Draft News This Week

 

Good morning. 

 

12-22-20  -  China Daily -

 

Major League Baseball has partnered with Prep Baseball Report scouting service to open another potential path to the big leagues for talented youngsters－including those from China.

 

With the September launch of its First Pitch clinics at Fengying Primary School in Wuxi and the ongoing success of student-player development centers in Wuxi, Changzhou and Nanjing, MLB continues to spur baseball's growth in the world's most populous nation, where iResearch estimates around 8.5 million youngsters play the game.

 

Overseen by MLB China, the First Pitch clinics will be expanded to kindergarten and elementary schools in 2021, providing access to high-quality textbooks, coaching resources, professional equipment, training sessions for teachers and a tournament for budding talent.

 

 

12-23-20 - prospect live -

 

This class seems to have more hard-throwing college arms than in years past. That’s a good sign for the overall health of the class, especially with three or four upper-tier arms at the head of the class.

 

Given all the information we’ve been provided, Wake Forest righty Ryan Cusick seems destined to go early in the draft. The data is excellent. The model characteristics are about perfect. The knowledge to pitch is there. So long as Cusick is throwing strikes this season, we’re confident he’ll be one of the first handful of arms off the board.

 

Sam Bachman’s meteoric rise seemed to pop just after our last update. He’s an electric arm with the potential for three above average pitches. Looking like a first round pick.

 

Although Louisville is chockfull of good arms, fifth year righty Glenn Albanese has really stood out from the crowd. Many guys on the team seem to agree he’s got the best stuff on the staff. He’s touched 98 this Fall and has showcased a potential plus breaking ball.

 

While Kansas State lefty Jordan Wicks is our consensus top southpaw in the college ranks right now.

 

Cincinnati lefty Evan Shawver continues to push his way up boards. He’s got all the ingredients teams like to see. Full arsenal, fantastic pitch data, clean operation, track record of throwing strikes.

 

Indiana prep shortstop Colson Montgomery has really helped his stock at over the last few months, and scouts have really taken notice of the premium body, strong hit tool, and smooth actions on defense. He may ultimately end up at third base, but he could work his way into Top 50 consideration with a strong Spring.

 

NC State catcher Luca Tresh has seen a mammoth rise over the past two months after cementing himself as the starting catcher for the Wolfpack. Tresh replaces Patrick Bailey, but might be every bit the bat of his predecessor. Some scouts have thrown 60 grades on the power tool. Tresh may push Hunter Goodman as the second-best college catcher in the class, though for our money, Louisville backstop Henry Davis is in a league of his own thanks to top-of-the-scale athleticism behind the plate and 98th percentile exit velos, as well as outlandishly good walk and strikeout rates.

 

 

12-24-20 - D1Baseball @d1baseball)

 

Ty Madden looked like a Top 10 pick this fall, and the rest of the Texas Longhorns followed suit as well with strong falls.

 

 

12-24-20 - Joe  @JoeDoyleMiLB -

 

Joey Bart 2017: .296/.370/.575 -- 13 HR -- 24% K-Rate -- 109.8 peak EV

 

Joey Bart 2018: .359/.471/.632 -- 16 HR -- 20.5% K-Rate -- 110.8 peak EV

 

Henry Davis 2020 *pace*: .372/.481/.698 -- 12.5 HR -- 7.6% K-Rate -- 109.7 peak EV

 

 

12-24-20 - Jim Callis Q and A -

 

Q - In recent years, the industry seems to have soured on drafting high school pitching. Would you say that it's still trending that way? Or is the pendulum going to move back as high school pitching starts to get undervalued?

 

Due to this, how late could Andrew Painter be on the board?

 

Jim Callis - The industry considers high school catchers and pitchers (especially right-handers) the riskiest demographics in the Draft. The best ones typically go lower than media outlets rank them and Mick Abel (No. 15 to the Phillies, 2019) is the only prep arm to go in the upper half of the last two first rounds. But four did in 2018, Hunter Greene and MacKenzie Gore went second and third overall in 2017 and five of the first 12 picks were high school pitchers in 2016.

 

The 2021 Draft is still seven months away, but as of now, I don't anticipate many high school arms going in the first round. That's not because teams are running way from them, rather that the prep arms are a weaker class than usual. Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) right-hander Andrew Painter has the size, stuff and polish to go in the first 10 picks, though based on recent history it wouldn't be a surprise to see him last 5-10 selections longer than that.

 

12-22-20 - SI -

 

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper tabbed Mississippi State baseball’s lefty ace Christian MacLeod a preseason second-team All-American on Tuesday (Dec. 22).

 

MacLeod impressed in his 2020 debut season, earning a perfect 4-0 record on an 0.86 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 21 innings pitched. On February 15 he burst on the scene, striking out the most batters by a Bulldog in a collegiate debut since at least 1985 with 11 versus Wright State on his way to earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Week laurels.