2022 MLB Draft Thread

chop2chip said:
Allard is such a bizarre comp. There is literally nothing about the two that is similar other than you think the pick is boring.
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You really shouldn't ever pay attention to him about the draft.

Yes it makes zero sense to compare him to Allard, who was also not boring.
 
I think what we’re seeing from the first 3 picks is that the Braves’ board just looks a little different. They seem to scout pitchers a little differently. We’ll see how it plays out but they seem to believe that both Murphy and Ritchie were essentially 1st round guys.
 
Dana Brown says they will try Burkhalter as a starter... never started in college... okay

Also clarified that Murphy will only be a pitcher
 
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smootness said:
It’s just impossible to judge an MLB draft for like 4 years at least. Preller is having a great night from our perspective because they’re ranked high and we know their names. But it will likely mean the rest of their top 10 round picks are weaker, and then who knows what anybody becomes.
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Preller in a nut shell about everything.

Always playing to the audience.
 
One more from That Internet Guy:

Blake Burkehalter was just a reliever with Auburn for reasons I can not begin to rationalize because he has a three pitch repertoire of quality stuff and is avoiding walks. There was some homer problems for reason I can't put my finger on (Other than FB bias in profile) but it doesn't really feel like a major issue long term despite it being such a prominent one this year. I think he is a starting pitcher long term. The fastball is an above-average pitch as far as I'm concerned. Burkhalter sits at 94.1 MPH and touches as high as 98.2 MPH. The pitch has good spin and plus vertical movement (18.4 IVB with no discernable splits) and a low release height (5.6 ft). He has decent feel to elevate the pitch and frequently misses bats with the high and flat fastball. The cutter is his primary secondary pitch and it works well off of the heater. He throws it at 89 MPH with high spin (~2550 RPMs) and average movement (11.2 IVB and -3.4 HB compared to 8.2 IVB and 3 HB from the average MLB RHP). The pitch has a swinging-strike rate over 20% against the SEC in 2022 including a 33.33% in-zone whiff rate so obviously he's doing something right. I think it comes down to the fastball interaction. He frequently uses the fastball to his armside and throws it 0.37 feet lower that the four-seam fastball on average. The cutter drops 11 inches more from the same tunnel and gets batters sitting fastball to frequently swing over the top of it. When the cutter is left up in the zone in the same area as the fastball it can be crushed, however. 55 grade pitch. The changeup has a 51.4% chase rate on 72 OOZ pitches this year which is just as absurd as it sounds. From a movement perspective the pitch is good. He has average vertical depth and 17.7 inches of fade. He throws it 10.5 MPH slower that the heater and kills about 500 RPM on it relative to the fastball. The changeup plays up because of how short his arm action is that makes any difference in arm speed impossible to pick up on, He still gets firm with his changeup far too often but the pitch has bat missing potential shape wise and good deception. Another 55 pitch. This is a complete three pitch repertoire with weapons to beat hitters of all handedness and enough well rounded goodness to start. I have high hopes for what the starting pitcher he can be in the major leagues.
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Given both the Braves and this dude were higher on Murphy than consensus, and dude was likewise looking at Burkhalter as a SP pre-draft—with the Braves now announcing the same intention—I'm guessing some of the Braves' models are heavily premised on some of these same inputs.
 
Huh… well that certainly makes him a bit more interesting. Would be fun to find a real diamond in the rough well under slot. The MLB draft is wild… just the sheer amount of players to scout
 
Oof- broccoli hair.

I’m not sure I’m as big of a fan of Murphy as I let on. Strikers right, super bust
 
I'll be curious to see what the signing bonuses are. Burkhalter looks like a below-slot guy, but I remember thinking the same thing about Drew Harrington back in 2016 who I thought would be below-slot and was surprised that the Braves went over-slot to sign him.

I don't know if or how Tim Hudson's input may have played a role in the selection, but if he still has a connection to the Braves, he probably could have provided a really comprehensive picture of what Burkhalter's ceiling is. Braves have often gone counter to conventional wisdom on draftees. Most recently, the scouting press saw Michael Harris II more as a pitcher than position player. Braves saw him as a hitter and it looks like they were right. In the pitching department, Kris Medlen was a JC SS/relief pitcher and the Braves converted him to a starting pitcher. I'm spitballing because there has been turnover over the years in the scouting and player development staffs, but it just seems like the Braves go outside the box on players more often than other organizations so looking at Burkhalter as a starter doesn't surprise me.

It also doesn't surprise me that they went all pitching. All you have to do is look at the rotations on our A-ball teams to see the striking lack of quality depth. I hope they don't go total Roy Clark today, but it's clear we need pitching depth in the system.

Again, the signing bonus amounts are going to determine a lot going forward. If there are considerable savings from the first day, we could be looking at something like 2019 where they move dollars toward some toolsy guys in hopes of landing some of them.

I just hope that Burkhalter isn't related to General Burkhalter from Hogan's Heroes.

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Not sure which is the bigger "must-avoid" while the action is actually happening - this thread or game threads. Truth be told, none of us typically know ANYTHING about the kids being picked - and the talking heads honestly don't know much more. Other than maybe a little bit of video footage, even Callis/Mayo/Law/Collazzo/etc. likely haven't seen MOST of these players live more than 4-5 times and at the combine.

Listening to people *itch because the Braves drafted someone who wasn't at a certain level on Pipeline's Top 250 or Law's mock draft is both hilarious and mind-numbing at the same time. While those talking heads are fun to follow and provide lots of information for fans, guys like Dana Brown and Alex play them about as many times as they're honest with them. Apparently there's plenty they like about the kids drafted last night - even if it's the money they'll save to sign better players all the way down the draft - and Alex and Dana have done nothing (yet) to cause anyone to not give them the benefit of the doubt. There are very few more inexact sciences on this planet than predicting the future of 17-22 year old baseball players, so while it's perfectly acceptable to like players other than the ones the team drafts and express that opinion, calling ANY of these "bad picks" or "mistakes" is comical and only makes the poster look stupid in the end - which ones of us are scouts or are privy to the strategies being discussed in the draft room last night?
 
Dana Brown's comments in DOB's article have me thinking he's going for a greatest hits record.
3 swings at trying to get a Max Fried. Which is a name he used and he defined as a HS arm that is very athletic with good command. Not walking people.
Then he used Strider to talk about the Auburn kid. Strider in terms of some things they can do in the delivery and a limited number of innings.

I am also wondering if there is a thought process here of moving guys much faster. There has been data put forward that essentially says there are only so many bullets you have. You can only throw 95 so many times. For most people it is peaking early and you are on the way down way before 30. There are freaks like DeGrom. Maybe they are looking to get 22-23 yo up when the there are still a lot of bullets and if they lose them at 27-29 to free agents, OK.
 
Southcack77 said:
You really shouldn't ever pay attention to him about the draft.

Yes it makes zero sense to compare him to Allard, who was also not boring.
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Why does it make zero sense to say he reminds me of a right handed Allard? They're prep pitchers built very similarly with fastballs that on draft day could reach the mid 90s but sat comfortably in the low 90s. You can disagree with the company but it doesn't make zero sense.
 
Klaw does NOT like the first pick. Not in his top 100. FB and body no projection does not like the secondary stuff or delivery.
Really likes the second pick and had him at 21 on his top 100 and likely unsigneable. Braves must feel they have a deal in place.

Atlanta lefty Jared Shuster also showed a plus changeup and some life on a fastball around 92-93, with a better breaking ball than Bush showed, although it’s still a distant third pitch for him. Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2020, Shuster’s bounced back well from an injury-shortened 2021 season and is about a half-grade of breaking ball from being a mid-rotation starter.
 
Russ2dollas said:
Klaw does NOT like the first pick. Not in his top 100. FB and body no projection does not like the secondary stuff or delivery.
Really likes the second pick and had him at 21 on his top 100 and likely unsigneable. Braves must feel they have a deal in place.

Atlanta lefty Jared Shuster also showed a plus changeup and some life on a fastball around 92-93, with a better breaking ball than Bush showed, although it’s still a distant third pitch for him. Atlanta’s first-round pick in 2020, Shuster’s bounced back well from an injury-shortened 2021 season and is about a half-grade of breaking ball from being a mid-rotation starter.
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In this day and age, it'd be incredibly surprising if Ritchie didn't sign. You'd have to think the Braves know his number.
 
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