2021 3rd round pick (76): John Rhodes - OF - (Sophomore) Kentucky

[eddie83]

14 minutes ago, webbrick2010 said:

4 Picks, all over 21 (yeah I know Rhodes is one month short of 21). They will all be old prospects assuming they go to high A, low A.

Gotta wonder if Elias would have selected Manny Machado who was starting in a pennant race at 20

Well wait to next year when we can waste another 1-2 on a signability guy.

This is shaping up to be one of the worst drafts ever.

I can sell you a ton of baseball cards from the 80’s and 90’s that were high school picks. A penny a card 

[Sports Guy]

We have to have places to play these guys.

[LookinUp]

Just now, Sports Guy said:

We have to have places to play these guys.

I wonder how much of an issue this might be now that we have fewer teams. There used to be a 40-50 round draft plus random dudes that get brought in. With two fewer teams, space will be somewhat limited. I doubt they have a problem finding spots for 3 college outfielders though. 

[eddie83]

2 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

We have to have places to play these guys.

You didn’t hear? Elias is playing 4 Of’s a game and 3 infielders. 

[Sports Guy]

2 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

I wonder how much of an issue this might be now that we have fewer teams. There used to be a 40-50 round draft plus random dudes that get brought in. With two fewer teams, space will be somewhat limited. I doubt they have a problem finding spots for 3 college outfielders though. 

It’s still a problem though.  You are drafting these guys high, so they need to play.  Drafting some schmoe in round 37 doesn’t mean anything.  Drafting them in R3 does.

[eddie83]

In all seriousness perhaps Elias will make some MiL deals this off-season. 

[Just Regular]

36 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

The ex Ray's bamma isn't enthralled here, either.

 

I think between this guy and Trimble, Elias is going to be dusting off his Jordan Westburg trademark "tooled-up college player" quotes.

[lovetoaster]

7 minutes ago, MouncastleandMcCormick said:

Like this pic a lot.  SG and others are asking for some high-volatility, high-ceiling bets.  This guy is one.  I hope there aren't signability issues.  Seems like a guy willing to bet on himself.

There are definitely things to like. But who is the real John Rhodes, the one that hit .426 in the shortened 2020 season, or the one that hit .251 this past year? Callis seemed to like him, but said that he basically swung for the fences a little too much this year. He definitely had a lot of hype coming into this year based on the rankings below (from the UK website, and I assume they were preseason), but fell because of his uneven performance this year, I suppose.

Quote

• No. 30 College Prospect, 2021 (D1Baseball)
• No. 32 MLB Draft Prospect, 2021 (MLB.com/MLB Pipeline)
• No. 36 College MLB Draft Prospect, 2021 (Perfect Game)
• No. 56 MLB Draft Prospect, 2021 (Baseball America)
• No. 62 Overall MLB Draft Prospect, 2021 (Perfect Game)
• No. 20 Second-Year College Prospect, 2021 (Perfect Game)

 

[joelala]

The swing doesn’t look half bad:

 

But yea, seems like another corner outfielder, though mlb pipeline does say could get a  trial in CF  

 

[Tony-OH]

Initial Take:

Elias must be into Grow the bats, trade for the arms because here's another college outfielder. Rhodes is an interesting toolsey guy who hit well as a Freshman in the shortened 2020 season but hit for a low average (.251) as a young draft eligible sophomore. He has some leverage to go back to school and improve upon his numbers and try to get a bigger deal in 2022, but I imagine Elias knows his number to sign him. He doesn't turn 21 until August so he has more time to develop and won't be a guy that will be pushed through the system most likely. Saying that, he showed decent plate discipline and did have a .398 OBP despite the low average.

Definitely some upside here but also more risk of being a wash out.

[ThomasTomasz]

22 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

Initial Take:

Elias must be into Grow the bats, trade for the arms because here's another college outfielder. Rhodes is an interesting toolsey guy who hit well as a Freshman in the shortened 2020 season but hit for a low average (.251) as a young draft eligible sophomore. He has some leverage to go back to school and improve upon his numbers and try to get a bigger deal in 2022, but I imagine Elias knows his number to sign him. He doesn't turn 21 until August so he has more time to develop and won't be a guy that will be pushed through the system most likely. Saying that, he showed decent plate discipline and did have a .398 OBP despite the low average.

Definitely some upside here but also more risk of being a wash out.

Honesty it is the way to do it, at least if you look at what the Cubs, Astros and a couple other teams did.  And given our organization’s poor history of developing starting pitching, it might be the best way to do it.  

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, ThomasTomasz said:

Honesty it is the way to do it, at least if you look at what the Cubs, Astros and a couple other teams did.  And given our organization’s poor history of developing starting pitching, it might be the best way to do it.  

The Astros were able to take guys and transition them to 4 seam fastballs while greatly increasing their spin rates.

That isn't going to work a second time.

You can't do what the Astros did.  You have to do something new.

[ThomasTomasz]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

The Astros were able to take guys and transition them to 4 seam fastballs while greatly increasing their spin rates.

That isn't going to work a second time.

You can't do what the Astros did.  You have to do something new.

I am speaking in generalities.  The Cubs went out and got Jon Lester to head up their rotation when they were ready to compete.  The Padres traded for Snell and Darvish this past off-season.  So whether we sign someone or trade for them, it appears we are going to be acquiring a good amount of pitching not through our system.  

Of course, you can also look towards analytics and try to get ahead of the curve like the Astros did before.  Considering we have the brain behind that in our front office, that is a legitimate route to take as well.  

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, ThomasTomasz said:

I am speaking in generalities.  The Cubs went out and got Jon Lester to head up their rotation when they were ready to compete.  The Padres traded for Snell and Darvish this past off-season.  So whether we sign someone or trade for them, it appears we are going to be acquiring a good amount of pitching not through our system.  

Of course, you can also look towards analytics and try to get ahead of the curve like the Astros did before.  Considering we have the brain behind that in our front office, that is a legitimate route to take as well.  

I don't see the O's ever signing a pitcher to a Lester style deal.

I will say that it doesn't look like Elias is selecting guys in the draft with the idea that they will someday be in the rotation.

[foxfield]

3 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

It’s still a problem though.  You are drafting these guys high, so they need to play.  Drafting some schmoe in round 37 doesn’t mean anything.  Drafting them in R3 does.

If you draft a schmoe in the third round, it really doesn’t matter where you play him.