2019 6th round pick (168): Maverick Handley - C - (JR) Stanford CA

[baltfan]

2 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

I don't know what Elias is thinking, but rather than get angry about it, I'm just trying to ask myself what it is that he is thinking? Here's what I'm going with.

Elias is using this draft to help his pitchers. We have a few bats, but mostly guys who can catch the ball. We now have two catchers who are apparently very good defensively. This guy is a team captain. 

So is it more important to take a flyer on a mid-upside arm in the 6th, maybe a reliever for example, or is more important to make sure that Hall and Rodriguez are partnering with ML-quality leaders and backed up by slick, rangy, fielders? Would you rather have a 3-man high upside over slot draft with mediocre senior signs or a 2-man draft with 6-8 guys who have a shot to click but still offer value throughout our system?

I have no idea if that's what Elias is thinking, but it's plausible. 

Let me be clear.  I am not angry.  I also trust him and Sig.  just surprised on this one.  I also suspect that you might be right about them valuing good catching in the organization. 

[CHIP]

AWESOME SELECTION:

2018:  17-26 (65%) caught stealing with 4 pick offs

2019:  13-32 (41%) caught stealing with 8 pick offs

Played 3B and 2B when not behind the dish.  

Calls all pitches.  Caught most innings on the CAPE in 2018.  His pitcher's ERAs on CAPE combined were lowest of ALL catchers including those which coaches called games.

Started playing on CAPE after only 4 days from clearance after surgery on broken elbow.  After first 7 games, hit almost .290 on CAPE with Wood.

GREAT READ:

https://gostanford.com/feature/MavMoments

[BohKnowsBmore]

11 minutes ago, OrioleDog said:

A Delmarva home game with a Rodriguez/Rutschman battery might be an irresistible road trip.

"Honey, we're going to the beach.  Just one pit stop on the way."

[jrobb21613]

40 minutes ago, Cy Bundy said:

High quality reading:

 

 

 

That’s a really great read and until reading that I knew absolutely nothing about him but kinda got a man crush on him now! Welcome to birdland Maverick!!! The names just the icing on the cake.

[ChrisP]

I think they spent a lot of time on the West Coast scouting AR and stopped by Stanford while visiting Cali.

[justD]

1 hour ago, Cy Bundy said:

High quality reading:

 

 

 

Buck would've loved him  

Quote

Handley says it’s all in the timing.

“A good base stealer will take 3.4 seconds from first to second,” Handley said. “If you have a pitcher that can get me the ball in within 1.4 seconds from the time he lifts his leg to getting the ball in the glove, that gives me 2.0 seconds to get the ball to second. If I can do that, then I should be able to throw out every single runner. I feel like I can do 2.0 pretty easily.”

 

[MurphDogg]

Fangraphs has Handley as their #72 prospect in this year's draft, higher than Ortiz and Watson.

[justD]

Here's a good encapsulation of what everything is saying about this player - Strikeouts and Durability (from Baseball Cube)

[MurphDogg]

1 minute ago, justD said:

Here's a good encapsulation of what everything is saying about this player - Strikeouts and Durability (from Baseball Cube)

Uh, those numbers mean nothing to me.

[waroriole]

Are people really complaining that we drafted another catcher?

[MDtransplant757]

So he K's a lot. That can be remedied. Could be a very interesting piece down the road. 

[Camden_yardbird]

I heard his favorite pitcher is Mr. Gossage.

[Luke-OH]

Good value, defensive catcher with chance to hit enough. 

Those complaining about drafting another catcher, you do know you can trade prospects right???

 

[Sessh]

3 hours ago, Ruzious said:

This is clearly proof positive that the O's plan on moving Adley to another position.  

I found it interesting after he was selected last night that the guys on MLB Network were saying that Adley is also a first baseman. I felt better about selecting him after that and I would expect first base to be his long term position. I don't think Mountcastle is the answer due to his lack of plate discipline and very low walk numbers. I think he may have trouble succeeding at the ML level, maybe a Chris Carter type offensively. Hope I'm wrong, but if Rutschman is everything we hope he is, I would rather him be playing first base than catcher. I hope you're right.. even if your comment was tongue-in-cheek.

[Roll Tide]

4 hours ago, bpilktree said:

Co defenseive player of year in pac 10 at catcher.

 

Quote

Hunter Bishop starred on Serra High’s baseball team before putting up video-game numbers at Arizona State. Andrew Vaughn played four varsity seasons at Maria Carrillo High in Santa Rosa before blossoming at Cal.

Though from different parts of the Bay Area, the two share one thing in common:

Analysts project the sluggers to be selected among the top 10 picks when the Major League Baseball draft begins Monday.

Vaughn is the reigning Golden Spikes award winner and a finalist for this year’s award, given annually to the nation’s top amateur baseball player,

He followed last season’s 23-home run campaign with 15 homers and a 387 batting average through this year’s regular season. Cal competed in an NCAA regional in Fayetteville, Ark., over the weekend.

Baseball America projects the 6-foot first baseman to go among the top five picks.

“Vaughn doesn’t have the typical profile of a top-five pick,” Baseball America’s scouting report noted. “In fact, only four right-right first baseman under 6-feet tall have played more than 20 games in the majors since the integration era began in 1947. In spite of that, Vaughn’s bat is special enough to give him a chance to become the highest-drafted college first baseman since 1996.”

Vaughn told Baseball America that chatter about his height “leaves a little chip on my shoulder.”

Bishop doesn’t have to worry about height. The younger brother of Seattle Mariners prospect Braden Bishop, the 6-5 Hunter Bishop had a breakout season this spring, hitting .347 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs through the regular season. Arizona State also competed in an NCAA regional this weekend.