2018 Draft Thread

[Hrubes20]

Just listened to Kiley and Longenhagen's podcast. Some interesting things in it....

 

UVA teaches pitchers to do this crouch thing and also throw a ton of breaking balls. Lunch has risen boards, in part, because he's been very obstinate when it comes to these things. Kiley says there's an advisor of a high end recruit, currently set to go to UVA, that's advising him not to. With hitting, they evidently teach the Stanford swing, no loft, just trying to poke things thru infields......

 

Not really a college baseball guy, just repeating info.

 

They said there's 5 or 6 tough signs, among high schoolers. Rocker wants around top 15 money. But, they didn't act as if he wouldn't get it either. Mike Siani, a UVA guy, evidently is a tough sign. As is Matt McLain, if he's not taken in the top 40, or given that type of money.....

 

If McClanahan drops, it's because teams in the 10-25 range didn't really see him much. He was a top 5 guy most of the year, so many teams weren't at his starts when he was going well. Now that he's struggling, the middle teams have seen him, but don't have enough looks from his good starts, to likely just take a shot..... Hence, why if he drops, it's probably pretty far.

 

They also said Conner Scott to the Marlins at 13 is about as much of a lock as you can get in the teens.

[Regular Show]

I still find it so odd that Mize might not go #1. From a fluff piece on Mize on ESPN:

 

Tigers general manager Al Avila has declined to comment publicly on which player the team has in mind for the top pick, but he recently observed that Mize's secondary pitches are more advanced than Justin Verlander's when he turned pro out of Old Dominion University in 2004.

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23673866/casey-mize-clear-no-1-prize-mlb-draft

 

Obviously, Mize doesn't have the high-octane fastball Verlander has, but I agree with the fact that his secondary pitches are really advanced. He has a legit 4 pitches in his arsenal. If the Tigers really do choose Bart over Mize I think they'll come to regret it (assuming Mize stays healthy).

[Regular Show]

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On the night before the Draft, word began to circulate within the industry that for the right price, Murray would agree to focus on baseball after playing football this fall for the Sooners. If true, he could command a bonus of $3 million or more.

 

Other teams believe that the Reds (whose first two picks are at Nos. 5 and 48) and the Padres (whose top two selections are at Nos. 7 and 38) are the leading contenders to cut a discount deal in the first round so they can splurge on Murray with their second choice. Officials with both Cincinnati and San Diego denied that's the case.

 

Who knows anymore with this guy?

[Hrubes20]

[tweet]

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On the night before the Draft, word began to circulate within the industry that for the right price, Murray would agree to focus on baseball after playing football this fall for the Sooners. If true, he could command a bonus of $3 million or more.

 

Other teams believe that the Reds (whose first two picks are at Nos. 5 and 48) and the Padres (whose top two selections are at Nos. 7 and 38) are the leading contenders to cut a discount deal in the first round so they can splurge on Murray with their second choice. Officials with both Cincinnati and San Diego denied that's the case.

 

Who knows anymore with this guy?

 

Would not mind the Reds doing that at all. Murray has struck out like 25% of the time this year. Big questions about that hit tool for me.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Lol:

 

Aaron C.: Appreciate your candidness on the challenge of putting out mock drafts. Since you’ve been doing this, has a team ever made a first round pick of someone who wasn’t anywhere on your radar?

Keith Law: Yes. Cubs with Hayden Simpson – not on my top 100, and someone had to remind me who that was when it happened, because the little I had on him was so bad that I had dismissed him from my mind. Same year, Yanks took Cito Culver, whom I knew but expected wouldn’t go till the 4th round. Rangers took Kevin Matthews in 2011 at the end of the first or early comp and he was another guy who wouldn’t have been on my top 200 if i’d gone that far. I had virtually nothing on him either; he was released after 2015 and walked almost a man an inning in the minors.

[UK]

PG has the Cubs selecting Xavier Edwards SS/2B prep out of FL commit to Vandy.

 

In the mock they have Seigler going 23rd with Rocker and Denaburg still on the board.

 

Edwards is probably the best athlete and probably the best defender with the arm strength which will put him at 2B.

 

I would prefer others based on reports.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA mock from the past hour:

 

24

 

Ryan Rolison

Mississippi

LHP

Notes:

The Cubs might be targeting a few high school bats here, but in this scenario it’s hard to see them passing up Rolison, who could be the best lefthanded college arm in the class. He fits at a number of spots higher than this and shouldn’t get out of the first 30 picks

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/mlb-mock-draft/

[Hrubes20]

PG has the Cubs selecting Xavier Edwards SS/2B prep out of FL commit to Vandy.

 

In the mock they have Seigler going 23rd with Rocker and Denaburg still on the board.

 

Edwards is probably the best athlete and probably the best defender with the arm strength which will put him at 2B.

 

I would prefer others based on reports.

 

I like Edwards enough, but the Vandy commit is a little concerning. He may cost a pretty penny in the 1st, and there should be others available that are equally as talented and come cheaper.

[Hrubes20]

BA mock from the past hour:

 

24

 

Ryan Rolison

Mississippi

LHP

Notes:

The Cubs might be targeting a few high school bats here, but in this scenario it’s hard to see them passing up Rolison, who could be the best lefthanded college arm in the class. He fits at a number of spots higher than this and shouldn’t get out of the first 30 picks

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/mlb-mock-draft/

 

#hrubes20rage

[davell]

Rolison is my worst case scenario. Or very close anyway. All day yesterday, I was thinking Edwards was our guy. But seeing Callis and Law mock Seigler to us today, has me figuring it's him.

 

Callis usually gets the Cubs right, doesn't he?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Rolison is my worst case scenario. Or very close anyway. All day yesterday, I was thinking Edwards was our guy. But seeing Callis and Law mock Seigler to us today, has me figuring it's him.

 

Callis usually gets the Cubs right, doesn't he?

 

Callis is the best with the Cubs, but it’s way more difficult to peg a team in the 20s.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[Hrubes20]

Rolison is my worst case scenario. Or very close anyway. All day yesterday, I was thinking Edwards was our guy. But seeing Callis and Law mock Seigler to us today, has me figuring it's him.

 

Callis usually gets the Cubs right, doesn't he?

 

Last year he mocked Nate Pearson and Drew Rasmussen (Little and Lange). No 1st rounder in 2016. He mocked Benintendi in 2015 (sigh, Ian Happ). He mocked Conforto in 2014 (Schwarber). He hit on every demographic chosen, but didn't actually get any of the picks themselves right. If he's saying the Cubs are leaning towards hitters, which he is, it seems like a good bet that they go with a bat in the 1st.

[Bertz]

Rolison is my worst case scenario. Or very close anyway. All day yesterday, I was thinking Edwards was our guy. But seeing Callis and Law mock Seigler to us today, has me figuring it's him.

 

Callis usually gets the Cubs right, doesn't he?

 

Last year he mocked Nate Pearson and Drew Rasmussen (Little and Lange). No 1st rounder in 2016. He mocked Benintendi in 2015 (sigh, Ian Happ). He mocked Conforto in 2014 (Schwarber). He hit on every demographic chosen, but didn't actually get any of the picks themselves right. If he's saying the Cubs are leaning towards hitters, which he is, it seems like a good bet that they go with a bat in the 1st.

 

I feel like with Wilken he was 100% plugged in, but in the Theo era he has been merely well informed.

 

I don't love Seigler (I'm not a fan of HS catchers generally), but with this FO I'm probably never going to disagree too vehemently.

[Hrubes20]

Marlin Bystro over at PSD thinks the Cubs won't take a prep pitcher before the 5th round.

[Cubswin11]

Marlin Bystro over at PSD thinks the Cubs won't take a prep pitcher before the 5th round.

Good

[CaliforniaRaisin]

https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/1003720167564742657?s=21

 

https://twitter.com/keithlaw/status/1003751962343628805?s=21

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Keith Law went back to Mize in his mock that was just released: http://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/23697521/keith-law-2018-mock-draft-41

 

Can someone with ESPN Insider please tell us who he has the Cubs picking?

[davell]

Marlin Bystro over at PSD thinks the Cubs won't take a prep pitcher before the 5th round.

 

I can see that. I'm sure they'll draft an upside guy at some point. Honestly, there may not be one you've gotta jump on at 62. Lots of those guys are kind of jumbled, in my mind.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

[Tryptamine]

Not going to lie I was really hoping that one of Kumar Rocker or Grayson Rodriguez was going to slip and be the guy, but there's just about no smoke.