If you are into Texas HS RHP's and projectability is your thing, then Michael Kopech just might be your guy. He's 6'4", 190 lbs with a frame that looks much bigger. Looking at BLF's scouting report, he's got a long, loose arm that whips a 4S FB 90-94 MPH. He also has a 2S FB and an "11-5" curveball and an changeup.
Looking at the video, he's got a lot of moving parts to his windup and delivery. He does the back turn thing, which seems to be a growing trend. He has a very high knee kick(it's not really a leg kick so much as bringing the knee up into a jackknife position) and a long stride. Not quite Timmy long, but long. His finish looks very Timmy. All those moving parts make for some inconsistency. One sequence on the video showed him throwing out of the stretch and he completely eliminates the knee kick and turns it into a slide-step.
In spite of all the moving parts and inconsistency, he showed good control in his HS numbers:
6-4, 1.74, 60.1 IP, 24 BB, 105 K's.
He struck out 6 of 7 batters faced in one showcase event.
BLF has him ranked as he #12 overall prospect in he 2014 draft. Mack Ade has him at #24 in his mock draft. Matt Garrioch has him at #45. BA has him as their #35 HS player and list him at 6'2", 188 lbs. He looks way taller than that in the video.
I like Kopech a lot. While projectability is sometimes overrated, this kid is very competitive with other top draft prospects right now and he adds the projectability. He also performs well on the field in addition to scouting well. He's a good student with a 3.5 GPA(Dad's a lawyer) so a team that wants him may have to take him in the first round to keep him away from college.
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The Giants success with drafting HS pitchers; and the fact we seemingly have aboat load of talent coming up over the next 1 to 3 years > makes sense to go after another rangy Texan. I like the sound of this fellow.
ReplyDeleteRichard in Winnipeg
This draft is so deep in talent and it's so hard to separate out one hard throwing pitcher from another, it's very hard to project any single player as the right one for the Giants. Knowing them, it will probably be one nobody thought of!
DeleteJust once I'd love to be a fly on the wall, when Sabes and crew sit and talk about their projected draft list. Maybe in another life, most likely.
ReplyDeleteRichard in cold Winnipeg
With all these high upside pitchers floating around, this would have been the perfect offseason to have a compensation pick... draft one of the bigger named hitters first, then snag a pitcher on the back end. That could be the pot of gold right there. Wishful thinking, but maybe the Giants decide to grab a bat at 14, then a pitcher in the 2nd round. If the class is as deep as it sounds, there might still be a few stud arms available mid-2nd round.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. With the pitching depth of this draft combined with the Giants acumen at uncovering pitching talent, they are a good bet to find a talented arm in the second and even the third round. So it makes a lot of sense to take the best available hitter in the first round, especially since some of the teams ahead of them are going to be focusing on the pitchers.
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