looks the part of a future first rounder. 


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