2019 MLB draft thread

[Bob Sacamano]

Adley, Witt, or Abrams. One of those 3 will be there for the taking.

[Springfield Soxfan]

Hostetler’s podcast with Garfein was a snoozer.   Hardly any specific discussion on players and strategy.   

[bmags]

Of the player write-ups, Corbin Carrol really does seem like that guy that in 3-4 years people are like "why wasn't he a top 5 guy?"

[DirtySox]

49 minutes ago, bmags said:

Of the player write-ups, Corbin Carrol really does seem like that guy that in 3-4 years people are like "why wasn't he a top 5 guy?"

Agreed. He gets dinged for his size. He's one of my favorite prep bats in the draft.

[DirtySox]

Kiley draft chat stuff.

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Kiley McDaniel: A mock is coming next week. I would guess it will be on Tuesday and it will be different in format than the last one

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12:28

Lilith: Any news on where Vaughn might go?

12:28

Kiley McDaniel: Still leaning 5th but that’s not in stone

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12:30

Darren: On the draft version of the Board, is Adley really the only top 100 prospect in the draft?  How close are Witt/Vaughn to being a 55?

12:30

Kiley McDaniel: Nope all the 50’s are on the top 135 or whatever it is now, we just shuffled them and didn’t re-slot them yet. The top 5-6 would be in a top 100

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12:31

Spider Puig: At this point, are there any top 6 teams that are looking at taking someone other than the top 6 hitters? What are the chances, in your opinion, that one of those 6 is available for the Reds at 7?

12:32

Kiley McDaniel: The top 6 seems locked in, in some order. Obviously all those clubs have a group of players they’re looking at, so SDP/6 has to consider players outside the group. I’d say maybe a 10% chance one sneaks to CIN/7, but it may be lower than that.

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12:37

Alex: What becomes of Graeme Stinson? Does he just go back to school? Surely nobody will give him the money he was hoping for at this point.

12:38

Kiley McDaniel: Depends what his demands are and how much medical info he shares. Clubs I’ve spoken with are getting no info currently and it’s very unclear what the issue even is.

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12:38

Dan: What did Jonathan India have that Brady McConnell doesn’t? Seems like they are both high performing SEC bats who are unlikely to stick at SS. However India went top 5 and McConnell may not even go 1st round

12:39

Kiley McDaniel: McConnell probably goes 2nd round, but I’m still lukewarm. He struck out a lot more than India and the eye test on his swing and approach isn’t close to the same. He’s faster and a bit better defender than India, but India is a superior hitter with more game power and probably a tick more raw.

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12:42

Robert: What’s the difference between Xavier Edwards and CJ Abrams as prospects? Obv CJ is much more the prototype height wise, but is the speed/hit/d/power/arm profile pretty much the same except for CJ maybe projecting for avg pop? Would Edwards be drafted higher in hindsight?

12:43

Kiley McDaniel: Mentioned this a few weeks ago. There’s a lot of cross-year comps you can make. I’ve stumped a few guys this week on Kody Hoese vs. Jonathan India. They aren’t that different but one went 5th and one will go in the 20’s. Edwards/Abrams is another one, though Abrams is taller, has more raw power and a better chance to play SS, so he is a superior prospect.

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12:49

Taylor: I see that Quinn Priester is now the top high school arm on THE BOARD. Could you please explain what he has done to be ranked over Matthew Allen? Thank you!

12:50

Kiley McDaniel: It’s two different types: in terms of future/potential grades, Allan has two 65-grade pitches and 45 command, Priester has 55-60’s across the board with 50 or better command. Most teams/we lean to the Priester type

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12:54

Chris: Do any teams have Abrams over Witt?

12:54

Kiley McDaniel: I’m not certain any do, but I think at least a few do

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1:02

Matt: If Vaughn is the guy to slip to 6, do the Padres take him?

1:02

Kiley McDaniel: I’m not sure they do

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/kiley-mcdaniel-5-24-19/

Edited May 24, 2019 by DirtySox

[bmags]

4 hours ago, DirtySox said:

It's stuff like this that keeps me circling back to Vaughn.

 

Man going through BA500 their rankings are pretty wild. They are very conservative in moving players down from bad years or half years. Players like Paris that looks to go round one is in the 70s. 

[DirtySox]

Law chat stuff from today. Also lots of Gio love in his chat today. He's always been a believer.

http://meadowparty.com/blog/2019/05/24/klawchat-5-24-19/

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Eric: Barring an unexpected drop by Adley, is Abrams the pick at 3 for the White Sox?

Keith Law: He’s a possible pick. If 1-2 are Adley-Witt, I think the White Sox would choose between Vaughn and Abrams. They’ve been linked to HS guys a few times in recent drafts only to revert to college on draft day.

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Jeff: Any truth to the underslot deals for Brett Baty in the top 10 that’s going around? He seems to be either be loved or down on the board because of his age.

Keith Law: I never want to say never, but I don’t think he goes that high. If he were 18, then yes, he’d go top ten, we might even talk about him as a top five talent. But analytical models are going to destroy him for his age. Part of me wonders if that’s too extreme because we simply don’t have comparables – when was the last really good HS position player who was 19.5 or more on draft day?

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Jeff: First player to the big leagues from the 2019 draft?

Keith Law: I think Vaughn and Rutschman will move very quickly, or a polished starter like Manoah. I don’t see a reliever who’s going to fly through a system (and half the time that doesn’t work anyway).

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Jeff: Is Bobby Witt’s age any concern too or is he that good where it won’t end up mattering in the top 5?

Keith Law: I think that his age should be a little more of a concern and Baty’s should be a little less, but that neither guy should be eliminated or massively downgraded for it. Witt’s good. Baty’s good. Their age is one variable among many. I also think Witt’s going 2 so it’s probably not affecting him at all.

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mark: If Vaughn is the only “top 6” hitter left at 6 , who do you think the Padres take?

Keith Law: They should take him, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they passed for Lodolo and the Reds took Vaughn.

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Alan: Any chance Mets could go underslot at 12 and float Leiter to round 2?

Keith Law: If the rumored ask for Leiter is true, then no. I’ve heard he might only consider the Yanks or Mets, or that he wants a top 5 bonus, or that he’s unsignable at any price

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Eric: If you were Rick Hahn/Nick Hostetler and Adley and Witt were off the board, who would you select?

Keith Law: Vaughn. Big gap between him and next best available player.

 

Edited May 24, 2019 by DirtySox

[fathom]

4 hours ago, sox71 said:

Hostetler’s podcast with Garfein was a snoozer.   Hardly any specific discussion on players and strategy.   

Hostetler really loves Z. Collins, doesn’t he?  After listening to the podcast, I think Vaughn is the pick.

[Dominikk85]

8 hours ago, Lillian said:

To reiterate something I suggested, in a previous post; maybe they need to add some ranking component that reflects "value". When trying to determine the "best player available," it would be helpful if there were some quantifiable factor, such as cost of acquiring a comparable established player in free agency, or similarly, what his expected trade value would be, if he reached his potential. If Vaughn became as good of a hitter as our Jose Abreu, what would we have? I love Jose, but some here have argued that he has had very little trade value, precisely because his profile is of a slow footed, right handed hitting first baseman, albeit a very good hitter. If Vaughn produced like Abreu has, and that is likely a best case scenario, would we be similarly assessing his value, at some point?

Abreu has little trade value because he is 33 and quite expensive. If abreu was 24 and cost controlled he would have a pretty good trade value. And if Vaughn would become as good as abreu that would be an excellent outcome. Abreu has hit 293 averaging 32 homers that is pretty much a best case scenario for Vaughn and a top5 1b in the AL.

[Wanne]

2 hours ago, fathom said:

Hostetler really loves Z. Collins, doesn’t he?  After listening to the podcast, I think Vaughn is the pick.

God I hope so.  I've thought that since last year...he's been my "Vontae Mack no matter what" pick for as long as I can remember if he's available.

[Jose Abreu]

7 hours ago, fathom said:

Hostetler really loves Z. Collins, doesn’t he?  After listening to the podcast, I think Vaughn is the pick.

Really hope you're right. I just have accepted that it's Abrams at this point 

[Flash]

All this talk about Vaughn and Abrams and we might have overlooked the the highest ceiling hitter in the draft, Riley Greene. Watch some video of this kid. 

[Lillian]

17 hours ago, [email protected] said:

Abreu has little trade value because he is 33 and quite expensive. If abreu was 24 and cost controlled he would have a pretty good trade value. And if Vaughn would become as good as abreu that would be an excellent outcome. Abreu has hit 293 averaging 32 homers that is pretty much a best case scenario for Vaughn and a top5 1b in the AL.

I understand that, however those who have advocated trading Abreu, for the last couple of years, have usually mentioned that he had little trade value, primarily because he is a right handed hitting, first baseman. Again, I love Jose and think that he is the best hitter on the Sox. My point is that there should be other considerations, when evaluating the Draft, besides how good the various players are, in terms of their skill sets. Perhaps the best example is the one I cited, i.e.; Player A may be the best hitter in the Draft, however if he plays a position that is not very highly valued and, or hits right handed, he may be less valuable than another candidate, who is not quite as good of a hitter, but plays a premium position and hits left handed. 

This less tangible component of evaluation is often alluded to, however few want to really attempt to quantify it. Perhaps that's why a guy like Vaughn, who many claim is the best hitter in this class, may end up going 6TH. Yet no one would put any numerical grade on that factor. At any rate, I still prefer a guy who plays a more valued position, and hits left handed, to Vaughn, even if he is graded a notch lower, as a hitter, than Vaughn. If the consensus is that Vaughn is a significantly better hitter, then I would be in favour of selecting him, but if it's close, I'd prefer someone else.

[ChiSoxJon]

So whose the 6 that Hahn and Co. are considering?

[Lillian]

Bleday was 2 for 5, with another homer today. That was his 20TH, in the last 35 games and this one was in Tournament play. He leads the nation, with 26 home runs.

The California vs. Oregon State game was postponed, so no Vaughn or Rutschman results.

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by Lillian

[Jose Abreu]

3 hours ago, ChiSoxJon said:

So whose the 6 that Hahn and Co. are considering?

Abrams, Vaughn, Rutschman, Witt, Lodolo... Bleday/Bishop? 

[DirtySox]

36 minutes ago, Jose Abreu said:

Abrams, Vaughn, Rutschman, Witt, Lodolo... Bleday/Bishop? 

That sounds about right. I don't think Bishop is in play though. Certainly Bleday, who I also really like.

[BackDoorBreach]

Anybody else not really high on Abrams the more they read on him?  I really don't want a 1B/DH but Abrams sounds like a project more than anything.  Not really where I'd want to spend the #3 pick.

[ChiSoxFanMike]

I don't want Abrams either. Give me Vaughn, or in a perfect world, Rutschman.

[frogsplash31]

I feel like Vaughn is getting punished for past Sox draft picks. If the Sox took Kelenic last year, I guarantee more people would be for Vaughn. Not saying Abrams can be a future allstar, but, I'm not trusting the Sox to develop him. I think the Sox shouldn't overthink it and draft Vaughn, dude can flat out hit. Sucks he's a 1b/dh only, but he's an elite hitter and potential middle of the order bat.

[Springfield Soxfan]

10 hours ago, ChiSoxJon said:

So whose the 6 that Hahn and Co. are considering?

Hostetler said in the Garfein podcast that he interviewed the six candidates and he came away with five who would fit the pick at #3 instead of 6......wonder who failed the interview. 

[Flash]

I feel we need to effect a trade(s) in addition to drafting well in order to upgrade the roster if we are to compete for post season anytime soon. For me (not trying to be controversial), Eloy looks DH only. I also feel we tend to undervalue the importance of the ability of 1B to save throwing errors by playing short hops and I don't trust Eloy to acquire that skill. It is especially needed with Sox young IF 'rs. That said, I would be looking for a polished bat who could play an adaquate corner OF, ideally LH hitting and a LH hitting 1B with solid defensive skills.  OF 's I would consider taking at 3 are Bleday and Greene (I'm very high on Greene). I would then look to acquire a LH/1B through trade. Players I could see targeting include Naylor (SD), Byrd (NYY) and McMahon (Rox). I know they all come with question marks but are potentially available in trade and have shown potential both offense and defensively.

[whitesoxbrad]

12 minutes ago, Flash said:

I feel we need to effect a trade(s) in addition to drafting well in order to upgrade the roster if we are to compete for post season anytime soon. For me (not trying to be controversial), Eloy looks DH only. I also feel we tend to undervalue the importance of the ability of 1B to save throwing errors by playing short hops and I don't trust Eloy to acquire that skill. It is especially needed with Sox young IF 'rs. That said, I would be looking for a polished bat who could play an adaquate corner OF, ideally LH hitting and a LH hitting 1B with solid defensive skills.  OF 's I would consider taking at 3 are Bleday and Greene (I'm very high on Greene). I would then look to acquire a LH/1B through trade. Players I could see targeting include Naylor (SD), Byrd (NYY) and McMahon (Rox). I know they all come with question marks but are potentially available in trade and have shown potential both offense and defensively.

Outstanding post this brain trust does not have your vision or aptitude to make any of these moves.

[Flash]

52 minutes ago, whitesoxbrad said:

Outstanding post this brain trust does not have your vision or aptitude to make any of these moves.

Many thanks Brad.

[whitesoxbrad]

2 minutes ago, Flash said:

Many thanks Brad.

Your welcome Flash