Official pre-Draft thread

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It's comforting to me to see Longenhagen with both Beck and Adell in the top 9. I trust his opinions, and that makes me feel better than some of the recent mocks with one of those guys falling to the teens or 20s. If he thinks they are both worthy of being top 10 picks, then it solidifies my opinion that we should take one of them at 5, even if Lewis is there.
 
nsacpi said:
Something in his favor then. In general though, the consensus seems to place him behind McKay, Lewis, Beck and maybe one or two other hitters.
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Oh, I know. I just don't believe in the consensus. I want him in a bad way.

ETA: That....came out wrong.
 
Aside from speed where is Lewis better than Hasley? Hasley has the better arm, projects to better defensively, probably has more power and just as good of a hit tool, and he's performed ata higher level.

Everything I've seen with Lewis has his arm and defense pretty average
 
Preacher said:
Aside from speed where is Lewis better than Hasley? Hasley has the better arm, projects to better defensively, probably has more power and just as good of a hit tool, and he's performed ata higher level.

Everything I've seen with Lewis has his arm and defense pretty average
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Those are his ratings at SS. I've seen more than one outlet say that he projects to have very good defense in CF.

Anyway, here's where I stand now.

I would love: Adell, Beck, Gore, or Wright
I would be ok with: Lewis, Haseley
I could talk myself into: Bukauskas, Baz
I would dislike: McKay, Smith, Pratto, or Kendall
I would hate: pretty much anyone else
 
Color me in the minority, but an OF of Acuna, Hasley, and Ender should satisfy about as many WAR as we could hope to wage right? that's a top OF in baseball defensively by a fair margin?
 
smootness said:
It's not like Haseley has a great arm or one that is clearly superior to Lewis'. I've seen 50 grades on Haseley and at least 50 on Lewis.
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The difference is we have a bigger sample size for Hasley, Longerhans just reported watching him in a tournament and that he looked 'great' in CF.

So we know Hasley can play out there, probably better than Lewis, has a similar hit tool and has performed against better competition i.e. he's safer and I don't think there's a big difference in upside.

I mean Longerhans has Lewis #5 and Hasley at #7 so we are both in the same ballpark here. I just look at the toolset for Lewis and it's not very exciting IMO, if he's not going to hit for much power or play great defense, why take a similar guy with more polish in haseley?

If they go prep bat I'd much rather swing on upside with Beck/Addell
 
Preacher said:
The difference is we have a bigger sample size for Hasley, Longerhans just reported watching him in a tournament and that he looked 'great' in CF.

So we know Hasley can play out there, probably better than Lewis, has a similar hit tool and has performed against better competition i.e. he's safer and I don't think there's a big difference in upside.

I mean Longerhans has Lewis #5 and Hasley at #7 so we are both in the same ballpark here
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Yeah, I mean I'm not telling you that Lewis is or should be ahead of Haseley. I'm just telling you why these services all have Lewis ahead. You're free to form your own opinion. I don't love Lewis myself and prefer both Beck and Adell despite no one who does this for a living agreeing with me on that. If it doesn't seem to line up to you, then by all means, consider Haseley better. I consider them pretty equal, but I do think there's been a consensus that Lewis' offensive ceiling is superior to Haseley's. And while Haseley is above-average running, Lewis is plus-plus.
 
smootness said:
It's comforting to me to see Longenhagen with both Beck and Adell in the top 9. I trust his opinions, and that makes me feel better than some of the recent mocks with one of those guys falling to the teens or 20s. If he thinks they are both worthy of being top 10 picks, then it solidifies my opinion that we should take one of them at 5, even if Lewis is there.
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The main reason that I'm so all over Beck and Gore - for all the requisite questions everyone has to put in front when talking about them, they still appear to be the biggest upside plays.

For those who continue to blast the brass, isn't that what YOU look for when deciding someone's the BPA???
 
Tapate50 said:
Color me in the minority, but an OF of Acuna, Hasley, and Ender should satisfy about as many WAR as we could hope to wage right? that's a top OF in baseball defensively by a fair margin?
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that could realistically be our starting OF in 2019 as well. One reason I like Hasley more than Lewis at #5 (if those are my two choices) I will pray for Gore to slip personally.
 
The upside thing is definitely nice, and Lewis still has plenty of it. I definitely agree Adell and Beck have more, but I also think it's irresponsible for the front office to look ONLY at upside. From all accounts, Lewis has a much more realistic chance of hitting his ceiling compared to two HS OFs that already have serious swing and miss concerns against high school pitching. There's value in that, too.

Lewis has above average bat speed, no significant swing and miss concerns that I've read, and the swing that allow people to think he'll be able to hit 20 homers per year.

I'm just struggling to talk myself into guys like Adell and Beck when they struggle to make contact against high school pitchers.
 
CJ9 said:
The upside thing is definitely nice, and Lewis still has plenty of it. I definitely agree Adell and Beck have more, but I also think it's irresponsible for the front office to look ONLY at upside. From all accounts, Lewis has a much more realistic chance of hitting his ceiling compared to two HS OFs that already have serious swing and miss concerns against high school pitching. There's value in that, too.

Lewis has above average bat speed, no significant swing and miss concerns that I've read, and the swing that allow people to think he'll be able to hit 20 homers per year.

I'm just struggling to talk myself into guys like Adell and Beck when they struggle to make contact against high school pitchers.
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I agree with you on Beck and Adell, and I'd be much more onboard with Lewis if people feel like he's a potential 20 HR type guy
 
IslandBrave said:
Thoughts on Drew Waters if he's available for our 2nd pick. Good article on him from the AJC naming him POY. Switch hitting OF from Etowah HS.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/high-school/high-school-baseball-player-the-year/eD0k54WwdjmRNU03aGm46N/
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Pipeline has him at #42. Scouting report looks good to me:

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 60 | Arm: 60 | Field: 60 | Overall: 50
Part of yet another deep crop of Georgia prep outfielders, Waters solidified his top-two-rounds candidacy with a strong performance on the high school showcase circuit. He started by showing some of the best exit velocity at the Perfect Game National in June, and he finished by making repeated loud contact at the WWBA World Championships in October. This spring, he won Gatorade's state player of the year award and led Etowah to the state class 7-A championship.

A switch-hitter, Waters demonstrates more power from the left side of the plate. From the right side, he peppers the gaps with line drives. He has good feel for the barrel, has no problems handling quality fastballs and has the potential to hit for average and power.

A good athlete, Waters has plus speed and uses it to steal bases and play a solid center field. He also has plus arm strength that would fit nicely in right field if he's needed there. He has committed to Georgia, where his older brother Zach pitched one season.
 
CJ9 said:
Pipeline has him at #42. Scouting report looks good to me:

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 60 | Arm: 60 | Field: 60 | Overall: 50
Part of yet another deep crop of Georgia prep outfielders, Waters solidified his top-two-rounds candidacy with a strong performance on the high school showcase circuit. He started by showing some of the best exit velocity at the Perfect Game National in June, and he finished by making repeated loud contact at the WWBA World Championships in October. This spring, he won Gatorade's state player of the year award and led Etowah to the state class 7-A championship.

A switch-hitter, Waters demonstrates more power from the left side of the plate. From the right side, he peppers the gaps with line drives. He has good feel for the barrel, has no problems handling quality fastballs and has the potential to hit for average and power.

A good athlete, Waters has plus speed and uses it to steal bases and play a solid center field. He also has plus arm strength that would fit nicely in right field if he's needed there. He has committed to Georgia, where his older brother Zach pitched one season.
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Um.. yes.. that is a nice report right there.. love the tools that are projected.
 
Fangraphs mentions Waters as a possibility at 18 to Detroit. Their short scouting report: Waters has feel to hit from both sides of the plate and a non-zero chance to stick in center field, though he isn't as sure a bet to stay there as the some of the true burners ahead of him on this list
 
Liked the write up on Steven Williams from Albany. Potential Catcher and at 6'3 215, can really swing it. I'd like to draft him in the third, or second, and let him play off the position. committed to Auburn.
 
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