This is first round day for the 1010 MLB Free Agent Draft. I'm not going to redo my mock draft, but a couple of thoughts:
It looks like the Giants are pretty well set on drafting a hitter. The two names that seem to be getting the most attention right now are college hitters Brett Eibner from of Arkansas and Jedd Gyorko from West Virginia. Of those two, I would favor Gyorko because I think he's more of a sure thing as a hitter. Eibner is bigger and probably has more power potential, but he's also a pitcher who some scouts think profiles better there. BA, who I trust to do their homework seems to think the Giants are in on Gyorko and there are other rumors of them flying him in for a workout. I also haven't given up on the idea of Anthony Ranaudo falling to the Giants. Although pitching is a strength at the MLB level, I'm not so sure it isn't a bigger need in the organization.
Here's an interesting 10 round mock draft. I don't know how much inside info these guys have:
www.draftsite.com/mlb
For the Giants:
1(24). Brett Eibner, OF, Arkansas, 6'4", 210 lbs. B-R, T-R.
2(74). Marcus Littlewood, SS, HS, 6'3", 190. B-S, T-R.
3(105). Jarrett Parker, OF, Virginia, B-L, T-L.
4.(138). Kevin Jacob, RHP, Georgia Tech, 6'5", 230 lbs.
5(168). Mike Kickham, LHP, Missouri State.
6(198). Tyler Morton, RHP, HS, 6'3", 200 lbs.
7(228). J.R. Bradley, SS, HS.
8(258). Michael Arencibia, OF, HS
9(288). Robert Morey, RHP, Virginia.
10(318). Taylor Ratliff, SS, HS, 6'3", 170 lbs.
This looks like way too many HS players. This list has also changed frequently and it looks like in the later rounds they added someone in who just bumped everybody down a notch, so it looks like they didn't take team tendencies into consideration that much. Prior iterations have had Tyler Holt and Leon Landry in round 3. Arizona SS Drew Maggi in round 8. It does look like a viable scenario is for the Giants to take a college hitter in round 1, a HS hitter in round 2 and a college CF in round 3.
The same site offers 2 backup possiblities for each team in round 1. For the Giants, they have Matt Harvey as the second choice and Gary Brown as the 3'rd.
Some players I would like to see in even later rounds who I haven't seen on any of the top 200 lists or this mock draft include Rico Noel, CF, Coastal Carolina, Mario Hollands, LHP, UCSB, Matt Bywater, LHP, Pepperdine, Andrew Barbosa, LHP, U of South Florida, Tim Ferguson, OF, Ole Miss.
Chris Haft on sfgiants.com specifically mentioned Brian Ragira as a player the Giants might be in on, which I thought seemed somewhat random, unless he has some inside information. Ragira seems to be going late in the second round of most mock drafts. I would be very, very happy with a 1,2 of Gyorko and Ragira if they Giants got both of them signed.
For what it's worth, BA's Draft Day Mock has the Giants back to taking Yordy Cabrera at #24, but has them choosing form among Castellanos, Gyorko and other hitters. They also hedge their bets and say they might pop college RHP Chad Bettis.
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Interesting that on BA's draft day mock, Anthony Ranaudo, Brett Eibner, Nick Castellanos, and Gary Brown all have dropped out of Round 1. I'll confess I'd prefer Ranaudo or Eibner to Cabrera, if only because they have a harder time projecting high-school hitters and I would rather not settle in for a 4-5 year wait to see if the pick may come through. Gyorko would be fine, too, though the system seems quite a bit deeper in 2nd basement (where he seems to profile) than elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteI would prefer a college bat as well, though if a top 15 bat falls to use due to signability, I would rather they take a shot at drafting him and trying to sign him anyway. That is the best way to get talent in the draft when you are so far back, signing signability guys who drop but at least give the impression they would sign for the right price.
ReplyDeleteThat BA's mock has a number of players fall out of the first round is not surprising, as signability is an issue for most of them, plus from the mock drafts I've found free on-line from known sources, there are a lot of players (and many others) have mocks where they go as high as 7th and yet in other mocks, they fall to the back of the first round.
I would not draft for need here, I hope the Giants pick up the BPA, whether 2B or whatever, college or H.S., pitcher or hitter.
Of course, I hope that player is a position player and that if it is close between a pitcher and hitter, they would go hitter. But if they see a strong pitching talent at their pick, I hope they would select him. The team needs to select someone they think has the best opportunity to make the majors and not let money hold them back.
This draft is so evenly matched from about pick #4 on, I'm not sure it's possible to identify a single BPA, so then organizational need comes into the picture. We need hitters at the MLB level as soon as next season, so I would prefer hitters drafted early be college guys due to faster ETA in the majors.
ReplyDeleteI actually think the organization is thinner in pitching in the minors, so I would be very much OK with a HS arm that needs some development time.
Doc,
ReplyDeleteI imagine you're fairly pleased with Gary Brown at 24 ~ I like it ~ though it makes one wonder why they waived Raj Davis.
If you're looking for a HS pitcher in round two, I have some slightly sentimental possibilities that may be around (with BA rating numbers):
56. Cam Bedrosian, rhp
East Coweta HS, Sharpsburg, Ga.
*** I thought his old man pitched pretty well for the Giants in a brief stint, and he looks very promising.
71. Robby Rowland, rhp
Cloverdale (Calif.) HS
91. Eric Jaffe, rhp
Bishop O'Dowd HS, Oakland
***Geography!
I'll have separate post for the Giants pick.
ReplyDelete