MLB completed its draft yesterday and we learned a couple of things: First, I have no special talent for mock drafts. I struck out on all of my choices. Not to worry though, I still enjoyed myself some Mocha Latte Gelato. Second, there was no discernable strategy employed by teams that was different from prior years. As in the past, several high school talents, that figured to be tough signs, were not drafted. No surprise there. Because of the limited number of rounds, there were many college players not drafted and it will be interesting to see what happens with them. There was also speculation that some teams would “punt” on the draft, however, it does not appear that any did. Although I have idea what it is, it appeared that the Dodgers stuck to their normal script. Select college pitchers, some who will require more than slot value and some that won’t.
Virtually every Dodger blog has already profiled the players selected by the Dodgers, but here is my short recap:
● With their second round pick at No. 60, the Dodgers selected Landon Knack, a RHP from East Tennessee State. By all accounts Landon Knack was the highest rated senior coming into to the draft, and let’s get this out of the way now, never, ever, to be used again, Landon definitely has a “knack” for pitching. Groans can be heard all across the blog. If you like statistics, Knack is your man. In 2020 before the season was cancelled, Knack started 4 games, putting up a 1.08 ERA, an 0.520 WHIP with 51 Ks in 25 IP and walking only 1. His fastball is said to range from 92-95 to the occasional 97-98. He was projected to go in the 3 or 4th round. So, I speculate that the Dodgers may be hoping that he is an under slot sign. Based on his statistics, the two pitchers that Knack profiles closest to are Lance Lynn and Trevor Bauer. The Dodgers can only hope he achieves similar success in the pros. He’s also one semester away from obtaining his degree in accounting. So, if baseball doesn’t work out, he can always go to work for AC.
● With the 66th pick the Dodgers selected: Clayton Beeter, Texas Tech. Thus, the Dodgers/Twins trade ends up being Kenta Maeda and Jair Camargo for Brusdar Graterol, Luke Raley, and Beeter. The Dodgers are hoping to strike gold again by selecting a Clayton from Texas. By most accounts Beeter was a first round talent. He checks a lot of the Dodgers boxes, in that he had Tommy John surgery before he pitched a game at Texas Tech. In his four starts this year, Beeter went 2-1 with a 2.14 earned-run average, struck out 33 in 21 innings. In his first year at Tech, Beeter was the team closer. In his 2 seasons for Texas Tech, Beeter put up a 2.81 ERA, with 73 strikeouts in just 40.1 innings. He throws his fastball from 93-96 mph and can run it up to 98. And his curveball, thrown at 81-86 mph, is a difference maker. The Athletic’s Keith Law calls it grade-80, top of the charts on baseball’s 20-80 scouting scale. He does have some negotiating leverage in that he is a draft eligible sophomore. While I expect him to sign, the Dodgers may have to go over slot to get the deal done. He seems to be a better version of Mitchell White.
● With their third round pick at no. 100, the Dodgers selected: Jake Vogel, Huntington Beach, HS, California. He is the first HS position player selected by the Dodgers in the top rounds since Gavin Lux. He is UCLA commit, so the Dodgers will have their work cut out in getting him signed. Vogel’s calling card is speed, and he has lots of it. He was one of the fastest players in the draft. Vogel is undersized at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds but he has plenty of tools. He’s a plus-plus runner, and a plus defender in center field and has an average arm. Though he’s small, he can hit with some pop. If signed, he will become the Dodgers next version of Brett Butler or Trea Turner.
● With their fourth round pick at no. 130, the Dodgers selected: Carson Taylor, a catcher from Virginia Tech. He was another statistical wonder in that, before the season ended, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound switch-hitting catcher managed a .431/.541/.690 line with 12 walks and only five strikeouts. Taylor is also is draft eligible sophomore, so he has some negotiating leverage. He also has positional versatility so he may not stay a catcher. Expect him to become AJ Ellis or Drew Butera.
● With their fifth round pick at No. 160, the Dodgers selected: Gavin Stone, RHP Central Arkansas. Stone wasn’t very highly rated coming into the draft. Perfect Game, who rated him the 197th prospect had this to say about him:
“Stone is one of the better mid-major arms this year and he got off to a scorching hot start before the season got cancelled and that included a no-hitter versus Southeastern Louisiana. Stone is a lean, projectable athlete with a simple delivery and a strong fastball that works in the 90-95 mph range. He has an out pitch at present with the slider and he does a good job at filling up the strike zone. Stone was kind of a middleman last year and his transition to the rotation full time was going swimmingly.”
It would appear that Stone might save the Dodgers some money to apply to Vogel or Beeter. Best case scenario would be for Stone to become a Ross Stripling type pitcher.
Honestly, I hope each of these young men, whether they sign or not, fulfill their dreams of making it to the big leagues. As DC, AC and I will write about more in the future about the ones that sign, they each have wonderful back stories and appear to be young men of strong character. They have each worked hard to have this opportunity. It’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to see any of them perform this year. Let’s hope that our society gets back to some degree of normal and we can watch and follow them next year. Now let’s hope that the Dodgers can go out and convince Carson Montgomery, Chase Davis, Cade Horton and Tanner Witt to forego their college commitments for a $20,000.00 bonus.
For what it’s worth BR has our Post Draft system ranking as 9th and none of those picked in this draft are in our Top 10, so none of them are rated higher than Tier 3. No way of knowing how good anyone did for some time.
What a bizarre year this has been so far.
Bobby Miller, Clayton Beeter, and Jake Vogel will be the three that will require at or above slot money. Landon Knack may have a big upside, but as a senior, the Dodgers have ALL of the leverage. It should not take a lot of swaying to convince Landon that the LAD development team is his best option to make it to MLB. IMO, anytime you can find a pitcher with a 51/1 K/BB ratio at any level, you know he can throw strikes, and apparently with a lot of hit & miss ability. I do not see Knack as a MLB starter, but I see him in more of the Ross Stripling role that I do Gavin Stone. It is great to get a guy come in relief and throw strikes. Keep it in the yard and let your defense do its job.
I fully expect Miller and Beeter to start (at least for now), but both have a huge floor as back end relievers. If either or both can fully develop their secondary pitches and find that 3rd pitch (at least average to showcase), they could become mid rotation type pitchers. They are both good risks. They are not Asa Lacy or Max Meyer or Emerson Hancock, but they are in the next tier. There are going to be more than three that climb their organizational ladders to pitch at the mid to top of the rotation starting pitchers, so why not Bobby Miller and Clayton Beeter.
As I have said on a couple of occasions, I am excited to have another pitcher named Clayton from Texas on the Dodgers.
The first player that came to mind for me when the Dodgers announced the draft of Jake Vogel was Brett Butler. If he can come close to emulating what Butler was able to do as a Dodger, he will be a great pick. Unfortunately Vogel will not be able to wear #22, but Butler did wear #12 for one year, so hold #12 for Vogel.
For me, Carson Taylor is a pick to replace Connor Wong and Jair Camargo. I do not think anyone expects Carson to be a starting catcher for LAD at the major league level. He is a switch hitter with defensive versatility. Defensive versatility for a catcher is right up Billy Gasparino’s wheelhouse. I have no problem with this pick.
Gavin Stone is a middle reliever type without a true plus pitch. He was rated #303 by Baseball America. IMO, Gavin is a well below slot bonus selection to help with Miller, Beeter, and Vogel. Also IMO, as previously indicated, Landon Knack better resembles the Ross Stripling type. Both Strip and Knack are 6′ 2″ 220 pounds , with ability to go long relief and start on occasion, while Stone is 6’1″ 175 pounds. As I said about Clayton Beeter, it is nice to have another Gavin in the organization, and hopefully he will reach the same pinnacle as Gavin Lux has.
2D2, nice write up.
I don’t follow the draft nearly as closely as many of you. But I do know that the Dodgers excell at finding hidden gems, especially pitchers, and developing them. It is remarkable to me how many of their later round draft picks suddenly seemed to emerge as legit major league players. Orel Hersheiser, round 17, is the most famous, of course, but in the AF era, Caleb Ferguson, 38th round, and Tony Gonsolin, 9th round are examples . Let’s hope that this draft class of pitchers follows in their footsteps.
While I know that the Dodgers are notoriously slow in announcing the signing of drafted players, one thing I have noticed that’s different this year compared to past seasons, is that some teams announced the signing of some of their draft choices on the day they were drafted (e.g., Yorke, Soderstrom, Meyer and Mayo). I don’t recall that ever happening before.
Do you think they were talked to about it before the draft and if so, is that ok?
Jake Vogel may become something like Trey Turner or Brett Butler but could he also become a Toy Cannon? Jimmy Wynn was 5′ 9″ and 160 pounds and a center fielder.
The draft is always a crapshoot. But maybe they get lucky. Badger, I knew Stone was a pitcher, but I was tired and typed hitter……no biggie….Now if Vogel can become a brown trout.especially the German kind, they get pretty big. If he turns out to be a brookie, they are small, but have a lot of fight. So far the Angels have had the corner on the fish market having a Trout and a Salmon.
Nice analysis of the draft 2D2. Thank you. I am really excited to see How Bobby Miller does and really all of the draft picks. I hope the Dodgers can sign them all.
Just checked Roster Resource at fangraphs to see if any of these guys are listed yet. Miller is. He’s one of 36 minor league starters we have named there and they have him scheduled to start in A ball. He’s also the only one to show up on the BR ranking of Top Prospects, around #12 and a Tier 3 rating. I know this is what we have been given to talk about today but picking 29th doesn’t allow us in on the Tier 1 players. Yeah, I know, there are outliers in every draft. Which one these might be that 1 in a 100? I’ll say the strike throwers, Knack and Beeter, will be the ones who move up quickly. But, there are 36 guys they have to climb over. I also like The Minnow. He’s about my size, which in today’s game is the smallest guy on the team at any level. I like speed, I feel it’s a lost art in the current game.
Minnow – I like it, at least until he proves himself. Then he can become a Salmon or Trout.
You were comparing him to yourself. I hope the comparison ends at size since I don’t particularly want a 70+ year old with bad knees playing centerfield for us. 🙂
By the way, Vogel is the German word for bird so I hope we have an eagle here and not a sparrow.
The Dodger eagle that swoops down and grabs Trout’s #1 ranking in the Big Pond?
Bird huh? As soon as we sign him we can trade him to Arizona.
Wait for it………
I’ll sleep on it.
I’m also 72 ya know.
Well, if I have to explain it then it must not be that clever.
We flip the Bird to the dbacks.
Badomp bomb!
Tough crowd.
Pretty sure the kids name is BEEDER, not Beeter, which sounds like someone who grows those ugly tasteless veggies I do not eat. MLB making a counter proposal to the MLBPA here soon. Supposedly a 72 game season. Just quit fooling around, reach an agreement and lets play some baseball. Movie theater here opened up today. Limited seating, and believe it or not, all kid movies. Well, they are all out of school. Only 2 I would go see are Shrek, and ET.
According to all information that I can find, his last name is Beeter.
Agreed 2D2, according to the internet. His name is Clayton Beeter.
I stand corrected. When they first put his name up on the board when he was drafted, they had Beeder, and I know this because I copied it down when they did it.
That’s ok, Bear. I hate beets too.
Minnows are bait fish…..not very tasty either
You’ve eaten minnows? Was it a frat thing? An Army bet? An accident…. you were maybe high and thought they were gummy fish?
Not all minnows are bait fish. Even the Mike Trout was a minnow once.
I can still play centerfield STB. Anything hit right at me is an out, anything that isn’t I can jog over, pick it up and hold the batter runner to a triple. Of course this would be in an Over 70 League. Don’t forget, it was only 16 short years ago I hung ‘em up. I still got my A-2000 somewhere.
Was a dare, and yeah, I was probably hammered at the time. Can’t stand sardines either. Most of the minnows I have seen are pretty small.
You got me laughing Badger 🙂
😉
MLB will not back of from no prorated salaries so far, and players want that . Main point of contention in my view. Just play the games dammit.
I love beets. A little salt… and I can eat a bunch.
I mean …I really love Beets.
I also love asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, blueberries, zucchini, tomatoes, and spinach.
I also love Makers 46.
You just named off one hell of a salad! Give me that salad plus the beets any meal of the day!!!
And make mine a Macallan or a Don Julio
OK, I will bet a $1,000.00 I can beat anyone over 60 in a 40-yard dash!
Up to 65 I would have taken you up on that bet. Not now. Of course when I was 65 you were still in your 50s I believe. Climbing 14ers in my 60s toasted my knees. Can’t run for beans. Bummer. I usta was fast. Now I’m a replacement candidate.
I like beets too. Wife loves them. We do a lot of them here, mostly in a beet salad or I juice them. I like most all vegetables. It’s helpful to like vegetables if you are a vegetarian. Not crazy about artichokes or sweet potatoes. Artichokes are too much trouble and I choked on a sweet potato when I was 7. Felt like I was gonna die and I haven’t forgiven the sweet potato to this day.
I liked Patron and XO. But as you know I’m sober almost 2 decades now.
I’m 72 and might take you up on that bet. 6’2″ 205. Want to challenge me to long drive contest as well?
Vegetables are good.
I can’t make long drives anymore. First my piriformis starts screaming then my butt goes to sleep. Also I don’t drive much at night these days so you win the long drive contest.
Fruits are good too.
Sober up Mark
Y’all are ill. Only people who like beets are Russians……Really, I cannot stand the things, but then again, I dislike Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, peas, and most green veggies. Like corn, carrots, celery, uncooked cabbage, onions radishes, and lima beans. And I really hate spinach. And I also do not drink wine of any kind. Old army buddies dared me one time because they had never seen me drink any, Like an idiot, I said you bring me any bottle of wine, any size, and I will drink it all. 19 year old bravado. They brought me a gallon of Thunderbird. I drank it all…and do not remember much else from that night. Have not touched a drop of wine since.
I would not worry about who drafted who right now. MLBPA is probably going to reject the proposal MLB sent to them the other day. It has a deadline of tomorrow. The players insist on prorated salaries, and the owners do not want to do that. Neither side is giving an inch so far. I am beginning to believe that the 2020 season is not going to be played.
“I am beginning to believe that the 2020 season is not going to be played.“
Our legions are growing!
My first experience with alcohol (I was 17) was similar to your wine roguery only with a bottle of Seagrams 7. Three of us split it. The last thing I remember was we were headed for the complex pool, made it 5 steps out the back door of my buddy’s townhome and spun into the indoor outdoor carpet landing strip patio. Good thing we never made it to the pool. After that bourbon was forever scratched from the list of party favors. Not much else made that list over the years, but for my entire adult life even the smell of bourbon initiates paroxysmal bilateral neuritis, often resulting in a quantum level feeling leaning toward upchuckness. I’ll leave the whiskey to Mark and his Duck Dynasty brothers. The only alcohol I ever miss is a Silverado Solo Cabernet or a Peju Chardonnay. I believe Mark and I discussed the Peju over lunch at Downtown Joe’s in Napa. That was a good day.
From the Athletic, stuff you already know:
Bobby Miller (1) was Louisville’s No. 2 starter, after Reid Detmers, giving the Cardinals two first-round picks for the second time in five years (2016 was the first). Miller has plus velocity on his four-seamer and a power slider that could be an out pitch, but he lands very stiffly on his front leg and has below-average control. Teams like how his fastball plays at the top of the zone despite average spin. With the delivery and the lack of an average third pitch, he seems more likely to end up a reliever.
Landon Knack (2) was a senior at East Tennessee State but went 60th overall because he experienced a big jump in velocity this year. He’s always been an extreme strike-thrower, but this year he took it to another level, walking just one of the 91 batters he faced against 51 strikeouts. He’ll turn 23 next month — he redshirted in his first year at Walters State Community College, then played two years there before moving on to ETSU — and might be better suited for relief as a fastball/slider guy, but I’d give him every chance to start, skinny ties and all.
Clayton Beeter (2A) had the best curveball in the draft class, along with plus velocity on a fastball that doesn’t have a lot of life or movement, so it plays down a little from its radar-gun readings. He has a high slot that provides deception but might limit him as a starter. Jake Vogel (3) is a 70 runner who’ll stay in center field and can show a plus arm. He’s undersized at 5-11, 165 pounds, and he has a short, no-load approach, so there’s very little hope for average future power here. Because of the speed and defense, however, he has everyday upside if he hits as expected. Carson Taylor (4) was a sophomore-eligible catcher at Virginia Tech, a below-average defender across the board whose only real skill is putting the ball in play, as he lacks power and athleticism. Gavin Stone (5) is a bit undersized, but the Central Arkansas right-hander is a good athlete with a potential plus slider, an average fastball and a delivery that could work as a starter.
I’ll thank you not to bring up baseball-related information here Badger. We’re in the middle of a very informative conversation about vegetables and booze.
It’s always fascinating to see how various people rate a team’s draft. From what you have shown us above someone at the Athletic thinks we drafted three relievers and a Punch n Judy centerfielder plus two other guys who will probably never see the majors. Not very exciting unless one or more of those relievers turns out to be the second coming of Mariano Rivera. On the other hand, I’ve seen other writeups who feel Miller, Beeter and Vogel have great promise and coupled with the Dodger player development program, they’ll be real assets. Meet me back here in 3 or 4 years and we can continue the conversation.
But Jake Vogel is going to be the next Mike Trout unless he becomes nothing more than a middle finger standing guard duty at the Arizona swimming pool.
Good one.
At least one here got it.
Sticking with the booze captive, today is National Rosé Day. I think Red Mountain is a rosé. Bear would know.
Baseball is hypothetical.
Booze and vegetables are realities.
😉
As this idiotic negotiation takes longer and longer to play out I find myself thinking more and more about vegetables and booze.
I’m sure this isn’t the first baseball blog to discuss booze but we might have to search awhile to find one that’s ever discussed vegetables.
Here’s another yes vote for beets.
I love beets… cold… cooked with a little butter and salt.
I like both yellow and red. Yellow is particularly good in a salad.
I no longer eat radishes. Long story short; I used to love them and about 3 years ago, I ate about 40 in one sitting. When the ambulance took me to the Emergency Room by BP was like 190 over something and my heart rate was 164. They thought I was having a stroke or a heart attack. Bad Radishes or too many radishes? Either way, I no longer eat them. 😉
Cool Hand Mark – “I can eat … 40 radishes!”
I remember quite a few years ago when Bouton wrote Ball Four. And he opened up about Mantle’s partying and boozing late at night. Every one was pissed because he violated the sanctity of the club house. I also read that one of the reasons the Yanks traded Billy Martin was because they believed he was a bad influence on Mantle. If memory serves, they bunched Whitey Ford in that group too. Now Babe Ruth was known to drink a lot of beer, and still go out and hit homers. Hack Wilson was a notorious lush. And go to the ball park, and I guarantee you will encounter a drunk or two. Even after the Dodgers limited beer sales many years ago. You still see some hammered patrons of the game.
Rating a draft right after it is over is like rating the food before it is cooked.
Let’s see a rating in 4 years.
Right after the 2016 draft, the Dodgers were not rated that high in their drafting skills.
Look at it now!
Is it that much different than anyone else’s? A quick google search says that in ‘16 our Organizational Ranking was #3. Now, depending on where you look we are 9th. Some of what got us to #3 back then was our International signings, which can be used as a good example of what’s on paper doesn’t always translate.
You know what does translate? Spuds. Wife is whipping up hash browns as I type. Onions, potatoes, and cheddar cheese. Baseball is quixotic, food is pragmatic. Mark taught me that, though I attempted to take it a step further. How’d I do?
I can’t believe your wife doesn’t put beets in her hash browns.
A day that begins with hash browns is a good day.
Give me a huge beet juice with some tequila tossed in. Get healthy and get buzzed at the same time