Five Wildcats Included in Joe Doyle's Mega MLB Draft Prospect Rankings

Doyle named Kentucky a "sneaky good" program while evaluating five Wildcats in his top 614 prospects ahead of the upcoming 2023 MLB Draft.

The 2023 MLB Draft will begin on Sunday, July 9 in Seattle, as the Pittsburgh Pirates are gifted with the ungodly task of deciding between LSU's pair of mega-stars in right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews with the No. 1 overall pick. 

Across three days, 20 rounds of selecting will commence, totaling 614 players hearing their name called. Skenes, Crews, outfielder Wyatt Langford (Florida) and high school OFs Max Clark (Ind.) and Walker Jenkins (N.C.) are the consensus top five prospects.

That leaves 609 picks. How many of those will be Kentucky Wildcats? 

According to prospect rankings, potentially a couple, but don't expect to see any come off the board early doors.

No Bat Cats crack MLB's top 250 prospects or D1Baseball's top 150 college prospects, but Joe Doyle of the Future Star Series has crafted a top 614 list, including five members of UK's historic 2023 ballclub that reached a Super Regional for just the second time in program history:

Doyle's rankings can be found HERE.

No. 275 — RHP Austin Strickland

Austin Strickland — Photo by Sam Upshaw Jr | Courier Journal

2023 Stats

• 4-2 W-L 
• 5.04 ERA 
• 1.23 WHIP
• 55.1 IP (20 APP, 3 GS, 1 SV)
• 32 R (31 ER)
• 20 BB
• 58 K
• .233 B/AVG

Doyle's Analysis: "Strickland has pitched in a few different roles over his amateur career, most recently out of the bullpen in a sneaky good Kentucky program loaded with intriguing arms. The scouts that saw him on the Cape liked him as a starter, however. Strickland will work up into the mid-90s with late life in the zone. He mixes in a tough slider and a circle-change with some arm-side fade in on righties and away from lefties. The story here will be what team believes he can start at the next level. If there's enough believers in the long-innings outcome, Strickland could hear his name toward the second-half of day two." 

Additional Thoughts: Kentucky prepped Strickland to make his way into the starting rotation at the very end of the season, which he transitioned into ever-so-beautifully, collecting a strong start in the regular-season finale vs. Florida, then another in an elimination game vs. West Virginia in the Lexington Regional. A spot in the rotation would be in order for the Winchester, Ohio native if he were to return to school in 2024. 

More: Hard Conversations Helped Kentucky's Austin Strickland Deliver on NCAA Tournament Stage

No. 291 — C Devin Burkes

Devin Burkes — Photo by Sam Upshaw Jr. | Courier Journal

2023 Stats

• .291 AVG
• .423 OBP
• .502 SLG
• 65 H (18 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR)
• 53 RBI
• 38 BB
• 53 K
• 9 SB
• 15 HBP
• 61 G (61 GS)

Doyle's Analysis: "Burkes has proven himself to be one of the most well-rounded catching prospects available in the 2023 class. He's a sure-fire catcher at the next level with a strong arm and strong blocking skills. Offensively, there's definitive raw power here and a hit tool that has ticked up every year he's been on campus. A trip to the Cape Cod League with Wareham in 2022 helped his cause as he performed well with a wood bat in tough elements. Burkes projects at least a fringy hitter with average raw power at the next level and a solid average thrower behind the plate. Of note, he had a fantastic knack for getting hit by pitches in 2023."

Additional Thoughts: After going through a major slump during SEC play, Burkes finished the year on the highest of high notes for the second season in a row. He clearly has a flair for performing when the lights are the brightest and has once again proven his worth as a reliable defensive presence, taking fantastic care of a UK pitching staff that was superbly hit-or-miss at points in 2023. 

More: 'The King of Work' Devin Burkes' Postseason Heroics Emphasized With MVP Award

No. 422 — LHP Magdiel Cotto

Magdiel Cotto — Photo by Gary Cosby Jr | Tuscaloosa News

2023 Stats

• 1-0 W-L
• 6.00 ERA
• 1.50 WHIP
• 18.0 IP (16 APP)
• 13 R (12 ER)
• 9 BB
• 26 K
• .265 B/AVG

Doyle's Analysis: "Cotto has an extremely impressive arm with loose, whippy action and significant arm speed. He's been up to 97 and comfortably sits 93-95 over long innings from the left side. That's sellable by itself. He's got a slider and a changeup, both of which are more of a work in progress, lacking the command necessary to be consistent compliments to the heat. Given the 6-foot-4-inch frame, the natural arm talent and the track record of throwing innings, Cotto has a definitive up arrow next to his name."

Additional Thoughts: When trying to think from the mind of a scout, there's zero doubts when looking at Cotto — who stands 6-foot-4, 250 pounds — on a mound that he could pitch in the MLB one day. That is affirmed when you see his fastball. As mentioned by Doyle, however, the secondary stuff isn't as reliant. It was a battle getting him on the mound at the start of the 2023 season, and he finished it by eating some garbage innings, equaling mixed results. Nevertheless, the hype remains with the big lefty out of Fort Mill, S.C.

No. 425 — RHP Ryan Hagenow

Ryan Hagenow — Photo via UK Athletics

2023 Stats

• 3-1 W-L
• 3.91 ERA
• 1.35 WHIP
• 25.1 IP (20 APP, 1 SV)
• 11 ER
• 9 BB
• 34 K
• .248 B/AVG

Doyle's Analysis: "Hagenow possesses a premier pitchers' body with projection and athleticism still coming on. The stuff isn't quite as "present" as the others at the top of this board, though when all is said and done he may be talked about among the best of the best on this list. Hagenow's fastball has ordinarily settled around 90 mph, having yet to crack the mid-90s threshold in-game. The fastball is metrically appealing, and he missed a lot of bats with it in 2021, but the velo will need to bump, and most expect it to. He throws a slider and a changeup, both performing better than the heater and can safely be considered at least average offerings moving forward, the latter especially effective. If Hagenow is to have success moving forward, walks will need to come way down and command will need to spike into a new tier. He dealt injury for much of the 2023 season, but improved his stock in the playoffs."

Additional Thoughts: It was a tale of two halves for Hagenow's 2023 season. The first landed him on the Stopper of the Year Award midseason watchlist. The second witnessed injury and some shaky innings that skewed his statline, but it remains obvious that when fully healthy, Hagenow has all the makings of a reliable reliever. Like Cotto, he's aided by a 6-foot-5 frame. 

No. 499 — INF/OF James McCoy

James McCoy — Photo by Brianna Paciorka | Knoxville News-Sentinel

2023 Stats

• .228 AVG
• .349 OBP
• .433 SLG
• 29 H (9 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR)
• 23 RBI
• 22 BB
• 60 K
• 2 SB
• 2 HBP
• 37 G (34 GS)

Doyle's Analysis: "McCoy is a strong, long, athletic third baseman who switch-hits and has real ability from both sides. The power is the selling tool here, and it's comfortably above average from both sides, however he'll need to polish up the hit tool to reach all of it in-game. McCoy also displays an above average throwing arm at third base, more than enough to stick at the position long-term. There's still some work to do in terms of footwork and softening up the hands, but if those take a step forward in 2023, McCoy could hear his name early on Day Two. He'll be young for the class as he's just a redshirt freshman."

Additional Thoughts: McCoy was a right fielder for UK in 2023, though the future appears to be corner infield. Too many strikeouts led to McCoy riding the pine for much of SEC play, but once given another shot later in the season, he tore it up for a bit at the plate, confirming the hype that the 6-foot-4, 205-pounder entered the season with. McCoy's another Cat who has a build that catches the attention of scouts and is no stranger to being on draft lists, as D1Baseball had him as a top-100 college prospect entering 2023. 

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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