2016 Draft
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 10:15 am
2016 Draft:
Pick 113 - Cody Thomas, of, Los Angeles Dodgers: No risk, no reward when drafting at pick 113. Cody Thomas is a former Sooners QB who only took up baseball full time this past season, despite being a top 175 draft prospect out of high school. Even with a developing approach at the plate, he has massive athletic tools and a clear sense for baseball. He absolutely destroyed both rookie league levels he played in to the tune of .297/.382/.621 with 19 homers in 232 ab's. The downside? He's 22 and k'd 87 times in those 267 pa's. There's risk here, but a ton of upside.
Pick 115 - Yasel Antuna, ss, Washington Nationals: Antuna picked up an almost $4 million bonus from the Nationals this year, despite not having elite level athleticism for his polish at such a young age. He has an advanced approach in the field and at the bat, switch hits, and projects for at least average power to go alongside his strong approach at the plate. Long term he's probably not a shortstop, but most think he'll have the ability to play 2b, 3b, or COF with the bat to cover those positions. He's a player who a lot of teams tracked and liked, but were scared off by his lack of domination at youth levels. The Nationals saw the current skill set balanced with the potential, and certainly paid for it.
Pick 120 - Garrett Hampson, ss, Colorado Rockies: I absolutely believe I got a steal here. Hampson played in the depressed batting confines of Long Beach St., but showed enough to get popped in the 3rd round. He has the potential to stick at short because of his excellent athleticism and has a top of the order approach and speed. He destroyed short season Boise to the tune of .301/.404/.441, with 24 extra base hits, 48 bb's, and 36 steals in only 256 ab's. The Rockies will keep him at short for now, but his athleticism and defensive aptitude could allow him to play CF & 2b, as well.
Pick 141 - Max Kranick, rhp, Pittsburgh Pirates: In full disclosure, I thought Baddoo was taken until I saw him on my queue, or I would have taken him here. That said, I'm a big fan of the Kranick pick, too. Kranick is an incredibly lanky 6'3" and already hits 95. He's a starter all the way for now, flashing projectable secondaries to go with the fastball. The fun part on Kranick? He already shows excellent control for his age, walking only 4 batters in his 33.1 ip's. The Pirates are good with pitchers like Kranick, and I believe there's real upside here.
Pick 143 - Akil Baddoo, of, Minnesota Twins: There are warts here, as any player at 143 will have, and he's super young with a long developmental path ahead of him, but there's potentially a special baseball player here if I can be patient. Baddoo is an excellent athlete with tremendous bat speed. He'll be a CF until he's forced to move off (he probably will), but the development of his bat has the capability of making that a non-issue. I was not expecting him to be here, as shown by my Kranick pick, so I couldn't be more excited to have him on board.
Pick 147 - Kyle Roberts, lhp, Texas Rangers: The risk? He hasn't played a ton of baseball in his career, he's insanely inconsistent with his mechanics, and he's incredibly wild. The upside? As both BA & BP indicate, he's a lean lefty who still has projection who already touches 100 mph with a projectable slider and what could be an average changeup. His upside is a 2/3 starter or a dominant lefty reliever. More likely? He can't find it. But it will be a lot of fun to watch...
Pick 113 - Cody Thomas, of, Los Angeles Dodgers: No risk, no reward when drafting at pick 113. Cody Thomas is a former Sooners QB who only took up baseball full time this past season, despite being a top 175 draft prospect out of high school. Even with a developing approach at the plate, he has massive athletic tools and a clear sense for baseball. He absolutely destroyed both rookie league levels he played in to the tune of .297/.382/.621 with 19 homers in 232 ab's. The downside? He's 22 and k'd 87 times in those 267 pa's. There's risk here, but a ton of upside.
Pick 115 - Yasel Antuna, ss, Washington Nationals: Antuna picked up an almost $4 million bonus from the Nationals this year, despite not having elite level athleticism for his polish at such a young age. He has an advanced approach in the field and at the bat, switch hits, and projects for at least average power to go alongside his strong approach at the plate. Long term he's probably not a shortstop, but most think he'll have the ability to play 2b, 3b, or COF with the bat to cover those positions. He's a player who a lot of teams tracked and liked, but were scared off by his lack of domination at youth levels. The Nationals saw the current skill set balanced with the potential, and certainly paid for it.
Pick 120 - Garrett Hampson, ss, Colorado Rockies: I absolutely believe I got a steal here. Hampson played in the depressed batting confines of Long Beach St., but showed enough to get popped in the 3rd round. He has the potential to stick at short because of his excellent athleticism and has a top of the order approach and speed. He destroyed short season Boise to the tune of .301/.404/.441, with 24 extra base hits, 48 bb's, and 36 steals in only 256 ab's. The Rockies will keep him at short for now, but his athleticism and defensive aptitude could allow him to play CF & 2b, as well.
Pick 141 - Max Kranick, rhp, Pittsburgh Pirates: In full disclosure, I thought Baddoo was taken until I saw him on my queue, or I would have taken him here. That said, I'm a big fan of the Kranick pick, too. Kranick is an incredibly lanky 6'3" and already hits 95. He's a starter all the way for now, flashing projectable secondaries to go with the fastball. The fun part on Kranick? He already shows excellent control for his age, walking only 4 batters in his 33.1 ip's. The Pirates are good with pitchers like Kranick, and I believe there's real upside here.
Pick 143 - Akil Baddoo, of, Minnesota Twins: There are warts here, as any player at 143 will have, and he's super young with a long developmental path ahead of him, but there's potentially a special baseball player here if I can be patient. Baddoo is an excellent athlete with tremendous bat speed. He'll be a CF until he's forced to move off (he probably will), but the development of his bat has the capability of making that a non-issue. I was not expecting him to be here, as shown by my Kranick pick, so I couldn't be more excited to have him on board.
Pick 147 - Kyle Roberts, lhp, Texas Rangers: The risk? He hasn't played a ton of baseball in his career, he's insanely inconsistent with his mechanics, and he's incredibly wild. The upside? As both BA & BP indicate, he's a lean lefty who still has projection who already touches 100 mph with a projectable slider and what could be an average changeup. His upside is a 2/3 starter or a dominant lefty reliever. More likely? He can't find it. But it will be a lot of fun to watch...