The Official 2017 MLB Amateur Draft Thread

[tdawg87]

5 minutes ago, Tyler said:

I get a Chris Young vibe from Adell. Back when he was a top prospect before he flamed out.

What are you basing this on? I thought you said you knew nothing about the amateur guys.

[Tyler]

Just now, tdawg87 said:

What are you basing this on? I thought you said you knew nothing about the amateur guys.

 

Yeah, that was literally the vibe I got from his short videos. CY was a former 25-25 guy, but he struggled with contact. Was once #12 prospect in all of baseball too. Sounds like that could be Adell's fate, or maybe his floor. Remains to be seen.

[tdawg87]

1 minute ago, ThomasSutpen said:

They've been drafting dumb, not safe. There was nothing safe about a pick like Taylor Ward. That was laughable. Every pick is about risk and reward, but I'd rather bet on my coaching staff teaching a dude a 3rd pitch over betting on an ominous injury situation just going away without issue. The Angels have plenty of eggs in the overcoming injuries basket as it is.

 

Are you kidding? Ward was literally the safest pick possible. The definition of high floor/low ceiling. His defense pretty much guarantees he'll be in the majors as a backup. I do agree that it was a stupid pick.

And what is this "ominous injury situation" you speak of? Canning didn't miss any starts. As far as I'm concerned, his "injury situation" is the same as any other pitcher. The reward is more than worth the risk. You don't get guys with that kind of upside with the 47th pick unless there's substantial risk involved.

 

[John Smith]

For Round Three, the top ten ranked by BA:

29	Nick Allen
33	Blayne Enlow
38	Tanner Burns
39	Brady McConnell
41	Tristan Beck
58	James Marinan
59	Alex Scherff
60	Matt Tabor
62	Garrett Mitchell
63	Jacob Heatherly

[tdawg87]

23 minutes ago, ThomasSutpen said:

Canning's health situation is the talk of the town! Here's a blurb from some random site that was the first thing that came up on Google for me:

Griffin Canning has supreme talent and could very well be selected in the middle of the first round, but his recent injury will certainly concern teams, which it should. Canning's MRI has teams worried, and it happened so close to the draft that it's difficult for a team to take that big of a risk on a pitcher who could end up being damaged goods from the beginning of his pro career.

http://www.12up.com/posts/5129253-6-highly-touted-prospects-your-team-should-avoid-drafting

If the Angels used their first round pick on him then yeah, that would be a problem. If there weren't injury concerns he would have been gone 20 picks before theirs, at least. 

The point is, the potential reward is well worth the risk. Guys with his upside that have little risk get taken in the first round, and early in the first round at that. We have zero pitching prospects in the upper levels of our system with a higher ceiling than Canning. 

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, ThomasSutpen said:

Canning's health situation is the talk of the town! Here's a blurb from some random site that was the first thing that came up on Google for me:

Griffin Canning has supreme talent and could very well be selected in the middle of the first round, but his recent injury will certainly concern teams, which it should. Canning's MRI has teams worried, and it happened so close to the draft that it's difficult for a team to take that big of a risk on a pitcher who could end up being damaged goods from the beginning of his pro career.

http://www.12up.com/posts/5129253-6-highly-touted-prospects-your-team-should-avoid-drafting

Right off.... that article talks about Griffin having an injury..   What injury?  They have manufactured an injury that never occurred, to the best of my knowledge he hasn't been injured since his stress fracture as a freshman.   

The entire argument against taking Canning is based on the premise that the MRI (which you haven't seen nor has any of these sites), shows damage.    You're guessing, everyone is, but we are all completely ignorant as to what's on there.   The Angels have presumably seen it just as they saw Meyer's last summer when they traded for him and he was on the DL.   I get being worried about a guy being damaged goods and the concerns about his workload are legit -- that's primarily why I didn't think they would take him, but it's just as likely that the thing scaring off teams is nothing more than inflammation of some kind due to his usage -- signs of fatigue are enough for a lot of teams to steer clear of a guy.   First and second rounders are an immediate expenditure of $$ and given how the draft works now, teams are probably less willing to risk how they spend their draft allocations than in the past -- but, there has been no injury, no drop in velocity, no drop off in performance...  The entire thing seems more a case of teams playing it safe than there being a Brady Aiken type red flag in his medicals. 

Anyway, the best way the Angels can mitigate some of the concerns is keep him out of games after signing him, and then limiting his pitch counts his first year in pro ball.  He's been at 109 and 119 innings the last two years -- so, hopefully they keep him at a 90 pitch limit for most of next year and then slowly let him build off of that.

[Inside Pitch]

27 minutes ago, ThomasSutpen said:

He's a 6'1, 180 pound RHP with a 92mph fastball. This isn't an ace in the making to dream on. He's a low-ceiling high-floor guy because he also features three fairly well-developed pitches beyond the fastball, but for that upside you're hoping his shoulder isn't as wrecked as other teams believe it is. I'd just prefer a healthy pitcher with a stronger arm that maybe needs to learn some secondary stuff, or improve command. Higher ceiling type. It's all good though, I don't think it's the worst pick ever made, I'm just not fist-pumping over it. And admittedly, the Richards, Skaggs, Heaney, Tropeano experience has me a little more reticent to overlook a shoulder injury than I otherwise might be if I was like a Braves fan or something. Get well soon Canning and go Halos!

Yep -- there is definitely some shell shock for me too..    I agree his size AND whatever is on that MRI is likely scaring teams off..    He's not a 6'6' 230 pound beast of a pitcher, so any concern about durability has to be taken seriously..    Let's hope he's got some Tim Hudson in him...  another smallish RHP with nothing better than a MLB average FB.

[IIIII]

and we got a UCLA pitcher. stokkeddddd, he was our best player this year

[tdawg87]

I don't think anyone thinks he's going to be a frontline starter. But a legit #3? Definitely not out of the realm of possibility. How many of those do we have in our system?

For a 2nd round pick, that's pretty good.

As for his size, he definitely doesn't have a big, projectable frame, but guys like Tim Lincecum (lol) and Johnny Cueto found success despite being smaller guys. Not to mention Greinke, who has a similar frame to Canning.

[Second Base]

5 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

I don't think anyone thinks he's going to be a frontline starter. But a legit #3? Definitely not out of the realm of possibility. How many of those do we have in our system?

For a 2nd round pick, that's pretty good.

As for his size, he definitely doesn't have a big, projectable frame, but guys like Tim Lincecum (lol) and Johnny Cueto found success despite being smaller guys. Not to mention Greinke, who has a similar frame to Canning.

It isn't as if he's that small. What is he, 6'1" 190? And as far as upside goes, #3 starter is exactly what scouts saw in him, which is why he was going to go mid-first round before the medical report came out.

Right now it's as if he's accused of being a finesse or junk ball pitcher and that isn't accurate. His fastball sits 92-93. He comes at you with a funky delivery and has four above average offerings to choose from. He should only need a year in AA before he's major league ready.

Great second pick.

[Cdaniel]

I'm hoping Nick Allen falls to us in the 3rd (Altuve comp but less power and plays SS) and we snag Jake THOMPSON in the 4th (probably gone by then though).

[eaterfan]

I really think it depends on how much he signs for. Maybe the Angels have talked to him and have convinced him to sign for significantly less than slot. He is from SoCal and someone said he grew up an Angels fan. Combine that with him knowing he was going to slide in the draft because of his MRI and maybe he told the Angels he would sign for less.

Shoulder issues aren't the same as elbows and this is a serious risk. That being said, the risk v reward needs to be weighed. In the MLB draft there are two scarce resources, picks and money in the signing pool. It's important to factor in both when evaluating the pick. This isn't the NFL or NBA where the only scarce resource is the number of picks.

[Chuck]

When does today's draft start?

[Taylor]

5 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

When does today's draft start?

1 p.m. ET, according to this: http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/2017-mlb-draft-start-time-how-to-watch-tv-shedule-live-stream-order-mock-results/

[Dick B Back]

Toronto took a catcher from Huntington Beach HS with the 61st pick. What does this say about their scouts and draft history?

[nando714]

17 minutes ago, Dick B Back said:

Toronto took a catcher from Huntington Beach HS with the 61st pick. What does this say about their scouts and draft history?

2nd player from HBHS already taken 

[Dave Saltzer]

Here's what I'd like to see today: Maybe 1 more good college arm in the 3rd round and then rounds 4-7 with toolsy prep position players or 1 prep LH arm. I'm already thrilled with Day 1's results, let's keep it going for day two. Some players that I would be interested in seeing us get would be Jake Eder (LHP), Jacob Heatherly, and Garrett Mitchell. 

[Angelsfan1984]

If Nick Allen is there we have to take him. Defensively alone he's a first round talent.

[Second Base]

Nick Allen is the best defensive shortstop in the country that isn't in the majors right now. No exaggeration. It's astounding he made it through the second round. Right now I'd say no way in heck he falls to us in the third round, but if he does, you grab him.

[Dave Saltzer]

7 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

If Nick Allen is there we have to take him. Defensively alone he's a first round talent.

Good point. I'd be very happy with him too. I honestly thought he was taken by now, and figured onto my next set of prospects.

[Dave Saltzer]

Well, there goes Heatherly to the Reds . . . Hopefully Allen will slide a few more spots and we can grab him.

[Angelsfan1984]

4 minutes ago, Dave Saltzer said:

Good point. I'd be very happy with him too. I honestly thought he was taken by now, and figured onto my next set of prospects.

I think his skills and range along with his hitting style scream 2nd base at the big league level.

[Taylor]

F'n A's. I can't wait to see Nick Allen in a Yankee uniform.

[Angelsfan1984]

Damn A's!

[Dave Saltzer]

7 minutes ago, Angelsfan1984 said:

Damned A's! They were the 1 team I thought would take him ahead of us.