If you are looking for a poor man's version of Yoan Moncada, Alonzo Jones is your guy. Jones comes out of HS in Columbus, GA. He has a similar build to Moncada listed variously as 5'10", 182 lbs or 5'9", 197 lbs. I would say from his appearance in videos he is closer to the latter numbers. He is probably the fastest man in the draft, timed electronically at 6.17 sec in the 60. Several scouts who timed him by hand had higher numbers but he has another time of 6.37 recorded which still makes him the fastest guy in the draft. He also has a pair of the biggest, strongest arms I've seen. I mean, those dudes look like branches on a sequoia tree! PG's comment is that he has "good hitting tools with power from both sides of the plate." In one video I saw batting left-handed, he laid into one pitch and the sound off the bat was literally like a gunshot! Right now, he is a middle infielder that most scouts think will end up at 2B, but they are also thinking his tremendous speed would be best utilized in CF.
I guess the downsides are 1. He is already fairly heavy for his height. 2. He is committed to Vanderbilt which always makes signing a bit dicey. 3. As with all HS hitters, you don't know for sure if the hit-tool will develop.
All in all, though, he is the most exciting prospect I have encountered in this series since I profiled Justin Hooper early on. BA has Jones ranked as the #28 prospect in the 2015 draft while Kiley McDaniel has him at #18. Personally, I would be thrilled if the Giants took him in round 1.
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I don't know how you keep uncovering these guys DrB. Watched the videos on Perfect Game. He looks like Ray Durham out there. My goodness, that swing is impressive.
ReplyDeleteRay Durham is a great comp, before all the hammy strains, of course.
DeleteThis kid has great tools.I think the one player they might look at if they don't draft a pitcher with #18 is Aiello.
ReplyDeleteI really think Ian Happ is a position player the Giants might seriously consider at #18, although I've seen some mock drafts that have him going higher than #18.
DeleteEven if Happ does exactly what he did for the past two seasons again this year, I'd be very happy to see the Giants nab him. You can never have too many power arms in a system, but I'd have to think the organization would like a "fast-moving" position player in the system. Happ has been so consistent in his college career, and he impressed the heck of out scouts in the Cape. He truly doesn't have a serious weakness that I can find, but he's not the prototypical body size for most star prospects. Switch-hitting, power and speed are hard to come by. Both Happ and Jones (above) offer them... Can't complain about that.
DeleteAnother Cape name I'm looking out for a little later in the draft is Kevin Newman, the AZ shortstop. Pac-12 batting champion and Cape MVP. The guy can flat out hit, and I'd love him as a 2nd or 3rd round pick.
If he's still there at #18.I could see the Giants giving him a look.But,I still believe they'll take an arm.We'll see.
DeleteWhy are you so convinced the Giants are going to take an arm?
DeleteJust a feeling.
DeleteSorry to nit pick, but aren't we picking #19? Have I lost track somehow?
DeleteI believe the Giants are picking at #19 pending where James Shields ends up.
Deleterob manfred is not going to be a good commissioner of baseball
ReplyDeletehttp://www.si.com/mlb/2015/01/25/mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-could-eliminate-defensive-shifts-baseball
bacci
I saw that and I don't like it. Gotta give hitters a chance to adjust. Ted Williams would be rolling over in his grave at the thought of banning shifts. They shifted on him and they shifted on Willie Mac. Didn't do much to hurt either of those dudes! Lesser hitters will just have to learn to use the whole field. I'd take 1 or 2 gimme doubles per game over 20-25 HR's over the course of a 162 game schedule any day.
DeleteIf he wants more action they need to return the strike zone to knees to letters.Some of these umpires think the belt is high.No wonder the hitters just stand there.If the umpire won't call strikes why swing.
DeleteThe dilemma with the strike zone, is if you make it bigger, yes, there are fewer walks and lower pitch counts, but there is also be less offense which is already a problem. There is actually strong evidence that with PitchFx the umps are calling it a lot closer to the true strike zone and that is the single biggest reason for the drop off in offense.
DeleteNothing like coming out of the gate with a really bad idea. Nice Manfred.
ReplyDeleteOkay, if it's half-baked ideas you want to increase offense, how about: Lower the pitchers mound.
Kind of the reverse-1968 maneuver. Don't have to take it all the way to the deck. Wasn't it 6" more altitude in '68?
They lowered the mound by 6" after the 1968 season.
DeleteMy understanding was they raised it 6" for '68, then put it back where it was (lowered it back 6") after '68.
DeleteI'm saying knock it another 6" down and see what happens. Is it 12" right now? Go down to 6".
Again, all under the category of half-baked ideas to increase offense.
Sub category: ideas that are better than making shifts illegal.
I am quite sure they did not raise the mound for 1968.
DeleteOnce again, we've got a roster crunch. Need to get Vogey on the 40-man.
ReplyDeleteWho goes? I'd have to figure Kontos, since he's squeezed out and out of options, right? How can we keep him? How could it possibly be anybody else? We carry 13 pitchers? Can that make sense with Ishi holding such a limited role. Heston or Dominguez? Sanchez can't hold much/any value in SF if he can't catch. Thoughts?
It will be one of those names. Possibly a minor trade, but more likely they will try to sneak someone through waivers. I'll say most likely Heston.
DeleteLove Alonzo Jones, if the Giants want to go chase a fast prep, that'd be fun. I kind of think he would be a comp pick at 32 for them over the 19th (is James Shields signed yet? - come on man).
ReplyDeleteSmall correction, Jones is from GA, not OH, and plays on the legendary East Cobb team.