2021 MLB Draft Review: Toronto Blue Jays

Full list of draftees

The Blue Jays went pitching-heavy this year, selecting arms with their first five picks and nine of their first ten. Even though they did not have a second round pick due to signing George Springer, they managed to make a few picks that I really liked, most notably their first pick in Gunnar Hoglund, who in my opinion was one of the top arms in the entire class. Toronto did select two Canadians in 14th and 16th rounds, though Abbotsford native Micah Bucknam did not sign and will instead attend Washington for school.
Full index of team reviews here. Full rankings here.

1-19: RHP Gunnar Hoglund, Mississippi. My rank: #12.
I'm a huge fan of this pick, especially considering they got him below slot. Gunnar Hoglund has been on prospect radars for a while, and his ability to command a high velocity fastball got him drafted 36th overall by the Pirates, but he did not sign. Hoglund settled in as one of the best strikethrowers in the SEC over the next two seasons, walking just 18 batters in 91.1 innings as a 19-20 year old by pulling back a bit on his velocity. I went to his first start of the 2021 season against Texas Tech (which I wrote about at length here), and everything changed. After sitting 88-92 as an underclassman, he came out firing and touched 96 in the first inning, holding 90+ velocity for the entire start and in fact, for the entire season. That increased velocity came from the same simple, easy delivery he's always shown, and he maintained plus command throughout the season. That led to a 2.87 ERA and a 96/17 strikeout to walk ratio over 62.2 innings. The 6'4" righty also tightened up his slider this year, bumping it into the mid to upper 80's and earning some plus grades at his best, and also took a big step forward with a changeup that looks like an above average pitch as well. All of that had him trending towards the top ten picks, and in fact he ranked as high as eighth on my midseason lists, but unfortunately he went down with Tommy John surgery in May. While that's obviously a crushing blow, I'm honestly not too worried. Nowadays, it seems like almost everybody is getting TJ at some point anyways, and while that still doesn't make it a good thing, at least it's happening now rather than in pro ball when he's knocking on the door to the majors. Hoglund is also so advanced in so many facets of pitching that once he's healthy again, even though he'll be 22 and a half years old, he should be able to move quickly and still reach the majors in a reasonable timeframe. If his stuff and command come all the way back, I see a pretty high floor as a back-end starter and a more likely outcome as a #3 guy. The Tampa-area native signed for $3.25 million, which was about $110,000 below slot value.

3-91: LHP Ricky Tiedemann, Golden West JC [CA]. My rank: #134.
Ricky Tiedemann was eligible last year and ranked 75th on my list, and after teams would not reach his signing bonus demands, he switched his commitment from San Diego State to Long Beach City College to be eligible for the draft this year. When LBCC cancelled its baseball season due to COVID fears, he transferred quickly to Golden West JC and put up a 3.55 ERA and a 60/15 strikeout to walk ratio over 38 innings. His fastball has ticked up slightly into the low 90's, topping out around 93-94 at its best, while his slider has gotten more consistent and looks like an average pitch. His changeup remains his main weapon, coming in with great fade from his low three quarters arm slot and earning some plus grades. The 6'4" lefty is generally around the zone, but he struggles to command within it and his stuff isn't quite crisp enough to avoid getting hit hard when he leaves pitches over the plate. His proponents will point to the projection in his frame and the looseness of his delivery that will allow him to add velocity, while his detractors will wonder if he'll ever miss enough bats to be more than a back-end starter or a reliever. The Blue Jays are likely in that first camp, and the fact that he's extremely young for a college freshman (still 18 for a few more weeks) should help him continue to add power to his stuff. The southern California native signed for $644,800, which was $2,500 below slot value.

4-121: RHP Chad Dallas, Tennessee. My rank: #159.
Chad Dallas is a relatively safe pick in the fourth round, albeit one without a ton of upside. He began his career at Panola JC, then followed the Alerick Soularie path from the Texas JUCO ranks to Tennessee. After making a strong impression as a sophomore in 2020 (2.53 ERA, 21/6 K/BB), he was the Volunteers' most consistent starter this year and finished with a 4.19 ERA and a 122/20 strikeout to walk ratio over 103 innings, facing a tough schedule with a hitter-friendly home park. "Cheese" Dallas attacks hitters with a low 90's fastball that has reached as high as 97 in the past, adding in a full set of secondaries with an above average slider, an average curve, and a seldom-used changeup. The 5'11" righty is a bit undersized, but his competitiveness and above average command enable him to power through lineups and pitch deep into ballgames. It looks like a high probability back-end starter, or he could wind up in the bullpen with his fastball/slider combination. It does help that he's relatively young for the class and only turned 21 in June. The southeast Texas native signed for $497,500, which was $23,800 above slot value.

5-152: RHP Irv Carter, Calvary Christian HS [FL]. My rank: #74.
This is another pick I really like for the Blue Jays. Irv Carter may have been the third player drafted off his own high school team, but in the fifth round, I think he represents the best value. Carter has a big right arm that fires fastballs in the low 90's and has been clocked up to 94, but most evaluators agree that there is plenty more in the tank. He attacks hitters with a hard, above average slider that can show plus bite at its best, and he's shown relatively advanced feel for his changeup as well, though the latter needs to gain more consistency. A fringy curveball is currently a fourth pitch The 6'4" righty is very animated on the mound, breaking out numerous different deliveries to mess with hitters' timing. His primary delivery features a short pause right before foot strike, but sometimes he'll add an extra tap in his windup, shimmy at the top, or add a second leg lift. That partly contributes to fringy command, as changing up his lower half mechanics pre-pitch often leads to inconsistent lower half mechanics mid-delivery, and his upper body sometimes doesn't catch up while his lower half is off doing its thing. The Blue Jays will want to smooth that out and get him consistent with a single, normal delivery, then perhaps let him go back to changing things up once he's comfortably repeating his mechanics. There is a ton of natural talent here, from the strong frame to the excellent feel to spin the baseball, and Toronto is really buying into the upside. A Miami commit, the south Florida native instead signed for $850,000, which was $499,700 above slot value.

6-182: RHP Hayden Juenger, Missouri State. Unranked.
The Blue Jays see a fast-moving reliever in Hayden Juenger, who served as Missouri State's closer this year and put up a 3.86 ERA and a 31/6 strikeout to walk ratio over 21 innings. There's not a ton of video available on him, but the 6' righty does have a smaller frame and an uptempo delivery that will likely keep him in the bullpen. He can bring it with a mid 90's fastball that serves as his primary weapon, also keeping hitters off balance with a slider and a changeup. Juenger is extremely young for the class and will only turn 21 shortly after this review is published, so Toronto will have that much extra time to develop his fresh arm in their system. College relievers do not have a great track record early in the draft, but the St. Louis-area native's youth and arm strength still intrigue the Blue Jays here, where they feel they're deep enough into the draft to go after an electric arm. He signed for $197,500, which was $70,700 below slot value.

12-362: 3B Riley Tirotta, Dayton. Unranked.
Riley Tirotta is an interesting one, and someone who was on my radar before the draft but who I just didn't get around to. A fourth year player, had he been willing to accept a lower signing bonus, he probably could have gone in the top six or seven rounds given that he was a favorite among Midwest area scouts. Tirotta was inconsistent over his first three years at Dayton but put it all together in 2021, slashing .337/.450/.696 with 16 home runs and a 36/24 strikeout to walk ratio over 51 games. The South Bend, Indiana native employs a big right handed uppercut that helps him tap his above average power very consistently in games, and he cut his strikeout rate to 16.2% during his breakout this year. Throw in plus speed that has enabled him to steal 43 bases in 162 career games, and you have someone who can impact the game in a lot of ways. The catch is that most of his damage has come against so-so A-10 pitching, and he did struggle in the Cape Cod League back in 2019. The debate rages as to whether he's a legitimate impact hitter that's simply unproven against better pitching, or if he's really an organizational depth guy who just beat up on a weaker schedule. The Cape numbers my point to the latter, but the Blue Jays will counter that it was a 19 game sample two years ago. Defensively, he has the speed to play the infield, but it doesn't necessarily translate out there and he could be a candidate to move to the outfield if third base doesn't work out. Set to turn 23 in August, he's on the older side, and he signed for $125,000.

14-422: 3B Damiano Palmegiani, Southern Nevada JC. Unranked.
The Blue Jays selected two Canadians this year, but only one signed. Damiano Palmegiani grew up in Surrey in the Vancouver area, then played his high school ball at the Vauxhall Academy boarding school in rural southern Alberta. After playing his freshman year at Cal State Northridge, he transferred to the College of Southern Nevada this year and absolutely mashed, slashing .389/.532/1.360 with 26 home runs and a 38/36 strikeout to walk ratio over 63 games. He generates big raw power from the right side, a product of the strength in his 6'1" frame and the leverage he creates with a strong base and kinetic chain. There's a slight hitch in his swing that leads to a slightly longer path to the baseball, which did not hurt him in the slightest this year but could be an issue in pro ball. While his 13.4% strikeout rate was low against junior college competition, the arms out west aren't quite as strong as the ones in Texas or Florida and certainly not as tough as an SEC or Pac-12 schedule. He did hit .304/.403/.482 with a 17/8 strikeout to walk ratio against better pitching in the MLB Draft League, but struck out 25.8% of the time. Defensively, he's going to need a lot of work if he wants to stick at third base, with the outfield a more likely outcome. He's an average runner so left field is probably where he ends up, where his bat will have to carry him. Palmegiani signed for $157,500, of which $32,500 counts against the bonus pool.

17-512: LHP Cooper Benson, Arizona State. Unranked.
Arizona State was excited to get Cooper Benson to campus, but he'll be leaving Tempe with only 27 innings under his belt. After looking strong in twenty innings as a freshman, he left his second start with an injury and ultimately went down with Tommy John surgery. It's hard to have looked better than he did, however, tossing seven shutout innings between the two starts while allowing just two hits and no walks while striking out ten of the 23 Sacramento State and Hawaii batters he faced. Benson has a fastball around 90 and adds an average curve and an above average changeup that plays very well off his fastball. He curls his arm behind his back in his delivery, creating nice deception and making it hard to pick it up out of his hand. The San Luis Obispo, California native filled up the strike zone this year, though it's always a question how that will hold up once he gets back from surgery, especially considering he was just a sophomore and only turned 21 the day this was published. The Blue Jays are buying into that hot start to the season and hoping they uncovered a gem that was on his way to a breakout. The 6' lefty signed for $125,000.

2020 Draft: Top 12 Undrafted High School Pitchers

Personally, I love watching Friday night duels in college baseball, and the shortened 2020 draft means we'll have more pitching talent heading to school than ever before. Carson Montgomery headlines the incoming freshman class as a fringe-first rounder who wanted to head to Florida State, while Miami managed to bring on not one but two of the top four, at least by my pre-draft rankings. Other big programs like Vanderbilt, LSU, and Texas jumped on there, while San Diego State lost Ricky Tiedemann when he decided to switch it up to Long Beach Community College, where he'll be draft-eligible again in 2021. Personally, my two "sleeper" picks from this list are Ryan Hagenow and and Nick Griffin, the latter of which reminds me of Asa Lacy as a high schooler.

1. RHP Carson Montgomery (my draft rank: 39)
Windermere HS [FL] -> Florida State
The top player on my rankings to go undrafted, Carson Montgomery is set to jump into a Florida State rotation that lost CJ Van Eyk (Blue Jays, second round) and Shane Drohan (Red Sox, fifth round) as well as Antonio Velez (Marlins, undrafted) out of the bullpen. Van Eyk and Drohan were big draft names in their own right out of high school in 2017, ranking 107th and 118th on my draft list that year, so bringing on blue chip recruits is nothing new for FSU. Montgomery is a 6'2" right hander with plenty of room to grow into his frame, and his extremely loose right arm makes him even more projectable. For now, he has a low 90's fastball that he can run up to 96, and he's working on maintaining that velocity a little better. His best secondary pitch is an inconsistent slider that can flash plus at its best, and he throws a sneaky good changeup that he doesn't use as often. His command is fairly inconsistent as well, but he's very young for an incoming freshman and won't even turn 18 until August. Montgomery might need a little bit of refinement throughout his freshman year but I imagine that by the time he's a sophomore, he'll be a true ace for the Seminoles. Pre-draft profile here.

2. RHP Ryan Hagenow (my draft rank: 52)
Farragut HS [TN] -> Kentucky
I took a bit of a gamble on Ryan Hagenow, who ranked 52nd on my list but 68th on MLB Pipeline and 194th on Baseball America. I really like his upside though, and I have a feeling he's going to spend his three years in Lexington and turn into a monster. He's an uber-projectable 6'5" righty out of the Knoxville area who has a lot to work on, but I think he has a lot going for him as well. His fastball velocity isn't quite there yet, sitting around 90 for the most part and topping out around 93, but his loose arm puts nice movement on the pitch and portends to future velocity gains. His slider is average for now, flattening out at times but also showing some nice depth down in the zone when he gets it right. Adding some power and consistency in college could make it a plus pitch. To me, his best pitch right now is his changeup, with great fading action to the arm side. He does a decent job of throwing strikes, but he needs to smoothen out his delivery a little bit, which I believe he will. I love the way his arms and legs work in his delivery and he could easily add 20-30 pounds at school, which should help him add power to his fastball and slider. In a best case scenario, I could really see him coming out for the 2023 draft with three plus pitches and a starter's frame, which would easily put him in the first round. There's a long way to go, and I don't think he'll slot directly into Kentucky's weekend rotation right away, but he is relatively young for the class with a June birthday and I have a good feeling about him. Pre-draft profile here.

3. RHP Victor Mederos (my draft rank: 57)
Westminster Christian HS [FL] -> Miami
Miami did a fantastic job of holding its talented recruiting class together, and it's a good thing because they lost their entire weekend rotation in Slade Cecconi (Diamondbacks, comp round), Chris McMahon (Rockies, second round), and Brian Van Belle (Red Sox, undrafted), plus reliever Tyler Keysor (Reds, undrafted). Headlining the incoming recruits, at least as far as my list goes, is Victor Mederos, a Cuban-born pitcher who fled the country with his mother and brother when he was six years old and settled in Miami. The big 6'4" righty has as strong an arm as anyone in this class, sitting in the low to mid 90's with a fastball he can run up to 96. He has two breaking balls in a curveball and a slider that can flash plus, with the former showing great depth and power at times and the latter coming in with harder velocity. There is a solid changeup as well, and Mederos aggressively attacks hitters with all four, though the two breaking balls can blend into each other at times. That aggressiveness can hurt him more than it helps him at times, with a tendency to overthrow and lose his arm slot and therefore strike zone. He does have the innate strike throwing ability to be successful in that area, and all he really needs to do is stay within himself more. Miami is getting a really exciting, high-octane arm who could develop into an impact starter, though with a June birthday that makes him old for the class, he'll be eligible again for the 2022 draft as a sophomore. Pre-draft profile here.

4. RHP Alejandro Rosario (my draft rank: 67)
Miami Christian HS [FL] -> Miami
Joining Mederos in that future Hurricanes rotation will be fellow Miami native Alejandro Rosario, though he's a very different pitcher. While Mederos is listed at 6'4" and 215 pounds, Rosario is a very slim 6'1" and 165 pounds. He lives off his fastball, which sits in the mid 90's, has registered as high as 99, and gets good running action to the arm side. His secondary pitches are more of a work in progress, with a slider and a splitter that he's still working to differentiate. Believe it or not, the splitter is actually ahead of the slider, an above average pitch at its best, and he needs to refine his slider to look less like his splitter, not the other way around. Because of his slight frame and unrefined arsenal, he faces significant reliever questions in pro ball, though I think he'll definitely be able to start at least in college. Maybe not right off the bat, as I think Mederos has a better shot to crack the rotation as a freshman than Rosario does, but he's athletic, repeats his delivery well, and throws enough strikes to make it work. Throw in the easy gas and the splitter/slider thing, and he'll miss tons of bats in the ACC. During his time in Miami, if he can refine those secondary pitches and perhaps bulk up a little bit, his electric right arm could be really enticing for teams early in the 2023 draft. Pre-draft profile here.

5. RHP/SS/QB Cade Horton (my draft rank: 70)
Norman HS [OK] -> Oklahoma
A quarterback/baseball player heading to Oklahoma? Cade Horton is harkening back to Kyler Murray with that combination, but he's not quite the prospect Murray was in either sport. Horton won't have to go far for school, staying in his hometown of Norman, just south of Oklahoma City. Not only his he a two-sport star, but he's actually set to play both ways on the diamond as well. Most scouts prefer him as a pitcher, and I'd have to agree with that. Horton is a 6'2" righty that sits in the low 90's with his fastball, adding an above average slider that could end up a plus pitch if he adds some power to it. As with most high school pitchers, his changeup requires some imagination, but it's there. As you might expect from a quarterback, he's a good athlete with a durable frame that should lend itself well to starting. There is a lot of baseline ability there to project on, and once (if) he gives up hitting and quarterbacking, he could take some big steps forward. Oklahoma lost its entire weekend rotation in Cade Cavalli (Nationals, first round), Levi Prater (Cardinals, third round), and Dane Acker (A's, fourth round), plus reliever Zack Matthews (Astros, undrafted), so Horton should have every chance to jump into the rotation from day one. Pre-draft profile here.

6. LHP Ricky Tiedemann (my draft rank: 75)
Lakewood HS [CA] -> San Diego State Long Beach CC
Ricky Tiedemann was previously committed to pitch at San Diego State, but after effectively pricing himself out of the draft, he'll head to Long Beach Community College to be eligible right away for the 2021 draft. Personally, I think this could pay off big time for the Los Angeles-area native. Tiedemann has an extremely projectable, extremely athletic 6'4" frame that screams future projection. He has a really loose right arm and an easy, natural operation as well, giving his coaches at LBCC a lot to work with. For now, the fastball sits around 90, but I could easily see him adding significant velocity in the future, perhaps even in his freshman year at LBCC. His changeup is his best pitch for now with great fading action, giving him a reliable offspeed. He has a slider, but it's below average at this point and will need significant refinement. It's really easy to envision Tiedemann getting a lot, a lot better, so even marginal improvement in 2021 could seriously help his draft stock. If he adds a tick or two to his fastball or refines that slider to an average or above average pitch, that should move him into top 50 consideration, and doing both could make him a first rounder. Another plus in Tiedemann's profile is his age, because like Carson Montgomery, he won't turn 18 until August, making him the age of a slightly old high school senior by the time the 2021 draft rolls around. Pre-draft profile here.

7. RHP Tanner Witt (my draft rank: 87)
Episcopal HS [TX] -> Texas
The University of Texas had a recruiting class filled with big draft names, but ultimately saw Carson Tucker (Indians, first round), Jared Jones (Pirates, second round), Jared Kelley (White Sox, second round), and Petey Halpin (Indians, third round) go in the top 100 picks. In losing four huge recruits to the draft, Longhorns fans can take solace in that they got one really good pitcher to price himself out. Like Tiedemann, he's about projectability more than anything else, but there is a lot of present ability too. Witt is a towering 6'6" righty out of Houston with a fastball that sits around 90 for the most part, but this spring he added a tick of velocity and sat in the low 90's, reaching back for as much as 95. While that increased velocity was only present for a short time before the shutdown, it was expected anyways and he has a chance to really tack it on in Austin. His curve has some nice depth to it and is an average to above average pitch at present, but again, it's easy to see him adding power as he fills out, which would make it a plus pitch. He also throws a slider and a changeup, which are fairly raw for now but which show promise and could develop into above average pitches in time. He throws strikes and repeats his delivery well, giving him plenty of starter traits to work on. Witt is very much the kind of pitcher that can show up on campus a lanky freshman and come out a bona fide ace, and he could make my #87 ranking look silly three years from now. Additionally, he's young for the class with a July birthday and will also be hitting at UT, where he could surprise some of us with his raw power. Between Witt and rising sophomore Trey Faltine, the Longhorns have two legitimate two-way prospects, though Faltine did not pitch as a freshman. Pre-draft profile here.

8. RHP Ty Floyd (my draft rank: 98)
Rockmart HS [GA] -> Louisiana State
Only the second player on this list, following Ryan Hagenow (Tennessee -> Kentucky), to leave his home state for college, Ty Floyd takes some imagination to project on. Growing up just past the Atlanta suburbs, Floyd is a 6'2" righty with a really loose arm that can run his fastball up to 95. He sits more in the low 90's during his starts, but he does have a tendency to dip a bit later on. He throws a curveball and a changeup that are both pretty raw, though the curve shows promise with nice shape down in the zone. Really, scouts are projecting on the looseness of Floyd's operation and his innate athleticism more than his present ability, and the LSU coaching staff will have some work to do when he arrives on campus. They're returning most of their pitching staff after only losing Cole Henry (Nationals, second round) to the draft, so Floyd is more likely to be a bullpen arm as a freshman, but once guys like Jaden Hill, Landon Marceaux, and AJ Labas presumably get drafted next year, Floyd has a shot to jump into the rotation as a sophomore. By the time he's a junior, if he refines his game into what scouts believe he's capable of, we could have a really exciting arm. There is probably more relief risk than most of the other names on this list, though, and Floyd has a pretty wide range of potential outcomes. Pre-draft profile here.

9. RHP Cam Brown (my draft rank: 111)
Flower Mound HS [TX] -> Texas Christian
Cam Brown had a great summer that put him firmly in top 50 conversations, and a strong spring could have further moved him up boards into first round consideration. However, his spring moved him in the opposite direction, and he'll make the short drive down I-35W to TCU to try to rebuild his stock. At his best over the summer, Brown showed a low to mid 90's fastball that played up due to some crossfire in his delivery, in addition to an above average slider and a solid changeup. However, this spring, the velocity ticked down closer to 90 and his slider looked like a below average to average pitch, and overall he just didn't look like a natural pitcher. At TCU, he has a chance to prove that his brief spring was just a minor blip, and a strong freshman season in 2021 could be enough to completely erase the bad taste in scouts' mouthes. As a 6'3" righty with a durable frame and three potential above average pitches, he has plenty of starter traits and could emerge a first round pick in 2023. At the same time, he still does have to go out and prove it. Scouts will be watching his Horned Frogs career closely to see his progression, as will I with TCU just down the road in Fort Worth.

10. LHP Mason Miller (my draft rank: 113)
Mitchell HS [FL] -> Florida Gulf Coast
Aside from the community college-bound Ricky Tiedemann, all of the previous names in this class are committed to premium baseball programs like Miami, Florida State, and Louisiana State, but Mason Miller is headed to a smaller program in Florida Gulf Coast. There, he'll hope to follow in the footsteps of fellow lefty Chris Sale, the school's biggest name ever. Miller teamed with Reds competitive balance pick Jackson Miller (no relation) at Mitchell High School just north of Tampa, and while he had a shot to go in the fourth or fifth round based on a really nice projection profile. As a 6'3" lefty, his name was already circled on scouts' lists, and a velocity bump this spring that pushed his fastball to around 90 miles per hour really put him on the map. Aside from being a scout's dream as a 6'3" lefty, his best attribute is a potentially plus curveball that gets really high spin rates and can really bring tremendous bite. It's inconsistent for now as he learns to harness its power, but the potential is there. Lastly, his changeup needs projection and could develop in any number of directions. Miller comes from a low three quarters arm slot that puts some nice angle on the ball, but he can yank the ball sometimes and it also makes it tougher for him to stay on top of his big curveball. At FGCU, he'll need to focus on adding more velocity, which should come naturally given his frame, as well as getting more consistent with those secondary pitches. He has a chance to crack the Eagles' rotation right out of the gate, and his game could grow pretty steadily during his time in Fort Myers.

11. LHP Nick Griffin (my draft rank: 119)
Monticello HS [AR] -> Arkansas
As with Texas, Arkansas' fantastic recruiting class got looted during the draft with Masyn Winn (Cardinals, second round), Markevian Hence (Cardinals, competitive balance round), and David Calabrese (Angels, third round) signing pro contracts. Nick Griffin (Monticello) will join fellow small town Arkansan Cayden Wallace (Greenbrier) as major 2020 draft prospects to head to Fayetteville, where he will look to develop into a star. Personally, he reminds me of another name as a high schooler, and Razorbacks fans will really like this one: Asa Lacy. I really, really liked Lacy coming out of high school in Texas in 2017 (and if you read my work, you're probably sick of me bragging about it), and I feel the same way about Griffin. He's a 6'4" lefty with a really loose, really athletic delivery that just screams projection. For now, his fastball sits around 90 but can bump up to 94 at times, and he figures to continuously add velocity as he fills out that frame. There is a slider as well that can be an above average pitch at times, and he adds a curveball and changeup that are pretty nascent. Everything about his game is pretty raw, but I think the Arkansas coaching staff is getting something really exciting to work with. In addition to the projectable frame, loose arm, and great body for pitching, he's relatively young for the class with a June birthday, and he's trending in the right direction. Arkansas is so loaded with talent that he probably won't crack the rotation right away, but he has a chance to follow an Asa Lacy-like rise to stardom. How's that for a prospect?

12. RHP Patrick Reilly (my draft rank: 128)
Christian Brothers HS [NJ] -> Vanderbilt
How would this list be complete without a Vanderbilt arm? In each of the past two seasons, they've landed massive recruits on the mound in Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter, and while they lost their top two incoming hitters this year in Robert Hassell (Padres, first round) and Pete Crow-Armstrong (Mets, first round), they did land their top pitcher in Patrick Reilly. A New Jersey private school product like Leiter, Reilly has much less of a track record than his Garden State counterpart, instead jumping onto the map with a huge showing at the WWBA tournament over the fall. In his one start there, his previously fringy fastball sat easily in the low to mid 90's and topped out at 96, while he showed a true power curve that looked plus at its best. Reilly packs a ton of strength into his 6'4" frame that enabled his velocity gains, though aside from that exciting start in the fall, scouts hadn't seen enough of him at the increased velocity to buy him out of that Vanderbilt commitment. It will be really tough to work into that absolutely loaded rotation, especially as a freshman, but once Rocker and Leiter go in the top five picks in 2021, he'll likely have his shot. At Vanderbilt, competing for innings can be just as tough as proving yourself to evaluators, but there is no better place to go and refine his game.

Others (by pre-draft rank):
133. RHP Jason Savacool, Baker HS [NY] -> Maryland
136. LHP Timmy Manning, Cardinal Gibbons HS [FL] -> Florida
157. RHP TJ Nichols, Oakmont HS [CA] -> Arizona
160. RHP Marquis Grissom Jr., Counterpane HS [GA] -> Georgia Tech
Unranked: RHP Max Rajcic, Orange Lutheran HS [CA] -> UCLA

2020 Draft Profile: Ricky Tiedemann

LHP Ricky Tiedemann, Lakewood HS [CA]
Full index of profiles here

DoB: 8/18/2002.  Commitment: San Diego State.

Ricky Tiedemann's older brother, Tai, was drafted in the eighth round out of Long Beach City College in 2016, putting up a nice season at Class A Hickory in the Rangers' system in 2019. Now his younger brother, Ricky, has a chance to beat his draft selection by a significant margin. Depending on your views on Long Beach State's Adam Seminaris, Tiedemann is probably the best left handed pitching prospect in Southern California, coming out of the same Lakewood High School that produced Mariners infielder J.P. Crawford, Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud, Rangers infielder Matt Duffy, and longtime big league infielder Damion Easley, among numerous others. While Tiedemann is far from a finished product, there's a consensus among scouts that he has an immense ceiling.

The very first thing you will notice about Tiedemann, aside from his long brown hair, is the looseness of his operation. He's an excellent athlete at 6'4" with great body control, an exceptionally loose arm that whips in fastballs around 90, and he figures to add significant velocity with added weight and improved mechanics. He has a slider, but it's fairly rudimentary right now and would need to be fully developed by a major league team. Lastly, he throws a changeup which is probably his best pitch right now. He gets great armside fade out of it, which plays really well off of his wide arm slot and the angle he gets on his other pitches.

Tiedemann throws his share of strikes, which is a plus and shows that he's not a complete project. Once he learns to channel his strength into his pitches and really drive towards the plate, and that seems very likely given his body control and athleticism, he could go from a lower velocity guy to a power arm. The fastball and changeup especially have the chance to tunnel off each other and become true weapons, and if he can sharpen that slider a bit, you're looking at an impact starting pitcher. For yet another positive, Tiedemann is very young for the class and won't turn 18 until August, giving him all the more time to develop.

As with any high school arm, there is significant risk here, but Tiedemann's left handedness and his natural athleticism alleviate at least some of that. You definitely have to squint a little bit, but it's really pretty easy to imagine him as an impact starting pitcher once you do. He'll need to develop that breaking ball and and refine his mechanics, though I'm definitely confident in at least the latter. He probably figures to go somewhere in rounds two through four if he's signable away from San Diego State.

2020 game action