Devils 2022 MLB Draft Thread/College Baseball Thread(Mock Draft 3/Draft Sunday MLB Network 7e)

[hrubes20]

Sims left his start this past Friday and was shaking his arm.  That's usually the UCL.  Tough break for the kid, as he was absolutely dialed in.  Faced 11 batters; retired all of them; 10 of them were Ks.

[devils1854]

This is a college baseball thread as well, and I decided to do a bracket after the first month of the season. Been a pretty fun season so far but still a long way to go and conference play hasnt started in most conferences.

CORVALLIS, OR
1.Oregon State vs Saint Mary's
Miami vs Southern Illinois

SAN MARCOS, TX
16.Texas State vs Sam Houston State
Oklahoma State vs Missouri

CLEMSON, SC
8.Clemson vs USC Upstate
Georgia vs UCF

FAYETEVILLE, AR
9.Arkansas vs Oral Roberts
TCU vs Southeast Missouri State

KNOXVILLE, TN
4.Tennessee vs Albany
UCONN vs Wake Forest

TUCSON, AZ
13.Arizona vs Penn
UC Irvine vs Rutgers

ATLANTA, GA
5.Georgia Tech vs Davidson
Mercer vs Kentucky

GAINESVILLE, FL
12.Florida vs UNC Wilmington
Florida State vs Southern Miss

AUSTIN, TX
3.Texas vs New Orleans
LSU vs Dallas Baptist

SPOKANE, WA
14.Gonzaga vs Navy
Oregon vs Baylor

OXFORD, MS
6.Ole Miss vs Jackson State
North Carolina vs Tulane

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA
11.Virginia vs Long Island
Maryland vs Old Dominion

NASHVILLE, TN
2.Vanderbilt vs Ball State
Purdue vs Louisville

PALO ALTO, CA
15.Stanford vs Nevada
UC Santa Barbara vs South Carolina

SOUTH BEND, IN
7.Notre Dame vs Milwaukee
Liberty vs UCLA

LUBBOCK, TX
10.Texas Tech vs Marist
USC vs Louisiana Tech

-Ive seen Kevin Parada in person in each of the past two weekends, and that bat is for real. Its a 65 hit tool and I think he could reach 70. I saw mostly singles but he did blast one ball probably around 410 feet to left center. I think thats 8 total homers so far this year. If the power jump is for real, he has to be a top five player across the board, and I dont see any issues with him behind the plate. He's not great but he works his *** off back there.

-I got one look at Gavin Cross this weekend and I dont think he barreled one ball in the four at bats. It was the first game of a double header so he DH'ed, so maybe that had something to do with it. I doubt Ill get another look at him.

-Jonathan Cannon is Georgia's Friday night starter and has had a great year so far, but in the analytic, strike out era that we are currently in, he isnt considered a first day prospect. He has the size at 6'6 220 and a heavy fastball thats been up to 97, but he doesnt miss bats. He is a ground ball pitcher and his slider and change up accentuate this. He's probably a third round guy but if you are an organization that thinks they can get more out of him, you could see a first round guy.

-Landon Sims is now out for the year with TJS. Adam Maier of Oregon is also out with TJS. There really isnt anything left from the college pitching side. Barco struggled against Miami, so Im not ready to put him up there. Guys like Luiz Rodriguez of Long Beach State and Justin Campbell of Oklahoma State are having fine years, but I dont see the upside and definitely wouldnt take them in the first 50 picks. I guess the guy Im on now is Gabriel Hughes of Gonzaga. Only a sophomore, he came on my radar during a fine summer with Team USA in 2021. The reports make it seem like he has taken the next step. The fastball and slider are there. Plus pitches. Good shape/spin, and the change up is promising. It just looks like he is becoming a pitcher and not a thrower at the age of 20. The command is getting there. 36 Ks to 8 BB in 25 innings so far this year. I think he could be the guy to move up boards. Age and analytics are definitely in his favor. 

-Chandler Simpson of Georgia Tech is a guy I want to quickly talk about. I just learned about him and have seen him live twice. Transfer after two years at UAB. Plays second, but center might be his home at the next level. The speed is elite. Its probably 80. He is a bit of a slap hitter. He is hitting .468 with 29 hits so far this year but only three are for extra bases. He is definitely on my radar for the rest of the year.

-Gavin Turley has hit 4 home runs in his first 5 games in Arizona high school. Helium. Helium. Helium.

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by devils1854

[devils1854]

2023 TOP 25

Been waiting a while to  do this thread. I wanted to see some of the pitchers like Carson Montgomery, Chase Dollander, Jackson Baumeister, etc who have flashed either in high school or during the summer/smaller club and is now getting their shot in 2022. This is going to change a huge amount. Im still not caught up on the guys having breakout years so far that could be in the rankings by the end of the season. Jake Gelof might be the only new guy from the college ranks that I wasnt even considering two months ago. Like usual, I am very much behind of high school scouting at this point since info isnt as plentiful as the college game. Also, it has come out that August 1st is now the cut off date for birthdays for the draft, so starting in 2023, anyone that isnt 21 by that date, they are not eligible for the draft until the next year. Im not sure who all it affects but Im pretty sure that LHP Carter Holton of Vanderbilt is one of them. Only 5'11, was not drafted until the 19th round in 2021 by the Brewers, but he had a strong commitment to Vanderbilt and no one got close to his asking price. He might be the best pitcher on the staff already as a freshman, and the analytics are strongly in his favor, so teams that no longer shy away at pitchers are 5'11, will be looking his way very early now in the 2024 draft. 

1.Enrique Bradfield||CF||Vanderbilt
2.Jacob Gonzales||SS||Ole Miss
3.Max Clark||CF||Franklin, IN
4.Dylan Crews||COF||LSU
5.Walker Jenkins||CF||South Brunswick, NC
6.Travis Sykora||RHP||Round Rock, TX
7.Patrick Reilly||RHP||Vanderbilt
8.Roch Cholowsky||SS||Hamilton, AZ
9.Thomas White||LHP||Phillips Academy, MA
10.Jake Gelof||3B||Virginia

11.TJ Nichols||RHP||Arizona
12.Dylan Cupp||SS||Cedartown, GA
13.Brock Wilken||3B||Wake Forest
14.Will Sanders||RHP||South Carolina
15.Kyle Teel||C||Virginia
16.Christian Little||RHP||Vanderbilt
17.Braden Holcomb||SS||Foundation Academy, FL
18.Drew Bowser||3B||Stanford
19.Tre Morgan||1B||LSU
20.Corey Collins||C||Georgia

21.Tanner Witt||RHP||Texas(INJ)
22.Carson Montgomery||RHP||Florida State
23.Aiden Miller||3B||JW Mitchell, FL
24.Chase Dollander||RHP||Tennessee
25.Teddy McGraw||RHP||Wake Forest

Professional baseball is pretty close to being a three outcome league because of analytics, so a player with a unique skillset like Enrique Bradfield could come in and be disruptive with his play. To me, its a 70 bat. He doesnt strike out. He takes walks. He knows how to use the bunt and slap like a weapon. He can put the ball to all fields, and because of his off the charts, 80 speed, he doesnt have to hit 20+ home runs. He can turn routine singles into doubles and doubles into triples. I dont think its too far fetched that he could reach double digit home runs in the majors but it will never be his game. Its probably 45 power and if he muscles up to try to get to 50+ power, it could hurt his speed. You also get 70 defense in center and I would probably rate the arm at a 55.

Right now, the top five are in a class by themselves and I wouldnt argue with them being ranked anywhere in that grouping. If I had to put money on it right now, I would probably say that Gonzalez from Ole Miss has the best chance to go #1 next year. He is a shortstop at the next level and should be average to above average defensively at the position with an average arm. Gonzalez has been able to climb to the top of the rankings since his freshman year started because of the power that he has displayed. Its a plus and maybe he has more. So far in 2022, Gonzalez has walked 23 times to just 8 strike outs. He's only hitting .281 so far this year but the OBP is at .506. I would also expect his average to rise throughout the season after hitting .355 as a freshman.

Before his injury, Tanner Witt of Texas was probably going to be my top rated college pitcher, but he was stricken with the Tommy John bug after his second start of 2022. The good news is that if things go well, a year recovery would still give him two months of regular season college baseball and maybe a month more of post season, so he should have time to show his health before the draft next year. A true two way draft prospect  at SS/3B in the 2020 draft. The covid season and a strong commitment to Texas help push him to Austin. He is a very athletic kid at 6'5 215 that helps him replicate a large over the top delivery. Plus fastball and plus 12/6. The one knock is that he was successful as the closer as a freshman and Id like to see more starter traits from him. Better command and a third pitch are now wait and see.

Both Patrick Reilly and Christian Little are RHP for Vandy that I have in the top 20 and neither are starters for the club so far in 2022. Thats how deep that staff is at the moment. Reilly has piggy backed a weekend starter for 3-4 innings so far this year and they havent been able to find a role for Little yet, but I imagine that both will be very important pieces of the staff as the year goes on. It also helps to show just how good Carter Holton has been since he stepped on campus last year. He's been able to grab a rotation spot since the beginning of the season and has been the best pitcher so far on the staff. Its a shame that it looks like he will have to wait until 2024 to get drafted, although I havent seen a exact birthdate so I could be wrong. 

Brock Wilken and Corey Collins look to be the best sluggers in the college draft class next year. Wilken, a 3B, has 22 home runs in 65 games so far in his Wake Forest career, and Corey Collins is hitting .367 and has 7 home runs so far in 2022 from the catching position. Wilken is striking out 30% of the time so far in 2022 and Collins is at 26% this year. I do not like college hitters that strike out a ton. It just doesnt translate to the next level. Collins has slowly gotten his down, but as a Georgia fan, I still see too many at bats that he is just overmatched and has no plan. Im also worried about Collins ability to catch. He catches on Saturday's for Georgia. The team has another catcher that is better defensively that catches the other two weekend days. Maybe with more time behind the plate, Collins will get better, but he is a very big kid thats not the most athletic with an average arm. I need answers from both guys before I decide to move them higher.

 

 

[hrubes20]

20 hours ago, devils1854 said:

2023 TOP 25

Been waiting a while to  do this thread. I wanted to see some of the pitchers like Carson Montgomery, Chase Dollander, Jackson Baumeister, etc who have flashed either in high school or during the summer/smaller club and is now getting their shot in 2022. This is going to change a huge amount. Im still not caught up on the guys having breakout years so far that could be in the rankings by the end of the season. Jake Gelof might be the only new guy from the college ranks that I wasnt even considering two months ago. Like usual, I am very much behind of high school scouting at this point since info isnt as plentiful as the college game. Also, it has come out that August 1st is now the cut off date for birthdays for the draft, so starting in 2023, anyone that isnt 21 by that date, they are not eligible for the draft until the next year. Im not sure who all it affects but Im pretty sure that LHP Carter Holton of Vanderbilt is one of them. Only 5'11, was not drafted until the 19th round in 2021 by the Brewers, but he had a strong commitment to Vanderbilt and no one got close to his asking price. He might be the best pitcher on the staff already as a freshman, and the analytics are strongly in his favor, so teams that no longer shy away at pitchers are 5'11, will be looking his way very early now in the 2024 draft. 

1.Enrique Bradfield||CF||Vanderbilt
2.Jacob Gonzales||SS||Ole Miss
3.Max Clark||CF||Franklin, IN
4.Dylan Crews||COF||LSU
5.Walker Jenkins||CF||South Brunswick, NC
6.Travis Sykora||RHP||Round Rock, TX
7.Patrick Reilly||RHP||Vanderbilt
8.Roch Cholowsky||SS||Hamilton, AZ
9.Thomas White||LHP||Phillips Academy, MA
10.Jake Gelof||3B||Virginia

11.TJ Nichols||RHP||Arizona
12.Dylan Cupp||SS||Cedartown, GA
13.Brock Wilken||3B||Wake Forest
14.Will Sanders||RHP||South Carolina
15.Kyle Teel||C||Virginia
16.Christian Little||RHP||Vanderbilt
17.Braden Holcomb||SS||Foundation Academy, FL
18.Drew Bowser||3B||Stanford
19.Tre Morgan||1B||LSU
20.Corey Collins||C||Georgia

21.Tanner Witt||RHP||Texas(INJ)
22.Carson Montgomery||RHP||Florida State
23.Aiden Miller||3B||JW Mitchell, FL
24.Chase Dollander||RHP||Tennessee
25.Teddy McGraw||RHP||Wake Forest

Professional baseball is pretty close to being a three outcome league because of analytics, so a player with a unique skillset like Enrique Bradfield could come in and be disruptive with his play. To me, its a 70 bat. He doesnt strike out. He takes walks. He knows how to use the bunt and slap like a weapon. He can put the ball to all fields, and because of his off the charts, 80 speed, he doesnt have to hit 20+ home runs. He can turn routine singles into doubles and doubles into triples. I dont think its too far fetched that he could reach double digit home runs in the majors but it will never be his game. Its probably 45 power and if he muscles up to try to get to 50+ power, it could hurt his speed. You also get 70 defense in center and I would probably rate the arm at a 55.

Right now, the top five are in a class by themselves and I wouldnt argue with them being ranked anywhere in that grouping. If I had to put money on it right now, I would probably say that Gonzalez from Ole Miss has the best chance to go #1 next year. He is a shortstop at the next level and should be average to above average defensively at the position with an average arm. Gonzalez has been able to climb to the top of the rankings since his freshman year started because of the power that he has displayed. Its a plus and maybe he has more. So far in 2022, Gonzalez has walked 23 times to just 8 strike outs. He's only hitting .281 so far this year but the OBP is at .506. I would also expect his average to rise throughout the season after hitting .355 as a freshman.

Before his injury, Tanner Witt of Texas was probably going to be my top rated college pitcher, but he was stricken with the Tommy John bug after his second start of 2022. The good news is that if things go well, a year recovery would still give him two months of regular season college baseball and maybe a month more of post season, so he should have time to show his health before the draft next year. A true two way draft prospect  at SS/3B in the 2020 draft. The covid season and a strong commitment to Texas help push him to Austin. He is a very athletic kid at 6'5 215 that helps him replicate a large over the top delivery. Plus fastball and plus 12/6. The one knock is that he was successful as the closer as a freshman and Id like to see more starter traits from him. Better command and a third pitch are now wait and see.

Both Patrick Reilly and Christian Little are RHP for Vandy that I have in the top 20 and neither are starters for the club so far in 2022. Thats how deep that staff is at the moment. Reilly has piggy backed a weekend starter for 3-4 innings so far this year and they havent been able to find a role for Little yet, but I imagine that both will be very important pieces of the staff as the year goes on. It also helps to show just how good Carter Holton has been since he stepped on campus last year. He's been able to grab a rotation spot since the beginning of the season and has been the best pitcher so far on the staff. Its a shame that it looks like he will have to wait until 2024 to get drafted, although I havent seen a exact birthdate so I could be wrong. 

Brock Wilken and Corey Collins look to be the best sluggers in the college draft class next year. Wilken, a 3B, has 22 home runs in 65 games so far in his Wake Forest career, and Corey Collins is hitting .367 and has 7 home runs so far in 2022 from the catching position. Wilken is striking out 30% of the time so far in 2022 and Collins is at 26% this year. I do not like college hitters that strike out a ton. It just doesnt translate to the next level. Collins has slowly gotten his down, but as a Georgia fan, I still see too many at bats that he is just overmatched and has no plan. Im also worried about Collins ability to catch. He catches on Saturday's for Georgia. The team has another catcher that is better defensively that catches the other two weekend days. Maybe with more time behind the plate, Collins will get better, but he is a very big kid thats not the most athletic with an average arm. I need answers from both guys before I decide to move them higher.

 

 

I remember pounding the table for Bradfield in the 2020 draft.  Billy Hamilton would have been a monster if he could have gotten on base.  That's what Bradfield could be.

[beekay414]

11 minutes ago, hrubes20 said:

I remember pounding the table for Bradfield in the 2020 draft.  Billy Hamilton would have been a monster if he could have gotten on base.  That's what Bradfield could be.

Man, was Hamilton just incapable of putting the ball on the ground or were teams just dumb and letting him do whatever he wanted? There was zero reason for him to have a GB rate below 50%.

[hrubes20]

18 minutes ago, beekay414 said:

Man, was Hamilton just incapable of putting the ball on the ground or were teams just dumb and letting him do whatever he wanted? There was zero reason for him to have a GB rate below 50%.

That would be a great dive if someone had the time.  Such an interesting case.

[beekay414]

1 minute ago, hrubes20 said:

That would be a great dive if someone had the time.  Such an interesting case.

Considering his infield flyball rate, I'm going to assume he was incapable of a level swing lol

[devils1854]

On 3/21/2022 at 10:39 AM, hrubes20 said:

I remember pounding the table for Bradfield in the 2020 draft.  Billy Hamilton would have been a monster if he could have gotten on base.  That's what Bradfield could be.

I think Kenny Lofton is the best comp Ive heard for him. 6 all stars, 4 gold gloves. Just an absolute menace at the top of the lineup and one that has maybe been replicated once or twice since then? Lofton hit double digit HR 7 times in 15 seasons, 50+ XBH multiple times. Averaged 5.5 WAR in his first seven seasons. I think thats what you seen in Bradfield if you look at his top potential. 

[hrubes20]

Update to this thread:  Brooks Lee is stupid good.  

[BillsGuy82]

@devils1854  @hrubes20 who is the best offensive prospect in this draft. I've read some saying Jones and some saying Temarr Johnson 

[hrubes20]

On 4/12/2022 at 9:31 PM, BillsGuy82 said:

@devils1854  @hrubes20 who is the best offensive prospect in this draft. I've read some saying Jones and some saying Temarr Johnson 

I would take Brooks Lee #1 if the draft were today.  LOVE his batting profile.  Druw Jones does admittedly have a higher ceiling, but there is enough question about his hit tool that I take Lee instead.  I'm a huge fan of Termarr Johnson too, though.  It's a horrific year for pitching but this is a really deep class for hitters.

[BillsGuy82]

15 minutes ago, hrubes20 said:

I would take Brooks Lee #1 if the draft were today.  LOVE his batting profile.  Druw Jones does admittedly have a higher ceiling, but there is enough question about his hit tool that I take Lee instead.  I'm a huge fan of Termarr Johnson too, though.  It's a horrific year for pitching but this is a really deep class for hitters.

Tbh, the question was based around a competitive 30 team dynasty league I'm in. I'm in early stages of a rebuild and will most certainly have a top 3 pick.

So from a fantasy perspective those 3 are the names to watch out for.

[hrubes20]

1 hour ago, BillsGuy82 said:

Tbh, the question was based around a competitive 30 team dynasty league I'm in. I'm in early stages of a rebuild and will most certainly have a top 3 pick.

So from a fantasy perspective those 3 are the names to watch out for.

Ah, got it.  If that's the case, I'm not sure I would put Druw Jones in the top 3.  His elite CF defense drives a bunch of his ceiling and you don't get anything for that in fantasy. 

[devils1854]

On 4/14/2022 at 12:33 PM, BillsGuy82 said:

Tbh, the question was based around a competitive 30 team dynasty league I'm in. I'm in early stages of a rebuild and will most certainly have a top 3 pick.

So from a fantasy perspective those 3 are the names to watch out for.

If this is for fantasy purposes, Id lean college then and Brooks Lee and Kevin Parada are easily my top two. They are at that top level for me. Elijah Green would be the only high schooler Id look at this far out from a major league debut. He's a generational talent. 

[hrubes20]

Dylan Lesko gets TJS.  Bummer.