Gavin Cross

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Kansas City Royals #10 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Looking for a natural hitter who could man the outfield, the Royals drafted Cross ninth overall in 2022 and signed the Virginia Tech product for slot value of $5,200,400. He ranked as the Royals’ no. 1 prospect after his first pro season, in which he hit .293/.423/.596 in 26 games at Low-A Columbia before struggling mightily in 94 games at High-A Quad Cities in 2023. Cross hit just .206 as his strikeout rate spiked to near 28%. His season ended after just two games at Double-A northwest Arkansas due to an illness. Cross reappeared in instructional league, followed by eight games in the Arizona Fall League, where he was slowed by a hamstring issue.
  
  Scouting Report: Cross is known for his command of the strike zone and above-average power to all fields. The most notable difference from Low-A to High-A was diminished plate discipline as he tried to do too much and was swinging for the fences. Cross’ swing and approach looked much better in instructional league, where he worked on keeping his weight more between his hips and not getting too overloaded into his rear hip. That helped his swing work more forward. Cross reads balls well in the outfield and should be able to stay in center field, but he may fit better in right field, where his above-average arm will play. Cross is aggressive on the bases, with his instincts making up for his fringe-average speed. He was successful on 23 of 26 stolen base attempts in 2023. The son of a coach, Cross is a quick learner and makes adjustments well.
  
  The Future: Cross will return to Double-A in 2024, with a chance to prove that the swing changes he made in instructional league will get him back on track. He projects as an everyday outfielder, and his ability to handle lefthanded pitchers will keep him out of a platoon role.
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 40 | Power: 55 | Run: 50 | Field: 50 | Arm: 55
• 
  Ranked Kansas City Royals #1 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
  
  Track Record: Cross broke out in his second year at Virginia Tech in 2021 to establish himself as a likely first-round pick in 2022. He was also one of the top hitters for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team during the summer of 2021. Cross' draft stock was boosted further in 2022 when he showed that he could handle center field. He also improved at the plate by cutting his strikeout rate from 20% in 2021 to 14% in 2022 and boosting his walk rate from 7% to 11%. Cross finished his Hokies career with a trophy case full of awards, including All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team honors in both 2021 and 2022. The Royals drafted him ninth overall in 2022 and signed him for $5,200,400. Cross began his pro career with three games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League before reporting to Low-A Columbia, where he appeared in 26 games and posted an outstanding 1.019 OPS. He wrapped up his first season with additional playing time in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Cross stands out for his above-average hit tool, knowledge of the strike zone and above-average power to all fields. He also has the ability to slow the game down at the plate. Cross hits with good balance and the ability to let the ball travel into the hitting zone, which allows him to consistently barrel balls and pepper line drives from gap to gap. There's enough lift in his lefthanded swing and easy pop to put balls over the fence, too. A 25% strikeout rate in Low-A shows that there's still work to be done with his approach, but the improvements he made in college and a willingness to learn demonstrate that he can continue to develop. An average runner, Cross reads balls well in the outfield and is athletic enough for center field, but his more likely home will be in right field, where his above-average to plus arm will be plenty for the position. Speed is not a separating tool for Cross, but he can steal the occasional base and go first to third on a single. Royals officials noted his solid demeanor and how quickly he fit in with his new teammates, indicating that he can be a leader both on the field and in the clubhouse.
  
  The Future: After getting enough time at Low-A to show his advanced ability at the plate and on the field, Cross is ready for the next level. He likely heads to High-A Quad Cities to start the 2023 season but should get to Double-A Northwest Arkansas before too long. Evaluators see him as a player who can move quickly through the system and in a best case scenario develop into an above-average regular. He's on track to be the Royals' right fielder by the middle of the decade.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 55. Power: 55. Speed: 50. Fielding: 50. Arm: 55

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #10 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: Virginia Tech Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 21.4
  BA Grade: 55/High
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 60 | Run: 50 | Field: 50 | Arm: 60
  Cross was one of the breakout stars in college baseball in 2021 with Virginia Tech. He hit .345/.415/.621 with 11 home runs, 13 doubles and five triples, then followed that up by being the most consistent hitter with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team over the summer. In fact, he’s been tremendously consistent as a hitter throughout his collegiate career, never hitting below .300 for the Hokies and turning in a .318/.399/.627 line in 2022, with a career-best 14 home runs, while adding 13 doubles and 11 stolen bases. Cross is a large and physical, 6-foot-3, 210-pound outfielder who primarily played right field before transitioning solidly to the everyday center field job during his junior season. While moving to the middle of the outfield, Cross also showed an improved approach at the plate as a junior, cutting his strikeout rate from 20% in 2021 to 14% in 2022 and boosting his walk rate from 7% to 11%. While Cross has made improvements, scouts still view him as a power-over-hit lefthanded bat, thanks to a long-striding, low bat path that has been exploited at times and a tendency to chase out of the zone—though he showed progress in this area in 2022. While most of his power came to the pull side, Cross has easy plus juice and can homer to the opposite field, with exit velocity numbers that stack up with (and in many cases surpass) the elite college hitters in the class. Cross has annihilated fastballs—including impressive results against 93-plus mph velocity—but does swing and miss against breaking stuff and offspeed offerings, which could cap his overall hitting upside at the next level. Cross profiles as a corner outfielder at the next level despite his impressive showing in center with Virginia Tech, where he is an average runner and fielder with a big, plus throwing arm that could allow him to profile as a classic powerful, lefthanded-hitting right fielder. Given his track record of performance in both the ACC and with Team USA, as well as his power and physicality, Cross should be drafted somewhere among the top 15 picks.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #97 prospect in 2023

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
  
  Track Record: Cross broke out in his second year at Virginia Tech in 2021 to establish himself as a likely first-round pick in 2022. He was also one of the top hitters for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team during the summer of 2021. Cross' draft stock was boosted further in 2022 when he showed that he could handle center field. He also improved at the plate by cutting his strikeout rate from 20% in 2021 to 14% in 2022 and boosting his walk rate from 7% to 11%. Cross finished his Hokies career with a trophy case full of awards, including All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team honors in both 2021 and 2022. The Royals drafted him ninth overall in 2022 and signed him for $5,200,400. Cross began his pro career with three games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League before reporting to Low-A Columbia, where he appeared in 26 games and posted an outstanding 1.019 OPS. He wrapped up his first season with additional playing time in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Cross stands out for his above-average hit tool, knowledge of the strike zone and above-average power to all fields. He also has the ability to slow the game down at the plate. Cross hits with good balance and the ability to let the ball travel into the hitting zone, which allows him to consistently barrel balls and pepper line drives from gap to gap. There's enough lift in his lefthanded swing and easy pop to put balls over the fence, too. A 25% strikeout rate in Low-A shows that there's still work to be done with his approach, but the improvements he made in college and a willingness to learn demonstrate that he can continue to develop. An average runner, Cross reads balls well in the outfield and is athletic enough for center field, but his more likely home will be in right field, where his above-average to plus arm will be plenty for the position. Speed is not a separating tool for Cross, but he can steal the occasional base and go first to third on a single. Royals officials noted his solid demeanor and how quickly he fit in with his new teammates, indicating that he can be a leader both on the field and in the clubhouse.
  
  The Future: After getting enough time at Low-A to show his advanced ability at the plate and on the field, Cross is ready for the next level. He likely heads to High-A Quad Cities to start the 2023 season but should get to Double-A Northwest Arkansas before too long. Evaluators see him as a player who can move quickly through the system and in a best case scenario develop into an above-average regular. He's on track to be the Royals' right fielder by the middle of the decade.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 55. Power: 55. Speed: 50. Fielding: 50. Arm: 55
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/High
  
  Track Record: Cross broke out in his second year at Virginia Tech in 2021 to establish himself as a likely first-round pick in 2022. He was also one of the top hitters for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team during the summer of 2021. Cross' draft stock was boosted further in 2022 when he showed that he could handle center field. He also improved at the plate by cutting his strikeout rate from 20% in 2021 to 14% in 2022 and boosting his walk rate from 7% to 11%. Cross finished his Hokies career with a trophy case full of awards, including All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team honors in both 2021 and 2022. The Royals drafted him ninth overall in 2022 and signed him for $5,200,400. Cross began his pro career with three games in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League before reporting to Low-A Columbia, where he appeared in 26 games and posted an outstanding 1.019 OPS. He wrapped up his first season with additional playing time in instructional league.
  
  Scouting Report: Cross stands out for his above-average hit tool, knowledge of the strike zone and above-average power to all fields. He also has the ability to slow the game down at the plate. Cross hits with good balance and the ability to let the ball travel into the hitting zone, which allows him to consistently barrel balls and pepper line drives from gap to gap. There's enough lift in his lefthanded swing and easy pop to put balls over the fence, too. A 25% strikeout rate in Low-A shows that there's still work to be done with his approach, but the improvements he made in college and a willingness to learn demonstrate that he can continue to develop. An average runner, Cross reads balls well in the outfield and is athletic enough for center field, but his more likely home will be in right field, where his above-average to plus arm will be plenty for the position. Speed is not a separating tool for Cross, but he can steal the occasional base and go first to third on a single. Royals officials noted his solid demeanor and how quickly he fit in with his new teammates, indicating that he can be a leader both on the field and in the clubhouse.
  
  The Future: After getting enough time at Low-A to show his advanced ability at the plate and on the field, Cross is ready for the next level. He likely heads to High-A Quad Cities to start the 2023 season but should get to Double-A Northwest Arkansas before too long. Evaluators see him as a player who can move quickly through the system and in a best case scenario develop into an above-average regular. He's on track to be the Royals' right fielder by the middle of the decade.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hitting: 55. Power: 55. Speed: 50. Fielding: 50. Arm: 55
• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 55/High
  
  August Update: Cross was one of the breakout stars in college baseball in 2021 with Virginia Tech. He hit .345/.415/.621 with 11 home runs, 13 doubles and five triples, then followed that up by being the most consistent hitter with USA Baseball&#39s Collegiate National Team over the summer. In fact, he&#39s been tremendously consistent as a hitter throughout his collegiate career, never hitting below .300 for the Hokies and turning in a .318/.399/.627 line in 2022, with a career-best 14 home runs, while adding 13 doubles and 11 stolen bases. Cross is a large and physical, 6-foot-3, 210-pound outfielder who primarily played right field before transitioning solidly to the everyday center field job during his junior season. While moving to the middle of the outfield, Cross also showed an improved approach at the plate as a junior, cutting his strikeout rate from 20% in 2021 to 14% in 2022 and boosting his walk rate from 7% to 11%. While Cross has made improvements, scouts still view him as a power-over-hit lefthanded bat, thanks to a long-striding, low bat path that has been exploited at times and a tendency to chase out of the zone—though he showed progress in this area in 2022. While most of his power came to the pull side, Cross has easy plus juice and can homer to the opposite field, with exit velocity numbers that stack up with (and in many cases surpass) the elite college hitters in the class. Cross has annihilated fastballs—including impressive results against 93-plus mph velocity—but does swing and miss against breaking stuff and offspeed offerings, which could cap his overall hitting upside at the next level. Cross profiles as a corner outfielder at the next level despite his impressive showing in center with Virginia Tech, where he is an average runner and fielder with a big, plus throwing arm that could allow him to profile as a classic powerful, lefthanded-hitting right fielder.
  
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 55. Power: 60. Run: 50. Field: 50. Arm: 60.