2017 Actual MLB Draft Day(s) Thread

[Cubswin11]

Maybe I'm seeing something where there is nothing, but Theoyer is making it seem they're pretty desperate to get some quick moving arms into the system. Does this mean they're not going to be in on the FA pitchers this year and next?

I think that's a pretty big conclusion to jump too. I think the more likely correct conclusion to make about the "quick moving arms" is that they know pitchers suck and are unpredictable so take guys who are closer to helping out before they inevitably die and avoid dreaming/taking huge risk on arms that are going to take years to develop (if they ever make it) even if there's perceived upside there (at least from the volume drafting stand point they've undertaken with college guys).

 

I think they've also shown they don't want to/like to spend money on bullpen arms (from a monetary perspective) so a lot of these "quick moving" college arms can get here faster and with a higher probability to help out in the bullpen so they don't need to waste many resources building the pen. Almost all these college guys they take have a future bullpen role as their relative floors in their scouting reports (with potential to be plus to elite) .

Edited June 13, 2017 by Cubswin11

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Maybe I'm seeing something where there is nothing, but Theoyer is making it seem they're pretty desperate to get some quick moving arms into the system. Does this mean they're not going to be in on the FA pitchers this year and next?

 

I would think it's more likely that the qualities they want are more common in quick moving arms than it is seeking quick moving arms as a goal. If anything, it could be an admission that FA pitching classes are increasingly terrible and not as useful for finding Feldmans, Hammels, Lackeys, etc going forward.

[Hrubes20]

This is gonna be the hitter. I can feel it. Evan Skoug, come on down!

[CaliforniaRaisin]

5th round: Nelson Velasquez, OF, PJ Education School

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA #202:

 

Velazquez played at Lake Worth High in Florida as an underclassmen, but moved back to Puerto Rico after being ruled ineligible by the FHSAA. He had an outstanding showing at the Excellence Tournament in May, solidifying him for most as the second-best player in the Puerto Rico class behind the toolsier Heliot Ramos. He's a physical specimen and shows plus raw tools. He ran the the 60-yard dash in less than 6.5 seconds at the Excellence Tournament, a 70-grade time on the 20-to-80 scale. Velazquez shows plus bat speed and average to slightly above-average raw power and he has a plus arm. Scouts describe Velazquez's pure hitting ability as very raw; he'll have to adjust his aggressive offensive approach against better pitching. His strong finish had him trending up, and he could go somewhere in the third to fifth round.

 

Not ranked by MLB.com.

[davell]

So, this guy probably IS an over slot, on some level.

[Hrubes20]

BA #202:

 

Velazquez played at Lake Worth High in Florida as an underclassmen, but moved back to Puerto Rico after being ruled ineligible by the FHSAA. He had an outstanding showing at the Excellence Tournament in May, solidifying him for most as the second-best player in the Puerto Rico class behind the toolsier Heliot Ramos. He's a physical specimen and shows plus raw tools. He ran the the 60-yard dash in less than 6.5 seconds at the Excellence Tournament, a 70-grade time on the 20-to-80 scale. Velazquez shows plus bat speed and average to slightly above-average raw power and he has a plus arm. Scouts describe Velazquez's pure hitting ability as very raw; he'll have to adjust his aggressive offensive approach against better pitching. His strong finish had him trending up, and he could go somewhere in the third to fifth round.

 

Not ranked by MLB.com.

 

I'll take it!

[davell]

https://twitter.com/Savermetrics/status/874703626140172288

[Tryptamine]

BA #202:

 

Velazquez played at Lake Worth High in Florida as an underclassmen, but moved back to Puerto Rico after being ruled ineligible by the FHSAA. He had an outstanding showing at the Excellence Tournament in May, solidifying him for most as the second-best player in the Puerto Rico class behind the toolsier Heliot Ramos. He's a physical specimen and shows plus raw tools. He ran the the 60-yard dash in less than 6.5 seconds at the Excellence Tournament, a 70-grade time on the 20-to-80 scale. Velazquez shows plus bat speed and average to slightly above-average raw power and he has a plus arm. Scouts describe Velazquez's pure hitting ability as very raw; he'll have to adjust his aggressive offensive approach against better pitching. His strong finish had him trending up, and he could go somewhere in the third to fifth round.

 

Not ranked by MLB.com.

 

I'll take it!

 

Yeah I like the write up quite a bit, the only thing he lacks is patience and that seems to be one of the stronger points of the Cub farm's teachings.

[davell]

Pardon me as I dont follow the amateur rankings a ton, but is the 1B from Iowa - Adams- going to be picked or has he already? Any reports or him?

 

I don't know anything about him, but he's ranked 296 by BA. So he'll get drafted. Likely today.

 

Thanks! I hadn't seen any hype about him draft wise, Tillo being the only guy from around here being talked about really.

 

Hey man, he just got picked in the 6th by the Astros.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

So Velazquez is a good student, but he couldn't stay and play Florida HS baseball because of eligibility?

[jersey cubs fan]

So Velazquez is a good student, but he couldn't stay and play Florida HS baseball because of eligibility?

was that cutting off "of the game"?

 

 

or were his eligibility issues residency related?

[davell]

If he's still there, you have to take Skoug, right?

 

 

That said, there must be something going on with him. No idea why he's still out there.

[jersey cubs fan]

So Velazquez is a good student, but he couldn't stay and play Florida HS baseball because of eligibility?

was that cutting off "of the game"?

 

 

or were his eligibility issues residency related?

 

 

http://www.mypalmbeachpost.com/news/opinion/editorial-bad-call-lake-worth-high-baseball-players/3VL2p293gltVwOyBqgounN/

None of this would have been an issue, of course, had the four seniors, six juniors and sophomore not helped make Lake Worth High a suddenly worthy team, threatening Park Vista High School’s championship hopes. That made it easier for even a casual observer to question, for example, their living with their coach, Rafael Paris.

 

But as The Post reported, their parents chose to send the boys to Florida with Paris, also from Puerto Rico. He made sure they were cared for, and were diligent in school and on the diamond, wanting to ensure they didn’t waste their opportunity as he had at their age.

 

http://extracredit.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2016/09/26/lake-worth-hs-baseball-fined-200-for-puerto-rican-players-but-whats-the-big-picture/

 

So it looks like the high school baseball coach recruited 11 guys to come with him from puerto rico to field a baseball team and other teams complained.

[davell]

SHAZAM!!!!!

[Hrubes20]

Wow. Did not think Estrada was at all signable. They obviously felt good about it if he's being taken in the 6th.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Welp, guess Estrada isn't making it to UCLA.

 

MLB.com #93:

 

If one was to base Estrada's Draft status on his summer showcase performance, he'd be approaching the top group of high school right-handers in the country. Looking at how he's pitched this spring, however, could lead an evaluator to leave him off of the Top 100 completely. Over the summer, Estrada showed electric stuff from his slightly under-sized frame, starting with a fastball that was 93-95 mph. This spring, he's been topping out at 92 mph and often sitting in the upper-80s. He showed one of the best changeups in the country last summer, but hasn't been throwing it much this spring. And he's lost sharpness in his breaking ball as well, a pitch that flashed plus at times and was up into the mid-80s but this spring has come in closer to 80 mph. Estrada seemed to pitch with a chip on his shoulder last summer and he used that to his benefit. To some evaluators, he's lost that edge, so any team considering him in the early rounds will be doing so based on the right-hander they saw over the summer. Seeing him head to UCLA for college seems a distinct possibility at this point.

 

Baseball America #121:

 

Estrada entered his senior year with some draft helium but took a comebacker off his arm early in the season and wasn't quite the same when he retuned. Estrada has a loose, projectable 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame and sat 90-94 mph with a devastating changeup at his peak on the summer showcase circuit. But he was down to 88-91 mph during the high school season, highlighting pre-existing concerns about his durability. With his fastball velocity down, Estrada began experimenting with a slider, which in turn caused his fringe-average curveball to back up. Scouts further became concerned about Estrada’s makeup, noting his low energy as his stuff went down and the negative results piled up. As poor as his senior season was, Estrada has flashed the potential for two plus pitches and a smooth delivery in the past, which some teams are optimistic can return. He is committed to UCLA.

[davell]

Love popping a highly thought of pitcher(sorry Raisin), if we've got room for anything else fun, I'll be surprised.

[davell]

Skoug just went. Callis made it sound like he'll get over slot. At least from where he was just taken.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Skoug just went. Callis made it sound like he'll get over slot. At least from where he was just taken.

 

He'll better get over slot - he is universally a top 100 prospect!

[davell]

https://twitter.com/Savermetrics/status/874722297281630208

[davell]

https://twitter.com/Savermetrics/status/874727250121211906

 

https://twitter.com/Savermetrics/status/874727469449752577

 

https://twitter.com/Savermetrics/status/874727516379820032

 

https://twitter.com/Savermetrics/status/874727570264039424

 

Leveraging like a pro already.

[davell]

We just drafted Urkel.

[Hrubes20]

Well that's a boner-killing series of tweets. That's a waste of about $235K in the bonus pools if he doesn't sign. This FO is just so good at manipulating numbers though, that you have to believe they knew what they were doing.

[davell]

Well that's a boner-killing series of tweets. That's a waste of about $235K in the bonus pools if he doesn't sign. This FO is just so good at manipulating numbers though, that you have to believe they knew what they were doing.

 

Its good news, under SOME circumstance. We just don't know what that circumstance truly is yet. We've obviously got some over slot to spend and are gambling on Estrada(unless he's just trying to say what he thinks he should even though he's turning). We'll take a few backup plans tomorrow and if Estrada doesn't sign, we'll lose a bit of money(230ish), but we'll spend the rest of our savings on something else cool.