Peyton
Graham

2022 MLB Draft: Long and lean at 6-foot-4, 170 pounds, his body type is similar to former Big 12 star Braden Shewmake (Texas A&M). After a slow start at the plate, the right-handed hitter adjusted during the Texas series and hasn't looked back. When "right" Graham shows good balance and rhythm in his whippy right handed stroke. When he was "off" he showed very little ability to identify pitches and struggled mightily with spin, chasing it frequently in the dirt on pitches that were never headed for the strike zone. Although he has struggled with spin, he can turn on velocity. He's also a plus runner and a threat to steal (34-for-36) at any time as he gets excellent jumps. Despite his long legs, he's not a long strider and has good acceleration with a 70-grade baserunning IQ. Defensively, Graham plays low, has sure hands, athletic actions and a plus arm. He looks capable of remaining at shortstop in pro ball –much more capable than Shewmake who HAS remained there in pro ball. However, the weight gains needed to improve Graham's overall game may necessitate a move back to the hot corner – a position he played exclusively during his freshman and sophomore seasons. Graham began this season with just four walks against 32 strikeouts for a red flag 28.8% K rate at the halfway point. However, he turned it around, improving his BB/K (27/63) ratio and lowering his season K rate to 20.1%. Graham put together an incredible run at the plate through the CWS and is now a likely late first round selection.

Long and lean at 6-foot-4, 175 pounds, his body type is similar to former Big 12 star Braden Shewmake (Texas A&M). Graham has been an enigma for me over the years with my first-ever look coming during his freshman year in Norman. And he remained that way once again on this latest look at Globe Life. The Texas prep let the moment get to him and pressed during his first six at-bats of the series (0-for-6, 6 SO) before getting locked in and going on a tear his last seven (5-for-7, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 SB). When he was "right" he showed good balance and rhythm in his whippy right handed stroke. When he was "off" he showed very little ability to identify pitches and struggled mightily with spin, chasing it frequently in the dirt on pitches that were never headed for the strike zone. Although he struggled with spin, he can turn on velocity. He's also a plus runner and a threat to steal at any time as he gets excellent jumps. Despite his long legs, he's not a long strider and has good acceleration with a 70-grade baserunning IQ. Graham stole four bases in four attempts against Silas Ardoin who entered the series throwing out 64% of runners this season. Defensively, Graham plays low, has sure hands, athletic actions and a loose arm. He looks capable of remaining at shortstop in pro ball –much more capable in my opinion than Shewmake who HAS remained there in pro ball. But the weight gains needed to improve Graham's overall game may necessitate a move back to the hot corner – a position he played exclusively during his freshman and sophomore seasons. His better than average arm strength also showed solid accuracy. Listed as a potential top two round prospect in our preseason Top 250, Graham's offensive performance with just four walks vs 32 strikeouts and a red flag 28.8% K rate so far in 2022 has scuttled that ranking. However, with half a season still remaining there's plenty of time to rebound. Most likely not a full bounce back to the second round, but certainly enough for consideration in the earlier rounds of Day Two. The 4th round has typically been a spot of selection for more “risky” hitters that had a high college K rate during their draft season. A few examples include Brandon Crawford (2008 UCLA, 21.5% K rate), Paul DeJong (2015 Illinois State, 20.3%) and Bobby Dalbec (2016 Arizona, 30.7%).

The weekend started promising for Graham but ended in ugly fashion. First, Graham has still not bulked up much, if at all. He reminds me of former Texas A&M standout slugger Braden Shewmake in that regard. Shewmake was 6-foot-4, 190 pounds during his time at A&M, while Graham is just 6-foot-4, 173 pounds. Shewmake was a left handed hitter, and a much more polished one at that. However, Graham does have plenty of strong offensive traits, and he showed some power generation early in the tournament. Unfortunately, he finished the weekend with five strikeouts and a .200 average. Defensively, Graham wasn't flashy, but he was steady. I want to see him in more game situations before drawing conclusions on his skill set up the middle. With that said, Shewmake was a far more advanced hitter, and he was drafted late in the first round. Graham is likely more of a second round type. (Rogers)

Cape Cod- Graham burst onto the scene as a true freshman in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, hitting .358/.457/.612 with three homers and eight doubles in just 67 at-bats. He followed it up with a rock-solid season in 2021, slashing .288/.400/.502 with 11 homers and 11 doubles, though his walk-strikeout ratio jumped from 1:1 in 2020 to nearly 1:2 in 2021. He was something of a free-swinger this summer as well, striking out 26 times against 11 walks in 24 games and hitting .247 with two homers in 81 at-bats. The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder uses a wide base and a slightly open stands with a medium hand position, gentle waggle and good rhythm in his swing. He has a hitterish look from the right side, and his swing generates good leverage that suggests more power to come. He's also a very good runner for his size, getting up the line in 4.14 seconds from the right side on one infield single, and 4.3 seconds on another infield single. He played some shortstop, center field, left field and third base this summer, and his excellent athleticism gives him valuable defensive versatility, but he profiles best at the hot corner, where his strong arm and power potential will play.