Texas Baseball: What the Horns are getting in Will Gasparino

The 2023 MLB Draft has come and gone, giving Texas baseball and head coach David Pierce a clearer look at its roster this fall. The Longhorns had six players and one high school signee drafted, meaning the rest of Texas’ 2023 high school signing class will head to the Forty Acres to join the program.

The key high school prospect the Longhorns were able to keep from heading to the professional ranks was Harvard-Westlake (CA) outfielder Will Gasparino. The class of 2023 prospect was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 7 high school prospect in California and No. 44 nationally.

Gasparino slotted in at No. 75 in MLB.com’s final Top 250 2023 Draft Prospects list. Many believed he would be a third or fourth-round pick as a prospect an MLB organization would stash as a developmental outfielder.

Gasparino was not selected in the first four rounds of the draft. After he indicated on July 10 his intentions to head to Austin this fall, MLB organizations knew they would be wasting a pick by selecting the Texas signee.

Texas baseball gets toolsy top prospect in Will Gasparino

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound high school star will add to the depth and talent Coach Pierce continues to bring to Austin. According to Shooter Hunt of Prep Baseball Report, Gasparino is the second-best position player in the class of 2023 heading to school.

Here is what MLB.com has to say about the Texas signee.

"“Teams searching for a combination of big tools and the confidence of having grown up around the game have been heading to California and high school powerhouse Harvard-Westlake to evaluate Gasparino. The son of Dodgers scouting director Billy Gasparino, Will Gasparino was a mainstay on the summer showcase circuit and is hoping to join Harvard-Westlake alums like Max Fried, Lucas Giolito, Jack Flaherty, and, most recently, 2020 first-rounder Pete Crow-Armstrong as an early-round selection.Gasparino screams projection from his 6-foot-6 body, with raw tools aplenty and a high baseball IQ. His bat is a bit of a work in progress, with long levers that can lead to some swing-and-miss. It often takes guys this size a bit longer to figure it out, but he has tremendous raw power that could be plus in time, and when it’s clicked at the plate, he’s shown he can do real damage from the right side.A plus runner, Gasparino moves like a much smaller guy, with the potential to be a threat on the bases and a plus defender. His performance over the summer was uneven, but he’s been watched carefully this spring in SoCal as the Texas recruit has tremendous upside with the chance to be a five-tool standout.”"

Gasparino will come to Austin and immediately compete for playing time. Texas baseball is losing its starting CF (Eric Kennedy) and RF (Dylan Campbell), opening up what should be a terrific outfield competition this fall. Chabot College (CA) transfer Casey Cummings and highly touted sophomore Max Belyeu will compete with Gasparino for the two starting outfield spots.

Regardless of who ends up starting the 2024 season in the outfield for the Horns, Gasparino is a player who will impact the Texas baseball program during his time in Austin.