The MLB Draft

Soxfan in Fla

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Now that we know he's a White American and Boras (not) is his agent the next obvious question is "can he be the 5th starter in September"?
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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It gets complicated after the 10th round and money. He wasn't happy at Oregon. Coaches are first rate assholes and led him to get injured. His dad flew there yesterday to pack up for the summer regardless. We are all just kind of waiting to see what happens. The shoulder injury is recovering nicely and if the D-Backs take him again it's possible he'll head out to rookie league, Missoula, Montana I believe. I think in all likelihood, he'll go play for Yarmouth-Dennis and go back for his senior year to improve draft status. "The best laid plans..."
Any chance to keep us updated? This kind of dynamic fascinates me with the mid round kids.
 

Bigpupp

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Groome has about as much a chance to pan out as Ball did on his draft day. Hell, they're even sort of similar as high school pitchers.
I mean, they're both lefty and throw the same type of pitches, but that's about it. Ball was 100% about projection. He wasn't polished at all and because he was from Indiana, scouts didn't have nearly as much to go off of as they do with Groome.

Groome is already polished and was a 1-1 candidate in April (was mocked as high as 3 until just a couple weeks ago). To put it in another way, no one considered Ball the top player in the draft like some people think Groome is.
 

derekson

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I mean, they're both lefty and throw the same type of pitches, but that's about it. Ball was 100% about projection. He wasn't polished at all and because he was from Indiana, scouts didn't have nearly as much to go off of as they do with Groome.

Groome is already polished and was a 1-1 candidate in April (was mocked as high as 3 until just a couple weeks ago). To put it in another way, no one considered Ball the top player in the draft like some people think Groome is.
Ball was even considered a bit of a stretch when the Sox grabbed him, which people seem to be forgetting. This is a kid that was a consensus top 10 pick.
 

alwyn96

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I'm probably crazy to be excited about a HS pitcher, but I am super excited about Groome. He was considered a top-5 talent by most of the big prospecty outlets, with BA and MLB having him #1 overall. That's not the kind of player the Red Sox can usually get.

I guess there's some winking make-up concerns that people seem to be dancing around, but hell, this seems like a slam dunk awesome pick to me. And Dombrowski seems like the kind of guy who wouldn't let this kid get away due to signability issues.

Dammit, I am friggin psyched about this. TINSTAAPP and all, but this is awesome.
 
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Bigpupp

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Ball was even considered a bit of a stretch when the Sox grabbed him, which people seem to be forgetting. This is a kid that was a consensus top 10 pick.
Exactly. And I say this as someone who actually liked the Ball choice, they just aren't all that similar.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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I mean, they're both lefty and throw the same type of pitches, but that's about it. Ball was 100% about projection. He wasn't polished at all and because he was from Indiana, scouts didn't have nearly as much to go off of as they do with Groome.

Groome is already polished and was a 1-1 candidate in April (was mocked as high as 3 until just a couple weeks ago). To put it in another way, no one considered Ball the top player in the draft like some people think Groome is.
Justify it away any way you want, but high school pitchers are incredibly risky and the gap between Groome now and Ball then isn't terribly big. I'm not saying that Groome is doomed to fail or that Ball was a sure thing that the baseball gods struck down unfairly, but the idea that there is a big difference between the two on their draft days is revisionist history.

Groome is exciting. So was Ball. Most of us wanted Meadows, and in retrospect, most of us were right. That doesn't mean that Groome is significantly more likely to succeed than Ball was, though. And it's not like Ball was a reach at 7. He was rated 9th in that draft class by BA. Groove came into this draft as number 3. If you think the five picks separating them is a major factor, we probably won't find much common ground here.
 

Bigpupp

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Justify it away any way you want, but high school pitchers are incredibly risky and the gap between Groome now and Ball then isn't terribly big. I'm not saying that Groome is doomed to fail or that Ball was a sure thing that the baseball gods struck down unfairly, but the idea that there is a big difference between the two on their draft days is revisionist history.

Groome is exciting. So was Ball. Most of us wanted Meadows, and in retrospect, most of us were right. That doesn't mean that Groome is significantly more likely to succeed than Ball was, though. And it's not like Ball was a reach at 7. He was rated 9th in that draft class by BA. Groove came into this draft as number 3. If you think the five picks separating them is a major factor, we probably won't find much common ground here.
And Groome was ranked #1 by MLB.com.

Look, I don't disagree with your premise that Groome isn't guaranteed anything, but you're REALLY selling Groome short, and also really understating how big of a drop-off there was in that draft after the first 6 picks.
 

alwyn96

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Justify it away any way you want, but high school pitchers are incredibly risky and the gap between Groome now and Ball then isn't terribly big. I'm not saying that Groome is doomed to fail or that Ball was a sure thing that the baseball gods struck down unfairly, but the idea that there is a big difference between the two on their draft days is revisionist history.

Groome is exciting. So was Ball. Most of us wanted Meadows, and in retrospect, most of us were right. That doesn't mean that Groome is significantly more likely to succeed than Ball was, though. And it's not like Ball was a reach at 7. He was rated 9th in that draft class by BA. Groove came into this draft as number 3. If you think the five picks separating them is a major factor, we probably won't find much common ground here.
Oh, I don't disagree. HS pitchers remain the riskiest draft quantity there is. Teams keep drafting them very highly every year, which may very well be dumb. Groome may very well wind up toiling away with Trey Ball and Casey Kelly and Michael Bowden. I didn't follow the discussion around Ball very closely at the time, but I seem to recall that that draft class wasn't considered particularly strong. I could be wrong. Obviously there's a great chance he could crash and burn, but Groome still seems like a sweet pick to me.

I don't quite understand where BA's "official" draft ratings are (and 1 v 3 probably doesn't make any difference) but I saw Groome's #1 overall rating here. Maybe you saw a more recent one that I missed.

EDIT: Holy crap, Casey Kelly is somehow a reliever with the Braves! I had no idea!
 
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Quintanariffic

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Justify it away any way you want, but high school pitchers are incredibly risky and the gap between Groome now and Ball then isn't terribly big. I'm not saying that Groome is doomed to fail or that Ball was a sure thing that the baseball gods struck down unfairly, but the idea that there is a big difference between the two on their draft days is revisionist history.

Groome is exciting. So was Ball. Most of us wanted Meadows, and in retrospect, most of us were right. That doesn't mean that Groome is significantly more likely to succeed than Ball was, though. And it's not like Ball was a reach at 7. He was rated 9th in that draft class by BA. Groove came into this draft as number 3. If you think the five picks separating them is a major factor, we probably won't find much common ground here.
Sorry - other than the fact that they are LHP from HS, your point really breaks down. Let's start with the fact that the 2013 class was believed to be weak at the time, and history has proven it was worse than feared - there wasn't much talent there. Perhaps more importantly, Ball was a 2-way player throughout HS and scouts were undecided as to whether he should be drafted as a pitcher or OF. Finally, outside of alleged make-up issues, Groome was almost universally viewed as the best talent in the draft, and certainly no worse than Top 3. Given the speed of the drop-off in expected WAR as you go through the Top 10, there's actually a huge gap between the guy rated #1 vs. #9 or worse. And that's before you consider differences in talent levels between drafts or risk levels due to lack of pitching history.

In short, there are huge risks with taking any HS pitcher, but other than that, your perspective that they are similar has no factual basis. By that logic, all HS pitchers are like Ball and should therefore be avoided - there's no half-way here with the argument you've constructed.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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And Groome was ranked #1 by MLB.com.

Look, I don't disagree with your premise that Groome isn't guaranteed anything, but you're REALLY selling Groome short, and also really understating how big of a drop-off there was in that draft after the first 6 picks.
Hunter Dozier, Austin Meadows, Braden Shipley, JP Crawford and Hunter Harvey all went in the 15 picks after Ball, so it wasn't really getting all that thin by the time the Sox came up. That class was certainly thinner than this year's overall, but the top 6 in that draft (Appel, Gray, Bryant, Stewart, Frazier, Moran) would probably all slot into the top 10 in this draft somewhere, so commenting on how stacked the top of that draft was while pointing to Groome's number 3 ranking doesn't really tell us all that much. At the very least, the top three would have been the top three this year as well. It would be different if there were a bunch of monster picks in the early mix this year. There weren't. The mock drafts were pretty fluid for a reason.

And besides, my point was that dismissing Ball as a worthy pick in 2013 as rehabsox did is ridiculous. The gap between Ball and Groome isn't large enough that cracking that kind of joke is even remotely supported by reality without the benefit of hindsight.

I don't quite understand where BA's "official" draft ratings are (and 1 v 3 probably doesn't make any difference) but I saw Groome's #1 overall rating here. Maybe you saw a more recent one that I missed.
You can just go to baseballamerica.com and click on the top 500 list on their main page.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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In short, there are huge risks with taking any HS pitcher, but other than that, your perspective that they are similar has no factual basis. By that logic, all HS pitchers are like Ball and should therefore be avoided - there's no half-way here with the argument you've constructed.
You might want to do some rereading because that isn't my point at all.
 

Bigpupp

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Hunter Dozier, Austin Meadows, Braden Shipley, JP Crawford and Hunter Harvey all went in the 15 picks after Ball, so it wasn't really getting all that thin by the time the Sox came up. That class was certainly thinner than this year's overall, but the top 6 in that draft (Appel, Gray, Bryant, Stewart, Frazier, Moran) would probably all slot into the top 10 in this draft somewhere, so commenting on how stacked the top of that draft was while pointing to Groome's number 3 ranking doesn't really tell us all that much. At the very least, the top three would have been the top three this year as well. It would be different if there were a bunch of monster picks in the early mix this year. There weren't. The mock drafts were pretty fluid for a reason.
So Groome's number 1 overall ranking doesn't tell us anything but Ball's #9 ranking tells the whole story? As I said, I get your point, I just think you're completely misremembering how that draft, and Ball specifically, was viewed.

Respectfull, that will be my last word on this topic. I think Groome is a great pick and I hope he does a great job for the Sox.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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So Groome's number 1 overall ranking doesn't tell us anything but Ball's #9 ranking tells the whole story? As I said, I get your point, I just think you're completely misremembering how that draft, and Ball specifically, was viewed.
I didn't argue one ranking more valid than the other. I'm pointing out that comparing the two drafts is problematic. Did Ball pan out? No. He's a pretty terrible prospect at this point. On draft day in 2013, however, he was lauded as an exciting pick and the Sox were praised for making it by pretty much every site. I'm honestly having trouble finding anyone who didn't like the pick, aside from some grumbling here because people had their hearts set on Frazier or Meadows.

I think Groome is a great pick and I hope he does a great job for the Sox.
On this we can agree.

Or, instead, why not just clarify what you're saying. I am also confused.
Dismissing Ball as a shitty pick requires hindsight which makes the joke shitty. Hindsight might be accurate, but it's also incredibly uninteresting.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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BA has CJ Chatham ranked 101st.

A product of Fort Lauderdale's American Heritage High (alma mater of such major leaguers as Eric Hosmer and Deven Marrero), Chatham has been a three-year starter for Florida Atlantic, leading the Owls to the regular-season Conference USA title as a junior as he led the league with a 1.017 OPS. His swing can be long but there's leverage in his swing and solid-average power, if not a tick more. He's got a knack for making contact and some grit, having played through a bone chip in his right wrist this spring that caused him to get off to a slow start. Chatham's defense is the subject of debate, as he's tall and rangy for a shortstop at a listed 6-foot-4, 185 pounds. However, he has a true plus arm, solid instincts and feel for the middle infield. He may have to move off it eventually, bu his first-step quickness, game clock and aptitude may allow him to stick at short, at least in the near-term. He's likely to be drafted in the first three rounds.
 

Bigpupp

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ok, so did they target CJ Chatham as an under-slot guy so that they can siphon some of that money off to Groome?
Probably not. Mayo said on the telecast that he was beginning to sneak into the first round. He'll probably go slot and they'll be able to use his 5% overage on Groome.
 

beezer

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Plus, per Pete Abe, he's committed now to JuCo, not Vandy. Not sure when that changed but suggests he's signable. And Pedroia is his idol. Pedey should have called him by now.
One thing to note is the de-commit to Vandy will make him harder to sign. The story was that he wanted to go the JUCO path so that he'd be eligible again for next years draft if he didn't get the 4 mil rather than have to wait 2 years to be re-drafted if he went to Vandy
 

Quintanariffic

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I didn't argue one ranking more valid than the other. I'm pointing out that comparing the two drafts is problematic. Did Ball pan out? No. He's a pretty terrible prospect at this point. On draft day in 2013, however, he was lauded as an exciting pick and the Sox were praised for making it by pretty much every site. I'm honestly having trouble finding anyone who didn't like the pick, aside from some grumbling here because people had their hearts set on Frazier or Meadows.



On this we can agree.



Dismissing Ball as a shitty pick requires hindsight which makes the joke shitty. Hindsight might be accurate, but it's also incredibly uninteresting.
It doesn't require dismissing Ball as a shitty pick to render your perspective on the distance between he and Groome off base. Groome was pretty much the consensus #1 talent in a draft that is almost universally considered to be strong than a historrically bad 2013 draft. And he has been a full-time pitcher throughout HS, so it's not nearly as much of a risk/projection pick as Ball.

Pretty sure I understood your point quite well. It was just a bad point.
 

Dewey'sCannon

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Probably not. Mayo said on the telecast that he was beginning to sneak into the first round. He'll probably go slot and they'll be able to use his 5% overage on Groome.
Using the 5% overage on Groome would get them to what, about 3.5m? Hope that's enough - if he's really stuck on $4m or he's off to JUCO, then they'll have to go underslot somewhere to get that high, or close.
 

Bigpupp

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Using the 5% overage on Groome would get them to what, about 3.5m? Hope that's enough - if he's really stuck on $4m or he's off to JUCO, then they'll have to go underslot somewhere to get that high, or close.
They have a little over 3.4 million for Groome right now if they go 5% over and give CJ slot money. They'll almost surely go underslot in the next couple picks to open up enough cash to sign Groome, but I don't think he'll cost nearly as much as the numbers his agent has been floating.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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It doesn't require dismissing Ball as a shitty pick to render your perspective on the distance between he and Groome off base. Groome was pretty much the consensus #1 talent in a draft that is almost universally considered to be strong than a historrically bad 2013 draft. And he has been a full-time pitcher throughout HS, so it's not nearly as much of a risk/projection pick as Ball.

Pretty sure I understood your point quite well. It was just a bad point.
Go ahead and see if you can dig up anything from the lead up of the 2013 draft that described it as historically bad. If you are relying on hindsight to claim it was historically bad, you couldn't be missing my point more. Again, the pick was almost universally praised at the time. It didn't work out. It happens with high school arms a lot. It could happen with Groome, too. That doesn't make the Groome pick a bad one. I like it quite a bit, actually. But the only way to claim Ball was a bad pick at the time is to rely on hindsight.

And the idea that Ball was 100% projection (posted earlier in the thread) or that there is a significant difference in the odds of Groome succeeding as compared to the odds that Ball would succeed on his draft day is folly. Re-posting from his BA writeup:

Coming into the year, the industry was split on whether Ball had a brighter future as an outfielder or a pitcher. That's no longer a question, as he has excelled on the mound to the extent that he could go in the first five picks overall. He has surpassed Indiana State's Sean Manaea as the top lefthander available by showing better stuff and more athleticism. Ball's fastball dipped to the upper 80s when he wore down toward the end of the showcase circuit last summer, but he has maintained a 91-94 mph heater all spring despite cold and wet weather. He still carries just 180 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame, so he has plenty of room to add strength and velocity. His athleticism is equally impressive, as he does a fine job of maintaining and repeating his delivery for such a young and tall pitcher. His father restricted his use of a curveball before his junior season, but Ball already shows aptitude for spinning the ball and has an above-average breaker. He learned to rely on his changeup, which he throws with deceptive arm speed and nice fade. He has a fast arm and a clean arm action, and in a rarity for a high school arm, he has no obvious red flags.
I'll leave it at that, as I'm driving my point into the ground.
 
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Bigpupp

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And the idea that Ball was 100% projection (posted earlier in the thread) or that there is a significant difference in the odds of Groome succeeding as compared to the odds that Ball would succeed on his draft day is folly.
I'll just leave this here without comment. Here are a few quotes from ESPN and BP's Chris Crawford in his draft book that was updated very soon before the 2013 draft.
Ball doesn’t repeat his delivery very well, and will need to make significant mechanical tweaks to his delivery if he wants to throw strikes and hit spots at the next level. There’s very little hip movement in the delivery, and he has an arm action that doesn’t enthrall me or some scouts that I’ve talked to.
In the first edition, I chose to list Ball as an outfielder, because the general consensus I got from people was that he was being looked at more as a hitter than a pitcher. Now, the consensus seems to be going the other way. I, however, am one of those who believes that his long-term future is brighter in right field behind the plate....On the mound, I see a mid-rotation starter at his peak. I think he could be a future all-star if a team lets him hit, with the mound being a potential fallback if that doesn’t work out.
Now compare that with what he was/is saying about Groome
Groome is the top player on my board. He’s a southpaw who has shown two 70 pitches in his fastball and a disgusting curveball, and he’ll complement them with a pretty solid change as well. He’s had some command issues and that whole suspension thing, but he’s still the guy I’d take 1.1.
Groome was the top player on my board all year, and he's an absolute steal with this pick on paper. Both his fastball and curveball flash double-plus, and when he throws his change, its flashes above-average.
 
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chrisfont9

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One thing to note is the de-commit to Vandy will make him harder to sign. The story was that he wanted to go the JUCO path so that he'd be eligible again for next years draft if he didn't get the 4 mil rather than have to wait 2 years to be re-drafted if he went to Vandy
Ah, OK thanks. I guess it is good and bad news. On the plus side, he's not going to college for the sake of college. He's using all of his leverage toward lining up his pro career. I see that the slot is identified as 3.19 mil, so if he wants $4m, it's hard to picture the Sox being willing to let him walk over the $800k.
 

Byrdbrain

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If he wanted $4m he'd say he wanted $4.5m, if he is saying $4m it is essentially a lock he will take something less than that. How much less is the key question here but I'd be shocked if this signing didn't happen.
 

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Giants select hometown LHP Matt Krook from Oregon in 4th round. Good for him. Struggled this year after getting TJ surgery last year.
 

Quintanariffic

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I'll just leave this here without comment. Here are a few quotes from ESPN and BP's Chris Crawford in his draft book that was updated very soon before the 2013 draft.




Now compare that with what he was/is saying about Groome
It doesn't stop there.

John Heyman "A GM on jason groome: "might be the best high school pitching prospect since clayton kershaw."

Keith Law "Groome is the most talented player in the draft. He is massive and athletic for his size, has a relatively easy delivery, advanced command of an already plus-or-better flashing curveball and has been up to 96 mph in the past."

Keith Law " One of the best HS curve balls I've ever seen"

I could go on.

You don't need to buy into any notion that the there was a known, ex-ante talent void in the 2013 draft to understand the difference in talent levels between Ball and Groome.
 

The Best Catch in 100 Years

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On the relative merits of draft classes, there's this quote from a Grantland article before last year's draft:

“I’ve been covering the draft since 2009, and this [2015 draft class] is easily the weakest class in terms of quality at the top and quantity overall that I’ve covered,” Christopher Crawford, Baseball Prospectus’s new senior prospect writer, told me via email. “[ESPN analyst Keith Law] and I have both joked that we’d prefer to just skip this year and combine it with next year, which — on paper — is the best I’ve seen.”

I also remember hearing things about the weakness of the 2013 crop, but in any event this is evidence of prospect guys being exceptionally excited about 2016, including at least one who put Groome at the top of his draft board.

Forgot to put in the link: http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2015-mlb-draft-trends-and-predictions-more-pitching-and-high-school-prospects/
 

The Best Catch in 100 Years

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Also one way to look at relative strengths of draft classes would be to compare how many guys each draft placed in the various top 100s released soon enough after the draft that they're more based on information available pre-draft than professional performance. I wasn't able to go to in-depth but 2011 placed way more guys in BA's 2012 top 100 (about 20) than either of the next two (about 12 each).
 

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“I’ve been covering the draft since 2009, and this [2015 draft class] is easily the weakest class in terms of quality at the top and quantity overall that I’ve covered,” Christopher Crawford, Baseball Prospectus’s new senior prospect writer, told me via email. “[ESPN analyst Keith Law] and I have both joked that we’d prefer to just skip this year and combine it with next year, which — on paper — is the best I’ve seen.”
This makes the Benintendi pick look even better.
 

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Still haven't started drafting bums yet. 5th rounder is BA #77, college RHP Mike Shawaryn. Huge draft if they can pay for these guys.
 

alwyn96

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Yeah, I'm mentally preparing for them to miss out on signing at least one or two of these guys. College juniors seem like they'd have all the leverage to hold out for more money since they could just go back to school and maybe improve their draft position next year.
 

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Yeah, I'm mentally preparing for them to miss out on signing at least one or two of these guys. College juniors seem like they'd have all the leverage to hold out for more money since they could just go back to school and maybe improve their draft position next year.
I think that's a legit possibility. Another possibility is that they have enough confidence with respect to Groome's number that they aren't worried about signing the rd 2-5 guys around slot. I tend towards the latter explanation, but I'm an optimist.
 

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Yeah, I'm mentally preparing for them to miss out on signing at least one or two of these guys. College juniors seem like they'd have all the leverage to hold out for more money since they could just go back to school and maybe improve their draft position next year.
Except they really dont have much leverage, since once you're drafted as a senior you have zero leverage. The decision is "Do I sign this year for $600k or go back next year and risk becoming one of those 10th round picks who signs for $5k"?
 

Byrdbrain

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Well they just took their first senior, seemingly a good one as he led the country in BA but sure to be a below slot signing.
Congrats to @LittleRockBSB 's Ryan Scott. Led D-I in batting average. Red Sox's 7th rounder. Senior sign.

As Bowler says Juniors have limited leverage due to the fact that they would pretty much be sure to get crap the next year. Now Groome, he has some leverage with the whole JuCo thing that is very different.
 

alwyn96

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I guess that's true. Maybe it's not a ton of leverage, but like you say, it's more than college seniors. In the leverage hierarchy, it's probably like high school senior -> JuCo player -> college junior -> college senior. I would have thought they'd go more obviously underslot and at the bottom of the leverage chain, but it would be cool if they can sign em all. Depends on how much the kids perceives they're worth, I guess.

EDIT: From a sports agent blog:

Leverage is the name of the game, and high schoolers have a lot of it. Their other options may include Junior College or attendance at a 4-year University. If they select Junior College, they have the possibility of being drafted again four more times. If a 4-year University is selected, they may be drafted after their Junior and Senior years. Junior College players have the second most leverage. They may be drafted after their 1st and/or 2nd year of JuCo play. If they so choose, they can pass up signing with a professional team after their 2nd year of JuCo and sign with a 4-year University, starting as a Junior and still being draft eligible the following year. 4-year University Juniors have the leverage of coming back for their Senior season, and 4-year University Seniors have little leverage when negotiating a deal with the teams that select them. That said, a very talented Senior will earn more than a $1,000 bonus, based on the fact that the team wants to show good will towards someone who they hope will be a big contributor for their organization for years to come.
 
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Snodgrass'Muff

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In the FWIW department, Bleacher Report grades day one for the Sox as an A. Groome was an A+ and Chatham was an A.

Edit: Since I can't post the link, and everyone is already familiar with Groome, here's the Chatham portion:

Second Round (No. 51 Overall): SS C.J. Chatham, Florida Atlantic

With many of the top college middle infielders expected to wind up sliding to second or third base, C.J. Chatham quickly emerged as the top option to actually stay at the position.

The Conference USA Player of the Year, Chatham hit .357/.422/.554 with 17 doubles, eight home runs and 50 RBI while continuing to show the defensive chops necessary to stay at the premium position.

Grade: A

Shortstop doesn't figure to be a need for quite some time in Boston thanks to Xander Bogaerts, but shortstop talent has become one of the most valuable currencies in today's game.
After having Groome fall into their lap at No. 12 overall, the Red Sox managed to pick up the top college shortstop in this year's class at No. 51 overall. This probably isn't how they expected things to play out, but it was a great first day as the rich got richer in an already loaded system.
Edit: The board won't let me post the link for some reason. Keep getting a 404 page not found error, but it works in my browser just fine. You can find it by googling "Red Sox Draft Day 1" and scrolling through the links.
 
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Snodgrass'Muff

oppresses WARmongers
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2008
27,644
Roanoke, VA
As day 3 rolls out, BA's top 500 list is free to view and has a column on the right that indicates who has and hasn't been drafted. With a quick scroll through the list, the highest ranked player still on the board appears to be Jared Horn, rhp, Vintage High School, Napa CA at 32. He's a California commit. Here's his write up:

Horn has added strength to his athletic 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame and has taken Northern California's prep ranks by storm this spring after pitching in the Area Code Games the last two summers. A California commit, Horn evokes comparisons physically to pitchers from Gerrit Cole to Brad Penny, and while he doesn't have Cole's upper-90s fuel at the same stage of development, he pitches with some of the aggression that marked both big league righthanders. He has energy in his delivery abut has body control and throws quality strikes with a lively mid-90s fastball that regularly reaches 96. Horn's changeup and breaking ball remain inconsistent and well behind his fastball, though his changeup has had its moments and his curveball shows proper spin and power at times.
3B/SS Drew Mendoza from Lake Minneola High School in Minneola, FL is next at 43. At 6'4" 195, he's unlikely to stick at short, but has a plus arm and plus raw power so his ceiling at the hot corner is enticing. There is plenty of debate about how high that ceiling is, though. Florida State commit.

After that it's Jeff Belge, a lhp out of Henninger High School in Syracuse, NY. He's 6'4" 235 lbs and has shown the ability to work in the 92-95 range, but hasn't been able to stay there consistently from start to start. He has a clean delivery and good mechanics, but is nearly blind in one eye. He's a St. Johns commit.

Cooper Johnson is ranked 76 and is a catcher out of Carmel High School in Muddelein, IL. Great defensive catcher with a bat that has a long way to go. He's an Ole Miss commit.

Adam Laskey is number 81. He's a lhp from Hadden Heights High School in New Jersey. Works 89-92 and projects as a strong command pitcher. Projectable frame (6'2") and throws a slider as well, but it's not an advanced pitch. He is committed to Duke.

Max Kranick, rhp Valley View High School is 8th on the list. Low 90's fastball, can touch 95. Throws a change and a curve as well. Change has impressed some scouts. Curve is more of a show-me pitch at present. 6'3" 200 lbs. Committed to Virginia.

Tyler Baum, rhp West Orange High School, Winter Garden FL. Low 90's fastball, can also reach 95. Polished for a high school pitcher. Curve shows plus potential. Also throws a change up. Repeats his mechanics well. 6'2" 175 pounds. Committed to North Carolina and has stated he fully intends to be there in the fall.

Hunter Bishop, Serra High School, San Mateo CA. 6'2" 205 lbs. Athletic and very strong. Was a football prep prospect but chose to commit to Arizona State to play baseball instead. 70 speed, above average arm and BA describes him as having a "twitchy combination strength and athleticism." He has plenty of bat speed but a raw hit tool. Think Josh Ockimey, but with more speed and probably a bit less power.

Zach Linginfelter, rhp out of Sevier High School, Sevierville Tenn. at 107. 6'5" 220 lbs. Low 90's heat that reaches 95, curve is his second best pitch, but grades out as average at best. Might have trouble repeating his mechanics. Committed to Tennessee.

108, 109, 110, 114 and 115 are all still available as well. Plenty of late round tough sign guys to dream on today.