2021 MLB Actual Draft Day(s) Thread

[squally1313]

I'm getting Jose Quintana vibes, maybe not specifically with stuff, but with the "Cubs are desperate for guys who can competently throw innings at the major league level and this guy theoretically fits the bill but almost assuredly won't actually be a good starter over time."

Not sure about everyone else, but I guess I'd be ok with Jose "17th in pitching fWAR since 2010" Quintana.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

horsefeathering Pirates. They are destroying this draft so far.

 

There's no way in hell they're going to be able to sign Solemeto, White, and Chandler, right?

 

Right???

 

There's a reason they didn't take Leiter or the prep shortstops first.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA had Triantos ranked 59th:

 

59 James Triantos SS Madison HS, Vienna, Va.

Ht: 6-1 | Wt: 195 | B-T: B-R

Commit/Drafted: North Carolina

Age At Draft: 18.5

RapScore: 58

 

BA Grade: 55 | Risk: Extreme

Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Field: 50 | Arm: 60

 

Triantos wasn’t scouted heavily last summer because at the time he was a member of the 2022 high school class, ranking as a top-50 prospect in the prep group. In the fall, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound shortstop reclassified for 2021 and he’s had an excellent season for an impressive Madison High club in Vienna, Va. Triantos is a North Carolina commit, but there’s a chance he doesn’t make it to Chapel Hill given his performance this spring, though the industry does seem a bit split on him, perhaps because of his more limited scouting history. Triantos is a bat-first infielder whom scouts think could develop into a plus hitter with solid power potential. He swings with intent, has solid bat speed and has improved his body over the offseason, though he’s filled out at the moment and doesn’t project for a ton more physically. He’s a solid athlete and a plus runner now, though that run grade could back up as he continues to mature. Defensively, he has plus arm strength that would work for shortstop, but most scouts seem to think he’ll be a better fit at second or third base, where he’ll provide solid glovework. Triantos has touched 96 mph on the mound with a good breaking ball and below-average changeup and cutter, but most teams prefer his upside as a hitter. For teams high on his bat, he could be picked among the top-two rounds.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

MLB Pipeline had Triantos at 78:

 

AGE 18

BATS R

DOB 01/29/2003

THROWS R

HT 6' 1"

WT 195

COMMITTED North Carolina

Scouting Grades/Report (20-80 grading scale)

HIT 55

POWER 45

RUN 50

ARM 55

FIELD 45

OVERALL 50

 

Originally part of the Class of 2022, Triantos reclassified to join the 2021 Draft class, leading to scouts flocking to Virginia to check him out as he gained traction as a serious pop-up prospect. A two-way standout at James Madison High School, his future as a professional lies in his ability in the batter’s box, and he had so much helium that it looked possible he’d be the first player at Madison to get taken in the first few rounds since Jay Franklin was a first-round pick in 1971.

 

There are some polarizing opinions about Triantos and his upside, with scouts who like him really believing in the bat. Some see a future plus hitter with a feel for the barrel and good bat speed. There’s some surprising power given he’s not the biggest guy in the world, though he’s very physical. Detractors feel he can get stuck with a predetermined approach from the right side of the plate and can guess wrong.

 

Even fans of Triantos feel he won’t be a shortstop at the next level. He has the arm for the left side of the infield, with those who dream seeing a little Alex Bregman or fellow Virginia high school product David Wright, albeit a bit less athletic. The University of North Carolina recruit gets high marks for his baseball IQ and work ethic, another reason why he could hear his name called in the top five rounds.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Keith Law had Triantos at 100:

 

100. James Triantos, SS, James Madison HS, McLean, VA

Previously unranked

 

Triantos is Herc’s favorite prospect in this year’s draft, and is best known among scouts for the fact that he didn’t strike out all spring while hitting .745 for James Madison HS, leading the team to the Virginia state championship. He’s a two-player player who reclassified into the 2021 class and has moved into the top two rounds on the basis of that performance and, as you’d expect, elite bat control. His swing is simple and fast, so if a pitch is in the zone, he’s perfectly set up to hit it hard. He doesn’t have another plus tool, and he’s going to move off shortstop, so if he goes in the top 50 picks or so, it’s a bet on his bat over all else.

 

Kiley McDaniel had him at 61. Fangraphs had him at 46 (their blurb was posted higher).

[CaliforniaRaisin]

3rd rounder:

 

Prep LHP/OF Drew Gray, IMG Academy in Florida

 

Listed as an OF on the pick.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I mentioned this in the context of the trade deadline, but is there any concern about developmental time with some of the positions now that they've killed short season ball? Just going down the recent Fangraphs list, they already have Preciado, Howard, Hernandez, Made, Santana, and Pertuz fighting for SS/3B time at Myrtle Beach and/or the Complex League, and I would guess as given the scouting report that they won't play it extra conservative with Triantos' timeline so he'd be fighting that group further. Ultimately it will sort itself out and you can use DH and 2B, but at a certain point you need defensive developmental time too.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA rated him 129:

 

129 Drew Gray IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.LHP/OF

 

Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 190 | B-T: L-L

Commit/Drafted: Arkansas

Age At Draft: 18.2

 

BA Grade: 45 | Risk: Extreme

Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 40

 

Gray would have ranked as the top prep prospect in Illinois this spring if he hadn’t transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where he was able to play better competition and be scouted much more heavily with one of the more talented prep teams in the country. Gray is committed to Arkansas—where his brother Evan currently plays—as a two-way player, but his pro upside is greater on the mound. His stuff made a jump last summer and he now throws a fastball in the 90-94 mph range with big spin rates (2600-2700 rpm) that allows the pitch to generate plenty of whiffs up in the zone. The pitch looks like a potential plus offering when Gray spots it up in the zone, but he will occasionally get out of sync with his lower and upper half, and he also is more erratic in his command at the higher range of his velocity. Gray throws two breaking balls, including a mid-70s downer curve with top-to-bottom shape that looks like a potential chase pitch. His other breaking ball is a slider in the low 80s with more sweeping action. Gray will need to refine his control a bit more to make the most of his stuff, but with a still projectable, 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame he has room for more in the tank in the future.

[jersey cubs fan]

3rd rounder:

 

Prep LHP/OF Drew Gray, IMG Academy in Florida

 

Listed as an OF on the pick.

#Ohtani

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Pipeline has him at 179 but only as a pitcher:

 

AGE 18

BATS L

DOB 05/10/2003

THROWS L

HT 6' 3"

WT 190

COMMITTED Arkansas

Scouting Grades/Report (20-80 grading scale)

FASTBALL 55

CURVEBALL 45

SLIDER 50

CHANGEUP 45

CONTROL 40

OVERALL 40

 

Before last summer’s showcase circuit started, Gray was a talented two-way high schooler from Illinois. He transferred to IMG Academy for better exposure and competition in his senior year, then performed much better on the mound than as an outfielder, raising his profile as a projectable left-handed pitcher considerably. Trouble with command and what some scouts believed to be a minor arm issue kept Gray from pitching much in the second half of the spring and left his Draft stock a bit up in the air.

 

A left-handed hitter when he’s in the lineup, Gray runs well and can make a lot of contact with power potential to grow into. He’s done less pitching by comparison, though the step forward some were hoping for over the summer never really came to fruition this spring and he ended up pitching on IMG’s B team before shutting it down on the mound. There are still some very intriguing pieces, including a fastball that was largely 88-92 mph but touched 94 at times. Over the summer, he showed a distinct low-80s slider and a mid-70s curve, though they ran into each other, and he showed mostly the latter breaking pitch this spring. While he didn’t throw many, there’s been some feel for a changeup.

 

While Gray was certainly going to be projection over ability, his difficulty in throwing strikes with below-average command overall was concerning to some scouts and his reduced time on the mound didn’t help in that regard. A team could roll the dice on his tremendous upside, but he could head to Arkansas to play with older brother Evan if the Draft doesn’t work out.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I mentioned this in the context of the trade deadline, but is there any concern about developmental time with some of the positions now that they've killed short season ball? Just going down the recent Fangraphs list, they already have Preciado, Howard, Hernandez, Made, Santana, and Pertuz fighting for SS/3B time at Myrtle Beach and/or the Complex League, and I would guess as given the scouting report that they won't play it extra conservative with Triantos' timeline so he'd be fighting that group further. Ultimately it will sort itself out and you can use DH and 2B, but at a certain point you need defensive developmental time too.

 

It's frustrating the Cubs only went with one complex team in Arizona for this reason. It feels like Made (and possibly even Howard) don't belong in Myrtle Beach right now and have to play there.

[jersey cubs fan]

I mentioned this in the context of the trade deadline, but is there any concern about developmental time with some of the positions now that they've killed short season ball? Just going down the recent Fangraphs list, they already have Preciado, Howard, Hernandez, Made, Santana, and Pertuz fighting for SS/3B time at Myrtle Beach and/or the Complex League, and I would guess as given the scouting report that they won't play it extra conservative with Triantos' timeline so he'd be fighting that group further. Ultimately it will sort itself out and you can use DH and 2B, but at a certain point you need defensive developmental time too.

The Cubs are obsessed with versatility, and I'd venture a guess they are more than happy to have some middle infielders get outfield time. I can't imagine they have too many SS/3B types to the point that there isn't enough playing time for these guys.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Gray ranked 123 by Kiley McDaniel at ESPN (only listed as a LHP).

 

Not ranked by Fangraphs (only ranked 73 players) or Keith Law (only ranked 101 players).

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Apparently the Cubs announced him as an LHP and MLB.com is wrong listing him as an OF.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

 

[craig]

Apparently the Cubs announced him as an LHP and MLB.com is wrong listing him as an OF.

 

Thanks, Cal, I'd wondered about that, and how they see using him.

 

I'd almost kinda hoped they envisioned a good-hitting outfielder who'd grow into power...

 

Seems like a fun project for the development guys to get their hands on....

[CubinNY]

Ah yes, time for the yearly reminder that everyone else in the Cubs' division gets an extra draft pick because they are actual mid-market teams, even though the Cubs spend like one...

It appears that they are all spending like mid-market teams with the salary ca.. luxury tax [expletive].

[CaliforniaRaisin]

4th rounder: Arkansas OF Christian Franklin

[CaliforniaRaisin]

FG had him at 49 with a 40+ FV:

 

Full Report

Franklin is a well-rounded player who performed in the SEC. His swing works best in the bottom of the zone and so there's some trepidation about this because there's so much top side velo in the big leagues now. But Frankin has pop and is a viable defensive center fielder, and that combination doesn't grow on trees.

[Bertz]

I feel like I really like this draft so far. Obviously TBD on whether it works out, but it's kind of nice that every pick is either a good value based on public rankings or has legitimate measurable a to back it up. It's not necessarily more "right" than the alternative, but certainly leads to less draft day consternation.

[Tryptamine]

No bargain basement 10k senior signs yet, a bit surprising.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Maybe meaningless in the long run, but I'm interested that Franklin's K rate was basically the same both in and out of conference play. Maybe speaks to him knocking off some rust/timing early in the season before the uptick in competition, so while it certainly doesn't wipe away the contact concern it maybe explains the specific K rate he ended the season with.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Keith Law:

 

77. Christian Franklin, OF, Arkansas

Previously No. 75

 

Franklin has huge power and could be a 60 defender in center, but his swing is wildly inconsistent and he doesn’t use his legs well at the plate, part of why he’s always had trouble making contact.

 

ESPN had him at 124.

[Outshined_One]

I feel like I really like this draft so far. Obviously TBD on whether it works out, but it's kind of nice that every pick is either a good value based on public rankings or has legitimate measurable a to back it up. It's not necessarily more "right" than the alternative, but certainly leads to less draft day consternation.

 

This draft doesn't blow me away, but I like the fact that the Cubs decided to hone in on guys who can be described as, "He does X well enough to make the majors, and he has some upside." I don't necessarily think any of these guys are future All Stars, but they're the kinds of guys who seem likely to provide quality depth down the road, which every team needs.