That time of year again. Here are the Future Spiders' picks:
1(29)
Comp(35)
Comp(41)
2(67)
3(103)
4(133)
The bunched up picks in the back of the first and then in the 2 comp rounds place us in fine position to land a sliding HS player, or overdraft, or maybe a college pitcher everyone finds too boring. Very unlike the major league club, the Indians system is relatively light on pitchers, and they've gone very heavy on HS players, particularly younger ones, with a level of aggression that would get them laughed out of the community mock thread for their lack of regard for bonus implications. I'm not tied to any of this, as always, I'm drafting as myself, for the Indians. Any draft is about the players, so I'll longwindedly explore the wealth of players under consideration for #29-41 and make a series of unhinged comparisons.
Jordyn Adams OF GA HS
Maybe a long shot to be around and a risky pick given his whole deal. We'll see how that plays out over the next few weeks. I totally buy in on Adams - a very poor man's Byron Buxton. Obviously he won't hit the ground running like Buxton did in the minors, but he's in the same ballpark tools-wise: elite baseball athlete, I've seen some really impressive reports on his exit velocities. Swing is a little unusual, drawn comparison Kyle Lewis' which makes some sense...obviously Adams doesn't have a track record like that though.
Jeremy Eierman SS Missouri State
My comp for Eierman is Matt Chapman, if he were filled with glue. Strong, athletic, and heavy handed. Potential swingman/super utility guy. May not have ideal shortstops chops, but neither did a lot of ML shortstops. Big arm for 3B, stands to reason he could hack it at 2B, above average runner who could work in the OF too. Power production has backed up a bit this year and never hit much on the Cape. Definitely a Tools Guy for a college hitter, but he can stay on the dirt so it's not a deal breaker.
Cole Wilcox RHP GA HS
Reports lately have been great, but I'm a bit worried about the delivery, which looks really rough on the shoulder.
Triston Casas 1B FL HS
An aloof, unknowable hitter. He's been projecting in reverse since he was like 14, probably 1B only, but will be an above average athlete at the position. Hard to value a 1B highly, but he's a potential star. I could see him performing like Josh Naylor - enormously powerful, keeps it under wraps in favor of contact...until...
Ethan Hankins RHP GA HS
I didn't buy Ethan Hankins as a top 3 pick. Now, at least by fangraphs, he's being floated as a comp guy. Now that is ridiculous. I read Hankins as a strike-thrower, which is an insult for a 1-1 contender, but just a comment for #29 pick, and the fact that he's a recovered slider from 1-1 consideration makes him a stupid pass. Delivery is suspicious - almost too simple. Gets tremendous movement on his fastball, but too arm-heavy.
Kumar Rocker RHP GA HS
Rocker as a comp pick is even more laughable. High Maintenance Physique. fastball-slider is as good as it gets for a HS pitcher, he'll get grounders, he'll get whiffs, and I think he throws at least as hard as a pro. C'mon. The wealth of picks in this area means I might be able to swing it, money-wise.
Mike Vasil RHP MA HS
Commence injured? pitchers section! Probably not around if healthy, the unfounded chatter has me shook. A little on the stiff side, maybe not a huge upside, but it comes easy. Good chance he'd be the best pitcher in college baseball for three years. No reason to let that happen.
Mason Denaburg RHP FL HS
Much of the above applies to Denaburg too. Denaburg has a better breaking ball and is a better athlete, Vasil looks sharper and has better fastball movement. I prefer Denaburg I think. Denaburg.
Jordan Groshans 3B TX HS
Most underrated HS hitter in this range by a mile. A bit of a weird look as he's really tall and skinny and round-shouldered and with a big leg kick, but he checks every box for me. I'm encouraged by his brother's performance for what that's worth. Prototypical 3B profile.
Xavier Edwards SS FL HS
The Indians kind of have a thing for undersized athletic up-the-middle players, and Edwards is that. Might need to retool his swing to get the most out of him. He'll play great defense at 2B if not SS, more power potential than he'd looks like he'd have. Definitely someone to consider.
Jeremiah Jackson SS AL HS
Inspires more creepy scoutish language than anyone else in this class. Immediately jumps off the screen at me for his movements and frame. Average runner but a great athlete who I could see working at any position on the field save catcher (he's a pretty decent pitcher too). I read something somewhere about him maybe turning into Jonathan India, and that makes a lot of sense. I'm not an expert on hitting mechanics, but he has a deep load which bothers some people.
JT Ginn RHP MS HS
Another guy who lept out. There's always one of these guys: undersized, high effort delivery, nasty stuff. Old. I think the delivery is workable, head-whack makes it look worse than it really is. Apparently got his fastball up to 99 this year, I bet he's more in the 92-95 area going forward with some sink, and his breaking ball is actually better. If he looked like Ethan Hankins he'd be a top 10 pick easily.
Nico Hoerner 2B Stanford
One of my favorite players this year. Stanford Swinger who never strikes out and hit for zero power til this year, but hit a bunch of homers in the CCL while still never striking out. I think he's instantly a better pro hitter than college hitter, and who knows, maybe a better MLB hitter than prospect. Plays SS now, probably 2B all the way though.
Mike Siani OF PA HS
An anonymous version of Jarred Kelenic? Potential 5 tool guy, looks great doing everything. Old and his bat's a little underexposed, but the toolset is ML-quality. Definitely in play with one of the later picks.
Jake McCarthy OF Virginia
Brotherly bloodlines! Had him pegged as a top 20 prospect if he'd stayed healthy. Possible bargain, just need to get rid of that stupid ass swing.
Anthony Seigler C GA HS
Everybody Hates High School Catchers. Seigler is a really safe bet: has some It factor, flexible and athletic for a catcher, good reviews defensively. Not much juice in his bat or his body though. Also old for the class and might play kind as a likely backup and a younger version of the kind of college player who goes in the 5th round.
Noah Naylor C Canada
looks like Josh might've made him like $1.5 million. I'm not sure what position he's going to play, but has a lot of strong indicators and stock is apparently on the rise.
Seth Beer Hitter Clemson
Great Papi's Ghost! Unimpeachable college track record, even if he has regressed. Old Player Skills and might have a college-speed bat, but hey, he hits fly balls to RF and walks almost twice as much as he strikes out. Maybe don't overthink it?
Nick Schnell OF IN HS
Looks like a hitter, plus he can run and throw pretty well. Has a Dustin Fowler thing going on.
Matt McLain SS CA HS
Another unassuming, well-rounded high school hitter who's caught my eye. Wouldn't be a swing-for-the-fences pick, probably plays second or third as a pro, and very mature physically and on the field. This area of the draft is flush with guys like this.
Kyler Murray OF Oklahoma
He sure strikes out an awful lot for a guy you have to pay like a top 10 pick to not play the sport he really cares about. I think this type can be had later in drafts than this.
Lenny Torres RHP NY HS
Definitely a project. One of the younger players in the draft, pretty clean and explosive delivery, only maybe has a breaking ball, and he's going to throw hard as fuck, probably for strikes. Could be a lot of useful things.
Alek Thomas OF IL HS
One of my early favorite high schoolers this year. Some of the knocks on him make a lot of sense, that he might be a little "low impact" where he'll be a fringy hitter low-ceiling hitter..but that could describe Ender Inciarte. He's a reasonably safe HS hitter and an incredible athlete who I'd bet on being the best defensive OF in this draft. He definitely fits the Indians mold.
