The Official 2018 Amateur Draft Thread

[Angelsjunky]

1 minute ago, UndertheHalo said:

Ya I’m lost.  I think I do an ok job keeping up with our prospects but this guy is out of nowhere for me.

39th round of 2015 draft out of University of Georgia. He turns 25 at the end of July so is no spring chicken. His minor league numbers are good to very good and he seems to be taking a solid step forward this year, hitting .291/.385/.624 at A+/AA. Of course his age implies we should be cautious in our expectations, but he could at least be a solid 1B/OF platoon hitter in the majors, maybe even a league average starter.

[Angelsjunky]

Walsh hit another HR tonight, the 17th of his season, and is now at .290/.388/.632.

[rafibomb]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

Walsh hit another HR tonight, the 17th of his season, and is now at .290/.388/.632.

Wrong thread @Angelsjunky ! You are depriving people information on Walsh's breakout year!

[Angelsjunky]

1 minute ago, rafibomb said:

Wrong thread @Angelsjunky ! You are depriving people information on Walsh's breakout year!

Yeah, I know - just replying to UndertheHalo. I'll switch all further discussion of non-2018 draftees over there.

[Docwaukee]

57 minutes ago, UndertheHalo said:

Who is this Walsh guy with all the HR you guys keep talking about in the other thread ?  What do we think of this guy overall ?

Hard to tell if he's for real.  Even more difficult to know if he's going to get a shot.  He's a 39th round pick out of U of GA where he was a solid two way player.  He had 7 hrs in college over his 4 years worth of 468 ab but he's always hit a lot of doubles.  Last year he had 44 xbh in 344 AB.  But struggled at age 23 up his AA call up.  

This year he's completely turned a corner.  He started in A+ and totally dominated.  Moving up to AA and he hasn't missed a beat hitting his 4th hr is around 40 ab giving him 17 overall in around 190 at bats.  Here's the big kicker though.  He's almost double hi bb rate and he's whiffing at a much higher rate as well.  I think they've probably told him to grip and rip.  

I've watched him a few times this year.  Saw him a bit last year but not as much.  The noticeable difference that I see is somehow he's found easy power.  Really nice swing but the ball comes off his bat with effortless authority where as last year I didn't see that.  Not sure how that happens.  He's still making enough contact as well.  

He's also a very good 1bman.  Strong arm.  They've actually used him in relief a few times as he was a solid college pitcher.  He's thrown in the low 90's actually.  

Could he be a Justin Bour type?  Yonder Alonso?  Matt Carpenter?  Most of the late bloomers that are given a chance actually had a top prospect pedigree at some point.  So I think perception works against him to some degree.  

But I've seen probably 20+ at bats from his this year and the power is legit.  I am sure they have seen way more than I have so they have to know.  My guess is that they're a bit surprised and they'll just keep letting him progress.  I can't imagine they would ignore the fact that he's got 12hrs and a 1.300+ ops in his last 90 at bats putting him 1 off the minor league lead.  

[UndertheHalo]

5 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Yeah, I know - just replying to UndertheHalo. I'll switch all further discussion of non-2018 draftees over there.

 

7 minutes ago, rafibomb said:

Wrong thread @Angelsjunky ! You are depriving people information on Walsh's breakout year!

my bad guys.  i misread the title of the thread.  i meant to put it in the prospects thread.

[rafibomb]

Now that the draft is over, I am looking forward to @John Smith's annual detective work and posts of our draftees signing !

[Docwaukee]

1 hour ago, rafibomb said:

Now that the draft is over, I am looking forward to @John Smith's annual detective work and posts of our draftees signing !

so funny.  I've already started looking for his name on the right.  

[Roy Hobbs]

4 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

so funny.  I've already started looking for his name on the right.  

Me too, he does a great job and I look forward to it every year.

[Cdaniel]

Pretty awesome insight from TBW on picks 1-10.

 

https://247sports.com/mlb/angels/Article/Angels-Draft-Notes-Picks-1-10-118806467

[totdprods]

1 hour ago, Cdaniel said:

Pretty awesome insight from TBW on picks 1-10.

https://247sports.com/mlb/angels/Article/Angels-Draft-Notes-Picks-1-10-118806467

Thanks for sharing this...love TBW's insight and analysis. 

Adams screams so much similarity to Adell. Slightly different tools - almost like a combo of Adell and Deveaux.
Hernandez's reports remind me of what I read when we drafted Richards. 

[Inside Pitch]

This was my favorite draft in a long time..  Not because of who we got or the players available but because the system was finally healthy enough where they could gamble with picks if they wanted to....  It was the first time since the late 00s where there wasn't an underlying feeling for me that they absolutely had to hit on a pick or the organization would be set back for a few years...    If Adams or Jackson come close to living up to their billing then the team is stacked, if they fall short of that, it's not the end of the world......and now the team has a shit ton of pitchers to throw into RP roles in hopes of finding a gem or two.

Good place to be again...

[Blarg]

TWB reminds me of TWiB, This Week in Baseball with Mel Allen. I miss that show. 

[Stradling]

9 minutes ago, Blarg said:

TWB reminds me of TWiB, This Week in Baseball with Mel Allen. I miss that show. 

How about that

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

TWB reminds me of TWiB, This Week in Baseball with Mel Allen. I miss that show. 

Always remember that show .... Mel Allen's voice, my Dad, my brother and me watching it together .... that was such a ritual at our house.   

Back in those days TWiB might be the only time I'd get to see some guys other than going to see games given I was in bed by then time the news came on.  I can still remember going to bed anticipating who would be on TWiB.

My brother and I will often talk about how much our Dad would have loved the MLBNetwork.... And how much our Mom would have hated it... Lol

Edited June 7, 2018 by Inside Pitch

[Stradling]

Watching Ozzie Smith every week on plays of the week was cool.

[Warfarin]

18 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

This was my favorite draft in a long time..  Not because of who we got or the players available but because the system was finally healthy enough where they could gamble with picks if they wanted to....  It was the first time since the late 00s where there wasn't an underlying feeling for me that they absolutely had to hit on a pick or the organization would be set back for a few years...    If Adams or Jackson come close to living up to their billing then the team is stacked, if they fall short of that, it's not the end of the world......and now the team has a shit ton of pitchers to throw into RP roles in hopes of finding a gem or two.

Good place to be again...

Definitely man.  In the past, we had some huge holes we had to plug up, but now, with talent basically everywhere, it enables us to swing for the fences on high ceiling / low floor type prospects.  Basically - we are gambling that the developmental system we have in place can help cultivate these guys and make them into studs.

Based on the amount of progress we have seen from our minor leaguers the last two years, I like those odds ;)

[Blarg]

58 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Always remember that show .... Mel Allen's voice, my Dad, my brother and me watching it together .... that was such a ritual at our house.   

Back in those days TWiB might be the only time id get to see some guys other than at games given I was in bed by then time the news came on.  I can still remember going to bed anticipating who would be on TWiB.

My brother and I will often talk about how much our Dad would have loved the MLBNetwork.... And how much our Mom would have hated it... Lol

George Michael's Sports Machine where he would punch the play button on a 2" Quad Machine to roll replays. 

[Docwaukee]

3 hours ago, Cdaniel said:

Pretty awesome insight from TBW on picks 1-10.

 

https://247sports.com/mlb/angels/Article/Angels-Draft-Notes-Picks-1-10-118806467

thanks for posting and thanks to TBW for putting it together.  

I feel like the halos targets for rounds 6-10 were all pretty similar.  Makes me think that there is something they see in those guys deliveries that they could morph into more velo.  

[Angel Oracle]

Bradish has some Percy potential in him (fastball and excellent curve).    A 4th round pick becoming a rock solid late innings guy is a good target.    

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, Blarg said:

TWB reminds me of TWiB, This Week in Baseball with Mel Allen. I miss that show. 

First started watching it the year the Halos won their first AL West title in 1979.   I have fond memories of it for that reason.

[Taylor]

2 hours ago, totdprods said:

Hernandez's reports remind me of what I read when we drafted Richards. 

His reports remind me of Richards still. Sounds like he has really good stuff, but often lacks command and gets hit harder than he should.

[Angel Oracle]

32 minutes ago, Blarg said:

George Michael's Sports Machine where he would punch the play button on a 2" Quad Machine to roll replays. 

Liked that show too, and of course the name game....George Michael or George Michaels (similar era). 

[Taylor]

1 minute ago, Angel Oracle said:

Liked that show too, and of course the name game....George Michael or George Michaels (similar era). 

[Cdaniel]

Another great report from TBW on the AL West and his favorite pick from each day.

 

https://247sports.com/mlb/scouting/Article/AL-West-Draft-Recap-118854008