Rutgers' Jawuan Harris has all the tools to be picked in the 2018 MLB Draft
Jawuan Harris has been looked at by MLB teams since his high school days at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort. Lauderdale, Fla.
Harris signed to play football for Rutgers coming out of the Class of 2015, but there was a time where many thought he would have been drafted and he wouldn't come to Rutgers at all. Well, three years later, and Harris is still a Scarlet Knight (for now), and the MLB Draft, which begins on June 4, is now less than a week away.
Harris just completed his junior season on the diamond as a walk-on and capped his redshirt sophomore campaign on the gridiron earlier this fall for the Scarlet Knights. The Pembroke Pines, Fla. native is undoubtedly one of the top athletes ever to spend time "On the Banks" as the two-sport star has performed well in both football and baseball.
The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder has always had excellent speed, which is his greatest attribute. MLB.com listed Harris in its "fastest runner" category along with four others.
Before the 2018 college baseball started, Baseball America ranked Harris as the top MLB Draft prospect in the Big Ten Conference, and tools-wise, wrote that Harris was the best athlete, fastest runner, and the best defensive outfielder.
In the Miami Herald's draft preview of prospects down in southern Florida, they had Harris as a local player who "figures" to be drafted this year with a wide-ranging draft projection.
"Rutgers outfielder Jawuan Harris, who is from St. Thomas Aquinas, is an outstanding athlete who also plays college football. He could get drafted between rounds three and 10," the Miami Herald said of Harris in an article.
MLB.com also ranked as the No. 192 prospect in its Top 200, and gave an advanced scouting report, again talking about his projection, speed, and the fact that he's never solely focused on baseball in the past.
"A two-sport standout who has played both wide receiver and safety for the Rutgers football team, Harris has been a three-year starter on the baseball field as well, giving scouts a toolsy, if a bit more raw, collegiate performer to consider," MLB.com said of Harris.
"Harris' athleticism certainly plays on the field. He has plus-speed that allows him to steal a ton of bases and cover a lot of ground in the outfield, where he has the chance to be an above-average defender with an average arm. His ability with the bat is what remains relatively unrefined. He is super short to the ball, more jabs than anything else, and he has a tendency to chase pitches, which leads to an elevated strikeout rate.
"There is a lot to work with, though, and it should be noted that because he switched focus to football rather than find a league to play baseball in over his summers, he's had relatively few at-bats. The upside is considerable, something a team is likely to bet on at some point during Day 2 of the Draft."
And for what it's worth, draftside.com's five round MLB mock draft had Harris being selected in the fourth round (pick 130) by the Boston Red Sox.
In three years, Harris has played in 136 games with 134 starts, batting .265 with 130 hits, 98 runs scored, 13 home runs, 76 RBI, 81 walks, 82 stolen bases, and a .976 fielding percentage.
His 82 steals is good for third in program history.
While it is unclear if Harris will re-join the football team in the fall if he gets drafted or not, he said so himself as did head football coach Chris Ash earlier spring, his future will change or be decided a lot or a little one way or another very soon.
“Right now I’m just playing baseball,” Harris told TKR back in April. “I’ll see where things go. I’m always ready to go back and play football for Coach Ash.”