Dave Saltzer

There were several teams rumored to want him near where we took him. The rankings weren't where other teams valued him, so I guess we offered him full slot. I'm still okay with it, as I think his plate discipline could make him an elite bat.

Thanks @taylorblakeward for putting in all the hard work prepping and covering the draft!

I know he doesn't, which is why I responding to a question of "if he played 3B"....

A few things here my friend. I'm enjoying the discussion, as always. First, you are right, we have "covered" 1B. But, outside of 1 good year from Walsh, we haven't done well at the position for a long time. Sure, we can blame that on Albert, but we also didn't have anyone to push him off the base either. And, we haven't develo0ped a left-handed MOTO bat (again, outside of 1 good year of Walsh and of course, Ohtani), in a while. I see Schanuel as a premium bat who happens to play 1B. As such, I'm thrilled with the pick (although I really thought that we could get him below slot--oh well). I am guessing those who aren't thrilled with this see him as a 1B first who may have a premium bat. I guess it's all what one chooses to focus on. Frankly, I think it's a LOT easier to get a 2B or even a 3B than it is an elite hitting 1B. Most of the Latin players that we sign internationally are MIFers who can be moved to other positions. Most of the 16 year olds that we sign from Latin America play SS and then get moved as they fill out to 2B and 3B if they have the power. )again, not counting pitchers or OFers). We don't know who they are looking at this year internationally, but looking at our top prospect list, we have have several MIFers who can be moved to 2B or 3B. Most teams have a lot of players who fall into that category. Looking at MLB's Top 100 prospects, only 3 are 1B or split time at 1B. Now, before you argue that it's because of the defensive limitations, it also has to do with the lack of premium bats at the position as well. If Schanuel develops as projected (.280/.380/.520), that would make him one of the Top=5 at the position, essentially an All-Star at his peak. I would like to have a long-term solution like that, and I would like to have a major bat like that in our lineup. I would like to have a set 1B to develop with Neto, O'Hoppe, Quero, etc. With Neto using the bounce throw, having a good defender at1B is very important. Overall, I think last year's draft may be one of our best in a decade. The year before is a success, and this year will be a success (using the definition of success as producing 1 player with a 5-year career_. True, other players may develop, like Sonny D. If that happens, that's gravy and things will work their way out. We can worry about that if and when it happens.

If he played 3B, I'd expect him to have gone in the top 5 or 6 picks.

Just a thought for those who seem down on the draft. There seems to be some consensus on here that Schanuel, at peak, should be a .280/.380/.520 hitter with 25+ HR potential. People seem to think that those numbers are pedestrian and can be filled easily at 1B. Numbers like that would make him the second best offensive 1B in the AL in terms of OPS (way above Vladdy Jr right now). Numbers like that would make him the 3rd best in the NL by way of Ops, not far behind Freddie Freeman. So, does that change some minds if Schanuel pans out to what we think he can?

This. I think our best pitch is to explain to him a commitment to spend a certain amount irrespective of what we offer him. Imagine committing to a payroll of $230 million + whatever we pay him, say $50 million/year, for a minimum payroll of $280 million. Additionally, opt outs every other year and a commitment for him and Trout to be a very integral part in designing the future of the team and who to target in FA.

Nobody outdoes @John Smith

Edgar Quero fans should head out to see the IE66ers play on July 29th. They are giving out an Edgar Quero bobble head, and you will want to get one. So, get to the ballpark early!

Yes, he was JUCO guy.

It ain't so. My chemo brain got me. Just like it got me now replying to you twice!

Damn my chemo brain at times (let me tell you, chemo brain is real). I meant William Holmes.

I would definitely say that he was the "best" (remember, as I wrote in my piece that "best" is a VERY subjective term) for the Angels and may be the best available overall (or in the top-5). I also liked Shaw and Taylor,. Nimmala could become the best, but with a much greater risk. So, it depends how risk tolerant a team is, the status of their farm, etc. We won't really know who was the BPA overall for many years, by which time, I hope we've had many really good years out of Schanuel.

Not a triple digit heater?

Yes, because he fits our timeline (a fast riser), provides the left handed MOTO bat that we need, and allows us to have money most likely to get plenty of other talent in later rounds. We didn't have a 2nd round pick, so we needed more of a sure thing with our first pick, and I believed Schanuel would be that guy. Since we have or will lose 1/3rd of our preseason Top-30 picks this year via promotions or trades (O'Hoppe, Neto, Silseth, Blakely--retired, Bachman, Joyce, Crow, Marceaux, Soriano, etc),, he immediately slides into the top 3 prospects in the system (I'd rank him 2nd, behind Quero and ahead of Bush). We needed as close to a sure thing to fit into our current wave of talent and to allow us to draft a younger wave to go with Madden, Dana, etc. I fully admit to looking at the draft holistically to see how it all plays out.

I don't think that you are being pessimistic at all. We all fall in love with different players in the draft (those of us who really follow it). You haven't been shy about who you've wanted, and I respect you a lot for putting predictions down for people to read. I haven't loved every one of our picks over the last decade or so, hence I wrote what my preferences are (I lean pitching first if equal or closely comparable, as pitching has more prospect capital. If Lowder or Dollander were available, I would have taken either. And, if the scouts thought that they could easily fix Waldrep, I would have taken him as well. While I preferred Schanuel because he could sign under slot and give us a shot at a player like Sykora in the third round, and maybe Grahovac in the 4th round (local kid out of Villa Park HS), I would have been happy with Shaw or Taylor, but I didn't think that either would go below slot, or if they did, not by much. That puts more risk in the draft, whereas spreading it around a bit more gives us a better shot at making the draft a success.

I would have to say that we've got a much better overall drafting process going and a better philosophy. We have layered our talent with fast moving college types and high upside HS arms,. Our international presence is much better. I was talking with several of our Latin guys yesterday at IE and we have good international talent in development. Besides Rada, keep on eye on these two pitchers that I saw last night were Joel Hurtado (FB sat 95-97, slider 81-84--his go to out pitch, change 79-81, only thrown a few times) and Jennry Gonzalez (profiles as a multi-inning reliever).

Dunno, but I do like Travis Sykora as a pitcher, Cooper Pratt at SS, and George Wolkow as an interesting lottery pick type (he's 6'7" as a high school kid with big power potential). This is in addition to Hurley. Let's see who is available when we pick tomorrow!

Yes, but then we will stockpile another $1 million, or close to it, in rounds 6-10. We also can go up to 5% over budget and use that in later rounds. So, yes, use whatever we save on Schanuel in the next few rounds, then save up to strike again.

I really hope that Walsh recovers and rediscovers his form. And, if he does, he can always go back to the OF to play so then we have 2 good lefty bats!

Agreed, we won't know for a day or two, but I would guess between $1 and $1.5 million. With how deep this class is, thanks to the Covid shortened draft. That could easily get us another Dana or Albright, as well as spreading some extra money for someone like Joyce in the 3rd and 4th rounds. We can then save up some more money in rounds 6 through 10 to again build up more for a solid strike in rounds 11 and 12, especially with a HS kid. We are in a good approach to spread our wealth around to make sure that we will have a successful draft (one that produces a Major Leaguer who has a 5+ year career). That strategy has worked well for us under Perry.

I agree and disagree. It depends upon where you are talking about in the draft. Once we know how much money we may have available from our bonus pool, we go after HS arms to offer them way over slot to sign. We tend to draft under slot guys in rounds 6 - 10 to help save up the money to take a swing at a Caden Dana or a Mason Albright. And that's a good thing,. It creates layers of players so that we always have fresh arms to promote.

We have to see this as drafting a special bat whoi happens to play 1B and can get to the Majors quickly. I agree that he could be a 280 hitter, but his OB should be higher, and 25+ HRs at his peak. We need a lefty MOTO bat like that. Again, we also have to look at it holistically. There will be many good players in the 3rd, 4th, 11th, and 12th rounds for us to sign. If you like Ben Joyce, thank Zach Neto for signing under slot so that we could go over slot for Joyce. Thinking of our 2022 draft, that draft may go down as one of our best overall drafts. Jake Madden and some of the other guys we got look really good.

Absolutely! And I'm even more excited about what they can do with the money that they are likely to save. This is a deep class and there will be some good HS guys to get in later rounds if we can offer them the money. Yesterday I interviewed Mason Albright and we talked about him waiting to get the money he wanted in the 12th round (which set a record in the pool era until the following year when the Angels broke it for Madden). I like how Perry is taking a holistic approach to the draft and spreading the money around a bit so that we are far more likely to have a successful draft.

Thanks! I'm happy with how this pick will give us a holistic approach to the draft. Let's pick some good HS kids now with the money that we should have in the next few rounds!