As the home stretch of the 2023 MLB Draft comes into view, a greater separation is starting to be made amongst prospects, but it is the narrow margins that hold the most value. Thus, a deeper dive into the thin lines that separate talent, tools and ceilings is needed when evaluating MLB Draft prospects prior to the July event.

Introducing the series Tale of the Tools.

In this series, I will take a pair of comparable players from the 2023 class and give a detailed breakdown of each of the five tools being hit, power, throw, run and glove and for pitchers it’ll be fastball, breaking ball, changeup, command and mechanics. These scouting reports of sorts will be the inside track into what their ceiling could possibly be as they reach the next levels. 

Today we start with two of the best players in South Florida. SS Adrian Santana (Doral Academy, 2023; Miami commit) and SS George Lombard (Gulliver Prep, 2023; Vanderbilt), who are two of the hottest names in scouting circles right now, and each could be finding their ways into the first round in a couple months.

Let’s see who has the upper hand, tool to tool.