Haha if we actually draft Pratto, then I will instantly jump on board the 'We're just trying to go the cheap route with the first pick' train.
He fits the HS hitter mold I want, but I definitely don't want a HS 1B, especially one without clear top power.
Last edited by smootness; 05-19-2017 at 10:45 AM.
I would like to know how people calculate BPA in the baseball draft, seeing it's the most random of all the sports' drafts. You're dealing with an age range of 17 to 22 and that spells a lot of uncertainty in terms of physical development and a player's skill development arc. I'm actually hoping for Lewis. If they lowball and go Pratto, I hope they don't take someone with an injury risk like Beck at 41.
I wouldn't mind Tristian Beck with our second pick, but I bet he doesn't sign unless he gets first-round money. That's where he was projected to go before his back injury, and he'd still have a ton of leverage next year if he returns to school because he's a draft-eligible sophomore now.
You can't really know what BPA is, as long as it's at least in a feasible range. I think Anderson was in the range of feasibility regarding the possibility that we considered him BPA. I don't think Pratto would be at 5, given the other HS bats likely available there. He has the best hit tool among the HS bats, but offers little else but good defense at 1B.
And based on the fact that we have clearly stated we prefer high-ceiling talent, it would be hard to justify Pratto there. A guy like Beck clearly has a much higher ceiling.
If there is a chance to get an injured pitcher we will be all over it.
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Lawd....I hate that prediction, but it sounds Braves "esk".
What would bother me most about Pratto is that he's probably limited to 1B. A guy usually ends up at 1B after playing somewhere else. Of course, being left-handed, he doesn't have a ton of options. But my guess is he's not that athletic if he's seen as solely a first baseman at the high school level.
Pratto has primarily been a 1b due to a lot of his focus on pitching, and to "protect" his health at that position. I've read where he is athletic enough to move to the OF
50PoundHead (05-19-2017)
man if we draft a 1B with the #5 pick, I would be upset.. I am fine with plucking a player no one has heard of, that your scouts see something in.. but you don't draft a first baseman.. you create those with hitters who can't find a position.
I'm really in on Beck and Gore right now. Would be very happy with either (I'm assuming Wright/Green are gone.)
Baseball America actually lists him as a 1B/OF in yesterday's mock. The bad news is the rest of their writeup. They have him falling to the Mets at 20:
"Pratto won’t fall that far despite his iffy spring, as scouts still consider him one of the better pure hitters in the class. However, he didn’t show well on big stages at the NHSI and Boras Classic this year, at least at the plate. His long track record of success keeps him in the first round."