2018 1st round pick (11) Grayson Rodriguez - RHP - Central Heights HS TX

[sportsfan8703]

Rodriguez wasn’t getting past the Rangers pick at 15. 

[Ruzious]

15 minutes ago, baltfan said:

Where did he have him #10?   Here is last I can find. 

22. Grayson Rodriguez, RHP, Central Heights High School, Nacogdoches, Texas. Rodriguez is a sort of poor man's Carter Stewart, which, of course, is still a first-rounder of sorts. Rodriguez has been up to 97 with a power curveball, and he's big like Stewart is, 6-foot-5 and 230-plus, though he has more effort in his delivery, and there's at least a little concern that his trouble repeating it will eventually point him to the bullpen. He also hasn't shown much of a third pitch to date. He's committed to Texas A&M but seems very likely to go in the first round and sign.

 

http://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/23583441/updated-top-100-draft-prospects

What he has over Stewart is he's more than a 2 pitch pitcher - at least from the scouting reports.  At this point, Stewart has only a fastball and a curveball - probably a better fastball and curveball than Rodriquez - but I'm not getting the poor man's Carter Stewart comment.  

[Ruzious]

It's worth saying again - the Hobgood comps are - at best - lazy.  

[Ruzious]

45 minutes ago, Otter said:

Why?  I didn't see a lot of him, but his bat looked good from what I saw.  

He swings, he misses, a lot.  He's actually a lot like our Mr. Davis - and probably also ends up not sticking at 3rd.  

[Jammer7]

7 minutes ago, weams said:

Joe Jordan fell in love with the Hobgood story. 

Oh yes, now I remember. JJ did things differently, but I don’t know that he had his own guys in place in the scout positions. And certainly player development was not what it is today. 

I remember how many fans wanted polished quick moving college players, but they were low ceiling-high floor guys who ended up mediocre at best. Then we wanted more toolsy and sexier picks like other teams who got exiting players to develop. Now, we suck again at the ML level...and I see people want college guys again. SMH. Nothing is ever guaranteed, but I like taking educated guesses on these guys who you believe your PD people can develop. Bravo Gary!

 

[Frobby]

8 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

It's worth saying again - the Hobgood comps are - at best - lazy.  

Nobody is comparing Rodriguez to Hobgood.    But the risk of being either vehemently second guessed or lauded depending on the outcome is very similar.    The O’s picked a guy who wasn’t on any major top 15 lists and was outside the top 30 on many lists.    If you turn out to be right, you look like a genius; if you’re wrong you look like an absolute idiot.

 

[Ruzious]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Nobody is comparing Rodriguez to Hobgood.    But the risk of being either vehemently second guessed or lauded depending on the outcome is very similar.    The O’s picked a guy who wasn’t on any major top 15 lists and was outside the top 30 on many lists.    If you turn out to be right, you look like a genius; if you’re wrong you look like an absolute idiot.

 

Are you being intentionally funny?  There's gotta be 30 posts in the other thread comparing them.  It's f'n tiresome!  And Law had him at 10.  This pick was hardly going out on a limb.  A guy like Law has some creditbility because he's been doing this for decades and has legitimate contacts.  Most of the internet mocks are done by amateurs.  They're fun, but they're not anything to base a real-life decision on.  

[Ruzious]

And Hobgood wasn't even a prospect that was regarded as more than a 2nd or 3rd starter - while being a higher pick - and looked badly out of shape when picked.  It's a clownish view to compare these 2.  It was clear from the start that the Hobgood pick made no sense.  Did I mention it's f'n irrirating to hear the lazy comps over and over again?  

[weams]

 

[weams]

He also struck out almost two an inning this season. 

[markpolis]

22 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

And Hobgood wasn't even a prospect that was regarded as more than a 2nd or 3rd starter - while being a higher pick - and looked badly out of shape when picked.  It's a clownish view to compare these 2.  It was clear from the start that the Hobgood pick made no sense.  Did I mention it's f'n irrirating to hear the lazy comps over and over again?  

Who is the scouting report below talking about?

"Size, strength and durability. Also has two plus pitches now, with the intangibles to be a front-of-the-rotation starter. _________ a big, strong right-hander with two plus offerings in his heavy fastball and outstanding curve. Some small tweaks to his delivery should help him find even better fastball command. If he can add a changeup to go along with his other offerings and his tremendous mound presence, he has the chance to be a front-of-the-rotation starter in the future." Clownish? Lazy? I hope you and the Orioles are right about Rodriguez... but I am not holding my breath.

[Ruzious]

2 minutes ago, markpolis said:

Who is the scouting report below talking about?

"________ is a big, strong right-hander with two plus offerings in his heavy fastball and outstanding curve. Some small tweaks to his delivery should help him find even better fastball command. If he can add a changeup to go along with his other offerings and his tremendous mound presence, he has the chance to be a front-of-the-rotation starter in the future." Clownish? Lazy? I hope you and the Orioles are right about Rodriguez... but I am not holding my breath.

Huh?

[markpolis]

Another Clownish, Lazy scouting report on Hobgood back in 2009:

"Well, for starters, the 18-year-old's game is all about power. At the plate he mashed 21 home runs and drove in 55 runs, while maintaining a .475 batting average in only 30 games. On the mound, where the O's feel he will make the biggest impact, no pun intended, he was even more brilliant, finishing with an 11-1 record and a minuscule 0.92 ERA.Not bad for a kid with supposed "control issues."

Hobgood features two impressive pitches. First, his fastball, which touches 95-96 mph, but sits more comfortably in the 89-93 range. The pitch has hard, heavy life according to MLB.com's draft report on Hobgood. His second pitch, and possibly his best, is his plus curveball, which many felt was the best of any high school pitcher in this draft. Excellent secondary pitches have enticed the Orioles in the past few years, with pitchers like Brian Matusz, Jake Arrieta, and Tim Bascom all featuring above average breaking stuff.

They say he has average high school command, so that will obviously be something he'll need to work on once he signs with the club. His poise on the mound is one of the biggest pros going for him as he's been compared to Josh Beckett, in terms of his attacking style of going after hitters and not being afraid to challenge them."

After reading this scouting report on Hobgood at the time of the 2009 draft, I only hope Rodriguez is as good.

[markpolis]

7 minutes ago, Ruzious said:

Huh?

Huh is right! That scouting report was on Hobgood so perhaps those comparisons aren't so "clownish" after all.

[Ruzious]

2 minutes ago, markpolis said:

Huh is right! That scouting report was on Hobgood so perhaps those comparisons aren't so "clownish" after all.

Huh?  What does one scouting report from who knows where have to do with anything whatsoever?  On second thought, don't answer, because this is stupid.