![]() ![]() He’s well-built but doesn’t offer a ton of projection. He has great bat speed, with a flattish swing that produces low line drives and groundballs, although he can load a little deep and end up late to the zone. He’s inched his way into day-one consideration as he’s shown well with the bat this spring, with a swing and build that produces contact rather than impact, and may have more of a leadoff profile in the future than a power one. Stafura is a 70 runner and might be a plus defender at shortstop, if not right now then in the near future, with great hands and plenty of lateral range along with the arm to stay on that side of the bag. Shortstop Sam Stafura plays at Walter Panas HS in Cortlandt Manor, New York, what folks like me like to refer to as “upstate” because it’s north of the Bronx.He’s committed to Auburn, so if he doesn’t get whatever his price is, he could go rake in the SEC for three years and be a top-15 pick in 2026. He’s a fringe-average runner who probably starts his pro career at shortstop and ends up at second base in the end, although I wouldn’t rush to move him. I saw him play at Frawley Stadium here in Wilmington on Saturday night against Appoquinimink (Delaware), and he got all of one pitch … but it didn’t reach the warning track, despite a picture-perfect swing and angle. He doesn’t always land strongly on his front side - he transfers his weight well, but his front leg isn’t always in position to “receive” it, so to speak, which I think will cost him at least a half-grade of power until it’s remedied. He hasn’t faced much good velocity, especially not this year, so there’s some projection to the hit tool based on the bat speed and the swing itself. He’s a left-handed hitter with a clean, simple bat path and quick wrists, while he’s shown excellent ball-strike recognition between last summer and this spring. Shortstop Kevin McGonigle of Monsignor Bonner High School just outside of Philly has one of the best swings in the draft class, and you know what that means - i t means he gets results, you stupid chief.More scouting notes on some top prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft: Crews is the favorite to go 1-1, but Langford would be the 1-1 pick in the majority of draft years, and he’s got to be the best alternative for Pittsburgh if they want to try to negotiate with two players to strike the best deal. While Crews has the edge in production and defensive value, as he’s a center fielder, Langford is the better runner and athlete, and I would like to think he could get to average defense in left. Crews is second in Division I in on-base percentage and 14th in slugging Langford is fifth in OBP and 17th in slugging, and both are doing it in the nation’s best conference. ![]() He’s not quite hitting at the pace of LSU’s Dylan Crews, but Langford is having an incredible year by non-Crews standards. He’s so fast you’d think he could handle center, but we have seen guys with his speed (Derek Fisher comes to mind, and to a lesser extent Corey Ray) who just couldn’t carry it over to defense. He plays left field in part because Florida has a plus defensive center fielder in redshirt freshman Michael Robertson, but more because Langford isn’t a natural or instinctive defender, even in left field. He’s a disciplined hitter who doesn’t expand the zone much at all for any pitch type until he gets to two strikes, and even then he rarely misses. He’s steady through contact with excellent hip rotation, getting his weight onto his front side without collapsing the back, and hitting the ball in the air a ton. Langford is a 70 runner with a beautiful right-handed swing that generates real power already - he hit 26 homers last year, tying him for sixth in the country with first-rounder Kevin Parada, and he’s already at 12 this year even with about seven missed games. ![]()
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