1. Bryce Eldridge OF/1B/RHP, HS.
Eldridge still has a ways to go in his development and a lot can still go wrong but so far he looks like a home run pick and if you hit a home run with your first rounder, it's great draft no matter what happens to the rest of the picks.
2. Walker Martin SS HS.
2024(ACL); .229/.413/.382, 6 HR, 4 SB, 21.2 BB%, 37.6 K%, 189 PA.
2024(A): .202/.358/.333, 2 HR, 2 SB, 17.1 BB%, 46.3 K%, 123 PA.
Two-sport star in HS and was a HS football QB. Great size and athleticism. The key, as with all highly athletic prospects is can they hit? Martin did not get into any games in his draft season and got a late start on 2024 due to a hamstring strain. The extremely high BB and K percents suggests he was too tentative at the plate and may need to work on making contact earlier in counts. I saw him play in A ball late in the season. I thought it looked like he might be "grooving" his swing. I think he was considered a long-term project when drafted and he remains so but his size and athleticism give him a high ceiling.
2C. Joe Whitman LHP, College.
2024(A): 1-5, 4.29, 50.1 IP, 9.66 K/9, 4.65 BB/9.
2024(A+): 2-3, 4.96, 52.2 IP, 9.23 K/9, 1.88 BB/9.
Not great numbers for a high-round college draftee at lower levels. Peripherals were much better in A+ than A for some reason so maybe his skills progressed over the course of the season.
3. Cole Foster SS, College.
2024(A): .247/.336/.370, 3 HR, 5 SB, 7.5 BB%, 19.7 K%, 254 PA.
2024(A+): .117/.160/.169, 1 HR, 2 SB, 4.9 BB%, 48.1 K%, 81 PA.
Disappointing numbers for a college draftee from a major conference. Needs to turn it around dramatically in 2025.
4. Maui Ahuna SS, College.
2024(ACL): .342/.405/.658, 3 HR, 3 SB, 4.8 BB%, 33.3 K%, 42 PA.
2024(A): .236/.355/.281, HR, 5 SB, 15.0 BB %, 26.2 K%, 107 PA.
Pro career marred by injuries as was his junior season in college. First order of business is to stay healthy for a full season's worth of PA's.
5. Quinn McDaniel 2B, College.
2024(A+): .236/.345/.390, 13 HR, 40 SB, 13.1 BB%, 32.5 K%, 511 PA.
A little bit of pop and a lot of speed with a high walk rate that partially mitigates a high K rate. If he gets the K rate under 30% he could be a dynamic player at higher levels.
6. Luke Shliger C, College.
2024(A): .228/.395/.312, HR, 10 SB, 18.1 BB%, 18.1 K%, 276 PA.
2024(A+): .279/.362/.443, 2 HR, SB, 10.0 BB%, 30.0 K%, 70 PA.
Some weird numbers in both lines likely from too-small sample sizes to draw any conclusions. If the bat settles somewhere in between there might be a future lefty-hitting platoon catcher in their somewhere.
7. Scott Bandura OF, College.
2024(A): .276/.389/.362, 5 SB, 11.1 BB%, 19.0 K%, 126 PA.
2024(A+): .227/.332/.374, 6 HR, 19 SB, 247 PA.
Love the size, athleticism and backstory(he was Mo'ne Davis' little league catcher and went to college at Princeton). You worry about promotion to AA when you see numbers like the A+ line. It's an OK line when you factor in walk rate but IMO, BA is still a better predictor of success at higher levels than walk rate.
8. Josh Bostick RHP, JC.
2024(A): 2-9, 4.78, 107.1 IP, 10.15 K/9, 3.69 BB/9
Perfect height and frame for a pitcher. I saw him pitch in August. FB sat 92 MPH and touched 94. Inconsistent command.
9. Charlie Szykowny SS, College.
2024(A): .340/.405/.505, 2 HR, 8.3 BB%, 18.6 K%, 242 PA.
2024(A+): .235/.300/.379, 4 HR, 4 SB, 5.9 BB%, 170 PA.
2024(AFL): .274/.297/.419, 2 HR, 2 SB, 2 BB, 12 K, 64 PA.
Played exclusively 3B last season. AA will challenge the bat.
10. Ryan Vanderhei RHP, College.
2024(ACL): 0-0, 6.23, 8.2 IP, 11.42, K/9, 3.12 BB/9.
2024(A): 2-3, 3.58/.37.2 IP, 8.84 K/9, 4.78 BB/9, 1.45 GB/FB.
Tall, lanky RHP. FB ran 90-92 in my look. Inconsistent command.
11. Jack Payton C, College.
2024(ACL): .361/.477/.500, 2 SB, 13.6 BB%, 22.7 K%, 44 PA.
2024(A): .246/.408/.385, 2 HR, 17.2 BB%, 19.2 K%, 157 PA.
2024(A+): .206/.292/.302, HR, 6.9 BB%, 20.8 K%, 72 PA.
Payton was drafted as a hit-first catcher from Louisville who seems to be moving toward 1B defensively. Unfortunately he hasn't hit much and appears to be suffering from "FZ Disease", too passive at the plate.
12. Timmy Manning LHP, College.
2024(ACL): 1-0, 2.00, 9 IP, 15.00 K/9, 3.00 BB/9.
2024(A): 3-2, 2.74, 23 IP, 7.83 K/9, 4.70 BB/9, 1 Save.
Ratios at A level unimpressive but small sample.
13. Jose Ortiz OF, HS.
2024(ACL: .306/.455/.400, HR, 10 SB, 12.5 BB%, 17.9 K%, 112 PA.
Giants have not had a lot of success drafting high schoolers out of Puerto Rico. Nice numbers in the ACL. He went hitless in just 3 PA for A San Jose. 2025 will be a key season for him.
14. Cale Lansville RHP, JC.
2024(A): 3-4, 4.36, 74.1 IP, 8.35 K/9, 2.66 BB/9, 1.78 GB/FB.
2024(AFL): 0-2, 3.45, 15.2 IP, 10.3 K/9, 2.9 BB/9.
Saw him pitch early in season in Lake Elsinore with a line of 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K's. Looked solid. FB 92 MPH with pretty good secondary pitches and good command. Strong GB rate. Pitched well in the AFL which is roughly AA level in a hitter-friendly environment.
15. Dylan Carmouche LHP, College.
2024(A): 8-2, 2.74, 92 IP, 8.80 K/9, 4.01 BB/9.
2024(A+): 0-2, 5.34, 30.1 IP, 11.57 K/9, 2.67 BB/9.
Ratios improved a lot after promotion to A+ but ERA worse in a small sample. Don't have a scouting report on him but 6' 6" LHP's don't grow on trees.
16. Justin Wishkoski 3B, College.
2024(A+): .261/.349/.375, 5 HR, 16 SB, 8.6 BB%, 17.6 K%, 324 PA.
2024(AA): .243/.331/.340, 2 HR, 2 B, 8.3 BB%, 17.5 K%, 120 PA.
Disappointing power but ratios held up well after promotion to AA. Played all 4 IF positions last season. If a little power comes he can be a useful utility player.
17. Drew Cavanaugh, C, College.
2024(A): .230/.364/.333, 2 HR, 14.9 BB%, 29.2 K%, 154 PA.
2024(AAA): .300/.400/.300, 11.4 BB%, 20.0 K%, 35 PA.
2024(AFL): .200/.294/.267, 4 BB, 10 K, 34 PA.
Success at AAA likely a SSS anomaly, but lefty hitting catchers are going to get extra chances.
18. Michael Rodriguez LHP, College.
2024(ACL): 1-0, 1.93, 4.2 IP, 11.57 K/9, 5.79 BB/9.
2024(A): 1-1, 6.92, 13 IP, 4.15 K/9, 7.62 BB/9.
Has only pitched a total of 20 innings as a pro. Samples sized way to small to make much judgment but appears to have severe command/control issues.
19. Tommy Kane LHP, College.
2024(A): 2-2, 2.31, 23.1 IP, 10.41 K/9, 3.47 BB/9.
2024(A+): 1-2, 5.40, 31.2 IP, 9.38 K/9, 5.68 BB/9.
Numbers fell off after midseason promotion to A+.
20. Nadir Lewis OF, College.
2024(A): .155/.275/.241, HR, 14.5 BB%, 34.8 K%, 69 PA.
College teammate of Scott Bandura at Princeton. Weak numbers in what should be a conservative placement for a college draftee. Love the name, though. Maybe his 2024 stat line was his nadir?
Summary: Bryce Eldridge makes this draft a success so far all by himself. Not much to get excited about in the rest of the draft but 2 or 4 of the pitchers could find success at higher levels and Martin is still a high reward/high risk pick in round 2.
Initial anon poster comments somewhat sarcastic Doc!
ReplyDeleteAnyway , nothing wrong with a discerning eye and be able to draw a walk.
In any event yes batting average is a good indicator of potential to play in the bigs but good overall at bat skills a great indicator.
Richard in Winnipeg
Thank you, Richard in Winnepeg. Yep, that Anon is a frequent commenter with an attitude. That comment was the first of 6 which were progressively more annoying. I let in through and deleted the others but the more I thought about it the more it seemed like he was just trolling os I hit the button in it too.
Delete