MLB 2021 Draft

[Brownie19]

How come you like Fabian so much? His stock is falling quite a bit cause he is proving his critics right, lots of power but can't make adjustments for breaking balls. He reminds me a lot of Griffin Conine but he strikes out even more.

 

Ford seems like he has so much of what the Jays value. Age, athleticism, bat speed, premium position, Summer circuit success, High IQ. I can see the fit more than Fabian, I am not even sure Fabian makes it in the first round anymore now that the high school kids seasons have started.

 

Power hitting CF with great defense is pretty boner inducing...

 

I love the draft, but never know enough about it to provide any valuable insight, but I think what Metafour is suggesting sounds correct. The Jays would have to be in LOVE with Fabian to make the sacrifices necessary to sign him.

[Brownie19]

Ford is interesting, I can see him moving to 2B/3B if they love the bat. I still think they’ll gravitate towards a prep shortstop or college SP.

 

HS catchers are typically very risky aren't they? It looks like Michael McGreevy would be the college SP available in our range? The reports seems strong with him.

[metafour]

How does this draft compare to 2022? If it's looking like 2022 is going to be better we could take the risk of drafting Fabian and offering him slot, while also going with slot for all our other picks. 2 first round picks with their values might be nice to have in 2022, it would really open up the possibilities on what a team could do.

 

This is a common fan-driven thought exercise, but it's really not something that I think teams actively contemplate. Mainly because you're rolling back an asset a full year and delaying its potential usefulness. Ideally, if they do their work and pick the right player this year - that player would be 1 year closer to helping the team than anyone they would draft in 2022 with the same pick.

[Daniel Labude]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2021-mlb-draft-stock-watch-rising-names-in-our-ba-400-rankings-update/%3famphtml

[metafour]

The strikeouts were a problem on his slow start. Once he got going he has been a beast. He has the same tools as before the year, but has shown a lot more power. Even vs the top pitchers in this draft. He is also only 20. He will have the potential to hit for average and power, with some stolen bases and really good defense in CF. He has a 36% K rate and a 18% BB rate in the best college conference even with his horrible start. Given the lost time and issues with the pandemic I think he is just getting back up to speed.

 

But you just ducked past the fact that he was as hopeless as ever in his most recent series against #1 ranked Arkansas: 1 for 11 with 9 strikeouts. It's nice that he got hot for a few weeks, and hit some HR's off a less-sharp Leiter (I don't remember the exact timing, but was he not shelved for "rest" reasons sometime soon after?) but no matter how you slice it, a 36% K rate in college baseball is really bad and highly concerning. He's also only hitting .257 this year (6th best on Florida out of 8 qualified batters) so even claiming that he has a "chance to hit for average" seems to not align with what he's actually producing - how much of his NCAA leading power is him just selling out for HR's, hence the abhorrent K-rate and pedestrian batting average? Now add on the talk that it doesn't look like he is going to sign for slot - so effectively we would need to allocate a large portion of our overall pool (as we don't have a 2nd round pick) on a guy who could flame out incredibly quickly in the minors. His type of profile doesn't seem to translate to long-term success very often - it's actually not that much different from someone like J.B. Woodman who didn't have as "loud" tools, but also didn't strike out anywhere near the rate at which Fabian is showing this year. Woodman also hit a lot of HR's in the SEC and had tools in CF.

[Daniel Labude]

But you just ducked past the fact that he was as hopeless as ever in his most recent series against #1 ranked Arkansas: 1 for 11 with 9 strikeouts. It's nice that he got hot for a few weeks, and hit some HR's off a less-sharp Leiter (I don't remember the exact timing, but was he not shelved for "rest" reasons sometime soon after?) but no matter how you slice it, a 36% K rate in college baseball is really bad and highly concerning. He's also only hitting .257 this year (6th best on Florida out of 8 qualified batters) so even claiming that he has a "chance to hit for average" seems to not align with what he's actually producing - how much of his NCAA leading power is him just selling out for HR's, hence the abhorrent K-rate and pedestrian batting average? Now add on the talk that it doesn't look like he is going to sign for slot - so effectively we would need to allocate a large portion of our overall pool (as we don't have a 2nd round pick) on a guy who could flame out incredibly quickly in the minors. His type of profile doesn't seem to translate to long-term success very often - it's actually not that much different from someone like J.B. Woodman who didn't have as "loud" tools, but also didn't strike out anywhere near the rate at which Fabian is showing this year. Woodman also hit a lot of HR's in the SEC and had tools in CF.

 

So 1 3 game stretch vs the best team in the country is a be all end all sample size? How bout when he went deep off Leiter 2 times in a game. That trumps that 3 game stretch and shows he can destroy top pitching right lol. Seems you are not taking into account the season as a whole, the changes made, the vast improvement from the beginning of the season, and the fact he is 20 and should be a sophmore this year, also missed a big year of development last year due to covid

[metafour]

So 1 3 game stretch vs the best team in the country is a be all end all sample size? How bout when he went deep off Leiter 2 times in a game. That trumps that 3 game stretch and shows he can destroy top pitching right lol. Seems you are not taking into account the season as a whole, the changes made, the vast improvement from the beginning of the season, and the fact he is 20 and should be a sophmore this year, also missed a big year of development last year due to covid

 

LMAO.

 

No, but the 3 game stretch shows that he didn't all of a sudden just "fix" his crystal-clear contact issues. Your entire retelling of his season was that he started out really slowly, but now he's back to mashing and it's all gravy. But it's not "all gravy" - as Arkansas just showed. His ENTIRE SEASON worth of data is a well below-average strikeout rate and a .257 batting average. That is bad, and highly concerning. Every minor league team he will face is at minimum as good as Arkansas and more likely better, so you're not really "selling" your guy as being this elite talent we shouldn't pass up by stating that 9 strikeouts in 11 at bats is nothing to worry about because Arkansas is tough. Go look at how much Spencer Torkelson is struggling so far - college to MILB is still a big jump, and it is highly concerning when a top draft prospect can't even keep from striking out 30-40% of the time against NCAA pitchers.

 

Your other "points" don't excuse his obvious deficiencies either. Being only 20 is nice, but that isn't a magical equalizer nor does it explain his strikeout problems or correlate to suggesting that its going to get fixed. Griffin Conine was also 20 when we drafted him - he still has the exact same problems (strikeouts) that he did in college. Conine hit 18 HR's in his junior season at Duke with a 27% K-rate - while also posting a .286 BA (30 points higher than Fabian currently). Even the COVID excuse is a copout - none of these guys just stopped playing baseball for a year, and in fact he played 17 games with Florida last season and then 19 games of Summer League ball.

 

The tools are obvious and they're nice, but you really aren't grasping the risk here and what it means. You think this is the first guy who hit HR's in college and could play some defense but also showed SERIOUS contact problems? It's not an uncommon profile, and most of the time these guys don't ever materialize and the strikeouts just get worse against even BETTER pitching in the minors. I just highlighted two guys from our recent drafts (Conine and Woodman) who fit that mold. Even Kevin Smith fits into the same category as a SS who showed promise in the field and had obvious above-average power - but inability in placing the bat on the ball. I also brought up Jeren Kendall for you: 15 HR's for Vandy with a 25% K-rate but yet still hitting 50-points higher in BA (.307) than Fabian; he actually most resembles Fabian as he too was a "Top 5 pick" at one point and then hyped as a potential steal when he fell to the Dodgers at #23. Once again, his obvious contact issues never corrected.

 

You also didn't even touch on my other point about how as a team with a LOWERED bonus pool, you are basically advocating the allocation of a significant amount of our TOTAL pool on a player who is obviously absurdly risky. So basically, if he flops (as guys with contact problems in college generally seem to do) this entire draft class might end up being a complete net-zero as you'd need to skimp out from 3rd, 4th, etc. round picks in order to pay Fabian over-slot. It doesn't make any sense to basically put all of your draft chips in the basket of a guy who was striking out at a ~40% clip for a large portion of this season.

[Daniel Labude]

LMAO.

 

No, but the 3 game stretch shows that he didn't all of a sudden just "fix" his crystal-clear contact issues. Your entire retelling of his season was that he started out really slowly, but now he's back to mashing and it's all gravy. But it's not "all gravy" - as Arkansas just showed. His ENTIRE SEASON worth of data is a well below-average strikeout rate and a .257 batting average. That is bad, and highly concerning. Every minor league team he will face is at minimum as good as Arkansas and more likely better, so you're not really "selling" your guy as being this elite talent we shouldn't pass up by stating that 9 strikeouts in 11 at bats is nothing to worry about because Arkansas is tough. Go look at how much Spencer Torkelson is struggling so far - college to MILB is still a big jump, and it is highly concerning when a top draft prospect can't even keep from striking out 30-40% of the time against NCAA pitchers.

 

Your other "points" don't excuse his obvious deficiencies either. Being only 20 is nice, but that isn't a magical equalizer nor does it explain his strikeout problems or correlate to suggesting that its going to get fixed. Griffin Conine was also 20 when we drafted him - he still has the exact same problems (strikeouts) that he did in college. Conine hit 18 HR's in his junior season at Duke with a 27% K-rate - while also posting a .286 BA (30 points higher than Fabian currently). Even the COVID excuse is a copout - none of these guys just stopped playing baseball for a year, and in fact he played 17 games with Florida last season and then 19 games of Summer League ball.

 

The tools are obvious and they're nice, but you really aren't grasping the risk here and what it means. You think this is the first guy who hit HR's in college and could play some defense but also showed SERIOUS contact problems? It's not an uncommon profile, and most of the time these guys don't ever materialize and the strikeouts just get worse against even BETTER pitching in the minors. I just highlighted two guys from our recent drafts (Conine and Woodman) who fit that mold. Even Kevin Smith fits into the same category as a SS who showed promise in the field and had obvious above-average power - but inability in placing the bat on the ball. I also brought up Jeren Kendall for you: 15 HR's for Vandy with a 25% K-rate but yet still hitting 50-points higher in BA (.307) than Fabian; he actually most resembles Fabian as he too was a "Top 5 pick" at one point and then hyped as a potential steal when he fell to the Dodgers at #23. Once again, his obvious contact issues never corrected.

 

You also didn't even touch on my other point about how as a team with a LOWERED bonus pool, you are basically advocating the allocation of a significant amount of our TOTAL pool on a player who is obviously absurdly risky. So basically, if he flops (as guys with contact problems in college generally seem to do) this entire draft class might end up being a complete net-zero as you'd need to skimp out from 3rd, 4th, etc. round picks in order to pay Fabian over-slot. It doesn't make any sense to basically put all of your draft chips in the basket of a guy who was striking out at a ~40% clip for a large portion of this season.

 

Better than using it on a high school catcher who took a turn down this season. Fabian has shown he can hit against the top pitchers college has. You then project how he will continue to advance given his young age and lost development year. Much better use of our money

[Mikeleelop]

is Groshams hurt again??

[Daniel Labude]

Latest mock from MLB has us taking Fabian

 

https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mock-ml...mpression=true

[Slade]

Latest mock from MLB has us taking Fabian

 

https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/mock-ml...mpression=true

 

 

Looks like there is a link to us but still think Fabian stock is falling. I think Law has a mock draft coming later this week too.

[metafour]

Better than using it on a high school catcher who took a turn down this season.

 

Except he didn't - hence why Ford is in play as high as the early teens. And again, the player you are referencing doesn't even need to play catcher.

 

Fabian has shown he can hit against the top pitchers college has.

 

By hitting ~.250 with a 30%+ strikeout rate on the season? Or do you mean that you conveniently throw out his weeks of not hitting anything, and then conclude that his hot streak is "him hitting the best pitchers college has"? Even if you want to say something about him hitting Leiter, why wasn't he able to do that all season long? What explains the disconnect?

 

You then project how he will continue to advance given his young age and lost development year.

 

Give me the actual list of players who "advanced" past striking out at an obscene rate in college to somehow not having that issue in the pro's? You literally haven't given a single counter-argument to anything I have said. You just parroted "lost development year" again. What lost development year? Was he sitting on his couch the entire year? He plays for one of the premier schools in the NCAA - in Florida nonetheless (YEAR ROUND BASEBALL). These guys all trained year round regardless of COVID. What a joke statement. How come the rest of his team isn't striking out 30%+ of the time? Did they not also "lose a year of development"? So many questions, with literally zero answers.

 

Much better use of our money

 

Again, I've literally given you a list of comparable prospects who turned out to be the exact opposite of what you just stated. How many players who can't make consistent contact in COLLEGE have magically fixed that pitfall against superior pitching in pro ball? It doesn't happen very often at all - so you believe that a good use of money is to bank of the unlikely happening?

[Daniel Labude]

Except he didn't - hence why Ford is in play as high as the early teens. And again, the player you are referencing doesn't even need to play catcher.

 

 

 

By hitting ~.250 with a 30%+ strikeout rate on the season? Or do you mean that you conveniently throw out his weeks of not hitting anything, and then conclude that his hot streak is "him hitting the best pitchers college has"? Even if you want to say something about him hitting Leiter, why wasn't he able to do that all season long? What explains the disconnect?

 

 

 

Give me the actual list of players who "advanced" past striking out at an obscene rate in college to somehow not having that issue in the pro's? You literally haven't given a single counter-argument to anything I have said. You just parroted "lost development year" again. What lost development year? Was he sitting on his couch the entire year? He plays for one of the premier schools in the NCAA - in Florida nonetheless (YEAR ROUND BASEBALL). These guys all trained year round regardless of COVID. What a joke statement. How come the rest of his team isn't striking out 30%+ of the time? Did they not also "lose a year of development"? So many questions, with literally zero answers.

 

 

 

Again, I've literally given you a list of comparable prospects who turned out to be the exact opposite of what you just stated. How many players who can't make consistent contact in COLLEGE have magically fixed that pitfall against superior pitching in pro ball? It doesn't happen very often at all - so you believe that a good use of money is to bank of the unlikely happening?

 

Thats your opinion and you are making assumptions that I do not agree with and have shown how they dont hold truth in most cases. Ford has a high value based on last summer only because this year has not been as good. Fabian is playing vs the top college players and Ford isn't. Taking a risk on Ford vs the risk on Fabian is not the smart play imo. Fabian is a better use of the pick and money. Also I dont believe your comparisons are comparable based on talent, level, issues at hand, etc

[Slade]

Laws first Mock. Doesn't have Ty Madden or Jud Fabian in the first round.

 

 

https://theathletic.com/2613518/2021/05/27/2021-mlb-mock-draft-1-0-kumar-rocker-to-red-sox-pirates-go-with-a-catcher-at-no-1-in-keith-laws-first-look/

 

Dawson H.

No love for Ty Madden in the 1st round? Maybe to Milwaukee or Toronto, or as a backup for mid-round teams shooting for the Vandy boys?

 

Keith Law

STAFF

@Dawson H. I haven't heard any teams on Madden in the first. He's just not that good.

 

Michael N.

Did that 0-11 with 9K last weekend pretty much send Jud Fabian out of the 1st Round or was he never there to begin with?

 

Keith Law

STAFF

15m ago

@Michael N. He was never there to begin with. At least not since the season started.

 

 

1. Pittsburgh Pirates: Henry Davis, C, Louisville

 

Still wide open here — Davis, Marcelo Mayer, Jordan Lawlar, and, with decreased likelihood right now, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. That’s the rough order of probability of those five names for pick 1-1 right now.

 

2. Texas Rangers: Jordan Lawlar, SS, Jesuit College Prep (TX)

 

I hear two conflicting rumors on Texas. One is that they want someone who can get to the majors fast — Davis or one of the two Vandy arms. The other is that they can’t pass on Lawlar, a local kid with some exceptional tools, and whom team president Jon Daniels is said to have seen in person multiple times.

 

3. Detroit Tigers: Marcelo Mayer, SS, Eastlake (CA) High School

 

I’ve heard Mayer is their main target, and if he’s gone, they could go with the top high school pitcher in the draft, Jackson Jobe.

 

4. Boston Red Sox: Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt

 

The Red Sox seem to be on Rocker, Leiter, and Davis, and seem extremely likely to get one of them — or perhaps even have a choice among them.

 

5. Baltimore Orioles: Harry Ford, C, North Cobb (GA) High School

 

The current wisdom is that Baltimore will look to cut a deal here that saves them a substantial amount of money, probably a million or more, after they signed their first pick in 2019, Heston Kjerstad, for $2.5 million below slot. They’ve been linked to Brady House, but he has no reason to take that kind of haircut here, since he’s in every mix from here on down.

 

6. Arizona Diamondbacks: Jack Leiter, RHP, Vanderbilt

 

They’d love Lawlar, and I would say there’s a non-zero chance he gets here; if Texas takes Rocker or Leiter and Boston takes the other, that probably pushes Lawlar here, with Baltimore likely going under slot.

 

7. Kansas City Royals: Brady House, SS, Winder-Barrow (GA) High School

 

House or Jobe here, most likely, with House as their preference. I’ve heard Jobe with them a few times, although it surprises me because the Royals seemed to have abandoned high school pitching up top after the four prep arms they took in the first two rounds in 2014-15 yielded just 0.1 WAR and, so far, only three big-league appearances.

 

8. Colorado Rockies: Jackson Jobe, RHP, Heritage Hall (OK) High School

 

Colorado takes athletes, and Jobe is a great athlete himself whose father is a longtime professional golfer. I can’t really argue with targeting pitching here, either, although they’re also linked to House.

 

9. Los Angeles Angels: Kahlil Watson, SS, Wake Forest (NC) HS

 

The Angels might have a new GM but they’re still linked to the kind of high-ceiling athletes they’ve targeted since Matt Swanson took over as scouting director, including Watson, Bubba Chandler, Jay Allen (probably for the second round), and Jobe.

 

10. New York Mets: Matt McLain, SS, UCLA

 

Before he broke his hand McLain had the best stretch of performances on both sides of the ball that he’d had since matriculating at UCLA, pushing himself into the top half of the round, perhaps even a little higher than this. The Mets seem to be linked more to college players here, like McLain and Boston College’s Sal Frelick, and would go high school with later picks.

 

11. Washington Nationals: Sam Bachman, RHP, Miami (Ohio)

 

I may be overthinking this a little, but I find it hard to believe Mike Rizzo would pass on a starter who can throw 102 mph with a slider that grades out as an 80 in at least some outings. This could be Jobe’s floor, assuming that Mason Denaburg’s injury history hasn’t scared them off high school arms.

 

12. Seattle Mariners: Sal Frelick, OF, Boston College

 

McLain’s floor might be here; you could flip him and Frelick and change nothing else, if that sort of thing makes you happy. I could see Colton Cowser here too.

 

13. Philadelphia Phillies: Benny Montgomery, OF, Red Land (PA) High School

 

I’m not sure if this is real, or just because Montgomery is semi-local to the Phillies (although Lonnie White is more local and I don’t hear his name with the Phils). I’ve also heard them as one of a few clubs on Vandy commit Jonathan Vastine as a possible second-round overpay.

 

14. San Francisco Giants: Colton Cowser, OF, Sam Houston State

 

The Giants have taken college players in the first three rounds of each of the last three drafts, and while they’re clearly open to taking high school players (more likely hitters if they do), they’re probably going to have one of Cowser, Frelick, and McLain available here.

 

15. Milwaukee Brewers: Jordan Wicks, LHP, Kansas State

 

Wicks has been just fair in Big 12 conference play, with a 4.47 ERA and more hard contact than scouts anticipated, but the consensus is still that he’ll be a solid mid-rotation starter and get there quickly. The Brewers have done pretty well with developing college pitchers, too, so this fit works from a couple of angles.

 

16. Miami Marlins: Bubba Chandler, RHP/SS, North Oconee (GA) High School

 

Chandler is committed to Clemson to play quarterback but nobody thinks he’s going to get to South Carolina except as a tourist. He’s in play as high as the Angels and for a number of teams below here, mostly as a pitcher but with a minority of teams liking his bat.

 

17. Cincinnati Reds: Matt Mikulski, LHP, Fordham

 

Mikulski had a brief dip for a few weeks but has been strong down the stretch, and would allow the Reds to go below slot here (he’s a senior) and then go well over at their two extra picks, 30 and 35.

 

18. St. Louis Cardinals: Will Bednar, RHP, Mississippi State

 

Bednar has one of the best sliders in the draft class and has thrown a ton of strikes for the Bulldogs this year, finishing third in the regular season in the SEC in strikeouts. The Cardinals have shown they’ll consider pretty much any type of player and aren’t afraid to go for upside, which would make them one of the teams to watch on players like Chandler, Will Taylor, and Joshua Baez too.

 

19. Toronto Blue Jays: Mike McGreevy, RHP, UC Santa Barbara

 

The Blue Jays have shown they’re willing to go college or high school, but I don’t think they’ll go high school pitcher in the first round. McGreevy is a “safe” pick as college arms go, with some of the best command in the draft and probably the best control, with just 10 walks this year in 88 2/3 innings, never more than two walks in any single start.

 

20. New York Yankees: Anthony Solometo, LHP, Bishop Eustace Prep (NJ)

 

Solometo has really come on as the spring has progressed, missing a ton of bats and pounding the strike zone, with the Yankees one of the teams most visible at his starts.

 

21. Chicago Cubs: Will Taylor, OF, Dutch Fork (SC) HS

 

Taylor is the biggest wild card in the draft — he still hasn’t really indicated whether he wants to play baseball or would rather go to Clemson to play football (as a six-foot, 175-pound receiver?), and also isn’t working with an adviser yet, which is very unusual. If he does say “let’s do that baseball,” he’s going to get $2 million-plus, and the Cubs have been strongly linked to him.

 

22. Chicago White Sox: Chase Petty, RHP, Mainland (NJ) HS

 

The White Sox do things their own particular way, and have never been worried about pitchers with tough deliveries if the stuff is there, so while Petty has a violent delivery and only two pitches, you can’t argue against his velocity (up to 101 at times, 94-99 when I saw him). I’ve also heard them on Indiana prep infielder Colson Montgomery.

 

23. Cleveland: Joshua Baez, OF, Dexter (MA) Southfield School

 

Cleveland has limited its scouts’ travel this year, so we’ll see if that impacts their draft philosophy (or quality), but they’ve gone hard for upside in the last several first rounds, which would include guys like Baez, Petty, Benny Montgomery, and Solometo.

 

24. Atlanta: Spencer Schwellenbach, RHP/SS, Nebraska

 

Schwellenbach is a reliever and shortstop for the Huskers who’ll be a pitcher in pro ball, with the weapons and delivery to move to a starter’s role, and Atlanta’s been linked to him for a while now.

 

25. Oakland A’s: Gunnar Hoglund, RHP, Ole Miss

 

Just a hunch here. Maybe Hoglund goes before this, but a big part of his value before he blew out his elbow was that he looked like he’d move extremely quickly to the majors — he had some of the best command in the draft, and his stuff was good enough to get there, without much projection if any. After TJ, he’s not a fast-to-the-majors guy anymore, and that takes a huge bite out of his value. The A’s, meanwhile, could deliver a two-hour TED Talk on pitching prospects and Tommy John surgery; I see four guys on their current staff, including the IL, who were first-round picks and had Tommy John surgery before reaching the majors.

 

26. Minnesota Twins: Joe Mack, C, Williamsville (NY) High School

 

Minnesota likes guys who make really hard contact, and Mack, whose season just started two weeks ago, is showing even more power than he did last summer. I’m really in “educated guess” territory in this part of the mock, though.

 

27. San Diego Padres: Jay Allen, OF, John Carroll Catholic (FL) High School

 

Allen is probably going in the 25-40 range, helped by the absence of a lot of high-upside, athletic high school outfielders in this draft. AJ Preller and his hat have been spotted at a lot of high school games recently, including one of Connecticut lefty Frank Mozzicato’s four straight no-hitters, but I’m not sure they’d take him at 27.

 

28. Tampa Bay Rays: Wes Kath, SS/3B, Desert Mountain (AZ) HS

 

Kath has hit well this spring and shown the potential for plus power, getting a regular stream of scouts who live there or are in town to scout extended spring training games.

 

29. Los Angeles Dodgers: Ryan Cusick, RHP, Wake Forest

 

Cusick has a great arm, up to 100 mph, and he’s come a long way since arriving in Winston-Salem, but his delivery, command, and breaking ball are all inconsistent. Maybe the Dodgers would target Hoglund or Hill, but Cusick is the sort of upside, “we have the technology” sort of pick they’ve made, and made well, repeatedly since Billy Gasparino became their scouting director.

 

30. Cincinnati Reds: Maddux Bruns, LHP, UMS-Preparatory (MS) High School

 

Bruns has some of the best stuff in the high school class, but his control was so bad last summer that he had a long way to go to get back up into first-round territory. The Reds showed two years ago they’ll swing for the fences when they have extra picks, and Bruns’ upside is as good as that of any prep arm this year.

Edited May 27, 2021 by Slade

[Krylian]

McGreevy sounds like Deck McGuire crap.

[metafour]

Jud Fabian concludes his 2021 season with an 0-4 day with 3 strikeouts against powerhouse South Alabama as Florida is embarrassed out of the tourny in a 19-1 loss.

 

Going back to May 20th (game #1 vs. Arkansas) he has hit .147 (5 for 34) with zero extra base hits, 14 strikeouts, and 3 walks.

 

He concludes 2021 with a .249/.364/.924 slash line with 79 strikeouts and 40 BB. His .249 BA is dead last on Florida's roster among hitters who meet minimum plate appearances.

 

[TwistedLogic]

Jud Fabian concludes his 2021 season with an 0-4 day with 3 strikeouts against powerhouse South Alabama as Florida is embarrassed out of the tourny in a 19-1 loss.

 

Going back to May 20th (game #1 vs. Arkansas) he has hit .147 (5 for 34) with zero extra base hits, 14 strikeouts, and 3 walks.

 

He concludes 2021 with a .249/.364/.924 slash line with 79 strikeouts and 40 BB. His .249 BA is dead last on Florida's roster among hitters who meet minimum plate appearances.

 

 

Can we not draft this guy please.

[Krylian]

Can we not draft this guy please.

 

I would like to see us grab a high end OF... And why not Jud.

[Slade]

I would like to see us grab a high end OF... And why not Jud.

 

You need more reasons than everything posted above?

[TwistedLogic]

Pretty excited for this.

 

---

Inaugural Draft Combine set for June 21-28

MLB Network to air exclusive on-site coverage June 25

 

 

Major League Baseball and USA Baseball today announced details for the inaugural MLB Draft

Combine presented by Gatorade, taking place at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C., and

the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, N.C., from June 21-28. The Combine will feature

more than 100 of the top high school and college baseball prospects, as identified by USA

Baseball and MLB Clubs, as well as a decorated group of former Major League players and

coaches, and various general managers, scouting directors and other Club personnel.

 

Among those scheduled to attend are five-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove Award

winner Torii Hunter; five-time All-Star and 1995 World Series champion Fred McGriff; two-

time All-Star and 2003 World Series champion Brad Penny; former All-Stars Billy Butler, Royce

Clayton and Rickie Weeks; 1986 World Series champion Roger McDowell; 2013 World Series

champion Jarrod Saltalamacchia; two-time World Series champion and MLB’s senior director

of on-field operations Gregor Blanco; former Major Leaguers Michael Barrett, Erik Kratz, Ray

Searage and Rajai Davis, who is also MLB’s senior director of on-field operations; former Major

League managers Jeff Banister and Bo Porter, who serves as a consultant on coaching

development for MLB; longtime baseball executive Omar Minaya; former All-Star and MLB’s

senior vice president of on-field operations Raul Ibañez; and MLB’s senior vice president of

on-field operations Michael Hill.

 

The Combine will provide an opportunity for players to participate in a series of medical and

performance assessments as well as educational programming designed to prepare them for

a career in professional baseball. On June 24-35, all players will have the opportunity to

participate in a pro-style showcase workout, as well as strength and conditioning and PDP

performance assessments. Additionally, as part of the Combine experience, the high school

players will participate in a unique showcase tournament from June 22-26.

 

MLB Network will cover the MLB Draft Combine throughout the week of June 21, including five

consecutive hours of exclusive coverage live from Cary, N.C., on Friday, June 25, beginning at

1 p.m. ET. MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds, Bill Ripken and Dan

O’Dowd, as well as MLB.com’s Jim Callis and Sarah Langs, will provide analysis and

breakdowns throughout the afternoon on June 25 as the players undergo their pro-style

showcase workout. Interviews with players and club personnel will be featured as part of the

coverage.

 

Participants at the MLB Draft Combine will have opportunities to be featured on MLB social

media channels, in addition to receiving personal branding training and access to real-time

content and custom video for their own platforms.

 

In addition to the events in North Carolina, participants of the newly formed MLB Draft League

are also provided with the opportunity to participate in Combine assessments and evaluations

through special events taking place in Pittsburgh (this past Monday) and Philadelphia (Monday,

June 14). The MLB Draft Combine will be an integral part of the identification and development

process for future USA Baseball national teams. MLB and USA Baseball are in communication

with the NCAA to ensure athlete eligibility requirements are met overall.

 

The 2021 MLB Draft is planned for July 11-13 during All-Star Week in Colorado, and for the first

time since the inception of the Draft in 1965, the event will be scheduled outside the month of

June. The Draft will feature 20 rounds across the three days, beginning with the opening night

of the Draft on Sunday, July 11 at the Bellco Theatre in Denver, following the 2021 SiriusXM All-

Star Futures Game, part of All-Star Sunday at Coors Field. Since 2009, the first night of the

Draft has been held live at MLB Network in Secaucus, N.J.

[Daniel Labude]

[TwistedLogic]

f*** the Red Sox. Free competitive advantages like this are ******** and I hope one of the teams picking ahead call Leiter's bluff on this.

 

 

[Slade]

f*** the Red Sox. Free competitive advantages like this are ******** and I hope one of the teams picking ahead call Leiter's bluff on this.

 

 

 

What does that really mean though? Most people don't have Leiter in the top 3 and the Red Sox pick 4.

[Laika]

What does that really mean though? Most people don't have Leiter in the top 3 and the Red Sox pick 4.

 

Leiter has been in the top 3 a lot. It's only very recently that he has started mocking a bit lower, perhaps because of this

[Laika]

f*** the Red Sox. Free competitive advantages like this are ******** and I hope one of the teams picking ahead call Leiter's bluff on this.

 

 

 

I'd care more if he was a sure top 1 or 2 talent. Looks like he is just one of the top 5 or so guys, so whatever.

 

Jays pulled a bigger steal with Martin than Leiter would be for Boston and it's not even close

[Jimcanuck]

McGreevy sounds like Deck McGuire crap.

 

Yep, "safe" s*** pick

[Scion]

McGreevy sounds like Deck McGuire crap.

 

Why do you automatically associate the word "safe" and the attributes of plus command and control with Deck McGuire? Aaron Nola was described similarly so there are a wide range of outcomes for that kind of profile.

[Brownie19]

Yep, "safe" s*** pick

 

I don't know how fair it is to assume every quality right handed college pitcher selected in the first round is going to become Deck McGuire.

 

6'4", sits 94, peaks at 96-97. Excellent control, 4 pitches (saw someone suggest they are all graded 50+), great results.

[Scion]

f*** the Red Sox. Free competitive advantages like this are ******** and I hope one of the teams picking ahead call Leiter's bluff on this.

 

 

 

It's a weird play if true since not signing with a team in the top 3 would mean re-entering a year or two from now when Boston will not be in position to draft him this high. This is to say nothing of the risks associated with turning down a large bonus offer as a SP.

[Spanky99]

It's a weird play if true since not signing with a team in the top 3 would mean re-entering a year or two from now when Boston will not be in position to draft him this high. This is to say nothing of the risks associated with turning down a large bonus offer as a SP.

 

Huh? He'll just sign with Boston, likely over slot too.