5 Collegiate Hitters to Know for the 2016 MLB Draft

Will Craig, 3B, Wake Forest

MLB.com Rank: 31st | Keith Law Rank: 45th

It's worthwhile to parse through all of MLB.com's draft write-ups on the off chance that you find a quote as gorgeous as this one about Wake Forest's Will Craig.

"If he was body beautiful, he'd be the first player taken," said a scout quoted in the blurb. "Body beautiful" is a heavily under-utilized phrase. It's a dope explanation for Craig's lower rankings, but don't let the detractors get you down, Will. Not only are you beautiful, but your stats would get Aphrodite all hot and bothered.

Over 244 plate appearances this year with the Demon Deacons, Craig blasted 16 home runs with a .379/.520/.731 slash while striking out only 35 times (14.3% strikeout rate). Not only did he lead the team in each of the triple-slash categories, but he was eighth nationally in on-base percentage and third in slugging percentage. I can hear James Blunt penning odes to Craig's stats as we speak.

It's pretty clear that Craig distanced himself from his teammates his junior season. If we want to find a Demon Deacon that rivaled Craig, we'd have to look back to 2015. That year, a Wake Forest hitter posted a .382/.496/.702 slash with 13 dingers and a 10.1% strikeout rate. That hitter, though, was also Craig as a sophomore, when he was named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Player of the Year.

Although he played third base at Wake Forest, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Craig will end up at first base with his 6'3", 235-pound frame. Even if that ends up being true, though, this is a dude who can straight mash, and it's production that could even play at the offensive haven at the other corner of the infield.