Draft: My Updated Top Ten...

[crawdad]

Someone please make a case for Grant Green being #3 overall. He doesn't sound like a premium glove at SS since I've read that there's a chance he might not be able to stick there defensively. Also, from the sounds of it, his bat is just as big a question mark. From the little video I saw of him, I didn't much like what I did see. Is the draft that poor or is this guy just a lot better than what I've read so far?

Offensive minded shortstop. They are pretty valuable. He won't be a premium glove, but his bat should be above average.

What is it that you did not like about his swing?

[clarence]

Using some current or former major leaguers as comps, who does Green resemble in terms of best case scenario/ likely scenario? Is that worth a top 5 pick if our system wasn't so weak at the position?

[crawdad]

Using some current or former major leaguers as comps, who does Green resemble in terms of best case scenario/ likely scenario? Is that worth a top 5 pick if our system wasn't so weak at the position?

Eh, I hate comps . . . maybe a mix of Micheal Young and Hardy.

[crawdad]

I'd rather have offensive than offensive minded. lol

From what I recall, his swing seemed like it was all arms and that he didn't use his lower half much, which just reinforces my concerns about his power.

The short stride is really the only thing in his swing that I find worrisome and I think that is a relatively easy fix. He is not utilizing all of his potential power.

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[crawdad]

I checked out some video on mlb's draft reports and he looked a little better. However, the stats are what they are and you can say it's an easy fix but it's still something that needs to be fixed. I'm no expert but it looks like he clears his front hip without really getting his hips into his swing. The results? Less than 20 homers in his entire college career. If it was such an easy fix you'd think someone would have fixed it by now.

I'd have to watch some other hitters videos. Watching your video of Green something jumps out at me. Seems like his butt goes out before he starts his swing, probably sapping a lot of his power.

Right.

Regarding the stride . . . eh, college is not about developing a player. It is about utilizing success in the short term. It might not be something that will be a priority to a team to clean up if he is already hitting well.

[crawdad]

That is a pretty narrow minded view, IMO. I think many college coaches do just that, develop players. BTW, you have a habit of using "eh". Is that meant to convey some meaning?

Back to Green. He certainly has a way of hitting. Some habits are hard to break. I realize this draft doesn't have too many "can't miss" types in it, but Green looks like a "probably miss" to me. He just doesn't wow me. He might play in the majors but I don't see any great upside in him.

I think a college manager is far more concerned about winning games than developing a player to properly hit a ball with a wooden bat.

Eh . . . is basically me shrugging.

Green does have some concerns. A lot of players have concerns.

[crawdad]

Changes to improve Green would make him better with an aluminum bat as well. Why do you shrug so much? Yes, a lot of players have concerns. I guess there were a lot less concerns with the top picks in last years draft. Whatcha gonna do.

I wouldn't take my shrugs as a personal insult. It is just me saying I recognize your point, but don't really have much to add to that.

I'd also say that you can get away with more flaws with an aluminum bat swing than a wooden one. If you are managing someone who has a flawed wood swing, but one that works with an aluminum bat . . . why would you disrupt the swing that is working just so the guy might be able to hit with wood? You wouldn't . . . you would try to keep that aluminum production.

[Stotle]

I checked out some video on mlb's draft reports and he looked a little better. However, the stats are what they are and you can say it's an easy fix but it's still something that needs to be fixed. I'm no expert but it looks like he clears his front hip without really getting his hips into his swing. The results? Less than 20 homers in his entire college career. If it was such an easy fix you'd think someone would have fixed it by now.

I'd have to watch some other hitters videos. Watching your video of Green something jumps out at me. Seems like his butt goes out before he starts his swing, probably sapping a lot of his power.

I agree with this and covered it in the "Stride" section of the breakdown:

Stride – Green's stride is almost non-existent, essentially consisting of a dropping of his heel from his soft toe plant in the load. As he begins his weight transfer forward, he keeps a quiet head and his hands stay tied to his body keeping a short path to the ball. He has a tendency to start his hips backwards (towards the dugout) as he enters his hip rotation, which allows some of his force to escape rather than be pushed towards the pitcher and the ball. It's a subtle movement that should be correctable, but it means he may be leaving some power on the table right now.

I don't think it's a fatal flaw -- it falls in the "correctable" pile for me, rather than the "problematic" pile. Could be wrong.

[QBsILLEST1]

If Joe Jordan see somehting like that which he knows is the reason for his lack of power this year, and knows it is very fixable, Green may be higher in his mind than in ours. I mean Green could be 1 mechanical fix from being a JJ hardy or Michael Young(hopefully the SS Michael Young and not the 3rd baseman).

[Duke2010]

I like what Green could potentially become, and I could support him being picked because of his upside, but I think his risk is just too great when you look at what other players we could select. It sure is nice to look at Green and compare him to Hardy, Young, or even lesser versions of Tulo and Longoria, but what if we end up with a Bobby Crosby? I just don't know if I like Grant enough to take him over Matzek/Crow/Scheppers at this point.