Kruz Schoolcraft of Sunset leads 3 Oregon high school stars who could be top picks in MLB draft

Slater de Brun of Summit and River Hamilton of Barlow also are highly ranked prospects

Jesuit right-hander Noble Meyer is the most recent Oregon high school player to go in the first round of the MLB draft. The Miami Marlins picked him No. 10 overall in 2023. / Photo by Leon Neuschwander

Oregon high school baseball isn’t known as a hotbed for elite prospects, but that could change this spring.

Since Major League Baseball started its draft in 1965, only eight Beaver State prepsters have been first-round picks, with Jesuit pitcher Mick Abel (2020 to Philadelphia) ending a 26-year drought. 

Former Jesuit standout Noble Meyer (2023 to Miami) is the most recent first-round selection, but the most recent MLB Pipeline rankings project Sunset standout Kruz Schoolcraft to join his fellow Metro Leaguers in hearing his name called on Day 1.

Schoolcraft, a left-hander who reclassified in December 2023 to the class of 2025, sits No. 9 in the December rankings, two spots behind Oregon State second baseman Aiva Arquette. Stillwater (Okla.) infielder Ethan Holliday is the No. 1 prospect.

Schoolcraft pitches and plays first base for the Apollos. He made the 6A all-state first team on the mound last year, when he went 10-1 with an 0.39 ERA, striking out 146 and walking 19 in 71⅔ innings. The Tennessee commit, who stands 6-foot-8, touches 97 mph with his fastball, complementing it with a slider and changeup.

He batted.506 (1.517 OPS) with seven home runs, 30 RBIs and 30 runs for Sunset, which went 28-3 and reached the 6A state final for the first time since 1994.

“A legitimate two-way standout, most teams likely prefer him on the hill after he excelled at events like the Area Code Games over the summer,” MLB Pipeline wrote in its scouting report. “The bat might be a bit behind the arm, but there are attributes to consider on both sides of the ball.” 

Another prospect who could figure at the back end of the first round or during the initial Compensation or Competitive Balance rounds is Summit outfielder Slater de Brun, who at No. 33 in the rankings hopes to defy the bias against smaller players.

De Brun, a Vanderbilt commit who stands 5-foot-9 and weighs 180 pounds, hopes to follow in the footsteps of 2023 National League Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, another undersized prospect from the Northwest whom the Arizona Diamondbacks picked in 2019.

De Brun was a first-team 5A all-state selection for the Storm last year, then joined Team USA and won gold at the U18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier in Panama, earning all-tournament honors by hitting .429 with seven runs and three stolen bases.

A third Oregon prepster among the top 75 prospects is Barlow right-hander River Hamilton, a Louisiana State commit who is No. 73 after a solid junior season for the Bruins, leading them to the second round of the 6A playoffs.

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