Which Just-Drafted Players Are You Most Excited About?

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Which Just-Drafted Players Are You Most Excited About?

August 27, 2022, 04:00:55 PM

Great draft, everyone. I'm curious which player(s) you're most excited about. I know it's hard to narrow it down to one or two, so I won't put a limit on you.

For me, obviously I'm very high on Gavin Stone. I don't think Brendt would mind me telling you he made me a HUGE offer for him just moments after I selected him with #1.13. Of course he's a Dodger, so it makes sense I'd be high on him, but I've seen film and his excellent 3 pitches have mind-dropping movement. He's scrappy in that he was the literal last pick in the shortened 2020 draft (5 rounds), and I love that kind of heart and work ethic.

The other player I'm most excited about is Ceddanne Rafaela. Comparisons to Mookie Betts will do that to a guy, but I'm not gonna do that to the kid. At 21 he's still growing into this shorter frame (5'8") and gaining power. As far as MLB goes, defense isn't nearly as important as a strong bat, but this kid is a gold glove at multiple positions just waiting to happen.

And I'll do one more... Edgar Quero, the #3 internationally ranked catcher, is OPSing .960 in A ball as a 19 year old, and by all accounts, is excellent behind the plate with a rocket arm. While Stone and Rafaela might have some roadblocks and talent at the upper levels to wade through, Quero's path to the show with the Angels is wide open.

What you got?

Re: Which Just-Drafted Players Are You Most Excited About?

Reply #1 – August 27, 2022, 06:20:53 PM

I got Jackson Holliday at 1.1...pretty happy about that. And also the very large Spencer Jones, hoping he can become the next Aaron Judge. So hurry up, you guys!

Re: Which Just-Drafted Players Are You Most Excited About?

Reply #2 – August 29, 2022, 10:26:31 AM

I'm certain that all of my picks will make it to the big show and a few will probably be Hall of Fame players. Specifically:
* Brooks Lee (1.5) has already been promoted to A+ ball and is performing well (322/385/441) in his inaugural season.
* Logan O'Hoppe (1.17) was traded from PHI to LAA and was promoted to AAA where he is slashing 273/446/673 in his first 16 games. Here's hoping he can be my C of the future.
* My second round picks are all doing well at AA ball. Zach Neto (2.5) is slashing 318/371/444 in 15 games and Zach Gelof (2.15) is slashing 282/361/459 in 70 AA games. Owen White has 104 K's in 80+ IP across 2 levels with a 4.52 SO/W ratio.
* My fifth round picks were both SP. Mike Burrows (5.15) looks to be on the cusp of pitching in the majors with a 3.7 S0/W ratio across AA and AAA.
* Yeison Morrobel (7.6) was a late round flier. The 18 year old slashed 329/405/487 in the Rookie league for Texas and was just promoted to A ball.

Of course all of these are based on pretty small sample sizes. I was saying the same thing about my picks last year and have probably already cut about half of them.

Re: Which Just-Drafted Players Are You Most Excited About?

Reply #3 – August 31, 2022, 10:58:33 AM

The easy answer for me is Dylan Lesko. I know the hit rate on high school pitchers is low, and one currently recovering from TJS makes it even less likely. But there was a reason he was the top pitcher (on most boards) pre-surgery. So we'll just need to wait a couple years to see what happens.

But my answer is actually going to be my 8.14 draft pick - Vaun Brown. Who? Exactly.
I honestly had never heard of him either. But all he does is hit...
.387/.462/.793 his last year in college (2021)
.354/.480/.620 in rookie ball after being a 10th round pick in 2021
.347/.428/.636 in A ball in 2022
.350/.454/.612 in A+ in 2022
just promoted to AA where he's 0-2

Is he for real? Probably not. He's old for level and Fangraphs doesn't even have a grade on him. But for the cost an 8th round pick I'll take a flyer on a kid who is hitting .348/.444/.622 with 31 doubles, 11 triples, 25 HR, and 52 SB across his first 128 games in the minors. Good lord...

Just please don't remind of this post when he hits .111/.136/.184 the next year+ in AA. I'll scrub the database so this post never happened...

Re: Which Just-Drafted Players Are You Most Excited About?

Reply #4 – August 31, 2022, 08:04:35 PM

Quote from: Kyle – on August 27, 2022, 04:00:55 PM

Great draft, everyone. I'm curious which player(s) you're most excited about. I know it's hard to narrow it down to one or two, so I won't put a limit on you.

Not too difficult for me, as I only drafted TWO players in the entire draft...

Which of Cam Collier and Alex Ramirez am I most excited about . . .

Ramirez is a five tool talent who has been pushed hard and responded very well for a 19 year old in High-A. Cutting his K-rate and raising his BB-rate, hard hit rate and power in his first full season of stateside ball while playing high quality defense in center and right (with a cannon arm) will get a teenager into top 100 lists. Rounding his considerable talent and potential will take some time, but he is already in High-A.

But is all that enough to surpass my excitement over Cam Collier? NOPE! Silky smooth left handed swing that looks so free and effortless; excellent pitch recognition and patience; big time power potential; 90+ pitching arm; good footwork and soft hands at third base. What's not to like? To top it off, he's hitting .370 with a .514/.630/1.145 line in his first taste of pro ball! Well okay, it's just 27 at bats . . . and the CPX . . . But the kid's just 17 and shouldn't even be graduated from HS yet.

'Scuse me while I go dance my happy dance.

Quote

For me, obviously I'm very high on Gavin Stone. I don't think Brendt would mind me telling you he made me a HUGE offer for him just moments after I selected him with #1.13.

I'll just wait a few years and trade you Drew Pomeranz for the future Bums ace...