Live Draft Discussion
by Ryan Kelsey on Jun 5, 2008 2:32 PM EDT
Email
PrintAnyone else that is procrastinating or actually interested in the MLB Draft? The mock drafts have the Indians selecting a power hitting position player. Some names I've seen come up: Zach Collier (OF- High School), Connor Gillaspie (3B- College), David Cooper (1B- College), Brett Lawrie (2B, 3B). We seem to favor college players, but I think its hard to really follow any trends for the baseball draft. Trevor Crowe, David Huff, and Beau Mills were our last three 1st round picks, lets see who joins them today.
Let's Go future Tribe!
431 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
update:
1- Tampa Bay: Tim Beckham, SS, High School
2- Pittsburgh: Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Vanderbilt
3- Kansas City: Eric Hosmer, 1B, High School
4- Baltimore: Brian Matusz, LHP, San Diego
5- San Francisco: Buster Posey, C, Florida State
I don’t follow college or high school ball enough to know: has anyone done anything stupid yet?
Hard truth: Your eyes lie.
Ha, are you a fan of Mistake on the Lake Sporting Times? They have some good fun with Football names and the Browns.
They haven’t been updating as much lately, but I love and adore each and every one of their posts. Their NFL draft posts are priceless.
Hard truth: Your eyes lie.
yeah, they say that people do such a good job on baseball analysis they don’t bother talking Indians oto much. But they are good mix between hilarity and comprehensive breakdowns. If you are a Browns fans their weekly recaps and previews are a must read, I think.
I’m not a Browns fan, but I really dig their Browns analysis anyway. I think I mostly have the RSS feed in my RSS reader just so I’m reminded when it’s LeBron day, though.
Hard truth: Your eyes lie.
Yea…if a player’s dream is to play baseball in the majors then it’s stupid to turn down a MLB team and their coaches. They’ll make you much better than any college.
agreed, especially if you were getting drafted in the first round out of HS.
Sowers is an interesting example of how this played out. He was drafted out of HS really high, I think, by Cincinnati and was drafted again by us almost in the same spot… if I remember right.
I’ve never been given the impression Sowers’s decision to go to college was especially a baseball decision, though.
Hard truth: Your eyes lie.
I think Melville goes to the Nationals. They need pitching and he’s probably the top prep pitcher on the board. He has a low to mid 90’s fastball with a plus curve. He had about thirty scouts at his last high school game.
I find it comical how these ESPN analysts are discussing the current 25-man roster of the clubs in analyzing the draft picks. Long-term deals to players like Albert Pujols or Alex Rodriguez aside, there are very few instances when having a player on the 25-man roster should impact your drafting strategy.
I actually think that the Joey Votto thing is relevant. He is quite young and he figure to still be in Cincy in three years. Jocketty really baffled me with that pick.
I just find it foolish draft strategy, and I think most teams will agree. So you have a young first baseman….if the best pick out there is a first baseman, and that draft pick is the talent in which you’re most confident, dammit, draft him. So what if in four years you have Joey Votto playing well at first base and this stud prospect at AAA. Trade Votto or trade the young first baseman for something your club needs.
See: Matt Garza for Delmon Young. That’s the smart way to draft and build a team. Take the guy you think will reach the Bigs, and when he is closest to a “sure” thing, flip him for another guy in a similar situation.
update:
6- Florida: Kyle Skipworth, C, High School
7- Cincinnati: Yonder Alonso, 1B, Miami (FL)
8- Chicago (AL): James Beckham, SS, Georgia
9- Washington: Aaron Crow, RHP, Missouri
10- Houston: Jason Castro, C, Stanford
Maybe you would know more about the draft if you weren’t watching Canadian idol or whatever.
by Ryan Kelsey on Jun 5, 2008 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Either way, Chuck would be pissed off at me for not studying. Currently reviewing my vaginitis notes though.
by supermarioelia on Jun 5, 2008 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Wait until I start describing the “whiff test”. It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like.
by supermarioelia on Jun 5, 2008 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Also!
I am hereby describing any Indians strikeout for the rest of the season as a “WHIFF TEST”. You have all been warned.
by supermarioelia on Jun 5, 2008 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions
That’s three catchers in the top 10. I don’t follow the draft very closely, but that seems extremely unusual.
Free Andy Marte!
I really got into this draft. I’ve never really been interested in the MLB draft but after last year I started looking up information about the players. It’s quite interesting and is about as fun as any of the other drafts for major sports.
I don’t know much outside a few mock drafts and some scouting reports of the first round projections. Agree with gahnki, it is surprisingly interesting. I first got into it watching the College World Series the last couple years and thought it was interesting to watch the players that would become our prospects that we talk so much about.
I think it’s just cool names period. I really want us to take Josh Fields, a RHP out of Georgia, but he’s such a boring name.
as much as i love following prospects, i really have a hard time caring much about the draft when the Indians don’t have a top-5 pick
by APV on Jun 5, 2008 3:17 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
he sacrificed speed for details. i hope he’s the younger brother by they way otherwise, they’re getting a really old prospect right out of the gate.
by Brick. on Jun 5, 2008 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Wrong thread, but since we’re all here. Chris De La Cruz called up to Buffalo and starting at 2B today, with Barfield sitting out. Stay tuned for news on Asdrubal Cabrera and whether his injury will keep him out.
interesting. when all is said and done, maybe we will remember this as the year injuries caught up with us. I don’t know.
FWIW, and not apropos of the draft, I have noticed that Aaron Boone is batting cleanup in this afternoon’s s Nats-Cards game.
In the words of Dave Barry, “I am not making this up.”
Free Andy Marte!
Ludwick is hitting cleanup for the Cards. Combine that with Phillips hitting 3rd for Cincy and Gerut hitting leadoff for San Diego and I don’t know what to think about any of it.
His brain is too heavy for his body, leading to all sorts of minor injuries.
by dgcambridge on Jun 5, 2008 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Some whispers of attitude issues. Was always hurt, ended up getting traded to the Cubs for Jason DuBois. Then to the Pirates. Then signed this year after a strong showing in winter ball.
I think the season he’s having proves that the things he said about the Pirates were correct.
The 2008 Cleveland Indians: Home of the Triple Steal, Unassisted Triple Play, and not a heck of a lot more.
by westbrook on Jun 5, 2008 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
He’s a third basemen by the way. He doesn’t have the body people like for a power hitter. He will be watching his weight for his entire career.
He doesn’t have the body people like for a power hitter.
I should actually say that he doesn’t have the body that a team wants in any baseball players.
Sure, but let’s talk jawline and chin. Square? Cleft? We want a ballplayer, dadgummit.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
14. Aaron Hicks OF MIN
Really good pick here. Very high ceiling as a pitcher and an outfielder. Should be an outfielder, though.
i don’t know. i think this is a terrible pick.
not really, i just realized you could be making whatever you wanted and we’d be pretty much obliged to trust you and i wanted a taste of that power.
by Brick. on Jun 5, 2008 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Hey, look! The Twins take a skinny fast guy with a questionable bat! Color me not surprised. You’ll find that near the metallics in your Crayola 64-pack.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
He will have a nice bat. He’s in high school and the power will come once he adds muscle to his frame.
I’m always sad when someone says something to this effect and doesn’t use the term “man muscles.”
Hard truth: Your eyes lie.
I am as tired of hearing that as I am of hearing “his fastball sits in the upper-80s, but has touched 90, and we should see a few more MPH as he gets older.” I’m not saying it’s untrue, I’m just saying I’m tired of hearing it. Especially because it never seems to work that way with our prospects.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions
He’s 6’‘2 and 172 as a senior in high school. You may be sick of hearing it but this is pretty much the textbook example of it.
Look, I’m sure it’s true of some guys. But by and large, I’m beginning to believe that power and arm strength are more innate gifts than developed tools. I can see conditioning helping the sustainability of those gifts, just not giving an athlete capabilities he doesn’t have to begin with.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:47 PM EDT up reply actions
update:
11- Texas: Justin Smoak, 1B, South Carolina
12- Oakland: Jemile Weeks, 2B, Miami (FL)
13- St. Louis: Brett Wallace, 3B, Arizona St.
14- Minnesota: Aaron Hicks, OF, High School (toolsy, lengthy OF’er- could pitch too)
15- Los Angelas (NL): Ethan Martin, 1B/3B/RHP, High School
10 to 1 the Dodgers just got somebody else who, in 3 years’ time, is going to tick me off by virtue of not being an Indian.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions
I don’t know what Martin will be in the minors. He could be a pitcher or 3B. I don’t know much about him at all.
Guys. Guys. Guys. That Lawrie kid was born in 1990.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:39 PM EDT reply actions
Look on the bright side: From the current date in 1990 backwards … never mind.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions
Reese Havens is a name to watch for. I think he’ll go in the next 5 picks but some people thought he would be a top 15 type player.
Tim Melville is the top prep right handed pitcher. Look for him going soon. I’m thinking Seattle at 20 or Detroit at 21.
We all play to an audience of one, ultimately.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Gerrit Cole…HS RHP, Boras client, UCLA commit
Probably wants a major league deal and to break the bank. Count me out.
The cash doesn’t bother me. The 40-man roster, the rule five draft, and options game, the rushed development. Defeats the whole purpose of “earning’ your way to the next level by actually developing.
See also: Jeremy Guthrie.
Despite all of my best intentions, I have not, in fact, grown up to be a debaser.
I like the Beau Mills clause where he’s automatically invited to major-league spring training.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Ha! Cooper! Anybody else remember the Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper where he had to coach the cheerleading squad?
“We aHEAD, we aHEAD, that all needs to be said. Unh!”
...No?
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:50 PM EDT reply actions
“Chris Antonetti, Indians here. We’ve decided we’d rather have our one-point-two million. ‘Kay, thanks.”
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:54 PM EDT reply actions
Right, cause that Huston Street guy is a real bum.
by Nat on Jun 5, 2008 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions
For every Huston Street, there’s a Ryan Wagner.
Despite all of my best intentions, I have not, in fact, grown up to be a debaser.
Would it prove my point if I provide links for SP or position players drafted in the first round who never made the bigs?
Besides, I’m obviously not saying that every reliever drafted in the first round is going to be awesome, but to completely dismiss drafting a reliever seems irresponsible.
by Nat on Jun 5, 2008 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions
well, he was a low sandwich pick, not a top 30 pick, and Fields went 20. I think that is a waste. Best case, you get 5 years of 80 solid IP/year. that is not worth it.
I see where you’re coming from, but what if you’ve got great international scouting, and you spend a lot of money on free agents? I think those things are true of the Mariners.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
All this draft talk makes me want a beer.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 3:59 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
update:
16- Milwaukee: Brett Lawrie, C/IF, High School/Canada National Team
17- Toronto: David Cooper, 1B, Cal
18- New York (NL): Isaac Davis, 1B, Arizona St.
19- Chicago (NL): Andrew Cashner, reliever-RHP, TCU
20- Seattle: Joshua Fields, reliever-RHP, Georgia
Can’t say I agree with Law at all about Seattle drafting a reliever. Being a last-place team really shouldn’t change much at all with regards to draft strategy.
If I were running a draft, I would rank everybody in descending order of awesomeness and draft accordingly. “Who’s our most awesomest guy left? Great, get him.”
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:04 PM EDT up reply actions
I see your point. I just hate sub-awesomeness.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:10 PM EDT up reply actions
agreed, but part of the reason you draft a closer is that they can be on the major league team within a year.
But who’s to say that Seattle can’t compete next year or the year after. Some were picking them as a Wildcard contender this year, so being a contender again next year isn’t crazy enough to warrant going against their rankings.
by supermarioelia on Jun 5, 2008 4:06 PM EDT up reply actions
The bullpen was unrealistically good in the first half, and everyone knew it was not sustainable. Miguel Bautista and Raul Ibanez came back to Earth. Richie Sexson is done. Jojima, Lopez, and Betancourt can’t take a walk. That offense is fueled by batting average, and we all know what that means.
Bedard compensated for the wins they had last year that were sure to disappear this year, making them a .500 team if everything again went right. It hasn’t.
I think we can all agree that betting on the Mariners to contend is not a smart bet. But for Law to infer that they should somehow be realizing that they won’t be contenders for the next 1-2 years, and that that should affect their draft strategy with relievers…well that I don’t agree with.
by supermarioelia on Jun 5, 2008 4:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Speaking of Beau Mills, he’s so not Weglarz right now. Sub-800 OPS? What gives, dude?
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:03 PM EDT reply actions
He’s drawing plenty of walks and smacking some doubles. I’d rather him light-it-up, but he’s ok so far.
Yeah, it’s way too early to get where’s-the-beefy with Beau. But I’m starved for a position-player bright spot in our system, outside of Wegz’s walk rate.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:11 PM EDT up reply actions
21 Ryan Perry RHP Detroit
Big time power pitcher. Potential closer in a year or two. Approaches 100 on his fastball.
Attaway, Zona. Draft the heat. Speakin my language.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:08 PM EDT reply actions
“He’s a baseball player.”
Funny. I hope none of these teams are drafting under the impression this is a basketball draft.
Phillips said it once and Keith Law said it twice…. he must actually be a baseball player and not a football cheerleader. I was confused.
It makes me want to waste a late round pick on someone who has never ever played baseball before. “That guy is not a baseball player.”
Hard truth: Your eyes lie.
by AngG on Jun 5, 2008 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 6 recs
“Honestly, we hear he’s got a great short game, and we’re sick of losing to the Braves in our annual spring training scramble.”
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
24. Anthony Hewitt SS- Phillies
Surprising stuff here. I didn’t think he’d go in the first round.
The Phillies need pitching and this is a very risky pick.
MLB Draft tracker says this kid is “full of helium”? Who writes these things? Is he a baseball player or a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon?
Free Andy Marte!
by woodsmeister on Jun 5, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
He was a rapid riser on the draft boards. I personally don’t like the pick, but maybe they see something I don’t.
Well, you see, HELIUM is LIGHTER THAN AIR, and therefore when you put a lot of it in ONE PLACE…
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions
Rox, D-Backs, Twinkies, Yanks: Whatever you decided, please decide it quickly.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:23 PM EDT reply actions
Pitcher selected by Rockies, hates his life.
by xrickx on Jun 5, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
update:
21- Detroit: Ryan Perry, reliever-RHP, Arizona (closer run continues)
22- New York (NL): Reese Havens, SS, South Carolina (Steve Phillips: “This guy is a baseball player”)
23- San Diego: Allan Dykstra, 1B, Wake Forest (NOT Lenny’s Son- who, apparently is in the draft)
24- Philadelphia: Anthony Hewitt, SS/OF, High School (toolsy, but apparently can’t actually hit. first high schooler in a while)
25- Colorado: Christian Friedrich, LHP, Eastern Kentucky (second lefty pitcher taken)
I’m really nervous. I fully expected to hear my name by pick twenty, and now I don’t even know if I’m a first-rounder.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
You’re just saying that because I don’t play baseball.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions
What the heck is a “football mentality?” Does he tackle guys? Spike his mitt? Slap lots of ass?
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
I think it’s like being gritty, except you’re also kind of good at baseball.
Hard truth: Your eyes lie.
So Casey Blake has a flag football mentality?
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
Gutierrez is such a stretch that the MLB Draft Tracker doesn’t have a writeup or video.
Free Andy Marte!
Sigh. Can we just get our annual college polished lefty and get it over with?
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:43 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Zach Collier
would be a tremendous pick for us at 29 … and he’s likely there to be picked. All things considered I think we should be pretty happy with the talents that’s left for us. Guys like Melville, Devail, Hunt, Collier, Gillaspie .. that’s pretty good.
Gosh, the suspense is killing me. One Big Bat, please…
by ken from alexandria on Jun 5, 2008 4:44 PM EDT reply actions
Why am I dreading this pick? Oh, right, it’s because Indians first-rounders are almost always washouts. (Sabathia and Manny aside, of course.)
Paul Shuey wasn’t bad in 1992, but you coulda done better in that first round (see: Jeter, four picks later)
not a college lefty not a college lefty not a college lefty…
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:46 PM EDT reply actions
i want to strengthen our starting pitching depth from the left side with this pick. not a highschooler though, someone with some polish at the college level.
I hope a door gets slammed on your noise, and you sneeze, and your head explodes.
by fleerdon on Jun 5, 2008 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions
