Article: 2019 MLB Draft Day 2 Thread

[TheLeviathan]

 

Also interesting to note that the Twins have drafted position players with 4 of their first 5 picks, and not one of them is a catcher.  They have normally drafted a couple catchers by now......

 

Might be that the team is approaching organizational strengths and weaknesses as they see drafts allow them.  They took quite a few catchers last year (or the year before, I forget), so perhaps they are just letting the draft come to them.

 

I'm sure they are looking at their depth charts, available spots, etc. as they draft.  None of us are doing so. They may feel their lower minors will be set at pitching and catching for a year and would rather not create a glut if they like infielders better.

 

The organization's player development and drafting since the new regime took over has looked good so far.  Probably best to sit back, take a gander, and wait to see what they do.

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

I'm no expert, but from afar, I couldn't be more underwhelmed with the Twins draft so far.

 

3rd rounder with no power who won't stay at SS?

 

A reach at 13?

 

WTF??

 

MLB Drafts are crapshoots, particularly when they're being mocked by non MLB FO types.  Based on mocks, Mike Trout would have been a tremendous reach in 2011.  Eddie Rosario and Justin Morneau are two more examples of guys who would have been reaches in the first round.

 

Also, power can develop; witness one Brian Dozier.  Not saying any of this will happen, just that being upset about the draft picks right now is like being upset about a team's offense after they go down 1-2-3 in the first inning of game 1 of the season.

[Mike Sixel]

Kedelbro
3:25 Does Will Holland have any shot to get his swing back?
Keith Law
3:25 Yes.

[d-mac]

 

If Holland was a steal who fell because of an off year, is there a risk he will do what Rooker did following his junior year?  Will $360,000+/- be enough to discourage Holland from returning for his senior year in hope of going higher in the 2020 draft, much higher?

 

I'm assuming there will be plenty of money left to sign Holland.

[Mike Sixel]

Brett
3:33 Seems like the twins were going for high upside high risk guys, Would you make Wallner a SP or RF?
Keith Law
3:33 He doesn't want to pitch.

 

Matt
3:34 What did you think of Will Holland falling as far as he did?
Keith Law
3:34 I think Auburn bears some blame for this. Good value in that round though.

Edited June 4, 2019 by Mike Sixel

[rdehring]

 

Also interesting to note that the Twins have drafted position players with 4 of their first 5 picks, and not one of them is a catcher.  They have normally drafted a couple catchers by now......

As much as teams say they don't draft specific positions, rather take BPA, I think you are right that there was a focus on catchers the last several years.  It certainly wasn't a secret that the catching depth throughout the organization was shall we say poor.  

 

With the three headed catchers on the Twins roster along with Rortvedt and Jeffers in AA and A+, lack of quality catching is no longer a concern.  I expect had the catcher from UNLV been available at #1, they may have taken him.  He wasn't.  Now they may not feel they need to focus on getting catchers in this draft, rather go with the BPA.  Yet they will certainly draft and sign a few, but they could come anywhere from here thru #40.

[MMMordabito]

Yeah, a pitcher!!!

[SwainZag]

From MLB.com:

 

RHP Gipson, Sawyer

 

A reliever for much of his junior season at Mercer, Gipson-Long moved into the starting rotation and helped lead his school to the NCAA tournament, racking up 96 strikeouts in 79 innings, with a 4.90 ERA. The right-hander has the perfect body type for a pitcher, standing 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, with a fastball that gets up to 95 mph. He has a changeup to go with it, and a key for him will be developing his slider.

[d-mac]

I like Gipson. If they can teach him some secondary pitches. He gets K's and limits walks, but he has been very hittable in a weak conference.

[Tom Froemming]

THERE'S YOUR PITCHER, HAPPY NOW!?!?

 

Gipson sounds plenty interesting to me. Crankin' 'er up to 95 at the end of the year, big fella, sign me up. #gushing

[Dman]

OMG they took a pitcher.  This shaping up to be a developmental draft.  They must trust that they can coach these guys up and make them better.  I could give them high marks for drafting athleticism but that is about it.  

Edited June 4, 2019 by Dman

[luckylager]

Do you think Wes Johnson has had a look at the pitchers who will be available in the later rounds and pinpointed a few that he thinks can be coached up? 

[markos]

 

agreed, and I acknowledged and praised that. But, now that they are entering the competitive phase of the rebuild, they hopefully aren't trading MLB players for prospects for the next 5 years or so. 

Sure, but there are ways for competitive teams to restock the pitching pipeline through trades. For example, the Yankees have been extremely good at clearing out 40-man and 25-man roster crunches by trading for young, upside pitchers and betting on their player development staff to make the necessary improvements. Case in point, acquiring Luis Gil from the Twins for Jake Cave. Over the next few years, there are going to be multiple decent, young position players coming up the Twins system that they likely just won't have the roster space for.

 

Anyway, I'm on team "don't invest a lot of draft capital on pitchers" for many, many different reasons. So I'm mostly okay with this draft so far.

[markos]

 

Do you think Wes Johnson has had a look at the pitchers who will be available in the later rounds and pinpointed a few that he thinks can be coached up? 

I hope all of Wes Johnson's time is spent trying to make the big league pitchers better and keep them healthy.

[Bob Sacamento]

Baseball America on Will Holland:

 

 

 

Holland broke out as a sophomore in 2018, hitting .313/.406/.530 with 12 home runs while playing a flashy shortstop to garner second-team all-SEC honors. He entered 2019 among the top tier of college shortstops after a strong showing in the Cape Cod League, where he hit .341/.431/.432. Yet Holland’s prospect status has fallen throughout the spring, as he has struggled immensely with the bat during his junior season. An aggressive hitter, Holland has always been prone to high strikeout rates, but the fact that it came with high averages and extra-base power somewhat negated those concerns. Through his first 45 games this season, Holland has been one of Auburn’s worst hitters, batting just .228/.375/.364 with 46 strikeouts and 27 walks. Holland could need some mechanical tweaks at the next level, as some have questioned his wide, spread-out stance, and he also must improve his pitch selection. Defensively, Holland has the range, arm strength and athleticism for shortstop, and he has the ability to make highlight-reel plays look relatively routine from time to time. However, he still needs to refine some of the finer details of the position and improve his overall consistency in order to stick at the position long term. Holland’s spring season has clouded his draft stock, but his toolset, defensive potential and previous track record shouldn’t let him drop much further than the third round.

[operation mindcrime]

We just drafted Sawyer Brown?

[jkcarew]

To my untrained eye, Twins are sticking with the BPA (as their scouts see it) in this draft. To me, the organizational gaps seem to be pitching (near major-league ready...not so much the low minors)...and hit-first corner types. That's why I thought a college arm...someone with a chance to show in the next two years...would be in order with the first round pick. So be it...I'll be a Keoni Cavaco fan going forward. At least until the Twins trade him at the 2020 trade deadline for a pitcher.

[USAFChief]

 

 

 

Anyway, I'm on team "don't invest a lot of draft capital on pitchers" for many, many different reasons. So I'm mostly okay with this draft so far.

TINSTAAPP

 

I would be reluctant to draft pitchers high, too, although I really liked that Rutledge kid.

 

But I'm still underwhelmed by the bats they've drafted.

[Bob Sacamento]

Baseball America on Sawyer Gipson:

 

 

 

A big bodied, 6-foot-4, 220-pound righthander, Gipson throws a fastball that sits in the 88-93 mph range and tops out around 94 mph, though he did tick up his velocity late in the spring. Gipson doesn't have the most athleticism or the quickest arm, and there are some questions about whether or not he'll have a reliable out pitch, but he throws lots of strikes. During his junior season, Gipson posted a 4.90 ERA with impressive strikeout and walk rates, fanning 96 batters in 79 innings (10.9 per nine) with just 17 walks (1.9 per nine). While Gipson throws strikes, he does have a tendency to give up loud contact at times.

[TFRazor]

 

Baseball America on Sawyer Gipson:

So he's Michael Pineda-lite

[MN_ExPat]

Various posters are directly stating or heavily implying that the Twins should be making different picks (i.e., 'I'm no expert, but the Twins are screwing up.')

 

Opinions can be informed or uninformed. We know a lot more about MLB players and can have informed opinions about them. Most TD users have virtually no real knowledge about amateur scouting or specific amateur players . . . your opinions in this case are uninformed.

[TheLeviathan]

You know whose draft looks a lot like ours right now?  The Houston Astros.

 

New wave analytics are putting aside a lot of the old conventions.  I'd encourage people to read the Ringer article on the Astros that was recently posted.  

 

I would be wary of relying on what traditional scouting tells you about a player's strengths or weaknesses and just trust the process for now.

Edited June 4, 2019 by TheLeviathan

[goulik]

6 straight College Juniors after 1 HS kid. Only 1 OF, no LHP and no C... Interesting start to the draft for sure but were not 25% done yet and it's only one mode of bringing people into the organization so no judgement. just fascination.

 

The previous two year I remember angst, hand wringing and questioning only to be followed by "OH!".  I am willing to wait and see how the whole strategy plays out because this is the 3rd year and the previous two years seemed to have a coherent strategy when it was all over with.

[d-mac]

Another college utility infielder.

[rdehring]

Another college shortstop in the 7th round.  I will assume that some of these kids can/will play elsewhere.

 

With all the talk about lack of pitchers being taken, went back and counted how many went in the 6th round.  20 of the 30 picks were pitchers with all but one from college.  Yes, this does appear to be a different draft.

[goulik]

Anthony Prato SS Connecticut, another Jr.

[Twinsoholic]

The selection of the Connecticut SS seems to have brought the discussion to a standstill. 

[MN_ExPat]

Kind of impressive that the Twins have such a good record under the leadership of a front office that's apparently worse at drafting than the majority of Twins Daily users.

 

I’m kind of at a loss for words here... this isn’t the NFL (thank god for that), you know full well that it’s takes 3-5 years to truly judge a draft class. Just because the team isn’t drafting off of the list of players you think they need to be taking, does not mean they don’t know what they are doing.

 

And calling folks uniformed for disagreeing with you is rather petty.

[Bob Sacamento]

Baseball America on Anthony Prato

 

 

 

An on-base machine for Connecticut for three years, Prato has shown good bat-to-ball skills since his freshman season and has hit above .300 each year in the American Athletic Conference. In 2019 though, Prato took his walk rate to another level, posting a .309/.433/.406 line with 37 walks and 22 strikeouts. Prato has well below-average power at 5-foot-10, 186-pounds. He’s a plus runner with solid hands in the infield and a high baseball IQ, but is unlikely to stick at shortstop at the next level.

[Mike Sixel]

 

You know whose draft looks a lot like ours right now?  The Houston Astros.

 

New wave analytics are putting aside a lot of the old conventions.  I'd encourage people to read the Ringer article on the Astros that was recently posted.  

 

I would be wary of relying on what traditional scouting tells you about a player's strengths or weaknesses and just trust the process for now.

 

If the Twins are going to start trading their top prospects for great SP, then re-signing them to huge contracts, I have no issue with the approach.