Looking ahead to the 2017 draft

[phillychuck]

People have specifically commented that Smith might move extremely quickly through a system. Thought at best that might mean AA this season.

[allentown]

A good 1B bat might well be able to handle AA pitching by the end of the season and Reading is a great park to hit in. He's already hit well with wood bats. Smith is a good defensive 1B, so that isn't an issue. I could see him starting at CLW and getting a bump if he does well. For a power hitter, not starting in Lakewood or Williamsport is a good thing.

[Squire]

OK/good games for Bukauskas, Pavin Smith and Adam Haseley yesterday. Vanderbilt rained out and will play a DH today. Really want to see Kyle Wright coming off last weekends start. Did anyone watch Faedo's start the other night against South Carolina? His numbers looked good but the gun readings all seemed to be in the 90-92 range. I only saw a couple of innings though.

[allentown]

We have always been pretty aggressive with number one choices though it is important to remember we have not selected lots of hitters with top picks since Burrell

Burrell was assigned to CLW and hit extremely well, but did not receive a late-season promotion to Reading. Since he put up a .946 OPS at CLW, he certainly could have handled the promotion.

If a top H.S. hitter can be in the major leagues by age 20-21, I think a top college bat should be able to handle Reading in his draft year.

[phillychuck]

The Chase Utley situation was handled weirdly...the NYPL assignment was probably in order to work on defense, but that could have been handled as easily as Lakewood. Then he spent a full year at CLW. Jumped to AAA and asked to play 3B he hit well, but then they repeated him at AAA to accommodate a log jam of mediocre talents at the big-league level. If they'd moved Polanco over to 3B one year earlier, Chase would probably have certain Hall-of-Fame stats.

They were conservative early with him, then foolishly aggressive with the defensive switch and double promotion.

I agree with allentown that a top college bat who has succeeded on the cape could be at AA by the end of his rookie season.

[andyb]

I don't think they were that conservative with Utley. Remember he was the 15th pick, not top 10. And the defensive concerns were legitimate though he had played some SS in college so it was as much about getting more reps at second base. But they then did 2 double promotions with Utley, so while NY-Penn was a little conservative, starting AAA in his second full season was not.

Then of course they messed with his defense and thought about moving him to 3B which is a whole different set of dysfunctional decisions. There was also probably bias in evaluating his 2B defense as he did not look like someone who had great range but his combination of skill and baseball acumen did give him effective range in the field. He was actually never given enough credit for the athlete he was defensively also.

I sometimes wonder if that wasted year in the minors is what will cost him the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately he is off to a bad start this year (1-25) so he might get buried on the bench when the injured starter (Forsythe) comes back.

[Squire]

Wright with a great follow up start. 7IP 1 H 0R 3BB 8k against Georgia

[Squire]

My Updated Current Uniformed Draft Board:

1. Hunter Greene, RHP
2. Brendan McKay, LHP
3. J.B. Bukauskas, RHP
4. Austin Beck, OF
5. MacKenzie Gore, LHP
6. Alex Faedo, RHP
7. Royce Lewis, SS/OF
8. Pavin Smith, 1B
9. Adam Haseley, OF
10. Kyle Wright, RHP

[fish]

I'd bump Gore up to #3 (best athlete in the draft and lefty with good polish), and Faedo down to #10 (I'm a bit concerned the drop in velo may be the result of throwing his slider too much)

[schooldoc]

I think Wright is pitching himself beyond the Phils' reach, and very possibly into the top 5.

[allentown]

If he goes top 5, somebody else falls to us. As long as there are 10 truly solid prospects on draft day so our scouts have 3 or more to choose among.

[Patchmk88]

http://www.scout.com/college/louisville/story/1773653-mckay-hits-4-hr-in-win-at-eku

McKay hit 4 Hrs tonight.

[kmc1019]

Amazing that McKay is all but certain to be drafted as a Pitcher.

[Patchmk88]

At least a team knows that if he doesn't work out as a pitcher they can try him as a 1B or DH. I might DH him a few times a week in the minors regardless.

[andyb]

Keith Law Top 50 (not a mock)

Top 50 MLB draft prospects: Two-way stars top our list

1. Greene
2. Wright
3. McKay
4. Lewis
5. Bukauskas
6. Gore
7. Smith
8. Hall
9. Pratto
10. Kendall

Faedo is 13th

[Squire]

Interesting. So Faedo is out of the Top 10.

[schooldoc]

Jim Callis‏Verified account @jimcallisMLB 14m14 minutes ago

Will say BPA at 8 likely will be Jeren Kendall, who is sliding. I would pounce.

[schooldoc]

Notables from this weekend

Alex Wright (Vandy): L vs. Tennessee 7.1 ip 3 h 4 r/er 2 bb 6 k, hbp
*threw 7 shutout innings, then faltered in 8th/bullpen gave up his inherited runs

Jeren Kendall (Vandy); 1-7, HR, bb (2 g,)A
*his HR won the game Friday night for Vandy, 1-0

Brendan McKay (Louisville): W vs. Toledo 8 ip 3 h 4 r/er 1 bb 12 k; 4-12, 2 HR at plate (3 g.)

Alex Faedo (Florida): ND vs Georgia: 6.1 ip 6 h 3 r/er 2 bb 7 k

J.B. Bukauskas (UNC): W vs. Clemson 7 ip 5 h 1 r/er 3 bb 7 k

Adam Haseley (UVa): W vs. Florida St. 5 ip 4 h 4 r/er 3 bb 2 k, hbp; 6-14 (3 g.) at the plate

Pavin Smith (UVa) vs. FSU: 3-11 at the plate

[fish]

I think Baez will bump someone from the bottom 4 of that group- high schooler, but better stuff than Faedo this year. Just electric. Under the category of 'gut feeling', High school righty Sam Carlson is one of my favorites. He's a guy people have talked about for the last year as being athletic with a fast arm and a ton of projection that his 90 mph fastball would someday get up in the mid 90s. Looks like he made that jump this spring. I'm not hot on drafting high school pitching at #1, but guys with serious stuff like Carlson may change my mind.

[Squire]

Updated Mock Drafts (through 15 picks) from Callis and Mayo at mlb.com

JIM CALLIS
1. Twins - Brendan McKay, LHP, Louisville
2. Reds - Hunter Greene, RHP, HS
3. Padres - Royce Lewis, SS/OF, HS
4. Rays - Kyle Wright, RHP, Vanderbilt
5. Braves - MacKenzie Gore, LHP, HS
6. Athletics - Pavin Smith, 1B, UVA
7. DBacks - J.B. Bukauskas, RHP, UNC
8. PHILLIES - JEREN KENDALL, OF, VANDERBILT
9. Brewers - Alex Faedo, RHP, Florida
10. Angels - Adam Haseley, OF, UVA
11. White Sox - D.L. Hall, LHP, HS
12. Pirates - Nick Pratto, 1B, HS
13. Marlins - Austin Beck, OF, HS
14. Royals - Griffin Canning, RHP, UCLA
15. Astros - Shane Baz, RHP, HS

JONATHAN MAYO
1. Twins - Brendan McKay, LHP, Louisville
2. Reds - Hunter Greene, RHP, HS
3. Padres - Kyle Wright, RHP, Vanderbilt
4. Rays - Royce Lewis, SS/OF, HS
5. Braves - MacKenzie Gore, LHP, HS
6. Athletics - J.B. Bukauskas, RHP, UNC
7. DBacks - Adam Haseley, OF, UVA
8. PHILLIES - AUSTIN BECK, OF, HS
9. Brewers - Pavin Smith, 1B, UVA
10. Angels - Jeren Kendall, OF, Vanderbilt
11. White Sox - Alex Faedo, RHP, Florida
12. Pirates - Nick Pratto, 1B, HS
13. Marlins - D.L. Hall, LHP, HS
14. Royals - Shane Baz, RHP, HS
15. Astros - Griffin Canning, RHP, UCLA