Me too, and me neither.
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Round 3 starts in a few minutes. Since all the projected first round talents have been taken, there aren’t any really big names to watch for. But as the day progresses I’m sure we’ll see some talented high schoolers fall out of the top 10 rounds like Ryan Clifford last year. Folks seem to think the Astros should have some pool space to go over-slot today or tomorrow in the 11th. Could see something like Brett Phillips from 2012 (over-slot in the 6th) or Clifford last year (way over slot in the 11th).
My personal favorite guy on the board is George Wolkow, a 6’7” lefty hitting high school 3B who’s put up some insane exit velocity numbers and is extremely young for the class (doesn’t turn 18 til January 2024). Not saying he’s anything close to the best prospect left, just a profile you can’t help but gawk at.
Another fun one is Roc Riggio, a 5’9” 2B—I mean, how could that guy not be a fit?
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Astros take Georgetown RHP Jake Bloss in round 3, 99th pick overall. Never heard of him. BA ranks him #250 in the class, MLB.com has him #178. He’s actually a grad student. Seems like a below-slot deal, no doubt saving up for someone they’ve got a deal with for later today or tomorrow.
MLB pipeline has both Matthews (draft #57) and Tredwell (draft #63) as 50 grade prospects.
They currently have only Gilbert rated higher, and Melton, Barber, and Clifford as 50s.
So theoretically, both should fall between 2 and 6 among Astros top prospects
Fangraphs has Matthews rated a 40+ (draft #39) which would put him between 4th-10th in the system and Tredwell (HM) as a 40 which would fall between 11th -20th.
Double major in math and Econ. I like it.
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Hollan went at 74 to Cincinnati and Hitt went 112 to Arizona. Still would not be surprised to see them take a pitcher coming off an injury today.
Booooooo, Riggio to NYY in the 4th.
Astros take UNC Charlotte senior OF Cam Fisher in the 4th. LHH. BA ranked him 141 in the class. Per BA, lots of power to the pull side. Corner OF at best.
That’s two seniors now, albeit highly ranked ones. They’re definitely saving some money for later.
FWIW, the model guys seem to like Fisher a lot more than BA, putting him more as a second-round talent.
Saw on twitter that Jim Callis said a scout called Fisher the “college Kyle Schwarber.” So it’s all on the bat for this one.
I was only half paying attention but it seemed like the draft just became a game of patty cake between the Mets and Dodgers just now. I didn’t like that.
I’m not sure what these compensation rounds are about but this one was six straight picks for Boston-NYM-LAD. Yuck.
The Dodgers took Texas RF Dylan Campbell in there, though, most recently in the spotlight due to the hard-luck play where they all lost the ball in the lights and Stanford walked it off. All the best to him. Hope he gets traded to an org I hate less.
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Big ‘ol “who??” for the Astros in the 5th round. Colorado high school lefty-hitting SS Chase Jaworsky, their first prep draftee of 2023. Listed at 6’1”/170lb. He turns 19 later this month. Not on the BA Top 500 as far as I can tell.
Clearly not someone the industry had many eyes on, but from the few folks who’ve seen him, it sounds like an intriguing pick. Just a really good high school performer with a nice swing from the left side. Saw a couple notes that he might need to shift to 2B long-term.
And another pick where they probably pay under slot right?
I’d assume so but you never know with HS guys.
In the 6th it’s Ethan Pecko, college RHP ranked 495th by BA, described as a sinker-slider guy with an old-school overhead windup. At some point here I’ll start trying to list guys they might be saving up for. LHP Cam Johnson (LSU commit) and SS Roch Cholowsky (UCLA) are among the highest ranked high school players left. Both considered possible 1S-2nd round targets. RHP Joey Volchko (Stanford) is another high-ranked HS guy, ranked 37 by BA and 80 by MLB. My boy George Wolkow (South Carolina) is still out there too.
Based on a commitment to a small school in Utah, I think its safe to say he won’t be too tough or expensive to sign.
Could this be one Dana Brown scouted and/or noticed?
It feels different than the picks from the last few years.
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Yeah definitely not an expensive guy, maybe just someone they liked whose price tag was reasonable based on lack of interest from other teams. Especially given his age (19) it’s a strange pick for this organization, which in the past has prioritized hitters young for their class.
Boston’s picks were due to losing Bogaerts and Eovaldi in free agency; the Mets for losing deGrom and Chris Bassitt; Dodgers for losing Trea Turner and Tyler Anderson.
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Stanford RHP Joey Dixon in the 7th. Ranked #409 by BA. Results weren’t great in 2023, but it sounds like he’s got a good curve. Another probable money saver.
Sad to report Wolkow went to CWS in round 7 so he won’t be the over-slot target.
Pepperdine 2B Ryan Johnson in the 8th. Senior sign. Not in the BA 500. Money money. Played for Pulaski in the formerly-affiliated Appy league in ‘21 and ‘22.
The drag is that the payoff for these deals won’t come til tomorrow, assuming there’s indeed a deal in place for a player who gets to them in the 11th or later.
A little more on Johnson. He split his time between 2B, 3B, and C at Pepperdine, and played all those positions plus SS in the Appy league. Nice flexibility for a minor league roster that’s for sure.
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Another senior sign in the 9th, Toledo SS Jeron Williams. Led all of D1 with 49 SB. Sounds like he may not hit much in pro ball, but nice to add some pure speed to the system.
Why? Look like pretty damn good numbers no matter the school.
https://twitter.com/thevandalorian/status/1678519575107756032?s=46&t=Dut0L5KylhVMOVOd2259mw
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Williams hit over .400 this season…1.148 OPS (granted, in the MAC). Looks like he can hit some.