We're seeing the outcome of a draft that leans heavily on a model, and I think that's throwing people off because it's not something this organization has done before. But these models tend to prefer college performers and young high schoolers. That's pretty much what we did in the first round. Langeliers makes sense, especially with the high exit velocities that have been reported and can increase his ceiling. Shewmake is a a college performer with tons of versatility. Both great candidates for these models to be excited about.
If the model says those guys are the best available in that spot, and you can save money on them there, it makes sense to me that we just picked them then and floated the money down. When those 11+ round picks came around, they prioritized youth. I still think the international sanctions had a lot to do with going this route. Less international guys means less lottery tickets that could hit and turn into legitimate prospects. So spread the money through as many young HS players as possible and hope some of them hit to replace the international losses. That seems to be pretty clearly what they prioritized. Whether that was smart or not is up for debate, but in a system where both A ball teams are extremely underwhelming, I get the thought process.
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