Top prospects countdown: #T-23 Connor Justus

Justus is not a flashy defender, but it’s his best asset. Many players drafted at SS don’t stick there, but Justus probably will and should be a big league starter there some day. He has a great first step and a solid arm that gives him good range. When he moved up to A ball he played 362 innings at shortstop and had a strong range factor of 4.59. Justus’ bat is definitely a weak point and he has pretty average speed with a 7.07 second 60 yard time (from Perfect Game).

He played college ball 3 years then entered draft after his junior year as one of the top middle infield prospects. Just doesn't really have any plus tools that wow but is solid enough to play SS at the major league level in a few years. Justus had a breakout year his junior year in college with a .324/.442/.486 slash line which was about 75 points above his previous two years. When he went to hitter-friendly Orem, he was one of the top 5 hitters on the team with a .344 AVG and has the second-best OBP of .465. Justus seems to make up for his weaker hitting with a good eye at the plate an a very high on base percentage.

While he thrived at the rookie level, his batting average dropped over 100 points moving to A ball. Despite that drop in average, his OBP remained high and he knocked out 2 home runs. Justus showed definite improvement in his approach at the plate over this past year from college to rookie to A ball.

Fun Stats: Walked as much as he struck out in rookie ball - 19 times in 26 games. He actually walked MORE times than he struck out his junior year in college - 41 v. 38 in 63 games.