Better know a draft prospect: Cam Cannarella

The undersized dynamo can flat out get it in center field.

With the draft just a couple weeks away, we continue looking at players that the Royals could target with the 23rd pick. Today we will evaluate a dynamic outfield prospect with a high floor: Clemson’s Cam Cannarella.

Cannarella hails from Hartsville, South Carolina — a small town about 70 miles east of Columbia. He played shortstop for the baseball team at Hartsville High School. As an undersized player at a small school, Cannarella didn’t get much attention from scouts and headed to Clemson for college.

The Tigers entered the 2023 season with a crowded infield, but Cannarella impressed enough in the fall to earn a spot in the lineup to open the season. He played center field and batted cleanup on opening day, going 1-3 with a walk. He began his collegiate career with a 15-game hitting streak, eight of which were multi-hit efforts. He was unfazed by conference competition, knocking five hits in a game against Duke in Clemson’s first weekend of conference play.

The Tigers put together a strong season that culminated in winning the ACC Tournament. They earned a hosting spot in the NCAA Tournament. The winner’s bracket matchup pitted Clemson against the preseason #1 Tennessee Volunteers. In one of the greatest baseball games I have ever seen, the Vols edged the Tigers in 14 innings shortly after Cannarella was controversially ejected. NCAA rules stipulated that Cannarella would have to sit for the following game as well, a loss to Charlotte that ended Clemson’s season. Cannarella finished the season batting .388/.462/.560 in 290 plate appearances with 16 doubles and seven homers. He was a consensus freshman All-American and named the ACC Freshman of the Year.

Unsurprisingly, expectations were sky-high for Cannarella entering 2024. Unfortunately, things went sideways early on for the young outfielder. In the team’s fourth game of the season, he suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder while sliding into third base. He played through it, and the bat wasn’t too badly affected, but he was much more tentative around the bases — he didn’t steal any bags after swiping 24 as a freshman — and couldn’t really throw. Clemson had another strong season and hosted a regional for the second season in a row. This time, the Tigers went 3-0 to advance. They welcomed Florida for a Super Regional and lost two tightly contested games to end their season. Despite playing through injury, Cannarella hit .337/.417/.561 in 283 plate appearances with 16 doubles and 11 homers and was a Third-Team All-ACC selection.

Shortly after the season ended, Cannarella underwent surgery to repair his injured shoulder. He wouldn’t play in the fall as he continued rehab, but was expected to be ready to go for the spring. He began the season in the leadoff spot for Clemson. However, it was clear early on that he still was not 100 percent — he still couldn’t throw at full strength, and it’s hard to believe that the injury wasn’t affecting his swing as well. Nevertheless, he was in the lineup for all but two of Clemson’s games. Cannarella would never play an NCAA Tournament game on the road as Clemson once again hosted a regional. But for the second time in three years, they couldn’t advance, going 1-2 to end their season. Cannarella batted .353/.479/.530 in 292 plate appearances with 22 doubles and was named Second-Team All-ACC.

Cannarella is one of the trickiest players in this class to evaluate as it’s hard to say how much his shoulder injury has been altering his performance over the last two years:

MLB Pipeline: 36

Kiley McDaniel: 34

Baseball America ($): 27

Keith Law ($): 22

Standing at a wiry 6’0”, 185, Cannarella sets up with an open stance and plenty of movement in his hands. He uses a leg kick without much of a stride. His load is noisy and deep as he drops his hands and nearly bars his right arm before swinging. Loading deep helps squeeze more power out of his slight frame, though he shows solid bat speed with his top-handed swing.

Cannarella probably won’t have more than 10-15 home run power at the next level, but he’s got a sweet swing that produces line drive contact to all fields. In a spacious ballpark like Kauffman Stadium, he could rack up plenty of doubles to the gaps and down the lines. He’s very difficult to beat in the strike zone and makes plenty of contact, with his strikeout rate hovering around 15% for his entire collegiate career. Cannarella made much better swing decisions throughout this spring, walking 17.8% of the time after posting around 12% in his first two years. That also manifested in a reduced groundball rate this season as he didn’t chase low breaking balls as often. Optimistically, this is the profile of a good leadoff hitter with sneaky pop.

Defensively, Cannarella should not only stick in center field but he can also be very good out there. He doesn’t quite have elite wheels, but they’re comfortably plus. Combined with his excellent ability to read the ball off the bat and strong route efficiency, he can cover a ton of ground in the pasture. He’s also demonstrated the ability to adjust to the ball midflight to make some highlight reel catches. Even with what is likely a below-average arm, Cannarella has the potential to be an elite center field defender.

I don’t always highlight intangibles in these write-ups, but I will with Cannarella. He’s a fiery presence in the dugout that brings a ton of energy to his squad, and he plays like he’s the best player on the field. He played injured for nearly two full seasons, putting his own body on the line and potentially harming his own draft stock to help the Tigers win ballgames. He’s also shown a knack for performing when the lights are at their brightest. In 20 career games in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments, Cannarella hit .420/.495/.640. He only hit five home runs this spring, three of which came in tournament play.

With his center field defense and bat-to-ball skills, Cannarella has a very high floor as a prospect. Reaching his ceiling will depend on if he can impact the ball enough for his contact skills to matter. Given the injuries he has dealt with, he presents a very interesting buy-low opportunity for the Royals towards the end of the first round.