Riley Greene Hagerty HS (FL)
6-2 190
L/L
Perfect Game
- Riley Greene is a 2019 OF/LHP with a 6-2 190
lb. frame from Oviedo, FL who attends Hagerty HS. Outstanding athletic body,
long and strong with plenty of room to continue to fill out. Left handed
hitter, has a very fluid and easy swing with outstanding present bat speed,
advanced balance and ability to square up the baseball, shows power to all fields,
looks effortless doing it, sees the ball extremely well and will put up big
walk totals in the future. 6.62 runner, has advanced base running instincts.
Clean actions through the ball in the outfield, fields out front and makes
accurate throws with mature footwork. Bat is his tool and it could be the best
in the class.
2080 Baseball
- Built with a thick 6’2’’ and 190-pound frame, he’s fairly physically mature
and only fits a corner profile defensively. Even though that puts more pressure
on the bat, Greene shows enough offensive tools that it might not matter.
There’s plus batspeed for a teenage hitter, and paired with the natural
strength in his frame, Greene has significant power potential from the
left-hand side. The ball explodes off his bat, and his plate appearances were
disciplined and composed. He can put his pitch out of most parts of the
ballpark, but stayed within himself during his game at-bats and showed he can
work the count and use both fields. He only projects as a left fielder if he
does remain in the outfield, though 40-grade range and a fringy arm had me
wondering if Greene ultimately is going be landlocked at first base as a pro. One
of the top bats in this high school class, he will have every chance to prove
he hits enough to lessen concerns about the long-term defensive profile. He
will go into Jupiter this fall with Day 1 helium, checking all the boxes of an
early-round pick.
Mall Wallner Southern Miss
Jonathan Mayo
- 9. Mets (27-32, .458): Matt Wallner, OF,
Southern Miss A
product of the Minnesota high school ranks, Wallner has been a run producer and
closer at Southen Miss. While he's mid-to-upper 90s off the mound, his power
potential as an outfielder is what should drive his Draft stock. The 6-foot-5
outfielder has plus pop from the left side and is quite athletic for his size.
Mike Toglia UCLA
UCLA
– 2018: All-Pac-12 selection … earned All-Regional Team honors at the NCAA
Minneapolis Regional … only Bruin to start and play in all 59 games … hit .336
with 51 runs scored and team-best 58 RBIs … led team in RBIs, doubles and walks
and also top-three in batting average, slugging, on-base percentage, runs
scored, hits, home runs and total bases … recorded three multi-home runs games,
including two from either side of the plate … fifth Bruin since 2001 with
50-plus RBIs and 10-plus home runs in a season … second Bruin since 2012 to
record double-digit home runs and second UCLA player since 2015 with 50 RBIs …
named the winner of the Gold Standard Performance of the Week by the Golden
Spikes Award on April 25 … totaled 35 extra-base hits including 11 home runs
and 24 doubles … ended season with .588 slugging percentage and a .449 on-base
percentage … drew team-high 48 walks and three hit by pitches … registered 26
multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games … recorded five stolen bases … ended
season ranked top-10 in the Pac-12 in on-base percentage, runs scored, RBIs,
doubles, home runs, total bases and walks … finished top-100 in the NCAA in
doubles (10th), doubles per game (14th), walks (37th), sacrifice flies (51st),
RBIs (61st), total bases (79th), slugging percentage (96th), on-base percentage
(98th) … hit .277 in 30 Pac-12 games with 20 runs scored and team-best 35 RBIs
… tallied seven home runs and nine doubles in conference play … ended
conference season with a .529 slugging percentage and a .371 on-base percentage
… finished Pac-12 play second in RBIs and top-10 in home runs and total bases …
recorded career-high seven RBIs going 3-for-4 with two home runs vs. USC on
April 21 … drove in six runs and hit two home runs against No. 2 Stanford on
April 7 … hit pair of home runs at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27 … collected
career-best four hits with two doubles, four RBIs and three runs scores vs.
Portland on Feb. 18.
Jerrion Ealy Jackson Prep (MS)
Perfect Game
- Jerrion Ealy is a 2019 OF with a 5-10 192 lb. frame from Carthage, MS who
attends Jackson Prep. Compact very strong and very athletic build. Outstanding
runner, 6.13 in the sixty, has a sub 6.0 in him, ultra athletic and quick
twitch. Dynamic raw bat speed, raw swing mechanics but unmistakable elite
ability to drive the ball, big power potential from foul pole to foul pole,
will benefit from more and more hitting repetitions. Very strong arm from the
outfield that plays well in games, very accurate on line throws, centerfield
speed and range with premium right field arm strength. Has all the tools to be
an All-Star type player.
JJ Bledsay Vanderbilt
Anchor Of Gold
- For those who watched Vanderbilt baseball last year, it should be no surprise
that outfielder JJ Bleday is regarded as a top
pro prospect for the 2019 draft. Simply put, his impact on the lineup was
staggering. In his 39 games played, Bleday slashed .368/.494/.511 (yes, you
read that right, Moneyball Bleday was on base in nearly half of his plate appearances).
Further, in the five and a half weeks Bleday missed due to injury, Vanderbilt
slipped to 8-14 (losing the first five games of Bleday’s absence, to boot).
When he returned, the boys immediately picked it up, going 10-5 and were an
eyelash short of a trip to Omaha. Overall, the team played at an impressive
.675 clip (27-13) with him, but were a .364 team without him.
All Look great. Wallner would be a good Mets pick. That Jerrion fella reads like Mantle.
ReplyDeleteOr # 14 in the picture, that Mack fella.
ReplyDeleteEaly is going to commit to the Clemson Tigers football program on signing day
ReplyDeleteTom -
ReplyDeleteI rember that, when one our readers created that gif for me, the readers over at NYFS went nuts and accused me of dissing Gil Hodges.
Such class over there.
I hope the new administration goes for the BPA and not so much for a need pick (although, we have needs across the board, so you will likely fill one of them anyway).
ReplyDeleteSandy's drafts were a bit odd, at times.
Mike -
ReplyDeleteEarly prediction
Best player available at our pick...
1B Andrew Vaughn 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.
Around the Acorn, Nut of Oak
ReplyDeleteA few things crossing Main Street
1. Is Nancy as nuts as she looks?
2. Hitting the Internet, Alex Castellanos as a Mets trade.
My take is simply this: How many good outfielders does one team need for goodness sakes? If the Mets were to get Alex, where and when does McNeil get to play? Gut feeling here is that Jeff may be better than Castellanos long and possibly too short run. Nick is good though, big right handed batter and all, and reports all saying he has asked the Tigers for a trade. But the Mets already have Nimmo, McNeil, Conforto, Broxton, and don't forget Tebow too. Oops, I forgot sometimes CF Juan Lagares.
So Acorn, what would you do? (As if anyone should actually care, I barely do.)
Trade Lagares, Seawall, d'Arnaud, and Peterson for a really decent and durable backup catcher and some AA players. Then and only then maybe consider "Little Nicky" Castellanos. In other words clear out a place for him on the roster.
What about the online buzz regarding reliever Houston's Tony Sipp?
Although he is getting old (36) his numbers are pretty impressive. Plus, he's a left-handed reliever. But here's the thing. How many older veterans does one team really want in their 25-man? I get the reason for the ones here now, and it does buy the Mets time to further develop a stronger MiLB system. But Tyler Bashlor may already be better than some of the veteran relievers here now, and so may be Daniel Zamora, a lefty reliever.
If the Mets stockpile too many veteran relievers, it may work against these younger ones is what I am saying with this. The trick to me is balance between the young and old.
Enough Baseball
What about dem NY Knicks!
I routinely watch the Knicks whenever they are on, hoping to see something to get hopeful about. I liked a lot the Porzingis trade for two simple reasons: The first is because Kristap may not actually be the same exact player he was before the knee thing. No one even knows yet and time it always tells. Secondly, the style of NBA play now is all about speed and those often ridiculous three point shots that every teams misses more than sinks. Kristap is fine on the three pointers and has a decent shot from outside, but I have to wonder if Kristap would be quick enough for a running and gunning offensive like the one we saw last night against Detroit. I am just not so sure. Dallas and Cuban may be a better fit for Kristap longrun.
I have to admit that Dennis Johnson Jr. makes Phil Jackson look bad with his draft pick of that season draft, opting for Frank Nitklina instead. But here's the thing keep both. Johnson Jr. is awesome already and Frank will be, but is still a work in progress. Once he finishes growing out his ballhairs (especially going to the hoop) he will be just as awesome as Johnson Jr. Keep them both, Triers, and Mudiay.
The Knicks have always been about guards the past seven years or so, really since Isiah showed up. Now with DeAndre Jordan and Kevin Knox upfront, they have now the best Knicks front court since Patrick Ewing retired.
So Acorn, what do the Knicks need more to be a top five NBA team?
To me and right now, the Knicks are a playoff team. All they ned more is a big, tall, strong powerforward who can offensively rebound and shoot in some points, stay in position underneath both ends, and help Knick center DeAndre Jordan close down the lane to the net.
Zion Williamson comes to mind in the next draft. Bingo! There you go. Their bench is deep now too. Trade Grade: A
Mack:
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis on first baseman Vaughn. But two things. Firstly, sub-six foot first basemen seldom seem to pan out well and stick in MLB unless the last name is Garvey. Secondly, although stock piling same position really good younger players can work well for trading purposes, I think Mets first base will be all Peter Alonso's and for hopefully a long, long time as a NY Met. I already know that you agree with No.2!
Are you a Knicks fan too? (My God, I love this Porzingis trade I tell ya'.) We got a real center (named Jordan a name that demolished us in the 1990's)! It's a competitive team again right now, and a quick/fast running team. We have now entered The Twilight Zone, a place where time and space are of no real importance. Or something, I forget.