2015 MLB Draft

[TimeForGuinness]

Ugh, he's from Bloomfield Hills, the snottiest suburb in America.

Other than phins always stellar analysis...this comment is just gold.

[Swirls]

I'm guessing Everett and Hooper are undrafted right now due to signability concerns? I did see something on BA where a few hours before the draft Hooper tweeted out that he was going to honor his commitment to UCLA. I also saw somewhere a report for a $4M offer needed to get him to forego that commitment. Which, at this point, we don't have unless we go wayyyy over our pool and take the penalty next year.

What's the scoop on Everett? Similar?

Matuella is still unsigned I'm assuming because of injury concerns? He's currently rehabbing from TJS, but that didn't stop Aiken from still being drafted again. Looks like Matuella has a much longer history of injuries though.

[Jocephus]

its crazy these youngin's are getting so much money. i realize its the status quo and there is "equity" at stake and pro sports are a different world but man. crazy.

[MrCrowesGarden]

I'm guessing Everett and Hooper are undrafted right now due to signability concerns? I did see something on BA where a few hours before the draft Hooper tweeted out that he was going to honor his commitment to UCLA. I also saw somewhere a report for a $4M offer needed to get him to forego that commitment. Which, at this point, we don't have unless we go wayyyy over our pool and take the penalty next year.

What's the scoop on Everett? Similar?

Matuella is still unsigned I'm assuming because of injury concerns? He's currently rehabbing from TJS, but that didn't stop Aiken from still being drafted again. Looks like Matuella has a much longer history of injuries though.

There are a lot of teams concerned Matuella will never stay healthy for a full season.

[phins]

As always, it's about the money. Every team talks to these guys and gets an idea of what it'll take to sign them. Last year Andrew Suarez was the highest drafted guy not to sign and he was in the late 50's.

Wood will sign, they wouldn't have taken him without knowing his number. The kid just isn't going to give his leverage away until a deal is signed and sealed. Plummer expected to go in the 30's, so a slot deal is most likely already agreed to. Wood may actually be a tad under slot. Denton will be quite a bit over slot. Real bat potential with that kid. I don't see 3B though...sort of a Piscotty situation with the glove portion of things (they're much different types of hitters).

I really liked Ian Happ and Dewees. The Cubs do a great job with their hitting evaluations in my opinion.

Matuella is not a consideration for us now that we've taken three high school kids in a row. It would not shock me if he went back to school.

Expect a college heavy day today, and I'm fine with that. That said, we did not really spend like crazy to this point, so while we'll need to save some money, it isn't like we have to go all college seniors from here on out. We will undoubtedly go our 10% over as we always do. I suspect one more upside play will get taken today, then we will do the usual 11th-15th round tough sign/college floor combination type drafting. After that I'd expect us to go depth and draft the types we see a certain skill in that we believe we can develop into a role somewhere on the big club.

Last year they really went upside heavy after the 10th and failed to sign all but one of them (the most raw and surprising sign of them all, but a good talent nonetheless in Bryan Dobzanski).

This draft stinks to be quite honest, so going high school upside doesn't bother me.

[Swirls]

http://m.mlb.com/news/article/129483104 ... y-2-awaits

There is an array of guys considered to be "Day 1 talent" who didn't come off the board on Monday, for a variety of reasons. Tennessee high school pitcher Donny Everett sits atop the "best-available-player" board, ranked No. 23 on the Draft Top 200 rankings. The big right-hander belonged in the conversation with some of the better prep arms in the class, ranking higher than Day 1 selections like Beau Burrows and Austin Smith, both high school right-handers. But Everett has a commitment to Vanderbilt and reportedly put out a high price tag, so it's possible his name won't be called for a while.

If Michael Matuella had stayed healthy, he could have potentially been the No. 1 pick in the Draft, or at least been seriously considered for the top 10. The big Duke right-hander has the size and stuff teams love in a college arm at the top of the Draft. But teams needed to see Matuella pitch this spring after he hadn't amassed many innings during his first two years and didn't pitch over the summer. Michael Matuella has a four-pitch mix, starting with a mid-90s fastball, two distinct breaking balls and a changeup. Matuella battled lat discomfort as a sophomore and then was diagnosed with spondylolysis, a manageable defect of the vertebra in the lower back. Matuella's right elbow then required Tommy John surgery, and he's thrown just 141 innings during his three years at Duke. Still, many thought the No. 28-ranked player had a chance to go on Monday, perhaps to a team with multiple picks. Matuella is still on the board, leading one to wonder if teams didn't like his medical report or if it will take a larger bonus to get him to leave Duke. It's still possible a team will make a run at Matuella on Tuesday, finding a way to be creative with pool money to get a deal done.

The top 10 players, according to the MLB.com rankings, still on the board, are:

23. Donny Everett, RHP, Clarksville (Tenn.) HS
28. Michael Matuella, RHP, Duke
31. Justin Hooper, LHP, De La Salle HS (Concord, Calif.)
33. Dakota Chalmers, RHP, North Forsyth HS (Forsyth County, Ga.)
39. Jacob Nix, RHP, IMG Acadamy (Bradenton, Fla.)
41. Jalen Miller, SS, Riverwood International Charter School (Sandy Springs, Ga.)
45. Riley Ferrell, RHP, TCU
47. Blake Trahan, SS, Lousiana-Lafayette
54. Luken Baker, RHP/1B, Oak Ridge HS (Conroe, Texas)
55. Cole Sands, RHP, North Florida Christian HS (Tallahassee, Fla.)

There are 36 players from the Top 100 still on the board. Undoubtedly, several are high schoolers whose signabilitiy may be the key and who may head to college. But teams are looking forward to the chance to collect more talent, especially those teams that weren't particularly busy on Monday night. The Seattle Mariners, for example, didn't pick until No. 60, nabbing Georgia high school right-hander Nick Neidert with that pick in the second round, then staying in the Pacific Northwest by taking Andrew Moore with pick No. 72 in Competitive Balance Round B. The Mets and Padres also didn't pick until Round 2, and each had only one pick on Monday.

[Swirls]

Matuella just went at the beginning of the 3rd round to the Rangers.

[Swirls]

Cardinals pick Harrison Bader, OF from U of Florida.

Harrison Bader | Rank: 78
School: Florida Year: Junior
Position: OF Age: 21 DOB: 6/3/1994
Bats: R Throws: R Height: 6'0" Weight: 190 lb.
Previously Drafted: Never

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 55 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 45

In a year where college bats with a track record of performance were hard to come by, Bader's offensive potential had many teams interested as the Draft approached.

Bader has shown an ability to have quality at-bats and make consistent hard contact with outstanding bat speed. He has a bat that should provide both average and some power as he progresses. A slightly above-average runner, Bader has played left field as a junior at Florida, but could have the goods to play center field, one who takes good routes and has enough arm for a corner if needed. Bader plays with confidence in all aspects of his game.

Bader hasn't set the world on fire as a junior, though he's shown more power than he had previously. That, plus the dearth of advanced bats, could see him come off the board in the top three rounds.

[Jocephus]

we dont need no stinkin' baders

[phins]

I swear on everything holy, he was my guess for this pick! I spent some time looking at the board and what we generally do and I told my buddy, Harrison Bader is a guy I would look out for.

It's horn tooting for sure, but I'm pretty proud of the fact I've called several day two picks now. Lucky guesses, of course, but that makes me smile- even though he's a Gator.

Kid can play. Gritty, tools play up. Has talent.