Clemson baseball commit Brock Porter, rated as high as the 11th best talent in the Major League Baseball Draft was finally chosen on day two of the draft early in the fourth round by the Texas Rangers.
There were no known injury or character issues with Porter headed into the draft and given the scouting report below, it’s a mystery as to why he wasn’t chosen earlier, unless Porter made it clear he would be attending Clemson.
"The top pitching prospect in the Draft, Porter won three Michigan state titles in three seasons at St. Mary’s Prep (Orchard Lake), Division 2 crowns in 2019 and 2021 and a Division 1 championship at part of a 44-0 team in 2022. Gatorade’s state player of the year in 2021, he repeated this spring and earned Gatorade’s national honor as well after going 9-0 with a 0.41 ERA, 115 strikeouts in 58 innings and three no-hitters. He’s the state’s best prep pitcher since Steve Avery went No. 3 overall to the Braves in the 1988 Draft.Porter has the best fastball in the high school crop, sitting at 94-97 mph for innings at a time, topping out at 100 and generating that velocity and plenty of armside run and carry with relative ease. He also owns one of the better changeups in the Draft, as he throws his with deceptive arm speed, good velocity separation in the low 80s and outstanding horizontal action. He has made encouraging progress with his slider this spring, flashing some plus slide pieces as hard as 87 mph, and he’ll mix in a downer curveball in the upper 70s.Other than continuing to refine his feel for spin, Porter doesn’t need much beyond experience and continued good health. He has a strong 6-foot-4 frame with some projection remaining, repeats a delivery that features little effort and provides plenty of strikes. He’s committed to Clemson and would be Draft-eligible in 2024 as a sophomore if he doesn’t turn pro this summer."
Whether the Rangers are able to sign Porter after taking Kumar Rocker in the first round is a huge question that may have very big ramifications for Clemson baseball in 2023.
The slot value for the 109th pick is $560,000, meaning the Rangers will likely have to overpay significantly to sign Porter.
A key point relative to attending Clemson is that Porter would be draft eligible in two years due to his age.
If Clemson baseball commitment Brock Porter makes it to campus, there’s incredible irony in a Michigan kid that committed to Monte Lee will now be playing for the former Michigan head coach at Clemson
If Porter were in fact to make it to campus in Clemson it would be a huge win for first year coach Erik Bakich as he’s the top pitching prospect in this draft – not just the top high school pitching prospect, in some people’s eyes.
Bakich, of course, is rebuilding the Clemson roster after coming from Michigan take over for Monte Lee, so there’s irony in the fact that a kid for Michigan that committed to Lee, could end up playing for the former Michigan coach at Clemson.