2017 1st round pick (21): DL Hall - LHP - Valdosta (Ga.) HS

[Cumberbundy]

21 hours ago, Otter said:

Pros: I give Dan and Gary credit for drafting for upside instead of need (college pitchers who would move fast through the system).  I don't know much about him, but all the scouting reports are impressive and the pundits and publications seem to really like the pick.  Also, he's lefthanded and has multiple potential plus pitches.

Cons: I generally prefer not to draft high school pitchers in the first round.  Everyone knows they are the highest risk demographic due to potential injuries, as well as the challenge of going from a 30 game season where they pitch once a week to a 130+ game season pitching every 5 days.  It's just impossible to predict how a 18 year old kid's arm will adapt to the added stress.  I prefer high school arms after the first round.  MLB Network showed a graphic last night that 20 of the MLB all-stars from last year were first round picks, and only 4 were 2nd round picks.  That shows how important it is to not miss on your first round picks.  And that's even more important for the O's who completely ignore the international market (of which 19 international signees were all-stars last year).

Overall, it will take a while to really judge this pick...let's just hope he has an easier road than Harvey.

Even the HS draft pick that we drafted, and is having success, does none of the things we drafted him for. The fb isn't 99, the cutter isn't anything special, but he has a unique feel for what he wants to do. Bundy, Hall, Harvey, Gaus are some gifted arms. Health and sorting out Gausman I ?. Legitimate baseball guys were speculating Gausman was a cy young candidate heading into the year. ?

[Cumberbundy]

13 hours ago, Go_Os said:

From a Keith Law chat...

 

Aaron C.: What’s your personal policy on writing about/discussing “makeup” issues? Do you prefer to independently confirm them or do you only address them if they’ve already been publicly reported elsewhere? Thanks! 
Keith Law: I rarely discuss them, because it’s dangerous. If there’s an arrest or a suspension, that’s easy. A failed drug test is pretty concrete too. But on a guy like DL Hall, where I think some scouts just didn’t like the kid very much, is that something you need to know about as readers? What if it’s bogus, but still affected where he was picked? That’s where I struggle. I’m supposed to explain to you what’s going on, but if a stupid rumor is the cause, but is just a stupid rumor, how do I present that to you all?

So we may have gotten him because he's a bit of a pain in the butt at 18? That would awesome. I watched McKay several times, I'd rather have Hall. 

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, Cumberbundy said:

So we may have gotten him because he's a bit of a pain in the butt at 18? That would awesome. I watched McKay several times, I'd rather have Hall. 

Baseball America podcast I linked to called him humble.  

[Luke-OH]

14 hours ago, MDtransplant757 said:

I don't get why the O's messed with his swing. It worked wonders at FSU. 

Did you see his swing, it was horrible.  It didn't work against elite velocity, that's why had had scouting reports of a slow bat in Aberdeen which basically killed his prospect status.  Watch a video of him swinging now, that's a swing that will play in the big leagues.  I don't think he'll ever be a high batting average guy, but OBP and the power he has tapped into with the new swing will get him to the show.

[bobmc]

18 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

Baseball America podcast I linked to called him humble.  

"Float like a butterfly.  Sting like a bee!"

[sportsfan8703]

4 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Baseball America podcast I linked to called him humble.  

Listened to the link you posted.  Thanks.  I thought it was a good thing that he played basketball too.  At 6'0" the guy can dunk.  So he's pretty athletic.  Palmer is always talking about finding guys that play other sports.  I don't think that's his theory but he buys into it.  

[Frobby]

Based on a few pitches I saw on video, I like Hall's delivery.    He's not a max effort guy and he looks like he'd be murder on lefties.  

[Reboulet'sStache]

21 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Why the DJ Stewart hate?  Sedlock is off to an equally slow start but Stewart always gets piled on.  Stewart is actually in AA doing pretty well.   He looks like he's going to be a Steve Pearce type in the MLB.  That's good value at the back of round 1.  Cheap 6+ years of a cost controlled starting position player.  

Because he was always going to be a low ceiling prospect.  My issue with him isn't how he has performed in the minors.  It's that you don't draft guys who don't have the potential to be stars, in the first round. 

[weams]

10 minutes ago, Reboulet'sStache said:

Because he was always going to be a low ceiling prospect.  My issue with him isn't how he has performed in the minors.  It's that you don't draft guys who don't have the potential to be stars, in the first round. 

I know. We can take other first rounders other places. 

Back to DL

Quote

Lefthander D.L. Hall took the ball for Valdosta (Ga.) High last week in the first round of the Georgia 6A State playoffs. With Georgia using a best-of-three format in the playoffs, Hall and Valdosta managed to take two out of three games from Lakeside (Evans, Ga.) High to advance to the second round. Hall led the Wildcats to an 8-2 victory during the game he took the mound, throwing six innings and allowing just one earned run. Hall, who is the No. 14 prospect in the 2017 MLB Draft Prospects, struck out 12 batters and walked four. It was the second straight start where Hall fanned 12 and walked four, doing the same against Lee County (Leesburg, Ga.) in a 7-1 win on April 18. Through 45.1 innings with Valdosta this season, Hall has posted a 1.24 ERA, struck out 89 batters and walked 21, good for a 0.95 WHIP.
Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/high-school/friday-five-high-school-prospects-performing/#Fj3cQWwcYWfOQQtf.99

1

 

[bobmc]

From Steve Melewski, Rajisch had some interesting additions to his drafting:

So why was Hall still on the board at pick No. 21? Already some rumors circulated that maybe Hall fell in the draft due to attitude or makeup concerns.

“According to our area scout that knows him very well and his family very well, those are unfounded. We know him better than most,” Rajsich said.

That area scout is Arthur McConnehead, who scouts the talent-rich Georgia and north Florida region for the Orioles.

“We had more information about DL Hall than anyone,” Rajsich added. “Arthur is from Valdosta and his family still lives there. His family knew their family and we had a pretty complete background on this kid.”

Baseball America wrote that “Hall’s performance at the 2016 East Coast Pro Showcase was the stuff of legend.” The youngster, who will turn 19 on Sept. 19, blew away some of the top draft-eligible hitters. His fastball sits from 92-95 mph, touching 96 mph. His curveball is considered his clear second-best offering and analysts rate it a plus pitch.

“He has a good arm and a good delivery,” Rajsich said. “He’s very athletic. He throws strikes with all his pitches. His command is good for a high school kid. He pitched against some of the very best hitters that were in this draft and was dominating - even against the best hitters. He has an advanced feel for pitching.”

After the fastball and curve, Rajsich rates Hall’s changeup as his third-best pitch, followed by his slider.

“I like his size and athleticism,” Rajsich said. “He is very aggressive and he has everything you are looking for in a high school pitcher. He has mound presence and composure. He is a very confident kid and is a leader. Everything you are looking for when you go to a high school and look at a left-handed pitcher, you are going to see with this one.”

 

Hw also discusses his agent Boras later in the article.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/06/os-gary-rajsich-on-the-draft-and-top-pick-dl-hall.html

[Otter]

On 6/14/2017 at 11:31 AM, Frobby said:

Based on a few pitches I saw on video, I like Hall's delivery.    He's not a max effort guy and he looks like he'd be murder on lefties.  

Agreed.  There's always a lot of focus on velocity with pitching prospects, but from all the videos I think his curveball might be his best pitch.  LH hitters were bailing badly on it, and it also had a lot of depth.

[CK5]

Drafting High school pitchers always carry more risk compared to position players, pitchers carry an increased chance of injury. High school pitchers are considerably younger than college pitchers and not as far along developmentally or physically. This means that there are more obstacles for young High School pitcher to navigate compared with a college arm. The further away from the majors a player is, the more that can go wrong both physically and developmentally. Because DL was drafted later in the 1^st round there is less risk financially and from a baseball standpoint drafting him in the lower part of the round may also take pressure off management to move him too quickly through the system. I hope to see him on the Big League club when he is ready.

[jgjbanker]

Should we be getting worried that there hasn't bee any talk about the O's and Hall nearing a deal this late in June?

[Can_of_corn]

1 hour ago, jgjbanker said:

Should we be getting worried that there hasn't bee any talk about the O's and Hall nearing a deal this late in June?

He's a Boras client.  Even if it were a simple slot deal I would expect it to take until the last day.

[sportsfan8703]

Is August 15th the deadline?  This seems to say so. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/draftday/rules.jsp

 

Looks like We have 6 more weeks of this.