School: University of Oklahoma; Class: Junior
Position: SS; B/T: R/R
Height: 6-3; Weight: 185
Previously Drafted: N/A
High School: Waxahachie High School
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 45 | 55 | 55 | 45 | 50 | 50 |
Background: Waxahachie High School has some old roots to the game of baseball: seven players have walked through the school’s hallowed halls and would eventually grace the fields of big league ballparks. But it’s been a long, long time since a former Wolf appeared in a big league game – 64 years to be exact. Peyton Graham, part of the school’s 2019 graduating class, could help break that drought.
A member of the Texas High School Baseball Coaches All-Star Game (Class 6A) as a senior, Graham got off to an explosive start to his collegiate career in 2020, slugging a scorching .358/.457/.612 in 18 games before COVID prematurely wrecked the year. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound infielder saw a modest decline in production the following year as he batted .288/.400/.502 with 11 doubles, one triple, 11 homeruns, and seven stolen bases (in 10 total attempts). Graham spent the summer playing for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League, hitting a mediocre .247/.367/.370 in 20 games.
This season Graham rediscovered his stroke during his junior campaign with the Sooners. In a career best 67 games, he slugged .335/.417/.640 with career highs in doubles (17), triples (four), homeruns (20), and stolen bases (34).
Scouting Report: Consider the following:
- Since 2011, only three Division I hitters batted at least .325/.410/.625 with a strikeout percentage between 20% and 22% in a season (min. 300 PA): Trevor Larnach, the Minnesota Twins’ first round pick in 2018; Connor Owings, a late, late round pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016; and – of course – Peyton Graham.
Tall and lanky with plenty of room to add strength and weight. Graham has a slow, stiff, robotic leg kick he uses – inconsistently – as a timing mechanism, alternating with a slide step at times. Long arms, but generates good bat speed. Above-average power potential, but there’s going to be some swing-and-miss to his game in the professional ranks. 45-grade hit tool. He’s likely going to have to slide away from shortstop. There’s some Chad Pinder-type potential here. Back end of the first round / opening second round grade.
Ceiling: 1.5- to 2.0-win player
Risk: Moderate
Grade: First / Second Round
