2014 Draft Discussion

[davell]

Remember this guy? Figures he finally shows up in his last start of the season:

 

@KendallRogersPG: #Florida RHP Karsten Whitson has looked terrific the first three frames. Still 92-94, flashed a plus, hard, 86-87 SL in the third #MLBDraft

 

@KendallRogersPG: Brilliant, brilliant pitching by Karsten Whitson. Still sitting 92-94 on the radar gun with a plus SL. Has thrown five shutout innings.

Might be a good target in the second if we underslot the first.

 

LOL

- don't think he'll make it there?

- don't think he'd be a good target?

- don't think he'd sign for what would be available?

- don't think we'll underslot enough?

 

Oh lord, I figured you were making a joke.

 

He's a senior(no leverage), often injured guy that's been bad until just now. In no way would I overslot for him and I'd be shocked if he goes anywhere near the 2nd round. 4th-5th round AT slot, MAYBE take a flier then, at slot. He's damaged goods as far as I'm concerned, one good start doesn't change that for me.

[Guest]

Whitson redshirted last year so he can actually go back for next season.

 

I think he'll go 6-10 if he's signable, probably go 11th if he has high demands and be followed in the summer to see if he's worth a big bonus.

[Guest]

@kileymcd: USC Upstate righty Chad Sobotka threw a bullpen for ~30 scouts just now at the Pirates facility in Florida. 90-93 with improved change up.

 

Sobotka had a big summer league (Cape?), had some first round helium but hurt his back right before the season and lost his junior season.

[Guest]

Chris Crawford's draft board: http://mlbdraftinsider.com/2014/05/board-2014-volume-vi/

 

1. Brady Aiken

2. Carlos Rodon

3. Tyler Kolek

4. Nick Gordon

5. Alex Jackson

6. Bradley Zimmer

7. Grant Holmes

8. Sean Newcomb

9. Aaron Nola

10. Jeff Hoffman

12. Max Pentecost

17. Kyle Freeland

24. Tyler Beede

[Starling]

Hoffman ahead of Pentecost and Freeland? Come on

[Infrequent Poster]

What's the knock on Zimmer?

 

Just questions about his power should he move to a corner or is there more?

[PrimeTime]

No [expletive] way they take Gordon and ahead of Jackson.

[A New Era]

Lot of mocks having the Marlins go Jackson have kinda made me warm up to the idea of drafting him. Grass is always greener and all that, and the possibility of him not even falling to us makes me want him to fall now. Especially after hearing he was comparable to Bryant in HS. You gotta take someone with that type of elite power bat potential.

 

I think I'm leaning toward Kolek or Jackson. Whoever drops you gotta take em because I feel both their ceilings are so much higher than the rest. I like Gordon, Nola, and Pentecost all for different reasons. But if you are drafting at the top and "tiers" matter. Jackson and Kolek are in that tier above.

[hawkeyecub]

Not really related but I saw Jim Hendry (along with about 9 other scouts) in Cedar Rapids tonight watching RHP Mitch Keller.

[Redfoot]

How did he look? Keller, not Hendry.

[hawkeyecub]

How did he look? Keller, not Hendry.

 

Sat consistently 90-92, hit 94 about 5-10 times. Breaking stuff was good but he didn't throw a lot of it. Command wasn't great and they were taking everything, only trying to flip stuff oppo. Ump was bad. Gave up 3 hits (all opposite field singles) and 1 unearned run.

[Redfoot]

That's a really good report. It's good to see he's still holding his velocity. Keller would be a good target in the 2nd round though I like Keaton McKinney a little more.

[TruffleShuffle]

BP has the perfect game draft today.

 

1. aiken

2. jackson

3. kolek

4.

CARLOS RODON - LHP - N.C. State

 

The Cubs are in the organizational mindset to swing for the fences as their fan base starts to get restless. At the beginning of the year they probably weren’t thinking too hard and long about Carlos Rodon but it is certainly a potential reality now. In the back of their heads they have to be thinking about the potential correlation between Rodon now and Mark Appel after his junior year at Stanford, though.

 

5. gordon

6. hoffman

7. freeland

8. nola

9. zimmer

10. toussaint

 

12. conforto

15. beede

17. trea turner

19. pentecost

22. fedde

[sneakypower]

In the back of their heads they have to be thinking about the potential correlation between Rodon now and Mark Appel after his junior year at Stanford, though.

http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/shut_up_breaking_bad.gif

[Guest]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/nick-gordon-trea-turner-headline-drafts-top-middle-infielders?ymd=20140527&content_id=77000486&vkey=news_mlb

 

Callis on middle infielders, primarily Gordon and Turner.

[imb]

So what the hell is the deal with Appel anyway?

[Hrubes20]

So what the hell is the deal with Appel anyway?

 

Had a "dead arm" period to start the year. Was sitting high 80's, and barely touching 90, so they sent him back down to EXST to work through it. He reportedly hit 98 in his last EXST start, so he's going to be sent back up to High A here shortly. Or at least, that's what the almighty twitterz says.

[TheDude]

KLaw followed up his chat comments by putting Conforto as the Cubs pick in his latest Mock.

[Guest]

Who the [expletive] is Conforto

[Guest]

Who the [expletive] is Conforto

 

Oregon St corner OF with a great bat, good approach, nice power. I like his game and would prefer him to any other college bat in this draft if Zimmer can't play CF.

[jersey cubs fan]

Who the [expletive] is Conforto

 

Oregon St corner OF with a great bat, good approach, nice power. I like his game and would prefer him to any other college bat in this draft if Zimmer can't play CF.

 

Said to have a lot of swing and miss in his game. Hopefully not as much as Jackson had.

[Rob]

Ok. I'm really late to starting to look at this stuff this year.

 

I know there's a pretty big dropoff after the top 3. So who are we actually hoping to get, assuming one of the top 3 doesn't fall for whatever reason?

[Guest]

Who the [expletive] is Conforto

 

Oregon St corner OF with a great bat, good approach, nice power. I like his game and would prefer him to any other college bat in this draft if Zimmer can't play CF.

 

Said to have a lot of swing and miss in his game. Hopefully not as much as Jackson had.

 

Yeah. Jeez. As soon as I see that red flag, I want to stay the hell away.

 

Seemed like many here were calling that with Jackson before he was even officially made the pick.

[Guest]

BA's 11th best prospect in the draft and top OF:

 

While other college and high school position players have better all-around tools, Conforto ranks as the best present hitter in the 2014 draft. He has had a monster junior season for Oregon State, building off his first two seasons when he was an All-Freshman selection in 2012 and led the Beavers to Omaha in 2013. Listed at 6-foot-2, 217 pounds, Conforto has present strength and above-average bat speed. He has controlled his aggressiveness as a junior, taming a swing that got too big over the summer with Team USA. He’s become a more selective hitter, ranking second in the country in walks and first in on-base percentage while hitting .410 though the first week in May. After hitting 24 homers in his first two seasons combined, Conforto had just five thus far as a junior, giving some evaluators pause because he’s a bat-first player. He has plus raw power and should project to hit 20-25 annually. He also has improved his fringy outfield defense, which is seen as adequate for left field, with average arm strength that doesn’t always play. Conforto has shown playmaking ability with the glove, however, with show-stopper plays in the College World Series last year and key outfield assists in games against rival Oregon.

[Tryptamine]

Just looking through our old draft threads and I hadn't noticed that we already drafted Bradley Zimmer before, back in 2011 23rd round. Granted that was the draft before Theo arrived. God it would have been nice to land him and Lindgren.