The evening started with a couple of important comments.
- Per Rob Manfred – “We’re going to play Baseball in 2020”
- Announcement with all 30 GMs united in their support for Black Lives Matter. The united front was the brainchild of Theo Epstein. It is certainly a fantastic program in light of current events, but it needs to be more than just feel good platitudes in order for there to be any change. But it is an excellent first step. Let’s see what happens with their next step.
If MLB and MLBPA can agree to start the 2020 season in quick order, and make positive strides to help quell racial tensions, they will go a long way to improve the current MLB image.
Now to the actual draft. This is considered a very deep draft as it relates to HS OF and college RHP, and that proved to be true. There were four HS OFers selected in the first 19 picks. There were also eight college RHP in the first 37 picks, including the Dodgers pick at #29, University of Louisville RHP, Bobby Miller. Not one of the eight mock draft publications I followed selected Bobby Miller as the Dodgers #1, but I do believe someone on LADT made that pick.
As indicated, I followed eight mock drafts for the first round:
- MLB.com – Jim Callis
- MLB.com – Jonathan Mayo
- Baseball America – Carlos Collazo
- Fangraphs – Eric Logenhagen
- ESPN – Kiley McDaniel
- The Athletic – Keith Law
- Prospects365 – Ian Smith
- Bleacher Report – Joel Reuter
There were many others, but these are the most prominent baseball publications with the best baseball amateur evaluators. While they may have a few of those anonymous contacts, they are guessing just like everybody else.
One of the MLBTV crew comments was that teams have already been in contact with the players to determine signability and expected contract amount. With only five rounds, these became much more important to have thorough knowledge. That seems to be borne out since at least two have already agreed to terms this evening.
The first round went fairly close to expected. Everyone projected Arizona State University 1B, Spencer Torkelson to be the 1/1. While Torkelson was the selection, he was drafted as a 3B and not a 1B, which came as surprise to all.
Certainly, Baltimore threw a curve when they selected Arkansas OF Heston Kjerstad over Austin Martin and Asa Lacy. While Austin Martin is considered the best overall talent, Kjerstad is considered the best college left hand bat. It is also Then Miami followed with another slight surprise by selecting University of Minnesota RHP Max Meyer over the same two who were projected to go #2 and #3. One pick that we Dodger fans are going to need to follow will be the Colorado pick at #9, BIG Zach Veen, 18 year old RF from Spruce Creek HS, Port Orange, FL. His stance and swing are compared favorably to Cody Bellinger. He has a monstrous LH power bat. In Colorado? Another potential Larry Walker?
While not necessarily in the correct order, the first ten picks went just about as expected. Two of the eight correctly identified 8 of the first ten picks (Ian Smith and Keith Law), two of the eight correctly identified 9 of the firs ten picks (Carlos Collazo and Joel Reuter), while the other four, selected all ten (Kiley McDaniel, Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, and Eric Logenhagen).
There were a couple of surprises in the next several rounds. While the consensus of the panel agreed that the best strategy especially for the first round is best player available, the group seemed to be caught off guard when Farhan Zaidi and the San Francisco Giants selected Patrick Bailey, highly considered the best catcher in the draft. With Joey Bart just about ready to assume the every day catcher position, it was considered a strange pick to select the top college catcher with so many other top players still available at pick #13.
The most ironic selection was the Cubs at #16. With Theo Epstein orchestrating MLB’s Black Lives Matter United For Change program, he selected Mount Carmel High School SS, Ed Howard, as the first African American selection in the draft, and a Cubs fan. This was not a throw away pick as Howard is considered the best high school defensive SS in the draft pool. Strictly from a baseball standpoint, this was a solid pick with a lot of potential upside. The worst part of Ed’s evening was that he could not get the audio to work for his interview with MLBTV.
The biggest reach of the night came the very next pick from Boston. Boston has already been stripped of their #2 draft pick in 2020, so this seemed to be a very important pick. They selected lightly regarded 2B Nick Yorke from Archbishop Mitty HS, San Jose CA. Baseball American had him ranked at #96, MLBPipeline had him ranked at #139, and Fangraphs had him ranked at #165. Boston is confident they will sign him for a below slot contract. What gives Boston fans some hope is that the great Vanderbilt Baseball Coach, Tim Corbin, said that they recruited him very hard, and that they considered him to have the best high school bat.
Harvard Westlake HS, Studio City had another 1st round pick, although this time it was not a pitcher. Previously selected first round pitchers from Harvard Westlake include Max Fried (Padres #1 2012), Jack Flaherty (Cardinals #1 2014), and Lucas Giolito (Washington #1 2016). This time it is perhaps the best defensive CF in the entire draft (HS or College), Pete Crow-Armstrong. Crow-Armstrong was the #1 pick for the New York Mets.
The next surprise was St Louis’ pick at #21 of HS 3B Jordan Walker. Jordan is a big athletic 3B with a high ceiling. He also has a mid-low floor. But he had a lot of helium coming into the draft, and was able to get a first round pick..
The Nationals got another big hard throwing RHSP in Cade Cavalli, Oklahoma. He will probably be ready just about the time Max Scherzer really begins to tail off.
Pittsburgh’s Cole Tucker’s younger brother, Carson Tucker was selected by Cleveland at #23. Tucker has a Dodger tie in that both Cole and Carson are very close friends with Cody Bellinger. Carson seems somewhat of a reach with Baseball America rating him #61 and MLB #52.
Everybody had a special interest in 17 year old RHP Nick Bitsko. He is one I cannot wait to watch develop. Tampa Bay, owners of the best MiLB system in MLB, has plenty of time to bring Bitsko around properly. It sure would have been interesting had Bitsko been available when LAD selected.
One pitcher I considered in my Dodgers mock draft for the first round was Wake Forest LHP, Jared Shuster. I was scared of with Baseball America ranking of #43 and MLB #77. But Atlanta got another good LHP with their pick at #25.
There were several prospects that were projected as possible LAD picks that went in the competitive balance round (#30 – #37). All mentioned as possible Dodger picks:
- Jordan Westburg, SS Mississippi State (#30 Baltimore)
- Carmen Mlodzinski, RHP University of South Carolina (#31 Pittsburgh)
- Nick Loftin, SS Baylor (#32 Kansas City)
- Slade Cecconi, RHP University of Miami (#33 Arizona)
- Justin Lange, RHP Llano HS, Llano, TX (#34 San Diego)
Thursday concludes the 2020 MLB draft. There are still a lot of good players available in the draft. The one I believe will be very fast off the board is Georgia RHP, Cole Wilcox. He was pretty much a consensus first rounder in the mock drafts. Another one who should go quickly will be Ohio State catcher, Dillon Dingler. It was curious that HS RHP Jared Kelley (Refugio HS, Texas) was not selected. I wonder if the teams have determined that a big RHP from Texas, committed to the University of Texas would be too hard to sign. 2D2’s selection in the mock draft was another HS RHP, Jared Jones, also committed to University of Texas. There may have been some discussion going on there.
JT Ginn is still available. I also wonder if he has told the organizations that he is going back to Mississippi State. I would also be curios as to whether he agreed to allow LAD to select him if they wanted to. Ginn could refuse the Dodgers selecting him if that is what he wanted.
Thursday at 2:00 PM begins Day 2 of the 2020 MLB draft. 2D2 will have a write up on those rounds.
UPDATE – LOS ANGELES DODGERS RELEASE BOBBY MILLER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Public Relations
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 (323) 224-1301
DODGERS SELECT RHP BOBBY MILLER WITH THE 29th OVERALL PICK IN THE 2020 MLB DRAFT
Miller, 21, made four starts for the Cardinals in 2020, going 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA (6 ER/23.1 IP) with 34 strikeouts against nine walks. He tallied three quality starts in four chances, striking out a career-high 12 batters over 6.2 innings on February 22 against Valparaiso University
In 2018, the McHenry, IL native earned Freshman All-America honors and was selected All-ACC Third Team and All-ACC Freshman Team after going 6-1 with a 2.97 ERA (22 ER/66.2 IP) and 55 strikeouts over 17 games (nine starts). In three seasons with Louisville, he recorded a 15-2 record with a 3.28 ERA (62 ER/170 IP) with 175 strikeouts in 41 appearances (25 games).
“Tremendous night for the Dodgers and we are ecstatic to select Bobby,” said Vice President of Amateur Scouting Billy Gasparino. “He’s a very talented pitcher with huge upside that we are looking forward to developing into a quality Major League pitcher. His work ethic and character will fit in well with our current culture.”
He was a four-year letter winner at McHenry High School West Campus and was selected in 38th round of 2017 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles before electing to attend the University of Louisville. He finished his senior season with a 0.80 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 52 innings and was a Rawlings-Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American.
The 2020 First-Year Player Draft will continue tomorrow with the final four rounds beginning at 2:00 p.m. PST and televised on ESPN2 and MLB Network. The Dodgers will have five selections in the second day of the draft beginning with the 60th overall selection.
Audio/Video Assets can be downloaded here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers franchise, with six World Series championships and 23 National League pennants since its beginnings in Brooklyn in 1890, is committed to a tradition of pride and excellence. The Dodgers are dedicated to supporting a culture of winning baseball, providing a first-class, fan-friendly experience at Dodger Stadium, and building a strong partnership with the community. With the highest cumulative fan attendance in Major League Baseball history, and a record of breaking barriers, the Dodgers are one of the most cherished sports franchises in the world.
Visit the Dodgers online , follow them on Twitter @Dodgers and like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Dodgers.
For media information, visit www.dodgerspressbox.com.
Jeff is a Freaking Genius!
So is Billy Gaspirino, although I really did not think he would last until the 29th pick.
If he can clean up and repeat his delivery, he could be #2, if not his basement is as a closer.
http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=29294912
He’s got some fire in his belly too. I think this was a great pick.
Well, not being as knowledgeable on the draft as most of you, I do see that the two Nicks that I was hoping for the Dodgers to draft, Loftin and Bitsko, went to Tampa and KC. Oh well, looks like the Dodgers got a good pick in Bobby Miller. AC said they probably would not last too long. Thanks for the write-up AC. Looking forward to 2D2’s article.
As I have said before, I don’t follow this as closely as others but from what I’ve read I find it a curious pick. I figured the pick would be Kelley as he was the highest rated still there. After him was Mlodzinzki who went at 31, and Cecconi at 33. Cole Wilcox (100 mph) rated 23 (also ahead of Miller) is still there.
Why not Kelley? Jeff could be right again in that the Dodgers were concerned with his signability. From what I read about him many scouts believe when he is Miller’s age he will be pitching in the bigs.
For the record I don’t see Miller as a #2, nor is his “basement” a closer. I see him at best a back of rotation starter, or a bullpen arm, maybe long relief.
Not real surprised the Dodgers took Miller. Today will be interesting. Some depth in the draft, good players available.
Baseball needs to move forward, tired of the back and forth on this season. Seems like a 70 to 80 game schedule works. Just a guess, but the revenue issues seem very real. No fans, no ticket sales, no food/drink money, no souvenirs. That’s a pretty big hit.
But according to a survey, people miss baseball on TV more than the other sports, so it’s important that they get moving so they can take advantage of the opportunity. Hey, we’re all looking for entertainment.
Playing 50 games would be a joke. Where is the urgency? Sometimes, it’s hard being a fan.
Apparently Gasparino expects Miller to rise rapidly through the minors and get here pretty quickly, at least that’s what he’s saying for publication.
I know someone who used to work out with Miller in high school back in Illinois. Says he’s a very hard worker and has the same “in your face” attitude that Buehler has. Also interesting that Miller was quoted as saying that Buehler is his favorite pitcher to watch because of how he takes complete command when he’s on the mound.
You never know on draft day how your picks will turn out but I think we have a decent chance that this will be a good one.
He only pitched 23 innings this year, but looked pretty good doing it. Last year he had an ERA approaching 4. This a Lamb pick, and Gasparino trusts him. We all hope it works out.
I’m curious what the scoop on Kelley is.
There were many picks ahead of Miller who also did not have great sophomore seasons but looked good coming into 2020. Scouts do not care about ERA. They are looking at mechanics, how does the ball come out of his hand, can they improve his spin rate, how can they pick up a little more velo with some tweaks. But they are also looking at how competitive he is. They are looking at his character. What kind of a teammate he is. What his family is like. We are not privy to any of the scouting reports by the organization. We also do not know how they are rated.
Nick Bitsco only threw 33 innings as a high school freshman and sophomore and yet he was the 24th overall pick. He did not pitch this year as a junior, and then re-classified to graduate early and make himself eligible for the draft. He is only 17. He was not rated as high as Jared Kelley or Mick Abel.
Jared Kelley was highly rated by the publications. And he should have been. From the film I watched, he is outstanding. But the publications have no idea how signable he is. they get that information from the organizational anonymous sources. Yes, Gasparino passed on Kelley, but so did 28 other teams, and 8 that passed on him twice. It is entirely possible that some team will score their draft to determine if there is any overslot money available and make him a late round pick. Or they will say that this year, every pick is important. No chances on signability.
Why did Mookie Betts last until the 5th round? Cody Bellinger the 4th? Jacob de Grom the 9th? Paul Goldschmidt the 8th? Why did those 24 teams select someone other than Mike Trout in 2009? The only ratings that matter are the organizations’. And we have no idea what that criteria is. Dodger scouts in the southeast (especially Kentucky and Tennessee) and Texas are very well thought of (at least by Billy Gasparino and Andrew Friedman).
I just saw a picture of Kelley’s dad, or maybe it was his coach, consoling him as it became clear he was not going to be a first round pick. The kid looked upset. Why would he be upset if he had already made up his mind to go to Texas?
Yeah, I know about the ERA thing but it’s interesting how that ERA goes down once the ball starts missing bats. In his 23 innings this year his K rate skyrocketed and with that his ERA dropped considerably. Only 23 innings compared to 80 his sophomore year. Don’t get me wrong, I like the pick, I’m just curious about Kelley. I thought he’d be long gone before our pick.
This was going to be a tough year on HS pitchers to begin with. Only two went in the first round, and one more in the compensation round, when there are generally many more. Going into the draft, all of the publications were saying that the Phillies were NOT going to select a HS pitcher, and yet they took the first one, Mick Abel. Go figure, although Abel was considered the #1 HS pitching prospect.
The Rays have the #1 MiLB system and have the time to wait for Nick Bitsko’s development. As to why the Padres selected Justin Lange over Kelley, we would have to get an explanation from AJ Preller.
In looking at the mock drafts, most had Kelley going late 1st round, with 3 projecting he would go to Cleveland at 23. None had him going higher than #16, and two (Keith Law and Eric Logenhagen) did not have him drafted in the first round. Cleveland did draft a HS player, but it was SS Carson Tucker and not a pitcher.
It hurts when you want (expect) something to happen and it doesn’t. When my son was not drafted after his junior year, he locked himself in a bathroom for more than 4 hours. He went back to school and became an All American and finally got drafted.
Los Angeles Dodgers public relations release on the selection of Bobby Miller as their #1 pick (#29 overall) UPDATE ABOVE.
I think that the draft this year is less important than the potential post draft signings that will be possible after the 160 players are chosen. Think about the fact that in most drafts, a total of 1280 players are drafted and thus only available to one team. This year, 1120 players will go undrafted and thus be available to the teams that move most quickly and wisely to sign those players who fit their needs, their models and their desires. Identifying those players who don’t want to either go to college or return to college would also be a priority. To me this seems like a great opportunity for the Dodgers.
I 100% agree
Do not know a thing about the kid. Just what I read after he was drafted. There is already a picture of him up on the website in a Louisville uni with a Dodger cap. They can offer him about 2,000,000. What I did read is that his fastball sits in the 94-98 range and he has a excellent mind set. We will see how he progresses in the system when we finally see some baseball.
I do agree that the post draft signings are very important and the Dodger’s reputation for player development will be a huge plus with these 20K signees. I do not agree that this year’s draft is less important. A team can’t afford too many misses on top picks especially first round guys.
I really like the Dodger’s pick. I think they were very happy to see Miller available at 29. He certainly looks the part.
The team that has interested me the last few drafts is the Royals who are rebuilding on the backs of college pitchers. Not a poor idea, With their many picks in 2018 they selected 5 quality college pitchers in the first 58 picks. Yesterday they added Asa Lacy at #4, who to me looks great. It’s an interesting approach and they have a stable of fine young arms who could reach the bigs quickly.
Nice to see Boston likely piss away their pick and maybe the Giants drafted the best player available but adding another catcher to the mix has me scratching my old bald head. Fine with me though.
Best player available, regardless of position, is an investment in asset accumulation. A first round catcher can be used later in a number of ways.
Yup. This isn’ the NFL where you generally draft for immediate need and fit. This is baseball where the vast majority of yesterday’s 40 players taken won’t even see the bigs until 2022-2023 earliest.
Wayyyy too much time for things to change, hearts to change, positions to change, and trades to occur
Can someone please explain why it makes sense for anyone to sign for $20,000 post draft? There will be no minor league ball. Where will they develop?
I think the only guys that would consider signing for $20,000 would be college seniors who have nowhere to go and at least they’ll have an organization to report to at some point. Other than that the signing amount is so relatively low that most everyone else will probably go back to school.
In the 2019 draft we signed our 35th round pick for $50,000.
I don’t believe the 36th and 37th round guys signed and the 38th rounder signed for $5,000 so yes, if a guy would have been drafted in the low 30’s he might sign for $20,000. Other than that, you might as well wait until next year and try your luck again.
It’s a legitimate question. Some reasonable answers to it are contained here:
https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2020/04/mlbs-coronavirus-agreement-had-one-wild-side-effect-an-unprecedented-amateur-free-agent-market-that-could-boom-this-summer-chris-cotillo-mlb-notebook.html
Getting into an organization of YOUR choosing would be cool. With sweeteners $20,000 can last several months. Establishing relationships during this time would be important to many.
Those that have other opportunities will likely take them, but for some the stacking of unsigned talent will not help their chances in upcoming drafts.
Strange headline: UPDATE – LOS ANGELES DODGERS RELEASE BOBBY MILLER . I wondered why the Dodgers would draft him in the 1st round and the release him!
Yeah, that was a little off. I need to work on my headlines.
Players to watch to go early today. Rankings are per Baseball America.
Jared Kelley #12 – RHP HS
JT Ginn #23 – RHP Mississippi State
Cole Wilcox #24 – RHP Auburn
Dillon Dingler #27 – C Ohio State
Chris McMahon #30 – RHP Miami
Casey Martin #38 – SS Arkansas
Carson Montgomery #40 – RHP HS
Jared Jones #41 – RHP HS
Daniel Cabrera #42 – OF LSU
Cole Henry #44 – RHP LSU
Alex Santos #45 – RHP HS
CJ Van Eyk #46 – RHP Florida State
Masyn Winn #47 – SS/RHP HS
Kevin Parada #48 – C HS
Isaiah Greene #49 – OF HS
Gage Workman #51 – 3B Arizona State
Mets take JT Ginn at #52
Landon Knack RHP Tennessee State at # 60 …# 66 Clayton Beeder RHP..Texas Tech…
Great Value pick for Clayton Beeter. I said early on I was hoping for another pitcher named Clayton from Texas. I did not think he would last to #66. He was on multiple Day One Mock Drafts.
One of the prospect gurus (can’t remember if it was Mayo or Callis) said that Beeter might have the best curveball in the draft.
Baseball America called Knack the best senior in the draft. Of course, most very talented guys don’t last until they’re seniors.
Until this year he was a two-way player so he can obviously hit also.
This stat is incredible: He pitched 25 innings this year – 51 k’s and 1 walk
Great news for Tulsa Drillers getting back to play this season. Schedule not updated yet to include the 5 additional teams. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29298149/teams-minors-joining-college-wood-bat-league
Teams in minors joining college wood-bat league
12:17 PM PT
Bradford Doolittle
ESPN Staff Writer
The Texas Collegiate League, a wood-bat summer circuit for college players, is being expanded to include several minor league franchises, the league announced Thursday.
Five affiliated minor league teams will host newly created teams in the in a 30-game season that begins July 3. While the league is an amateur circuit, the news marks some of the first tangible plans for a return to professional baseball venues since the sport was largely shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The minor league organizations that will host TCL teams include two Triple-A clubs (San Antonio and Round Rock) and three from Double-A (Amarillo, Frisco and Tulsa). All but the Tulsa team is based in Texas, where current guidelines allow for outdoor stadiums to operate at 50% capacity.
The news release issued by San Antonio included a 25-page document detailing coronavirus procedures that will be in place at its home park, Wolff Stadium. The guidelines include:
– The hiring of a supplementary cleaning crew to sanitize Wolff Stadium before, during and after events, with a particular focus on “high-touch” areas.
– All stadium personnel will be required to wear masks at all times. Cleaning and concessions employees will wear gloves.
– Hand sanitizing and washing stations will be created throughout the facility.
– All transactions, including ticket purchasing, will be cashless.
– All concession lines will be socially distanced, and fans will be able to order from their seats via text messaging.
– Fan groups will be conducted to their seats by ushers, and seat assignments will be distributed in a pattern to ensure all groups are socially distanced from each other. At least two seats will separate all fan groups, and no fans from other parties will be seated directly in front of or behind anyone not among their group.
– Face masks for fans will be “suggested” and anyone who fails to follow social distancing guidelines is subject to ejection.
– Players and staff will arrive at the stadium in uniform and will not shower at the venue after the game.
– Autographs will not be allowed.
– Players and staff will have their temperatures taken upon arrival at the venue.
– Anyone registering a temperature over 100 degrees will be sent home and will be tested for the coronavirus the next day
San Antonio president Burl Yarbrough said additional protocols are being developed, including what happens if a positive test is registered. An initial template was created by the recent College Summer Baseball Invitational, which was staged last week in College Station, Texas, and for which TCL president Uri Geva served as one of the organizers.
“We’re still working out and figuring out what we’re going to do,” Yarbrough said. “It was great that [Geva] hosted that and we’re in the process of getting with him and finalizing our plan. He had four teams of college kids flying in from all over the United States, and operated that tournament last week. Everything went well.”
The announcement comes at a time when teams throughout the minor leagues are scrambling to find new revenue sources even as they hold out hope that at least some of the minor league season can be salvaged.
“We’re all sitting here with these beautiful ballparks, ready to play some baseball,” Yarbrough said. “We don’t know when that might have happened. This opportunity is one that we felt was good for all of our cities. And we realize that college players didn’t get their seasons in, so we wanted to offer them a chance to come play in some really nice ballparks.”
Correction: I think it is just the Tulsa ballpark that will see baseball played in it again but not by the Tulsa Drillers.
It’s a nice thought.
I think this might be great news for the minor leaguers for the summer. What do you think AC?
Dodgers pick at 100, a high school outfielder, local boy, Jake Vogel from Huntington Beach HS.
He compares himself to Mike Trout. The kid sure doesn’t lack self-confidence. Speedy centerfielder, right handed hitter, UCLA commit. Hope we can sign him.
Trout and Vogel? Nearly identical. The only difference – Trout is 3” taller and 70 pounds heavier.
I think he’ll sign.
He wasn’t 70 pounds heavier when he was drafted.
Yeah, that’s true. I guess you can compare yourself to anyone. I compare myself to George Clooney. He and I have a lot in common. We both have brown hair.
Take it with a grain of salt, but MLB.Radio said that if the Dodgers drafted him, they know they can sign him.
I’ll settle for his turning out to be 95% as good as Trout.
I totally concur with that. If this kid Miller has the same kind of mindset that Buehler has, and it is reported that he does, he could become a gem. C Carson Taylor taken at 130, and Gavin Stone, another RH hitter with the next to last pick in the 5th round.
Stone is pitcher. But I guess he hits right handed too. The first scouting report I read on him said he was 5’11” 155 pounds. But then I read he’s 6’1”” 175. And a great teammate.
Just read we got a B draft grade. Nothing wrong with a B. Rockies got an A, giants got a C. Pads and dbacks also with B’s.
I wonder if Kelley and Wilcox are gonna sign? I drafted them both. If they sign I give myself an A.
95% Trout. I think that would be a Bass.
200% trout is a salmon.