First 5 rounds: Carter Stewart (1-8), Greyson Jenista (2-49), Tristan Beck (4-112), Trey Riley (5-142)
Also notable: Andrew Moritz (6-172), Jake Higginbotham (11-322), Nolan Kingham (12-352), Brendan Venter (13-382), Zach Hess (34-1012)
The Braves didn't make their third selection until pick #112, but they still somehow managed to put together a very talented class because that's just what they do. Their farm system is already elite, and that's because of their excellent player development, and it definitely got better with this draft. They like to go for high-ceiling types, which is what they did here for the most part, and they usually hit on those guys, especially pitchers.
1-8: RHP Carter Stewart (my rank: 6)
Stewart shot up boards this spring, and by the end of it he was the top high school right handed pitcher in the class. The projectable 6'6" righty from Florida's Space Coast grew up a Braves fan, and now he's throwing in the mid 90's with a big dropping power curveball and a changeup that's coming along. On top of that, Stewart commands everything fairly well, not necessarily with pinpoint command but enough to set himself apart with other, wilder stuff-oriented pitchers. His delivery is deliberate and includes long arm action, but it's clean overall and there's no reason to think he won't be able to improve his command further. He has ace potential as a harder throwing Adam Wainwright, a fellow Braves first round pick out of high school on the south Atlantic coast, and there is no better place to reach that potential than in the Braves' system. He has not signed yet, with slot value sitting just under $5 million.
2-49: 1B Greyson Jenista (my rank: 25)
Jenista played for Wichita State, where he slashed .309/.446/.475 with nine home runs and a 41/50 strikeout to walk ratio. He's a big guy at 6'4" and 240 pounds, but he moves well for his size and actually stole 12 bases in 13 tries this year. Also despite his size, he's more contact and on-base ability over power at this point, keeping his strikeout rate at a reasonable 15.7% while walking at an excellent 19.2% rate to run his OBP up to .446, spraying line drives all over the field. I do see more power potential beyond the nine home runs he hit this year, and not just because of his size, as his swing is explosive and he leaves his hands back for a long time. Adding loft could help him hit 20-30 home runs per season, and he was drafted as a first baseman but does have the ability to play some outfield without being a liability. There were some complaints that he sometimes struggled with breaking stuff or against advanced pitching, which knocked him down to the second round, but I definitely like the bat. Jenista signed for $1.2 million, which saves the Braves $250,500 on slot value, and he's slashing .250/.348/.500 with three home runs and a 9/6 strikeout to walk ratio in ten games in the rookie level Appalachian League.
4-112: RHP Tristan Beck (my rank: 41)
Beck is a second or third round talent here in the fourth round. Both college baseball fans and draft fans should be very familiar with Beck, who served as the Stanford ace in 2016 and 2018 and was a top draft prospect in 2015 and 2017 in addition to 2018. Because he was old for his class with a June birthday, he was eligible for that 2017 draft, and a huge freshman season (6-5, 2.48 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 76/26 K/BB) had him slated to go as early as the back of the first round. However, he missed the entire season with a back injury and elected to return to school instead of sign, but took a slight step back this year. Through 15 starts, he went 8-4 with a 2.98 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and a 73/31 strikeout to walk ratio in 90.2 innings, with his stuff reportedly taking a step back. He's more command over stuff, showing a low 90's fastball, a curveball that looked plus as a freshman but that has flattened out a little this year, and a very good changeup that can be an out pitch when the curve isn't on. He commands it all well usually, but that command wasn't quite as crisp this year as he was his freshman year. Essentially, you're looking at a bona fide mid rotation starter if he gets back to that freshman form, but he may be more of a #4 or #5 starter if he can't. As I said with Stewart, the Braves know how to get the most out of these guys. He hasn't signed yet, and though slot value is $497,800, he'll likely need a much higher bonus.
5-142: RHP Trey Riley (my rank: 98)
I couldn't find much video on Riley when I was researching him prior to the draft, but the scouting reports like him. He's a 6'2" righty out of John A. Logan Community College, the powerhouse JuCo in southern Illinois that also produced Orioles 2016 second rounder Matthias Dietz. Riley is likely a reliever, showing a quick arm that produces low to mid 90's fastballs and a very good slider to go along with a mediocre changeup. The changeup will have to take a leap forward if he wants to start, but if he gets put in the bullpen, he'll be able to scrap the changeup and sit in the mid 90's with his fastball and buckle hitters' knees with the slider. I especially don't think he sticks in the rotation given the Braves incredible pitching depth in their minor leagues. He signed for $450,000, which is $78,100 above slot. Through 2.1 innings in the Appy League, he has allowed three earned runs (11.57 ERA) on two hits, four walks, a hit by pitch, and three strikeouts.
Others: 6th rounder Andrew Moritz is notable for batting .406 at UNC-Greensboro over his entire three year career, finishing it off with a .428/.492/.637 line, six home runs, 12 stolen bases, and a 27/28 strikeout to walk ratio in 54 games this year. The stat line says it all, as he is a contact-oriented hitter who doesn't miss much (10.7% strikeout rate this year), and he may have enough speed to stick in center field. Though he won't hit home runs, he has plenty of gap power with that speed and line drive bat. The one thing that scares me off Moritz a bit is his .243/.323/.279 slash line and 22/13 strikeout to walk ratio over 30 games in the Cape Cod League last summer, which raises the question of if his excellent stats this year are just a product of him playing weaker competition in the Southern Conference. 11th rounder Jake Higginbotham did a great job stepping back into the Clemson rotation this year (6-1, 3.47 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 63/32 K/BB) after missing 2017 with an elbow injury, but he likely profiles as a reliever at the next level. The lefty should be able to run his fastball into the mid 90's and get additional outs with his pretty good slider if put in the 'pen. 12th rounder Nolan Kingham is a well known college arm who had a much better season in his sophomore season at Texas (10-4, 2.84 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 67/24 K/BB) than in his junior season (8-5, 4.57 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 81/24 K/BB). His fastball has lost velocity and now sits around 90 after hitting 97 last year, which now gives less contrast with his hard upper 80's slider. He hasn't signed yet and I'm not sure that he will at all. 13th rounder Brendan Venter is another college performer (in case you haven't picked up what kind of players I like to highlight in this section), slashing .307/.385/.510 with 12 home runs and a 45/19 strikeout to walk ratio at Auburn this year. There is power in his bat, and he has a knack for hard contact, though his plate discipline definitely needs work. He was drafted as a first baseman so the bat will have to carry him. 34th rounder Zach Hess is more of a third or fourth round talent (he ranked #102 on my list) so he likely won't sign here unless the Braves take a significant chunk of money out of their bonus pool. He's a relief prospect out of LSU who was much better in 2017 (3.12 ERA, 83/30 K/BB) than he was this year (5.05 ERA, 107/49 K/BB). The 6'6" righty can hit the upper 90's when used in relief, and his slider can be a wipeout pitch. He'll try to rebuild his stock next year in Baton Rouge.
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