Overview
- The MLB Draft Combine, which began Tuesday, has brought all 30 clubs to Chase Field for on-field workouts, medical exams, biomechanical testing, and one-on-one interviews that serve as the final evaluation window before the July draft.
- Day 1 and Day 2 produced eye-catching, verifiable results with Caden Bogenpohl posting the hardest batted balls of the event and Ethan Wachsmann touching 100 mph on the mound while pitchers such as Logan Reddemann and Carson Wiggins used bullpen sessions to show returning health.
- Teams are relying on Hawkeye tracking, KinaTrax motion capture, exit velocity, spin and velocity data, plus strength and vision tests to compare prospects on standardized metrics rather than on scattered scouting reports.
- Front offices are treating interviews as a job interview where player-development staff sell organizational plans and probe makeup and signability, and analysts are already updating mock boards with some outlets projecting specific fits such as a catcher for Oakland.
- The Combine matters most as a final, concentrated data point — it can move a prospect’s stock but does not replace months of scouting, and its findings feed decisions shaped by capped bonus pools and NIL options that affect who teams can sign.