Oregon's Mason Neville experiences major fall in MLB Draft

Yahoo

7 days ago

Oregon Ducks star Mason Neville was one of college baseball's brightest stars this season.
The 6-foot-3, left-handed outfielder was MLB.com's No. 35 overall prospect after tying for the NCAA lead with 26 home runs.
But after the first day of the MLB draft, which included three rounds and 105 selections, Neville is still available.
Coming into Sunday's draft, the Oregon slugger was viewed as an advanced college bat, but one who crushed fastballs and struggled with some of the off-speed stuff he saw from college arms.
Here's what MLB.com has to say about him, in part, as a prospect:
"Neville has long intrigued scouts with his overall athleticism and offensive potential from the left side of the plate, reminding some from his high school days of a young Cody Bellinger."
"The raw power is very real, and a year after hitting 16 homers with a 33.5 percent strikeout rate, Neville has jumped up boards by greatly cutting down his swing-and-miss, allowing him to get to that pop even more consistently for the 26 homers that tied for the NCAA Division I home run title."
"He can drive the ball gap-to-gap with plenty of pull power. He punishes fastballs and still struggles against softer stuff, but scouts are much more bullish overall that the bat will play at the next level."
In total, the Ducks did not have a player drafted, but class of 2025 Oregon signee Taitn Gray was selected No. 92 overall by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Day 2 should prove to be a much better day for the program, as Rounds 4-20 should see 5-6 Ducks hear their names called.