2019 MLB Draft Thread

[CJ9]

16th rounder high school RHP Joey Estes - touched 94 recently per PG: https://www.perfectgame.org/players/...aspx?ID=515118. Long Beach State commit.

[50PoundHead]

Joey Estes: https://www.perfectgame.org/players/...aspx?ID=515118

Tweet with some video: https://twitter.com/leslukach/status...160129?lang=en

[CJ9]

Worth noting that Estes is also 17 for four more months.

[50PoundHead]

Estes is won't be 18 until October or November, so there is probably some projection there. They may be rolling a few dice here in hopes of pooling dollars into one or two of these high school guys. Nice set thus far.

[nsacpi]

Or maybe that is what AA wants to do on draft days and Bridges didn’t so they parted ways. Seems more coordinated/strategic than it did on day one.

it does look like they had a plan for day 2 and a plan for day 3...but to execute that they also had to make some picks on day 1 to save some $...the whole thing was interlocking

[CJ9]

Vaughn Grissom video:

[jpx7]

This was exactly my thought.

Never mind. Joey Estes is another high-upside arm, with a commitment to Long Beach State:

Paraclete ace pitcher Joey Estes was named the 2019 Gold Coast League baseball MVP.

Estes went unbeaten this season, going 8-0 and striking out 124 batters along the way. The Long Beach State commit had an impressive ERA of just .91.

He posted 12.0 k/9 and 3.61 bb/9 over his HS career.

[jpx7]

Worth noting that Estes is also 17 for four more months.

Young for his class is always good; hope he’s one of the upside plays they can lock down.

[50PoundHead]

I see that the Pirates drafted University of Minnesota C Eli Wilson, son of former Gopher and Seattle Mariner/Cincinnati Red C Dan Wilson. Dan was a real stud when he played for the U of M. First-round pick in 1990.

[Enscheff]

Larry
12:08 This Braves draft ... can you provide reasons for optimism?
Kiley McDaniel
12:09 You could probably sense in our day 1 review that we weren't as enthused by the value the Braves got at their picks as we were with other clubs: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/day-1-draft-review/
12:10 that said, taking Langeliers a few picks before we would is kinda splitting hairs and he has been hot lately. Shewmake was more comp to early 2nd for us because there isn't a 60 tool and the swing needs a tweak, but he's exactly the kind of guy that does well in models because an infielder that's performed for three years in the SEC and two summer for team USA is really likely to have a big league future of some kind and give you a positive ROI. Philip was likely below slot and Eric wasn't on him much, but there's some tools and a utility upside, small chance for more.
12:11 So, even a club where we weren't enthused about any one of the picks, it isn't hard to imagine them ending up with one of the best draft if all these top picks hit like a 60-80 percentile outcome, which isn't impossible for 2-3 guys to do
and when you can't trade picks and Langeliers/Shewmake were not getting to their next picks...it's kinda splitting hairs about value in that way.

[50PoundHead]

it does look like they had a plan for day 2 and a plan for day 3...but to execute that they also had to make some picks on day 1 to save some $...the whole thing was interlocking

Key will be how much they can save to push past Round 10. Philip is the first guy to come to mind for someone going well below slot, but maybe they already have verbal agreements in place with other guys. Looking at Rounds 6 through 10, I think a couple of those guys may come in under slot as well, but there isn't a whole lot of money there. I'm a little surprised that they tried to get any value out of the pick at #60 and instead just go for the best college senior and try to save $750,000 or so.

[jpx7]

Jared Johnson was another late-riser, whose initial stock may have suffered because he didn’t participate in summer showcases. He had this to say back in May about his MSU commitment:

I’m still not sure what I’m going to do because I really want to play (at MSU). Mississippi State is a powerhouse in college baseball and a dream school. It would have to be exactly what I wanted (to get drafted).

Have to hope Atlanta qualifies as “exactly what [he] wanted” re being drafted.

[jpx7]

Alec Barger is another Illinois HS guy, and another guy originally from Champaign. Pretty poor numbers at NC State, though.

[50PoundHead]

Interesting baseball journey for Alec Barger thus far. Illinois high school kid who played his freshman season at Northern Illinois, sophomore season at Polk Community College (FL), and junior year at North Carolina State.

[CJ9]

Another HS pick, this one was in the Perfect Game All American Game -- https://www.perfectgame.org/players/...aspx?ID=523389. I'd imagine he's very unlikely to sign.

[50PoundHead]

Alec Barger is another Illinois HS guy, and another guy originally from Champaign. Pretty poor numbers at NC State, though.

Like I said in an earlier post, Braves have always seemed to hit the Illinois circuit pretty hard. Could be the Illinois guy who saw Barger in high school pushing for him here. Barger was recruited as both a hitter and a pitcher.

[jpx7]

Another upside play: Mahki Backstrom is 6-5, 215, listed as 1B/OF with reportedly huge exit velocity at Junipero Serra HS. Still only 17. Commitment is to Fresno State.

[jpx7]

Another HS pick, this one was in the Perfect Game All American Game -- https://www.perfectgame.org/players/...aspx?ID=523389. I'd imagine he's very unlikely to sign.

Probably; but I’m really hoping they stashed a lot of money up their sleeve for day-three—especially given the need for legit players in the lower levels.

This Backstrom kid is another who looks legit. His PerfectGame synopsis reads:

SHOWED HUGE POWER POTENTIAL AT PG NATIONAL AND IT PLAYED IN GAMES. INCREDIBLY STRONG WITH A SMOOTH SWING. 109 MPH EXIT VELO IN JUPITER

[CJ9]

Probably; but I’m really hoping they stashed a lot of money up their sleeve for day-three—especially given the need for legit players in the lower levels. This Backstrom kid is another who looks legit.

It would certainly change the way this draft is viewed if they can sign a lot of these HS guys.

[Southcack77]

What makes it less damaging is that they were the 11th and 12th round picks that year (2016).

I think that kind of thing is why Bridges is no longer in Atlanta. I don't think it was for making a bad call on a draft pick. Think it was probably his management responsibilities.