7 College Hitters Who Have Improved Their MLB Draft Stock This Season

Charles Davalan, OF, Arkansas

Davalan showed positive flashes as a freshman last year at Florida Gulf Coast, where he hit .288/.413/.514 with 16 doubles, 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Upon entering the transfer portal, he received heavy interest from numerous prominent programs before eventually committing to Arkansas. Davalan has thrived in Fayetteville and is currently in the midst of a career season in which he’s hitting .377/.461/.640 with eight doubles, 12 home runs, 43 RBIs and 24 walks to just 13 strikeouts.

Listed at just 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, Davalan has impressive strength packed into his compact frame. He’s added physicality since last spring but also has made some noticeable changes to his setup. Last season, Davalan stood tall in the box with a high handset and a slightly-open front side. That led into a move in which he would become more crouched and into his lower-half before a noticeable leg lift. Now, Davalan’s setup is a bit of a unique look aesthetically, but he’s cut out a lot of the unnecessary movement. He’s lowered his hands, has an almost wide-open front side and is more into his lower half pre-swing. Davalan still deploys the aforementioned crouch move, but it’s less pronounced. Speaking of less pronounced, he’s also cut down significantly on his leg lift. 

In addition to his mechanical changes, Davalan has improved his bat speed since arriving at Arkansas and is making harder—and more quality—contact on a consistent basis. Since last season, his average exit velocity has jumped from 86.7 to 88.8 mph, his 90th percentile exit has also increased and he’s posted multiple exit velocities north of 110 mph. Davalan is an advanced, well-rounded hitter who has a knack for finding the barrel to go along with comfortably-plus bat-to-ball skills. So far, he’s posted an overall contact rate of 91% and an overall in-zone contact rate of 93%. Davalan’s approach and swing decisions are also polished, and his overall chase rate is just 20%. Very few of his swings have come outside of the “shadow zone” on Synergy. He’s shown the ability to use the entire field and drive the baseball from gap to gap, but his highest quality of contact has come to the pull side.

Davalan is an outstanding competitor who plays the game at one speed: hard. He’s a plus hitter with average power who runs well once underway. When you combine his performance, tools and makeup, the result is a pretty profile. Defensively, he fits best either in left field or back on the dirt at second base, which is where he logged 33 games at Florida Gulf Coast. There are still four regular season series left, and Arkansas is well-positioned for a College World Series run. Davalan could use as a platform to further boost his stock, but right now, he fits in the second-to-fourth round range.

Korbyn Dickerson, OF, Indiana

Dickerson has been one of the buzzier names this spring. After logging just 17 at-bats last year at Louisville, he entered the transfer portal and decided to take his talents to Bloomington. As the Hoosiers’ every day center fielder, Dickerson has flourished to the tune of a .362/.415/.735 line with 10 doubles, 17 home runs and 64 RBIs across 40 games.

Dickerson has long had intriguing tools, but this is the first time he’s been able to display them on a regular basis. He has an athletic frame with present strength, and that athleticism translates both in the batter’s box and on the grass. In the box, Dickerson has a slightly-open front side with an ear-high handset and crouched stance. He wraps his bat some in his load, which can lead to his swing getting long at times, but he has tremendous bat speed. Like almost everything Dickerson does on the field, it’s an athletic look, and he has an active, engaged lower half.

Offensively, Dickerson is a power-over-hit profile. While his hit tool grades out as average, Dickerson has plus power that he’s been able to get to consistently in-game this spring. He’s shown the ability to hammer the baseball to all parts of the field and routinely produces quality contact. Thus far, Dickerson’s 90th percentile exit velocity is an impressive 108.9 mph to go along with a hard hit rate of 60%. If he’s able to pull the ball in the air more as he transitions into pro ball, Dickerson’s power output could increase.

On top of his ability with the bat, Dickerson can really go and get it in center field, as he has impressive range in all directions. He looks the part of a professional center fielder, which is another appealing part of his profile. Dickerson’s lack of track record could limit him as far as where he’s selected, but he figures to be a top five-round pick when all is said and done.

Jack Gurevitch, 1B, San Diego

Gurevitch has been a steady performer for the Toreros since arriving on campus. This season has been his best yet, and he’s on track to set new career highs in every major statistical category. Through 38 games, he’s hitting .370/.473/.617 with 12 doubles, eight home runs and 31 RBIs.

He has a rather average build with strength in his lower half and a somewhat unique setup. Gurevitch sits deep in his base and has a high handset. He hasn’t made any drastic adjustments since last season, though his front side is more closed off, and his hands drift less in his load. Overall, it’s an under-control and easy operation. A first baseman defensively, Gurevitch stands out because of his bat. While he struggles against secondaries at times, he shows present contact skills and sprays the baseball to all parts of the field. He can drive the ball into either gap and has above-average power, particularly to the pull side.

Gurevitch is perhaps the most underrated hitter on the West Coast and has an appealing hit-power combination. He has a lengthy track record with the bat and figures to be a top five-round pick this July.  

Gavin Kilen, 2B, Tennessee

Kilen is probably the most prominent name in this piece, and he’s played his way into a potential top 20 overall pick. Like both Davalan and Dickerson, Kilen this summer also entered the transfer portal. Though he’s missed time this spring due to a hamstring injury, Kilen is hitting an impressive .412/.519/.843 with five doubles, 11 home runs, 28 RBIs and an eye-popping walk-to-strikeout ratio of 23-to-9.

Kilen is slightly more physical than he was last spring, but he’s also made some slight mechanical and approach adjustments that have paid dividends. He’s more upright in the box with less of a wide base and is more into his lower half, particularly his back hip. Kilen is also swinging with more intent—especially against pitches in his “nitro zone”—and looking to damage. Since last season, he’s getting the ball up in the air more and back-spinning balls more frequently. Kilen’s uptick in power has been encouraging and is one of the main reasons as to why he’s played his way into a likely first-round pick.

While one could stick a 50 on Kilen’s power, his hit tool is a comfortable 55 and probably closer to a 60. He has above-average barrel skills and has improved his approach since last year. Kilen in 2024 was ultra-aggressive and had the tendency to expand the strike zone, but he’s since become more passive and selective—in a good way—and has cut his overall chase rate to just 20%. Kilen is a no-doubt second baseman professionally, but a lefthanded bat with his level of performance and offensive skill set typically does not last very long.

Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State

I went in-depth on Lodise’s potential first-round profile last week, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention him again. Lodise began his career at North Florida and transferred to Florida State, where he is in the midst of a career year hitting .430/.483/.782 with 12 doubles, 13 home runs and 47 RBIs. 

Since last spring, Lodise has has a more closed-off front side, sat a bit deeper in his base and raised his handset. With his raised handset, he now holds the bat horizontal above his back shoulder, and his small barrel tip helps him get more into his lower half, which he’s also done a better job of utilizing. To the surprise of nobody, lifting the baseball more has also led to a more impressive power output, and Lodise’s fly ball+line drive percentage has increased from 51% to 58% since last spring. His average exit velocity has increased from 91.7 mph to 94.9 since last spring, and he’s also found the barrel on a more regular basis. 

A power-over-hit profile, Lodise’s hit tool could use a couple coats of polish. He has an ultra-aggressive approach and is currently chasing at a 35% overall clip. There’s some fastball whiff and chase particularly up and/or out, while picking up spin out of the hand has also been a bugaboo at times. Lodise is particularly susceptible to breaking balls down and away, and he has the tendency to both miss and expand the strike zone. His bat-to-ball skills are average—if not a tick below—and he’s currently running a rather modest overall in-zone contact rate of 83%. If Lodise can shore up his swing decisions and do a better job picking up shapes out of the hand, it will go a long way towards maximizing his offensive upside.

Lodise has the defensive skill set to stick at shortstop long term. He has impressive lateral range to go along with a plus arm, and over time, he’s gotten more comfortable attacking the baseball and has demonstrated the ability to throw from multiple arm slots. 

Kyle Lodise, SS, Georgia Tech

The cousin of Alex, Kyle has had a similarly impressive season since making the jump from Division II Augusta. So far, he’s hitting .379/.480/.793, including .386/.453/.831 in conference play.

Since arriving at Georgia Tech, Lodise has added beneficial strength to his frame. He’s an athletic-mover in the box with present bat and hand speed, and since last spring, he holds the bat slightly more horizontal over his back shoulder and has a more pronounced barrel tip. Lodise’s first move is similar to what a lot of Georgia Tech hitters are taught. From a hit-ability standpoint, he’s more polished than his cousin. Kyle has plus bat-to-ball skills to the tune of an 89% overall in-zone contact rate, and both his pitch recognition skills and swing decisions are also more advanced. He does a better job of picking up secondaries out of the hand and—for the most part—stays within the strike zone. At this point, I feel comfortable sticking a 55 on Kyle’s hit tool.

Lodise’s is a hit-over-power profile—and it projects as more extra-base hit power than home run power professionally—but he has shown the ability to impact the baseball. His added strength has paid off, and his above-average barrel skills combined with his bat speed and ability to get the ball in the air—especially to the pull side—have led to an impressive home run output. Lodise’s athleticism is evident at shortstop, where he’s a sound defender. He has quick feet, an improving game clock and arm strength to boot. Lodise is also a plus runner, a skill that translates both on the dirt and on the base paths. 

It’s more performance than tools for Kyle, but he has played his way into a potential top three-round pick.

Mason Neville, OF, Oregon

Neville has been a tool shed dating back to his days as a prepster, but this is the first season in which he’s put everything together. Through 38 games, he’s hitting .336/.476/.825 with 13 doubles, a nation-leading 19 home runs and 43 RBIs. Perhaps most notably, after posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 60-to-25 last season, Neville this spring has 38 walks to 36 strikeouts.

At 6-foot-3 and 197 pounds, Neville has a big league frame and a strong, athletic build. He has a crouched stance with an ear-high handset and wiggles the bat above his back shoulder. He wraps his bat slightly in his load, but he has comfortably-plus bat speed and does a nice job of creating leverage at contact.

Neville hasn’t made any notable setup changes since last spring outside of being a little more crouched in his stance, but he stands out for his improved approach and contact rates. There’s still work to be done, mainly against secondaries, but Neville’s miss rates against sliders and changeups has improved from 50% and 51% to 35% and 40%, respectively. Additionally, his overall contact rate has jumped from 67% to 76%, and his overall chase rate has decreased from 22% to 18%. Neville’s overall in-zone contact rate has also jumped from 80% to 86%, including from 83% to 93% against fastballs.

While there’s still swing-and-miss against offspeed offerings, Neville’s chase rate is sub-20% against all pitch types. He does well at staying within the strike zone, but he will need to do a better job of picking up spin out of the hand. Neville has plus power, a tool he’s had no issue getting to in-game this spring. He generates the most impressive impact to the pull side, though he can also drive the baseball with authority to the opposite field. In center field, Neville is an advanced athlete who runs well. He has gap-to-gap range to go along with an above-average arm and has a chance to stick at the position professionally.