First 5 rounds: Casey Mize (1-1), Parker Meadows (2-44), Kody Clemens (3-79), Kingston Liniak (4-105), Adam Wolf (5-135)
Also notable: Tarik Skubal (9-255), Brock Deatherage (10-285), Avery Tuck (17-495), Jeb Bargfeldt (29-855)
Obviously, the success of this draft hinges primarily on first overall pick Casey Mize, but there is plenty more to look at in this draft. Personally, I find it a bit underwhelming, though they did a good job mixing up their picks and grabbing players from every demographic. They covered all their bases, but I'd come away just a little bit disappointed if I were a Tigers fan, aside from the Mize pick obviously.
1-1: RHP Casey Mize (my rank: 1)
Everyone saw this pick coming from a month away, and it's easy to see why. It's no secret that the Tigers love to take hard throwing right handers in the first round (see Alex Faedo in 2017, Matt Manning in 2016, and Beau Burrows in 2015), and Mize fits that description and more. After an excellent sophomore season at Auburn (8-2, 2.04 ERA, 109/9 K/BB), it was more of the same for him as a junior (10-6, 3.30 ERA, 156/16 K/BB), all against the toughest competition in the SEC. You can tell from the stat line that he knows how to mix his stuff and move it around, striking out opponents in bunches while rarely ever walking his opponents. His stuff starts with a mid 90's fastball with movement, but he is much more than his fastball. His slider is a very good diving pitch, but his best pitch is his splitter, which just seems to get sucked down into a black hole before it hits the plate. He commands it all very well, and really has no holes in his game from a stuff standpoint. The only knocks on him are his arm action and durability, which haven't quite been answered. He had to be shut down as a freshman and as a sophomore, but made it through his whole junior season with no issues, though he did have a few rough starts towards the end of the season. His arm doesn't seem particularly loose, which could cause his durability issues. Aside from that, though, he has top of the rotation potential with a very high floor assuming he stays healthy. He hasn't signed yet, with slot value sitting just under $8.1 million.
2-44: OF Parker Meadows (my rank: 49)
For most teams, I would see this as a decent pick, but I actually really like it for the Tigers. Meadows, whose older brother Austin plays for the Pirates, is a high school outfielder from the Atlanta area. He has big power but big swing and miss issues, as he is a lanky, 6'4" left handed hitter with a very long swing and not much of an eye for pitch recognition. I actually think Detroit will be the perfect place for him, and here's why. Obviously, he has to get through the minors first, but once he gets to the majors, Comerica Park really plays to his strengths. It's tough to hit a ball out of there given the deep fences, but he has the power to clear them if he gets ahold of one, and he also has the speed to turn those balls in the gaps into doubles and triples. Additionally, his mediocre pitch recognition could be just a bit mitigated by Comerica's famously effective batters' eye. He's a high ceiling, low floor player, but Detroit is where I think he is most likely to hit that ceiling if he can just get through the minors. He has not signed yet, with pick value sitting just over $1.6 million.
3-79: 2B Kody Clemens (unranked)
Roger Clemens' son had two straight mediocre seasons at Texas, but broke out with arguably the best offensive season in college baseball this year. In 63 games heading into the College World Series, he is slashing .356/.449/.745 with 24 home runs and a 46/40 strikeout to walk ratio, punishing anything thrown his way and leading Texas much farther into the postseason than many thought they would go just a few weeks ago. That said, I'm not sure his chances of producing in pro ball are high enough for the 79th pick. He had this one good season, but he hasn't shown that he can maintain that over multiple seasons, and his swing seems more geared for college pitching than pro pitching. He does a good job leaving his hands back, but they start low and he has a hard time catching up to high fastballs. On defense, he's so-so, with the possibility of sticking at second base but no guarantee. He redshirted a year after hurting his elbow, so he's already 22, but the good news is that he supposedly has a very good work ethic and should be able to maximize his skill set. Because he is still playing in the College World Series, he hasn't signed yet, with slot value sitting at $750,800.
5-135: LHP Adam Wolf (unranked)
Wolf is coming off a big year as the Louisville ace, going 8-2 with a 2.63 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and a 109/29 strikeout to walk ratio over 102.2 innings for the Cardinals. Wolf isn't a power pitcher, but gets his success from pitchability, the ability to command his pitches, and his very good cutter. His ceiling is that of a back-end starter, but he has a good chance to reach it. The 6'6" lefty could also end up a reliever, where he could carve out a long career. He signed at slot for $398,300.
Others: 4th rounder Kingston Liniak, besides having a cool name, is a fairly similar player to second rounder Parker Meadows in that he is a power hitting high school outfielder with a lot of risk and a lot of reward. Unlike Meadows, he's a right handed hitter, and his swing lacks much loft at all right now as he swings down on it. Keeping his hands farther back and getting up under the ball should help his power production. His $900,000 signing bonus was $366,700 above slot. 9th rounder Tarik Skubal generated buzz with a strong start to his sophomore season at Seattle University in 2016 (6-1, 2.11 ERA, 50/17 K/BB), but went down with Tommy John surgery and missed the whole 2017 season. He was back in 2018 and while he wasn't quite as effective (8-2, 4.16 ERA, 106/56 K/BB), he still has the makings of a solid pro prospect. The 6'3" lefty probably moves to the bullpen with his spotty command and high effort, leg-powered delivery, but he could thrive there with his above average stuff. 10th rounder Brock Deatherage (they're really loading up on the cool names, aren't they?) has been a four year starter at NC State, with his senior year being his best. The outfielder slashed .307/.397/.548 with 14 home runs, 18 stolen bases, and a 76/28 strikeout to walk ratio, showing off about every tool but plate discipline. He has a long swing but generates a lot of whip in it, which should translate to power at the next level, and he has good speed as well. While the 10.4% walk rate is decent, the 28.2% strikeout rate is too high, so he'll have to tighten up the zone in order to reach the majors. He turns 23 in September, so it'll have to be quick, too. 17th rounder Avery Tuck could have been a top five rounds pick out of high school in 2016, but he decided to head to San Diego State instead. Things didn't work out there, and he ended up at New Mexico Junior College for 2018. He's athletic and has a lot of power potential, but swing and miss issues have been present and he's a high risk player, which is okay for the 17th round. 29th rounder Jeb Bargfeldt has been Miami's ace for the past two seasons, finishing 2018 4-5 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP over 101 innings, striking out 76 and walking 30. He's a pitchability 6' lefty with pretty decent command who could move through the minors as a reliever.
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