The Official 2018 Amateur Draft Thread

[Inside Pitch]

5 minutes ago, red321 said:

Watching the college world series...if I'm getting a 500k bonus, I'd have to think long and hard about going back to a college where they are going to pitch me until my arm falls off

Mark Marquess is no longer the head coach at Stanford...   That's less of a concern than in the past.  I always used to go on record as never drafting Stanford pitchers.

Edited June 5, 2018 by Inside Pitch

[Inside Pitch]

Grant Witherspoon...  a CF!

[Docwaukee]

although the halos have gone high upside hs pitcher in the 4th during epplers previous drafts.  

[BackUpTheTruck]

35 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

 

I think he has very good mechanics. Only concern is that he throws across his body, but we've seen Richards and Weaver do the same thing. Great pick!

[Docwaukee]

1 minute ago, Inside Pitch said:

Grant Witherspoon...  a CF!

to tampa.  you're killing me.  

[Inside Pitch]

Yeah -- I just like that kids name.  We got Bradish.  Sorry

 

[Docwaukee]

Kyle Bradish.  

[tdawg87]

IP is drunk

[Docwaukee]

 

Pitching in New Mexico and the Western Athletic Conference isn't an easy task, but Bradish has been doing it as a starter for three years. The tall right-hander was a first-team all-WAC performer as a sophomore, then used a strong performance in the Cape Cod League to springboard to an even better junior year to put him firmly on the Draft radar. There's a lot to like with this Arizona native's size and stuff. The 6-foot-4 righty has a fastball-curve combination that's attractive to many teams. He'll sit 92-94 mph with his fastball, and can touch 96 mph at times. He has a big 12-to-6 curve, thrown in the 76-80 mph range, that he uses effectively as his out pitch, and he mixes in a changeup. A big x-factor for Bradsish might be his cutter-like slider, thrown in the upper-80s, that could develop into a much better pitch in the future. All of it comes from a catapult-like delivery with a lot of moving pieces. The positive of that is deception; the negative is spotty command, which gets away from him when he tries to go up and down in the zone or gets off to the side in his delivery. There's a split camp among scouts about Bradish's future role. With the potential for a four-pitch mix, a team taking him in the top three rounds is bound to let him head out as a starter, but knowing that his fastball-curve combination could tick up in shorter relief stints provides a nice backup plan.

[Inside Pitch]

I liked that Osiris kid's name too.   Also Jake Wong...

[totdprods]

Nice pick. Two straight 21 yr-old righties with some versatility and utility. Good depth.

[Docwaukee]

2 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

I liked that Osiris kid's name too.   Also Jake Wong...

how about Grant Little or Tanner Dodson.  

My Dodson is tanner than yours.  

[Inside Pitch]

4 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

 

Pitching in New Mexico and the Western Athletic Conference isn't an easy task, but Bradish has been doing it as a starter for three years. The tall right-hander was a first-team all-WAC performer as a sophomore, then used a strong performance in the Cape Cod League to springboard to an even better junior year to put him firmly on the Draft radar. There's a lot to like with this Arizona native's size and stuff. The 6-foot-4 righty has a fastball-curve combination that's attractive to many teams. He'll sit 92-94 mph with his fastball, and can touch 96 mph at times. He has a big 12-to-6 curve, thrown in the 76-80 mph range, that he uses effectively as his out pitch, and he mixes in a changeup. A big x-factor for Bradsish might be his cutter-like slider, thrown in the upper-80s, that could develop into a much better pitch in the future. All of it comes from a catapult-like delivery with a lot of moving pieces. The positive of that is deception; the negative is spotty command, which gets away from him when he tries to go up and down in the zone or gets off to the side in his delivery. There's a split camp among scouts about Bradish's future role. With the potential for a four-pitch mix, a team taking him in the top three rounds is bound to let him head out as a starter, but knowing that his fastball-curve combination could tick up in shorter relief stints provides a nice backup plan.

Only allowed 3 HRs in 101 innings this year.  Thats hard to do in that conference and at NM.

[Turd Ferguson]

6 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Nice pick. Two straight 21 yr-old righties with some versatility and utility. Good depth.

I agree. Sounds like both pitchers have a shot at being starters but both could be quality relievers. Might be part of the FO's plan to restock the pen. 

[Inside Pitch]

1 minute ago, Dochalo said:

how about Grant Little or Tanner Dodson.  

My Dodson is tanner than yours.  

Grant Green soured me on all Grants forever....   Even Little ones.     Anyone named Tanner is okay by me.  Long Live Tanner Boyle!

Edited June 5, 2018 by Inside Pitch

[Chuck]

With the 121st pick of the 2018 #MLBDraft, the @Angels select @NMStateBaseball RHP Kyle Bradish, ranked No. 89 on @MLBPipeline's Top 200 Prospects list: https://t.co/I4XB50yP67 pic.twitter.com/OPtkeoif67

— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) June 5, 2018

[Inside Pitch]

Bradish

MLB.com

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

Pitching in New Mexico and the Western Athletic Conference isn't an easy task, but Bradish has been doing it as a starter for three years. The tall right-hander was a first-team all-WAC performer as a sophomore, then used a strong performance in the Cape Cod League to springboard to an even better junior year to put him firmly on the Draft radar.

There's a lot to like with this Arizona native's size and stuff. The 6-foot-4 righty has a fastball-curve combination that's attractive to many teams. He'll sit 92-94 mph with his fastball, and can touch 96 mph at times. He has a big 12-to-6 curve, thrown in the 76-80 mph range, that he uses effectively as his out pitch, and he mixes in a changeup. A big x-factor for Bradsish might be his cutter-like slider, thrown in the upper-80s, that could develop into a much better pitch in the future. All of it comes from a catapult-like delivery with a lot of moving pieces. The positive of that is deception; the negative is spotty command, which gets away from him when he tries to go up and down in the zone or gets off to the side in his delivery.

There's a split camp among scouts about Bradish's future role. With the potential for a four-pitch mix, a team taking him in the top three rounds is bound to let him head out as a starter, but knowing that his fastball-curve combination could tick up in shorter relief stints provides a nice backup plan.

[Lou]

9 hours ago, Dave Saltzer said:

I'm going to post this in both this thread and the official Adams draf I checked with some people in a variety of organizations and was told that there was no way Adams was going to go much lower, and definitely zero chance he'd make it out of the 1st round. A couple of clubs were really hoping he'd drop to them and were ready to pounce

Where were these "sources" before the draft? I couldn't find a single mention from you about Adams before we drafted him. lol 

[Chuck]

More on Bradish...

Scouting Report: Part of a huge 35-man recruiting class New Mexico State coach Brian Green brought to Las Cruses in 2016, Bradish quickly separated himself from the rest of the pack, solidifying a weekend rotation role that he's maintained all three seasons. Bradish opened eyes in the Cape Cod League last summer, starting on a temporary contract and earning an all-star nod. Bradish earned mixed reports earlier this spring with lower velocity than he showed in the Cape, but he's picked it back up since then, working 91-93 mph and touching 96 mph. He creates great angle with his over-the-top arm slot, especially with his 12-to-6 curveball, which has excellent depth and has taken a jump forward this season. It's a swing-and-miss pitch with plus potential. Bradish still needs to work on a third pitch, and he needs to limit his walks—he has 104 strikeouts to 47 walks through 74.2 innings this season. But his combination of present stuff and his projectable 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame give him starter's upside. Bradish should be off the board by the third or fourth round.

[jonickell25]

3 minutes ago, Lou said:

Where were these "sources" before the draft? I couldn't find a single mention from you about Adams before we drafted him. lol 

I definitely saw him post that the Yankees scouts saw multiple Angels crosscheckers at Adams games.

[Inside Pitch]

Just now, jonickell25 said:

I definitely saw him post that the Yankees scouts saw multiple Angels crosscheckers at Adams games.

That was definitely me....

[Docwaukee]

Just now, Inside Pitch said:

That was definitely me....

he definitely posted that you posted that.  

[BackUpTheTruck]

I'm not a big fan of Bradish's shoulder lean in his delivery, but what I do like is he throws with his body and has a high arm slot because of that early shoulder lean. That high arm slot should make for a very effective 12-6 curveball.

[Inside Pitch]

Just now, Dochalo said:

he definitely posted that you posted that.  

Definitely!

[T.G.]

23 minutes ago, Dave Saltzer said:

Thank you for explaining it to me. I couldn't wrap my head around it. C'mon, it's Benji freaking Gil's son there!

Funny Benji Gil story... My wife and I were at spring training in 2005 and Benji was trying to catch on with the Mariners.  We had a 2002 WS ball that needed his signature and we waited for him at the stadium in Peoria where the players walk out after leaving the field.  People were lined up for Ichiro and others, but when Gil walked by - we started yelling for him.  He looked at us with that "Who, me?" look... he couldn't believe someone was trying to get his autograph.  He signed, of course.