Rays 7th Round Pick - 221st Overall: Michael Lorenzen

BaseballAmerica:(ranked #140 overall)
Lorenzen is a potential five-tool talent, and his 6-foot-3, 190-pound build and skills draw comparisons to Jake Marisnick, a third-round pick of the Blue Jays last year out of nearby Riverside Poly High. Tall and projectable, Lorenzen has a howitzer arm. Clocked at 93 off of the mound, his throws from right field approached 100 mph at a showcase last fall, albeit with a running start. A fine defender who fits at any of the three outfield spots, he routinely ran 60 yards in the 6.7-second range at showcase events. The primary concern regarding Lorenzen is his bat. Scouts have reservations about his quickness at the plate, and he has rarely impressed in games or BP when using a wood bat and facing tougher pitching. At this stage, Lorenzen is a mistake hitter, able to hammer pitches left out over the plate but unable to handle much of anything else with metal or wood. He shows enough promise, however, that he will get every opportunity to succeed as an outfielder in pro ball. If he emerges as a hitter, he has the other tools to be a big league star. Given Lorenzen's tremendous all-around talent, a switch to the mound would occur only as a last resort.

Andy Seiler:
Michael Lorenzen is a power-armed outfielder and right-handed pitcher from Fullerton Union High School in Fullerton, California. Lorenzen is teammates with fellow Draft Notebook prospect Dominic Ficociello, and while Lorenzen was the more famous of the two entering the spring, he’s likely the less desirable as of draft day. Toolsy is one way to describe Lorenzen, and raw is another. Though he has all the tools to be a potential starting right fielder at the Major League level, he has a few things that he needs to put together first, and some scouts would rather he figure it out at the college level. At the plate, he’s a little weak with his hit tool, grading out as average to fringe-average, and he has big trouble catching up with velocity. He’s an above-average hitter for power and an above-average runner, though, and that gives hope that he’ll be enough of a threat offensively to star in the Major Leagues. Defense is where he really shines. He has enough range to be an above-average right fielder, and he has a plus-plus arm in the outfield, making him possibly one of the best right fielders in the game with some time. Though he didn’t pitch this spring, he’s also gained the attention of scouts with his arm strength on the mound in the past, touching 94 with his fastball, and he adds in a solid-average curveball. He’s more likely to get drafted as a hitter, though, and that’s likely to occur in the third to sixth round range. Since he’s committed to hometown Cal State Fullerton, he might take more than slot money to sign a pro contract.

Toolsy outfielder. Was linked to us as early as the 1st round.