2018 MLB Draft Thread

Braves picks in rounds 4-10 from the last dozen drafts who have made the majors:

1. Medlen (2006, round 10)
2. Gearrin (2007, round 4)
3. Clemens (2008, round 7)
4. Oberholtzer (2008, round 8)
5. Hoover (2008, 10)
6. Gosselin (2010, 5)
7. Terdoslavich (2010, 6)
8. Graham (2011, 4)
9. Martin (2011, 7)
10. La Stella (2011, 8)

There are also some from recent drafts with a shot: Wren (2013, 8), Weigel (2015, 7), Wilson (2016, 4), Bacon (2017, 4), Zimmerman (2017, 5).

We take mostly college players in these rounds. When we have taken high school players (Figueroa, Coe, Northcraft, Fleming, Black, Murphy, Stiffler, Manwaring, Hagenmiller, Dystra) the results have not been good, justifying the focus on college players. Still the Bryce Wilson pick in 2016 suggests we should not completely write off high school talent in this part of the draft.
 
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School: Stanford Year: RS Sophomore Position: RHP Age: 21 DOB: 06/24/1996 Bats: R Throws: R Height: 6' 4" Weight: 165 lb. Previously drafted: 2017, 28th (872) - NYY

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 60 | Control: 55 | Overall: 50

After a 2016 season that saw Beck become just the third Stanford freshman to start Opening Day since 1988 and earn freshman All-American honors from several outlets, scouts in Northern California were excited to see what Beck would do for an encore as a Draft-eligible sophomore. They never got a chance as a stress fracture in his back kept him off the mound all spring.

When healthy, Beck may be the most complete college pitcher on the West Coast in this class. While he has added some good weight since high school, he still is lean and wiry. He has a good feel for three pitches, all of which he can throw for strikes. His fastball sat in the 91-92 mph range. With his frame, there might be room for more velocity, but he's never going to be a power pitcher. Instead, he relies on his excellent fastball command. His best secondary pitch is an outstanding changeup, and he'll throw a solid breaking ball, though sometimes he hangs them up in the zone.

The scenario this year is reminiscent of scouts waiting for Cal Quantrill to come back from Tommy John surgery last year as a Stanford junior. Quantrill didn't throw a competitive pitch, but went No. 8 overall to the Padres. Beck's isn't an arm injury, but teams might have to go on one year of history to decide to take him early.
 
I remember the Braves were rumored in on him last draft even after he had red-shirted. Not an odd pick and he does have a track record. Injury worries of course and back injuries are troublesome. Curious to see where they go the rest of the day.
 
The bet on Beck is that he is not all the way back from the back injury and there is still some rust to shake off. I'm all in favor of those sorts of picks in this part of the draft. We have had some success picking injured/recovering pitchers. AJ Minter in the third round a few years ago comes to mind.
 
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Obviously tons of risk in the MLB draft and hate not having a third rounder, but you have to be thrilled with our first 3 picks. Drafted three dudes all mentioned as first round possibilities.
 
Beck according to FG, "Oft-injured righty with bumps and bruises dating back to high school. One of better college curveballs in the class but fastball is straight and doesn't miss bats."

Average or worse fastball, above average to plus curve, average or worse change, and projects to below average command. He's the 20th oldest player of the 130 guys on FG's board, so there isn't likely to be much projection at all.

This is probably a "what you see is what you get" guy who won't even be as good as Wisler.

It's a 4th round pick, so it's pretty much what I expect to see at this point in the draft. After Day 1 it really doesn't matter.

Someone with some pull has obviously had a boner for Beck for a long time, and that guy just got his way.
 
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Beck according to FG, "Oft-injured righty with bumps and bruises dating back to high school. One of better college curveballs in the class but fastball is straight and doesn't miss bats."

Average or worse fastball, above average to plus curve, average or worse change, and projects to below average command. He's the 20th oldest player of the 130 guys on FG's board, so there isn't likely to be much projection at all.

This is probably a "what you see is what you get" guy who won't even be as good as Wisler.

It's a 4th round pick, so it's pretty much what I expect to see at this point in the draft. After Day 1 it really doesn't matter.
If prospects rarely pan out after day 1 of the draft, why not draft guys that have big arms but major control problems, position players that are extremely athletic but can't hit, etc... buy lottery tickets

ETA... this could be the case already. I'm not an mlb draft guy... too long and boring
 
If prospects rarely pan out after day 1 of the draft, why not draft guys that have big arms but major control problems, position players that are extremely athletic but can't hit, etc... buy lottery tickets

No idea why teams draft like they do. They need good enough players to actually field a team so the real prospects can develop, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Can't have a bunch of hacks out there when Stewart is trying to become a #2 SP.

I have to imagine each veteran scout has a handful of guys he really likes for whatever reason. At that point you keep them happy by drafting "their guy".
 
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