More Weekly Draft Notes

 

1-19-21 - Hunter Pence Baseball Academy  @HPbaseball3

 

@JohnMackinAde @caedmonparker21 He's a special young arm who is just scratching the surface of what he's capable of.  Great kid, great family, great teammate, and an intense competitor.

 

Mack’s spin - We wrote about him earlier this week and projected him in the second round.

 

 

1-18-21 - LOOKOUT LANDING -

 

There’s a lot to like from Richard Fitts as a pro prospect. The body is really, really good. The arm speed and athleticism on the mound certainly help project more potential coming. The velo is trending in the right direction and he’s really starting to harness a plan for what his secondary offerings are doing.

 

There are still the concerns of his intrinsic ability to supinate and spin a breaking ball, as well as the ability to kill lift on an off-speed pitch, but that should come with time. Fitts comes from a conference, and more specifically a school with fantastic tutelage and tradition in terms of sending premier arms to the next level. If Fitts commands the baseball in 2021 and his stuff takes a step forward like many are anticipating it has, he’s certainly in-play for the Mariners at pick no. 12.

 

Mack’s spin -

 

No one has rocketed up the board more than this guy has this month, which is strange since we are in the off-season.

 

I don’t project him in the first round, but he probably will be gone in the second.

 

Like the writer said above, if he has a killer season this year, he probably will become a first rounder.

 

 

1-18-21 - bpj -

 

Jordan Wicks had a notable 2020 and wants to carry that success into this spring.

 

He is a 6-foot-3, 220-pound left-handed pitcher who throws a four-seam fastball, two-seamer, changeup, slider and curveball from a three-quarters arm slot and clean and low-effort delivery.

 

His fastballs sit in the low-90s with high spin rates. While his fastballs are quality offerings, scouts rave about Wicks’ changeup.

 

Wicks throws the best changeup in the 2021 draft class. It’s an elite offering that he throws with conviction. The low-80s offering looks like a fastball out of his hand but features tumbling action that allows it to fall out of the strike zone. The breaking action on the pitch causes hitters to swing and miss or hit it for a ground ball.

 

Mack’s spin -

 

Boy, I wish we had two first round picks this draft.

 

I really like this guy and I expect he will be a very successful major league starter on some team other than our own.

  

 

1-18-21 - The MLB Draft League -

 

“I’d probably say the first- and second-rounders is going to be a little bit of a stretch, in the beginning,” Jackson said. “The biggest thing now is people see this solely as an opportunity to be evaluated. That might be a short-sighted view with everything that is involved.

 

“Our league appeals to a number of different players. It appeals to the player from a small school, and with COVID, maybe they didn’t get seen as much since the scouts were concentrating on the bigger schools. It appeals to the guy that is going into the draft and maybe is a sixth- through 10th-round guy and wants to improve his stock. So, he comes and plays. I think it also appeals to the guy that had a great spring and knows where he fits in the draft and he’s comfortable with that second-through-fifth-round area, but there is a two-month window in there and what is he going to do?

 

“If they’re a pitcher, it depends on how many innings he threw. Maybe taking some time off is necessary. But a position player, you can only go and stay relevant with the rhythm of the game so long by taking ground balls or hitting in the cage. You need to play. Even the guy that solidified himself, just being able to play will be beneficial to them because now with the structure that has changed in minor league ball, there is no more short season. You want to keep your game sharp.”

 

Mack’s spin -

 

I have mixed feelings about this league.

 

One, it is another exploitation of kids trying to make it in a sport that they probably don’t have enough talent to go all the way, but two, ya never know if someone will some out of the woodwork, bat .400, and get a shot with a real team in a real league.

 

Consider this another version of the Cape Cod/Northwoods system. 

 

 

1-16-21 - bpj -

 

Luke Hayden displayed intriguing potential in numerous high-profile showcase events, including the Perfect Game National Showcase, Area Code Games and East Coast Pro Showcase, last summer.

 

The right-handed pitcher from Bloomington, Indiana, is an underrated high school pitcher in the 2021 MLB draft class. He throws hard and has the competitive drive major league teams seek. If he can refine his mechanics and secondary pitches, Hayden likely will move up draft boards this spring.

 

Professional scouts currently project Hayden, a senior at Edgewood High (Ind.), as a potential early-round pick in July’s draft.

 

Mack’s spin -

 

I have Hayden being picked at around the 150^th pick, dependent upon whether he sends signs out that he could be signed. 

 

 

1-16-21 - Jake Martin  @somethinstank

 

Clemson Baseball commit and 18th ranked @PG_Scouting player in the nation Brock Porter came into the facility today. Outstanding 4-pitch mix with an elite changeup. Exit velos were consistently in the 90’s  -    @BrockPorter10

 

Mack - I currently do not project Porter in the first 250 players drafted in 2021. 

 

 

1-15-21 - ncaa.com -

 

In the two fall scrimmages I saw at Disharoon Park at Davenport Field, Virginia’s four talented weekend starter candidates went head-to-head on back-to-back days. Notably, fourth-year junior left-hander Andrew Abbott has worked as a starter all fall, after serving as the linchpin of the bullpen over the last three seasons. And he was dominant in the three scoreless innings I saw, striking out three while allowing just one baserunner. Abbott carved up the zone at 91-93 and showcased his typical wipeout curveball at 75-79 with a high spin rate in the 2700-2900 rpm range, one of the best breaking balls in college baseball. He also mixed in a firm but effective changeup at 85-87, giving him a solid third offering to combat righties. Abbott ranked No. 64 on our Top 150 college prospects list for the 2020 draft, and we expected some pro team would surely take him in the top five rounds and sign him — so did the Cavaliers. But the buzz among scouts is that Abbott stuck firm to his high asking price, and he went undrafted, giving UVA its biggest mound weapon for another year. As good as he’s been in the bullpen, Abbott changes the dynamics of Virginia’s staff by sliding into the rotation and potentially eating up 100-plus innings; his career high for innings as a reliever was 51. He has the best combination of stuff, command and experience on this staff, so it makes sense to maximize his workload.

 

Mack - Abbott is one of the premier relievers in the upcoming draft. Reliever’s usually start to kick in on Day 2. Abbott will be one of them. How high he goes will be based on how he does this next season.

 

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