Noah Song

The most talented senior in the country, Song ranked No. 135 on the 2018 BA 500 thanks to a plus fastball that touched 98 mph, a 1.92 ERA and 121 strikeouts in 89 innings. Yet complications with his Naval commitments and Song’s desired signing bonus meant he went undrafted, despite the fact that multiple teams viewed him as a second-round pick on talent alone. This spring, Song has taken another step forward, and through his first 11 starts he led the country with 133 strikeouts in 73 innings. After showing a below-average breaking ball a year ago, Song has improved all of his secondary pitches enough to where some scouts now consider his curveball a plus pitch. He’s struggled with walks at times, but he’s likely an average strike-thrower with a clean delivery from his 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame. Song’s draft status is once again clouded by the fact that, under the current U.S. Department of Defense policy, he would have to complete two years of military service before he could pitch professionally, at which point he would be 24 years old. In 2016, Air Force righthander Griffin Jax was in a similar situation, but the third-round pick was able to join the Twins’ organization immediately. That was because Jax’s situation played out prior to former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis rescinding a Department of Defense policy in 2017 that allowed athletes to avoid active-duty service after graduating in order to pursue a career in professional sports. Regardless, it’s an unusual hurdle for teams—and Song—to have to climb over, but in a draft class that lacks high-end college pitching, it might be one that a team decides is worth it.