2018 MLB Draft Uber-Thread

DJnVa

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Saw some hitting highlights, a lot of shots to the opposite field. That will play well in Fenway.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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This feels more like a MFY pick of recent years than a Red Sox pick. Which is probably a good thing. Maybe more of an all or nothing pick but if you hit on it, you have a cheap masher and everyone else thinks “how did we miss this guy?”
 
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nvalvo

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So, after all the talk of using college players to boost the system quickly, we've taken two HS players day one.
 

DanoooME

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Decker has a commitment to Maryland, it'll be interesting to see if he goes or not.

He plays in the NJ Group 3 state semifinals tomorrow.
 

JBJ_HOF

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Decker has a commitment to Maryland, it'll be interesting to see if he goes or not.

He plays in the NJ Group 3 state semifinals tomorrow.
Every. single. player. taken in the first 10 rounds will have agreed to contracts before they are selected, they only will not sign if they fail a medical. This is the new CBA. Teams aren't going to risk not knowing about a player and potentially losing that draft slot money.
 

BaseballJones

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Every. single. player. taken in the first 10 rounds will have agreed to contracts before they are selected, they only will not sign if they fail a medical. This is the new CBA. Teams aren't going to risk not knowing about a player and potentially losing that draft slot money.
So we don't have to worry about Casas going to the U?
 

StuckOnYouk

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Love this kids swing - seems like he was built to hit at Fenway. If he reaches his potential he'll be swatting balls off and over the Monster for years. 18 years old and he's already got great power size - 6'4", 238. Sounds like he has a great work ethic too.
 

Byrdbrain

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So how many years do we think he is from the bigs? Is a 2020 September call up reasonable if he’s raking in the minors?
No it isn't reasonable at all. It is possible but it would be an extreme outlier.
It is much more likely that he never reaches MLB than him to be called up in '20.
 

Green Monster

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Question for the more astute fans of the draft.........Who might be this years top candidates with potential to slide because of sign ability concerns? Similar to Jason Groome.
 

burstnbloom

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70 grade power? Keith Law says he will likely hit for average but his power his an "open question".
Others have responded but this was in the article I linked written by Carlos Collazo for BA.

The lefthanded-hitting Casas comes with 70-grade raw power on the 20-80 scouting scale—and maybe more—but he also has a patient, selective approach. He rarely gets caught on his front foot trying to ambush a ball or yank it down the right-field line. His strength allows him to drive the ball with authority to any part of the park, but in batting practice he frequently works on hitting low line drives into shallow left field
 

Schnerres

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I saw Casars teammate Cory Acton (3b) also has a superb hitting season. I´m not a baseball expert, will he be drafted this year, any chance he´s in the Red Sox scouting books?
 

nvalvo

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Wow, talk about a Yankee style pick. Durbin Feltman of Texas Christian University, a sinker slider RP.

That looks like a move that might have September impact.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Wow, talk about a Yankee style pick. Durbin Feltman of Texas Christian University, a sinker slider RP.

That looks like a move that might have September impact.
SoxScout called it this morning:

Given the absurd market cost of late-inning bullpen arms, both in the offseason and at the trade deadline, this is a pretty interesting use of a draft pick. Plus, you never really know what you're getting in 30ish innings of a deadline guy. You don't know what you're getting with a prospect either, but at least you know he's a live arm and that you aren't gutting your system of 3-4 more prospects in exchange for a player who turns out to be borderline unusable.
 

Shamus74

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Keith Law is doing a klawchat on the draft. His assessment of Cassas's power potential:

Gabe
2:02
In your write-up of Casas, you questioned his power. In other write ups I've seen him given as high as a 70 grade on his power. Are you questioning his potential for in-game power or did you get some really bad looks at him?

Keith Law
2:03
I don't care what "other write ups" might say; I've seen Casas a few times and talked to plenty of scouts about him. To get him to 70 future power, someone is going to have to work with him on rotating more and getting more loft in his finish.
 

RedOctober3829

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SoxScout called it this morning:

Given the absurd market cost of late-inning bullpen arms, both in the offseason and at the trade deadline, this is a pretty interesting use of a draft pick. Plus, you never really know what you're getting in 30ish innings of a deadline guy. You don't know what you're getting with a prospect either, but at least you know he's a live arm and that you aren't gutting your system of 3-4 more prospects in exchange for a player who turns out to be borderline unusable.
TCU arms have a history of being advanced. Brandon Finnegan got drafted 17th overall by KC in June of 2014 and was in KC in September. He also pitched in the postseason.
 

johnnywayback

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Also worth noting that Kimbrel and Kelly are both FA — plenty of room in the 2019 bullpen for a high-leverage reliever. Like the pick a lot.
 

TimScribble

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Red Sox 4th round selection C Kole Cottam is highly alliterative and hit 19 homers this year. Sox have taken 3 position players so far, all with power as headline tool.
 

TimScribble

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In the third round (No. 100 pick overall), the Sox added righthander Durbin Feltman, a dominating closer out of Texas Christian University. In 18 appearances spanning 24 1/3 innings, Feltman proved overpowering, posting a 0.74 ERA with 43 strikeouts and just six walks. He held opponents to a .143 average and allowed just two extra-base hits (both doubles) this year.

The 5-foot-11 Feltman features a pure power arsenal, a mid- to high-90s fastball along with a swing-and-miss slider. His size and the effort in his delivery to generate power gave him a fairly clear reliever profile, but his willingness to throw strikes with a nasty two-pitch mix also gives Feltman a chance to move quickly through the minors. The Red Sox have been aggressive in the last couple of years in targeting college relievers, a pattern continued in the selection of Feltman.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/06/05/red-sox-open-day-draft-selecting-tcu-hurler-durbin-feltman/NxG5jmAOW5PSknaur53L5K/amp.html#click=https://t.co/PIAybiBXGh
 

shaggydog2000

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Red Sox 4th round selection C Kole Cottam is highly alliterative and hit 19 homers this year. Sox have taken 3 position players so far, all with power as headline tool.
Stan Lee would approve, but only if he changed his name to Cole Cottam, The Catcher.
 

TimScribble

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5 (160): @redsox select Central Florida (FL) RHP Thad Ward. mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/dra… #MLBDraft
 

oumbi

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From Soxprospects:

June 5, 2018 at 2:19 PM
Red Sox select Kole Cottam with their fourth-round pick





With their fourth-round pick (130th overall) in the 2018 MLB First-Year Player Draft, the Red Sox have selected Kole Cottam, a catcher from the University of Kentucky. Cottam is ranked 361st by Baseball America and 322nd by Perfect Game. He was not ranked by either MLB.com or Keith Law of ESPN.

The 21-year-old had a monster 2018 season for the Wildcats, blasting 19 home runs on his way to a .352/.438/.667 slash line, splitting time between catcher and first base. As a power-hitting catcher, Cottam exhibits quiet mechanics and an ability to loft the ball in the air with authority. He does have some swing-and-miss in his game, with 51 strikeouts this year in 260 plate appearances.
had 13 surgeries to remove a congenital melanocytic nevus near his right eye, the first coming when he was only three months old, with doctors fearing that he could lose the eye. In eighth grade, he had his lower eyelid removed, grafted, and sewn shut in order to heal. He has not had surgery since, and his vision has remained unaffected. He wore the number 13 with Kentucky as a reminder of those 13 surgeries.
 

oumbi

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Again from Soxprospects:

June 5, 2018 at 3:17 PM
Red Sox select Thad Ward with fifth-round pick





In the fifth round, the Boston Red Sox selected their third consecutive college player after grabbing two prep hitters on Day 1 in UCF right-handed pitcher Thad Ward. He was ranked no. 192 on Perfect Game USA's list of top prospects, while Ward was unranked by MLB.com.

Ward was a true swingman for the Knights, starting five out of his 22 appearances, also earning two saves. He gave his team anything from seven-inning starts to one-inning relief stints. Ward was first-team All-American Athletic Conference with 84 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings pitched against 26 walks. His strikeout numbers were 25th-best in the country, punching out 11.9 batters per nine innings and batters hit only .203 against him.

Not drafted out of high school, Perfect Game USA reports that most scouts think that Ward will pitch in a bullpen role professionally, though some think that his 6-foot-3, 182-pound frame can possibly cut it as a starter.

He has some projection remaining and used mostly a fastball-slider mix, with Perfect Game reporting the latter could become a plus offering. His fastball is in the 90-95 mph range, with the slider coming in the low 80s.

The slot value for the No. 160 overall pick is $311,800.
 
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Plympton91

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Keith Law is doing a klawchat on the draft. His assessment of Cassas's power potential:

Gabe
2:02
In your write-up of Casas, you questioned his power. In other write ups I've seen him given as high as a 70 grade on his power. Are you questioning his potential for in-game power or did you get some really bad looks at him?

Keith Law
2:03
I don't care what "other write ups" might say; I've seen Casas a few times and talked to plenty of scouts about him. To get him to 70 future power, someone is going to have to work with him on rotating more and getting more loft in his finish.

Well, you know, the kid is already 18 years old. I'm sure its way too late to work on rotating his hips more, and finishing with a higher follow through. Good God, he's insufferable.
 

JBJ_HOF

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After the 10th round pick coming up the Sox will know exactly how much money they have left over. They will most likely spend tonight working out a deal with a kid that will sign an overslot deal in the first round tomorrow.
 

TimScribble

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Red Sox 9th rounder LHP Brian Brown had been on the Golden Spikes watch list after going 6-0 with a 0.99 ERA through 10 starts. He struggled down the stretch, but the performance in a good college conference is atypical for a college senior sign who can save $.


The Red Sox close out Day 2 with another college senior, Kennesaw State 2B Grant Williams.
 

pinkunicornsox

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I have two questions I am wondering if the more knowledgeable folks on this site can answer. The first is that I get the sense this draft is a weak draft. Is that accurate? Secondly how have the Sox done so far?
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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So that either means we should pick pitchers until we hit on one, or it means we should pick the kinds of athletic CF types that we clearly have an organizational competency in identifying and developing, and then trade them for pitching, as we've done with Josh Reddick, Manuel Margot, Luis Alexander Basabe, etc., etc.
Honest question - how much of the scouting staff is still left from the FOs that drafted those guys though?
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Well, you know, the kid is already 18 years old. I'm sure its way too late to work on rotating his hips more, and finishing with a higher follow through. Good God, he's insufferable.
You would hope that such snark would have been based on something more like “this kid can’t hit a curveball, period.” The equivalent of tweaking a pitcher’s mechanics, though? You take that at the end of the round for plus power potential all day.
 

ehaz

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I think the first three guys are all slot money (maybe slightly over for the prep bats Casas and Decker). The next 7 picks all seem to be under slot with the exception of maybe Thad Ward. All of them are college seniors or unranked juniors.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see DD pick a couple high school players in the teens and try to sign them to big overslot deals. Still 11 of the top 100 MLB draft prospect available including two top 25 players (Wilcox #19 and Rocker #23 - both high school pitchers with firm commitments to SEC schools).
 

simplicio

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Well, you know, the kid is already 18 years old. I'm sure its way too late to work on rotating his hips more, and finishing with a higher follow through. Good God, he's insufferable.
What's insufferable about what Law wrote? He's not saying Casas will never get there, he's just disagreeing with other assessments about where he's at now, and cites mechanical reasons for that. I get that we all wish the kid could come up next year and hit 40 HR, but this seems like a realistic take to me.
 

simplicio

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Tone as in "I don't care what other write ups say"? Again, seems honest, plus dude's a public facing prospect guy and probably has a hundred "why are you trampling on my binkie?!" queries a day that totally disregard the actual work he personally puts into scouting and writing up all these kids and the validity of his opinion based upon that work.

Or tone as in "I don't agree with his politics"?
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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It's a tonality issue.
I guess, but it’s also cherry picked and ignoring how tons can be lost via written word.

Law is pretty consistent - and always has been - that he doesn’t read much of other prospect guys writing (at least in letting it influence his reviews) or how they rank guys; he’s always highly respectful of them and their work, he just does his method and style and makes his judgments based on that. Quite literally anytime someone brings up a ‘but this guy/website has him ranked here, why do you only have him here?’ He answers the exact same way - that their rankings don’t really matter to him. He’s not there compare notes with his competition, he’s there to discuss his assessments and answer questions about guys from his opinion. I’m pretty sure Kiper, McShay and Mayock don’t consult each other either.

Can he be snarky at times? Sure, that’s definitely a thing with him. But he doesn’t personally attack people and it’s also why he moved his chat off of ESPN onto his own personal website. He got tired of people asking questions like ‘why are you talking about music/cooking/tv/etc, this is supposed to be a baseball chat’ for 2-3 hours, dealing with fantasy type trade proposals that would make WEEI callers blush and people claiming he hates their team because he ranked a guy 68th instead of 66th. I can’t really say I blame him much.

The quotation marks there aren’t nearly as dismissive or jerky as you might think if you read him more. I’ve always found hat he’s like Belichick, ask him an intelligent and pointed question he will answer it if he sees it and can reply (I think he said he gets something like 5000-7000 questions each week over like two hours); tweet something like that to him or ask on FB and he will respond.

A lot of people around here still hold a grudge because he was wrong about Pedroia (which he has given his mea culpas on many times, despite said posters here refusing to acknowledge it). What he said was perfectly fine and as noted, not a death sentence; and part of the reason he specifically doesn’t care about ‘other’ write ups is that they all grade a little different on current vs potential and they all weigh different things differently. Getting upset about how he used air quotes on a chat to a stranger questioning his grade strikes me as being overly sensitive, but to each their own.