2018 MLB Draft

[fathom]

Callis was all about the Sox taking Singer in his podcast with Sox machine.  Not sure I disagree

[caulfield12]

11 minutes ago, fathom said:

Callis was all about the Sox taking Singer in his podcast with Sox machine.  Not sure I disagree

https://www.minorleagueball.com/2018/4/4/17153390/2018-mlb-draft-brady-singer-rhp-university-florida-scouting-report

This article makes the case that Singer is suffering from "prospect fatigue" not unlike what Carlos Rodon went through in his draft year...

 

Singer is listed at 6-5, 210 (he was 180 in high school), born August 4^th, 1996. His fastball is his best pitch, up to 95-96 with boring action in on right-handed hitters when things are going well. He can also show a plus slider and has made good strides with his change-up this spring; a recent in-person report from Burke Granger at 2080 Baseball describes the change with “above average deception and tumble, parachuting out of the zone.” One of the few complaints about Singer in 2017 was the need for a better change-up and it sounds like things are going well in that department.

So we have a guy with three plus pitches and strong statistics for a top-notch college program. What’s the problem?

Despite the good statistics, several observers have noted Singer’s harder pitches, especially the fastball, flattening out at times this year. This is traced to changes in his arm angle although the exact cause/effect chain is a bit unclear from a distance.

His delivery has always been somewhat unusual with a three-quarters approach and some whippy action. His arm angle and release point looked higher at times this year and this has been enough to lower his projection in the eyes of some very respected observers.

There are several public videos of Singer dating back to last year but the camera angles are all different, making detailed comparison problematic.

Personally, I’m not good enough at diagnosing pitching mechanics to say anything except a broad statement that his delivery has varied from time to time, not everyone likes this, and that he’s had some inconsistency with his stuff this year, though for the most part this hasn’t shown up in the boxscores.

Is this all a serious problem, or is Singer being nitpicked?

Honestly, I don’t know.

If you step back though, we’re still looking at a guy with a major league arm and a strong track record pitching well for a top-flight college program.

Singer may not go first-overall but he’ll certainly still be a first-rounder and probably an early one, barring an injury or sustained performance meltdown.

[Boopa1219]

If the Sox were to draft Joey Bart what would that mean for Collins and Zavala?

 

Would someone move off of the position?

[caulfield12]

Hitters can always DH or learn 1B later down the line.

It's better for the Sox (and trade value of those 2 players) to keep them all at catcher as long as possible.

Otherwise, we're just producing more 1B/DH/LF types, which are a dime-a-dozen.

With Collins' resurgence, the odds of drafting a player partly due to positional need are taking a hit.  But that's entirely dependent on internal scouting reports about their catching abilities/projected improvement.

Plus, Bart and those two won't intersect on the organizational chain because Zavala's going to be turning 25 later this season and they're going to push him and eventually Collins up to Charlotte before the end of this season.

 

[GenericUserName]

29 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

Hitters can always DH or learn 1B later down the line.

It's better for the Sox (and trade value of those 2 players) to keep them all at catcher as long as possible.

Otherwise, we're just producing more 1B/DH/LF types, which are a dime-a-dozen.

With Collins' resurgence, the odds of drafting a player partly due to positional need are taking a hit.  But that's entirely dependent on internal scouting reports about their catching abilities/projected improvement.

Plus, Bart and those two won't intersect on the organizational chain because Zavala's going to be turning 25 later this season and they're going to push him and eventually Collins up to Charlotte before the end of this season.

 

I believe Zavala played OF in college, so if all three of them made it to the bigs, Bart would probably catch the majority of the time with Collins at 1B and DH and Zavala in LF and DH and maybe catching when the other guys need a break/are injured. The odds of all of them being on the same team in the majors is pretty low though just because of all the different things that could happen to prevent it (not taking Bart/one failing/one being traded).

[caulfield12]

At any rate, just like you keep your best prospects at SS and CF as long as possible, the same principle applies here with catchers.

[DirtySox]

2 hours ago, fathom said:

Callis was all about the Sox taking Singer in his podcast with Sox machine.  Not sure I disagree

Any main takeaways that you could share?  I hate sifting through podcasts.

[DirtySox]

3 hours ago, fathom said:

Callis was all about the Sox taking Singer in his podcast with Sox machine.  Not sure I disagree

Just listened. Mayo did the first mock, and he will be doing one this week.  Callis started musing that the White Sox might entertain Madrigal with the thought that he might be able to play SS. Callis isn't high on Bohm at all. Likes India more than Bohm, and even Eierman more than Bohm. Think's he's a 1B. Says you don't draft for need, but there could be a lot of redundancy with Bohm, possibly Burger, and possibly Collins having to play 1B.  India was brought up. Callis likes him, but notes that lack of any carrying tool, the lack of a track record, and says he would want something more out of the 4th pick than India.  Jim is still very high on Singer. Think's he's easily the second best college P in this class. Notes that he's been strong his entire career in a tough conference, with this year being his best. Thinks the arm slot concern is overblown, brings up some low slot parallels in Sale/Bumgarner.  Thinks the worst possible scenario for the White Sox is if it goes 1.) Mize 2.) Singer 3.) Madrigal.  Muses that there's a drop off after that.  Suggests Bart or Swaggerty at 4 if the previous 1 2 3 order happens. Doesn't see a high school pitcher, and seems tepid on a high school bat.  

[beautox]

As it stands today this is what I could see the sox doing.

#4($6,411,400) - 3B Jonathan India. Underslot pick value is $6,411,400 sign him for 8-12ish money $4,560,200. India fits the bill for someone the organization can throw at SS to see if he sticks if not move him to 2B/3B as we might have a glut of 1B in the not too distant future. Lowerish ceiling than Bohm but better on the defensive spectrum and has a similar track record and break out as former apple of the sox eye in Benintendi.

 

#46($1,556,100) - SS Xavier Edwards. With the royals and rays being in a weird position with both pick position and bonus pool I think someone like SS Xavier Edwards could slip down a bit and be an attractive pick for the sox, with the savings from India. The org has said time and time again they want more prep player, this seems like a good fit.

 

#81($726,700) - SS Jeremiah Jackson. Keeping with the theme of stocking the low minors with toolsy prep middle infielders. possibly right around slot

 

#108($517,800) - LHP Garrett Wade. With the savings from India and being roughly around slot for Jackson sox should be able to take a good looking prep lefty with plenty of projection.

 

#138($386,800) - RHP Bryce Montes de Oca. Sox drafted him in the 14th in 2014. The white sox have a habit of redrafting kids they're familiar with and this is where he is roughly being projected to go. Likely not going to start at the major league level, could be a fast rising BP arm likely comes in slightly under slot allowing the sox to go big with whomever falls past this point

[credezcrew24]

1 hour ago, beautox said:

#138($386,800) - RHP Bryce Montes de Oca. Sox drafted him in the 14th in 2014. The white sox have a habit of redrafting kids they're familiar with and this is where he is roughly being projected to go. Likely not going to start at the major league level, could be a fast rising BP arm likely comes in slightly under slot allowing the sox to go big with whomever falls past this point

14th round Sox draft pick in 2014 and surprisingly late 15th round Indians draft pick in 2017 despite poor performance. He looks like he might be one of the rare guys who made the right decision in playing his senior year, still he likely would've made more money had he not had such high demands out of HS and there are a few red flags given injury and late round pick history.

[steveno89]

7 hours ago, beautox said:

As it stands today this is what I could see the sox doing.

#4($6,411,400) - 3B Jonathan India. Underslot pick value is $6,411,400 sign him for 8-12ish money $4,560,200. India fits the bill for someone the organization can throw at SS to see if he sticks if not move him to 2B/3B as we might have a glut of 1B in the not too distant future. Lowerish ceiling than Bohm but better on the defensive spectrum and has a similar track record and break out as former apple of the sox eye in Benintendi.

 

#46($1,556,100) - SS Xavier Edwards. With the royals and rays being in a weird position with both pick position and bonus pool I think someone like SS Xavier Edwards could slip down a bit and be an attractive pick for the sox, with the savings from India. The org has said time and time again they want more prep player, this seems like a good fit.

 

#81($726,700) - SS Jeremiah Jackson. Keeping with the theme of stocking the low minors with toolsy prep middle infielders. possibly right around slot

 

#108($517,800) - LHP Garrett Wade. With the savings from India and being roughly around slot for Jackson sox should be able to take a good looking prep lefty with plenty of projection.

 

#138($386,800) - RHP Bryce Montes de Oca. Sox drafted him in the 14th in 2014. The white sox have a habit of redrafting kids they're familiar with and this is where he is roughly being projected to go. Likely not going to start at the major league level, could be a fast rising BP arm likely comes in slightly under slot allowing the sox to go big with whomever falls past this point

Meh on Montes de Oca. Injuries and control issues have his stock down considerably. 

 

I'd like to see the White Sox end up with Singer or Madrigal at #4

[NorthSideSox72]

FutureSox draft primer is now up, and the FS draft coverage generally is underway. Lots of content coming.

 

[DirtySox]

New BA mock.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/mlb-mock-draft/

That India bandwagon.

Quote

India has been surging all spring and it sounds like he’s still in the mix for teams even higher than No. 4 overall. His batting average has recently dipped below .400, but he’s having a career year in the SEC (.392/.531/.791) and has faced significantly stiffer competition than Bohm and Oregon State second baseman Nick Madrigal, which is a point in his favor. India is even better (.407/.559/.852) in conference play. As one scouting director noted, teams who have taken productive SEC hitters at the top of the draft (Nick Senzel, Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Andrew Benintendi) have rarely been disappointed. Additionally, India’s .399 isolated slugging through 47 games is an extremely rare trait to see in a college infielder this century.

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by DirtySox

[Sleepy Harold]

 

[southsider2k5]

Who is the latest to the White Sox?

[DirtySox]

Grayson Rodriguez at 10 is a pretty big jump.  Madrigal dropping to 6 would be some great value for the Mets.

[DirtySox]

Just now, southsider2k5 said:

Who is the latest to the White Sox?

India.  I quoted it in my post.

[southsider2k5]

1 minute ago, DirtySox said:

India.  I quoted it in my post.

TY!

[GenericUserName]

I don't know if the Sox will end up taking India, but if they do I bet they announce him as a SS. 

[southsider2k5]

Just now, GenericUserName said:

I don't know if the Sox will end up taking India, but if they do I bet they announce him as a SS. 

No reason NOT to.

[DirtySox]

Oops.  Didn't know this was paywall.  Here's the top let's say 8?

1.) Mize

2.) Bart

3.) Bohm

4.) India

5.) Singer

6.) Madrigal

7.)  Liberatore

8.) Kelenic

[DirtySox]

Another huge jump is Noah Naylor at 12.  I was hoping he might be around for the Sox second pick.  Also worth noting that Alek Thomas goes 29th in this mock.  Jordyn Adams at 18.

[DirtySox]

I know someone was hot on Jeremiah Jackson.  He goes to the Royals at 34 here.

[bmags]

Goes to show that their top 500 or so is not a mock. Alek thomas goes first round there (as he's been consistently rumored to).

Interesting tidbit that Turang if he's out of top ten may be likely to go to LSU. Demanding a lot.

[ChiliIrishHammock24]

Am I the only one who has no interest in Joey Bart? I've never seen anything glowing about him, other than the fact that he can stick at catcher. Does he have any plus skills? Possibly plus power? It just blows my mind that he could go #2 just based on superficial reports I've heard.