Monday, December 24, 2018

Scouting the 2018 Draft: Riley Greene

Riley Greene, OF, HS.  B-L, T-L.  6'1", 190 lbs.

Greene is regarded as the best HS bat in the 2019 draft.  He is from Florida and is well known from the showcase circuit and USA 18 and Under National Team.  He has a smooth swing with power to all fields.  Scouting reports say he already has plus pitch recognition skills and should draw a lot of walks.  The big concern is his lack of speed which will force him to a corner OF at best and possibly 1B.  His OF throws clock in at 92 MPH so he may have enough arm to play RF as long as it's not AT&T Park.

On video he looks a bit taller than 6'1" and some scouting sites list him at 6'2".  His got a big power-hitter's frame.  I'm still learning how to analyze swings but his looks a bit on the long side to me with some wrap and a hint of an arm bar.  That could be a red flag for someone who will be almost entirely dependent on his bat for success in the pros.

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DrB's Updated 2019 Draft Board:

1.  Bobby Witt Jr., SS, HS.  5-tool athlete with MLB bloodline who can stick at SS.

2.  Adley Rutschman, C, College(Oregon St.).  Excellent catching prospect whose bat had a huge sophomore breakout.

3.  CJ Abrams, SS, HS.  4+ tool prospect with best wheels in draft.  Power lags a bit.

4.  Shea Langeliers, C, College(Baylor).  Solid catching prospect with potential for a plus bat.

5.  Andrew Vaughn, 1B, College(Cal).  Top college power bat in the draft.  The numbers guys will like him better than the scouts.

6.  Josh Jung, 3B, College(Texas Tech).  Disciplined bat with power potential.  Has arm to play 3B at highest level.

7.  Riley Greene, OF, HS.  Top HS bat in the draft with an advanced hit tool with plus power.  Lack of speed puts a lot of pressure on the bat.

8.  Carter Stewart, RHP, JC.  Has tools to be an ace.  Will need to overcome health concerns after "failing" physical with Braves last year.

2 comments:

  1. Last year was much more fun with the 2nd pick which was a win-win for the Giants -- would they have picked Mize had they not won the last day (or the Tigers lost)?
    They could not have tanked anymore than they did in September last year but they barely managed to crack the bottom ten.
    They got Lincecum and Bumgarner with the 10th picks back-to-back, and there have been a lot of good #10s, most notably McGuire and Ventura but also a lot of busts, giants worst in 1977 with Craig Landis although he quickly got to AAA but floundered and became an agent.

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  2. Hope the Giants stay away from Carter Stewart as "failing physical" last year should be a major red flag.

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