The hot stove has died down to a few smoldering coals until the World Series ends and it get re-stoked again. In the meantime, we'll just keep on with our reviews and draft profiles.
The best pure college hitter in the 2014 draft is a guy I had not heard of before until early draft previews started coming out this summer after the college season had ended. Kyle Schwarber is a lefthanded hitting catcher for Indiana. He's a stocky guy at 6'0", 230 lbs with a low center of gravity. There are some questions about whether he can stick at catcher. If not, then he's a short first baseman or a DH where the bat has to come up huge. That is certainly possible as he has destroyed the Big Ten for the last 2 seasons, especially 2013, his sophomore campaign:
2012 .300/.390/.513 with 8 HR, 5 3B, 9 SB in 12 Attempts, 30 BB, 24 K in 230 AB.
2013 .366/.456/.647 with 18 HR, 4 SB in 7 Attempts, 39 BB, 33 K in 235 AB.
He'll never be known for his speed, but it seemed to slip a little between his freshman and sophomore seasons. His CS% also slid from about 30% down to 19%.
Big League Futures does not have a draft profile up on him yet, but has him ranked at #22 in their early 2014 draft rankings. Mack's Mets does not have in in the first round in his early mock draft. Matt Garrioch at BA has him at #21 his his very early 2014 draft ranking. BA has him ranked at #17 with the comment that his best position is clearly the batter's box!
He is certainly not what the Giants usually look for in the first round. If you want a great bat and don't care about anything else, Schwarber is your man. I think he will most likely be taken in the second half of the first round or at least the supplemental first round. He could be a steal if his body and defensive questions drop him to the second round.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment