For college baseball players, the more you play the better your chances at setting yourself apart from the rest of the crowd in the upcoming MLB draft. For the projected first rounders competing at the College World Series in Omaha, it’s a great chance to show scouts what they can do at the highest level of collegiate baseball.
For two players in particular, after great first games in the opening round of the CWS, they’ll look to continue to improve their draft stock in the upcoming games. Those players are North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt, and Tennessee second baseman Christian Moore.
The two have been projected in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft for quite some time now, and have been displaying that the entire season. However at the biggest stage, they haven’t backed away from the big moments.
Honeycutt came up in a big spot for the Tar Heels in the bottom of the ninth of their opener. In a 2-2 game against ACC opponent Virginia, Honeycutt drove in the game winning run at third for a walk-off single, sealing a close opening round win for North Carolina.
Christian Moore would show something at the College World Series that hadn’t been done in almost 70 years. In just six innings, Moore would hit for the cycle tallying a triple, double, single, and a home run.
While he only tallied one RBI, him being on base for the Volunteers was pivotal all game to their success on offense, and can ultimately be looked at as one of the bigger reasons they won their opener.
While these two prospects sit in the middle of the first round on many mock drafts, they could’ve easily improved their draft stock just from this opening round alone. Showing up in big moments and bright lights is a huge bonus to pro teams when analyzing prospects to draft and develop, and Honeycutt and Moore are setting themselves up for a nice payday if they can keep up this production.