Otter

Yeah, I agree and you're being gracious...Devo was my favorite defensive O's CF I've ever seen, but damn it's hard to listen to him...he seems so uncomfortable...

This issue has been beaten to death, but the criticism is not against Frazier but against the wisdom of signing him for $8 million when we had multiple cheaper and probably better options. Yes, he's had two good offensive games in a row, as any major leaguer will have from time to time. But over the course of the year he's been below average offensively and defensively, and not worth the salary (for a small market team) or the loss of player development time for 3 top 100 prospects.

They definitely did draft for need, but I have no doubt the players taken were also high on their board. All teams do some combo of need and BPA; they'd be stupid to blindly take BPA with each pick. Look at our previous drafts under Elias; heavy on infielders because when he took over that was our biggest weakness. I overall like what Elias has done, but my only real complaint is that he tends to overcompensate. Then we have a bunch of prospects around the same age playing the same position, causing roster crunches and limiting the reps players get at certain positions.

Good deal; we need some more LHPs in the org. He does have unusual dimensions for a pitcher; he makes Willems look like Belanger...

I like that they went upside over production with most of the picks. We can certainly afford to do that with all the talent currently in the organization. No more drafting a Greiner just for need... And I have to agree that Witt is a long shot; if he lasted until the 18th round he must have told teams it would take a very high number to get him signed.

It's important to note that most of those guys were drafted by other organizations and much of their development time was under different organizations. I'm not disagreeing necessarily, because the staff deserves some credit for Wells and Bradish most notably, but you left out a lot of other pitchers that haven't developed or have regressed. Our minor league system is still incredibly thin in pitching.

We definitely needed some speedy CFs in the system, but I'm not sure about drafting all of these in one draft. All these guys will start at the same affiliate, and therefore will have to move around the outfield to get playing time. That will reduce the amount of reps they get in CF. Would have preferred a little more diversity.

Seems like a good athlete with some versatility. Not really any standout tools though. Maybe a savings pick?

Ugly stats, but looks and sounds projectable. I prefer upside over current production, but we'll see how he develops.

Looks like there are a number of interesting HS pitchers still left, but I don't expect us to take one. Maybe they'll take a flier on an overslot after the 10th round like Showalter.

Since Baumeister is a sophomore, I'm guessing they might have to go a bit overslot on him. If so, might not be enough money left for one of the high profile HS kids. I'd be happy with one HS overslot in the Willems/Showalter mold. Or, they could end up drafting a number of senior signs, and save enough money for a high profile kid. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Yes, all player development is a mixed bag but it's hard to argue with the fact that their development of hitters has been more successful than development of pitchers. And yes, much of that can be attributed to more high draft picks dedicated to hitters. But it's also hard to ignore the fact they haven't been successful yet with Hall and Rodriguez; two guys with elite talent.

Exactly. We need to give a lot of credit to the player development staff on the hitting side. The jury is still out on the pitching side; some successes and some failures so far.

1st round picks are never insurance picks.

Really happy to see a high-upside arm taken earlier in the draft. I'm going to ignore the mediocre stats and focus on the stuff and projectability. From the highlights, looks like easy velocity and life on the fastball. Also, might have to go overslot on him so hope we saved a couple hundred thousand from the first couple picks. Or we may take a few senior signs as well.

Haha, thanks. I liked his scouting profile and highlights, and thought we could really use this type of player in our system. We have a lot of great bats, but not much speed. And I didn't really expect the front office to pick him, but I was excited to hear his name!

Watching his highlights, I noticed the Joe Morgan left arm twitch....I don't remember anyone else doing that. Wonder if it's a tribute, or just a strange coincidence.

Yes, but then again they had no luck in improving Mountcastle's noodle arm...

Like the pick, and will like it even more if they save some money and use on a high upside HS player later. He was my preference for this pick in the pre-draft thread, but I really didn't think Elias would draft someone with so little power. But we need a speedy CF with great defense in our system, with Fabian as really the only legit CF prospect in our system. He'll be an exciting player, with great plate discipline paired with elite speed.

I was thinking the same thing. He looks better than I expected him to. Not a cannon, but enough arm for 3B; and not a potential gold glover but looks very solid from the different types of plays I've seen him make.

Would be interesting to see if they have a chance to draft McLean at a reasonable spot, would they do it? Would be cool to have a potential 2 way player in the system.

My guess based on past history is an underslot college bat where they can draft a few overslot HS hitters later (like the Mayo draft). Using this reasoning, I'd guess Brock Wilken. My personal preference would be Waldrep if he's still around; if not I'd love to have a speedy CF in the system in Enrique Bradfield Jr.

Yeah, we could use that but I don't want them drafting relievers in the first couple rounds. I want upside there.

I'm definitely wary of drafting any pitcher in the first round, but I think Elias needs to start drafting more pitchers in 2nd-5th rounds. And it's not as easy as you make it sound to just "trade for pitching at some point." If it was that easy, Elias would have already done that to balance out the farm system better.

Haha, I'd love to include a pitcher but I just don't see one worthy of being in the top ten...