The DDT - Draft Day 1 thread

[ace3113]

To lock up Brentz the Jays need to save money in the other rounds of the draft. We aren't talking a couple hundred K either, we are talking a couple million which, is going to be very hard to find for any GM in any draft. I'd love to see AA get this done but the most likely scenario is he goes to college and is a 1st round pick in a couple years.

 

It's apparently going to take something like 2mm to get him to sign. If thatès the case I hope we draft another guy to spend our money on if he won't budge from that number.

[theblujay]

The thing I like most about Bickford is that he has great fastball command. He just needs a couple more pitches.

[Angrioter]

Blue Jays - Eric Lauer HS LHP

6'03" 190lbs DOB: 06/03/95

 

Lauer, who turns 18 the night before the Draft begins, is one of the most projectable pitchers in this year's draft. Listed at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Lauer, a left-hander out of Midview High School (Ohio), has a clean, loose delivery and is already throwing in the upper-80s. Scouts believe he will unlock more velocity as he physically matures and builds upper-body strength. Lauer also throws a curveball and changeup, both of which are promising but still need development. He has a good feel for pitching and is around the plate with all three of his pitches. Lauer is committed to Kent State.

[ace3113]

ERIC LAUER, lhp, Midview HS, Elyria

 

With a dominating performance as a senior at Midview High, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Lauer has scaled to the top of the heap this spring among an impressive crop of Ohio high school pitchers. Through his first six starts, he was 5-0, 0.00, while limiting opponents to a .054 average. He had yet to give up more than two hits in any outing, and in 35 innings overall, had walked just three while striking out 68. All the ingredients for success were already firmly in place for Lauer as he has a quick arm, an advanced feel for his secondary stuff and a clean, polished delivery for a young left-hander. His fastball has been a steady 90-91 mph this spring, peaking at 93, and he has thrown his breaking ball, a curve with occasional sharp break, and straight change for strikes more consistently. With Lauer’s athletic, projectable frame, it’s easy for scouts to project continued improvement, and the lanky left-hander may face a dilemma in this year’s draft, coming out now as a projected third-rounder, or attending Kent State, and coming out in three years as a potential first-rounder—especially with that school’s reputation for churning out top-notch pitching prospects.

[Abomination]

There's a Canadian kid!

[ace3113]

SEAN RATCLIFFE, rhp/c, Pickering HS, Ajax, Ontario

 

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Ratcliffe has been likened by long-time Canadian scouts to Chris Leroux, who was drafted in the ninth round in 2002 as a lefthanded-hitting catcher out of an Ontario high school and emerged three years later out of South Carolina’s Winthrop University as a power righthander. Leroux spent the better part of the last three years in the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen, before venturing off to play in Japan this season. Ratcliffe flashed impressive raw power as a catching prospect through his junior year of high school, but it rarely translated to games, and scouts already see a higher upside on the mound with a fastball at 90-93 mph and the makings of a power breaking ball. It may be a roll of the dice for a team to draft Ratcliffe in the top 10-12 rounds this year as he has a minimum number of innings as a pitcher on his resume, but he has an easy arm action and may pitch consistently in the mid-90s one day.

[Angrioter]

Blue jays - Sean Ratcliffe RHP L/R HS

6'04" 200lbs DOB: 04/11/95

[Angrioter]

Blue jays - Christian Vasquez SS S/R JR

5'10" 170lbs DOB: 09/11/89

[theblujay]

All these scouting reports sound good. Tall, young, low-mid 90s, decent breaking ball, projectable frame... They all sound like decent pitchers.

[KingKat]

But just because you can doesn't mean you should. Besides there aren't pitchers as projectable as Bickel unless they have a firm college commitment or crazy signing demands and you are not going to get a FB like Bickford's that late (upper 90's sure but not 95-97mph with command). Basically you either pay him like a 1st round pick after the 10th or you take him early and pay him like a 1st rounder.

 

You make a good point about Bickford's command but I still hate this emphasis on prep pitching. I think the fact that it worked so well in 2010 was a mixed blessing because it's a pretty risky strategy especially when you don't have the high volume of picks that you had back then. Early round pitchers bust out more often than position players and late round pitchers yield more breakouts so it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or Nox) to see what the optimal approach is. The Jays are putting a lot of stock in their scouts with this approach and the fact is for every Syndergaard that the scouts have identified in the past, there have been plenty of Kevin Comers.

[eastcoastjaysfan]

Are you guys still seriously following the draft THIS late into it?

 

Maybe 0.001% of these guys even have a chance at making the bigs.

[Angrioter]

Jeff Baker tipical platton guy >> Andre Ethier lol

[theblujay]

You make a good point about Bickford's command but I still hate this emphasis on prep pitching. I think the fact that it worked so well in 2010 was a mixed blessing because it's a pretty risky strategy especially when you don't have the high volume of picks that you had back then. Early round pitchers bust out more often than position players and late round pitchers yield more breakouts so it doesn't take a rocket scientist (or Nox) to see what the optimal approach is. The Jays are putting a lot of stock in their scouts with this approach and the fact is for every Syndergaard that the scouts have identified in the past, there have been plenty of Kevin Comers.

 

I get your point, but they barely even gave Comer a chance...

[Angrioter]

Blue Jays - Chaz Frank OF L/L SR

5'10" 170lbs DOB: 10/18/90

[theblujay]

Frank is 0-4 today with an outfield assist at 2B

[Angrioter]

Blue jays - Mike Reeves C L/R SR

6'01" 205lbs DOB: 09/16/90

 

Another catcher. f*** you JPA

[Abomination]

Jays seem to have prioritized up the middle for hitters for a while now. C, SS, and CF, with the thought that you can trade those types for whatever other positions you need if necessary. Unfortunately we suck at developing up the middle guys.

[GD]

OH MY GOD WE TOOK BRENTZ YAAAAAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY

 

I don't like this draft, I don't agree with taking hitters late and pitchers early, but Brentz gives me a lot of hope. Not many lefties can touch 97, 98 like he can. We'd better get him signed.

[KingKat]

Jays seem to have prioritized up the middle for hitters for a while now. C, SS, and CF, with the thought that you can trade those types for whatever other positions you need if necessary. Unfortunately we suck at developing up the middle guys.

 

There's also the question of the defensive spectrum. If you draft a CF prospect, you end with a CF or at the very least as corner OF. If you draft a corner OF prospect, you may end up with a DH. A shortstop prospect may actually be a 2B or 3B. A 3B prospect may actually be a 1B. A 1B prospect may be a DH only player. And a player is not limited to one demotion along the defensive spectrum so you kind of have to start at the top of the spectrum if you want players who will return defensive value.

[Angrioter]

Blue Jays - Sam Tewes HS RHP R/R

6'05" 200lbs DOB: 02/06/95

 

Tewes' projectability and athleticism gives scouts plenty to dream about. He is listed at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds and regularly touches the low-90s with his fastball. His best secondary pitch is his promising breaking ball and he is also developing a changeup. Tewes, a right-hander out of Waverly H.S. (Neb.), has good command and already shows a good feel for pitching. He still has plenty of work to do, especially to improve his consistency, but Tewes has all the tools to be successful. He is committed to Wichita State.

[GD]

89 birthdates? Seems like we're taking org filler now.

 

Probably the 1k signing bonuses for guys like Hollon, Bickford and Brentz.

[Abomination]

Tewes sounds really intriguing. You have to wonder if we'll take a bunch of hard to sign guys now, and hope one or two accept. May as well at this point in the draft.

[GD]

I like this Tewes pick. But ugh no bats.

[Angrioter]

Tewes sounds really intriguing. You have to wonder if we'll take a bunch of hard to sign guys now, and hope one or two accept. May as well at this point in the draft.

 

Tewes for 100K..............I don't think so

[GD]

Even if he know he won't sign I would still love to draft Quantrill.

 

+1, he'd be a great pick. Maybe his dad would push him to sign for his former team.

[Angrioter]

Blue jays - Brendan Kalfus OF S/R SR

5'11" 180lbs DOB: 08/22/91

[GD]

So the Phillies got Martarano. FACK! Collins and Martinez STILL available, though!

 

Blue jays - Brendan Kalfus OF S/R SR

5'11" 180lbs DOB: 08/22/91

 

Who's he?

[Angrioter]

Blue jays - Sean Hurley OF R/R J2

6'03" 225lbs DOB: 05/05/92

[GD]

Anyone got anything on Kalfus or Hurley?

[Ziggyy108]

Surprised Jeremy Martinez is still out there.

 

Wasnt there some talk a couple months ago about him being near the top of the draft??