Former Desert Oasis baseball player Bryson Stott was selected 14th overall by the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
Stott also attended UNLV and was only the second Rebel position player to be chosen in the first round. Stott is a shortstop, and his main big league comp is Brandon Crawford. That’s not too bad considering Crawford has always been known as a strong defensive player with a solid bat. He also has three World Series rings with the San Francisco Giants.
“He’s a very sure-handed shortstop with a very strong arm,” said Carlos Pena of MLB Network. “He also has a great bat to go with it. He should be a 15-homer guy.”
Jonathan Mayo of MLB Network rated Stott as the ninth best prospect in the draft and also felt he would be able to stay at shortstop. Stott was considered the top college shortstop in the draft and was the first college shortstop drafted as well.
However, Harold Reynolds believes enough power will develop that he would probably move to third.
“His arm strength will allow him to move to third,” Reynolds said during the televised coverage of the draft on MLB Network. “If the power continues to grow, I would like him at third base. I think he will fly through the Phillies system.”
The bonus slot for the 14th overall pick is $4.04 million.
The Phillies currently have only two shortstops listed among their Top 30 prospects: No. 4 Luis Garcia and No. 13 Arquimedes Gamboa. Garcia is in Single A and Gamboa is in Double A. Garcia is also the 10th rated shortstop in all of the minors.