Texas Baseball: 3 Longhorns to watch in 2020 MLB Draft

3. Duke Ellis, Center Field

The first of two non-pitchers on this list for the Longhorns is rising senior center fielder Duke Ellis. This 6-foot-2 and 180 pound Nacogdoches, TX, native got off to his hottest start of his college career to date during his junior season. He took the momentum from a solid end to summer ball in the Cape Cod League in 2019 and rolled that into his hot start out of the gates in 2020.

Given how well Ellis was both with his bat and glove over the course of the last eight or 10 months, there could be a team waiting in the MLB Draft to take a flier out on him either in the fifth round or as an undrafted free agent. While he was one of the more volatile hitters for the Longhorns in the last two seasons, he was mostly effective for them.

In 71 plate appearances, Ellis registered a .302 batting average, .819 OPS, 12 walks, seven steals, one run batted in, one triple, two doubles, and 11 runs. He was one of the smarter hitters for the Longhorns, as one of the team leaders in walks. But he was also one of the team leaders in strikeouts during the 2020 season, with 15. Ellis was on pace for yet another season with more strikeouts than walks.

Although the glove of Ellis wasn’t as reliable in the season that was compared to 2018 and 2019, he is still known for his range and strong arm. He had more than 210 combined put outs (and just six errors) to go along with a fielding percentage above .970 during his first two years on the Forty Acres.

A niche skill set for Ellis that is proven with his solid numbers from 2018, 2019, and bits and pieces of the 17 games in 2020 could make him a good get in this draft. But it could also be wise for him to come back for one more season on the Forty Acres, if at all possible, to round out his game ahead of the 2021 MLB Draft.