2019 Draft – Top 5 First Basemen In The Draft

Good morning.

I know, I know Tom. The last think we need is another first baseman with a high draft pick. Well, we said that in 2016 when we picked Peter Alonso in the second round (64^th pick overall).

The addition of BVD means uncertainty for future chips, so you simply return to the ‘best player’ still on your board when your pick comes up. You can always trade players that are talented regardless of what position they play.

My job here isn’t to tell the Mets what to do… my job is to point out there will be two quality college bats that will be gone by the end of the first two rounds, and three others that should hear their name read by the end of the fifth.

The five, four of which are college juniors, are:

          Andrew Vaughn                    Cal –   6-0, 214

                                                          2018:  199-AB. .402/.531/.818. 1.350

                                                          23-HR, 63-RBI

Baseball America  - The main improvement that Vaughn made to his approach was becoming less aggressive at the plate. He said that he chased pitches out of the strike zone too often his freshman year, and he wanted a more mature approach. Vaughn’s efforts have paid off.  The rising junior’s numbers were up across the board in 2018, enjoying an increase in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, and runs batted in. However, Vaughn’s most remarkable improvement may have been his walk to strikeout ratio. After only drawing 19 walks in 2017, Vaughn walked 44 times in 2018 while cutting his strikeouts down from 24 to 18.

2080 Baseball -

Undrafted out of high school, Vaughn burst onto the scene in 2017 with a monster year for the Golden Bears, slashing .349/.414/.555 on his way to Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors. He parlayed the strong spring into a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, where he hit in the middle of the order. He was even more impressive as a sophomore, named as a Golden Spikes Award finalist after posting an OPS of 1.350 to go with 23 homeruns and over twice the number of walks (44) as strikeouts (18).

Vaughn has quick hands with a penchant for barreling balls with a compact yet powerful swing and exceptional feel for the strike zone. As a sub-six-foot right/right first baseman, much of Vaughn’s value is tied to his stick. He doesn’t run well, but he’s got a good arm and has been up to 92 mph on the bump as a two-way player for Cal. He’ll once again suit up for Team USA this summer, and he could position himself to be an early pick next year if he shows well with wood.

         

          Michael Busch                      North Carolina –  6-0, 207

                                                          2018:   240-AB, .317/.465/.521

                                                          13-HR, 63-RBI

         

MLB Countdown - -

          Grades

Tool                                        Present               Future                          

Running Speed                     50                        45                       

Arm Strength                        50                         50                       

Hitting for Average              50                         55                       

Hitting for Power                  45                         55                       

Fielding                                  45                        50

Inside Carolina -

In North Carolina’s final play of 2017, Michael Busch stepped into the batter’s box and smacked a chopper to first base with Tyler Lynn charging home from third with two outs. In a bang-bang play at first, Davidson’s Durin O’Linger beat Busch to the bag to seal the Wildcats’ 2-1 victory. The harshness of such a memory provides incredible motivation.

It’s also relevant that Busch delivered the final RBI of 2017, a bomb of a home run to deep center that would foreshadow his sophomore season to come. Now, a full year later, Busch has become UNC’s most productive bat, hitting .333 and driving in a team-best 63 RBI. He also leads the team in the critical on-base percentage statistic (.478), due in large part to a team-high 54 walks against 30 strikeouts (second-fewest among UNC’s typical starting lineup).

          

          Logan Wyatt                          Louisville –   6-4, 230

                                                          2018:   230-AB, .339/.490/.522

                                                          6-HR, 69-RBI, 22-doubles

Baseball Draft Report - 1B Logan Wyatt has all the ingredients necessary to be the latest Louisville hitter I’m willing to look past some positional issues with and rank higher than most.

Talking Chop  -  Logan Wyatt, 6’4”, 1B, Louisville – Wyatt is a 1B, which is a position the Braves really lack in the system. While I would not want a 1B in the 1st round, I wouldn’t be opposed to one after the first couple of rounds. Logan had a solid season overall, but he’s currently having a fantastic Cape Cod, keeping up with the likes of Spenser Torkelson and Andrew Vaughn. Key stats: 1.012 OPS, .490 OBP, 23% BB-rate, 12% K-rate.

         

         

         

          Spencer Brickhouse            East Carolina –  6-4, 235

                                                          2018:  235-AB, .298/.382/.502

                                                          10-HR, 50-RBI

247 Sports – One of East Carolina's star sluggers showed off a bit on Sunday in the Cape Cod League All-Star game. Rising junior Spencer Brickhouse, who's mashed 10 home runs each of the past two seasons for the Pirates, hit a solo homer and added an RBI double in a 4-3 victory for the West team over the East side in Harwich, Mass. With head coach Cliff Godwin in attendance, Brickhouse went the opposite way for both of his hits, tagging East starter Dan Hammer with an RBI double into left-center. Brickhouse added the home run to left field in the fourth inning.

The powerful 6-foot-4, 220-pound hitter is expected to once again bat in the heart of ECU's order in 2019. Brickhouse, who split time between first base and designated hitter in 2018, batted .298 with a .382 on-base percentage as a sophomore, ripping 16 doubles and 50 RBIs. More impressively, the slugger cut down on his number of strikeouts and upped his walk rate, showing a more patient approach at the plate. After striking out 57 times to 24 walks as a freshman, Brickhouse drew 33 free passes and punched out only 34 times in 235 at-bats as a sophomore.

Full Press - Spencer Brickhouse, 1B, East Carolina- Spencer Brickhouse started making his name well known this summer in the Cape Cod League, hitting .409 in his 6 games with a home run.  Last year at East Carolina he posted 10 home runs to accommodate his .298/.382/.502 slash line. He one of the better college bats going into the season and his stock is still on the rise.

     

          Spencer Jones                      Los Costa Canyon (CA) HS -   6-7, 205

                                                         

Perfect Game:             Spencer Jones is a 2019 LHP/1B/OF with a 6-7 210 lb. frame from Encinitas, CA who attends La Costa Canyon HS. Very long and tall build, very lanky and physically projectable. Long time two-way prospect who has made tremendous progress as a left handed pitcher, delivery is much more compact and downhill than when previously seen, high 3/4's arm slot with a tall and fall delivery, still refining ability to repeat but clearly a primary pitcher now. Fastball was up to 93 mph, very good angle when down in the zone. Curveball had serious spin and power with late 1/7 biting action when he was on top of it. Flashed two plus pitches with lots of potential for more. 6.76 runner, very loose and athletic for his size.. Left handed hitter with an upper body swing and plenty of pull side juice when he gets the barrel out. Exceptional student, verbal commitment to Vanderbilt. Selected to play in the 2018 Perfect Game All-American Classic.