The Official 2018 Amateur Draft Thread

[Chuck]

and we're up....

[Mark68]

1 minute ago, 101halo said:

Too slow, man, too slow. You Pujols'd it to first base on this one. 

Pujols didn't have 17 pages of incorrect draft pick guesses to read.

[101halo]

Just now, Mark68 said:

Pujols didn't have 17 pages of incorrect draft pick guesses to read.

Yes he did, but that was about 40 years ago when he was 25 years old on his draft day. 

[Chuck]

We got SS, Jeremiah Jackson!!

Jeremiah Jackson

School: St. Luke's Episcopal School, Mobile, Ala.
Ht: 6-0 | Wt: 170 | B-T: R-R | Commit/Drafted: Mississippi State
Scouting Report: The top prep prospect in Alabama, Jackson brings an impact bat to the table and wasted no time putting it on display this spring, when he hit a home run—rumored to be over 400 feet—in his first at-bat with St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Mobile, Ala. Jackson is an offensive-oriented infielder with natural strength and power that should continue to improve as his fills out his rangy, athletic frame. He used a deep leg lift during the summer and fall that created issues with his timing when he would get out in front and lunge at balls. But when his timing is down, Jackson has some of the better bat speed and raw power of any middle infielder in the class. With an above-average to plus arm, Jackson will have a chance to stick at shortstop, though many envision a move to second or third as he doesn’t have the quick-twitch actions and overall speed that is required for the position. His arm action tends to get long as well, which hurts his exchange and quickness on throws to first base. Regardless, Jackson should have enough glove skill to handle a position on the dirt to go alongside his dangerous bat.

[Angelsjunky]

Miami drafted a kid named Osiris. Awesome.

[bloodbrother]

 

[Angelsjunky]

So the Angels drafted at the two positions (OF, MI) that they're already deepest at?

Hmm...

[totdprods]

Sounds like a Brandon Marsh meets Nonie Williams type of prospect. Can't complain. A lot of highly ranked pitchers have slid, but don't pick again until #93 I think.

Guessing Adams will cost a good bit.

[bloodbrother]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

So the Angels drafted at the two positions (OF, MI) that they're already deepest at?

Hmm...

Sounds like Jackson likely moves to 3B as he develops. We already know the Angels have a huge hole at 3B in the present/future as things stand today

[Angel Oracle]

1 hour ago, Chuckster70 said:

Before the draft, the experts at Baseball America had Adams going two picks before us to the Texas Rangers. Here's their blurb:

15. Rangers (Kegan) Jordyn Adams, OF, Green Hope HS, Cary, N.C. History suggests that the Rangers are perfectly happy with taking a big hack at a high-risk, high-reward prospect in the draft. Me too. So give me Adams, who might have the highest ceiling of any player in this class. Adams is a two-sport athlete committed to play both football and baseball at North Carolina, and the thought of what he could become once he focuses solely on baseball is extremely enticing once we get outside of the top-10 picks.

Sounds like Adell a year ago?

[Inside Pitch]

 

Some people have hung a 60 hit tool on this kid -- MLB has it at 55...   Angels passing on the arms early to pick up the young upside position players.

[Inside Pitch]

1 minute ago, totdprods said:

Sounds like a Brandon Marsh meets Nonie Williams type of prospect. Can't complain. A lot of highly ranked pitchers have slid, but don't pick again until #93 I think.

Guessing Adams will cost a good bit.

There seems to be a lot less doubt that Jackson's bat is real.   But they definitely are staying up the middle again.

[Docwaukee]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

So the Angels drafted at the two positions (OF, MI) that they're already deepest at?

Hmm...

they're deepest at SP and OF.  

They've got some guys to watch at 3b but no one super exciting.  He's a long ways away AJ.  

[Cdaniel]

1 minute ago, Inside Pitch said:

 

Some people have hung a 60 hit tool on this kid -- MLB has it at 55...   Angels passing on the arms early to pick up the young upside position players.

Kind of crazy because it seemed like the Angels were mostly linked to pitchers

[Angelsjunky]

Well, I can buy the approach of drafting the highest upside, most athletic players, and then adjusting as needed. I'll warm to these picks as I trust Eppler's judgement, but I'm just a tad surprised he passed on Singer or Seigler for Adams, and didn't go for the best arm instead of Jackson. But I tend to geek out over position players more than pitchers, so I'm OK with it.

[Chuck]

Just now, Angelsjunky said:

Well, I can buy the approach of drafting the highest upside, most athletic players, and then adjusting as needed. I'll warm to these picks as I trust Eppler's judgement, but I'm just a tad surprised he passed on Singer or Seigler for Adams, and didn't go for the best arm instead of Jackson. But I tend to geek out over position players more than pitchers, so I'm OK with it.

Same here! Way too much risk in starting pitchers. 

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

Well, I can buy the approach of drafting the highest upside, most athletic players, and then adjusting as needed. I'll warm to these picks as I trust Eppler's judgement, but I'm just a tad surprised he passed on Singer or Seigler for Adams, and didn't go for the best arm instead of Jackson. But I tend to geek out over position players more than pitchers, so I'm OK with it.

I posted this in the prospects thread, but I'll drop it here too...

Maybe one of the reasons we didn't go after a college arm and went for the best overall player/athlete with our 1st rounder is the club control of all of our arms. 

Ohtani, Barria, Canning, Suarez, Tropeano, Heaney, Skaggs, Pena, Castillo, Lamb and if Richards wants to remain a teammate with his best friend, MIke Trout, maybe Richards gives the Angels a hometown discount? That's a hell of a lot of pitching.

There's also guys like Gatto, Rodriguez, Soriano, Madero, Rivera, Almonte, Swanda & Duensing. 

We also have Alex Meyer, Nate Smith and Chris Rodriguez coming back from injury. 

Tons of pitching depth there! 

[Angelsjunky]

^True. It is also important to remember, as Doc mentioned above, that JJ and JA are very young - high school guys, who are at least a few years away from the bigs.

Plus Jeremiah Jackson is a badass name.

[Cdaniel]

2 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

I posted this in the prospects thread, but I'll drop it here too...

Maybe one of the reasons we didn't go after a college arm and went for the best overall player/athlete with our 1st rounder is the club control of all of our arms. 

Ohtani, Barria, Canning, Suarez, Tropeano, Heaney, Skaggs, Pena, Castillo, Lamb and if Richards wants to remain a teammate with his best friend, MIke Trout, maybe Richards gives the Angels a hometown discount? That's a hell of a lot of pitching.

There's also guys like Gatto, Rodriguez, Soriano, Madero, Rivera, Almonte, Swanda & Duensing. 

We also have Alex Meyer, Nate Smith and Chris Rodriguez coming back from injury. 

Tons of pitching depth there! 

Great point!

[Docwaukee]

Let someone else develop the pitchers and we'll trade for them or sign a FA.  

I like the Jackson pick.  

His new nickname is 'bullfrog'.  Bullfrog Jackson.  

[Angelsjunky]

Was he a good friend of yours?

[101halo]

2 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

^True. It is also important to remember, as Doc mentioned above, that JJ and JA are very young - high school guys, who are at least a few years away from the bigs.

Plus Jeremiah Jackson is a badass name.

For some reason his name makes me think of Pulp Fiction. 

[greginpsca]

Just now, Dochalo said:

Let someone else develop the pitchers and we'll trade for them or sign a FA.  

I like the Jackson pick.  

His new nickname is 'bullfrog'.  Bullfrog Jackson.  

That "3 Dog Night" reference is probably going over the heads of many of the young'uns in here.

[Chuck]

 

[totdprods]

4 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Tons of pitching depth there! 

And plenty of OF prospects to trade for more if needed.

Buying FA SPs sucks. Develop internally or trade for them. Draft high upside athletes to develop stars, fill in the gaps via FA with mid-tier guys. I like that plan.