The Official 2018 Amateur Draft Thread

[goldenGlove]

I like both picks, to be honest. Jackson becoming a stud could take some of the sting away from Vladdy Jr 

[Chuck]

Just now, totdprods said:

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.

Also, maybe the difference between these guys available where we're picking aren't so much better than ones that will be available in the 3rd-6th rounds, if not later. 

Go for the best overall position players at premium positions like SS and CF now. 

[Angelsjunky]

His swing seems a bit stiff.

[Docwaukee]

3 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! 

we also have to remember that we're actually signing international players now as well so our pool of options has increased by 30-40%.  

[Docwaukee]

2 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

His swing seems a bit stiff.

who?

[Angelsjunky]

Just now, Dochalo said:

who?

Jackson. I don't have an expert eye, just not a lot of torque in the legs. But maybe he's going at 80% as it is batting practice.

[SoWhat]

Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, Griffin Canning, Jahmai Jones, Jaime Barria, Matt Thaiss, Jose Suarez, Chris Rodriguez, Jordyn Adams, Jeremiah Jackson, Trent Deveaux, Jose Soriano, Kevin Maitan, Leo Rivas, Taylor Ward. 

 

Im sure I'm missing a few more but holy shit..hell of a job fixing the farm. I think we'll have a top 5 farm system by next year. 

[greginpsca]

Those prospect video's only show swings on bp pitches right down the middle. I like to see if the hitter can hit a curve, slider, or how he reacts to a change or a splitter.

[Docwaukee]

 

[totdprods]

2 minutes ago, SoWhat said:

Jo Adell, Brandon Marsh, Griffin Canning, Jahmai Jones, Jaime Barria, Matt Thaiss, Jose Suarez, Chris Rodriguez, Jordyn Adams, Jeremiah Jackson, Trent Deveaux, Kevin Maitan, Leo Rivas, Taylor Ward. 

 

Im sure I'm missing a few more but holy shit. Hell of a job fixing the farm. I think we'll have a top 5 farm system by next year. 

There’s a legitimate Top 30 now. Guys are missing that list, it’s hard to slot in new draftees, the Top 10 is arguable...all very good signs.

[Angelsjunky]

Eric Longenhagen mentioned how excited he is about seeing Jordyn Adams at AZL (He lives in Arizona). Adams and Deveaux are going to be a nice combo in the AZL outfield.

[Docwaukee]

17 minutes ago, totdprods said:

There’s a legitimate Top 30 now. Guys are missing that list, it’s hard to slot in new draftees, the Top 10 is arguable...all very good signs.

grabbing a couple of 50 grade guys tonight.  Even though I'm not a big mlb fan in terms of their prospect rankings, that gives us 10 according to them and that's leaving out Suarez, Soriano, 
Rengifo, Ward and a few others that could move up pretty quick as soon as they hit the field in a couple of weeks.  Like Acquino, Deveaux.  Watch out for Hector Yan, Jerryell Rivera.  I've also got Luis Pena as being a guy who will eventually be a very good major league pitcher.  

[arch stanton]

After seeing the teams we threw out there in '15 and '16 I'm really glad to see an infusion of speed and athletes

[Docwaukee]

34 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Jackson. I don't have an expert eye, just not a lot of torque in the legs. But maybe he's going at 80% as it is batting practice.

looks pretty loose to me.  some good drag and whip.   too much hand movement.  they're gonna have to quiet that down.  

[tdawg87]

Hopefully Eppler drafts nothing but black dudes.

[Chuck]

From @taylorblakeward

[tdawg87]

Jake Wong just for the name.

[Blarg]

46 minutes ago, Angelsjunky said:

Jackson. I don't have an expert eye, just not a lot of torque in the legs. But maybe he's going at 80% as it is batting practice.

That is something I was noticing. He seems to have happy feet, mostly is right plant foot that seems to not have any form connection to the ground making this a hip and up swing. A little too light on his feet to get more bat speed rather than build the power from the waist down. I'm no scout so I'm probably off on this and it could be he is on hard mat instead of clay but I don't think this is changing in cleats. 

[Warfarin]

Love the picks.  We drafted the best athlete in the draft.  Adell, Deveaux, Adams, Marsh - that's a LOT of athleticism out there!

I know some felt we are already stacked at OF, but remember - these guys are prospects, not sure things.  While I hope they all pan out, two of them are still trying to adjust to hi-A, and the other two haven't taken a single professional AB just yet.  Eppler's doing the right thing here - amassing as much talent as possible and letting things sort themselves out later.

If we are so blessed as to have those 4 guys all turn out to be legit MLB players, well, there are worse situations to be in than that

[Docwaukee]

24 minutes ago, Blarg said:

That is something I was noticing. He seems to have happy feet, mostly is right plant foot that seems to not have any form connection to the ground making this a hip and up swing. A little too light on his feet to get more bat speed rather than build the power from the waist down. I'm no scout so I'm probably off on this and it could be he is on hard mat instead of clay but I don't think this is changing in cleats. 

he's a front foot guy.  please don't take this the wrong way because I'm not saying he's anything close, but take a look at some swing videos of robbie cano and pay attention to his back foot.  Also watch him whip the bat knob to the ball through the zone.  

[Blarg]

I'm a Trout guy. This kid needs to work on that swing.

 

[Docwaukee]

7 minutes ago, Blarg said:

I'm a Trout guy. This kid needs to work on that swing.

 

Trout's a front foot guy.  

[Blarg]

He starts firmly planted on his right heel. His finish is forward but his entire right side is at work getting there. It's powerful, not some light as air dance step. 

[Docwaukee]

10 minutes ago, Blarg said:

He starts firmly planted on his right heel. His finish is forward but his entire right side is at work getting there. It's powerful, not some light as air dance step. 

true.  but his swing is close to perfect.  there lots of ways to do it.  my point is that a lot of guys who end up with their weight out front ie on their front foot when they finish have some back foot movement.  

A lot of that will go away as he develops though as will all that timing trigger with his hands going up down up down while they're going back.  right now they see the raw bat to ball skills with natural pop and bat speed.  

[KevinJ14]

Eric A Longenhagen: Kevin Maitan might just retire when he sees Adams

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-mlb-draft-chat/