Official 2021 MLB draft thread

[Angelsjunky]

8 minutes ago, Lou said:

Since when had this been a thing?

 

 

 

 

Answer: Never

I dunno, maybe he's seen Bull Durham one too many times.

[failos]

6 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

Sadly the Skeeters are now part of organized ball and an Astros farm team.

That’s wild…

[Lou]

1 minute ago, Angelsjunky said:

I dunno, maybe he's seen Bull Durham one too many times.

So he's seen it twice?

[failos]

4 hours ago, failos said:

Brady Aiken 2.0

I agree

[khouse]

Final Scorecard: The Angels signed 19 of the 20 players they drafted (with the lone exception being Texas Christian RHS Marcelo Perez) 

https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-angels-sign-19-of-20-selections-from-2021-mlb-draft

[tdawg87]

4 minutes ago, khouse said:

Final Scorecard: The Angels signed 19 of the 20 players they drafted (with the lone exception being Texas Christian RHS Marcelo Perez) 

https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-angels-sign-19-of-20-selections-from-2021-mlb-draft

[Taylor]

8 hours ago, Ron Mexico said:

Anything is Possible with the Devil Boras ad you're agent.. Rocker going back into the draft with a Bad Elbow 

Well Said

[Tank]

On 7/27/2021 at 12:29 PM, ten ocho recon scout said:

It would be funnier if he was caught trying to use his non pitching elbow. Or sending a look alike. Or using a cadaver elbow. Or a mannequin arm. Like when people take drug tests for employers

reminds me of an episode of Cheers when Kevin McHale was a guest. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ZsfdovGzw

[failos]

On 7/11/2021 at 5:09 PM, Vlad27Trout27 said:

Well the Mets got it right.

I agree

[UndertheHalo]

Angels currently have the 13th pick in the 2022 draft.  Probably not going to crack the top 10.  

[ten ocho recon scout]

4 hours ago, Tank said:

reminds me of an episode of Cheers when Kevin McHale was a guest. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3ZsfdovGzw

One of the few episodes i remember. Good catch

[Docwaukee]

from a pool management perspective, the Angels did a terrific job in this draft.  Picking up several players that slipped due to potential signability issues who were slated to go much earlier.  Of course we have no idea if the picks will pan out but they sure seemed to get a lot of value out of their later picks.  

[rafibomb]

Can't help but bring up again how impressive it is that the Angels were able to sign 19 of their 20 draft picks this season. They were able to get a guy who had easy top-10 talent (Bachman) and sign him to an underslot deal allowing us to grab some high-end talent after round 10 (Albright, Silseth, Hanley).

Edited August 3, 2021 by rafibomb

[Lou]

Thanks, scouts!

[ten ocho recon scout]

1 hour ago, Lou said:

Thanks, scouts!

 

[Dave Saltzer]

So, now that we know a lot more about Rocker, his arm, salary demands, the number and types of non-drsfted FAs, the later round picks, etc., does anyone want to change the grade for the draft? 

[totdprods]

One year later...how does everyone feel? 
My very rough assessment...good, okay, and 'bad'.

• 1st: Sam Bachman 
  It's a plus that he's reached the bigs quickly and looked solid, but I'm still personally a little iffy on this pick, and his recent IL stint with shoulder inflammation doesn't ease that. He feels like a good reliever who will be prone to injuries and wildness, and seeing Matt McClain and Gavin Williams producing well in the bigs now too (hindsight will ring true with any draft, I know) I can't help but be a little disappointed here. Still, he's a good, young arm and he's in the bigs, and perhaps more importantly, his underslot deal allowed the Angels to sign Albright and Silseth.
   
• 2nd: Ky Bush
  2023 has been a letdown - 8.28 ERA in 7 starts, but only 25 IP, and he's been fairly hittable and wild in the minors, but still enough promise there to be a good pick. Andrew Abbott, drafted after Bush by the Reds, is sporting a 2.45 ERA in ~48 IP in the bigs so far, and a handsome WHIP of 1.00. Cincy did well drafting McClain and Abbott. 
   
• 3rd: Landon Marceaux
  Marceaux was turned into one-half of Eduardo Escobar. Kind of a bummer, and maybe not the best value from a 3rd round arm - especially since it also cost another good arm on top of it.
   
• 4th: Luke Murphy
  Vandy reliever looked great his first two seasons on the farm, but has had a really rough year for Rocket City (5.97 ERA, 36 hits, 19 BB in 28.2 IP). I'll credit some of the blame to the doctored balls they're using, but still a little worrisome here. He was sort of anticipated to figure into the Halos bullpen pretty quick and he's stalled somewhat. 
   
• 5th: Brett Kerry
  Sort of just feels like an org arm. Decent 4.28 ERA and solid numbers in AA. 
   
• 6th: Jake Smith
  Has stalled out with three years now in Tri-City, the most recent being ugly - 35 hits and 33 runs and 22 walks allowed, in only 23 IP.
   
• 7th: Ryan Costieu
  Might not be too surprising to hear that after conversion to pseudo-starting last year, despite a pure relief profile, Costieu has wound up missing all of 2023 with an elbow injury before the season even started. Still, he was effective before (3.45 WRA, 112 K and only 25 BB in 86 IP), and presuming this is just a regular TJS, he's still a potential factor down the line.
   
• 8th: Nick Jones
  A big ol' 6'6" lefty, Jones has pitched well since being drafted, and has harnessed his control in '23, while posting big K numbers and limiting hits (24 hits, 44 K, 10 BB in 34.2 IP) and seeing as how he's now in AA, could be in Anaheim as soon as this year, tbh. 
   
• 9th: Braden Olthoff
  Grading him a little tough here...he's missed the entire '23 season so far with an undisclosed injury, and his '21 and '22 campaigns were just sort of okay at best. Average numbers across the board, likely an org arm coupled with injury.
   
• 10th: Andrew Peters
  Currently injured, has only pitched 3 IP in '23, and only 17.2 IP since being drafted, about half of those in Rookie Ball. At 24, this isn't looking too great. 
   
• 11th: Chase Silseth
  Pretty great pick here, and like mentioned earlier, one that balances out any of the iffiness about Bachman in the first given the slot money context. Even if he tops out as a reliever, the quick ascent, solid results to date, and intriguing stuff make this a great pick.
   
• 12th: Mason Albright
  One of my favorite picks in the draft, Albright has rebounded after an ugly '22 to post a '23 to start dreaming on. Two years younger than his A-ball competition, Albright has a 4.02 ERA across 66.2 IP in 13 G/12 GS, showing strong command with 19 BB to 72 K. I feel like there's a decent MLB SP here. 
   
• 13th: Mo Hanley
  Talented and an exciting pick at the time, even though it was known he'd be out with TJS. Only managed one appearance (not a good one at that) before going back on the IL. Turns 24 today, so, not promising.
   
• 14th: Eric Torres
  I have to assume Torres is one of the pitchers who has suffered from the pre-tacked AA balls. An electric '22 (23 BB, 81 K, 2.29 ERA in 51 IP) has dramatically reversed in '23, with more walks (28) than IP (22) and an ERA over 9.00. The strong strikeout rate has maintained. 
   
• 15th: Glenn Albanese
  Already had one TJS before draft, and has missed all of '23 with injury. Pitched well, but not well enough to shake what has to be emerging long-term health question marks.
   
• 16th: Brandon Dufault
  Another AA reliever whose control has vanished, with 19 BB and 19 K in 20.2 IP. Now on the 60-day IL as of early July. Still some long-term relief potential, but will be 25 in '24 with a career ERA of 5.06 in the minors if he doesn't return this season, which seems unlikely.
   
• 17th: Mason Erla
  Has had a pretty bad '23; lots of walks, lots of hits, lots of earned runs, no dominant K numbers, but the org has promoted him aggressively and he has a decent track record, plus a solid spring showing. Currently injured, but still promise here.
   
• 18th: Nick Mondak
  Has yet to break past A+ ball with a ERA above 5. Org arm.
   
• 19th: Nathan Burns
  Older reliever who has also dealt with injury, wildness, and AA ball issues (9 walks against 4 K and 11 hits in 5.2 AA innings). Clock's a ticking...

The 20th round pick, Marcelo Perez, did not sign. He was selected in the 11th round the following year by Seattle, and has a 3.68 ERA in 10 GS/44 IP for Seattle's A-level club, with solid numbers across the board.

Good picks: 5/19
Mixed/decent picks: 5/19
'Bad' picks: 9/19

Overall this still grades out as a pretty good draft to date, even with Bachman maybe not being the 'best' first-rounder, given how Silseth and Albright have developed. Any draft that lands you 4-5 viable pitching prospects (Bachman, Silseth, Bush, Alright, a combo of Murphy/Erla) in just two years time later has to be seen as successful, even if the other 15 arms selected are starting to wobble. Drafting a bunch of college relievers has proved to be a little risky, as a fair number have had injury or lack of command stall their progress. The real measure of this draft's success likely comes in 2024; will any of the injured arms rebound into MLB depth? Will Erla, Muprhy, or Albright step forward? Will Bush push into the bigs? Are Silseth and Bachman going to cut it as above-average arms, and if so, will they ever stick in the rotation? 

Note that I intentionally did not consider international signees or UDFA like Kenyon Yovan.

[BTH]

Looking at the signing bonuses for this draft…

The only guys who got signing bonuses over $1M were Bachman ($3.8M), Bush ($1.7M), and Albright ($1.2M).

The only guys who got bonuses over slot value were Marceaux ($765k), Murphy ($747k), and Silseth ($485k).

Bachman, Bush, and Silseth all seem like they’ll be decent MLB contributors at some point.

Albright’s looking promising and Marceaux was used as a trade chip, but Murphy’s not looking too great. His velo ticked down in pro ball.