The MLB Draft is just two months away. The mock drafts are starting to come out to give fans an idea of who their team might take come July. College Baseball players are starting to make their final pushes during the last week of the season. Prep players are in the opening rounds of playoffs and the competition is steeping up.

During the last week, I was out across Southern California and saw some of the talent that could be coming out in the draft from the College level to the High School level, to see how players were doing during these final weeks.

Tuesday, May 5

Paul Contrereas

Outfielder - Cal State Fullerton

Paul Contrereas has had a solid season for the Titans, and Tuesday night's midweek matchup against USC was a vintage performance out of the big frame, 6-foot-3, 204-pound right fielder. Contereras immediately made an impact in a very loud and rowdy environment at Dedeaux Field. Plugged in at the 2-hole of the Titans lineup, Contreras immediately made an impact in the game, taking the breath out of the stadium by hitting his 11th home run of the season with a no-doubt solo shot to straightaway to center field, giving the Titans an early 1-0 lead. There was no exact measure for how far his homer went, but with centerfield being listed at 390 feet, Contreras made it look easy when he loaded back and fired away at a fastball that was left high in the strike zone. The Titans offense scored 4 runs in their 13-4 loss, tallying 11 hits. Contreras went 2-3 at the plate. While his home run early in the game was nice, he continued to show he could make great contact in the evening by hitting a single in the fourth inning, leaving a loud crack off the bat that echoed throughout the stadium. Along with his 2-3 performance in the evening, Contreras had an intentional walk in the second inning to load the bases. Contreras has been one of the quieter names in College Baseball this year, but in a breakout season where he has shown power at the plate, he has shown he can be considered a pick within the first three rounds of the draft. He will need to show that he can do more than hit for power, as he is within the top five for home runs and slugging percentage (.596) in the Big West. Contreras has only 5 doubles and 1 triple on the season, so extra base hits appear to be considered more of a luxury.

Adrian Lopez

First Base - USC

USC first baseman Adrian Lopez has been one of the more consistent hitters in the Trojans' lineup and showed Tuesday night why he can hit for power by opening the game with a leadoff home run straight to center field to tie the game at 1. Lopez now has 8 homers on the season with 36 RBIs, 10 doubles, and 2 triples. His lone home run in the first was his only hit of the evening, going 1-4 at the plate. In his second at bat, Lopez was looked at by the USC coaches and medical trainers after it appeared he had hurt his wrist swinging early on a ball for strike two. He stayed in the game after being evaluated and struck out on the next pitch. He reached base one more time in the ball game when he was hit by a pitch. Just after he was hit, he stole second base for his 7th stolen base of the season and later scored for his second run of the game. Originally starting his career at shortstop at Long Beach State, Lopez moved over to third when he got to USC and later over to first base. Still looking for a position to call home, Lopez could potentially give third base another try, stick with first, or even consider trying to play in the outfield, as he has displayed solid overall speed.

Friday, May 8

Roch Cholowsky

Shortstop, UCLA

Viewed as the number one pick in the draft, Roch Cholowsky had a rather quiet night on Friday against Oregon. Going 1-3, with a walk, it was a rather unconventional performance by Cholowsky, which was later followed up by a vintage performance over the next two days. Falling behind in the count, 0-2 in his first at bat of the evening, he showed patience at the plate by working it up to a full count. Ready to get on base, Cholowsky hit the ball to short but beat out the throw for an infield single. While he is the most impressive prospect in baseball, Cholowsky impressed even more by showing that he does have some speed under him, as that has been an area he could improve on. His speed continued to factor in later in the game, scoring three times, one of them was from a Will Gasparino double. Combined between Saturday and Sunday's performance, Cholowsky was back to his regular form, knocking three home runs against Oregon, including reaching 50 career homers on a two-home run game on Saturday.

Mulavai Levu

First baseman, UCLA

Mulavai Levu has one of the prettiest swings in College Baseball, and on Friday night, he showed just why. Levu went 3-4 at the plate and had a two-home run performance against the Ducks. Levu's first homer was in the third inning and was cranked out towards straight away to center field to score three runs. His second homer was in the sixth inning, and the ball left in a hurry over the right field wall at Jackie Robinson Stadium. This shot put an exclamation point on UCLA's dominance over Oregon to open the series, giving them their 9th run before they ended the game 11-1 in the same inning. Levu's power and swing have been generating a lot of buzz around College Baseball and are starting to move him up the charts towards one of the earlier rounds in the MLB Draft.

Will Gasparino

Centerfielder, UCLA

It's been a coming-home party for Will Gasparino, who attended high school just near UCLA at Harvard-Westlake. Gasparino came back home after transferring to UCLA from Texas over the offseason. He started the season as one of the hottest hitters in College Baseball, reaching 11 home runs within the first month of the season, but has started to flame out as of recently. 6 foot 6 frame and weighing 220 pounds, he has all the measurables that should give him a shot at playing professional baseball. He's a very raw hitter, but has shown signs that something is there. Gasparino went 1-3 at the plate, striking out two times. He's at 50 on the year and had 13 of them within a 10-game stretch following Friday night. With runners on base in the first inning, Gasparino had an impressive knock by hitting the ball opposite to right field for a two-run RBI single, getting UCLA on the scoreboard first. Gasparino's bat also showed life later on in the weekend by having a two-hit performance that included a double and a home run on Saturday and by hitting his third double of the weekend on Sunday.

Wylan Moss

RHP, UCLA

Wyland Moss won't be eligible to enter the draft this year since he is a sophomore, but on Friday night, he showed why he could be coming out as a first-round pick in the 2027 MLB Draft. Standing at 6 foot 3 and weighing 200 pounds, Moss has been filling in for UCLA's power pitcher Logan Reddemann on Friday nights, who has missed some time due to arm fatigue. Moss went 7 innings for UCLA, striking out 9 batters while giving up 1 run, 2 walks, and 1 extra base hit on 91 pitches. Moss improved to 5-0 on the season and has a 1.89 ERA with 65 strikeouts. Moss ran into a bit of trouble in the fourth inning, giving up back-to-back hits to put runners on second and third with zero outs. The response to some adversity was exactly what you want to see out of a second-year pitcher. Moss gave up a sacrifice fly to left, then struck out the next batter he faced and got a groundout afterwards. Looking ahead at next season, UCLA will be without the powerful lineup that has kept them as the No.1 team in the country all season long and will rely heavily on elite pitching to make them the team to beat with Moss leading the way next year.

Roman Martin

UCLA, 3B

Roman Martin might be one of the most patient hitters in the UCLA lineup. Sitting tied for 4th in the Big Ten, Martin has 40 walks on the season. The area that Martin has needed to improve on is not letting pitches pass him by. On Friday, he did just that. He went 2-3, with a walk at the plate, while striking out once. Martin had a single in the first inning that led to him and Roch Cholowsky scoring from a Will Gasparino double. He then scored two more times in the third and sixth innings. Martin brings a lot of value when it comes down to consistency, getting on base, and scoring, and Friday night was a vintage performance by the Bruins' third baseman.

Tuesday, May 12

James Clark

Shortstop, St. John Bosco

The first round of Division 1 CIF playoffs kicked off Tuesday afternoon. St. John Bosco opened up the opening round hosting Cypress. One of the top names across the Bosco lineup this season has been shortstop James Clark. Clark stands at 6 feet 1, weighing 195 pounds, and is committed to playing at Duke next season. It was a rather uncharacteristic performance out of Clark, who went 1-4 at the plate with three strikeouts, one of them caught looking. Known for being a good opposite hitter, Clark had some attention this week by changing up his batting stance by not resting the bat on his shoulders anymore, standing taller in the box, and completely changing his hands. It was a rubber match between Bosco and Cypress, as it lasted a full 11 innings, with the Braves winning on a walkoff single by Moises Razzo. Clark's lone hit in the game came in the eighth inning with a single towards right field, advancing a runner over to second with two outs in the inning. Despite a quiet day, Bosco coach Andy Rojo said that by changing the stance, they are hoping it will open more things up for Clark. He also added that the change has been successful lately, and doesn't seem too concerned about his performance on Tuesday. Defensively, Clark had himself a great day, showing off the high baseball IQ that scouts, players, and coaches have raved about. He had a couple of hard-hit liners go right at him, but he was ready and made the play, even one where he had to jump up and reach for it, showing off his athleticism. There was one play late in the game where a grounder just bounced off his glove, resulting in an infield single for Cypress. Not making that play is rather uncharacteristic of Clark, who has been brilliant at shortstop all season long.

Julian Garcia

RHP, St. John Bosco

Julian Garcia showed why he has first-round talent written all over him if he decides to go into the draft. Garcia is coming out of the 2026 class and is committed to continuing playing baseball, down the street from Bosco at Long Beach State. On Tuesday, he showed why Bosco has relied on him to be their top pitcher by going out and tossing 8 innings with 11 strikeouts on 95 pitches. The fastball was located all afternoon perfectly, hitting the corners of the quadrant where he wanted it. His curveball kept the Cypress batters uneasy and off balance for the duration of the game. Garcia had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings. His no-hitter bid ended in the seventh inning after walking a batter, who later advanced to second and third from a stolen base and a fielder's choice. Cypress had an RBI single hit towards left that brought the runner home to tie the game at 1. After the play, Garcia got the final batter he faced to strikeout. According to Perfect Game, Garcia's fastball sat between 92-95 MPH and topped at 96. His curveball sat between 76 and 79 MPH.

Drew Slevcove

LHP, Cypress

Facing one of the toughest lineups he's faced this season, Drew Slevcove showed why he is committed to play next season at UC Santa Barbara. While it seems unlikely Slevcove will get drafted this year, maybe as a late round pick, Slevcove is a name to keep out for when he would be eligible to enter the draft again in three years from now. Against St. John Bosco, Slevcove matched up against Julian Garcia, inning for inning. He had six strikeouts through 8 innings and went most of the game rolling with a 1 hitter until Bosco's bats woke up late in the game. His outing finished by giving up 5 hits total, while the fastball sat at 92 MPH, his slider spun at 2627 RPM, and his changeup sat between 81-84 MPH. The young Cypress ace, showed he will has a future in pitching at the next level, and his development will depend on if he can increase the velocity (Which he should).

Miles Clark

CF, St. John Bosco

Miles Clark is currently committed to play at Duke next season and could be another name that goes undrafted in the MLB Draft, if not he could get picked up in one of the later rounds, but could still continue go down the college route. In a game where hits were more of a luxury against Cypress, Miles Clark had the second hit of the game, by hiting a line drive towards to center field. His day finished with him going 1-4, with one strikeout, one lineout and a pop out. Miles Clark had some good contact on the other two balls he hit, unfortunatley for him, the Centurions were playing him better. Out in center, Miles Clark showed off his athleticisim and speed, tracking every ball that came to him. He has a great feel of the game, high baseball IQ player and is a great overall athlete. He still has some hitting mechanics he needs to work on when he gets to college if he wants to play professionally one day.