Blue Jays Board 2014 Mock Draft

[GD]

See also: Manaea, Sean; Sale, Chris

[ace3113]

I'm glad to hear Grant's ok and just busy. I was a little concerned at first (you never know if something's happened to someone when they've been gone for a while like Kirksaw for example). I hope Grant doesn't mind if I make the next 2 picks for now, just to get this thing moving along. He still has full control of the teams moving forward but this way we can get going. Spanky can you let him know I'll just make the next two picks so he doesn't waste time doing them. He will be on the clock again for the next Brewers, Blue Jays, Pirates picks.

[ace3113]

I'll be making the Blue Jays' next pick later today. Right now I'm thinking either Jeff Hoffman / Grant Holmes / Sean Newcomb unless anyone has any other suggestions. Let me know who you guy want. I will take that into consideration.

[ace3113]

With the 11th pick in the 2014 MLB draft the Toronto Blue Jays select Jeff Hoffman a right handed pitcher from East Carolina University.

 

http://www.nationalsarmrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/HoffmanJeff-ECU2014-via-ecu-media-relations.jpg

 

"As an organization we feel this was not only a risk that we could afford to take, but one that we had to. We simply could not pass up the opportunity to acquire a player who, when healthy, likely would have been taken among the first 5 picks. To be able to get a player with Jeff's upside with the eleventh pick is very rare. We feel he has the ability to be a top of the rotation starter at the next level, with the potential for three above average to plus pitchers in his 94-95 mph fastball, 12-6 curve, and fading changeup. Certainly there is risk involved in drafting an injured player, but given the advances in modern medicine and the ever growing recovery rate from the ligament replacement surgery that Jeff will undergo, we are confident he will be able to return his previous form, and much like Nationals prospect Lucas Giolito, who was similarly drafted despite requiring the same surgery, and give us an elite level prospect we would not have had if we were more risk averse."

[ace3113]

With the 12th pick in the 2014 MLB draft the Milwaukee Brewers select Grant Holmes a right handed pitcher from Conway High School, South Carolina.

 

http://mlbdraftinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Holmes-Grant.jpg

 

"It's not secret that our system needs a major infusion of talent. We need to add impact players, and we feel at this point in the draft Grant has the best chance to be that. Not only does Grant have tremendous upside, but he has rare polish for a high school pitcher which should allow him to move quickly through our organization. With a fastball that he can run up in the 92-95 range and all the way up to 98, and a breaking ball the projects to plus, our scouts think he has the potential to be a number 2 starter or better at the next level."

[ace3113]

theblujay on the clock for San Diego's pick.

[Angrioter]

theblujay on the clock for San Diego's pick.

 

Hoffman and Holmes.

 

TJS guy and Chubby dude?

[theblujay]

Ill work on this later tonight if I can

[theblujay]

With the 13th pick in the 2014 MLB draft the San Diego Padres select

Michael Conforto OF Oregon St.

http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/michael-conforto-2013-bm.jpg

 

"Based on a lack of strong positional prospect depth in our minor league system we decided to go with a position player with an impact, middle of the order bat. Conforto brings exactly that to the table with a chance to provide 30+ home run power in the middle of our lineup for years to come. He shows a solid approach at the plate that will give him the opportunity to develop into not only a power hitter, but a complete hitter. Since he is a junior in college we expect him to move quickly through our minor league system and be able to become a stalwart in our lineup in the near future."

[theblujay]

The Giants are on the clock

[ace3113]

With the 13th pick in the 2014 MLB draft the San Diego Padres select

Michael Conforto OF Oregon St.

 

"Based on a lack of strong positional prospect depth in our minor league system we decided to go with a position player with an impact, middle of the order bat. Conforto brings exactly that to the table with a chance to provide 30+ home run power in the middle of our lineup for years to come. He shows a solid approach at the plate that will give him the opportunity to develop into not only a power hitter, but a complete hitter. Since he is a junior in college we expect him to move quickly through our minor league system and be able to become a stalwart in our lineup in the near future."

 

Potential plus power and plus hit. Nice.

[ace3113]

Sorry, I forgot I was the Giants. Making pick in a second. lol

[ace3113]

With the 14th pick in the 2014 MLB draft the San Francisco Giants select Trea Turner a shortstop from North Carolina State University.

 

http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/traeturner22.jpg

 

"We feel very fortunate that Trea fell to as he did. We feel he adds a lot to our organization, which is lacking in hitters, especially those that play premium positions. Trea gives us both. Our scouts think he can stay at shortstop where he should develop into an above average defender. They also believe that his bat is better than people give it credit for, while his elite level speed should allow him to be an impact player on the bases and at the top of the lineup, something we have lacked since Melky Cabrera was on our team."

Edited May 23, 2014 by ace3113

[ace3113]

Spanky's up with the Angel's pick.

[KingKat]

Might as well give me the Dodgers. I'm picking ahead of them with the Clevelands so it won't really be more work to do them the Dodgers right after and it will speed things up if I make two consecutive picks.

[ace3113]

Perfect Game's second mock draft came out today.

 

http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=9910

 

1. Houston - Brady Aiken

2. Miami - Alex Jackson

3. Chicago W - Tyler Kolek

4. Chicago C - Carlos Rodon

5. Minnesota - Nick Gordon

6. Seattle - Jeff Hoffman

7. Philadelphia - Kyle Freeland

8. Colorado - Aaron Nola

 

9. Toronto - BRAD ZIMMER - OF - University of San Francisco

 

Toronto has failed to sign two first round high school pitchers in the past three years, Tyler Beede in 2011 and Phil Bickford last June, and it looks like they’ve whiffed on a couple of other early round high school arms. They also picked pitching in the first nine rounds last year. It would seem that plan isn’t working as well as hoped for, and their stock-piling of pitching could lead to them taking arguably the most polished bat available.

 

11. Toronto - SEAN NEWCOMB - LHP - University of Hartford

 

Injuries (Hoffman, Feede), uncertainties (Brandon Finnegan) and reality (not re-drafting Beede) have left the college pitching market a bit more bare than expected here. The Northeast’s Sean Newcomb has flown under the radar a bit but his stuff is definitely top of the first round worthy.

[GD]

ZIMMER AT 9 YES PLEASE

 

Zimmer 9/Hoffman 11. Want.

[ace3113]

Ace, I'm going to have to ask you to do this pick for me, my laptop's video card has crapped out on me, and I can't get to my info/e-mail ,etc......I've got very limited access through this PS3.

 

No worries. I'll have it up by later tonight hopefully.

[ace3113]

With the 15th pick in the 2014 MLB draft the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim select Sean Newcomb a left handed pitcher from the University of Hartford.

 

http://prospectinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/NewcombHartford.jpg

 

"We are happy to welcome Sean to our organization. We didn't think he'd make it to us at our pick with all the helium he's gotten lately. He gives our system a shot in the arm so to speak, providing us with a high upside arm with the potential to start in a major league rotation. Sean is a big, workhorse type of pitcher with power stuff from the left side. His stuff and his development as a pitcher has really come on in the past year-and-a-half, bringing his dominant run of performance from the Cape Cod League last summer to his collegiate team this spring. Our scouts compare him to Red Sox starter Jon Lester, due to his size, mid 90s fastball, and smooth effortless arm action. While some feel he needs to work on his secondary pitches, he has shown flashes of above average potential with both his curve and his changeup."

[ace3113]

Diamondbacks up next. So me I guess.

[ace3113]

With the 16th pick in the 2014 MLB draft the Arizona Diamondbacks select Aaron Nola a right handed pitcher from the Louisiana State University.

http://www.wbrz.com/images/news/2013-05/5_6NolaPitcher.jpg

 

"Our scouts feel that Aaron is very similar to our first round pick in the 2013 draft (pitcher Brady Shipley), who we picked 15th overall from the University of Nevada. Brady was considered a top 10 pick, but because of the way the board fell ahead of us, we were able to luck into having him fall to us a little lower than where he was ranked. Same thing happened this year with Aaron, and we're glad it did. Between the two guys Brady was probably more of a power guy; mid to high 90s fastball with a wipeout slider, and a fall off the table changeup. Aaron is more of a control pitcher with unbelievable command, but he'll throw plenty hard with a low to mid 90s sinking fastball, and he has arguably the best changeup in the entire draft. If you want to compare/contrast styles, Nola would be the Maddux to Brady's Smoltz. We feel he has the potential to move up our system quickly with his polish and experience, with the potential upside of either a number 2 or 3 starter."

[ace3113]

Northof49 up with Kansas pick.

[G-Snarls]

[NorthOf49]

With the 17th pick in the First Round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, the Kansas City Royals select Brandon Finnegan, a left-handed pitcher from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas.

http://web.usabaseball.com/assets/images/0/1/2/67905012/cuts/finnegan_640_8c9fd44d_nqus9pez.jpg

 

"Our scouts love the way Brandon competes -- he's dominated this year as TCU's Friday starter. We're a four-seam/curve organization and those are his Brandon's two knockout pitches. He has good feel for a changeup too and we expect that to develop into a quality offering. We've had Brandon up to 98 this spring, he's usually sitting in the 91-94 range which is above-average for a lefty and gives him a front-of-the-rotation upside. It must be said that he's of below-average height at 5'11, but as a lefty with great stuff we don't see that as an issue. Look at how Yordano [Ventura] is out there proving shorter guys can get it done too. Danny Duffy is a guy a lot of our scouts compare Brandon to stuff-wise. Four-seam/curve lefties with heavy fastball and similar arm action. Brandon has an advanced feel for pitching too with good control and command for a player of his experience level. We feel fortunate to be able to select him at this spot and expect him to make his way through the Royals system very quickly. Between he, Kyle [Zimmer], Yordano, Danny and others, we're very excited about the future of the Royals pitching staff."

[GD]

http://www.bluebirdbanter.com/2014/5/24/5732542/mlb-draft-preview-injury-risks

 

Awesome article breaking down Touki vs Hoffman's mechanics.

[ace3113]

I'll make the pick and updates later tonight guys.

[GD]

College starters by kwERA, or strike zone ERA.

 

Axiom: ~4.3 PA/IP

 

Name kwERA

Nick Howard 1.16 (sss)

Nick Burdi 1.21 (sss)

Kyle Freeland 2.01

Brandon Finnegan 2.47

Aaron Nola 2.69

Jake Stinnett 2.84

Matt Imhof 2.86

Carlos Rodon 2.93

Erick Fedde 3.14

Jeff Hoffman 3.21

Austin Gomber 3.31

Daniel Gossett 3.37

Daniel Mengden 3.41

Zach Lemond 3.46

Jordan Montgomery 3.48

Sean Newcomb 3.50

Harrison Musgrave 3.54

Eric Skoglund 3.60

Adam Choplick 3.63

Tyler Beede 3.65

Bryan Radziewski 3.66

Luke Weaver 3.71

Preston Morrison 3.78

Jace Fry 3.79

Michael Cederoth 3.84

Jalen Beeks 3.88

Brandon Leibrandt 3.88

Chris Diaz 3.97

Andrew Istler 3.99

Brett Graves 4.00

Justin Kamplain 4.06

Brad Markey 4.09

Benton Moss 4.14

Sam Coonrod 4.23

Mike Compton 4.25

James Norwood 4.26

AJ Vanegas 4.33

Chris Oliver 4.50

Chris Ellis 4.64

Parker French 4.73

Jordan Brink 4.79

Spencer Turnbull 4.88

Brandon Magallones 5.25

Karsten Whitson 5.40

Nigel Nootbaar 6.53

 

Freeland is beasting.

[GD]

If Ace is willing to let me back in I'm at a point where I can make selections frequently as I'm a lot less busy atm

 

I'd be able to write pretty quick blurbs and paste some reports

 

Only if it'd help move things along though

[GD]

With the 19th pick in the First Round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, the Cincinnati Reds select Jacob Gatewood, a shortstop Clovis HS, California.

http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Jacob+Gatewood+Chevrolet+Home+Run+Derby+NYC+DZSf1c-8XFYl.jpg

 

"We couldn't say no to Jacob's upside at this pick, and we were pleasantly surprised he made it this far. We're realistic about Jacob's position being a concern, but we couldn't ignore his raw power and 6'5", 190 frame. We lack upside players in our farm and feel that Jacob will be an excellent addition. Also, Ace really needs to update the OP."

[GD]

JFaS on the clock

 

We may be waiting a while, he's pretty busy I think. Someone PM him. I think he's pretty close to disregarding any PMs I send him lol