Cam Cannarella featured in Baseball America MLB draft Top 10 projection

Cam Cannarella has impressed through two seasons as a Tiger.

by TigerNet Staff - Jan 6, 2025, 3:03 PM

Clemson baseball gets its season underway next month and center fielder Cam Cannarella will play a key role on a preseason Top 10 team.

Baseball America's preseason MLB mock draft has Cannarella as the No. 6 overall pick to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the July 13 event in Atlanta.

MLB.com ranks Cannarella as the No. 2 outfielder prospect in the draft field:

"Cannarella didn't draw much scouting attention as a physically underdeveloped South Carolina high school middle infielder, but he made an immediate impact as a center fielder at Clemson. He won Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2023 and continued to catalyze the Tigers last spring despite playing through a torn labrum in his right (throwing) shoulder that required surgery in July. He could become the highest drafted position player in school history, eclipsing 13th overall picks Billy Spiers (1987) and Tyler Colvin (2006).

"Cannarella possesses some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the Draft, making line-drive contact to all fields from the left side of the plate, and it's almost impossible to get a fastball or slider by him. He does venture out of the strike zone too often and gets himself out on suboptimal groundball contact more than he should. He has some bat speed but lacks physicality, so there's some question if he'll have more than modest pull power and max out at 12-15 homers per season.

"After using his plus speed to steal 24 bases as a freshman, Cannarella went just 0-for-2 swiping bags last year while avoiding putting stress on his shoulder by sliding. He's a no-doubt center fielder who covers plenty of ground with his quickness and efficient routes. His arm graded as below average before his injury, and he recorded just one outfield assist in 107 games during his first two seasons."

The Hartsville native is a career .363 hitter with a .560 slugging percentage and .440 on-base percentage in 117 games (117 starts). He has 32 doubles, six triples, 18 homers, 107 RBIs, 130 runs, 67 walks, five hit-by-pitches and 24 steals.

Cannarella is the lone Clemson prospect in MLB.com's Top 100 currently.

Clemson baseball gets the season underway in the Shriner's Children's College Showdown in Arlington, Texas versus Oklahoma State on Feb. 14 (noon ET).