Dodgers Draft: Three options for the first round

Dodgers Draft: Carson Tucker, Shortstop

Baseball America’s 2020 Mock Draft of the first round has high school shortstop Carson Tucker going to the Dodgers with the 29th overall pick.

The Phoenix Mountain Pointe graduate is known for his athleticism and bat, two areas of focus for the Dodgers. His older brother Cole Tucker was a 2014 first round pick and made his major league debut last season with the Pittsburgh Pirates, also playing shortstop.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic shutting down the amateur scouting season early and truncated the draft to five rounds, potential draft picks need to weigh whether or not they will make the five round cut. But that doesn’t appear to be a problem for Tucker. He sounds motivated to prove his competitive fire will translate to being a professional.

"“A team should draft me because they are going to get the best out of me,” Tucker told Baseball Prospect Journal in May. “They are going to get everything out of me, and I’m want to be the best baseball player. I want to be a hall of famer – that’s my goal. I also want to win a World Series and be successful with whatever team that is.”"

A right-handed hitter with a 6-foot-1, 175 pound frame, he is considered a “jack of all trades” according to his assistant coach. He can hit, he has great control of his bat, having struck out only 18 times in 340 plate appearances in high school, and he can field his position.

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Tucker already has some Dodgers connections as he is friendly with fellow Phoenix-area native Cody Bellinger. Perhaps Belly can put in a good word for the athletic shortstop.