Speaker 1: He swings high, don't understand that.
Speaker 2: Dinger center field and it's gone, Wow. His first big
Speaker 2: league swing is gonna be a grand slam, a home
Speaker 2: line swing.
Speaker 1: Good time to do so. Welcome back to The Call Up,
Speaker 1: your go to podcast on the future stars of Major
Speaker 1: League Baseball, and we have the long awaited Draft recap
Speaker 1: here with Tyler Jennings, director of Amateur Scouting here at
Speaker 1: JO Just Baseball. Tyler, you thought the draft was behind you,
Speaker 1: but I had to pull you back out here to
Speaker 1: just recap it and talk about it one more time.
Speaker 1: I mean, you worked your absolute butt off. Most successful
Speaker 1: draft stream we've ever had, all of the breakdowns before,
Speaker 1: top college, top high school. The numbers across the board
Speaker 1: were so exciting. Seeing the interest around the draft has
Speaker 1: been really cool. But I also know that you're like
Speaker 1: the Jimmy Butler meme. You know, after the finals were
Speaker 1: just like hanging over like head down on the banister.
Speaker 1: But I was like, We've got to get one more
Speaker 1: episode out here for the Call Up folks, and I'm
Speaker 1: really excited to break down all thirty draft classes with you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, man, I'm excited.
Speaker 2: And thank you to everybody also for like tuning into
Speaker 2: the draft stream to watch us, you know, talk about
Speaker 2: the draft and everything. I thought that was amazing to
Speaker 2: have so many of you guys join us for that.
Speaker 2: So we appreciate everything that you guys have done.
Speaker 1: For us, and I really appreciate everything you've done with
Speaker 1: our draft coverage and how much it is overhauled, you know,
Speaker 1: in the last three years, just being able to have
Speaker 1: you know, you just breaking everything down from on such
Speaker 1: a granular level, like we had top three hundred draft
Speaker 1: prospects before you were here. I wrote up like thirty
Speaker 1: guys because that's all I had the time to be
Speaker 1: able to do with all the other things that we
Speaker 1: have going on here. So the fact that we could
Speaker 1: ten x that and be able to really break down
Speaker 1: each of these classes to where we can get into
Speaker 1: the nitty gritty. So let's do that, and let's go.
Speaker 1: We're gonna go alphabetically. We're going to reference a lot
Speaker 1: of Tyler's pre draft rankings and that's linked in the
Speaker 1: episode description to be able to reference, but also Tyler's
Speaker 1: done draft recaps all of his work. I'll just link
Speaker 1: you to his author page at just baseball dot com
Speaker 1: so that you can see all the draft related content
Speaker 1: that has come out on the recap side as well,
Speaker 1: But this is a fun opportunity to just kind of
Speaker 1: dive into it and talk beyond the first rounders and
Speaker 1: how these overall classes came together. But of course we
Speaker 1: got to start with the first rounders, and I'll start
Speaker 1: with the Dbacks. They went with Ryder Helfrick with their
Speaker 1: first round pick, the catcher from Arkansas, and you know
Speaker 1: at fifteenth overall, I think that was the guy that
Speaker 1: I know from what I just heard from some people
Speaker 1: with the d Backs, they were thrilled to be able
Speaker 1: to get Helfrick there at fifteen. We're not really sure
Speaker 1: that he would be there. Kind of surprised that he
Speaker 1: was there. That headlines the class, but there's a lot
Speaker 1: of other arms in the class overall. They do mix in,
Speaker 1: you know, two other college bats in the second and
Speaker 1: third round. What's your Do you have an overall kind
Speaker 1: of theme with this class and how do you think
Speaker 1: it came out for the d Backs.
Speaker 3: I thought it came out well.
Speaker 2: And when you're kind of looking at like some tracer
Speaker 2: looking at definitely power is something to kind of get
Speaker 2: win after. Obviously hew Frick has plus power. You look
Speaker 2: at a guy like Chris Kats in the ninth round
Speaker 2: has significant power for Mercer, and they did sprinkle with
Speaker 2: some guys that had some contact skills as well. That's
Speaker 2: something they usually go after anyways, the past couple of years,
Speaker 2: when you look at their previous first rounders, Carson Kurs,
Speaker 2: Braden Downer, guys who are pretty safe on the hit tool,
Speaker 2: but then they go for some big power, you know,
Speaker 2: risk with some pitching guys. You know, Blake Bryant, Brian
Speaker 2: is one of my favorite prep guys from the class,
Speaker 2: so I'm happy to see him get taken a thirty one.
Speaker 3: But then you go past that.
Speaker 2: Josh mcda McDevitt from Missouri has a very very good fastball.
Speaker 3: LJ.
Speaker 2: Mccurius was one of the best stoppers in college baseball
Speaker 2: and helped Oklahoma win that national championship this year. He
Speaker 2: has a powerful change up. Michael Whorley at Tonybrook was
Speaker 2: another guy with a very very powerful fast So they
Speaker 2: kind of went after some power guys here on both
Speaker 2: sides of the ball, which is interesting. It is something
Speaker 2: that Arizona doesn't necessarily go after in the past couple
Speaker 2: of years. So I do agree that like Ryder. Helferd
Speaker 2: is a top ten talent. Getting him at fifteen is
Speaker 2: fantastic for Arizona, especially when you like at the whole
Speaker 2: variety of the first round where teams kind of went
Speaker 2: by the wayside on some guys with power and went
Speaker 2: safer hit tools first, which was an interesting kind of
Speaker 2: like mix up. But if you're Arizona, you're happy with
Speaker 2: health rak. I thought he was a top ten talent
Speaker 2: in this class, and to have a guy with that
Speaker 2: kind of power and that kind of defense behind the
Speaker 2: plate is pretty valuable.
Speaker 1: Well when we see that in the game, right, I
Speaker 1: mean so many catchers that have had the power and
Speaker 1: the defensive abilities. Those guys maybe taking some time to develop,
Speaker 1: but have developed into some of the better catchers. And
Speaker 1: now we've seen the game. I think about Shay Langlers
Speaker 1: and like, that's kind of the skill set that you
Speaker 1: feel like there could be here potentially. Right, Why do
Speaker 1: you think it was that he slipped to fifteen? It
Speaker 1: felt like a couple of the guys that maybe have
Speaker 1: some hit tool concern It really fell this year and
Speaker 1: in some years it doesn't seem like that happens as much.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a very draft turnaround from what you know,
Speaker 2: teams kind of looked for they weren't willing to take
Speaker 2: as many risks, and I think draft strategy definitely plays
Speaker 2: a role in that when you look at teams like
Speaker 2: the Red Sox for example, who brought you know, Martin
Speaker 2: Scheller down to the ninth round and gave him overslot
Speaker 2: after taking you know, Jake Schaffner at number twenty and
Speaker 2: o when hole, which we'll talk about later with the
Speaker 2: Red Sox. But I think teams definitely kind of we
Speaker 2: were not really willing to take the risk in this
Speaker 2: draft class, and it was mainly because it kind of
Speaker 2: fell off a little bit after the first round. I
Speaker 2: think I think the class tramp definitely played a role
Speaker 2: on it. But I think when you look at it
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, like with health for
Speaker 2: specific specifically, his biggest issue was breaking balls away and
Speaker 2: kind of just trying to catch up to that. As
Speaker 2: you get you know, Clyde the ladder as much as
Speaker 2: it was SEC pitching, you get the double A, you're
Speaker 2: starting to see better breaking balls. So I wonder, you know,
Speaker 2: this hell turn into a guy that's like a you know,
Speaker 2: two twenty hitter but can give you twenty five to
Speaker 2: thirty home runs with I would say gold club defense
Speaker 2: behind the play. I think that's a very valuable player overall.
Speaker 2: But that's also kind of like the stereotypical catcher prototype. Now, yeah,
Speaker 2: you know, you're not expecting a catcher to really hit.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, one hundred percent. And if you can run
Speaker 1: into homers and give you defensive value, the batting average
Speaker 1: becomes decreasingly important, and I think that's the exciting part
Speaker 1: for the d Bacs. One other question on the class,
Speaker 1: because a guy that you had at one eighty three
Speaker 1: overall on your big board, h the d Backs snagged
Speaker 1: at three hundred and twenty sixth overall and Cody Boschel.
Speaker 4: Is it Boschel? Ychelle? Yeah, I believe it is Boschel.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we'll go with Boschel first baseman. Uh, they sign
Speaker 1: him for seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars obviously, Well, well, well,
Speaker 1: oversawt there high school kid. That seems like obviously an
Speaker 1: area where they allocated some of their savings to oversaught
Speaker 1: and grab a kid there and sign them away from
Speaker 1: Was that, you know, the savviest pick in this class
Speaker 1: for you or was there another one that you liked
Speaker 1: a little bit more.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's it's definitely up there.
Speaker 2: For me, I think I liked the Brian pick more
Speaker 2: and the reason why is because I think Brian's going
Speaker 2: to turn into a pretty valuable pitching prospect, incredibly projectable
Speaker 2: at six six point eight, has a really good feel
Speaker 2: for pitchability at this stage, which you don't really find
Speaker 2: in in amateur prospects, especially with high schoolers who would
Speaker 2: just kind of chase after vela a little bit. And
Speaker 2: that was the big thing for me with him was like,
Speaker 2: this is a guy with pitch ability that for me,
Speaker 2: it wins me over because I'd like to see guys
Speaker 2: try and it pitch the contact and trying to sequence
Speaker 2: their pitches more often than not, and to have that
Speaker 2: feel that young is pretty impressive. And with Boschel, he
Speaker 2: just did a really really good job on the Summer
Speaker 2: circuit last year, and the biggest thing for me was
Speaker 2: the field to hit in the field of power that
Speaker 2: really stood out. He's also a pretty mobile athlete, could
Speaker 2: also play a corner outfield spot if you really wanted to.
Speaker 2: But I think they select him as a first basement anyway,
Speaker 2: so I think that's where he probably ends up.
Speaker 1: I love it. I love it, and we'll slide over
Speaker 1: to the athletics now. Reminder, going in alphabetical order, and
Speaker 1: this draft class, I mean, headlined by Drew Burris, who
Speaker 1: they grab in the first round, eighth overall guy that
Speaker 1: you know, you didn't know if he was necessarily going
Speaker 1: to even be there at eighth overall, and they had
Speaker 1: to pay him half a mill overslot even in grabbing
Speaker 1: him at the eighth spot there, which I thought was
Speaker 1: pretty interesting. So I want some of your thoughts there,
Speaker 1: but also the rest of the draft. I remember talking
Speaker 1: about it with you brief like, and I don't mean
Speaker 1: this in a negative way, but just felt kind of jockey,
Speaker 1: felt like, you know, you just kind of took the
Speaker 1: best college guy available in a lot of the spots,
Speaker 1: and sometimes that works really well for you. I think
Speaker 1: that this draft class is solid overall. First, what did
Speaker 1: you think about Burris getting over a half a million
Speaker 1: overslot at the eighth overall pick? And then second, I'll
Speaker 1: follow up with the overall class conversation. Conversation, it was interesting.
Speaker 2: I would have figured he would be closer to the
Speaker 2: slot value, if not maybe a little less to see
Speaker 2: if like, you know, do they try and sign the
Speaker 2: fourteenth round er who was the first high school guy
Speaker 2: in Cayden Sivrich. But I think at the end of
Speaker 2: the day, like there's not really a ton of you know,
Speaker 2: high schoolers you can really allocate that money towards in
Speaker 2: this class. You know, I think there was only one
Speaker 2: other guy that they took in the nineteenth round, Jake
Speaker 2: Sclante from Soqualla High School.
Speaker 3: So you know, I think at the end.
Speaker 2: Of the day, Burris had you know, I had him
Speaker 2: as a top five prospect in this class. I think
Speaker 2: I had him fifth, and I thought he was going
Speaker 2: to be a hiero at the end of the day.
Speaker 2: So to get him at eight is a great value
Speaker 2: and I think that's something that he and his agent
Speaker 2: had in their back pocket to be like, hey, we
Speaker 2: had a chance to be top five. And there's also
Speaker 2: not really like what other guy can you really toss
Speaker 2: his money to, you know, maybe Nathan the sevens in
Speaker 2: the twelfth rounds, So like, I think the age for
Speaker 2: five was taking him a little overslot here, and I
Speaker 2: think that works out perfectly with some of the other
Speaker 2: guys farther down the board that they saved some money
Speaker 2: on in like the seventh to tenth round.
Speaker 1: Well, Burris, I mean the guy that I just I
Speaker 1: think you're thrilled to get it hit with his power
Speaker 1: potential you've talked about on the draft stream, just the
Speaker 1: way the glove is developed, and I mean, this is
Speaker 1: a guy that's built to kind of moved through the
Speaker 1: minors quickly. But also I think gives you a higher
Speaker 1: ceiling than maybe the frame may imply when when you
Speaker 1: look at this guy, you can't judge a book by
Speaker 1: its cover. There, I think this is going to be
Speaker 1: a good player for a long time. But they pair
Speaker 1: that with then a couple of good arms, right like
Speaker 1: Mason Edwards was a guy that wouldn't have been shocking
Speaker 1: if a team. You know, it took him a little
Speaker 1: bit earlier than the forty seventh pick, and they're able
Speaker 1: to get the left hander there from USC then they
Speaker 1: go Gabe Gackle as well. Both those guys get a
Speaker 1: little bit overslot Edwards a little bit more than that.
Speaker 1: What do you make of those two arms? And then
Speaker 1: beyond that, what else kind of stands out to you
Speaker 1: with this athletics class.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think getting Edwards at forty seven is a
Speaker 2: great value. Pick as well. You know, there is rumors
Speaker 2: that you get taken into teams. I know at one
Speaker 2: point even the Royals were rolling the idea of taking
Speaker 2: him at six, which would have kind of followed what
Speaker 2: they did anyways. So to get him down at that
Speaker 2: range is fantastic for you. And this is a guy
Speaker 2: that led to NC double A and strikeouts this year.
Speaker 2: I think it was like one sixty five hammer curveball
Speaker 2: into the low nineties, maybe even mid nineties at times
Speaker 2: when he really has the higher end velocity and a
Speaker 2: really really good change of I think, you know, looking
Speaker 2: back at some of this energy notes, every single one
Speaker 2: of his secondary pitches had a WIF rate over sixty
Speaker 2: percent this year, which is a testament to how nasty
Speaker 2: his arsenal is even with some I would say like
Speaker 2: a pedestrian fastball, I guess is what some people like
Speaker 2: to call it. But you know, I think him Edwards
Speaker 2: Duden was a fantastic get for me in the third round.
Speaker 2: I thought, if he was fully healthy this year, he's
Speaker 2: on at the back end of the fresh round easy
Speaker 2: because he was doing a fantastic job for Nancy State
Speaker 2: this year before he got injured and then looking at
Speaker 2: some of the other guys too, Like obviously they go
Speaker 2: after proofing college guys. Gabe Gacho obviously has been a
Speaker 2: performer for three years, but I have some question marks
Speaker 2: on whether or not he's a reliever or not. Rowan
Speaker 2: Martin I wish would swing the ball more or swinging
Speaker 2: the batmore, but he's very very good at finding fastballs.
Speaker 3: And demolishing them.
Speaker 2: Alex Hernandez Alex Dosa, didn't you kind of get to
Speaker 2: like aid and Weaver. Tanner marsh is a really good
Speaker 2: shortstop himself. There's just a lot of guys here that
Speaker 2: formed across you know, two or three year sample sizes
Speaker 2: that kind of give you a bit more of a
Speaker 2: higher floor than.
Speaker 3: Some other guys. And I think that's fine.
Speaker 2: You know, you put together a consistent class like this,
Speaker 2: I think you definitely walk away as a winner in
Speaker 2: this one. I think personally, they just missed my top
Speaker 2: five favorite classes in this that I put on the recap.
Speaker 2: I'd say they're like six, maybe seventh or eighth at
Speaker 2: that point. So I think they did a very very
Speaker 2: good job of what they did.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Sometimes the chock you like
Speaker 1: it can be really good, especially when it's top college
Speaker 1: guy available, and it felt like they were taking the
Speaker 1: top college guy available or even bought down a little
Speaker 1: bit a couple of these top college guys that were
Speaker 1: on the board there. So it's funny thing about like
Speaker 1: Bowman Draft as a card collector, here, this is gonna
Speaker 1: be a draft class like I'll probably to be buying
Speaker 1: spots and brakes on because it's just a lot of
Speaker 1: guys that higher floor could move quickly but still have
Speaker 1: some exciting ceilings to them as well. We move over
Speaker 1: to the Atlanta Braves who got really creative with their
Speaker 1: draft class as well, which is typically going to be
Speaker 1: the case when you go pretty significantly underslat with your
Speaker 1: first pick, which that's what the Braves do, right. They
Speaker 1: go aj Grassia and they save two point six eight
Speaker 1: million dollars with that ninth pick there, but a pick
Speaker 1: that I know you loved because I think you had
Speaker 1: him closer to you know, a middle of the first
Speaker 1: round type of guy and ninth pick isn't that far ahead,
Speaker 1: and you're saving a lot of money there. Grassia opens
Speaker 1: the door for them to do a lot of other things,
Speaker 1: and that's exactly what they did. You can start with Grassia,
Speaker 1: but then what did that afford them to do? And
Speaker 1: how do you think they leveraged the savings there to
Speaker 1: maximize the talent in this draft class?
Speaker 2: Whatever what they did in the first round is allow
Speaker 2: them to open up the wallet later on in the
Speaker 2: class and go after us. So like even with carter
Speaker 2: Back kind of thrown into this, Uh, they both both
Speaker 2: players are are safe contact guys that you know, bag
Speaker 2: Place's hair on fire can be a valuable outfield defender.
Speaker 2: Grossi has got this mix of hit tool and power
Speaker 2: that not a lot of guys have, and I understand, like, yeah,
Speaker 2: he's probably a left fielder, but the same token, Like
Speaker 2: I think his collegiate contact rate was like eighty five percent,
Speaker 2: you know, across three years with like an eighteen percent chase.
Speaker 2: You know, it's it's an really really valuable thing to
Speaker 2: have a bat that can do that. And yes, it's
Speaker 2: it's safe. But like you mentioned, less them save a
Speaker 2: lot of money. They paid just in Hirshcorn nearly four
Speaker 2: million dollars I believe in the third round. Then you
Speaker 2: go farther down, Jack Brenner gets over a million dollars
Speaker 2: I believe in like the seventh round, which is if
Speaker 2: I remember correctly, a record in that in that round.
Speaker 2: And then you get Ryan Barker in the eleventh round,
Speaker 2: who I had as a top two hundred prospects. So
Speaker 2: those guys, Kate McCarthy cold Denis as well. Getting these
Speaker 2: high upside high school guys with the savings at the guy,
Speaker 2: it really shows how the Braves were able to maneuver
Speaker 2: that money around and still find valuable talent at the
Speaker 2: same time. So there's a lot to like what the
Speaker 2: Braves did here. In my opinion, I think ron At
Speaker 2: Shad and Company did a fantastic job with finding talent
Speaker 2: that fits the mold that they look for.
Speaker 1: So hirst Corn is interesting because you had him at
Speaker 1: fifty three on your big board, which I mean to
Speaker 1: be able to, you know, buy him down to the
Speaker 1: third round like the Braves did. Like it makes makes
Speaker 1: a lot of sense. But formerly now our price tag,
Speaker 1: so that's strong first round money there. First sentence in
Speaker 1: your write up is no Pitchers assented draft boards more
Speaker 1: than Hirscorn did this summer, and that was before knowing
Speaker 1: that he was going to get the kind of money
Speaker 1: that he got. Did that price tag surprise? You and
Speaker 1: what does this tell you just about maybe how high
Speaker 1: his ceiling can be in the eyes of the Braves.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was a little surprised when I saw the
Speaker 2: price tag, but there this is an organization not afraid
Speaker 2: to go after guys in hand them big price tags.
Speaker 2: Brigs Mackenzie a year ago got three million dollars from
Speaker 2: the Braves, and I know, I know the scout locally
Speaker 2: here als Garupa, and he was ecstatic to get Briggs
Speaker 2: at that range. So I think this is the Braves
Speaker 2: are definitely valuing Hirschcorn more than I would personally, And
Speaker 2: I think that really just shows the difference between like
Speaker 2: me and a pro organization's you know, draft boards, Like
Speaker 2: we're not always gonna have the same thing, but we're
Speaker 2: trying to emulate what they you know, what they see.
Speaker 2: And Hirshcorn last summer, you know, he he performed very
Speaker 2: well at PG National some of these USA events. Goes
Speaker 2: out the area codes at eight am and strikes out
Speaker 2: nine guys, you know, just I think seven swinging. He
Speaker 2: had like ten whists on a slider and nobody could see,
Speaker 2: you know, six, seven, two o five.
Speaker 3: It's big projectable.
Speaker 2: It's just something that I believe the Braves look at
Speaker 2: and go, hey, he moves very well, has projection. There's
Speaker 2: deception here. Guys really couldn't see the ball out of
Speaker 2: his hands. So I think with them, they they obviously
Speaker 2: saw something that they liked a lot more than what
Speaker 2: I did, admittedly, but again at the same token, like
Speaker 2: this is an incredibly talented arm that had admittedly a
Speaker 2: high price tag because of an LSU commitment as well. So
Speaker 2: it makes me kind of look at, like, you know,
Speaker 2: delivers that these high schoolers do have now with nil
Speaker 2: and everything. I think that's another role that plays into
Speaker 2: these high price tags well.
Speaker 1: And especially when you were six foot seven, right, and
Speaker 1: like they clearly think that this ceiling could be so
Speaker 1: so so high. And and Brenner as well, Like, I mean,
Speaker 1: that's a guy that got a nice overslat check there
Speaker 1: that I mean comparing it to it we're using like
Speaker 1: the draft tracker right now, which I don't think Brenner
Speaker 1: was was ranked for MLB pipeline. He had Brenner ninety
Speaker 1: and that's right around the value that he got. Kind
Speaker 1: of pickwise, if I'm remembering correctly, what would that I'm
Speaker 1: not going I don't want to put you on the spot.
Speaker 1: What would the ninetieth picked you know what that would
Speaker 1: be SWAT value wise? Oh man, because he got Brenner
Speaker 1: got one point two five million dollar and I feel
Speaker 1: like that's with SWOT value for where he was selected,
Speaker 1: which was at two oh two was three hundred and
Speaker 1: seven thousand dollars, so he gets you know, four x
Speaker 1: the SWAT value there and a guy that again I
Speaker 1: think when you look at your board, you had him
Speaker 1: as a candidate, so I think kind of signed for
Speaker 1: something around that if he was going to forgo his
Speaker 1: college commitment. Cold weather kid, Uh, kind of under the radar.
Speaker 1: But I think the Braves have done a good job.
Speaker 1: It's identifying some of these guys of late.
Speaker 2: Yeah they have and uh, you know, looking at the
Speaker 2: ninetieth pick of values a seven thousand, so to get
Speaker 2: a million, he's still would gotten overslot in the third round.
Speaker 3: But that's still you know, still very very good.
Speaker 2: And the thing that won me over with Brenner is
Speaker 2: looking at the day last year, being able to see
Speaker 2: him at Area coach. He just consistently hits and you
Speaker 2: know there might not be a ton of power there,
Speaker 2: but this is a kid that's going to hit for
Speaker 2: average at the next level. Has some versatility to whim.
Speaker 2: He can play catcher, you can play short stop. He's
Speaker 2: athletic hell, So yeah, there's a lot to like with him.
Speaker 2: And it's nice to see that the Braves thought the
Speaker 2: same as well, so you know, not to toot my
Speaker 2: own horn. No, that's also like a that felt like
Speaker 2: a good thing to kind of look back at.
Speaker 1: It seems like a savvy class there that has a
Speaker 1: lot of upside, and that's the way that they played
Speaker 1: it there with the Braves. You go to the Orioles,
Speaker 1: and I think this is an interesting high upside class
Speaker 1: as well, kind of balanced out by some higher four guys.
Speaker 1: But I would still just say risk in general seems
Speaker 1: to be the namer. I would still such just athleticism
Speaker 1: and upside is probably the better way of putting it.
Speaker 1: They go EJ. Brew Eric Booth with the number one pick.
Speaker 1: I know, one of your favorites in this entire class.
Speaker 1: Sky high ceiling. Such a fun skill set. But then
Speaker 1: you pair that with tie Head, who's back to ball
Speaker 1: skills I think far exceed batting average that you saw,
Speaker 1: you know, throughout college. I think quality of contact played
Speaker 1: a big part in that because I think it didn't
Speaker 1: allow him to maybe find the gaps as much as
Speaker 1: he should. But still great defender, you bring that to
Speaker 1: the table. But then I go to Kevin Roberts Junior,
Speaker 1: who they just signed and a guy that I mean,
Speaker 1: upside wise is probably as high as anybody in the class.
Speaker 1: Is that crazy to say, especially outside of the first round,
Speaker 1: like the ceiling that this kick can have you with
Speaker 1: the Division one offers and like every single sport, So
Speaker 1: just putting those athletes in there. On the pitching side,
Speaker 1: it seemed like he was more higher floor strike throwers.
Speaker 1: But what do you make of this class? Obviously they
Speaker 1: won you over with their first pick right way to
Speaker 1: steal your heart there, but beyond that as well, I mean,
Speaker 1: for sure a few thoughts on Booth because I know
Speaker 1: that's one of your favorites, and then your your overall
Speaker 1: thoughts on the Orioles class.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you nailed it first off on the class,
Speaker 2: like they went after very athletic guys in the outfield
Speaker 2: in Indian field, and it also just went for like
Speaker 2: higher floor strike throwers who you know have performed at
Speaker 2: the college level, like Zane Adams, Ryan pish Kevin or
Speaker 2: not Kevin Robberts Dominic vaguely from from Kansas. But the
Speaker 2: things I liked you're talking about Eric Booth. This is
Speaker 2: a guy that, yes, I understand the swings wonky. It's
Speaker 2: it doesn't necessarily work at the moment when you project forward,
Speaker 2: but he's been able to make contact consistently. There's burgeoning
Speaker 2: power in the bat. He's hit one a weight with
Speaker 2: what already. He can also fly on the base pass
Speaker 2: and can handle center field. If not, you put him
Speaker 2: in right field with a good arms So you know,
Speaker 2: there's a lot to like with the overall tools set there.
Speaker 2: And if you fix the swing to where like it
Speaker 2: becomes more not linear per se, but you add some
Speaker 2: more loft to it, it looks more like he's getting
Speaker 2: more leverage out of it.
Speaker 3: Then I think that's fantastic. I think you get a
Speaker 3: lot more power upside there. Tie Head.
Speaker 2: Obviously, like you'd mentioned it, the contact rates are superb.
Speaker 2: He's very passive. I would say it's probably the best
Speaker 2: way to describe him in terms of uh he racks
Speaker 2: up a lot of walks on strikeouts, but also like
Speaker 2: he gets the two strike counts and just absolutely does
Speaker 2: not miss the ball. I think that's the most impressive
Speaker 2: part he paid. He got more power this year and
Speaker 2: has obviously been able to play center field a good
Speaker 2: bit as he stay and does a very good job
Speaker 2: of manning that position. I think my favorite pick though,
Speaker 2: is we'll plunk it down in the eighth round. I
Speaker 2: think I had him in the one sixty one sixty
Speaker 2: five range. And this is a kid that bourg very
Speaker 2: well WWBA last year in Florida, comes out into the
Speaker 2: spring and obviously cold water batskit. I would say they
Speaker 2: get some more leeway when you look at how late
Speaker 2: they start in the competition they play. But he was
Speaker 2: consistently pummeling the baseball. He's got more projection to him,
Speaker 2: he can play on the left side of the dirt.
Speaker 2: I think there's just a lot of a lot to
Speaker 2: like a plunk it and personally, and you know, getting
Speaker 2: him in the eighth round is pretty impressive. I do
Speaker 2: like what the Orioles did, kind of like the farther
Speaker 2: down that they got into this class.
Speaker 1: And I think if I mean booth, yeah, I think
Speaker 1: the little refinement with the swing there, but everything else,
Speaker 1: all the carrying tools are amazing. They can get what
Speaker 1: is possible out of Kevin Roberts Junior. That's where I
Speaker 1: think this class could really send me. I think you
Speaker 1: feel good about the higher probability of a lot of
Speaker 1: these arms, at least feeling some sort of a big
Speaker 1: grow several of them at the top. But I think
Speaker 1: you have the Plunket edition where they couldn't get too
Speaker 1: creative because of their their earlier pick signing. Bonus wise,
Speaker 1: I think that and having to pay Kevin Roberts as
Speaker 1: well being able to pull off that Punket pick is
Speaker 1: exciting as well. We're gonna get to the Boston Red Sox,
Speaker 1: which they had one of the most creative drafts as well.
Speaker 1: In a moment before that, our first break before we
Speaker 1: jump back into it, just want to shout out we
Speaker 1: are live on Whatnot now in the tops Chrome release
Speaker 1: has been a ton of fun. If you have not
Speaker 1: been on what Not as well, first of all, come
Speaker 1: join us on just Baseball breaks. It's a blast. But
Speaker 1: if you have not used the platforform before, use the
Speaker 1: link in our episode description to sign up and you
Speaker 1: will get twenty five dollars to apply to a break.
Speaker 1: I'm really excited. Tops Chrome is absolutely loaded it's a
Speaker 1: really fun to rip. And the rookie class with McGonagall
Speaker 1: and Connor Griffin, and it goes on and on and
Speaker 1: on and on. You have Mizarowski, rookie ATTO's in there,
Speaker 1: you have Run and Anthony. It goes on and on.
Speaker 1: So we have all these different breaks going on. Were
Speaker 1: every weeknight on whatnot? And yeah, really excited about this
Speaker 1: new frontier for us are just baseball break, So check
Speaker 1: us out with the link in the episode description. We
Speaker 1: jump over to the Red Sox who surprised everybody with
Speaker 1: their first pick in Jake Schaffner. I think it's one
Speaker 1: of those where you just have that shock at on
Speaker 1: the onset just because you weren't expecting it, but then
Speaker 1: as you digest it, you say, oh, this could start
Speaker 1: to make some sense. And then as you start to
Speaker 1: get into the later rounds and you see them go,
Speaker 1: you know, pick up a Martin Shalar, and you go
Speaker 1: see them pick up a couple other guys that we're
Speaker 1: going to require a solid payday and pull it off
Speaker 1: because of the savings two and a half or two
Speaker 1: point three seven million, or sorry, two point one seven
Speaker 1: million in savings with Shaffner, you can see the creativity
Speaker 1: with the class here. What do you make of the
Speaker 1: class overall? Well, one twentieth overall pick going with a
Speaker 1: guy in Schaffner that a lot of people had kind
Speaker 1: of second third round grades on, and then two with
Speaker 1: what they were able to do behind that, Do you
Speaker 1: think it justified it?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: I think it did. And like the more I've kind
Speaker 2: of slept on this class, the more I kind of
Speaker 2: like it. Yes, I understand that the strategy is a
Speaker 2: little wonky. I thought Schaffner was more of a second rounder,
Speaker 2: but then I kind of started looking back on it.
Speaker 2: Even on the draft broadcast, I was like, it probably
Speaker 2: could have, you know, rated him a little higher on.
Speaker 3: The last board.
Speaker 2: Admittedly, it's a bat with a fantastic approach, elite at
Speaker 2: the ball skills and with the way the Red Sox
Speaker 2: kind of like had been able to work in the
Speaker 2: more batspeed on some of these guys, I think there's
Speaker 2: some more power to do unlocked there.
Speaker 3: Do I think he just towarch up the next level?
Speaker 2: We'll see. I think the arms a little light for
Speaker 2: the position. Maybe put him at second base, But this
Speaker 2: is a high probability Big leaguer for me. Where he's
Speaker 2: just going to find his way on base and be
Speaker 2: a Havoc record essentially, and like Owen whole same way,
Speaker 2: This is a guy that I wish would would pull
Speaker 2: the ball more, and he kind of did this past year,
Speaker 2: which is fascinating, which like I think in Omaha he's
Speaker 2: pulling balls at like one to eight, one ten and
Speaker 2: he can play a pretty solid center field. Jase Manazinski
Speaker 2: in the third round is another cold weather bat that
Speaker 2: like performed well across multiple big tournaments, but obviously getting
Speaker 2: Sheller in the ninth round, who I had as a
Speaker 2: maybe outside the top one hundred or maybe just inside
Speaker 2: that I can't remember. You know, big power bat, have
Speaker 2: some vibes of like a Drew Burris type of bat,
Speaker 2: similar size, doesn't play the same kind of center field
Speaker 2: that Burris does, but like the mold is kind of
Speaker 2: there for Sheller, and then getting capable to Favor in
Speaker 2: the ten round from Iowa, another cold weather guy who
Speaker 2: you know, super super projectable, been up to ninety five
Speaker 2: ninety six in like Iowa does like a spring league
Speaker 2: because they start so late in the year. I think
Speaker 2: they start in like May, but you know, they they
Speaker 2: did kind of had to go after some like older
Speaker 2: reliever guys, you know, Lucas having for Brett Landman. They
Speaker 2: all have big extension numbers, and that's something I kind
Speaker 2: of noticed as they were going through the course. They're
Speaker 2: going after guys with big extension.
Speaker 1: You know, the special It's all about the extension.
Speaker 3: Yep.
Speaker 2: So you know the Again, the more I've slept on it,
Speaker 2: the more I like this class. I think Schaffner is
Speaker 2: gonna be really really good. Owen Hole is one of
Speaker 2: my favorite bats this year. Having having the ability to
Speaker 2: watch both those guys this year was impressive, and maybe
Speaker 2: that's what wins me over is the fact that I
Speaker 2: saw them performed so well, so much well.
Speaker 1: On the other side too, is like when your savings
Speaker 1: picks are archetypes of players that you do a really
Speaker 1: good job of maximizing. Like I was scratching my head
Speaker 1: when they trade to perau Us for Jake Bennan. Look
Speaker 1: at what Jake Bennett's done, you know. And then this
Speaker 1: is on the pro side, but like I think that
Speaker 1: the same could be said with the amateur side. There's
Speaker 1: a reason why they I d Peyton Totley a couple
Speaker 1: of years ago, and look at his development and what
Speaker 1: they've been able to do since taking over and overhauling
Speaker 1: things with Connolly early and how he's progressed. So those
Speaker 1: were like the savings picks right the lefty extension guys,
Speaker 1: and then on top of saving the money with schaff
Speaker 1: Ner it then being able to go get the high,
Speaker 1: high upside guys later on. It makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1: And I think there's a lot of volume of talent
Speaker 1: here in this Red Sox class that's easy to get behind.
Speaker 1: Not as creative of a class would be the Cubs,
Speaker 1: but it doesn't necessarily mean bad. I think there's a
Speaker 1: clear trend here too, with guys that can spin it
Speaker 1: and big power, but swing and misconcern. What do you
Speaker 1: make of the Cubs class? I loved Kid Townsend, you know,
Speaker 1: and I was a guy I think to grab at
Speaker 1: twenty three, think perfect fit for what they want to do.
Speaker 1: But I just thought it was interesting how they kind
Speaker 1: of followed things up there with Currell and Bailey who
Speaker 1: come with plenty of swing and miss, and then the
Speaker 1: other arms as well, big spin, but some command questions
Speaker 1: and maybe some other questions.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a lot of risk in this draft class,
Speaker 2: and I think the more like. This is another one
Speaker 2: where I've kind of thought about it more. It's like, Okay,
Speaker 2: it's not as bad as I originally thought. I love
Speaker 2: the pick. I think he's a fantastic guy. We talked
Speaker 2: about him a lot in Philly, where you know Deep Arsenal.
Speaker 2: The fastball you can probably squeak a little bit more
Speaker 2: out of, but the cutter's fantastic. The curve ball is fantastic.
Speaker 2: I think the slider also is another really really good pitch,
Speaker 2: So to have that in his back pocket is pretty impressive.
Speaker 2: I think it's it's not Kate Horton like, but the
Speaker 2: spin traits are there.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 2: Carson Jiassa from Nebraska is another guy like he's slider dominant.
Speaker 2: He threw a lot of sliders this year and that's
Speaker 2: mainly because the fastball command was never there.
Speaker 3: I think he's a reliever.
Speaker 2: Dylan Marina from Northwestern States actually a pretty intriguing arm
Speaker 2: in the fourth round. Dylan Blomker, you know, getting him
Speaker 2: in the fifth is pretty solid value. And there's just
Speaker 2: a lot of guys with the they spin the ball
Speaker 2: really well, like Chase Meyer has spin raised at thirty
Speaker 2: two hundred RPMs last year before everything kind of went
Speaker 2: downhill with you know, getting kicked off the team and everything.
Speaker 2: But at the end of the day, like the risk
Speaker 2: is there if you can turn Thurreil and Bailey into
Speaker 2: at least like forty hit tools. In my opinion, I
Speaker 2: think you're going to get be able to maximize a
Speaker 2: lot of the power because they're both guys. I think
Speaker 2: Sorell personally sixty power, Bailey is seventy, maybe even eighty
Speaker 2: if you really want to put it out there, that
Speaker 2: kid can delete Baseball's like anybody else.
Speaker 1: And it's another organization here betting on what they do well.
Speaker 1: I mean, how many different hitters do we need to
Speaker 1: see just make leaps in this cub system. They're really
Speaker 1: pushing it now though, where it's like let's grab the
Speaker 1: most powerful guys with the biggest hit tool concerns, and
Speaker 1: let's really see if we could get these guys right,
Speaker 1: because what will be if we can do that. But
Speaker 1: I mean, you look at the development of so many
Speaker 1: of these hitters, and I always just keep going back
Speaker 1: to like jose hartch one in the sixth round was
Speaker 1: one thing. But Owen ay Er is a guy that
Speaker 1: had swinging misconcern to switch hitter a nineteenth round guy
Speaker 1: like the way that he has developed. But you can
Speaker 1: go throughout the system. There's been so many different bats
Speaker 1: that have made leaps prospect wise throughout this organization that
Speaker 1: I don't blame them for betting on that kind of
Speaker 1: strength there. But still headlining a class with the obvious OVI.
Speaker 1: I know you don't always draft for need, but like
Speaker 1: the Cubs, they needed an arm in the first round,
Speaker 1: and I think they got was likely the best arm available. There.
Speaker 1: We go to the White Sox and I mean, this
Speaker 1: is this was the class, Like you got to have
Speaker 1: as much fun ever. I mean like if if you
Speaker 1: if you got the opportunity to run a draft, and
Speaker 1: I think you will one day, right, but like this
Speaker 1: is what you dream of, right, Like this is the opportunity.
Speaker 1: It feels like you almost can't mess up. Of course
Speaker 1: you always can, but you could spray the board when
Speaker 1: you've got twenty plus ms to work with, Like this
Speaker 1: is a dream for you, No, tyler, Like what did
Speaker 1: you go?
Speaker 3: Rock Toll?
Speaker 1: Ask you one and then you still have endless money
Speaker 1: to work with.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And in that trade the night before with Jacob
Speaker 2: Gadela is going to the Pirates for number thirty four
Speaker 2: just solidified a lot of things. You know, you get
Speaker 2: getting into over to pay, you get like twenty one
Speaker 2: and a half million dollars like that's it's the largest
Speaker 2: bonus pool in in this era essentially, and I think
Speaker 2: they did a very good of allocating it respectively. You know,
Speaker 2: I continue to put Rocket at my number one prospect
Speaker 2: in this class. It was just, you know, so tough
Speaker 2: to look back and be like, hey, this is a
Speaker 2: guy with gold gluff defense at shortstop. As much as
Speaker 2: he didn't replicate what he did a year ago, he
Speaker 2: didn't do anything to really take himself off that pedestal
Speaker 2: for me. And then you look at what they did
Speaker 2: after obviously getting Jim Tomy's son land In Cole pro
Speaker 2: sec and then he also sprinkle in some other high
Speaker 2: upside prep guys with Alex Wein Gartner, Kyle Casteele on.
Speaker 3: The eleventh round.
Speaker 2: They they were looking at some middle infielders who rated
Speaker 2: so obviously Tomey and Prosek pro sk I thought it
Speaker 2: was a first rounder, So to get him at forty
Speaker 2: one was fantastic. Wine Gartner's a top one hundred guy
Speaker 2: for me and Kyle Casteele, we put in late and
Speaker 2: it came him around two hundred. So to get him
Speaker 2: on you know, what would be stereotypical day three is fantastic.
Speaker 3: And then to get some.
Speaker 2: Guys like volgekow Sagariscalari going out of some proving college arms.
Speaker 2: Clay Burdett was a very good bat Xavier, So they
Speaker 2: took some risk here as well. But it's definitely easier
Speaker 2: to stomach when you look at the class that they
Speaker 2: were able to bring in before that with these again,
Speaker 2: these high upside prep guys who can hit and fit
Speaker 2: in the middle infield and do a job for you.
Speaker 2: So I think they did a fantastic job with what
Speaker 2: they were able to bring in with the amount of
Speaker 2: money that they had. I think there was a plan
Speaker 2: there and they were able to execute it brilliantly.
Speaker 1: That's what I was going to ask you, Like is
Speaker 1: the follow up was basically they were supposed to have
Speaker 1: the best draft class in terms of talent, and like,
Speaker 1: do you think they came away with the best draft
Speaker 1: class in terms of talent?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: I think for me it would have been tough to
Speaker 2: look at that money and go if they're not number one,
Speaker 2: then something's gone wrong and they were able to prove
Speaker 2: that they belonged at the top for me at least,
Speaker 2: and maybe you know, if you talk to some oilar people,
Speaker 2: they view it differently just for you know, different opinions
Speaker 2: on some players. But for me, like again, you get
Speaker 2: pro Sick at forty one, that's a fantastic value you
Speaker 2: get For me, Win Gartner in the sixth round is
Speaker 2: fantastic as well. So getting these guys in their positions
Speaker 2: that they were drafted in just great value picks.
Speaker 1: We go to the reds Now and this is I
Speaker 1: don't know, I'm interested for your thoughts on this one,
Speaker 1: because they get Justin Lebron at eighteen and this is
Speaker 1: probably the most polarizing player in the class and we
Speaker 1: heard you know, could go as well as the end
Speaker 1: of the first round, could go as high as an
Speaker 1: underslat guy in the top ten to twelve, and he
Speaker 1: ends up going eighteen but gets overslapped by three hundred
Speaker 1: grand And then Eric Becker solid well rounded college bats.
Speaker 1: You go from maybe the most volatile to make more
Speaker 1: well rounded, safer guy Moulvii Lavou like I love the swing,
Speaker 1: but you're taking a first Baseman here has got a bang,
Speaker 1: but I think he obviously can. And then you look
Speaker 1: at the arms and I think it's just kind of
Speaker 1: like higher for or I'm just curious what you think
Speaker 1: about this class overall, and it just it feels funny
Speaker 1: on a draft because and of course it's always gonna
Speaker 1: be like duh, the first round pick is always going
Speaker 1: to you know, set the tone for how we perceive
Speaker 1: the draft cost. But I think as as time has passed,
Speaker 1: like there's just so many talented baseball players and so
Speaker 1: much strategies to the draft that sometimes you can whiff
Speaker 1: on the first round and still have a great draft.
Speaker 1: It really feels like this Rered's coast though, like it
Speaker 1: all hinges on Lebron.
Speaker 3: It does.
Speaker 2: You're taking a big swing on finding that top of
Speaker 2: the class talent that he had about eighteen months ago,
Speaker 2: I feel like, and they feel confident in doing so.
Speaker 2: Obviously it took him in the first round for a reason.
Speaker 2: The biggest thing for me Lebron is obviously the swinging
Speaker 2: mixiganst breaking balls. You know it's going to be something
Speaker 2: that follows him for a bit. And then also the
Speaker 2: defense kind of fell back a little bit this year,
Speaker 2: but the pro development in terms of defense has gotten
Speaker 2: so much better in the past few years.
Speaker 3: I think that they're fine with that.
Speaker 2: You know, it's just it's finding a way to get
Speaker 2: him to us and to recognize spin a little bit
Speaker 2: better and also change the batpath a little bit. You know, Uh,
Speaker 2: do you sacrifice some of the high end, you know,
Speaker 2: fastballs that he can hit for getting some breaking balls
Speaker 2: low and away and kind of fix that swing a
Speaker 2: little bit.
Speaker 3: I think you do. So.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a lot of risk on Lebron for me.
Speaker 2: But then like Eric Becker, you know, pretty safe pick
Speaker 2: Molevi Levu has just banged for three years. He might
Speaker 2: be tried out third base too. We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2: Then they go for some pretty like I don't want
Speaker 2: to say stereotypical arms, but like they're kind of safer
Speaker 2: floor kind of guys. Ty Horn, you know, performer for
Speaker 2: three years at Nebraska, Eathan Norby, kind of same thing
Speaker 2: for Ecu. He might be a reliever though, Dougan Marston,
Speaker 2: Sherman Johnson is a good bat, Calvin Prosky, kinn of
Speaker 2: Griff and Brody Purcell, they get They went after a
Speaker 2: lot of guys that kind of like it helps them
Speaker 2: save a little bit money but also has some some
Speaker 2: trace that they like and it's more safer than what
Speaker 2: you would normally look for. And then getting Dylan Bowen,
Speaker 2: that's another big get in the fifth round. You know,
Speaker 2: order for the class, but very athletic can play, and
Speaker 2: that's kind of another thing they look for is athletic
Speaker 2: in fielders. So again, this is I think it's it
Speaker 2: is a good class, but there's obviously going to be
Speaker 2: a lot of talk about who they took it in
Speaker 2: the first round and how that progresses for the next
Speaker 2: couple of years.
Speaker 1: Bowen ninety second on your draft board. They grabbed him
Speaker 1: at one fifty four, So yeah, that seems like that's
Speaker 1: like the one higher variance guy outside of the first
Speaker 1: round that could kind of push this draft class up
Speaker 1: a little bit besides Lebron because again, the other guys
Speaker 1: are solid, but their median outcome like solid player. Maybe
Speaker 1: who's the guy that can kind of really exceed where
Speaker 1: he was drafted. It seems like to your point, that
Speaker 1: is the guy that could do that. We go to
Speaker 1: the Cleveland Guardians and in recent years, I think there
Speaker 1: was a more obvious theme. So I'm curious to see
Speaker 1: if there's one from you in this one, because in
Speaker 1: the past, like they'd been so contact oriented, middle and
Speaker 1: field tip like organizationally that it seems they clearly tried
Speaker 1: to buck that trend the last couple of years and
Speaker 1: especially last year just went power with with concern, kind
Speaker 1: of like the Cubs bats and but a little bit
Speaker 1: about auticism and just try to balance out the system
Speaker 1: with Jase Laviolette, Aaron Walton, Nolan Schubart, like it goes
Speaker 1: on and on this class. I don't see it as
Speaker 1: obvious with that they lead it off with two arms,
Speaker 1: and obviously I don't know as much about the two
Speaker 1: bats they get, you know, or the three bats they
Speaker 1: get with the third, fourth and fifth picks. What stands
Speaker 1: out to you with the Guardian's draft. Of course Peterson
Speaker 1: an exciting get at the top, but just overall.
Speaker 2: It's definitely going after some premium arms. Like you look
Speaker 2: at who they got after Peters and Logan Schmid was
Speaker 2: a guy and like I believe I had him around
Speaker 2: thirty five to forty on my board and get him
Speaker 2: in the second round. And then you get a guy
Speaker 2: like Savion Simms who touches one hundred, is six foot
Speaker 2: eight to ten and has a lot of growing ahead
Speaker 2: of them, you know in the seventh round. And I
Speaker 2: feel like that's what a class kind of leans on
Speaker 2: a little bit, is these power arms like at Scott,
Speaker 2: Mario Peska are other guys that like college reformers. Scott
Speaker 2: has you know, changed himself at Georgia turned into a
Speaker 2: more powerful arm. Pesca is the guy that's got a
Speaker 2: lot of extension, Builka, Jake Bean. So they they have
Speaker 2: a type and they went for it on that regard,
Speaker 2: but they go after these high upside prep guys. Is impressive.
Speaker 2: They did with Chase Mobile a couple of years ago.
Speaker 2: I believe Joey Oki was another one that they went
Speaker 2: after on that regard, So they're not afraid to take
Speaker 2: that risk. And you know, conversely, looking at the bats
Speaker 2: like Trey Brossard, you know, one of my favorite spark
Speaker 2: plugs in his class, Kate Lewis was a very solid
Speaker 2: bad at wake Forest probably needs to pull the ball
Speaker 2: a little bit more, but he's shown to go oppo
Speaker 2: routine Lee and has some some pretty solid you know,
Speaker 2: hit tool and empower to kind of go into Lucas Moore,
Speaker 2: he was viewed as a first rounder coming into the year,
Speaker 2: tried to do I think he tried to do a
Speaker 2: little too much. He went away from his his play style,
Speaker 2: which is, you know, this slappy, top of the order
Speaker 2: guy who has said speed can be a tear on
Speaker 2: the base paths and can.
Speaker 3: Play a good center field.
Speaker 2: But he tried to go for more power this year
Speaker 2: and it just didn't necessarily work out beating the chance,
Speaker 2: big power guy. So there's stuff to like with this
Speaker 2: Guardian's class. I think obviously they know what they're looking
Speaker 2: for with these arms and to maximize them.
Speaker 3: The Guardians are that.
Speaker 2: Team to do it, thinking of like previous guys that
Speaker 2: throw hard and have power stuff. Davin Williams, you know,
Speaker 2: he's he's just he's through an immaculate inning today and yeah,
Speaker 2: he just.
Speaker 1: Struck out eleven for the third straight start. So it
Speaker 1: seems like if you're not on the arm side, kind
Speaker 1: of Guardians going back to what they do well. And
Speaker 1: I think beyond the top arms, you just wonder with
Speaker 1: all the other guys that you mentioned too, like obviously
Speaker 1: not all of them are going to hit, but you
Speaker 1: think about just what could be with some of these
Speaker 1: other guys and especially save On Sims. I'm excited to
Speaker 1: see what the Guardians do, but it seems like they're
Speaker 1: really stockpiling the arms again, which has just always been
Speaker 1: an area of strength for them.
Speaker 4: We go to that absolutely Colorado Rockies next, and the
Speaker 4: Rockies like, you know, this is I'll say it a
Speaker 4: million times, this is the new front office that actually
Speaker 4: kind of operates now.
Speaker 1: So like it's just I was very intrigued to see
Speaker 1: how they approached this, and a lot of people out
Speaker 1: there really like Tyler Bell. Of course comes with some
Speaker 1: injury concern with the shoulder, but Bell switch hitter some
Speaker 1: really interesting you know, bat ball data. He's somehow better
Speaker 1: with two strikes, so I think just just refining the
Speaker 1: approach earlier in the count will only help him. I know,
Speaker 1: Daniel Jackson the catcher, was a guy that you really
Speaker 1: liked as well, and that was their second pick. And
Speaker 1: then they go a lot of arms, which they have
Speaker 1: to do, right. You can't get anybody willingly to go
Speaker 1: pitch there, so you got to draft them so they
Speaker 1: don't have a choice. What did you make of the
Speaker 1: Rockies class overall, which was again two bats off the
Speaker 1: top and then one they go pitcher, one more bat
Speaker 1: and then I think it was a run of about
Speaker 1: ten straight pitchers.
Speaker 3: Yep, yeah, that's about what it was.
Speaker 2: But like, I like how they kind of go for
Speaker 2: these power guys because they obviously power plays in corps.
Speaker 2: So Tyler Bell above average power, Daniel Jackson plus power,
Speaker 2: jack and Tilly plus power. So you know, I would
Speaker 2: say a to get Daniel Jackson tense bus below where
Speaker 2: I had him at thirty seven Golden Spikes winner had
Speaker 2: a fantastic year at Georgia, was able to go back
Speaker 2: to what he was as a as a freshman at
Speaker 2: Wafford and really just destroy the baseball. So I was
Speaker 2: very happy that he got him there. Logan read him
Speaker 2: in you kind of tweet some pitch usage and some
Speaker 2: pitch shapes to kind of a lot some more there.
Speaker 2: But he's kind of like he's kind of maxed out
Speaker 2: for what he is right now. But you know, he
Speaker 2: looked like a legitimately new arm at UCLA this year
Speaker 2: before his arm injury. Ben Davis might be the fastest
Speaker 2: riser in this class. Tyler Putnam is super super projectable
Speaker 2: and also has been able to throw one hundred the
Speaker 2: past couple of months and then going down the board
Speaker 2: like Davin Schwartz and eleven for round is a good
Speaker 2: get for them. Schwartz had a lot of projection and
Speaker 2: some healium tune throughout the year saw him last year.
Speaker 2: It's a good get for them. They tried taking a
Speaker 2: swing with Blake bow and obviously in the eighteenth round,
Speaker 2: but I don't think that's ultimately going to happen. But
Speaker 2: I think at the end of the day, like getting
Speaker 2: your strengths into that ballpark and knowing what you are
Speaker 2: able to do with them is fantastic. And I think
Speaker 2: getting three really really powerful bats in the top one
Speaker 2: hundred picks is something that you kind of walk away
Speaker 2: happy with.
Speaker 1: And I just like that you mentioned the arms too,
Speaker 1: Like you get a nearly two million dollar arm in
Speaker 1: Puttnam without going huge underslot with your first pick or
Speaker 1: really your second pick enough to help you combined to
Speaker 1: seven hundred thousand dollars. But at the same time, so
Speaker 1: guys that at those spots, I think a lot of
Speaker 1: people thought that was a pretty normal spots to draft
Speaker 1: bell in Jackson. So you get Puttnam, you know, with
Speaker 1: big upside on the Mountain and into two million dollars
Speaker 1: pay day nearly and then you met you get Schwartz,
Speaker 1: as you mentioned, a million dollar arm essentially in the
Speaker 1: eleventh round, so you're able to buy down some upside
Speaker 1: there when you always need as much pitching as possible.
Speaker 1: I think you got to love that, you know, approach
Speaker 1: there for the Rockies if you're a Rockies fan, and
Speaker 1: a little bit more creativity to their draft this time around.
Speaker 1: We're going to get to the Tigers in a moment
Speaker 1: here before that, one more break time for the Tigers
Speaker 1: draft here, and Tiger's kind of deviated. Scott Harris deviated
Speaker 1: a little bit from what we are used to seeing,
Speaker 1: surprising people with the cam Fluchi pick, though that was
Speaker 1: a fun one, and then they didn't pick again until
Speaker 1: pick sixty one, where they go with a short stop
Speaker 1: from Kansas, Tyson LeBlanc. What did you think overall from
Speaker 1: the class? Were there any kind of how surprised were
Speaker 1: you by the fluky selection, given how much Harris loves
Speaker 1: his you know, prep, left handed hitting high school guys,
Speaker 1: and then in general just just what did you kind
Speaker 1: of make of it?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was kind of a little concerned that he
Speaker 2: was locked up in a room somewhere. Give it the
Speaker 2: lack of left handed infielders on the prep side, he
Speaker 2: was still a going to get Robert Omedi and Will Adams,
Speaker 2: who you know immediate Watching him last year, I thought
Speaker 2: he was a guy that's gonna match no matter what,
Speaker 2: even if his a little position listened and Will Adams
Speaker 2: was a big helium guy. This year grew into more
Speaker 2: power hit tools fantastic. So to get those two and
Speaker 2: I believe the eighth and the eleventh round is fantastic.
Speaker 2: I think Adams was just outside the top one hundred.
Speaker 2: Omedia was like one twenty one thirty for me, and
Speaker 2: they took some risk on some guys that kind of
Speaker 2: fell this year. Always in Max Maloney and Brady Ballinger
Speaker 2: did not have great seasons after having really suctacular sophomore years.
Speaker 2: So it's a little they're good value for what they
Speaker 2: are if he can return in the for and I
Speaker 2: think that's fantastic for the Tigers, But fluky at twenty two.
Speaker 2: I like the the arm itself. I understand some people
Speaker 2: have their concerns about the lack of like powerful pitches,
Speaker 2: but still a really really good fastball plus curveball command
Speaker 2: and polish has always been there for him.
Speaker 3: I think you can unlock more of him as well. LeBlanc.
Speaker 2: I think he's another guy that comes from either D
Speaker 2: two or Naia, goes to Kansas and has just a
Speaker 2: fantastic here and Evan Depsey gonna pitch. So there's some
Speaker 2: guys to really like in the top ten rounds of
Speaker 2: this class. I think they did a really good job
Speaker 2: of finding not only risk, but also can we return
Speaker 2: these guys to for him and really turn them into
Speaker 2: what they were again, So finding some bast back candidates
Speaker 2: was fantastic and I think they've done a good job
Speaker 2: with that.
Speaker 1: Another class where it does feel like a lot is
Speaker 1: on the shoulders of the first round pick overall, though,
Speaker 1: and you never know because guy's always emerge. But I
Speaker 1: just feel like with the wide range of what Fluki
Speaker 1: could be, but also the risk, like that does kind
Speaker 1: of set the tone here in a lot of ways.
Speaker 1: If there's one guy outside of Fluki that could jolt
Speaker 1: this class too, who would it be?
Speaker 2: Of the guys you mentioned, I could see the LeBlanc
Speaker 2: being that player. I know some people had him outside
Speaker 2: the top one hundred. I had him closer to like
Speaker 2: seventy five or maybe even higher than that. The guy
Speaker 2: is going to be able to play short stout for
Speaker 2: a long time. There's some power in there that's not
Speaker 2: been unlocked yet in the hit tools. Pretty sound. So
Speaker 2: this is a guy that took his jump from obviously.
Speaker 2: I think it was like lsu Eunice down in Louisiana
Speaker 2: to go to the Big twelve and help Kansas go
Speaker 2: to their first Super Regional ever. So I think he's
Speaker 2: a guy that's going to make a lot of noise
Speaker 2: in this draft class.
Speaker 1: Love it, love it, and in classic call up fashion,
Speaker 1: this is going to have to end up being a
Speaker 1: two parter because it's just wanting to get into each
Speaker 1: of these classes. Like I'm going to be keeping you
Speaker 1: two hours here today, which we can't do. You already
Speaker 1: had a full day of work, so we'll have to
Speaker 1: circle back on the second half. But we got a
Speaker 1: few more to get through here. We'll split it right
Speaker 1: down the middle and I think we'll be perfect. But
Speaker 1: this is just the most classic call up thing ever.
Speaker 1: This is what we always do. But we'll go over
Speaker 1: to the astros here. And this was a fun one too,
Speaker 1: because I like lugging Hughes. I don't know if I
Speaker 1: seventeenth overall pick like Logan Hughes, but can't judge that
Speaker 1: until you see what it opens up for them later.
Speaker 1: And Hughes the left hand of hitting outfielder from Texas Tech,
Speaker 1: great bat speed. I mean, he's going to have to
Speaker 1: really hit, but he's got the ingredients to be able
Speaker 1: to do that. I think there's a hit and power
Speaker 1: blend from the left side. I think you get quite
Speaker 1: excited about They go with Jack Ordell and the second pick,
Speaker 1: and I think that was one that kind of I'm
Speaker 1: very excited to get your thoughts there, because I think
Speaker 1: some could be really high on that arm and I
Speaker 1: could understand why. And then I'm just kind of curious
Speaker 1: what you saw from the rest of their draft to
Speaker 1: maybe justify the Logan Hughes Savings pick at seventeen.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think this is another class that like a bit
Speaker 2: of a philosophy change. The astros are usually you know,
Speaker 2: they go after risk a lot. This is a very
Speaker 2: a polished group of players. Like Logan Hughes is like
Speaker 2: aj Grossi a little bit where the bat's going to
Speaker 2: play no matter what, it doesn't matter where you put
Speaker 2: them defensively, I liked them in like the twenties, so
Speaker 2: this kind of makes sense for the Astros to kind
Speaker 2: of take that and run with it. I think Logan
Speaker 2: Hughes is like a very high upside offensive profile and
Speaker 2: Jack Ordell another guy with like seven feet of extension,
Speaker 2: deep pitch mix, throws strikes. He's been a performer. He
Speaker 2: had a fantastic year at Notre Dame this year. I
Speaker 2: thought he might have been a dark horse for the
Speaker 2: ACC Pitcher of the Year this year, and seeing him
Speaker 2: twice and performing well on both of them, really it
Speaker 2: just solidified feel feel about him where it was this
Speaker 2: guy's gonna be a high floor starter at the next level,
Speaker 2: who's gonna throw a lot of strikes, has some upside
Speaker 2: in his breaking balls. He doesn't spend the ball very well,
Speaker 2: but his pitch shapes are fantastic for what he is,
Speaker 2: so they get him. Westman is obviously ac Pitcher of
Speaker 2: the Year, did another great, great job at Florida State
Speaker 2: this year. And then if there's anyone that really helps
Speaker 2: to the savings, it's obviously Keon Johnson and Bo Peterson.
Speaker 2: In the third and the fourth where you can give
Speaker 2: them a little bit more money. Obviously, these high schoolers
Speaker 2: are going to ask for a lot more. But at
Speaker 2: the same token, these are polished guys that have had
Speaker 2: a track record of hitting it in big tournaments. Keon
Speaker 2: saw him last year pretty early and often he performed
Speaker 2: at every stop.
Speaker 3: Bill Peterson did the same thing.
Speaker 2: So to get those guys where they were, it's pretty impressive.
Speaker 2: And I had them roughly in that range anyway, so
Speaker 2: it kind of fits what we were looking at. Cam
Speaker 2: Durnan is a good bad as well. I know they
Speaker 2: drafted James Tronsteen in the fifteenth round. I've heard rumors
Speaker 2: that it's probably not going to happen, but if they
Speaker 2: were able to get that guy to sign, it would
Speaker 2: have put the Jerry On thought to a pretty solid class.
Speaker 2: But without him, it's kind of just like a high
Speaker 2: floor class to where you know you're gonna get a
Speaker 2: couple of good, big leaders out of this, but nothing's
Speaker 2: gonna essentially wow you or like blow you away at
Speaker 2: the next level.
Speaker 1: Well, and that, to your point, is definitely a change.
Speaker 1: There's no Xavier Nines in this class. There's no Bryce
Speaker 1: Matthews or like don I don't know if he's going
Speaker 1: to hit it enough, but if he does, holy crap, right,
Speaker 1: and that doesn't see there's that guy this year, And
Speaker 1: I think sometimes it's good to balance things out, and
Speaker 1: I think we're seeing that more with teams, like even
Speaker 1: the approach that they generally have, they know that to
Speaker 1: just have a more well rounded farm system, you got
Speaker 1: to deviate from it here and there, and it seems
Speaker 1: like that's what the Astros did. But also we could
Speaker 1: see a little bit of a front office change there
Speaker 1: after this season, so that part will be interesting. We
Speaker 1: go to one of the more I think unique draft classes,
Speaker 1: because when you take a player at six that you
Speaker 1: also had a lot of people making to do at thirty,
Speaker 1: you are probably gonna be one of the more surprising drafts.
Speaker 1: And that's the Royals. They go with Zion Rose with
Speaker 1: their first pick, a guy that they obviously adore, but
Speaker 1: that also saved them almost two million dollars to then
Speaker 1: do a lot of other things. So Rose very surprising pick.
Speaker 1: I don't think like shocking in the respect that the
Speaker 1: Royals grabbed him and if anyone was going to do it,
Speaker 1: you know and go this this big underslot in the
Speaker 1: top six picks it was going to be the Royals
Speaker 1: with Zion Rose just what it seems like how tither
Speaker 1: they were to each other. But do you feel like
Speaker 1: with the savings of the Rose pick they maximized, you know,
Speaker 1: the rest of their selections.
Speaker 3: I think they did.
Speaker 2: And talking with Jared too, because obviously he's our Royals
Speaker 2: guy and you know, he's had some some conversations with
Speaker 2: the guys where people were kind of like wondering what
Speaker 2: the main play here was In Taylor rebe at thirty
Speaker 2: and Jack Slideham who had a three million dollar you know,
Speaker 2: bonus in the second round. Those are big, obviously big
Speaker 2: upside guys who had some helium late in the class.
Speaker 2: I don't think the rankings on the public scale really
Speaker 2: do justice to how much helium.
Speaker 3: They had going into the drafts.
Speaker 2: So, you know, doing that, I think that's a very
Speaker 2: solid upse I bet from them getting Max Yelle, who
Speaker 2: had a fantastic year at West Virginia. Dominic Battista had
Speaker 2: a hammett injury, but the power has been there, the
Speaker 2: speed's been there. I think also to look at Camden
Speaker 2: Johnson in the ninth round, who I had as a
Speaker 2: top one hundred guy, you know, that's exceptional value at
Speaker 2: that range. And then obviously the big caveat here Hudson
Speaker 2: von in the nineteenth round, who you know. At first
Speaker 2: you're like, maybe it's an insurance pick, but it sounds
Speaker 2: like the Royals really want to sign him, and we've
Speaker 2: got a couple more days to figure that out. But
Speaker 2: if they get it done, it's fantastic. I think that
Speaker 2: that's another, you know, pieces of a puzzle of what
Speaker 2: I think is a pretty solid draft class in general,
Speaker 2: because they got some pretty intriguing arms outside of that too,
Speaker 2: like Ethan mcilvan, Justin Laguernik, Dylan v Hunter, Poschule, Grant
Speaker 2: fought not from LSU. These are guys that have uniqueness
Speaker 2: to him. I think Macklelvan can start at the next level.
Speaker 2: Vegue has shown the ability to start as well. So
Speaker 2: I think there's a chance that there's some more intriguing
Speaker 2: arms that kind of surprise people in this class than
Speaker 2: some whould expect. But I don't think what the Royals
Speaker 2: did at the top of this draft is you know,
Speaker 2: hampering them in any way. I think they still got
Speaker 2: fantastic value later in the draft that is going to
Speaker 2: play a lot into how this class evolves.
Speaker 1: And Zon Rose, I mean, really good ballplayer, right, He's
Speaker 1: a late first round guy. I think by the consensus there,
Speaker 1: I don't love the swing mechanics as good as he
Speaker 1: his bats of ball wise, I just think it's gonna
Speaker 1: have to get cleaned up a little bit to be
Speaker 1: able to just turn around hard stuff in consistently, and
Speaker 1: I just think be able to do damage to the
Speaker 1: poll side and just be able to maximize his quality
Speaker 1: of contact. Obviously, the Royals feel really really good about
Speaker 1: what he can be, what he can do on the
Speaker 1: pro side. The makeup is by all accounts off the charts,
Speaker 1: and think that's something that'll always just helps, you know,
Speaker 1: when you have that risk or concern to consider and
Speaker 1: getting the bats of ball skills you can't really teach.
Speaker 1: Even with some of the wonkiness, like he's so good
Speaker 1: at getting bats ball. It's a good athlete overall. Obviously,
Speaker 1: he's not a top ten pick talent, so what he
Speaker 1: do you make it that? Obviously we talked about the
Speaker 1: saving side and how they were able to maximize and
Speaker 1: it seems like they spread the board pretty well there.
Speaker 1: But with Rose just at the sixth pick, what do
Speaker 1: you make of him as a player, And I guess
Speaker 1: just tying it down to like, do you see why
Speaker 1: they are so high on him and why they like
Speaker 1: him so much?
Speaker 2: I think the biggest thing it kind of loose at
Speaker 2: the other trends in the first round where some of
Speaker 2: these teams were just really looking at these safer hit tools,
Speaker 2: like Dion Rose has been a tough out in the
Speaker 2: ACC for three years now. Obviously power has never necessarily
Speaker 2: been there. He did show it last year, but this
Speaker 2: year kind of went back to that way of you know,
Speaker 2: I'm going to use the whole field and and sting
Speaker 2: some line drives instead of sell out for this power,
Speaker 2: which is, you know, something I don't necessarily hate whatsoever.
Speaker 2: I think there's more to on Lockdore, like you said,
Speaker 2: with you know, fixing the swing a little bit to
Speaker 2: get some more leverage out of it, maybe get into
Speaker 2: his pull side more. He's again he's shown the power
Speaker 2: trace in the past. I think he's very capable of
Speaker 2: like fifteen plus home runs at the next level.
Speaker 3: But also to have a guy that I yes, like we.
Speaker 2: Had him in the back end of the first round,
Speaker 2: but I think at the end of the day, you
Speaker 2: can make a case to where he could have been
Speaker 2: fifteenth to twentieth in that class with a guy that
Speaker 2: obviously hit four hundred and ye acc this year and
Speaker 2: then also has been able to turn into a quality
Speaker 2: defender and immediately is a cornered outfield spot. But like
Speaker 2: he was a catcher as a prep, never never had
Speaker 2: outfield experience until he got to Louisville, so he's turned
Speaker 2: himself into a decent outfielder as well. So I think
Speaker 2: this is another case where like the public public boards
Speaker 2: and the in room boards are going to differ on
Speaker 2: some of these guys. And obviously, you know Royals are
Speaker 2: prime example of that, and there's there's nothing wrong with
Speaker 2: that whatsoever.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree, and I think it's gonna be really
Speaker 1: fun to see how it plays out. But again, you
Speaker 1: can even see even if he is if he trends
Speaker 1: more like a guy that looked like a back end
Speaker 1: of the first round talent, you can see why they
Speaker 1: did it with the exciting arms that were able to
Speaker 1: be added there and the upside that the Royals have
Speaker 1: in this overall class, and Rose the person with still
Speaker 1: the talent that he has can understand the Royals betting
Speaker 1: on that go to the Angels now, and the Angels
Speaker 1: at first it was like, oh wow, they are completely
Speaker 1: bucking the trend of what we're used to do. And
Speaker 1: then they went right back to their ways. But they
Speaker 1: go with Jared Grinlinger. I always want to say it's Grinlinger, right, yeah,
Speaker 1: two way player, one of the younger in the class.
Speaker 1: Maybe Arden Moreno called this one in himself and says,
Speaker 1: we need to try the Otani thing again. They're gonna
Speaker 1: give them all the time to potentially do both of
Speaker 1: those things. And then they go right back to college right,
Speaker 1: like in just high floor college. Like I don't even
Speaker 1: know what the ceiling is on these guys, but they
Speaker 1: hit right and Jared evinkuah, what is he? Hits leader
Speaker 1: in college baseball, Graham Goehovic, like they go college college college, college,
Speaker 1: college college, Jackson Willitts as well, really high for switch
Speaker 1: hitter brother of Eli. Start with Grindler because I think
Speaker 1: it's a really fascinating situation with what could be here,
Speaker 1: and you alluded to this in the draft stream of
Speaker 1: like young for the class. They could take their sweet
Speaker 1: time and actually try to develop this kid as a
Speaker 1: two way guy at the complex for a year or
Speaker 1: two before even fully deploying him in a full season
Speaker 1: ball And then what did you see after that pick?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I first off, it was a breakfast, fresh air,
Speaker 2: you know, to have a high schooler for d Angels
Speaker 2: in the first round. Secondly, you know, to your point, yes,
Speaker 2: you kind of let this kid stay at the complex,
Speaker 2: figure out what pathy's going to happen the next level
Speaker 2: and go from there.
Speaker 3: You know, they don't need to rush him whatsoever.
Speaker 2: He's he was seventeen and two on draft day, and
Speaker 2: it's one of the youngest draft picks ever. I think
Speaker 2: the if you're wanted, like a comparison, Ken Grifrey Junior
Speaker 2: was roughly this age when he was drafted first overall
Speaker 2: back in what eighty eighty six, eighty nine. I could
Speaker 2: I could be misinterpreted on the year, but I just
Speaker 2: remember he was first overall in one of the late eighties.
Speaker 3: But you know, I'd say I wasn't even close. Cool.
Speaker 3: But yeah, like with.
Speaker 2: Greenlinger, you you just you just get to have the
Speaker 2: chance to let this kid figure out what he's gonna
Speaker 2: end up being. Is he a bad at the end
Speaker 2: of the day, do you we think he could be
Speaker 2: an arm with you know, been up to ninety six
Speaker 2: with a good breaking ball. You know, I think there's
Speaker 2: a lot of physical physical maturity that's still unlocking this kid.
Speaker 2: You know he's gonna have. He's got a frame where
Speaker 2: you can add another like fifteen twenty pounds to him
Speaker 2: and see does the athleticism take up? Do you see
Speaker 2: more power out of him? He already has fantastic about
Speaker 2: the ball skills. As an outfielder, I mean he essentially glides.
Speaker 2: You know when I say like, you know, this is
Speaker 2: a comfortable above average runner with long strides, like it's
Speaker 2: a gazelle essentially in the outfield to where he could probably.
Speaker 3: Play a center field spot if he holds up. If not,
Speaker 3: he's in right field.
Speaker 2: Conversely, if you like him as an arm lots of
Speaker 2: arm speed, has has more velo to unlocked, and already
Speaker 2: has a pretty solid breaking ball too, come in you
Speaker 2: can work on a little bit. But I think at
Speaker 2: the end of the day, you let this kid two
Speaker 2: way until he approves you that he can't do that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, especially with with what the Angels are probably gonna
Speaker 1: want to do, and the one time they take a
Speaker 1: high school guy're probably going to try to maximize that
Speaker 1: ceiling there as much as they can because they go
Speaker 1: high floor with the rest of the guys. What do
Speaker 1: you make of the college runoff for most of the
Speaker 1: other picks and they do it takes a couple interesting
Speaker 1: I think, like potential overswat guys in the eighth and
Speaker 1: ninth rounds. But I'm just curious what you think of
Speaker 1: the rest of the class with the Angels.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's just stereotypical angels personally, it is a bit
Speaker 2: of a change. Do you to just go after arms
Speaker 2: after like the second round like Jase Shores, but they
Speaker 2: went after some bats. I kind of like obviously at
Speaker 2: Van Kila being at Georgia Tack. He's hit for three
Speaker 2: years in the ACC, both at Cal and at Georgia Tack.
Speaker 2: Not a ton of power, but like you look at
Speaker 2: this guy as a potential seventy hit tool if you
Speaker 2: look at at the end of the day, Gavin Kerhovic
Speaker 2: had a lot of hype as a freshman, got hurt,
Speaker 2: comes back this year, has a great year. I think
Speaker 2: he's personally a first baseman, but it's a lot of
Speaker 2: power from the right side. I think you take that
Speaker 2: either way. You look at it, Ryan Lujo, Jackson Willis.
Speaker 2: They're going for big conference performers here, even with some
Speaker 2: of the arms as well, like Ryan Hetzler, Justin Byrd
Speaker 2: had fantastic years at Georgia and Auburn. Garrett Wright goes
Speaker 2: from bowling Green, has an injury, goes to Tennessee and
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 3: He got a late start of the year.
Speaker 2: But it's a guy that can play both behind the
Speaker 2: plate and in the outfield with a good arm, aggressive
Speaker 2: as all get out, but at the same time as
Speaker 2: good bat the ball skills with burging power. Trevor Hanson
Speaker 2: is a guy with you know, he's been a story
Speaker 2: for three years at UC Irvine. Also poppers the strike
Speaker 2: zone been up to ninety four to ninety five with
Speaker 2: a really really good breaking ball and change up. So
Speaker 2: you know, it's not like these arms or these bats
Speaker 2: at the college level don't have upside. These are guys
Speaker 2: that have been able to perform for three years and
Speaker 2: there's still stuff to unlock on some of them. And
Speaker 2: getting a guy like Jackson Willows, who was you know,
Speaker 2: white hot going into the to the College Fool Series
Speaker 2: and helping them win that title, I'd say you let
Speaker 2: that carry over and see what it does for the
Speaker 2: Angels in the minor leagues. I think this is, you know,
Speaker 2: probably one of my more favorite classes from them in
Speaker 2: the past few years.
Speaker 1: Nice, that's good to hear. And again with the headliner
Speaker 1: or the high school guy on top, and then the
Speaker 1: college bats that may make a little bit more sense.
Speaker 1: This time around. We wrap up with the Dodgers, who
Speaker 1: had very little money to work with, but they're able
Speaker 1: to land boler On. So I think it's one of
Speaker 1: the best value picks in the draft to get him
Speaker 1: at forty for a guy that I know you thought
Speaker 1: could easily be in the back end of the first
Speaker 1: I thought could even be a little bit higher than
Speaker 1: that six or five. You know, left hand and hitting
Speaker 1: infielder who looks like you can stay on the left
Speaker 1: side of the infield has just continued to become more
Speaker 1: agile for how big he is, such a smooth swing.
Speaker 1: But I'm also really curious, like, with their hands tied
Speaker 1: behind their back, basically, how do they do with the
Speaker 1: of the class as well behind you know, again, a
Speaker 1: great first round pick when you're not picking until forty.
Speaker 3: Yeah, they didn't.
Speaker 2: I don't want to say they blew me away from
Speaker 2: like round four onward. You know, they didn't have a
Speaker 2: fifth round, sixth round, second or third, so you're missing
Speaker 2: a lot of firepower there, but you go after some
Speaker 2: intriguing arms like Russell Stanley for from from Florida, turned
Speaker 2: into one of the better Sunday starts in the SEC
Speaker 2: this year. Been a big fan of him since his
Speaker 2: days at Saint Leo. He was a D two guy
Speaker 2: with the UCF N the Florida so you know he's
Speaker 2: he's climbed the ladder and performed at every stop. Charlie
Speaker 2: West is in the striking reliever, same for Gostola from Oregon.
Speaker 2: And then you kind of look at some guys like
Speaker 2: Cody Knew and Gavin van and Keeping in the eleventh
Speaker 2: and twelve rounds. Both guys got injured this year. Both
Speaker 2: guys were also in line for for massive years at
Speaker 2: their at their clubs. You know, Cody Knew got hurt
Speaker 2: first week of the year, but had a fantastic sophomore
Speaker 2: year and it was actually looking a lot better before
Speaker 2: you got hurt. And being the camp been went from
Speaker 2: West Virginia to ECU and they added like a bullet
Speaker 2: slider from the release point that he has and like
Speaker 2: it's a tray, a savage release high it's like seven
Speaker 2: feet in the air, super steeps the plate. But also
Speaker 2: the same token, it allows your secondaries to play from
Speaker 2: that angle, and he's got a really good curveball slider
Speaker 2: and splitter.
Speaker 3: That it keeps it down in the zone. Nobody's touching it.
Speaker 2: So I believe like the last start he had, or
Speaker 2: like second last start before the injury, he gets struck
Speaker 2: out fourteen and six, So there's huge.
Speaker 3: Upside with that.
Speaker 2: And to put him into a Dodger system that can
Speaker 2: maximize talent like that, it's just a fantastic fit for me.
Speaker 2: And like if they get guys like eating Something or
Speaker 2: Camden Wimbish in the sixteen to seventeenth round to sign,
Speaker 2: which I don't necessarily know if they have or not.
Speaker 2: Maybe one has, maybe the other hasn't.
Speaker 3: I have to.
Speaker 2: Look at it, but uh, you know, I think they
Speaker 2: did a good job of finding value. Besides, you know
Speaker 2: what they had left because obviously Lawns had seventy five
Speaker 2: percent of their entired just cool, which is deserved.
Speaker 3: Like I thought, he's the top twenty talent.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and that's so I said it a couple
Speaker 1: other times. This is actually the guy that can make
Speaker 1: or break a draft class because he is the draft
Speaker 1: class for the most part. I don't know have we
Speaker 1: ever seen anything like this. I'd have to for people
Speaker 1: that are wondering. They had to pick one pick in
Speaker 1: the first then they didn't pick till the fourth, and
Speaker 1: also their first pick was the fortieth, so they picked
Speaker 1: fortieth overall, one hundred and thirty second, Then they didn't
Speaker 1: pick again until two hundred and twenty third, and then
Speaker 1: they didn't pick again until two hundred and fifty third,
Speaker 1: two hundred and eighty third. Then it got normal from there,
Speaker 1: but no second, no third rounder, no fifth, no sixth,
Speaker 1: and their first round pick was fortieth overall.
Speaker 3: In that and that pick drop ten spots because.
Speaker 2: Of the the the threshold, yeah, the CBA threshold.
Speaker 1: So yeah, crazy crazy, and they still get a first
Speaker 1: round talent and kind of a guy that I think
Speaker 1: could be better than that. But this is where they
Speaker 1: can fux scouting muscles on some of the different arms
Speaker 1: that you mentioned, and I'm excited just players and gentlemen
Speaker 1: that will probably end up taking a leap with them
Speaker 1: this year regardless. So like they had their hands. It's
Speaker 1: literally like they're fighting everybody with one hand tied behind
Speaker 1: their back, and like, I still think they're gonna end
Speaker 1: up beating up some of these other teams with the
Speaker 1: one hand tied behind their back because they're the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: But it'll be fun to see how it all unfolds.
Speaker 1: It'll also be fun to do part two eventually, so
Speaker 1: we'll try to line that one up. Sorry, Tyler, it
Speaker 1: looks like you're gonna have to talk about the draft
Speaker 1: one more time here for the twenty twenty six class.
Speaker 1: But this was awesome, man. Always appreciate your your breakdowns
Speaker 1: and all of your info on all of these classes.
Speaker 1: And again we got fifteen more to go next time
Speaker 1: around anywhere anything else specifically coming out that you can plug.
Speaker 2: So at the moment, working on some obviously twenty twenty
Speaker 2: seven work has already started. So got the collegiate national
Speaker 2: team a couple weeks ago, did eighteen U trials this
Speaker 2: past weekend, and then go in the area coaching a
Speaker 2: couple of weeks out in California. So still a lot
Speaker 2: of work to be done on the draft front for
Speaker 2: twenty twenty seven. So you know, I don't sleep at
Speaker 2: this point. You can tell by the bags under both eyes, Like,
Speaker 2: at this point, we're just gonna we're gonna sleep in
Speaker 2: October at this point.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, I mean it is all exciting stuff though, and
Speaker 1: I appreciate everything that you do. Man. Excited for part two,
Speaker 1: we'll try to find that a little window for that,
Speaker 1: and uh, don't worry out there. Well, we're gonna break
Speaker 1: down your teams as well. We'll talk to you one
Speaker 1: more time this week with Jeff