2018 Actual MLB Draft Day(s) Thread

[Rob]

No Luke Heimlich through two days.

 

Honestly, I'll consider this whole draft a win as long as we don't pick him.

[toonsterwu]

Pretty sure he's a 4th year junior.

 

College didn't make him any smarter though. Still says it was a good decision lol.

 

I assume a UVA degree has some value.

 

Yeah. And he could have done that after he tried pro baseball. With 900k in his pocket. And the Cubs paying for his college.

 

It's a completely different dynamic, though. You only get one chance to go to college in your formative years ... after that, it's just education. Similarly important, but a far different dynamic. This isn't any UVA bias ... I would say that if a kid felt it was a good decision to go to school, then I'm of the opinion that it was a good decision.

[toonsterwu]

I like the Luke Reynolds pick way more than I should. He hit everywhere he played in college.

 

I love the pick. He's got a good bat, should be cheap, and well, we really could use some 3rd basemen in the system. Heck, we could use anything more than the million OF's we've taken.

[UK]

Jimmy Herron:

 

Herron is coming off a monster summer in the Cape Cod League where he hit .338 with a .443 on-base percentage. At the plate, Herron has very quiet hands and stays inside the ball well. He has a good load and successfully incorporates his hips into his swing. His bat plane and balance are exceptional which should give him the ability to hit all pitches at the next level.

 

In game one of Duke’s series against Vanderbilt, Herron never really seemed to find his rhythm rolling over on a ground ball to first, striking out and hitting two high pop ups. However, he remained selective, swinging at only pitches in the zone, and his two pop ups recorded hang times over six seconds. He performed much better in the next two games of the series, going 3-for-8. On Sunday, Herron showed what he is capable of doing when he is at his best, staying short to the ball to rip a 90 mph fastball for a line drive single to center field that registered 93 mph off the bat.

 

Herron flashes above average speed, motoring up the line at 4.15 seconds where he is aggressive and likes to steal when given the opportunity. The speed also plays well in the field as he is a well above average defender in center field. He showed exceptional closing speed and made a dandy of a play sliding feet first to catch a fly ball near the left field line. While the arm strength isn’t necessary a weapon it’s more than enough for both left and center field.

 

After starting the season in center field, Jimmy Herron has slid over to left field for the Blue Devils, but still hits atop their order as he looks to set the table. Herron is both an above average athlete and runner, with a best time to first of 4.17 seconds, and that speed allows him to be a solid defender in left field and steal multiple bags as he leads the team with 21 swipes on the season.

 

Herron has a pretty clean swing through the zone with minimal extra movements that give him impressive bat-to-ball skills and allow him to not swing and miss often. The contact-oriented approach is aided by his speed and he does well when working gap-to-gap.

 

Speed and contact skills are the primary tools to the profile, as both the arm strength and raw power are fringy tools. He doesn't strike out often as the strikeout-to-walk ratio is 22-to-36 on the season and Herron has a very patient approach that only results in selective swings. He is having a strong year for Duke and has a chance to be selected pretty early in June as a consistent collegiate performer.

[toonsterwu]

Dunno why this thought didn't cross my mind about Hoerner last night, and perhaps someone posted it last night, but I wouldn't be surprised if a positive case for him is Ben Zobrist. Sure, Zobrist is bigger, but people forget that Zobrist was actually a solid shortstop prospect, not elite defensively, but in another situation, could've perhaps made it up as a shortstop.

[Rob]

Dunno why this thought didn't cross my mind about Hoerner last night, and perhaps someone posted it last night, but I wouldn't be surprised if a positive case for him is Ben Zobrist. Sure, Zobrist is bigger, but people forget that Zobrist was actually a solid shortstop prospect, not elite defensively, but in another situation, could've perhaps made it up as a shortstop.

Is his plate discipline that good?

[toonsterwu]

Dunno why this thought didn't cross my mind about Hoerner last night, and perhaps someone posted it last night, but I wouldn't be surprised if a positive case for him is Ben Zobrist. Sure, Zobrist is bigger, but people forget that Zobrist was actually a solid shortstop prospect, not elite defensively, but in another situation, could've perhaps made it up as a shortstop.

Is his plate discipline that good?

 

Probably not that good, but it's good.

[UK]

DJ Artis

 

 

D.J. Artis is already one of the most accomplished players in the history of the Big South Conference after winning Freshman of the Year in 2016 and securing the conference Player of the Year in 2017. The athletic outfielder has carved himself out a nice draft resume as well after being selected in the 40th round out of high school, as Artis seems to be a consensus top five rounds pick come June and he fits a prototypical speedy-leadoff profile at the professional level.

 

While he didn't record any run times during this single-game look against Presbyterian, reports have him as a solid-plus runner from the left side and his plus athleticism also shines in centerfield. The first-step quickness and instinctiveness stand out from the position as he wasn't tested too difficultly, however, he made all of the plays rather easily and with conviction. The arm strength is a bit of a concern as it is below average by Major League standards, but a college position prospect with his feel for the barrel and athleticism normally overrule the arm strength concern.

 

At the plate, Artis has extremely advanced bat control and barrel skills. The approach will get slashy/slappy at times, but his hands are incredibly loose and direct to contact as he will make a living dropping the barrel head on the ball for a lot of line drive contact. The easy comp here is Juan Pierre in terms of offensive approach and speed, as Artis is coming off back-to-back 20-plus steal seasons, but the Pierre comp doesn't do Artis' batter's eye justice. He has knowledge of the strike zone and is well on his way for a third consecutive season of more walks than strikeouts.

 

Artis' batting stance is a bit unorthodox as he is very crouched through the load and has a hand hitch utilized as a timing mechanism. This all works well for Artis as he is able to bring his hands directly to the ball, however, there is little power to the profile as he didn't show much during BP, instead showing more of an all-fields, line drive approach. The profile is unique, but valuable, and Artis checks most of the boxes when considering a mid-major top five rounds draft prospect.

[UK]

Luke Reynolds

 

Mississippi State transfer Luke Reynolds is enjoying a breakout season for Southern Miss following sitting out a year, and the lefthanded slugger provides an intriguing profile for scouts to evaluate. Reynolds is your prototypical lefthanded hitting infielder with tons of strength and physicality from a well-built 6-foot-1, 215-pound frame.

 

Defensively, Reynolds will be a corner infielder at the next level, with some questions as to the overall athleticism and actions to stick at first base. The third baseman didn't really get tested much and didn't have a chance to show off the arm strength, but the main allure of his profile will be his ability to generate offense.

 

The stance is well-balanced and Reynolds has a very advanced approach at the plate both in terms of pitch selection and expanding the strike zone. He often doesn't expand the strike zone, sometimes to a fault, and is able to recognize spin well-enough to punish mistakes but can be fooled with well-executed offspeed pitches; Reynolds has a walk to strikeout ratio of 44:40 on the season. The swing is quick through the zone with lots of lower half torque through the trigger and natural loft and leverage to the swing plane.

 

The power to the pull side is loud, and he displayed it during game twice during this two game-look. Both being mammoth home runs, Reynolds handled the inner half of the plate well on the first shot while having enough strength to pull the ball during the second one, despite his lower half being gone from being out in front on an offspeed pitch.

 

Numbers wise Reynolds is having a very good season with a .387 batting average with twelve home runs on the season and Reynolds has attractive lefthanded power for an infielder and has a very intriguing draft profile.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Reynolds’ K rate this year was only 17%, after the above I was worried it was north of 20. I look forward to irrational optimism with him after Filiere has not repaid my love so far this year.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

I assume a UVA degree has some value.

 

Yeah. And he could have done that after he tried pro baseball. With 900k in his pocket. And the Cubs paying for his college.

 

It's a completely different dynamic, though. You only get one chance to go to college in your formative years ... after that, it's just education. Similarly important, but a far different dynamic. This isn't any UVA bias ... I would say that if a kid felt it was a good decision to go to school, then I'm of the opinion that it was a good decision.

kids are dumb and this decision was dumb. Pitcher break. Take the cash you dopes.

[Rob]

Is his plate discipline that good?

 

Fun fact: Zobrist, drafted at 23, struck out 1 time in his 222 PAs at Dallas Baptist. 1 time!!! As a switch hitter playing SS!

 

A 15/16 year old, chunky, and horrendous mustached me fell in prospect love with Zobrist really early.

 

Yeah, I was in love with him when he was in the Astros system and wasn't being taken that seriously... it almost makes up for my Junior Lake mancrush.

[davell]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1R9hzhGo0Q_29g2bfa2yQwHYqNN799JzkCP7HyK-XCKY/htmlview#

 

Here's Wes' spreadsheet. This is THE go to spot, for any signing info.

[OleMissCub]

https://twitter.com/thearmstreet/status/1003692493593071616?s=21

 

That’s Don Kessinger’s grandson he buckled. He’s one hell of a SS. Will be a decently high draft pick next year I suspect.

[Regular Show]

Not sure if this was mentioned already in this thread, but the Cubs strongly considered drafting RHP Derek Casey out of HS back in 2014. This is another example of why kids shouldn't turn down big offers to turn pro right away.

 

Derek Casey passed on nearly a million dollars. He decided it would be better to go to college and really – really – learn how to pitch.

 

So Casey, then a high school senior at Hanover, passed on an offer of $900,000 from the Chicago Cubs, who would have selected him in the third or fourth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft had he agreed to sign. The St. Louis Cardinals took their shot, drafting him in the 22nd round, but Casey didn’t budge.

 

http://www.richmond.com/sports/college/schools/university-virginia/this-time-uva-s-derek-casey-the-former-hanover-star/article_50fa6bda-6844-11e8-bf15-3342ed11ee00.html

 

EDIT: My bad guys. So this was already mentioned a couple pages back. Whoops...

[UK]

Not sure if this was mentioned already in this thread, but the Cubs strongly considered drafting RHP Derek Casey out of HS back in 2014. This is another example of why kids shouldn't turn down big offers to turn pro right away.

 

Derek Casey passed on nearly a million dollars. He decided it would be better to go to college and really – really – learn how to pitch.

 

So Casey, then a high school senior at Hanover, passed on an offer of $900,000 from the Chicago Cubs, who would have selected him in the third or fourth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft had he agreed to sign. The St. Louis Cardinals took their shot, drafting him in the 22nd round, but Casey didn’t budge.

 

http://www.richmond.com/sports/college/schools/university-virginia/this-time-uva-s-derek-casey-the-former-hanover-star/article_50fa6bda-6844-11e8-bf15-3342ed11ee00.html

 

EDIT: My bad guys. So this was already mentioned a couple pages back. Whoops...

 

Unfort. he hasn't progressed and cost him significantly (blessing they didn't sign him out of HS). I was always hesitant of someone who turns down 850K or more to go to school, especially if it is to be with his gf or something in that realm. I've been burned by this as even though I received credit/compensation for signing a player to a +650K contract, I knew by his hesitancy to sign and still wanting go to college that he might not have what it takes mentally. He ended up signing and never made it out of rookie ball. It's a different story if his parents and adviser are unfort. pushing him towards College.

 

I did an in-home with a family to take the tests as well as sit down with the family, his mom mentioned on several occasions how he was going to college (Oklahoma commit) despite the distain from the kid and the father of repeatedly mentioning that. I remember thinking as I was leaving Crystal lake, have fun in school...

[Regular Show]

Not sure if this was mentioned already in this thread, but the Cubs strongly considered drafting RHP Derek Casey out of HS back in 2014. This is another example of why kids shouldn't turn down big offers to turn pro right away.

 

Derek Casey passed on nearly a million dollars. He decided it would be better to go to college and really – really – learn how to pitch.

 

So Casey, then a high school senior at Hanover, passed on an offer of $900,000 from the Chicago Cubs, who would have selected him in the third or fourth round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft had he agreed to sign. The St. Louis Cardinals took their shot, drafting him in the 22nd round, but Casey didn’t budge.

 

http://www.richmond.com/sports/college/schools/university-virginia/this-time-uva-s-derek-casey-the-former-hanover-star/article_50fa6bda-6844-11e8-bf15-3342ed11ee00.html

 

EDIT: My bad guys. So this was already mentioned a couple pages back. Whoops...

 

Unfort. he hasn't progressed and cost him significantly (blessing they didn't sign him out of HS). I was always hesitant of someone who turns down 850K or more to go to school, especially if it is to be with his gf or something in that realm. I've been burned by this as even though I received credit/compensation for signing a player to a +650K contract, I knew by his hesitancy to sign and still wanting go to college that he might not have what it takes mentally. He ended up signing and never made it out of rookie ball. It's a different story if his parents and adviser are unfort. pushing him towards College.

 

I did an in-home with a family to take the tests as well as sit down with the family, his mom mentioned on several occasions how he was going to college (Oklahoma commit) despite the distain from the kid and the father of repeatedly mentioning that. I remember thinking as I was leaving Crystal lake, have fun in school...

 

If you don't mind me asking, which team did you work for as a scout? You have access to amazing scouting reports/intel and you knew the most on Kelenic obviously. Have you ever attended the Under Armour All-America game at Wrigley?

 

Yeah, I would sign straight out of HS without a moment of hesitation if the signing bonus was six figures + paid tuition for college. I wonder if agents aren't doing their due diligence or some parents/family friends/the prospect himself are just that dumb...

[Regular Show]

https://www.mlb.com/draft/tracker/undrafted

 

There is still a lot of talent available on Day 3. I know some of these kids are going to school and are unsignable. I have no idea how much cash the Cubs have left to spend on players. Probably $200K? Maybe more?

 

 

Sorry about the image resolution -- just right click on it and select "open image in new tab" if you're interested or click on the link above.

[Regular Show]

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[CaliforniaRaisin]

Original post updated through 10 rounds.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA has added blurbs to the guys they didn’t have info on as of yesterday.

 

4:

 

An extreme performer with Tennessee Tech, Roberts posted a 2.25 ERA this spring in 60 innings as a reliever, with 85 strikeouts and 18 walks. He’s been pretty consistent throughout his career in the Ohio Valley Conference, with a 2.99 career ERA, 13.04 K/9 and 1.81 BB/9. His best pitch is a heavy cutting fastball in the 90-93 mph range and his secondaries are solid, but nothing above-average. His strike throwing ability allows everything to play up.

 

5:

 

A college performer who can hit and showed some power during his junior season, Weber can handle second base and profiles as an offensive oriented infielder. After hitting below .300 in back-to-back years during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Weber took a big step forward as a junior after outfielder Jake McCarthy went down with an early-season injury. He hit .344/.415/.536 with a career-best five home runs in 54 games.

 

6:

 

Franklin is the nephew of long-time big leaguer Ryan Franklin. He has a pitcher's frame and a clean arm stroke with an 88-92 mph fastball and a loose curveball, but one that has enough shape to have some projection. He missed much of this spring with a broken foot. Franklin is committed to Oklahoma.

 

8:

 

A 6-foot-1, 195-pound college performer, Mort struck out 8.31 batters per walk this spring while posting a 2.48 ERA through 105 innings in 15 starts. He has average stuff across the board and gets his fastball up to 93.

 

9:

 

A senior performer with Virginia, Casey was taken in the 22nd round of the 2014 draft by the Cardinals out of high school but made it to campus in Charlottesville. After throwing 32 innings and posting a 3.06 ERA during his freshman season, Casey underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015 which kept him out for the entirety of the 2016 season. Since returning in 2017, Casey has posted a sub-4.00 ERA in back-to-back seasons and struck out a career-high 106 batters this spring, while walking 25. He pitches in the 88-93 mph range with his fastball, with a solid changeup and a fringe-average breaking ball.

 

The rest of the reports are interspersed through the thread at the time of the pick.

[Lefty]

No Luke Heimlich through two days.

 

Honestly, I'll consider this whole draft a win as long as we don't pick him.

 

The Cubs don't need the bad publicity, but I wonder on a more societal level whether he should forever be barred based on a teenage mistake (his claims of innocence not withstanding). The move toward felons voting is picking up steam, and I think that's probably consistent with where our society is going. The Obama Administration was very committed to the idea of keeping the official records of teen offenders clean as not to hamper them later on (see Nikolas Cruz). I just wonder if Luke Hemlich is different because he might make millions of dollars.

[jersey cubs fan]

No Luke Heimlich through two days.

 

Honestly, I'll consider this whole draft a win as long as we don't pick him.

 

The Cubs don't need the bad publicity, but I wonder on a more societal level whether he should forever be barred based on a teenage mistake (his claims of innocence not withstanding). The move toward felons voting is picking up steam, and I think that's probably consistent with where our society is going. The Obama Administration was very committed to the idea of keeping the official records of teen offenders clean as not to hamper them later on (see Nikolas Cruz). I just wonder if Luke Hemlich is different because he might make millions of dollars.

Raping a kid is not a "mistake".

 

This isn't a guy that got caught stealing a 6-pack of beer.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

No Luke Heimlich through two days.

 

Honestly, I'll consider this whole draft a win as long as we don't pick him.

 

The Cubs don't need the bad publicity, but I wonder on a more societal level whether he should forever be barred based on a teenage mistake (his claims of innocence not withstanding). The move toward felons voting is picking up steam, and I think that's probably consistent with where our society is going. The Obama Administration was very committed to the idea of keeping the official records of teen offenders clean as not to hamper them later on (see Nikolas Cruz). I just wonder if Luke Hemlich is different because he might make millions of dollars.

 

Being able to vote is on a different scale than playing on a baseball team that has hundreds of thousands of people who support and identify with it. I'm sympathetic to the idea that committing a crime at age 16 shouldn't doom a person for life, but Heimlich playing baseball does not exist in a bubble. The signal it sends to other folks who have been impacted by sexual assault matters, and alienating them is not worth the chance that Heimlich is .4 wins better than an alternative, nor is it truly unfair that Heimlich's mistakes mean certain career paths are not viable.

[Post Count Padder]

No Luke Heimlich through two days.

 

Honestly, I'll consider this whole draft a win as long as we don't pick him.

 

The Cubs don't need the bad publicity, but I wonder on a more societal level whether he should forever be barred based on a teenage mistake (his claims of innocence not withstanding). The move toward felons voting is picking up steam, and I think that's probably consistent with where our society is going. The Obama Administration was very committed to the idea of keeping the official records of teen offenders clean as not to hamper them later on (see Nikolas Cruz). I just wonder if Luke Hemlich is different because he might make millions of dollars.

I'm in favor of second chances and the changes in the criminal justice system.

 

But this is a high school kid molesting a child relative. Not the same thing as getting caught smoking a joint. I will be very upset if we take him.