It's going to be a few hours until the Minor Leagues will have their Opening Day, a week after their parent clubs held their own and I'm just as excited with the prospects in the Giants organization that either will be having their debuts in their new clubs or having their second season or more with the team. On the draft side, the top of the class is now pretty much determined and the intel from the teams are now starting to surface up. The Giants now as a nice pool of prospects to choose from with the number 2 pick with this year's draft. What is not clear however is the talent pool for the succeeding picks and I'll probably going to have more info on them as I continue to digest information.
Baseball America recently released a top 10 mock with the Giants nabbing Matthew Liberatore with the second pick. For me, that's a nice pick considering that the Tigers will pick up Casey Mize, a pitcher that the Giants are also surely looking at especially Mize comes from a background that they have been looking at throughout the years: a dominant player in the SEC.
I am supposedly going to do a write-up of Liberatore after his first start but it would be better for me to hold it up for like a month and observe him more and sure enough, I can finally do a good write-up. Liberatore's very projectable at 6'5" 200 lbs. with plenty of room to add up strength especially in his lanky lower half and torso. He did reach 96 MPH in his first start with his fastball but nowadays, he's been around 88-92 MPH that can reach 94 MPH with good sinking action. Adding strength can make his velocity tick up.
His curveball has been a consistent plus pitch for him at low to mid-70s with a big shape but with sharp 1-7 break. I can't say it's the best curveball from the left side in the draft because Ryan Rolison owns it (I grade Rolison's curve as a 70 pitch) but it's safe to say that it's been one of the best curves in the class. His changeup flashes plus due to his arm action with good sink and fade but it has been pretty inconsistent this season in several looks. He has debuted a slider that has an above-average potential but it's been inconsistent and the pitch is in its earliest stage yet but he repeats his fastball arm action with it, the problem is that the break isn't sharp and it's more of a fading, two-plane break.
What I love with Liberatore is that he has the pitchability of a seasoned college pitcher, with very good feel for his fastball, curveball and changeup and with a developing feel for his slider. He's been able to spot his fastball on both sides of the plate and at the bottom half of the zone. Liberatore's athletic with little issues repeating his arm slot and his mechanics, with the ability to quick pitch and throw all his pitches from it without losing feel or command. Liberatore's usual mechanics is loose and he drives off his back leg and generates good extension at his drive to the plate. Even though his body is tilted, he maintains his balance throughout. The tilt that he has allows him to stay on top of his pitches consistently and generate downhill plane on his fastball and maintain the shape of his curve. The arm action and follow through is loose and clean with no red flags and the arm speed is a plus.
The only possible downside currently with Liberatore is that his fastball velocity isn't elite (only solid presently) and in an era of high octane, elevated fastball, his present ceiling is a tick lower than Ethan Hankins. Currently, Liberatore has a plus overall ceiling with a potential 55 fastball ceiling, 65 curveball ceiling, 60 changeup ceiling, 50+ slider ceiling, and 55 command ceiling.
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Other than the usual suspects I previously mentioned, what I seriously consider in my mind is Alec Bohm, a third baseman from Wichita State mocked to be selected by the Pirates at number 10. I have to admit that I am not looking hard on him before because of his offense-first profile and we already have a third baseman in the making in Jacob Gonzalez but Bohm has officially surpassed Nolan Gorman as the best power bat in this class. The more I watch Bohm, the more I am liking the bat.
Bohm's lanky, 6'5", 220 lbs. frame with long legs and arms allows him to have a plus or better raw power. His lateral actions and quick footwork at the hot corner looks solid in my eyes but his arm strength is pretty average and he got some kind of hitch when throwing the long way and I feel he's being too casual. With that said, Bohm's best tool is his bat. Bohm isn't your typical power hitter as he can work counts really well with a smart approach at the box. Even though he is tall and has a big strike zone, he controls it very well with his very good bat to ball skills. He doesn't sell out for home runs as his raw strength and bat speed are enough to launch balls to all parts of the ballpark. He doesn't run as hard as he can as I clocked from from home to first at 4.45 seconds but speed isn't a part of his game.
Bohm is certainly a power hitter that the Giants can target for a cheaper price as he's got the potential to be a plus hit and to hit for plus power although his potential defensively at third base is far away from his offensive potential. In any case, I think he's one of the top 3 hitters in this class.
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This ends my Libby and Bohm preview. I hope that you enjoy it. Enjoy the Minor League season folks!
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