Look at Ray Ray Run

Best RH high school pitcher you could draft.

Yes, the top of the talent pool is overlooked in the north due to what you listed, which is exactly why I'm so bummed... because the Sox had this kid right under their noses and the only team in Chicago paying attention was sadly the Cubs. Oh well. On to round 2. Everything is a crap shoot in these things anyway.

yes, that's unfair. C, SS, 2B and CF are all "up the middle" draft slots.

This just isn't true. I'll put this in the system tomorrow. Reps certainly matter for middle-tier players; it can separate a mid-tier talent in the mid-west from one in the South. The top of the talent pool though? It just doesn't matter. Ed is at the top of the talent pool. Another overlooked Northern kid. At least now they're going in the middle-end of round one. They used to fall out of round 1 all together. Everyone having a player like Veen ahead of Howard is a complete joke imo.

Ed had like 6 weeks of travel ball/showcase where he wasn't the absolute best player everyday, and people started saying he was struggling vs "elite talent." Then he dominated every other week of his life. The critiques of Howards bat are absolutely laughable. Classic northern kid bias because he only gets the spotlight 1/2 the time, so his one time "Struggle period" (in which he was still an elite player) is amplified well beyond where it should be.

Mike Trout kinda good. Alek Thomas says hello. There's so many more. Either north east/midwest scouts are complete trash, or people just overrate reps for kids at the top of the talent pool.

No, I don't care about the analysts of a sport that has a hit rate of about 8% after the first 10. It's the one sport where someone who is educated on baseball can make the same "guesses" and "projections" as the experts. There's a reason Yorke just got drafted here. A lot more to the game than just skill.

Every draft analyst tells us every northern kid isn't as good as the southern kids every single year for decade upon decade.

Exactly how I feel Timmy. Northern kids are inherently over scrutinized and underrated; Ed a rare breed of getting exposure young, and only excelling after that. Sox knew Ed, saw him more than anyone. Him missing his senior year was a blessing for them because he would have not been here if they played baseball this year. Sox should have known that. Cubs did. This sucks.

Cubs will develop him into an absolute superstar. Complete sorrow for me. Good luck to Ed.

I quit.

Very true. Got me there.

LOL Andrew Miller was one of the 5 best pitchers in college baseball for three years in a row as a starter. He walked people, but he also never gave up runs.

A safer bet to make an elite reliever is an elite starter prospect. Hope I'm wrong, but Crochet is just more pitching arrogance; same issue that led them to Fulmer. At least Fulmer got college hitters out. Crochet throws hard, commands nothing, tricks way fewer than his stuff should.

Yeah, maybe they can teach him to command the ball like they did Alec Hansen.

If they drafted a reliever at 11 that's fucking awful.

Jesus Christ he does look like Sale; Leiter is good at these things. Take notes Harold. That said, command isn't what Sales was. That's the huge difference. Don't like it; it's arrogant. Sale excelled command wise.

Harold Reynold is so terrible. Shows side by side of Veen and Bellinger and there swings in high school are nearly nothing alike for a lefty, but because they're both left handed they look the "Same." Veen stinks. Showcase hero.

If true, wow. Can't blame them. Great pick. Good luck to Ed.

Hassell is a a beast though. Veen, blah.

Said months back that drafting high school kids this year would be much riskier than ever before, because this year and summer are huge development years for players at the 17-18 age. Losing that for many kids, and all of the northern kids, is damaging to every high school kids stock no matter what. Teams are taking huge risks on kids because they didn't see anything in a huge development year, so high schoolers were in a lot of trouble. It's one reason I want Howard - I don't care about Howard's summer last year one bit. The kid has started to fill out and he has all the tools to play the game. Put him in a good program and he'll pick up on everything and excel.

Veen another overrated high school kid who peaked physically earlier.

Mitch Trubisky dominated college football for three years?

DING DING DING. It's not even a question. In a draft with a lot of questions, take the guy with a ton of talent, all the tools, and a great work ethic. A kid you know inside and out. Don't get cute; take the kid with the biggest ceiling there is.

Cherington lucks into Gonzales at 7.