2017 Draft Discussion: Day One

2017 Draft

Gooood Morning Phillies Fans!!!

Here’s a thread to talk about the 2017 First Year Player Draft.  It won’t actually occur until 7:00 pm tonight.  But this will provide a place for any draft discussions.  I’ll post a new one each day, as well as a 2017 Draft Tracker.

Coverage starts on MLB Network  and MLB.com with a preview show at 6:00 PM ET.

Round One begins at 7:00 PM ET thru Competitive Balance Round A (picks 1-36) and will be on MLB Network and stream on MLB.com..

Round two and Competitive Balance Round B (picks 37-75) will only be streamed on MLB.com.

Rounds 3-10 will be streamed Tuesday on MLB.com.

Rounds 11-40 will conclude on Wednesday on MLB.com.

The draft tracker and the daily draft discussions will be included under “2017 Draft Discussions and Picks” selection on the menu under “The Draft”.

Things have been pretty good for a while now, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this reminder from last year.  Thank you for your continued observance.

Please be considerate toward each other when commenting.  Language is monitored and blocked automatically.  But I have to monitor arguments.  I would prefer not having to block anyone. 

Last year some comments became vicious and personal during the draft and I had to ask Gregg to block a couple of people due to personal attacks and language directed at each other and toward other commenters.  Soon after my request, Gregg gave me the necessary authority to block people. So, I don’t have to ask this year, I can react much quicker as I monitor these threads this week.  I will not hesitate to block bad behavior before it gets out of hand.  Thank you.

221 thoughts on “2017 Draft Discussion: Day One”

  2. Pavin Smith, if he is taken he’s a right fielder , Phillies have Tojo, Hopkins, Hall at first . C , Pullin, Nick Williams at LF I’M not including Ortiz , Cozens . That why I’m think Pitcher or High school bat.

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    1. It doesn’t matter what position. They won’t get called up until they are at least 27 anyway

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      1. That might be a record there dude have seen that many thumbs down since
        Someone told Stassi dad his son sucks

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    2. Maybe, Tim.

      The Phillies will eventually move either Joseph or Hoskins. TJ is not a first division starter. He’s got power. Adequate defensively. Hoskins should get his shot once TJ is traded, which won’t be for a lot. Assuming Rhys is the better player, especially his hit tool, he hasn’t played one game at the major league level. Neither has Pavin, of course. But it shouldn’t be a forgone conclusion that Hoskins is the future 1b. Smith’s offensive profile fits what the Phillies are in dire need of, whether he’s a corner OF or 1b. Should he be drafted, he may well have the best hit tool of ANY player in the organization, polished or raw. Then, they have the option to make him the future 1b if Hoskins shows he isn’t by the end of ’18.

      Can’t see the dilemma here.

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        1. That’s not surprising at all. If they feel he can hit for power and can play left field I feel so much better about that pick assuming, at the time they pick, he’s otherwise the BPA.

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          1. Agreed. IF he’s shown them that he’s athletic enough to be an OF then I have less of an issue although I would still prefer a bigger upside choice..

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          2. If they are looking for a bat similar to Smith, but someone who actually has a realistic chance of playing the OF Evan White is their man. I like White a lot and he’s a better athlete than Smith.

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      2. Agreed that the Phillies should almost certainly move TJ and agreed he probably won’t command much in return.

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            1. Yanks are in WIN NOW mode. Joseph would provide depth at 1b since Carter is not good and Bird is rehabbing. Plus the DH option as well.

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      3. 8mark makes a key point about Smith’s – his might have a better overall hit tool than any player in the entire organization. He is also considered the most polished college bat and should get to the majors quickly. These factors could trump the negatives – not as much power as you’d like from a 1B (primary negative) and plays the same position as Joseph and Hoskins (secondary negative). But if the Phillies think Smith can play a passable corner OF position (he’ll probably never any better than average defensive OF), then the pick becomes a lot easier. That’s assuming Smith will be available at 1:8.

        I could also see the Phillies going the prep route with the upside of Baz or Beck.

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      4. The Phillies work out Pavin Smith in RF for a reason.Tojo has just over 500 ML atbats .He’s doing better then Rizzo , A Gonz, Belt , Bour he’s on Pace for 40 homeruns and 40: doubles in his 600 at bats.

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  3. Pavin Smith worked out for the Phillies on Saturday at CBP. Supposedly put on a power show during batting practice including a few in the upper deck ( seriously this is so over rated).

    I also saw this tweet about two locals who have committed to U of Delaware that were also invited to the workout.

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    1. It may be a little overrated for a high school hitter, who isn’t used to seeing advanced pitching and who may or may not be able to hit a good breaking ball. But for an advanced college first baseman, it could be huge. My guess is that Smith is likely to hit in professional baseball. The question will be where he falls on the spectrum as a power hitter. So, for him, showing advanced power might be pretty important. I’d feel a lot better about the pick if his ceiling is Todd Helton as opposed to James Loney.

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  4. Billy Sullivan from St. Mark’s is the pitcher and Brock Nowell is the C from Conrad Science DE.

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  5. I would love to see the Phillies go for Beck, Burger, Adell, or Baz. Peterson is also interesting and as an underslot option Allen HS SS from CA would interest me a whole lot. In round two getting one of Fairchild, Rooker, Downs, Ramos, or Beck would be very nice. Also while I haven’t seen it mentioned here I think the Phillies really should look to grab one of these catching prospects in the early rounds maybe even two if the value is right.

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    1. Romulus, I’m with you. Think if Beck is there he’s got to be the choice but then again that’s just my opinion.

      Would have no problem with them taking Smith if they are convinced he’s the BPA as I don’t buy into he’s “blocked” by a player with zero career MLB ABs.

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  6. Overnight, Callis and Mayo from mlb network agreed on top 5 picks with 2 surprise developments – OF / 2b Keston Hiura jumps up to the Braves at an underslot discount. Kyle Wright drops to either A’s or DBacks. They have the Phillies selecting either Smith or Haseley.

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    1. Hiura is intriguing as one of the two most advanced college bats (along with Pavin Smith), and he is not a 1B. So I could see this happening.

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  7. I expect they’ll take Smith if he’s available, and possibly his VA teammate if Smith isn’t available, and then take a college pitcher in round 2.

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      1. Like to see them take a risk once in awhile.
        Baz would be high reward/high risk guy.
        Some teams take more risk than usual….Marlins for example….they like their HS players and especially pitchers….and they hit and miss (mostly miss however)….but some biggies in Beckett and Fernandez as hits….James, Kolek so far were not.

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        1. Yea, if there is any read you can get from Klentak so far its that he seems to be risk adverse. All of his moves appear to be on the safe side and he has show some hesitation when it comes to making deals, moving players, etc..

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          1. Too many similarities to his predecessor if you ask me.
            Sitting on the fence only splinters the junk.
            I look at Coppallela, Hoyer, Preller and even the Dodger’s Freidman, and they all seem aggressive in their approaches.
            Maybe it is me painting the wrong picture of this MacPhail/Klentak duo.
            But the parade of aged relievers that has gone thru here in the last 15 months does not excite me…or even his trade chip scenarios are proving to be unfruitful.
            With in the next six weeks will be the next test for them.

            .

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            1. I don’t see the Amaro comparison. Like him or not, Amaro wasn’t shy about making big deals (Halladay, Lee twice, Pence) or taking risks (lots of toolshed draft picks).

              Amaro’s biggest fail was not starting the rebuild process early enough and he also wasn’t very good at getting value back when trading away major league talent like Lee, Pence, and Hamels.

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            2. Perhaps looking at it that way…yes ,RAJ did make the necessary MLB talent trades. But when it came to amateur acquisition he seemed risk adverse…especially when it came to Cuban players……and MAG was a cheap signee after the medical eval. Tocci at $800K in ’11 was a first big dollar signee, fro the Phillies anyway, ….everything prior were a lot lower expenditures
              The rebuild may have been made easier if in ’08 thy open their pocketbooks in the Latin market.

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            3. I agree that they were not nearly aggressive enough when it came to spending internationally. Unfortunately, that hasn’t seem to have changed much…

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  8. None of the guys that will be around at 8 really excite me. I would do what they did last year, sign a below slot guy then go over slot later in the draft to get another first round talent.

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  9. Christmas in June, what a great day this should be, hope everyone enjoys it. Can someone give some details on this 6’6″ lefty HS pitcher from Texas?

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    1. You mean Rogers from New Mexico? If so, he’s the real deal. I honestly see Madison Bumgarner potential in Rogers and I don’t throw that comp around lightly

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      1. Putting Madison Bumgarner comps out there on Trevor Rogers is a little premature I would think.
        First off….what I said earlier…the age factor….Bumgarner was almost 18-years old when drafted in ’07…Rogers is five months away from 20. In college he would be finishing his sophomore season now
        Second…..not disparaging New Mexico prep standards…..but do not see the same level of competition in New Mexico vs that of North Carolina preps.
        I would not put him the same category of a Jason Groome from last year.
        He could be the real deal……but he needs to move first thru a farm system if he wants to keep to the proper age appropriation level.

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        1. I’m not saying Rogers is Bumgarner now, but that can be his ceiling. Yes, Rogers is a little older than the average competition; however, he’s excelled at numerous showcases, including Perfect Game, against the best talent. When you watch his delivery, it’s carefree and consistent. He slings the ball like MadBum. I like how he has two above average pitches already which indicates that he can move quickly, which is rare these days.

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            1. Rogers is 19, so a lot of scouts say he’s older than the average competition. Teams tend to shy away from those guys

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      2. I was just reading an article about him saying how he could fall to the Mets at 20. The scouting report highlighted in the piece said he could be a “dominant” pitcher in the big leagues, something I haven’t heard/read about any of the other pitchers who’ll most likely still be there when the Phillies pick (Faedo, Bukauskas, and, to a lesser extent, Baz). I was leaning Beck or Smith before–but consider me a late addition to the Rogers bandwagon.

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  10. Was watching the TCU/MIZZOU games to see Burger and the guy who caught by eye was Evan Skoug..

    A little lefty catcher with 20 HR’s is intriguing if he is around in the 2nd or 3rd round.

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    1. DMAR…he does have power …..but he just doesn’t have the ideal hitting tool. If you cannot break the .290 BA barrier in college over three years and k at over 20%, as a LHB, it will be hard for him to project more than a 4A guy in the minors. But I would go for him in the later rounds of the top ten….5-7th. Henri Lartigue from LSU was similar in that regard from last year.

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      1. Yes I get that Romus and I’m not pushing for him but I’m kind of curious to see where he goes.

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        1. speaking of guys from the weekend CWS this weekend, i see Maikel Franco’s AB’s ,and then I see Drew Ellis of Louisville this weekend and it gets me thinking. Might not make it to our second pick, but he has leverage as a draft eligible sophomore so maybe could slide if teams dont want to pay him.

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    1. Yeah man. That’s practically been the word of late. They were all-in on Beck and they still might be; however, their looking for a college bat. I bet they take Haseley over Smith, simply because of his CF potential

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      1. I think Arizona takes Haseley unless Lewis who they love is still on the board. Picks 4-6 (Rays, Braves, A’s) are the pivot point of the entire 1st round.

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  13. McKlentak need to get out of their comfort zone and start making some gutsy moves — Shane Baz at 1.8 unless Lewis or Gore are available.

    Baz 1.8 and Rogers at 2.45 in Day 1 is a great haul for the Phils!

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    1. KuKo…if they go Baz at 1.8, then I see it l being a college pitcher at 2.45. Baz understand is a TCU commit and could be a hard slot sign , not sure you will get anything significant as an under slot from him. And that will limit your ability in taking a high ceiling HS player at 2.45.

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      1. Romus – I think most rank Baz between Top 11-20 so a full slot value of $4.78M should be enticing enough for Baz to sign at 1.8. Rogers can be the harder task at 2.45 as $3M may not be enough for Rogers to sign. It might take the Phils to sacrifice talent in the middle rounds in lieu of $10k signings to create savings. But if they Klentak do a Howie Roseman and get both prep arms — that will be a success!!

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        1. KuKo….if Rogers is still there at 45, perhaps that would be their maneuver. But not sure he will still be on the board after the 25th pick. I am sure there are other HS high ceiling pitchers who will still be there at 45…..Danner, Eder, Mercado, Tabor and Scherff are just a few with college commits that could be swayed with a substantial over slot offer.
          But Almaraz has already stated they are going with the ‘big strong’ college arms thru the draft…I take that to mean at 2.45 if a HSer is selected at 1.8

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          1. There’s not a lot a good college arms part 1st rd — the Phils might end up drafting Faedo or JB at 1.8 or Tristan Beck at 2.45 (if 1.8 is not a college arm). Any of the 3 college arms are not solid bet to become a TOR so i can see JA going to a direction of a reliable bat instead.

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            1. Faedo in my book is a taller Nola…..not bad, but , you know…..
              JB Bauk…..listed at 6′ by college athletic dept linear measurements…..you know what his true height will be the pros use the 12 inch equals one foot table.
              But that FB and slider are top shelf….maybe another Tim Lincecum, in the making.
              Tristan Beck…another Stanford pitcher….one day someone is going to get it right with the Cardinal breed.

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      2. Looking over the top 200 list on MLB.com there are no hitters truly projecting as superstars. Overall, I think that beyond Hunter Greene, Baz looks like the most likely to project as a potential #1 (assuming some projection) and may be the best pick for us.

        As someone whose first memory of the Phillies was 1960 (that team made the current Phillies squad look like an all-star team), the rebuild does not seem to be taking overly long. Back then, if the Phillies finished ahead of the Cubs for 7th place in the NL it was a Philadelphia equivalent of winning the world series.

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  14. This is supposedly a weaker draft, particularly after the first round. Because of that, not feeling underslot deal.

    Also, with the likelihood of a top 5 pick next year, maybe taking safer pick (Halsey), makes sense. That way you can take BPA next year and swing for the fence whether it’s a prep pitcher, etc

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  16. This draft is incredibly weak. You know it’s bad when a one-dimensional player like Keston Hiura is now projected to go 5th overall to Atlanta. Granted he’s smoked the ball, but he barely played the field at UC Irvine. The top college hitters outside of the latter and Haseley are all projected first baseman. At least in past drafts, you had college bats in premium positions. Also, college pitching is weak too. This draft will need some serious sleepers in the later rounds.

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  17. John Y, I thought Haseley’s value was based on his playing CF. I really did not want him, but absolutely do not if CF is out.

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  18. Once the colleges go into their playoffs, I think they should all be required to use the wooden bats. It is better hearing the thuds versus the pings.
    Plus it makes scouting a little more interesting.

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  19. Why not more love for Adell? He looks like a future star to me, although with some high school risk.

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      1. The big key will be the hit tool and how it develops, but the rest of the tools for the 6’3″, 205 pounder are top of the scale.

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    2. Jo Adell may have the tools to look like a future star but the overall risks is too big for the ceiling. Adell and Altherr are almost of similar profile.

      A tooly prospect in Jo Adell will be a trendy pick during the RAJ-Wolever era but Adell is not of Johnny A.,’s type – as Johnny likes batters who can control the strike zone.

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        1. I like Adell a lot; however, he has a really long swing. Some clubs don’t think his hit tool will develop. If he puts it all together, Adam Jones comp is not out of the question

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  20. Word now is that the Twins are deciding between McKay and Lewis. John Manuel was right. Chaos. Does anybody know what they want. Does anybody know what any team really wants. Schizophrenic if you ask me.

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    1. 8mark…last five years Twins have been slightly burned on HS position players picked fairly high…Gordon and Buxton. So that may be also a factor in their thought process and may lean college player.

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        1. rocco…wait…remember, you said you were going to run down Broad Street naked fi the Phillies didn’t do something. else…..so now it is off to the mid-east to fight.
          Just relax, and enjoy watching Ruben coaching at first base tonight.
          Listen to Tom McCarthy say…..”Ruben looks fantastic, it looks like he could play again”

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  21. Rumors have it Padres and Braves may select a lower cost/lesser prospect to sign underslot. This would allow their 2nd round or later picks be of better quality which is what Philly did last year. I say the Phils do just the opposite especially if with the 8th pick they could get a top 5 prospect and have to sign for slot value or even slightly higher. From all the comments coming from Phillies brass I expect a college player maybe a pitcher but that is not a given at this point.

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  22. If one of the top 5 falls, that would be great news. But, I want a high ceiling future star, not closest to the Majors.

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  23. One encouraging thing Johnny A said at his presser the other day was that they want to make every pick, every round count. You never know what diamond in the rough you might find.

    Remember a few years ago under RAJ, they selected his nephew, then Tom McCarthy’s son and then somebody else in the organization’s kid in the final rounds. What a crock! No wonder things turned out this way. That “family” culture had to end.

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    1. yes….it was Amaro, Brundage, Morandiini and McCarthy among the last 6 rounds.
      And just before them…HS Canadien OFer Ben Pelletier….who could be a real find.

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    2. standard canned answer. Who’s going to say, yes we’re taking 50 players but really only care about 1/2 of them.

      I agree with the foolishness of taking family members so they can say they were drafted but lets not pretend that that statement means anything…

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  24. Between the Phils pick and the Sixers pick, I’m going crazy trying to guess which way they will respectively go. I like what some have said about this draft being ‘weak’ and going all in on a big talent rather than sign a guy under slot and try to hit in the first and second round. So I’m leaning towards someone with more upside and higher ceiling. I think that leads me further to a HS prospect at #8. I don’t think Royce Lewis makes it to us but one of Jordon Adell or Austin Beck could be the right hitter. Similarly, Mac Gore won’t make it to us so maybe Shane Baz is the best pitching option, so long as we persuade him to pass on his TCU commitment. After that, I’m all for BPA.

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  26. so latest baseball america has Kyle Wright making it to the Phils at #8. would the Baz fans still prefer Baz if that happened?

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  30. Lewis is a Scott Borass client by the way. No, that is not an extra s by mistake ^_^

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    1. Can’t fricking believe that Kyle Wright falls to the Braves. The young pitching talent in that organization is sick.

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  43. And…there goes Beck..as you all know, I had him going to the Phils in the first 3 mocks. Damn…

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  52. Is it fair to say…maybe too soon…that this draft has gone about as bad for Philly as possible? We did not catch a break, IMO.

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    1. Its a weak draft .You could get better talent later like a 5th round ryan howard type maybe, Teams are reaching. The kid atlanta took is a big risk imo.

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  57. Haseley! I told ya’ll lol. He’s baicslly a center fielder with 15 homer potential. I’m digging it

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    1. Its a weak draft .You could get better talent later like a 5th round ryan howard type maybe, Teams are reaching. The kid atlanta took is a big risk imo.

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  60. I know John Y called it, but I am not very excited. I still don’t see the ceiling. Maybe Rd. 2 brings a high upside pick. Who should I hope for? Where did Romus go? Who do you want in Rd. 2?

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    1. matt13……I guess Haseley will be under slotted, so who knows in the 2nd round……I assume it is a HS pitcher.

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  62. I could be totally off but he seems Haseley is what Moniak would have been if he went to college . . . mark me down as someone who isn’t a huge fan of the pick . . . really think we needed an arm . . .

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    1. EricD…the arm may come at 45. If Haseley takes $3.5M, then they could get that extra $1.3M to the 45th.

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      1. EricD…..forget that math….the 45th would get more than the 8th pick Haseley will probably want somewhere around $4M. So 45th comes in around $2.3M

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      1. Haseley also has three years on Randolph and Moniak. Time will tell, but Haseley will prove people wrong

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  66. Really happy with the pick. Hoping he can move through the quickly system ala Andrew Bennintendi.

    The Phillies can find higher upside players with their 2nd or 3rd picks, id rather not risk a prep arm at 1.8 with a guy like this available.

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  67. Haseley is certainly the safe pick in that spot. Not my first choice but here’s hoping to being proven wrong…

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    1. Moniak was a safe pick. Hasely was a safe pick. And now Seth Beer is suffering through a “sophomore slump”. How long will we have to wait before the Phillies find their next “star” prospect?

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      1. Should be Lakewood considering he’s a polished college hitter. Think about this, if he starts in Williamsport there is a real chance Moniak is in the show before him.

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  69. I had Adell going to the White Sox at 11th…go those keeping score at home, I’m 3 for 11 right now. It’s my first mock to boot that’s been the best

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  70. McKlentak is too vanilla and it’s hard to get excited under this current regime. i’m glad that NBA draft is coming soon and the NFL season is about to kick start.

    I like Almaraz, but all his 1st rd picks has been underwhelming to my taste — he is starting to look like an ATL mole to me. I hope they sign Haseley at underslot coz i’m not digging it.

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    2. I cannot see him being a huge undershot guy, he’s been projected to go 5-10.

      I’m definitely excited to see what they do at 2. The Phillies have nailed this pick the last few years with Knapp, Kingery, and Gowdy just to name a few.

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    3. I agree with you Kurdt.

      When they brought in the new young GM with the saber background, I thought things would be really shaken up, and we’d get some new ideas implemented right away. But it looks like he’s afraid of making a mistake, so he just does what the good ol’ boys tell him to do.

      Don’t get me wrong, I think Haseley was the right pick today, but I was surprised and disappointed at the lack of creativity thus far in the Klentak regime.

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  73. Shane Baz at 12th. 2015 1st rd. pick Ke’Bryan Hayes was from the same HS. I’m sure the Pirates had adequate time to scout him

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  75. I think the Marlins are brain dead. After losing Tyler Kolek and Braxton Garrett, they select a pitcher? Man…that’s risky

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  76. PIT is probably the best place for Shane Baz and checking out with the Phils division rivals — they got Kyle Wright and Trevor Rogers!

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  77. With the 8th pickninbthe draft, they took someone who projects to be a 4th outfielder. Just great

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    1. Yeah but he is college kid so he get to that 4th outfield spot quickly and make Nava expendable
      Wamp wahhhhh!!
      Honestly I think he is better than that

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  78. If you are going to miss, then miss with a pitcher (Faldo or Baz). This is a head scratcher

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  80. Well I must say my heart was broken at #7.
    Just read BAs draft tracker write up on Haseley. They make a big deal about his makeup and ascension to be among the top prospects. Winner type (like Jetpax!) at each level he’s played. Very competitive as a pitcher earlier in his baseball career. Safe pick, yes. Should eventually be a corner OF. Top of the lineup guy. Personally I’m not thrilled but let’s see what happens at 2-45.

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      1. You do realize that Kingery’s twitter handle is @scotty.jetpax25? It’s not a nickname but part of his persona. I’ve never referred to him as JetPax but he seems to like it.

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        1. Yes and it is very corny. Sounds like a nickname that he was given by his Dad when he was running around the house. 27-0 says lets shy away from it from now on.

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  81. Very underwhelmed with the pick. I don’t get it. He is not special in any way just average. Power, speed, defense, arm are all just average. With the 8th overall pick I wanted someone who had some plus tools (Baz, Adell, Rogers,) I would have even drafted Faedo over Haseley. 3 straight years of OF’s I thought we really needed an arm. Wasn’t Johnny A the guy who said you draft the arms buy the bats maybe it was Klentak. Plus he is another left handed OF. We have a million of them (Randolph, Moniak, Cozens, Pullin, Williams, Stephens, Martinelli, Herrera now Haseley.

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    1. He has above average speed. and arm. Joey pls dont make up things, This is a weak draft. So he project as well as anyone else in the draft.

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  82. I think they may have already given up on Randolph being the player they thought he would be. I can see Randolph as a throw-in piece in a future trade.

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  83. Regardless if Haseley is “underwhelming” or not, he was projected to go somewhere in between 5-10. That puts us in the position to make that pick. People wanted riskier picks? Didn’t we do poorly in the “high risk, high reward” era from the previous regime? I will take the polished college kid over the toolsy prep star 9 times out of 10. Maybe that’s not as sexy as everyone would like, but it’s a safer pick. I have no issue with it, especially since we took high school outfielders the last two drafts and we will have the first overall pick next year.

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  84. Another toolsy outfielder, I guess he has a high floor but could also be the next Anthony Hewitt.

    Really don’t understand how you take an outfielder with your top 10 pick when your major league team and minor league systems biggest weakness is lack of TOR pitching.

    I’d rather pick a guy who has a shot at being a TOR pitcher than a guy who has a solid chance of being a middle/upper-middle tier outfielder, which the Phillies have a surplus of already.

    Let’s hope they sign this guy underslot and use the money to draft some high upside pitchers in the following rounds.

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    1. Because this isn’t football or basketball, you don’t draft for need. There’s too much time between when the player is drafted and the time he hits a major league field. Between injuries, performance, and trades your needs 2-3 years from now will be much different than they are now.

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    2. Don’t get the Anthony Hewitt comparison. Haseley is a far safer pick than Hewitt. I just don’t love the pick because I keep hearing the Brett Gardner comparison. I guess Gardner is a good player, but at 1:8 I was hoping for a higher ceiling.

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    3. It’s funny that you call him a “toolsy” outfielder because he is literally the opposite of what that term has come to mean. A “toolsy” outfielder is a short-hand for a guy who has raw abilities but extremely little demonstrated baseball ability and is typically used to describe a raw high school player – this is the type of player the Phillies used to draft every year – Anthony Hewitt, Kyrelle Hudson, Cord Sandberg, and Aaron Altherr (yeah, sometimes they work out!) are examples.

      This guy is the opposite of that. He is an advanced college player with demonstrated baseball skills – his selling point is that he’s proven and projectable and not just “toolsy.”

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    1. Spencer Howard was an awful pick. Like really awful. Gavin Sheets or Corbin Martin would have been much better picks

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    1. Who would they be saving bonus money for, though? I can’t imagine they need extra for Haseley. And 2.45 is a spot where you should be getting much better talent than whichever projectable arms are available post-10th round.

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  90. The beat writers are reporting both guys are expected to go to Lakewood to start their careers. Should be fun to watch Moniak and Haseley in the same outfield (unless the Phillies push Moniak to Clearwater which I don’t see happening).

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      1. guess thats the same Cal Poly that 2014 second pick Matt Imhof was from in 2014? feeling similarly underwhelmed as i was then.
        are they doing a repeat of 2014 with all college kids thinking it will speed up a rebuild?

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  93. It’s funny. On Monday morning I looked at the description of this guy and read his hitting stats and thought “this guy is a prototypical Almaraz guy – I bet they they take him” – and here they are. I don’t hate the pick and it might turn out very well.

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    1. Should be a nice player just probably not a good chance he’s anything special. I still would have liked to have seen them go for Baz.

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      1. If he turns into a healthy Nava I’m happy, if Nava stayed healthy he would have had a nice career.

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    2. I am ready to give the Haseley pick a chance.

      Tools are great, but if a player does not have good plate discipline and a good hit tool it’s very hard for those tools to translate – witness Mikael Franco and about 20 other guys Marti Woelever picked who never panned out. I think they saw this guy having a great approach at the plate, a really solid hit tool, and growing power and they could very easily see a first division regular with room for more growth, especially if he puts on muscle weight (which, he says, he can do, as his lifting routine was more for pitching than hitting).

      And by the way, if the guy hits .280-.300 with a ton of walks and moderate power – that can be a very fine major league regular (it describes most of the good players on the Royals’ most recent WS teams); most of the players from the great Yankee teams of the late 90s and early 2000s fit this description.

      Basically, when I saw this guy I thought “wow, this is Mickey Moniak all grown up” and, in fact, the team itself compared the players. I think Moniak’s raw tools are probably notably better, but they are similar players if Moniak develops.

      As for the pitcher – if he’s throwing in the mid-90s with good movement and developing breaking stuff and is improving quickly – I can live with that too.

      As for today’s and tomorrow’s picks, I hope, among their various picks, they pick some developmental pitchers who throw hard and a few toolshed picks in later rounds (particularly good bats – I loved the Stephens pick last year; that’s who I want in the mid-rounds).

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  94. Here’s what’s left of my list Brenden Murphy, Daniel Trillo, K J Harrison,Blaine Knight,Asa Lacey,Nick Storz,Alex Torial,Brad Bass,Ryley Widell, Connor seabold,Jack leftwich, Jordan Spicer,Gavin Williams, Jackson Rutledge,Shane Drohan,Mac Sceroler,Logan Salow .

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  95. As I read through the write-ups of the 1st round selections, it was apparent how weak this draft was. Even the glowing words of analysts had serious downsides on nearly everyone of the picks. This guy had major surgery but otherwise he was a top 5 pick. He’s taken in the 20s. This guy has overpower stuff but has the be a lot more consistent, etc etc

    Our 2nd round pick was not very well known. Maybe a little like the Luke Williams pick a few years ago. He wasn’t on a lot of people’s lists. This is where scouting comes in. Howard was a walk on and only had 1 year as a college starter. The scout who pushed him hard said he was unhittable most of the time. Could be a great pick but could also be a guy who had one really good year in college. Let’s hope. It could be a money saving pick and there are some HS guys later in the draft who cab be lured away for $500K.

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  96. In 2 of his drafts, Johnny A has taken players who project to be left fielders with no power (Robinson and Hasely)

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  97. I read on MLB that Howard had ‘helium this spring”……he was rated around 150-170 in the spring, MLB had him at 99.

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  98. Johnny A was really clear about how much he likes Howard. Loves the movement on his fastball, and is viewed as a potential high in the rotation SP. So, he is either very right or very wrong.

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