2016 MLB Draft Talk

[MinorLeagueGuy]

Can he stick at Catcher? In not putting very many eggs in my Cody Stanley basket..

[MrCrowesGarden]

From what I've read, yes. He has room for improvement but should be able to stick at catcher.

[dmarx114]

My annual trip to the minors forum.

Who am I rooting for the Cards to draft?

[MrCrowesGarden]

There really isn't one IMO given where we draft. Plus with Flores first year, it's hard to say what his preference is.

[Swirls]

Mock Draft results:

CBSSports.com: RHP Cody Sedlock, Illinois
Baseball America: C/1B Matt Thaiss
Bleacher Report: RHP Ian Anderson, HS; RHP Logan Shore, Florida; OF Will Benson, HS
Draft Utopia: RHP Kevin Gowdy, HS; RHP Cal Quantrill, Stanford; OF Jake Fraley, LSU
SB Nation: SS Gavin Lux, HS; RHP Logan Shore, Florida; RHP Jordan Sheffield, Vanderbilt
Draft Site: RHP Jordan Sheffield, Vanderbilt; OF Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt; RHP Connor Jones, Virginia
Fueled By Sports: OF Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt; RHP Robert Tyler, Georgia; OF Anfernee Grier, Auburn

Looooooooots of college picks. Only a couple HS total for our projections. No idea how Flores will approach the draft - I'm hoping he's strictly a "best player available" guy and won't favor HS or college.

Regarding college bats, will he continue with the preference of going with guys who excel in wooden bat summer leagues like the Cape?

[MrCrowesGarden]

I think Keith Law said we're in on Thaiss because he doesn't strike out much.

[MinorLeagueGuy]

If Ian Anderson doesn't play "Bungle in the Jungle" on the flute, we don't want him...

[phins]

Latest BA mock has Cards taking Thaiss, Nolan Jones and Dane Dunning. Have a feeling that last pick (a college reliever) won't make too many people happy.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/mo ... u0dDBiE.97

For some perspective, Florida has the possible number 1 overall pick in their rotation (Puk), a guy who is actually a better college player in their rotation (Logan Shore), and the best Sunday starter in all of college baseball, who is just a soph. and probably a solid draft prospect for next year.

That team is as loaded as any college team over the past decade. They have arms who are going to be drafted fairly highly that can't crack their usable rotation (top relievers and weekend starters).

That said, it would be an extremely uninspiring pick. Thaiss would be ok, as I see him having a decent shot to catch, but that wouldn't be the direction I would go. If he moves to 1B he is a very light prospect. With the emphasis the Cards place on catcher defense, I don't see how we go with Thaiss. I would guess we would go with the Clemson catcher at one of the 30's picks if we wanted to do that. Name escapes me and I do this off memory generally.

Craig out of Wake Forest is the bat you hope for if you're going mostly bat, no glove type. He probably ends up a LF/1B, but he can really hit a baseball and I love his approach.

Cal Quantrill if we wanted to take a chance on a high upside arm coming off limited innings and an injury. I remember watching a Missouri State pitcher in summer league a few years ago and he was doing pretty well and I was proud. In came this Stanford kid and I literally cursed out loud and asked who this kid was. Always stuck with me how good he looked at that time. Gamble though.

Devin Perez has to be someone you think about, no? Rumors of his attitude are out-of-control and the draft hype has gotten to his head, but the tools are way outside what we would normally be getting in the 30's. We could go expensive, Dunning, Perez then fill in with some Senior signs for a couple of rounds.

I always enjoy this night, but I am quasi-retired from the minor league stuff and not anywhere near as in-tune with this draft. I've done pretty well in past drafts, but this one will be a less-informed reaction for a bit. We are going to Florida next week, so I won't even be able to spend the late nights looking at players I've missed this year (which is a bunch).

[phins]

Latest BA mock has Cards taking Thaiss, Nolan Jones and Dane Dunning. Have a feeling that last pick (a college reliever) won't make too many people happy.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/mo ... u0dDBiE.97

Read this earlier today. Don't know much about College Baseball at this time of year. But the article mentions Dunning as Florida's #4 starter, but he's impressed mostly out of their bullpen. I wonder if he has upside as a starter? I like the other 2 picks.

College teams really only have a 3-man rotation, so #4 means he was a spot starter, more or less. Doesn't mean he can't be good (Florida is the best team in the country).

Seems everyone thinks we're taking Thaiss.

#4 means he was a weeknight starter. Every team plays mid-week games on Tuesday or Wednesday and that is their #4 starter. It's not always their fourth worst starter though, since some teams need to win those mid-week games to have a shot at an at-large. Mid-week games for teams in lower conferences are their shot to play "up" against better competition. For a guy like Dunning though, that would mean he would be facing lesser competition since they play in the SEC.

[phins]

Mock Draft results:

CBSSports.com: RHP Cody Sedlock, Illinois
Baseball America: C/1B Matt Thaiss
Bleacher Report: RHP Ian Anderson, HS; RHP Logan Shore, Florida; OF Will Benson, HS
Draft Utopia: RHP Kevin Gowdy, HS; RHP Cal Quantrill, Stanford; OF Jake Fraley, LSU
SB Nation: SS Gavin Lux, HS; RHP Logan Shore, Florida; RHP Jordan Sheffield, Vanderbilt
Draft Site: RHP Jordan Sheffield, Vanderbilt; OF Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt; RHP Connor Jones, Virginia
Fueled By Sports: OF Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt; RHP Robert Tyler, Georgia; OF Anfernee Grier, Auburn

Looooooooots of college picks. Only a couple HS total for our projections. No idea how Flores will approach the draft - I'm hoping he's strictly a "best player available" guy and won't favor HS or college.

Regarding college bats, will he continue with the preference of going with guys who excel in wooden bat summer leagues like the Cape?

Please stay away from Bryan Reynolds, who cant hit and is one of those "sum is better than parts" type who rarely does much in the big leagues. People like him because he's athletic, but if you're going to be an OF you better able to hit first and foremost and I'm not impressed by him.

Jake Fraley is extremely meh as well.

Jordan Sheffield is one of those undersized right handers with big stuff. He's a lot like Buehler who came out of Vandy a few years ago. Good prospect, probably a #3 type ceiling.

Robert Tyler is a meh for me. Almost all of those college guys are low ceiling types.

Will Benson is a high school player that I'm not in love with. He has a lot of projection in his swing in my mind. Plus athleticism, but you had better be a plus athlete to be a high school OF getting 1st round love.

I think scouts today put too much stock in physical skills and not enough into actual skills. What I mean by that is guys who can't hit, but can really run pushed up due to their "athletic actions" etc. I love tools, and I like traits, but I really want performance. There just aren't many guys who haven't really performed at lower levels who later become stars in the pros.