MLB Draft Profile- Vance Honeycutt

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Today’s Spotlight - North Carolina, Outfielder, Vance Honeycutt

Name- Vance Honeycutt

Bats/Throws- R/R

Pos- OF

Team- North Carolina

HT/WT- 6’3” 205 lbs

Born- 5/17/2003

Home – Salisbury, NC

Honeycutt attended Salisbury High School in North Carolina. He was a four year letter winner and earned All-Conference and All-County honors as a freshman, sophomore and senior. He played shortstop primarily, and was named 2021 Rowan County High School Baseball Player-of-the-Year as a senior. He chose to join North Carolina following his high school career.

Honeycutt's freshman season was impressive as he slashed .296/.409/.672 (avg., on base %, slug). He hit 25 home runs and drove in 57 RBI in his 64 games, earning Consensus Freshman All-America, Third Team All-ACC, and ACC All-Freshman Team honors.

As a sophomore, Honeycutt saw his numbers dip a bit, as he slashed .257/.418/.492 on the year. He hit for 12 home runs and 43 RBI in 50 games, earning another Third Team All-ACC selection, as well as winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He had a fielding percentage of .986 and made just 2 errors on the season.

This year is Honeycutt's junior season with the Tar Heels. He is on pace to improve his numbers in just about every offensive stat from last season, and if he gets hot to end the year, he could match the numbers from his impressive freshman season. He has top 5 potential if he performs well for the rest of the year.

Strengths

• Power
• Defensive Range
• Speed

Honeycutt's rare blend of raw power and speed gives him a valuable skillset for the next level. His speed helps him cover more ground than most other outfielders in this draft class. His defense is outstanding as he won ACC Defensive Player of the Year last season. He also uses his speed to steal bases, stealing 29 his freshman season, and 19 last year.

Weaknesses

• Too Much Swing and Miss
• Durability

Honeycutt's durability has been called into question by scouts as he missed a chunk of his sophomore year. Playing a complete season in 2024 will help put these questions to rest for him as he looks forward to this year's draft. He also has been known to have swing and miss rates that are a bit higher than ideal. However, he has significantly cut down on the whiff rate and strikeout rate since his freshman year at UNC.

Honeycutt has a chance to become a true 5-tool player at the next level. His combination of speed and power, plus extremely reliable defense gives him a very valuable center-fielder skillset. He has potential to be a 20-20 guy with 30 SB upside on the basepaths. If he continues his pace for this year he has top 10 pick potential come draft day.

Draft Nation Projection- 1st round pick