Clemson signee Dillon Head selected in MLB draft |
Homewood-Flossmoor (Illinois) outfielder and Clemson signee Dillon Head was selected by San Diego Padres with the 25th overall pick of the first round Sunday evening in the MLB Draft.
Head came in ranked 7th overall by MLB.com for solely outfield prospects. Head originally committed to Clemson in July of 2022. The pick has a slot value of $3,165,400. Before Sunday, he didn't completely tip his hand on a decision between the pros and college and will have a month to decide. "I'm just letting the chips fall where they may. See how everything turns out. I'm not fully sold. Loved it when I was down at Clemson," said Head before the draft. Head was ranked the No. 27 overall MLB prospect by MLB.com recently: Head is the best position prospect to come out of Homewood-Floosmoor (Ill.) HS, which has produced three big league pitchers in John Ely, Eric Hillman and Larry Rothschild. Few players in this Draft can match his combination of hitting ability and speed, and he has pushed his way into the first round after looking a bit stronger at the plate as a senior. He flipped his college commitment from Michigan to Clemson after coach Erik Bakich moved from the Wolverines to the Tigers. Head has top-of-the-scale speed and knows how to use it, especially in center field. His quality reads and routes boost his range, allowing him to chase down balls from gap to gap, and he also enhances his solid arm strength by getting to grounders quickly. His wheels also make him a dangerous basestealing threat and help him turn ground balls into singles. A left-handed hitter, Head generally employs a gap-to-gap approach but can get pull-happy at times. He's not especially physical but does have plenty of bat speed and can drive the ball to right field. Most scouts think he'll max out at 12-15 home runs per year, but he doesn't have to be a big power threat to be valuable.
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