Where the draft boards had him: BA (#117), MLB Pipeline (#111), McDaniel (#94), Law (53), Longenhagen (NR).
Best control: Trey Dombroski, LHP, Monmouth
A classic crafty southpaw, Dombroski makes the most of fringy to average stuff by repeating his simple delivery well and locating his four pitches with absolute precision. He won Cape Cod League Pitcher of the Year honors last summer after setting a league mark with a 45/2 K/BB ratio, then ranked sixth in NCAA Division I in that category this spring with a school-record 120 strikeouts and just 14 walks in 95 innings.
Regards the tweet below, BA put a 70 grade on Dombroski’s control…
Where the draft boards had him: BA (#441), MLB Pipeline (NR), McDaniel (NR), Law (NR), Longenhagen (NR).
I strongly suspect underslot deals with Taylor at #80 and Knorr at #103. DeVos also falls into that category given his pre-draft rankings. Of course it’s pretty much a given that the round 6-10 guys will all be underslot too.
Smoke and mirrors guy with underwhelming secondaries and a FB that sits 88-91. But BA does say that heater plays up due to its movement.
Where the draft boards had him: BA (#453), MLB Pipeline (NR), McDaniel (NR), Law (NR), Longenhagen (NR).
A career .264/.364/.432 hitter at Mercer entering 2022 he improved that to .315/.460/.626 this spring. BA says scouts are skeptical that offensive improvement lasts at the next level. At 6’6" you’re probably unwise to bet on him staying behind the plate. Has also played all the outfield positions and 1B.
Director of scouting Kip Gross said this about him to the Chron…
Hidden
“He’s a tall guy,” Gross said. “I think we could put a little more weight on Collin and tap into some more power, but he’s shown a little bit of that at Mercer, and to get him in the place we got him, we’re excited. He can throw, he’s big, he’s flexible back there, so he’s going to hold up nicely.”
Where the draft boards had him: BA (#347), MLB Pipeline (NR), McDaniel (#247), Law (NR), Longenhagen (NR).
Nothing truly pops out in his numbers for the Panthers–88 Ks versus 29 BBs in 80 career innings mostly as a reliever. He started out this spring as a starter but got demoted back to the pen after a couple of bad outings in April. 90-93 FB with an above average change says BA. His UW-Milwaukee bio says his “career goal is to be a successful college student-athlete and be able to find a teaching job right after graduation”.
Where the draft boards had him: BA (#397), MLB Pipeline (NR), McDaniel (#293), Law (NR), Longenhagen (NR).
Secondaries ain’t there says BA and his FB sits 91-93 but he managed to make it work this season as a reliever in the SEC. 80 Ks vs just 17 BBs this spring in 51 IP with just 27 hits allowed.
Director of scouting Kip Gross commented to the Chron…
Hidden
“His fastball misses a ton of bats,” Gross said. “It’s not huge velo, but it’s played very well — that invisi-ball fastball that people talk about. (Among) SEC hitters that we talked to, he was a common name that came back of guys that missed bats and were tough to hit this spring.”
Pilot baseball pitcher Brett Gillis was named a Collegiate Baseball News Second Team All-American this morning, becoming the first non-freshman Pilot to be named an All-American since 2012. Gillis was one of the top pitchers in the nation, posting a 9-2 record in 14 starts with a 2.24 ERA. He was an All-WCC First Team selection and was also named the WCC Player of Year last month, becoming the first Pilot to win the award. The Everett, Wash. native ranked towards the top of the conference – and the nation – in numerous categories. He was first in the conference in ERA, wins and hits allowed per nine innings (6.51). His ERA was 17th nationally and was fourth among pitchers with at least 70 innings pitched, and his win total was tied for 18th in the nation. Gillis was third in the conference and tied for 18th in the nation in total strikeouts at 115, and he was also second in the WCC in WHIP (1.10) and fourth in strikeouts per nine innings (12.27).
Where the draft boards had him: BA (NR), MLB Pipeline (NR), McDaniel (NR), Law (NR), Longenhagen (NR).
Lefty swinger hit .361/.449/.727 for the Cardinals this spring.
Per Mr. Gross…
Hidden
He’s “a very interesting athlete out of Ball State. The instincts need to be worked on a little bit, but he’s so fast and athletic. He’s got a 41-inch vertical. He can do some special things. Optimistically, I think center field’s a realistic possibility.”
A lot of prep talent still on the board for Day #3. Hopefully, you’re right that there are under slot deals in place already, and there are enough of them to draft some of the guys who didn’t hear their name called yesterday.
Auburn’s Sonny “Thicc King” DiChiara went to the Angels in the 5th round. As far as Horns, Pete Hansen went in the 3rd to the Cardinals, Silas Ardoin went in the 4th to the Orioles, Douglas Hodo in the 6th also to the Orioles, Trey Faltine was a 7th rounder of the Reds and Murphy Stehly went in the 10th to the Nationals.
My gut is telling me they went overslot with Melton. So part of all the underslot deals is about paying for that. But perhaps there is enough extra to do an overslot deal today.
Note from Keith Law on 11th Round pick Ryan Clifford, HS OF:
Ryan Clifford entered the draft as a prospect to watch outside of the top 100.
He looks like a college outfielder already, at 6-foot-3 and 200-plus pounds, with strength for plus raw power even though he hits with no stride at all. He’s more power than hit right now, struggling to pick up breaking stuff, and a below-average runner who’ll have to play an outfield corner. He turns 19 on Wednesday and could be a draft-eligible sophomore in 2024 for Vanderbilt.
Where the draft boards had him: BA (#77), MLB Pipeline (#92), McDaniel (#127), Law (just outside his Top 100), Longenhagen (#57).
The lefty swinger and Vandy commit most certainly would be an overslot signing for the Astros. MLB Pipeline says scouts call him Seth Beer with more athleticism. A corner OF/1B type so a lot riding on the bat.
More on Ryan Clifford: 2020 article
…two years … playing year round with the Pro5 Baseball Academy…
Clifford is the number one ranked player in the nation for the class of 2022. To be able to make a career out of baseball, he and his family decided year-round training was the route to take…
Gaterade 2019-20 Player of the Year (Note: stats were from 4-games b/f COVID.)
Where the draft boards had him: BA (NR), MLB Pipeline (NR), McDaniel (NR), Law (NR), Longenhagen (NR).
The ex Klein Collins HSer played 3 years at SHSU before moving on to ORU apparently looking for more playing time. And he had a nice year for the Golden Eagles this spring going .349/.447/.572 with 35 walks vs 34 Ks. Also stole 25 bases in 30 attempts. The first Jim Stevenson pick.
