Caden Grice, a 6’6″, 250 lbs beast out of the university of Clemson has made quite the name for himself in his final year of college. Grice, a two-way player, has shown overpowering tools on both sides of the baseball throughout his college career, but he’s really shown his full strength in 2023. With the MLB draft quickly approaching, and Grice being considered talent worthy of being taken within the first few rounds, it’s hard to believe how he’s still managed to fly under the radar. But after playing great in games where it’s mattered the most, Grice has gotten his name out to more and more scouts across the nation. But should he be drafted higher? What can we expect from the two-way star? Today, we’ll take a deep drive into the college career of Caden Grice, and what he’s fully capable of at the professional level.

Year One: A Taste of Glory

Coming into his freshman year at Clemson, Grice had a lot of high expectations being placed around his name. And after being gifted plenty of chances at the plate, he was truly showing his talents to their fullest extent. Grice would get 225 plate appearances during his first season, and during this sample size, he would hit 15 homers, 9 doubles, 53 RBI, 28 BBs, and he also slashed .317/.427/.618, with a 1.045 OPS.

While showing eye popping power numbers in his first season, Grice also maintained amazing on-base numbers. For a freshman being thrown right into the mix, this was really encouraging for scouts, and coaches to see with Grice. Caden would get his first chances to show his pitching abilities as well, but would only throw 10 innings of rough baseball, leading to a 7.20 ERA. While this may have been concerning for some, Grice’s coaches maintained amazing confidence in his abilities, especially since this was a very small sample size.

While showing what his short, powerful swing could do during his first season, it was clear that there was also plenty of room for improvement. Part of this improvement, would be his 9 game stint at the Cape Cod League, the first time Grice would play in the league. With the Cape Cod League widely being regarded as the best college baseball summer league in the country, this experience would truly be a great opportunity for the young slugger.

With Grice finally finishing up most of his activities for the 2021 season, he would take on the opportunity of a lifetime, and play for team USA’s Collegiate National Team, which is a huge honor for any player at any level. But, with his sights set on the future, it was time to prepare for his second year at Clemson.

Year Two: League Adjustment

With Grice coming into his second year at Clemson after a great first season, it was going to be very difficult to live up to his freshman year. But, I don’t think Grice could’ve expected the adjustment period he would face. Grice would have 267 plate appearances in his 2022 season, which would be more than his freshman year by a good margin. In his 267 plate appearances, Grice would hit 12 homers, 11 doubles, 40 RBI, 36 BBs, and he slashed .244/.360/.453 with a .813 OPS. As you can see, his offensive production significantly dropped, a lot credited to league adjustment.

Although Grice faced a lot of adversity in his second college season, he didn’t let that affect his day to day routines. Grice still maintained the sweet, lefty swing he was known for all across baseball, and he kept grinding through at-bats. Grice would experiment with pitching a little bit more during his sophomore season, but would ultimately pitch less than his freshman season. He would pitch just 6 innings, but would remain a solid option for Clemson.

Grice would once again spend his summer playing with the Cape Cod League. This time though, Grice would play a sizable amount of games in the college league, as he would have 151 plate appearances across 42 games. Unfortunately though, his struggles would continue, as he would hit just 4 homers, 7 doubles, 11 RBI, 16 BBs, and he slashed .213/.331/.396 with a .693 OPS. Once again, Grice struggled a lot during his sophomore season as you can see. But, Grice’s struggles would not last long as his senior season would be his best yet.

Year Three: A Full Taste of Glory

After his second year slump, Grice came into the 2023 season looking to do some true damage, and raise his stock. And Grice has done absolutely nothing but hit the ball, and throw the best baseball he has yet on the mound. Grice has played the most baseball he has yet as well, playing in 60 games, and accumulating 275 plate appearances. In this sample size, Grice has hit 18 homers, 15 doubles, 68 RBI, 30 BBs, and he’s also slashed .307/.411/.618, with a 1.029 OPS. As you can see, this is easily the best baseball Grice has played yet, and he’s led Clemson all season on both sides of the ball. Grice would also be named an All-American, a finalist for two-way player of the year, he was named ACC Tournament MVP, and was a semi-finalist for the Golden Spikes Award.

Although Grice is coming off of the toughest season of his career, he stayed true to his game, and returned to his great play. Grice’s sweet swing has been the best it’s been so far, and it’s surely helped him on the field. Grice’s power stroke has been the obvious highlight of his game, but his ability to get on base in every way possible has raised his stock heavily, as he’s projected to go from anywhere to 150-260 overall in this upcoming draft. Although this is very low considering the season he put on this year, Grice has also expanded his game fully to the pitching side of things as well, giving many teams more and more things to love about him. Grice would also post mind-blowing exit velocities over 105 MPH, and towering 450 ft home runs, something that caught the eyes of thousands of scouts who watched the lefty.

“He’s the Shohei Ohtani of College Baseball.”

Danny Graves on Grice’s success

Grice would finally see a full season of work on the mound, as he’d throw a career high 78 innings for Clemson. In this stretch, Grice would record a 3.35 ERA, 101 strikeouts, 11.7 K/9, 1.11 WHIP, and a 3.8 BB/9. As you can see, Grice looked stunning on the mound this spring, and it’s certainly caught the attention of scouts all across the nation.

Grice has yet to play baseball outside of Clemson this season, but with the draft coming very soon, there’s a chance Grice sits out of summer baseball this year. Regardless of what he does, Grice has certainly shown he’s capable of being taken at the top of the draft.

Grice’s Future

As I previously mentioned, Grice has shown he’s certainly capable of being drafted towards the top of this summer’s MLB draft. With scouts and analysts calling him the, “Shohei Ohtani of college baseball.” It’s easy to see how Grice can catch the eyes of professional teams ahead of the MLB draft.

Again, as previously mentioned, Grice is currently ranked anywhere between picks 135-260 of this summer’s draft, which could slot him in a very large range. But personally, I think Grice is capable of being a second to third round selection, as his talents are just too good to pass on. With Grice’s power at the plate, and powerful pitch mix on the mound, it will be hard for scouts to overlook Grice. Historically, two-way players have been a risk for teams to take on, but with the recent rise of Shohei Ohtani, teams are finally understanding that it can be done. For example, the San Francisco Giants drafted two-way star Reggie Crawford last year in the first round, and have let him try to hit and pitch at the professional level. With Grice being a valuable first baseman and outfielder at the college level as well, many teams could take the chance at drafting him for his tools all across the board.

Grice has received elite grades from MLB Pipeline on both his hitting tools, fielding tools, and pitching tools. Offensively, Grice has received a 40 grade hit tool, 60 grade power tool, 60 grade arm, and a 50 grade fielding tool. These grades are all really solid, but when paired with his pitching grades he truly becomes elite. Grice has received a 50 grade on his fastball, 55 grade on his slider, 50 grade on his changeup, and a 45 grade with his control.

Grice’s main knock from scouts have been his ability to struggle against breaking balls, with some scouts saying, “…he can still look helpless against breaking balls.” With this being a high concern, I’m sure it can be straightened out with work with professional coaching.

Grice’s fastball typically sits in the low 90s, but can touch upwards of 95 MPH. Grice’s off-speed misses bats at an elite rate, with his changeup sitting in the mid 80s, and an upper 70s slider. MLB Pipeline scouts have suggested that the best course of action could be to test his hitting abilities in pro ball, and to use his pitching side of things as the second option.

“Grice’s development into a reliable starting pitcher and a premier power hitter has been a revelation.”

Christina Long, Greenville News

In total, Grice has shown elite tools all around the board, and when combined with both his defensive, offensive, and pitching abilities, he becomes infinitely more valuable to professional teams. Grice should be a second to third round selection in my eyes, but he could fall as far as the fourth to fifth rounds. Regardless of where he goes, Grice will be an incredibly underrated, talented, and valuable addition to any big-league club, and I personally can’t wait to see what he can do professionally.