PHOENIX — The begins Tuesday at Chase Field. More than 300 of the best draft-eligible players will descend upon Phoenix over the course of the week to participate in a series of on-field workouts, medical evaluations, strength and conditioning assessments, and interviews with club personnel. Here are 10 players who have had especially interesting spring seasons and whom I’ll be watching closely during their time at the combine.
Wetherholt is the only one of the atop this year’s draft class expected to be in attendance this week in Phoenix. In a way, it makes a lot of sense: The month-plus that Wetherholt missed due to a hamstring injury in the middle of his junior season put him behind the eight-ball relative to the seven other top-pick contenders, all of whom were healthy and putting up outrageous statistics this spring. In turn, Wetherholt arguably has the most to prove among that top tier.
While Wetherholt returned in April and hit well down the stretch for a Mountaineers team that reached the super regionals, it doesn’t seem like he did quite enough to recapture his preseason status as one of the favorites to be selected first overall by the Guardians. At the same time, it’s possible that the teams picking at the top are willing to look past Wetherholt’s missed time and buy into the supersonic talent that was on display during his sophomore season. All of which is to say: Even if he doesn’t participate in on-field workouts, the Draft Combine could prove to b.