NAME: Colin Houck
SCHOOL: Parkview HS, Georgia
POSITION: SS
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6’2″, 190 lbs
B/T: R/R
D.O.B.: September 30, 2004
COMMITTED: Mississippi State
scouting report
Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia has a knack for producing major league baseball players, as Clint Sammons, Jeff Francoeur, Jeff Keppinger, and Matt Olson once roamed their halls. With the 2023 MLB Draft nearing, shortstop Colin Houck will look to add his name to the list of notable alumni in short order.
Houck has been a two-sport star for Parkview, playing quarterback where he threw for nearly 2,200 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just nine interceptions during his senior season. A three-star recruit on the gridiron, Houck’s future appears brightest on the diamond, where he was just recently named the 2022-23 Gatorade Georiga Baseball Player of the Year after producing a .487/.589/.857 slash line across 40 games for a 1.446 OPS with eight home runs and more walks (27) than strikeouts (21) during his senior season.
As the 2022 summer showcases wrapped up, the Georgia native was named to Baseball America’s 2022 High School Summer Showcase All-star team as well as being (at the time) rated as the 86th player in the class. Houck’s prospect status has continued to rise post-showcase, as he’s now checking in as the 21st ranked prospect in Baseball America’s Top 2023 MLB Draft Prospects list as well as the ninth high school prospect. The Mississippi State commit is also rated as the 20th prospect by both Kiley McDaniel of ESPN and Prospects Live, 10th by Keith Law at The Athletic, and 14th by MLB Pipeline.
Standing at 6-foot-2, 190 lbs, Houck is considered a well-rounded baseball player with a great makeup. The physical attributes are considered above average to potentially plus as he matures.
SS Colin Houck (Parkview (GA), 2023) smokes this ball into CF for a single. Pot. first rounder has had good ABs so far, showed a good two strike protect swing earlier on a slider away for a bloop single to shallow RF. Mississippi State commit pic.twitter.com/h9vTdfgaDq
— Will Hoefer (@whoeferbaseball) March 15, 2023
Offensively, Houck displays a quiet approach with excellent bat speed/path through the zone as well as strength that allows him to tap into plus raw power, predominately to the pull side. As Houck shifts his focus to baseball, there’s belief that he’ll be able to hone in on his feel to hit and lessen some of the swing and miss that was in his game. On the showcase circuit, the ability to handle velocity while being able to sit back on and drive breaking/off-speed stuff was present per Baseball America. Carlos Collazo of Baseball America joined a recent episode of the FutureSox podcast and he broke down Houck’s abilities on the show.
Defensively, Houck has the skillset to be an impactful player on the dirt. An above average to plus arm paired with his plus running ability allow him to cover a great deal of ground at shortstop. The hands also play at the position, although there’s belief he could be a great defender at third if he outgrows shortstop.
Why Would the white sox draft Colin houck?
Houck is a rising prep product that’s an up-the-middle impact player. Considering the current state of the White Sox system, players of this ilk are commodities the White Sox should be coveting. Organizations can never have too much up-the-middle talent and, quite frankly, the White Sox don’t have enough of it.
Houck would also add more high upside youth to the White Sox system, something they don’t have enough of (hence the bottom tier farm system ranking). The team seems to be in a peculiar position of deciding which direction to head with a lot of uncertainty surrounding team play and several key player contracts expiring in the near future.
Regardless of what the organization chooses to do or how the team’s play dictates moves in the near future, Houck fits the bill as a potential option to fill out the future left side of the White Sox infield, whether that’s ultimately at shortstop or third base. Being a multi-sport athlete doesn’t hurt his case either. It’s always been a factor for the decision makers in Chicago and Mike Shirley loved Colson Montgomery’s multi-sport prowess when he decided to make him the franchises first choice in 2021.
Mock Draft outcomes
MLB Pipeline has both Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis taking turns releasing mocks. In Mayo’s first iteration, he has Colin Houck being selected by the Diamondbacks at pick 12 while noting that they have a tendency for up the middle high school players. Jim Callis’ mock has Houck going to the Diamondbacks at pick 12 and also mentioned that there’s been a lot of chatter tying the two together at this time.
Keith Law’s first mock also ties Houck to the Diamondbacks at pick 12, touching on Callis’ point of the connection between the two. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN actually has Houck being selected by the White Sox at pick 15, mentioning that he’s hearing the Sox are in on prep bats. Baseball America’s mock version 2.0 had Houck going to the Cardinals at pick 21 noting his combination of tools, athleticism, physicality and hitting ability.