Coverage
Can’t promise that I’ll be around for the entire conference call for day 3 of the 2013 mlb draft, but I’ll try to update this thread with all the Cubs’ picks for posterity. Today encompasses everything from round 11 onwards, and the picks will happen at a fast and furious pace. Depending on how much money the Cubs think they can save on their 1-10 picks, there may be a few interesting names. These will be high school players who have indicated their desire to attend college. The slot value for every pick from 11 on is 100,000, and any amount that exceeds that (above 5%) will have to come from savings in the total pool.
We can also expect a lot of organizational positional players to go off the board today, as the Cubs will need players to fill out rosters.
The Picks
318 Jordan Hankins, C, Austin Peay JR
Somebody is goind to have to catch all the arms being brought in. I’d expect a couple more catchers to be taken today. Hankins may actually be able to hit a bit. Lots of videos of recorded televisions with him hitting homeruns on them on youtube.
348 Trevor Clifton, RHP, TN HS (BA #148)
Here’s a potential overslot pick. (EDIT: looks like he’s not going to be a tough sign at all. ANOTHER EDIT: Apparently he went significantly overslot-h/t Nate- so there must have been some money saved elsewhere.) A tall, thin righty with a commitment to Kentucky. Seems excited in his twitter feed, for what that’s worth. Here’s what BA has to say:
Many crosscheckers compare Clifton with Georgia prep Robert Tyler, as both are tall righthanders with big velocity and raw deliveries. Some scouts call Clifton’s “ugly velocity” because of his mechanics, though it is consistent velocity. The thin 6-foot-4, 185-pounder has touched 97 mph and sits 92-93. Not everyone agrees about how much projection Clifton has, as some scouts say his frame is too thin to add much weight. He does show athleticism, which should help him make adjustments to his delivery with pro coaching, and hand speed, which portends more velocity and the ability to spin a breaking ball. He throws both a curveball and slider, with the curveball showing flashes of plus power at 80 mph. He has shown more confidence in his changeup, which has its moments. A veteran of USA Baseball’s 16-and-under club that won gold in 2011, Clifton may be a tough sign. He is committed to Kentucky, which has a solid track record of developing pitchers.
378 Trevor Graham, RHP, Franklin Pierce JR
Another big righty at 6’3″, 220. Here’s mlb.com
Graham is a right-hander with a strong, durable pitcher’s build. He’s a junior at Franklin Pierce University after transferring this fall from Florida Tech. Graham’s fastball velocity fluxuates but scouts believe he has a future average fastball and just a lightly-used curve. He has a strong changeup that sinks down on the third-base corner against lefties and cuts away vs. righties. His current stuff indicates he’s most likely to be a reliever in pro ball, and his hard-nosed mentality makes him attractive to teams.
408 Daniel Poncedeleon, RHP, Houston JR (BA #322)
Easily my favorite pick of the draft so far. In terms of names, this draft has been either boring (punctuated by the early run on Trevors today), or just plain frustrating (this will be my first time writing “Zastryzny” without looking it up. How did I do?) The conquistadore is another tall righty.
A 24th-round pick by the Rays in 2010 out of a California high school, Poncedeleon began his college career at Arizona. After pitching just three innings as a freshman, he transferred to Cypress (Calif.) JC and went in the 38th round to the Reds last June. He turned down the pros again to attend Houston, where he has shown solid stuff. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder owns an 88-91 mph fastball that peaks at 94 and can flash sliders with tight, late break. He has aptitude for throwing a changeup as well. Poncedeleon three-pitch mix isn’t as effective as it should be because his control and command are suspect. Scouts also question his competitiveness and toughness.
438 Michael Wagner, RHP, USD JR (BA #192)
If you are 6’3″ or taller and can throw right-handed, stay near your phone today and watch out for 312 area codes. Not to demean Wagner, who has a track record at a baseball school. Will join his more famous teammate in the Cubs’ system. Take it away, BA:
Wagner spent most of his first two seasons in a relief role, ranking second in Division I with 19 saves as a sophomore before moving into the rotation at season’s end. He opened this season as USD’s Friday starter but moved back to the bullpen after 11 starts, and scouts think he’s better suited to relieve despite his three-pitch repertoire. As a starter, he works in the 88-91 mph range with plus life on his sinker, but his stuff is crisper in shorter stints. He commands his fastball to both sides of the plate, pitches to contact and gets plenty of groundball outs. His solid-average slider can be a swing-and-miss pitch, and he is comfortable throwing his average changeup to righties as well as lefties. He has a durable 6-foot-4, 185-pound build and a sound delivery. Wagner’s stuff isn’t overpowering, but he has good feel for pitching and poise in tight spots, making him a good fit in relief. Some scouts like Wagner as high as the second round, but the consensus places him closer to the fifth to seventh round.
Here’s video from last year’s Cape Cod league.
468 Cael Brockmeyer, C, Cal-State Bakersfield JR (BA #393)
Another catcher who may be able to hit a bit. I’m expecting at least one more receiver today.
Brockmeyer was the centerpiece of Bakersfield’s lineup as a junior this spring, hitting .333/.419/.484 with four homers and 51 RBIs. At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, he has plenty of strength and leverage in his swing, giving him average raw power. Despite the length in his swing and a high leg kick that leads to timing issues, he has a feel for the barrel and a decent approach, giving him a chance to be a fringe-average hitter. He’s an adequate receiver but lacks mobility behind the plate. He has a loose arm but his arm stroke is not compact. Whoever drafts him will give him a shot behind the plate, but he’ll probably wind up at first base.
Here’s him swinging, set to music.
498 Kelvin Freeman, 1B, NC A&T SR
First non-battery pick of the day in addition to being the first college senior. Big first baseman, big numbers in 2013.
528 Giuseppe Papaccio, SS, Seton Hall SR
Here’s another name I can get behind, and the first shortstop taken by the Cubs. Hit for a little pop as a senior, and big for a shortstop at 6’1″, 185.
558 Will Remillard, C, Coastal Carolina JR
Catcher #3 today. Hasn’t hit for power, but seems to have decent contact skills. Here is some old video.
588 Zak Blair, 2B, Meryhurst College SR
5’10”, 190 lbs. High average guy in college.
618 Joshua McCauley, RHP, Shepherd College SR
Another big righty at 6’04”, 220 lbs. Very few appearances this year at a small school. Perhaps he was/is injured?
648 Kevin Brown, LF, Bryant U SR
Three straight picks from colleges I’ve never heard of. Seems like a plate discipline/power guy. 6’0″ 195.
678 Tyler Ihrig, LHP, Marin CC
6’0″, 185. Video of him here.
708 Tyler Alamo, C, CA HS (BA #348)
Another catcher, this one a Cal State Fullerton commit. mlb.com has him at 6’4″, 200 lbs. From BA:
Alamo’s durable 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame has plenty of strength, but scouts use words like “rigid” and “stiff” to describe him behind the plate and in the batter’s box. His receiving skills have a long way to go to become passable. He has slightly above-average arm strength, but his footwork affects his accuracy, and he takes too long to unload the ball. He is an upright hitter whose grooved swing features an arm bar. He swings and misses too often, and scouts consider him a guess hitter. He does flash promising raw power. A team could take him around the back of the top 10 rounds and try to sign him away from Cal State Fullerton.
Video here.
738 Marcus Doi, OF, Hawaii HS (BA #388)
5’11”, 185 lbs. Video here. Looks solid, but is apparently a Hawaii commit. From BA:
Doi broke out at last summer’s Area Code Games, ripping hard line drives all over Long Beach State’s Blair Field. He has lost a little steam this spring, as scouts are starting to question his overall profile. He has a tightly wound build at 6 feet and 180 pounds and bats and throws righthanded. He’s just a fringe-average runner and he’ll have to play left field because of his below-average arm strength. So he’s really going to have to mash, and he profiles more as a fringy hitter with average power. Scouts now expect Doi to honor his commitment to Hawaii.
768 Carlos Pena, C, FL HS
Well, I expected catchers, but not necessarily this many. 6′, 180, and extremely google-proof. Going to need a nickname or at least some very good numbers to break out of that.
798 Tyler Sciacca, CF, Villanova SR
5’10, 175. Looks like he has some speed.
828 Tanner Renner, RF, SIU SO
6’1″, 185. This is just a bizarre pick. A total of 7 AB’s last year. From the Saluki’s website:
2013 Game-by-Game
Appeared in 22 games…Was used as a pinch hitter four times, a pinch runner 14 times and a defensive replacement in four games.
My current theory is that this is actually Mucker.
#Cubs take SIU OF Tanner Renner in 28th round of Draft. He was defensive player of year on Cheyenne East football team as junior
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) June 8, 2013
So he’s got that going for him, I guess. A week ago one of his friends wished him good luck in “Cali.” I don’t know what happened in Cali, but I need some friends with the power to bestow that kind of luck. Scratch that, I think the friend was tweeting someone else, and Tanner retweeted as a show of support.
UPDATE:
A correction: The @cubs 28th-round pick (No. 828) was Brad Renner of Florida State College (@fscj), not Tanner Renner of @siu_baseball.
— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 8, 2013
And with that, a little bit of hope dies in the rest of us.
828 Brad Renner, P, FSCJ (CC)
This may be a better prospect, but he’s harder to find info on. He’s 6’6″, 225, and probably right-handed, but he doesn’t show up on their stat sheets. At least Tanner made it into a game or two.
858 John Garcia, CF, VA HS
6’1″, 190. Born 12/11/95, so he’s pretty young for a HS SR.
888 Zak Hermans, RHP, Princeton SR
6’2″, 190. Another guy who has been documented as actually playing baseball.
918 Sean Johnson, RHP, Iowa Western CC
Endless tall righties! This one is 6’7″, 190.
948 Keaton Leach, RHP, Glendale Col (CC) 6’2″ 180
978 Chris Madera, CF, Florida JC, 5’11”, 185
1008 Jake Thompson, RHP, Oregon HS, 6’01”,200
1038 Ramsey Romano, SS, CA HS 6’3″, 185
1068 Derek Campbell, SS, Cal JR 6’0″, 175
1098 Jeremy Martinez, C, CA HS (BA #226)
USC Commit:
Martinez has been a big name in scouting circles since he was in the ninth grade, but scouts say he is much the same player now as he was then. He played for USA Baseball’s 16-and-under national team before his sophomore year in 2010, then hit .387/.558/.548 for the 18-and-under team a year later, leading Team USA to a gold medal at the Pan Am Championships in Colombia. In 2012, he helped the 18U team to another gold medal, at the 18U World Championship in South Korea. Martinez is a savvy, polished young catcher, but he lacks loud tools. He handles a pitching staff well, and he’s an average receiver with a fringe-average arm. Offensively, he has a contact-oriented approach and projects as a fringe-average hitter. He has flashed raw power at showcases and in batting practice, but it doesn’t play in games. He had no home runs in 98 plate appearances this spring, swinging a wood bat. His 5-foot-11, 195-pound frame lacks projection. Martinez is committed to Southern California, and many scouts aren’t interested in buying him out of that commitment, but his makeup and track record could prompt a club to take a run at him around the fifth or sixth round.
1128 Zack Brown, RHP, IN HS, 6’1″, 180 (BA #385)
Another BA top 500 guy:
The best high school pitching prospects in Indiana this year are lefthanders. Trey Ball will be a first-round choice, Danny Ayers could go in the top five rounds and Joshua Rogers might have as well before he had Tommy John surgery in April. The top righthander is Brown, who’s unlikely to give up his commitment to Kentucky to turn pro. Though he’s not big at 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, he has a quick arm that delivers 87-92 mph fastball and spins quality curveballs. He needs to get stronger to maintain his delivery deeper into games. His high arm slot may not be conducive to better than average command and control.
1158 Josh Greene, CF, Florida HS, 5’9″, 160
1188 Patrick Riley, LF, Delgado Col. (CC), 6’2″, 200
Comments
Forgive my ignorance, but why draft a guy who says he’s going to college anyway?
Once again, me are dumbo.
Do you mean they need to stock up on new organizational positional players?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Sounds like Clifton might already have a deal worked out?
sitrickQuote Reply
Suburban kid wrote:
Some guys change their minds. These are high school kids after all. Used to be that you could just make a relatively large offer and talk them out of it.
GWQuote Reply
@ sitrick:
yeah, he seems pretty enthusiastic.
GWQuote Reply
Suburban kid wrote:
yes. not well phrased. i just mean that they are focusing heavily on pitching, but they will need warm bodies to man the positions behind them at least.
I’m a little cynical, but I think the primary purpose of the minors is to provide age-appropriate competition for the 10 or so guys in the system that have a real chance at becoming big league players.
GWQuote Reply
@ GW:
Right, and I agree. I certainly don’t expect anything from anyone drafted today. I’m intrigued by the ability to listen in on the conference call. Is that number public?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ GW:
Ah, OK.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
it’s streaming on mlb.com
GWQuote Reply
Jeff Baker just murdered a ball into the upper deck in Toronto. Good lord that was hit hard.
sitrickQuote Reply
GWQuote Reply
GWQuote Reply
Quotability is the new market inefficiency.
sitrickQuote Reply
three homers for ian stewart today.
GWQuote Reply
Looks like $100,000 is about what 12th round picks get. The first 4 picks in the 12th round last year each signed for that.
dmick89Quote Reply
gerrit cole debuts tuesday
GWQuote Reply
@sitrick interesting comparison in the last thread. Baez has hit for more power than Vitters at the same level, but Vitters made adjustments sooner. I was comfortable writing Vitters off by the time he had gotten to AA. Being a 3B with no patience and not as much power as people hoped made it unlikely he’d ever be any good. Not to mention that a lot of people felt he’d have to move to 1st base at the big league level.
While I think Baez has a hell of a lot to improve at in order to be an average or better everyday player, he’s still playing SS so he can slide to 3rd base and more than likely be a better fielder than Vitters. Similar walk rates, Vitters struckout much less, more power for Baez, position advantage for Baez.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ GW:
Nice. My 15 year old nephew is a big Pirates fan and has enjoyed this season quite a bit. He’s been looking forward to Cole coming up. He asked me a couple weekends ago when that might happen and I said it could be anytime after the end of May.
dmick89Quote Reply
bizarre pick by the cubs at 828
GWQuote Reply
Is Castro trying to reach the Mendoza Line?
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
He’s had a couple hard hit balls that went right at guys today. I haven’t been watching closely but others seem to think his approach is okay, just not getting results.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
http://blountpressrow.com/2013/06/three-days-in-june/
that link indicated Clifton may get $570,000. That’s quite a bit over $100,000. I guess they’re saving that money in the top 10 rounds?
NateQuote Reply
@ Nate:
If they paid every one slot, that would still keep them slightly below 5% over. I’m not entirely sure how it works after round 10. Do you know?
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
I don’t know that his approach (when to swing) has really ever been OK. He didn’t get called out by name, but it was fairly clear that Theo was pointing directly at Castro (and Rizzo) when he made the comment about not improving at getting base via the walk.
I like that the Cubs front office has basically kept their mouth shut with regards to Castro’s struggles, but I think they’re disappointed at the very least.
He’s getting quite a few more fastballs this year than he has in the past. 4-seam and 2-seam combined make up over 48% of the pitches he’s seen this year. It was 42-43% the previous 3 years. I don’t know if that means anything at all. It’s just one of the things I’ve noticed lately.
It’s still relatively early in the season, but his end of season numbers are likely going to look pretty bad. I’d at least feel a lot better if he could hit somewhere near where he’s hit the previous few years (league average).
dmick89Quote Reply
978 Chris Madera, OF, Northwest Florida State College
1008 Jake Thompson RHP, Central HS, Independence, OR
1068 Derek Campbell, SS, California
1098 Jeremy Martinez, C, Mater Del HS, Santa Ana, CA
Not sure who the 35th round pick was (looked at Baseball America for this info).
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
overslots after round 10 come out of the budget for the first 10 rounds. slot value is 100k from round 11 on. at least that’s how it was last year.
GWQuote Reply
@ GW:
@ Nate:
Let’s hope that comment 22 and 12 don’t lead to someone losing all his money for nothing.
SVBQuote Reply
Almora had a nice day today.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
Adam Dunn has just passed Starlin Castro in wRC+.
Rizzo the RatQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
On MLB radio yesterday or the day before, Cliff Floyd and some other talking head were discussing Castro and suggesting that he was listening too much. To paraphrase: His game is his game and trying to change it too much will make him mental and lead to failure. See Carlos Gomez from Milwaukee as an example. Because he was fast, the Brewers wanted him to play small ball (or Metrodome ball) and get IF hits and whatnot by hitting high-bounce grounders. But his swing wasn’t really set up for that. Then last year he said he couldn’t do it and went back to his old style of hitting. The guys on the radio specifically mentioned Castro’s OBP issues and that he’s not built to take a walk in the way he approaches an at bat/swings.
I don’t know one way or the other, but maybe they have a point.
SVBQuote Reply
he didn’t show his work, but Matt Garrioch thought the Cubs had $500K + worth of overslot money going into today. Evidently, he was correct.
GWQuote Reply
GWQuote Reply
A wild new shit appears…
sitrickQuote Reply