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Before Bryce Young was considered one of the top prospects in the 2023 NFL draft, before he led Alabama to the College Football Playoff and before he won the Heisman Trophy, he was a five-star college football recruit ranked No. 5 overall in the 2020 ESPN 300.

But not all first-round draft picks started out as highly touted college recruits. Sauce Gardner, the fourth pick in the 2022 draft, was a three-star recruit out of high school, developed his game at Cincinnati and became a Pro Bowl cornerback in his rookie season in the NFL.

We highlight six players who went from unranked (and in some cases, ungraded) high school recruits to potential Day 1 NFL draft picks thanks to years of improvement, growth and opportunity.

Texas A&M and Texas Tech | 2018 recruiting ranking: Three stars

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 6

Wilson originally signed with Texas A&M before transferring to Texas Tech. It took some time, but he exploded into one the country’s top defensive linemen, posting 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks in only 10 games as senior in 2022.

Looking back at our scouting notes, we referred to Wilson as an “intriguing prospect” with length, quickness and a promising ceiling for development. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, we had concerns about his lack of power, but likely should have put more emphasis on his production, as he recorded 126 tackles, 38 TFLs, 5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 5 fumble recoveries as a high school senior.

We were accurate in identifying his high ceiling, however. Wilson has grown two inches while adding 51 pounds of muscle. He can now swing between the interior or edge, which is a significant value add at the NFL level and a major reason why he will come off the board early.


Illinois | 2019 recruiting ranking: Ungraded

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 7

Witherspoon’s journey to Champaign, Illinois, and the top of the cornerback class of this year’s draft board has been anything but ordinary. He didn’t start playing football until his junior season at Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Florida. His first love was basketball and he excelled in track (11.2 100-meter and 6-foot-5 high jump). Once he strapped on the helmet, he was an immediate standout, recording seven interceptions as a senior.

It was not until Witherspoon earned a qualifying SAT score late in the process that he earned his only Power 5 offer from Illinois, as he cleared the NCAA requirements in July. Witherspoon enrolled during training camp after initially planning to attend Hutchinson Community College (Kansas).

The rest is history. He developed into an All-American corner who excels in an array of coverages and is a physical ball hawk on run support. How did every recruiting service fail to anoint a first-round talent with even one star? It’s a simple answer. He went to a smaller school, didn’t start playing until his junior season and had nonqualifying test scores until training camp of his freshman year. To that end, if prospects were ranked on perseverance alone, Witherspoon would be a five-star.


Iowa | 2020 recruiting ranking: Three stars

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 11

Van Ness was highly athletic in high school, even playing hockey at 6-foot-5, 240 pounds. In the defensive trenches, his game wasn’t flashy; it was built more on power and less on edge speed, which is why he slid under the radar and had just three Power 5 offers.

He didn’t even start at Iowa, yet he was a disruptive force who saw action in 27 games and was plenty productive with 19 tackles for loss. He maximized his frame, as he now stands at 6-5, 272 pounds, while increasing his speed and acceleration.

His draft stock soared from his coveted measurables and his agility. His versatility to play most positions along the D-line is also highly sought-after at the NFL level. On the biggest stage at the NFL combine, he ran a 4.58 40-yard dash. By comparison, 2014 No. 1 pick Jadeveon Clowney ran a 4.53 as a defensive end in 2014.


San Diego and Utah | 2018 recruiting ranking: Ungraded

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 14

Kincaid was a high school basketball star at Faith Lutheran in Las Vegas who came out to the gridiron as a senior. While he was productive — 745 yards, eight touchdowns — it was too late to garner much recruiting attention, and he lacked film with in-line blocking plays. (Lutheran didn’t use a blocking tight end, utilizing Kincaid outside for mismatches with his ball skills and jumping ability.)

While our scouts missed on Kincaid, Brent Browner, head coach at top high school power Bishop Gorman (Nevada), did not. “We actually devised a game plan to contain him but it obviously didn’t work,” he said, reflecting on when Kincaid had three catches for 81 yards and a touchdown against his team. “He was able to create mismatches with his length and athleticism. I believe his touchdown was the first we let up in six games.”

Kincaid walked on at the FCS level with San Diego, and after an All-American season in 2019 (835 yards, eight TDs), he transferred to Utah, where he broke out. Over the past two seasons, Kincaid totaled 1,400 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, as Utah won back-to-back Pac-12 titles.


Boston College | 2019 recruiting ranking: Three stars

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 21

Flowers was listed at 5-10, 160 pounds in high school, but even that was generous. He hasn’t grown much in height, but he put on 22 pounds of explosive muscle during his time in Chestnut Hill. From a positional standpoint, he was the No. 123 WR nationally; next week, he is projected to be among the first at his position to come off the board.

Flowers was a consensus three-star from Florida without offers from any of the in-state blue bloods. Aside from lacking size, he also lacked exposure. Flowers was a modest prospect who stayed off the camp and combine circuits and didn’t run track to capture any verified speed metrics. He was a two-way starter at wide receiver and defensive back. He was extremely quick but had yet to refine his pass-catching skills.

Boston College was the perfect spot to contribute early and utilize his versatility. In four seasons, he totaled 3,056 receiving yards and 29 touchdowns, including 1,077 yards and 12 scores in 2022. Success is often based on circumstance, and Flowers was given the perfect opportunity to soar with the Eagles.


Kansas State | 2020 recruiting ranking: Three stars

Scouts Inc. ranking for the 2023 NFL draft: 31

Anudike-Uzomah had one Power 5 offer out of high school: Kansas State. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Wildcats are one of the best programs in the country at identifying and evaluating sleepers. While we saw a three-star prospect despite his big frame (6-3, 220) and ability to move well, Kansas State saw more.

“We saw a long frame that could handle 260 and retain that great upfield quickness he flashed in high school,” said Hank Jacobs, Kansas State’s director of recruiting. “We also thought he had an extremely high ceiling because of his work ethic.”

Anudike-Uzomah went on to dominate at KSU as sophomore and junior, earning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022 with team highs of 11 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks included in 46 total stops during 14 starts. Although he is a bit raw in terms of NFL projections, he’s considered one of the top-rated defensive ends in the draft, far surpassing his No. 220 positional ranking out of high school.

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Japanese star Sasaki says he’s joining Dodgers

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Japanese star Sasaki says he's joining Dodgers

Roki Sasaki, the prized Japanese pitching prospect who has had scouts drooling over his potential since high school, has chosen the Los Angeles Dodgers as his major league team, he announced on Instagram on Friday.

Sasaki called this “a very difficult decision, but I will do my best to make it the right decision when I look back after my baseball career.”

The Dodgers, long viewed as the favorites for Sasaki, had recently emerged as one of three finalists for the 23-year-old right-hander, along with the Toronto Blue Jays and San Diego Padres. On Friday morning, the Padres began agreeing to deals with their prospective international signees in the Dominican Republic, a clear sign throughout the industry that they were out on Sasaki. The Blue Jays thusly acquired $2 million in international-bonus-pool space — along with center fielder Myles Straw — from the Cleveland Guardians in hopes of enticing Sasaki further.

It ultimately did not matter. A Dodgers team coming off a World Series title with a roster headlined by Japanese countrymen Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto again landed one of the biggest prizes of the offseason.

In the Dodgers, Sasaki joins a team that has built a reputation as one of the best at developing talent and one that expects to field an incredibly deep rotation in 2025. Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow return from last year’s group. Ohtani, who will resume his duties as a two-way player, will be added. Blake Snell signed a five-year, $182 million contract in November. Clayton Kershaw is expected to return at some point, as well. And younger arms such as Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May and Bobby Miller remain in the organization, making it easy for the Dodgers to field a six-man rotation that would lessen Sasaki’s acclimation process.

Because he is under 25 years old and spent less than six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, Sasaki essentially will sign a minor league contract and follow the path of a player selected in the amateur draft — able to be optioned to the minors, scheduled to earn close to the major league minimum during his first three major league seasons and unable to become a traditional free agent until attaining six years of service time.

Teams were limited to giving Sasaki only their international bonus pools, which ranged from about $5.1 million to $7.5 million at the start of the signing period.

Sasaki features a mesmerizing splitter that has been lauded as one of the world’s best secondary pitches and pairs it with a fastball that reaches 100 mph, adding a slider that has also been deemed a plus pitch. In four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sasaki posted a 2.02 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP and 524 strikeouts against 91 walks in 414 2/3 innings.

In an April 10, 2022, start against the Orix Buffaloes, Sasaki pitched a perfect game while setting an NPB record with 13 consecutive strikeouts. Seven days later, he took the mound again and fired eight perfect innings before being removed from his outing. The following spring, Sasaki showcased his talents on a global stage, forming a star-studded rotation alongside Ohtani, Yu Darvish, Shota Imanaga and Yamamoto for a Japanese team that won the World Baseball Classic.

For years, major league scouts and executives descended upon Japan to catch a glimpse of Sasaki and salivated over the possibility of him someday being posted. When it finally occurred in early December, upwards of 20 teams made initial pitches, doing so with videos and letters and even books. Sasaki flew to the L.A. headquarters of his agency, Wasserman, later that month and conducted meetings with at least eight teams — the Dodgers, Padres, Blue Jays, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and San Francisco Giants.

Earlier this week, five of those teams were informed they were out of the running, prompting Sasaki to take follow-up meetings in Toronto, San Diego and L.A. before coming to his decision.

Sasaki needed to select his new team between Jan. 15, the start of this year’s international signing period, and Jan. 23, the expiration of his posting window. His presence in the international amateur market left prospective signees of the three finalists in limbo on deals that are verbally agreed to years in advance, causing particular consternation within the Dominican Republic. The Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays needed to not only free up their international bonus pools for the potential of landing Sasaki, but entertain the possibility of trading for additional space in hopes of enticing him further.

Sasaki starred in Summer Koshien, the prominent Japanese high school tournament, and was taken No. 1 overall in the NPB draft in 2019. The Lotte Marines handled him carefully, restricting him to bullpen sessions and simulated games in 2020 and limiting his workload whenever possible thereafter. Sasaki’s numbers were down a bit last year, his ERA rising to 2.35. His four-seam fastball went from averaging roughly 98 mph to 96. At one point, shoulder fatigue cropped up. There are concerns about how Sasaki will handle a major league workload, and many will acknowledge that his command needs improvement.

But few doubt his ceiling.

Within these next handful of years, several prominent evaluators believe, Sasaki could be an annual Cy Young contender.

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Duran reaches 1-year, $3.85M deal with Red Sox

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Duran reaches 1-year, .85M deal with Red Sox

BOSTON — All-Star outfielder Jarren Duran and the Boston Red Sox avoided arbitration when they agreed Friday to a one-year contract guaranteeing $3.85 million, a deal that includes an $8 million team option for 2026.

Duran gets a $3.75 million salary for this year, and the option has a $100,000 buyout.

The option price would increase to $9 million if he finishes among the top 20 in MVP voting, to $10 million if he is among the top 10, to $11 million if among the top five and to $12 million if he wins the honor. If he is not among the top 20 and is picked for second team All-MLB, the option price would be $8.5 million.

He can earn $150,000 in performance bonuses this year for plate appearances: $50,000 each for 450, 500 and 550.

If he is traded, the option would be eliminated and the receiving team would owe him a $100,000 assignment bonus.

Eligible for arbitration for the first time, Duran had asked for a raise from $760,000 to $4 million and had been offered $3.5 million when figures were exchanged last week.

Duran was eighth in MVP voting last year after hitting .285 with 21 homers, 75 RBI, 34 steals, 48 doubles and 111 runs.

Fifteen players remain on track for arbitration hearings.

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Sources: Mets, LHP Minter reach 2-yr., $22M deal

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Sources: Mets, LHP Minter reach 2-yr., M deal

The New York Mets and left-hander A.J. Minter have agreed on a two-year, $22 million contract Friday, sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, giving a team starved for bullpen help one of the best relievers on the free-agent market.

The deal, which is pending a physical, includes an opt-out after the 2025 season. SNY first reported the agreement.

Minter, 31, was a key contributor during the Atlanta Braves’ recent run of success, posting a 3.28 ERA across 384 relief appearances since debuting in 2017. He was a member of the 2021 World Series championship club and enjoyed his best full season the following year, pitching to a 2.06 ERA in 75 games. Hip inflammation limited Minter to 39 appearances in 2024, but he was effective when healthy with a 2.62 ERA over 34 ⅓ innings in a setup role.

He joins a club that prioritized acquiring a top-flight reliever this winter to partner with closer Edwin Diaz late in games. Being a lefty checks another box for New York, which, as it currently stands, has just one other left-handed reliever (Alex Young) on their 40-man roster.

The bullpen addition comes a day after the club reached a one-year deal with veteran outfielder/designated hitter Jesse Winker, who figures to be primarily used as a DH against right-handed pitchers.

Pete Alonso, the Mets’ homegrown star first baseman, remains a free agent. The two sides have attempted to negotiate a reunion, but they’ve recently reached an impasse over money on a three-year contract, according to a source. Without Alonso, the Mets could move third baseman Mark Vientos, a breakout star in 2024, across the diamond to first base with former top prospect Brett Baty, prospect Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuna as internal candidates to start at third base.

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