Article: Official Day 3 Draft Thread

[Bob Sacamento]

CJ Broussard  6'3 270lb  Cal State LA  22nd Round

 

 

 

Broussard is a big man with a big right arm. Broussard pitches with a 93-94 mph fastball and was Cal State Los Angeles' ace, going 8-3, 3.14. He did so while weighing in at 270 pounds, and is kindly described as �plump� by evaluators. Size aside, Broussard showed the ability to throw four pitches for strikes with decent command and is a better athlete than expected. He hit .318 with nine homers and 46 RBIs while playing first base on days he wasn't pitching Golden Eagles' top starter. Broussard's talent is such that evaluators feel he can be late-round steal if he eventually gets his body in order, with most believing he needs to drop 30-40 pounds off his 6-foot-3 frame.

[Bob Sacamento]

Carson Crites   2B  Southeast Louisana  25th Round 

 

 

 

Crites has been a productive regular for Southeast Louisiana for three seasons, but his senior year saw him take a step forward with his power. He hit 14 home runs and stole 15 bases in his final season with the Lions.

[sploorp]

 

Schwarz has had quite the fall from grace.

From what I can tell, he is firm in his intent to stay a gator for another year.  It would most likely be a waste of a pick.

[mlhouse]

 

Some of those drafts were before the slotting system was put in place. So the rules were different.

 

 

I get it........   still is interesting to go back and see late round bonuses.  It is also interesting that they were pretty much money spent for nothing.

[Bob Sacamento]

Jordan "Don't call me Sean" Spicer  RHP Polk State (FL) JUCO  26th Round

 

 

 

In a loaded crop of Florida junior college talent, Spicer is among the most intriguing prospects. He’s a strike-throwing righthander who has the potential for two above-average or better pitches. Spicer’s fastball works comfortably at 90-93 mph and he can hit 94, even later on in outings. He flashes above-average movement on his fastball, which he likes to run in on the hands of righthanded hitters. Spicer throws a sharp vertical slider. The pitch flashes powerful bite and late diving action in the low 80s, and it grades out as a future 55 or 60 on the 20-to-80 scouting scale. He also throws a curveball in the upper 70s. He’s able to locate his fastball and slider down and to both sides of the plate, in addition to using his breaking ball as a chase pitch below the strike zone. Spicer was sidelined with a foot contusion later on in the spring, and his stuff was a little bit down when he returned right at the end of the season. Spicer is committed to Central Florida, where he could blossom into an even more prominent draft prospect if he chooses not to sign this year. He’s expected to be valued in the fourth to seventh round.

 

Maybe the Twins throw him a little scratch to get him to sign for sixth round money elsewise he's going back to school and likely to increase his draft stock for the 2018 Draft

Edited June 14, 2017 by Bob Sacamento

[Mike Sixel]

 

Schwarz has had quite the fall from grace.

 

was he picked?

 

Gotta go back to school, right?

[Bob Sacamento]

Joe Record  RHP  6'3  210lbs  UC Santa Barbara  28th Round 

 

 

 

Record pitched only 9.1 innings as a junior before going down with a torn ulner collateral ligament and missing the rest of the season. He attempted to repair it with a platelet-rich plasma injection rather than have Tommy John surgery, but surgery may still be necessary. Well-built at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Record sits 91-93 mph with his fastball and touches 95 when healthy. His best secondary is a sharp 82-83 mph slider and he began experimenting with an upper-80s cutter. His command is solid. Record started in college but profiles as a two-pitch reliever as a pro, provided he comes back from his injury at full strength.

[mlhouse]

http://www.ncsasports.org/baseball-recruiting/british-columbia/abbotsford/mennonite-educational-institute/cade-smith2

[nicksaviking]

Twins going back to the lotto route with Spicer in round 26 and Griffen Roberts in round 29. Both ranked in the top 200 and likely to go back to school. Round 27 saw them take Chandler Tayler who is a sophomore.

 

I'd be fun if they got one of these guys to put pen to paper.

[AZTwin]

Sounds like he has pitched against Astros instructional league professional hitters.  Mixed success but nice to see the strikeouts at that level and some shutout innings.

http://timsmith44.wixsite.com/cadesmith23/single-post/2016/10/18/Florida-and-Whats-Next

Edited June 14, 2017 by AZTwin

[jimbo92107]

 

CJ Broussard  6'3 270lb  Cal State LA  22nd Round

I remember reading about a kid like this at a California school. He was kind of fat, very out of shape, but he could throw a ball pretty hard, low 90's. Early in spring training the team's crazy strength coach started riding the kid, calling him fat, lazy, etc. He challenged the young man to really get in shape for the first time in his life.

 

It hurt the guy's feelings, but he decided to give it a try. After a while, this kid found that he was starting to enjoy the feeling of being in better shape, so he really took to weight training. He lost several bags of weight, got a lot stronger, and his fastball velocity shot up to the upper 90's, even 100 mph.

 

Eventually, Stephen Strasburg got drafted, made it to the show, and has been doing pretty well since then. 

[jimbo92107]

The best thing about the late rounds is that you know there are gold nuggets somewhere in this load of gravel. Sometimes a team can even take a piece of gravel, polish it up, give it a new function, and it becomes an unexpected gem.

 

At the moment I'm thinking of Derrick Rodriguez, but there could be something like that in any round. Sometimes it's just a matter of teaching a guy a new pitch. Sometimes it's a matter of working a guy's tail off on his fielding. 

 

As a former sports coach, I'm an optimist. 

[ashbury]

Round 12 - Bailey Ober, RHP (College of Charleston)

Tall right-handed pitcher (6' 8", 200)

A tall guy whose last name looks like it translates from some Germanic root to "upper/over". I like it. He and Max Kepler can kid around about it, if he makes it to the majors.

[Willihammer]

 

The best thing about the late rounds is that you know there are gold nuggets somewhere in this load of gravel. Sometimes a team can even take a piece of gravel, polish it up, give it a new function, and it becomes an unexpected gem.

 

At the moment I'm thinking of Derrick Rodriguez, but there could be something like that in any round. Sometimes it's just a matter of teaching a guy a new pitch. Sometimes it's a matter of working a guy's tail off on his fielding. 

 

As a former sports coach, I'm an optimist. 

Yeah, especially if you get em young.

So far only 3 guys under the age of 20. I had hoped they'd plumb more of the high school ranks today but seems they blew most of their spare cash on day 2.

[Willihammer]

Course the Twins next pick is Adam Oviedo, a high schooler ranked 129th on MLB.com's board.

 

 

 

Scouting grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 40 | Run: 50 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45

Alvarado (Texas) High had only one player ever drafted, 17th-rounder Randy Walraven in 1974. That will change with Oviedo, one of the better defensive shortstops available in this crop. Whether a team will have enough conviction that he'll hit to buy him away from his Texas Christian commitment is another question, however.

Oviedo has the hands, arm and actions to play shortstop at the next level. He's an average runner who doesn't quite have typical shortstop quickness, but his other tools and his instincts enable him to make plays. Scouts rave about his makeup, but questions linger about his offensive ability.

Oviedo has a strong frame and a quick right-handed swing, and he hit reasonably well on the showcase circuit last summer. But he has added a big leg kick and lengthened his stroke, creating concerns about his ability to catch up to good fastballs and quality offspeed pitches. Scouts would like to see him worry less about power -- he has more than a typical middle infielder -- and develop more feel for the barrel.

 

[Willihammer]

http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/sports/alvarado-s-adam-oviedo-awaits-mlb-draft-as-he-decides/article_47ef19b8-4d39-11e7-8074-47d7958251ce.html

 

In his senior season as the Indians’ leadoff hitter, Oviedo batted .436 with 29 RBIs and 41 runs scored with 11 doubles, six triples and six home runs for a .872 slugging percentage. He also drew 26 walks for a .573 on-base percentage to go along with 22 stolen bases on a .957 stolen base percentage. Defensively, Oviedo had 60 assists and 56 putouts with a .921 fielding percentage.

 

 

With Oviedo being strong in his commitment to TCU, he said entering the draft he’s still undecided on what path he’ll take — pro or college — but added it would have to be the right opportunity to pass on TCU.

 

“We’re supposed to have a meeting Saturday with my advisors,” Oviedo said. “We’re still undecided on what’s the right path. Of course, TCU is a great school, but we’ll have to see what happens. [My decision will depend] on what happens in the draft. It would have to be the right opportunity to skip out on TCU. I committed to TCU a couple years back and I’m really looking forward to it. A team would have to show some conviction for me to sign.

[caninatl04]

 

was he picked?

 

Gotta go back to school, right?

The cause / effect may be reversed.  Maybe he's betting on himself and has told teams he's going back for his senior year.  And that has caused him to be not drafted.

[nicksaviking]

 

A tall guy whose last name looks like it translates from some Germanic root to "upper/over". I like it. He and Max Kepler can kid around about it, if he makes it to the majors.

 

Ober is the beginning of my last name. And Bailey is the name of our dog.

 

I'm looking forward to telling my 7-year-old that tidbit tonight; he's surely going to find it more interesting than anyone else.

[twinsfanstreif]

 

In his senior season as the Indians’ leadoff hitter, Oviedo batted .436 with 29 RBIs and 41 runs scored with 11 doubles, six triples and six home runs for a .872 slugging percentage. He also drew 26 walks for a .573 on-base percentage to go along with 22 stolen bases on a .957 stolen base percentage. Defensively, Oviedo had 60 assists and 56 putouts with a .921 fielding percentage.

With Oviedo being strong in his commitment to TCU, he said entering the draft he’s still undecided on what path he’ll take — pro or college — but added it would have to be the right opportunity to pass on TCU.

“We’re supposed to have a meeting Saturday with my advisors,” Oviedo said. “We’re still undecided on what’s the right path. Of course, TCU is a great school, but we’ll have to see what happens. [My decision will depend] on what happens in the draft. It would have to be the right opportunity to skip out on TCU. I committed to TCU a couple years back and I’m really looking forward to it. A team would have to show some conviction for me to sign.

it would seem that 35th round is not a whole lot of conviction, maybe we could come up with a few hundred thousand to try and sway him but it doesn't seem like enough for sure

[AZTwin]

Looks like Luke heimlich is going undrafted. Not surprised

[Monkeypaws]

Was just looking at the size of the bonus pools for the Al Central:

 

Minnesota has 14.1 million.

Cleveland - 3.8

Chicago - 7.9

Detroit - 6.5

Kansas City - 8

 

Had no idea there was that much divergence. 

 

St. Louis has a mere 2.1 million, about what the Twins 3rd rounder will get.

 

It will be interesting to see if this leads to some sort of competitive balance down the road.

Edited June 14, 2017 by Monkeypaws

[Willihammer]

 

it would seem that 35th round is not a whole lot of conviction, maybe we could come up with a few hundred thousand to try and sway him but it doesn't seem like enough for sure

Yeah, I'm puzzled. Seems like a wasted pick probably.

[Willihammer]

Patrick Bailey taken in the 38th round, a catcher from Wesleyan Christian Academy. He was 382nd on Sickel's board, #299 on BA. NC State commit, 

 

 

A switch-hitter, Bailey batted .510 with 49 hits, 13 doubles, seven triples, five home runs and 33 RBIs..

 

Then there's this, tweeted 8 hrs ago

 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

it would seem that 35th round is not a whole lot of conviction, maybe we could come up with a few hundred thousand to try and sway him but it doesn't seem like enough for sure

 

Likely a backup plan in case they have some extra money.

[Intramural Legend]

Could also be indicating future interest. seems to be a handful of players redrafted every year

[kab21]

Looks like the Twins grabbed a collection of players as backup plans in case their overslot signings (Enlow primarily) in the top 10 rds don't sign.

 

Hopefully they find a way to sign 1-2 of them though. That would really put an exclamation point on this draft imo. Assuming that the top 10 rds sign this has been pretty good imo.

[Squirrel]

 

Yeah this. I known huge Twins fans right now whose knowledge of the Twins minor league system comes down to three guys - right now maybe Gonsalves, Gordon and Garver? And to be fair to them, if I didn't read TD I would have no concept of the minor leagues either - I wouldn't be checking the box scores every day and keeping track of players.

You sound like a perfect person to do an Adopt-A-Prospect thread or two. You should check it out!

[twinsfanstreif]

Likely a backup plan in case they have some extra money.

Yea, that's probably the case, I'd be shocked if we could sign him though

[kab21]

 

I one time suggested this to a guy who was high in the Twins organization.  He hated the idea.

 

But, I think that the league should set up the short season minor leagues for draft eligible players.  They then go play against each other and you can scout the players against a set level of competition.

 

Then, after the short season is over, you draft.

To much risk for the players with getting hurt imo. You would have most of the top 100 players not participating which lessens the benefit of the league.

 

The one thing that I don't understand is why doesn't the draft take place after the final game of the CWS. I am surprised they didn't move things around when they adjusted the signing day a few years ago.

[mlhouse]

Some more draft analysis.

 

The 2017 draft marks probably (at least for the past 5 drafts anyways) were there was a 10 pick stretch of the draft that the Twins did not select a high school player.  In 2017 for picks 21-30, we did not select a HS prospect.  The last several drafts the Twins had selected at least 2 HS players with those picks.

 

The rise of the college senior in the baseball draft I think is a remarkable thing. THis year the Twins drafted 4 college seniors in the first 10 rounds, 13 overall.  While they drafted more in 2016, 7 of those players were drafted in the last 10 rounds to find cheaper organizational filler.

 

My analysis is that teams are starting to outsmart themselves.  THey are playing too many "draft under slot" games and then drafting lower value players in rounds 6-10 to save money.  While I don't think it is a bad strategy to draft a guy at the top of the draft that will sign for less money, and I think the Rooker selection at #35 was both a good draft value and as a college senior without real future options he can be some savings, you use taht to add to a high 2nd or comp level pick draft slot to sign a guy who slips to that level, then draft to the slot values of the rest of the draft.  While all the other teams are selecting lower valued, but cheaper, 6th-10th round picks your team can get higher value in these very valuable rounds by drafting to slot.