Texas Christian's staff ace Kyle Winkler, who has stepped up in the absence of Matt Purke, will be skipped this week to give him some much needed rest. He doesn't have the prettiest delivery in the world, but is consistently 92-95 with his fastball and enough secondary stuff to merit consideration in the supplemental round.
Dylan Bundy, who has a brother in the Orioles minor leagues as well as a father who was a pro ball player, could be the first right handed high school pitcher to ever be taken #1 overall in the draft. It is unlikely, but he may have the highest ceiling of any player in this draft. He has a lot of mileage on his arm for a high school kid already. That could be an issue at some point and needs to be considered but the Pirates could choose to add him to the core of young studs who could all reach the majors at about the same time in 4 or 5 years.
George Springer does not get cheated at the plate. There is no wonder he K's as much as he does. There is no way his contact rate will improve without him cutting back on his swing. It makes me wonder if he just runs into pitches or if he has more bat control than that. If he can cut back on his swing and just make better pitch choices to unleash his bat speed on, he has a huge ceiling. If he just has to guess and hope he runs into one, he may not be much of a pro player with a ceiling of a 4A guy. That is what scouts get paid to figure out. I haven't seen him enough from the angles I need on video to give you a good answer.
Jed Bradley seems inconsistent to me. In one viewing he was 91-93 with plus secondary pitches. The second time I saw him, he was 86-88 with plus secondary stuff. That is a big difference in the fastball and the difference between a back of the rotation guy and a front end guy. I think he's a lock to be a major leaguer though.
Levi Michael could be a solid hitter with the chance to be a SS. His actions there are good and he has the arm to play there. He could be one of the top 15 2B in the majors in 5 years if he doesn't stick at SS.
More after the jump..
I don't care how short Sonny Gray is, I love that arm. He has two plus pitches that could get MLB hitters out right now.
Gerrit Cole's inconsistency scares me. It's not that he's not a great pitcher but I see him more as an A.J. Burnett type of pitcher than an annual Cy Young winner.
Bubba Starling may be the biggest disappointment in this draft. He may end up being a 5 tool stud, but I don't have a great feeling about his hit tool. As I stated earlier, he reminds me of a more athletic David McCarty. He was the 3rd overall pick in the 1991 MLB Draft and ended up getting nearly 1500 AB's in the majors with a .242/.305/.371 slash line. I could see Starling producing similar numbers when or if he makes it to the majors. Just what I see.
I'm holding out hope I get to see more of Danny Hultzen soon.
Alex Meyer is an impressive pitcher on the mound. His fastball pops and his slider is just nasty but so is his delivery. He is so tall that if his mechanics just get off by a little bit, he could be a mess, but when he is on, his stuff is phenomenal. I don't think I could pull the trigger on him in the top 15 picks though.
I love Trevor Bauer. He throws more than a lot of pitchers should in college but I think he'll be fine. He has trained for it and should be one of those guys that a pitch count shouldn't stipulate how long he's in a game.
I don't like Blake Swihart nearly as much as many. He is one of the best catching prospects in the draft, but I would take Austin Hedges before him 10 out of 10 times.
John Stilson is a reliever. He has the stuff to try starting but with that delivery and those pitches, he is much better suited to come out of the pen. He should be taken as a bullpen arm, not as a front end starter.
Alex Dickerson isn't as good of a hitter as I thought he was 2 months ago. I haven't seen him hit a single ball well enough to believe he is a 1st rounder. He is not a good defensive LF and if he isn't even average there, he needs to be a masher and that isn't going to happen.
Josh Osich will make whoever drafts him a happy club, especially if they get him in the 2nd round or later. He can pitch, has plus stuff and has already been through the TJ rehab.
Mikie Mahtook has better contact ability than he had in the last two years. I wasn't that much of a believer last year, though the potential was obvious. He could be the closest thing to a finished 5 tool player in this draft.
Jackie Bradley is a hardnosed player and plays the game right. He seems to be a little pull happy, but that may just be because he can handle the velo that the college guys are throwing at him. He does go the other way some times and that is promising. He should be an above average LF in the majors at the worst.
I love Preston Tucker's plate approach but I just don't believe in the bat. He is one of the better hitters in the Florida lineup and the results are there, I just don't have a good feeling.
Some people will tell you that Brian Goodwin could be a potential #1 overall pick if he doesn't sign this year and plays at South Carolina next year. Don't believe them. He won't hit much and the draft next year isn't as deep as this one, by any means, but it isn't a paltry class either.
Matt Purke? Hmmm....Lets see what he does when he comes back but the fact he has thrown so little, if he is drafted, I hope he has a solid summer wherever he plays just to get innings in without setting back his development too much.
Amir Garrett is a ridiculously athletic left handed pitcher who is a top 100 basketball recruit as well. He hasn't played organized baseball in a while but he reportedly has been working with a private pitching coach and is throwing in the low 90's. If he shows low 90's stuff and any ability to spin a curve or pull the string on a change, he could be taken in the 1st round. The good thing is, it sounds like he wants to play baseball and that would be a good thing for all of us.
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