Jammer7

Yep, the hips drifting is not ideal. The head is moving forward and lowers with the stride. Maybe they can get him to spread out some, a shorter stride or toe tap, stay on the backside, and keep the head more static. It’s hard enough to hit, but when the body is moving forward and the head is lowering due to the length of the stride it sure makes it more difficult. The actual swing doesn’t look bad, in and of itself, but the lower half is a mess.

A tough break. He could still be traded, or do you keep him and have to protect him for R5?

Horvath reminds me of Austin Hays in many ways, but with a bit more speed and base stealing instinct. Excellent athlete, likes to pull for power and needs adjustments to his approach. His tools are what I like. He could be a top 5 guy in a year or two, depending on his aptitude. I left Baumeister out of the top 20, for now. He’d be somewhere in the mid 20’s for me currently, based on upside and not his track record. Great upside, but raw to me. He could well be in the top 10 by the end of 2024. I actually think Lord and Cunningham are guys who have very high upside too. Lord may end up being better than Baumeister. Lord’s aptitude and work ethic seem special if the stories are true. Josenberger is the guy I think people are sleeping on. I saw him play a few times this year, and I was hoping the Orioles would take a shot at him. Needs to refine his approach, very pull oriented from what I saw. Tremendous athlete. Josenberger, Cunningham, Etzel and even Horvath, all have great tools. They gambled on all of them. They are high ceiling and high risk guys. With the depth of the system, it’s a good time to take some upside risks. Witt doesn’t appear to be signing, so that is why I left him out of consideration. If he did sign, his command has been rough since coming back after surgery. I have no doubt about his upside, but what has he actually done since leaving HS? I would not say he was dominant before his injury. He may regret not signing with Baltimore.

Elias and Ciolek have always said BPA at the top rounds, but drafting needs later. They may have shifted to need sooner than usual. The focus on athleticism and versatility with position players was interesting. The rapid rise of the International players, particularly the infielders, has something to do with that, at least I would imagine so. Lastly, the Bradfield and Horvath picks makes me think Fabian is one prospect who can be acquired in trade. Fabian and Norby seem to be the two most likely dealt higher-end prospects.

I agree that he has the superior athleticism. Until he makes those changes, the concerns will knock him down. He’ll undoubtedly get stronger and make some great adjustments. I like that he is eager to make adjustments and learn. He has shown aptitude at Vandy, and he seems like a very bright young student of the game. I like his chances of being a much better hitter, with gap to gap power. I saw a Juan Pierre comp from one of the MLB Network pundits, but I think it’s closer to the Kenny Lofton comps as a hitter as a finished product.

Agreed. The criticism they have been getting in how they have developed pitchers, so far, has some merit. They have spent some higher picks for more premium arm talent with Baumeister, Lord and Wells. So let’s see what they can do with these upside college guys. At some point, we need to see that they can develop pitching as well. That said, I think Lord’s story really excites me and shows great aptitude. I look for him to be a quicker rise than the other arms in this draft. The Bright and Showalter from 2022 gives me some hope as well.

So, assuming Bradfield signs, where would you start him in the organization prospect rankings? For me, it’s an interesting question because of the hit tool concerns. 1. Holliday 2. Cowser 3. Kjerstad 4. Mayo 5. Westburg 6. Ortiz 7. Basallo 8. Bradfield 9. Povich 10. Norby Next: Fabian, McDermott, Prieto, Willems, Horvath, Beavers, Hall, Haskin, Armbruester and Wagner.

Well, I hope you are correct. I think it interesting that Ciolek said they plan on signing all picks this year. In contrast, he made comments last year that stated they would likely not sign all picks. That comment makes me think they have a solid plan to sign all of them. The HS kid behind Witt, Ritchie, would be a great get as well.

I hope you are correct about signing him, but I doubt there is much savings with Bradfield. He was supposed to go a little higher, Elias and Ciolek even commented that. OTOH, perhaps they called him and said something like, “Look, we’ll take you for 500K below our slot. Otherwise, we both know you’ll keep sliding.” Getting him 500 K below slot would be a steal at 1-17.

I may be confused on that. I apparently did not have my Witts about me. lol

As I wrote in the Day 3 thread earlier, this pick just made some sense. I believe his dad does still work for the Orioles. Maybe he wants to go back and potentially be a first round pick in 2024, or perhaps he is ready to begin his pro career in an organization he feels comfortable with. I hope it is the latter. He was projected to be a first round pick until the TJ. He generally has very good command, but struggled this spring in his comeback from the surgery. The Kollin Ritchie pick is very interesting to me as well. Maybe they actually plan on signing one of them, for a figure somewhere around $1M.

Yes, and everything is pretty close to the same slot. At least it appears so from that angle. This org will sharpen that CH with him, if he signs.

I love this pick! Sign this young man.

Lots of hop of the FB.

It’s hard to figure what they’ll do from 11-20. They will probably not sign all draftees, and take some chances on tough signs. One thing that seems certain is they’ll continue to seek upside, college or HS. As noted by other posters, it is difficult to say which of rounds 1-10 are over or under slot. Seems like Burmeister and Cunningham might be somewhat over slot; and maybe Bragg, Fruit and Etzel could be under. Who knows…? I don’t see them taking a big shot at someone like Cam Johnson, who likely has a huge $ number to forego LSU. Maybe I am wrong there, but I don’t see him, in particular, as a fit. I would look for a Showalter type HS pitcher, college relievers, and some underrated college position guys with upside. The one big name I am curious about in Texas RHP Tanner Witt. Probably no way, but his dad works for the Orioles, I believe he still does. He just came back from TJ, and might just want to get on with his pro career in the right system.

Mostly agree. I am pretty sure they used the 5% overage to sign Carter Young in 2022.

For me, I don’t think he’s really close to Cade Horton, but that game against Florida was nice. Horton was dominant with the FB/slider combo for about a half season. Late life and command. Floyd has a nice hoppy FB, but Florida helped him out a lot. If that is the pick, it would be very surprising to me. Not a total shock due to the hop on the FB.

I pondered the same thing. I like what I saw of Wilken. Big strong guy. Agile and fairly athletic, but slow from what I saw. I liked the swing a lot though. We don’t know what the HS kids have for a number. This is a very deep draft.

Ortiz was an accidental omission. I’d have him around 6. The * is for LH bat.

1. Holliday SS* 2. Cowser OF* 3. Kjerstad OF* 4. Mayo 3B 5. Westburg 2B/3B 6. Basallo C* 7. Povich LHP 8. Norby 2B/OF 9. Fabian CF 10. McDermott RHP Just missed: Prieto, Willems, Hall, Beavers, Haskin

To eat those salaries at that age, I doubt the prospect cost would be very steep. Unless the Mets eat most of the salary. Maybe I’m wrong.

I am excited to see Vallimont.

Hilarious Yu Darvish reference! With all of the data and sequencing thought, they should be able to identify what he does best and do that. Stick to what he does best instead of trying to trick everyone. He has a good fastball, and he needs to use it more, IMO. The cutter, I’ll just say it should never be in the zone.

I have had some vertigo symptoms in the past. For me, it wasn’t an issue of being ill or not, but degrees of it. Some days are better than others, and I was able to function somewhat. I hope he is able to overcome this fairly soon, but I am not very optimistic of a quick return, based on my own experiences.

I’m glad he went to Texas. I wanted no part of him in Baltimore. Too many issues. On the surface, I don’t think KC got much for him either.