With the cost of signing the first 3 high school picks it would be reasonable to say the remaining picks will all be college players. Hopefully they will address the lack of hitters in the upper levels but the high school picks were not surprising to me as the new scouting director came from Boston who in his time there made mostly high upside high school players in first several picks. A Red Sox fan I know always went ballistic when they drafted high school SS nearly every year.
They can draft additional prep players if they wish. Griffin may sign slightly under slot. Not sure that the other 2 guys will get that much over slot. The Brewers do this. Seniors in Rounds 9/10 and under slot in Round 8 would give them money to draft more.
And the Pirates will not go over the cap into the penalty range.
The draft is loaded with quality seniors, even some 5th year seniors. I like Jackson Appel, Corey Collins a couple guys from NC State. Drawing a blank but there's more.
This is a different year, the shutdown in 2020 had a huge impact with only 5 rounds. Very good college players took the extra year, juniors that would've been drafted as well as prep players. 2021 and 2022 had freshman being redshirted or just not playing a lot. It was why last year was so deep and why some seniors slid through the cracks this year.
Check out Jackson Appel on b/r or fangraphs. I think he's my favorite catcher in the draft. Excellent defense, very athletic switch hitter with an Ivy league degree. He didn't play hardly any in 2020 and 2021 but has been consistent since. Looked great at Texas A&M this year. Still 22 at draft time.
Sirota and Tears would be awesome. Maybe a Dakota or Messina. I just have a hard time seeing them getting a guy that's likely a ~$2M bonus. Maybe a Stovall? I kind of hope they take a run at Will Taylor, who might wanna go back though to up his stock after an injury riddled season.
Melkel, I always like your draft ideas a bunch but I've also noticed Cherington pretty much does the opposite of what you suggest. Maybe the team should hire you and fire a few folks.
I feel a little better because 2 of the guys I liked at 37 got drafted before we had a chance for them (Burke and Dix). But what does the Brewers and Dbacks know about the draft lol.
Pirates win 9-4, sweeping the pale hose in Chi-Town and climbing to .500 at the break. They are in third place, 6.5 games behind the first place Brewers ,1.5 games out of the Wild Card discussion and 2 steps above the cellar.
*
CARROTS ON THE HOUSE!!!!
*
@> Nick the Stick for his game winning rbi triple. He scored once and knocked in the decisive runs in the sevent.
*
@>@> Joey Bart for his three run Bart-Dart in the fourth getting the Pirates the lead.
*
@>@>@> B. Rey. 2 for 3 with a walk, 3 scored and one driven in.
________________________
“Hey. Dis don’t look like the Coachella Valley to me. I must have taken a left turn at Albuquerque.”
I laughed at your own response there....I did hear a Jo Adell comp. That can be great and not so great at the same time. Adell was looking to be great, and seemed to be impacted more than most from pandemic pushing him up a level and his hit tool just hasn't consistently come in.
Trade value of 2019/2020 Jo Adell would have been magical.....
Axiel Plaz is featured again in one of BA's writeups of guys with impressive statcast data. At 18 he's slugging .543 in a league that averages .351. He'd be leading the league by 52 points if he qualified.
who was the Aussie Pirates had maybe 7 years or so ago? Middle infielder, a little pop in his bat...had a small cult following. Not like the Jose Osuna cult, but he definitely had some dedicated followers.
I wonder if Sanford and/or Sterling will be a tough sign(s), especially given the NIL deals they might get from A&M and Texas, respectively. Would our FO know their signing demands prior to the picks at this stage of the draft? We've lost high upside HS kids drafted in this range in the past (e.g., Lodolo, Turner).
Tears is a bat I like, has some swing and miss but got considerably better as the season went along. He's an excellent corner outfielder with some pop. Might be able to handle CF. Didn't play much his first 2 years, was a 2 sport star in high-school, redshirt as a freshman, only played sparingly his redshirt freshman year, was one of Tennessee's biggest bats during the CWS.
Sirota, McClain, Spikerman and Overn would be other college outfielders that could play CF as well, Nick McClain is iffy but is the best hitter out of the bunch and would be a Reynolds light in left.
Always enjoy your input man. I didn't even realize Sirota was still there, that'd be a nice get at 83 if he's still there. I'm all aboard the Tears train, intriguing enough for me
I didn't see a mock with the Reds picking Burns and my first thought was whether that choice was partially influenced by us having Skenes along with other strong starters--perhaps literally trying to keep up with the Joneses :).
Lost in the excitement of the draft is this stunning development: the Pirates are at .500. Also, miraculously, Bradenton, who are very short on pitchers at present, used both Luigi Hernandez and Hunter Furtado in the game yesterday, and they combined for 7 innings with only two walks. Hernandez did hit two batters, so it's only a minor miracle.
Probably he and Sanford will just move around the IF. The Pirates love to do that. They’re doing it now with Yordany DLS and Severino, even though Yordany has the potential to stay at SS and Severino doesn’t.
We were talking about this last night a bit on the stream, but it's going to be interesting with the route they went, in determining playing time. You'd almost have to throw Griffin in CF, BUT, you're not going to do that with your just drafted first round pick. So, might get a regular YDLS at 3B, Griffin SS, and Sanford 2B, with a rotation including DH with Severino spotting in at 3B at times. Probably 1B too. Unless they get really confident in someone to push them quickly to Greensboro.
Griffin and Sanford will probably start next year in the FCL. The system is getting more and more like the Brian Graham years, with prospects getting mired at the same level year after year.
Idk, cause Termarr really only got FCL time cause it existed post draft the year he was drafted. Otherwise instructs and next spring will be the get their feet wet period. Sanford very well could start in FCL, but I think Griffin goes immediately to Bradenton (barring any setbacks).
Griffin is the kind of pick a rational, well-run organization would make as best talent available. Obviously the question is whether whether this organization can develop the kid. I'm OK with Sterling, but why Sanford? Haven't we seen enough of decent D/no O middle INFs already?
Another aspect of the pick that I like is that it embraces the challenge of doing something they haven't done well. Either Griffin becomes an example that they can help a hitter develop his hit tool or it draws more attention to the need for changes. Either way, the pick should help the team long-term.
Some analysts love the pick (and I had been hoping for Griffin or Rainer, partly because of what it says about their draft philosophy of upside over need)...from Jesse Rogers at ESPN noting it as his favorite pick:
Rogers: I love the Pirates taking a shot with high schooler Konner Griffin at No. 9. There were six or seven guys you could not pass up for Griffin, but with all those gone by the time Pittsburgh picked, I think he's worth the risk: One scouting director compared him to Mike Trout if he works out.
Jackson Appel, Ryan Campos and Grant Knipp should be available round 4 or later. Appel is my favorite of the 3 defensively, Campos is the best pure hitter and Knipp has very good power.
The rest of that statement should be " . . . . or, hit well enough to offset a just average defense. The Pirates have a ways to go with hitting and defense!
Yeah, I’d say something along those lines…. They liked the overall package and if the hit part comes around they’ll have a steal. He was rated 30-something overall on the MLB.com board; it’s not like someone pounded the table so they pulled a guy eighty spots above where the industry had him pegged.
And the hit tool in general is the biggest scouting wildcard, imo — even for college guys, but especially for HS draftees. Much easier to gauge and assess fielding ability, and somewhat easier to project current measurables (velocity, sprint speed), than to tell how well a guy will be able to hit pro pitching. Plenty of “hit tool” guys never actually hit, and others that didn’t get that label blossom at some point.
I don’t want to jinx any players from signing but my new top 30(w/out seeing Day 3 yet too) would be:
1.KonnorGriffin
2.TermarrJohnson
3.BubbaChandler
4.BraxtonAshcraft
5.ThomasHarrington
6.MikeBurrows
7.HunterBarco
8.AnthonySolometo
9.WyattSanford
10.YordanyDeLosSantos
11.Tsung-CheCheng
12.PatrickReilly
13.MattAger
14.JackBrannigan
15.EddieRynders
16.LeviSterling
17.JoshHartle
18.MichaelKennedy
19.GarretForrester
20.CharlesMcAdoo
21.KhristianCurtis
22.ZanderMueth
23.LonnieWhiteJr
24.BralynBrazoban
25.Jun-SeokShim
26.KeinerDelgado
27.OmarAlfonzo
28.JaseBowen
29.WillTaylor
30.JhonnySeverino
With the cost of signing the first 3 high school picks it would be reasonable to say the remaining picks will all be college players. Hopefully they will address the lack of hitters in the upper levels but the high school picks were not surprising to me as the new scouting director came from Boston who in his time there made mostly high upside high school players in first several picks. A Red Sox fan I know always went ballistic when they drafted high school SS nearly every year.
I wonder if the pirates double down with Aiden Harris or Myles Bailey as high school pick or Tague Davis?
They can draft additional prep players if they wish. Griffin may sign slightly under slot. Not sure that the other 2 guys will get that much over slot. The Brewers do this. Seniors in Rounds 9/10 and under slot in Round 8 would give them money to draft more.
And the Pirates will not go over the cap into the penalty range.
The draft is loaded with quality seniors, even some 5th year seniors. I like Jackson Appel, Corey Collins a couple guys from NC State. Drawing a blank but there's more.
I’m a fan of Ben Miller and Logan Bravo from Duke. I like Joichiro “JO” Oyama, Mercer transfer and playerd for UC Irvine last year.
I really like Cooper Weiss. He’s a no doubt SS as a pro and plus power/speed.
Ryley Preece, Morehead St, is another power/speed guy. Had a 20/20 season in college. Switch-hitter too that play CF.
I like TJ McCants from Bama. LH power bat.
I like Gavin Casas from South Carolina(Tristan’s brother).
Sam Kulasingam, from Air Force, is a switch-hitting 1B that I like.
Tons of pitchers too!! Lol.
Yep, a lot of guys sliding through the cracks with the draft only being 20 rounds and the 2020 shutdown.
Have any other high performing seniors in previous drafts turned into actual prospects?
Yes, just in 2022 for example all these players were Senior Signs:
Zebby Matthews
Wade Meckler
Ben Joyce
Trace Bright
Brody McCullough
Chase Meidroth
Zach Dezenzo
Tyler Stuart
Paul Gervase
Jack Perkins
Jake Pfennigs
All have MLB futures, all are ranked on their teams top prospects list(every site).
Meckler has already played some MLB games for SF. Zebby Matthews is a top 100 prospect on most lists.
Ohh and btw, Jake Bloss was a Senior Sign in last years draft and has already started games for the Astros. You just gotta pick the right ones!!
This is a different year, the shutdown in 2020 had a huge impact with only 5 rounds. Very good college players took the extra year, juniors that would've been drafted as well as prep players. 2021 and 2022 had freshman being redshirted or just not playing a lot. It was why last year was so deep and why some seniors slid through the cracks this year.
Gotcha thanks! I wasn’t sure if some of these guys just put up big numbers against kids 2-3 years younger than them or if any are legit prospects.
Check out Jackson Appel on b/r or fangraphs. I think he's my favorite catcher in the draft. Excellent defense, very athletic switch hitter with an Ivy league degree. He didn't play hardly any in 2020 and 2021 but has been consistent since. Looked great at Texas A&M this year. Still 22 at draft time.
If they dip back into the prep pool and pull Myles Bailey, I'll be so stoked lol
He would be my pick if Tears and Sirota are not available with the 3rd round pick.
Sirota and Tears would be awesome. Maybe a Dakota or Messina. I just have a hard time seeing them getting a guy that's likely a ~$2M bonus. Maybe a Stovall? I kind of hope they take a run at Will Taylor, who might wanna go back though to up his stock after an injury riddled season.
If they pick Bailey, take Appel in the 4th and save some slot space lol. I like Appel's athleticism more than Messina but he'd be good.
Nick Mclain is a player I like starting in the 4th round if he lasts that long. I think he's a similar comp to Taylor as far as upside.
Melkel, I always like your draft ideas a bunch but I've also noticed Cherington pretty much does the opposite of what you suggest. Maybe the team should hire you and fire a few folks.
I noticed that as well lol.
I feel a little better because 2 of the guys I liked at 37 got drafted before we had a chance for them (Burke and Dix). But what does the Brewers and Dbacks know about the draft lol.
He did take Skenes last year though!
The Carrot Leader Board At the Break...
*
The Carrot Tally So Far:*
Keller 28
B.Rey 28
Tellez 21
BabySkenes 20
Jones 18 injured
O’Cruz 18
L’Ortiz 15
Nick the Stick 14
Falter 13
Cutch 11
Joe 8
ChapMan 8
HodorMan 8
M. Gonzales 8
Oliveras 7
Suwinski 7
Bednar 7
M. Perez 6
Flemming 5
Bart 5
Granny 4
Hayes 4
Triolo 3
Nicolas 3
R.Ryan 2
Davis 2
Williams 2
Bae 2
Palacios 2
Contreras 1 traded
J. Hernandez 1 traded
M A Taylor 1
Delay 1
QP 1
Mlod 1
*
*updated 7/14/24
Suwinski ahead of Bart? I demand a recount!
Sunday, July 14
48 down. 33 to go.
*
Pirates win 9-4, sweeping the pale hose in Chi-Town and climbing to .500 at the break. They are in third place, 6.5 games behind the first place Brewers ,1.5 games out of the Wild Card discussion and 2 steps above the cellar.
*
CARROTS ON THE HOUSE!!!!
*
@> Nick the Stick for his game winning rbi triple. He scored once and knocked in the decisive runs in the sevent.
*
@>@> Joey Bart for his three run Bart-Dart in the fourth getting the Pirates the lead.
*
@>@>@> B. Rey. 2 for 3 with a walk, 3 scored and one driven in.
________________________
“Hey. Dis don’t look like the Coachella Valley to me. I must have taken a left turn at Albuquerque.”
-Wabbit
have yinz heard any player comps for Griffin?
I've heard Jo Adell, Bubba Starling and Matt Kemp.
I laughed at your own response there....I did hear a Jo Adell comp. That can be great and not so great at the same time. Adell was looking to be great, and seemed to be impacted more than most from pandemic pushing him up a level and his hit tool just hasn't consistently come in.
Trade value of 2019/2020 Jo Adell would have been magical.....
sources saying the scouting report on him says he has a lion's body and a bird's head
Axiel Plaz is featured again in one of BA's writeups of guys with impressive statcast data. At 18 he's slugging .543 in a league that averages .351. He'd be leading the league by 52 points if he qualified.
anything to think about between Bazzana and Solomon McGuire?
No
who was the Aussie Pirates had maybe 7 years or so ago? Middle infielder, a little pop in his bat...had a small cult following. Not like the Jose Osuna cult, but he definitely had some dedicated followers.
Robbie GlenDinger!!!!!!!!
Yes, him!
Led me to check up what he's up to. Mashing in the Mexican League
I'm picturing a Kenny Powers situation and refuse to believe otherwise.
I actually like all 3 picks, just disappointed we passed on some high ceiling near ready players for the development path.
Hope they put Griffin in CF or the infield in Bradenton is going to be overloaded.
I wonder if Sanford and/or Sterling will be a tough sign(s), especially given the NIL deals they might get from A&M and Texas, respectively. Would our FO know their signing demands prior to the picks at this stage of the draft? We've lost high upside HS kids drafted in this range in the past (e.g., Lodolo, Turner).
They should know what it'll take to sign them.
Feels like they did get their pocked picked past year by leaving money on the table, so im just hoping that doesnt happen again
Any names to look out for today? BC will probably go on a run of pitching but I hope he snags a few bats with power
Tears is a bat I like, has some swing and miss but got considerably better as the season went along. He's an excellent corner outfielder with some pop. Might be able to handle CF. Didn't play much his first 2 years, was a 2 sport star in high-school, redshirt as a freshman, only played sparingly his redshirt freshman year, was one of Tennessee's biggest bats during the CWS.
Sirota, McClain, Spikerman and Overn would be other college outfielders that could play CF as well, Nick McClain is iffy but is the best hitter out of the bunch and would be a Reynolds light in left.
Always enjoy your input man. I didn't even realize Sirota was still there, that'd be a nice get at 83 if he's still there. I'm all aboard the Tears train, intriguing enough for me
Oakland drafted the two college bats I want it. So he is going to Oakland, or is it Sacramento, Vegas? The A’s!
I don't think either will be there sadly, hopefully they are.
pls give us 1 of these college OFers
I want 2 hopefully lol
I didn't see a mock with the Reds picking Burns and my first thought was whether that choice was partially influenced by us having Skenes along with other strong starters--perhaps literally trying to keep up with the Joneses :).
Is it time for day 2 yet? Ughhhhhh
Lost in the excitement of the draft is this stunning development: the Pirates are at .500. Also, miraculously, Bradenton, who are very short on pitchers at present, used both Luigi Hernandez and Hunter Furtado in the game yesterday, and they combined for 7 innings with only two walks. Hernandez did hit two batters, so it's only a minor miracle.
I hope they throw him in CF (Griffin) and let him concentrate hard on the bat.
I was thinking he’d start at SS, but if him and Sanford are moving together, they could just throw him in CF
Probably he and Sanford will just move around the IF. The Pirates love to do that. They’re doing it now with Yordany DLS and Severino, even though Yordany has the potential to stay at SS and Severino doesn’t.
We were talking about this last night a bit on the stream, but it's going to be interesting with the route they went, in determining playing time. You'd almost have to throw Griffin in CF, BUT, you're not going to do that with your just drafted first round pick. So, might get a regular YDLS at 3B, Griffin SS, and Sanford 2B, with a rotation including DH with Severino spotting in at 3B at times. Probably 1B too. Unless they get really confident in someone to push them quickly to Greensboro.
Griffin and Sanford will probably start next year in the FCL. The system is getting more and more like the Brian Graham years, with prospects getting mired at the same level year after year.
When does the GCL season end?
July 25
Idk, cause Termarr really only got FCL time cause it existed post draft the year he was drafted. Otherwise instructs and next spring will be the get their feet wet period. Sanford very well could start in FCL, but I think Griffin goes immediately to Bradenton (barring any setbacks).
Griffin is the kind of pick a rational, well-run organization would make as best talent available. Obviously the question is whether whether this organization can develop the kid. I'm OK with Sterling, but why Sanford? Haven't we seen enough of decent D/no O middle INFs already?
Cherington was already out in the media saying they're always going to give up the middle guys an inflated grade
Another aspect of the pick that I like is that it embraces the challenge of doing something they haven't done well. Either Griffin becomes an example that they can help a hitter develop his hit tool or it draws more attention to the need for changes. Either way, the pick should help the team long-term.
Some analysts love the pick (and I had been hoping for Griffin or Rainer, partly because of what it says about their draft philosophy of upside over need)...from Jesse Rogers at ESPN noting it as his favorite pick:
Rogers: I love the Pirates taking a shot with high schooler Konner Griffin at No. 9. There were six or seven guys you could not pass up for Griffin, but with all those gone by the time Pittsburgh picked, I think he's worth the risk: One scouting director compared him to Mike Trout if he works out.
If the strength of your development team is pitching, you better get some guys to catch it.
Jackson Appel, Ryan Campos and Grant Knipp should be available round 4 or later. Appel is my favorite of the 3 defensively, Campos is the best pure hitter and Knipp has very good power.
Knipp might go as a pitcher as well.
The rest of that statement should be " . . . . or, hit well enough to offset a just average defense. The Pirates have a ways to go with hitting and defense!
How much defense do you need with the pitching staff they're building? 🙂
Scott coming in with the second part of the equation!
Except see my comment above. The Pirates don’t develop fielders any better than hitters. Everyone has to be a UT guy.
Seems to be some thought that Sanford has significant upside with the bat based on his ability to get stronger. Looks like a solid first three picks.
Eric at Fangraphs says he's a defense only utility player if they can't improve the hit and power tools.
yes correct that is the upside part.
Yeah, I’d say something along those lines…. They liked the overall package and if the hit part comes around they’ll have a steal. He was rated 30-something overall on the MLB.com board; it’s not like someone pounded the table so they pulled a guy eighty spots above where the industry had him pegged.
And the hit tool in general is the biggest scouting wildcard, imo — even for college guys, but especially for HS draftees. Much easier to gauge and assess fielding ability, and somewhat easier to project current measurables (velocity, sprint speed), than to tell how well a guy will be able to hit pro pitching. Plenty of “hit tool” guys never actually hit, and others that didn’t get that label blossom at some point.