2018 Draft Thread
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Re: 2018 Draft Thread
I wonder wtheck has been going on with Kumar Rocker. No game tweets or random updates at all this month...Hopefully it helps get him to a Cubs pick.
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I think this is a year the Cubs revisit the HS ranks for both a bat as well as an arm or two. Jordyn Adams got alot of praise at the NHSI and is one of the more toolsy and athletic HS players in the draft. I like Joe Gray Jr., this guy has those kind of tools but a more physical frame that I favor:
Re: 2018 Draft Thread
TomtheBombadil wrote:
I wonder wtheck has been going on with Kumar Rocker. No game tweets or random updates at all this month...Hopefully it helps get him to a Cubs pick.
I couldn't find any tweets, but according to this, he at least pitched on Monday.
http://www.onlineathens.com/sports/20180410/high-school-sports-roundup
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Re: 2018 Draft Thread
More good stuff from Kiley on some top prep prospects:
Carter Stewart (he says he's the top prep arm now)
Mason Denaburg
Matthew Liberatore
Cole Winn
Connor Scott
Nolan Gorman
Brice Turang
Alek Thomas
Jordyn Adams
Joe Gray Jr
Triston Casas
Gunnar Hoglund
Cole Henry
Cory Acton

Re: 2018 Draft Thread
CaliforniaRaisin wrote:https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/far-too-many-scouting-notes-on-prep-draft-prospects/
More good stuff from Kiley on some top prep prospects:
Carter Stewart (he says he's the top prep arm now)
Mason Denaburg
Matthew Liberatore
Cole Winn
Connor Scott
Nolan Gorman
Brice Turang
Alek Thomas
Jordyn Adams
Joe Gray Jr
Triston Casas
Gunnar Hoglund
Cole Henry
Cory Acton
Did Kiley just comp Connor Scott to Kyle Tucker, but with 70 speed thrown in? That's #1 overall material. I can't imagine he has the power potential that Tucker had/has.
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Re: 2018 Draft Thread
I think McDaniel's Florida focus is keeping guys like Torres Jr. and Hjelle more off radar than they should be. Torres might stack with any non Rocker or Hankins RH for me, he's basially Winn but his body got better rather than worse over the winter. I also don't agree on Stewart's arm action being clean, my heartgutinstinct says it's long and shouldery. He's clearly trying to imitate Verlander, great idea, but he lacks the twitch Verlander had in college (no clue what Verlander was like in HS). I'm also leery of HS curveballers, thanks Clint Everts and Chris Gruler, and even his velocity jump.
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Re: 2018 Draft Thread
TomtheBombadil wrote:Hoglund might be growing on me. He reminds me of a watered down Greinke as a HSer. Simple and athletic delivery, fastball command, command and control with stuff (not as good as HS Greinke in either area but w/e), smart, two way prospect, Florida kid...
I think McDaniel's Florida focus is keeping guys like Torres Jr. and Hjelle more off radar than they should be. Torres might stack with any non Rocker or Hankins RH for me, he's basially Winn but his body got better rather than worse over the winter. I also don't agree on Stewart's arm action being clean, my heartgutinstinct says it's long and shouldery. He's clearly trying to imitate Verlander, great idea, but he lacks the twitch Verlander had in college (no clue what Verlander was like in HS). I'm also leery of HS curveballers, thanks Clint Everts and Chris Gruler, and even his velocity jump.
Hjelle is probably keeping himself off the radar. He's just a really boring prospect, other than that he looks like a giraffe out there on the mound. Low-90's fastball. No plus secondary, although the curve has flashed it at times. He doesn't even have any eye-popping performance numbers that stand out. Just boring all around.
I agree with you on being leery of prep arms that are curveball heavy. But then again, I'm leery of prep arms in general.
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Re: 2018 Draft Thread
Hrubes20 wrote:Hjelle is probably keeping himself off the radar. He's just a really boring prospect, other than that he looks like a giraffe out there on the mound. Low-90's fastball. No plus secondary, although the curve has flashed it at times. He doesn't even have any eye-popping performance numbers that stand out. Just boring all around.
Oops, while I would disagree that Hjelle is boring turns out I mixed up prospects. The player I had in mind was Steve Hajjar.
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Re: 2018 Draft Thread
https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/Vi ... icle=15078
Beck immediately catches attention with his long limbed, high waisted, and ultra-projectable 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame, and while he’s likely to gain strength at the next level, his athleticism and advanced arm speed already allow for a noteworthy arsenal. Beginning with his fastball, Beck opened and closed the game by bumping 94 mph and comfortably sat in the 91-93 range. And while the radar gun readings are nice, the ease of which he generates the velocity and the big plane he creates with solid extension out front are just as important in painting the bigger picture of Beck as a prospect.
It became commonplace as the game wore on for the ump to say “strike one” after nearly every first pitch of an at-bat as Beck time and time again located his fastball to either side of the plate, occasionally mixing in a get-me-over curveball with big depth. His heater offered solid running life to his arm side, and when he was painting the lower third of the strike zone several pitches were simply of the “good luck hitting that” variety. He continued to show the life when working to his glove side, though by the end of the outing the heater showed more sinking life when working in on lefthanded hitters, still proving to be an effective offering.
Of the three different secondaries Beck showed it was his curveball that he went to most often and at its best showed above average with potential for another bump on the scouting scale. Tunneling the pitch well with the same fast and loose arm stroke, Beck was able to add and subtract on the shape of the pitch as mentioned above, showing more depth in the mid-70s early in the count before showing a late, hard snapping version to put away hitters in the 78-80 mph band. His changeup is another pitch that flashed above average potential with late fading life down in the zone in the 82-85 mph range with a mimicked arm stroke and release point. Rounding out the arsenal was his slider, a pitch that offered a distinct difference in terms of shape and life, working mostly in the mid-80s with much shorter and tighter life through the zone.
Overall, the components for Beck are highly intriguing and he showed the ability to miss bats, punching out five while maintaining his delivery and arsenal throughout. He’s an alluring prospect who has been on the scene for a while and with continued success this spring should continue to solidify his standing come June.
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Re: 2018 Draft Thread
He has 8 HRs so far this year. His stats are very impressive. I think he's still in that late first round range.