The madness that is the 2020 MLB Draft has ended and it was bonkers. From Heston Kjerstad going 2nd overall, with a possibility of nabbing Nick Bitsko at pick 30 but never got there as he got selected at pick 24. Max Meyer being the first pitcher drafted instead of Asa Lacy possibly because of injury concerns. Zac Veen falling to the Rockies. Nick Yorke being selected by the Red Sox where there's a big gap between their first and third round picks. Evan Carter as being the first "wow" pick in the second round by the Rangers where even Baseball America does not have a written report on him (going to be a pretty common instance later on). Cole Wilcox had no business in the third round but was drafted by the Padres. The list goes on and on and on.
As for the San Francisco Giants, did the club smoked the same stuff that other clubs smoked during the draft? In this post, I'm here to present to you my thoughts on all seven Giants selections in this draft class, with complete scouting reports on six out of seven draftees (you'll know why I don't have a full scouting report on one guy as you read along) and with my opinions on who's left on the board in retrospect, and grades on every pick, because every one loves grades and rankings!
First Round
As for the San Francisco Giants, did the club smoked the same stuff that other clubs smoked during the draft? In this post, I'm here to present to you my thoughts on all seven Giants selections in this draft class, with complete scouting reports on six out of seven draftees (you'll know why I don't have a full scouting report on one guy as you read along) and with my opinions on who's left on the board in retrospect, and grades on every pick, because every one loves grades and rankings!
First Round
With the 13th selection of the 2020 MLB Draft, with plenty of prospects that are teased to the fans and draft junkies for months via mock drafts and rumors still available on the board, the Giants went with Patrick Bailey, a switch-hitting catcher from North Carolina State University.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
Fans were split when the pick was announced, and even before when trying to scour Twitter and Eric Longenhagen's Draft Day 1 Mega Chat (whatever the hell that's called) in FanGraphs about who could the Giants pick when the club was on the clock. I was also shocked, mental boom'd and felt angry, mainly because I did not have the chance to tweet "Steve Soderstrom, #ForeverGiant" when the Giants would have selected Tyler Soderstrom.
When I first saw the name of Patrick Bailey in the 2020 class, it's actually as soon as 2018 when following the Wolfpack because Will Wilson was an impressive sophomore at that time and it's kind of obligatory that when you look on Wilson, you also have to take a look at Bailey, albeit I did it casually. Why casually? Because I'm not gonna lie here, I did not have as much looks as Bailey as I would have done to other prospects in this draft class.
I did not have a lot of serious looks because of two words: Joey. Bart. My serious looks on him early this year are more of due diligence that I do not miss out on anyone rather than this is a prospect that I really, really like for the Giants to draft come June. However, I do believe that I have enough looks to create a concrete idea of who Bailey is and who could he become eventually as a baseball player. I did not expect for the Giants to take this route immediately as I read the rumors minutes before the selection because of Bart. But as soon as it starts to sink in and I got sober, I am feeling more comfortable with the pick.
THE Scouting Report
Before the discussions on the selection with topics like the other prospects on the board that were considered but were eventually got passed on by the Giants and what it actually does to the Giants organization depth, here's my full scouting report on Patrick Bailey to get the ball rolling.
Patrick Bailey C COL
6'2" 207 lbs. S/R 21.0 y/o
Rank: 17 on MLB.com, 14 on Baseball America, 12 on Fangraphs and 15 on Brian Recca
Rank: 17 on MLB.com, 14 on Baseball America, 12 on Fangraphs and 15 on Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to 2080 Baseball, Perfect Game Baseball and Gain MoMoney
Hit 50 | Power 55 | Speed 40 | Arm 55 | Glove 55+
tl;dr: Bailey is a switch-hitting catcher with three-true-outcomes traits where he looks to regain his ability to hit for average but there's no question that he's a potential anchor behind the plate with his catch and throw skills, call his own game, receiving and blocking, and on-field leadership.
In a draft class where there are uncertainties in any level on other catching prospects whether from the prep class or the collegiate class, Bailey offers a very high certainty that he'll stay behind the plate for years to come. Thus, making him the "safest" and also the highest rated catcher in the draft class.
Bailey's frame is broad and square-shaped from shoulders to hips, where the body has plenty of weight and the thighs are thick enough to endure long hours of being on the crouch. The body does not look like ripped and he is only an average to solid athlete overall but I believe it's a frame that will play behind the plate for years to come.
Offensively, Bailey is more power-over-hit in his profile on both sides since he is a switch-hitter, showing more of a power stroke on the left side. Bailey's hitting mechanics in his left side is kind of similar to how Heston Kjerstad works, with a pronounced leg kick, arm circle and with his swing having loft. Bailey is at his best when he drops down the barrel and punishes low pitches resulting to majestic homers. His hitting mechanics looks when batting right-handed looks rather vanilla and has a flatter bat path compared to his lefty stroke. Even though Bailey's bat speed on both sides is more solid than plus, his innate strength allows him to post very strong exit velocities, averaging under 92 MPH in 2019.
One of Bailey's strengths is his willingness to work the count, having enough plate discipline to lay off easy takes and also some borderline calls outside the zone. As a result, he's posted a stronger walk rate in every season in college. His numbers in an abbreviated 2020 season where his batting average took a major dip and his strikeout numbers spiked hard but was compensated by surpassing his homer total last year in just over half of the games. This shift to a more three-true outcomes-type of a hitter that Bailey's become could possibly be a shift in his mental approach at the plate, becoming more of an OPS threat.
The things that I saw from Bailey that caps his offensive potential is the sudden spike of his strikeout rate, one that was a concern for plenty of scouts when he played in with the CNT last summer, where he also struggled to hit with wood bats (also a concern for some). Also, his more lofty than usual bat path on his left side could leave him susceptible to balls high in the zone, although there are instances that he handles the top of the zone pretty well.
Bailey's strongest suit however is his defense behind the plate, one that he is proud of since high school. Bailey is not a top flight athlete by any means but he moves well behind the plate, exhibiting very good side to side movement, quick reactions to balls in the dirt (moving down to his knees, controlling the baseball and popping up to his feet quickly for alert throws when men are on base), and other agility traits that allows him to instill more confidence to his pitchers. His arm strength is only solid (best pop time I had him was in the high 1.90s) but his arm utility (throwing the ball on different angles while keeping its accuracy and showing consistent strength) helps raise the profile.
What I like the most about Bailey is that he calls his own games, a plus trait. His on-field leadership and building rapport with pitchers is also a plus. His hands behind the plate are soft, he catches the pitches quietly and he does not need to exaggerate his actions to get calls. His defense only gets an above-average grade presently but there's room for growth as a potential Gold Glover even though his ability to control the run game is less inspiring.
Teams who are progressive in terms of their philosophy would love Bailey for model-friendly traits: young for the class (only turned 21 recently), on-base approach, ability to hit for power on both sides of the plate and post strong exit velocities with the launch angle to boot, framing (though robo umps might take away this trait), maturity on the field. Add on his switch-hitting and him playing the most important position on the field could make teams in the 8-15 range to pop Bailey sooner than later and has a good shot of becoming an everyday player with potential to be more if he becomes more well-rounded offensively.
BUT WE HAVE BART
A couple of years after taking Joey Bart, the Giants are once again back at it with another collegiate backstop with Bailey. The reason that plenty of Giants fans are mad at the selection is because Bart looks the part of a potential star in the Majors and plays like a star in the Minors and in a cup of coffee in Spring Training before the facilities shut down. Why draft another catcher?
BUT YOU'RE ALSO REALLY HIGH ON TYLER SODERSTROM WHO IS ALSO A CATCHER ANYWAY?
However, Soderstrom is also projected to move out of the crouch, potentially to either corner infield or corner outfield to fast-track his very promising bat. Bailey does not project to play the Will Smith/Austin Barnes-role that the Zaidi Dodgers love to do with their athletic catchers. Bailey is and will be a catcher. That's the issue here for most fans who dislike the pick.
bEsT pLaYeR aVaiLaBlE
This is where most of the anger comes I really feel like it, I think even more than the fact that it's the second time in three years that the Giants drafted a collegiate catcher in the first round. The 2020 Draft is projected to be a crazy one and boy it delivered and then some. However when looking at it, the draft actually went pretty normal in terms of who would be projected to be selected in the top 12. It's just how the players were selected in order that's the crazy part.
It's been noted that Giants tend to draft safely in the first few rounds, if we base it on the track record of the Giants last year and how Oakland operates itself in years past when scouting director Michael Holmes is still part of the club. There's been rumors weeks before the draft that the Giants are willing to take risk and try to dip on the prep pitching Mick Abel, Nick Bitsko and Jared Kelley. However, it's more likely that the Giants were just doing due diligence on them checking on their signability if ever they are left open in the later stages of the draft rather than actually dipping on murky waters.
There's been some injury concerns regarding Cade Cavalli and with Garrett Crochet taken by the White Sox a couple of picks earlier, that's pretty much it for the Giants in the pitching front.
Now for hitters left on the board, it's obvious that Legacy Giant Tyler Soderstrom is still available. My brain and my heart wanted the Giants to draft him but questions on his defensive home and other unknown reasons left the Giants wanting to elect for more of a sure thing defensively with Bailey. Ed Howard could also have been taken there at that spot, given that the Giants do need infield depth rather than catcher depth. Garrett Mitchell and Pete Crow-Armstrong are also great middle-of-the-field prospects because they can play center field and looks like a lock there.
The question in my mind is WAS THE GAP BETWEEN BAILEY AND THE REST OF THE PROSPECTS IN THE BOARD SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO MOVE PAST CERTAIN NEEDS AND BIASES AND THINK THAT BAILEY IS CLEAR-CUT THE BEST PLAYER ON THE BOARD?
In my opinion, the answer is no. There's not a big gap between Bailey and the other prospects mentioned. All prospects mentioned above graded out as equal in my opinion on the tape and in terms of overall value.
San Francisco Is Actually Green Bay?
I know some of my readers here are Niners fans and were probably delighted when their squad whooped the ass of the Packers twice last season. However, there are some pretty clear similarities that would probably sum up my thoughts with the Bailey selection.
The Packers still have Aaron Rodgers holding the fort on the most important position on the football field and play at a high level for years to come. The Giants have their franchise stalwart Buster Posey and is ready to pass on the reins to Joey Bart to hold the fort on the most important position on the baseball field and is expected to play at a high level for years to come. However, the Packers thought of the long-term, drafted Jordan Love as the front office look at the long-term and "best player available" even though the draft class is abundant on wide receivers, a perceived need. The Giants, went "best player available" and drafted Bailey even though the draft class is abundant on top-shelf pitching, a perceived need.
To be hit by lightning twice is unlikely but when it did on me in a span of a couple of months, it's surreal. What it does to the catching depth of the squad is pretty intense. In just a snap, the Giants possibly have the best catching depth in the sport. With Posey still capable but is fading away and is projected to be replaced by Bart in a couple of years, there's actually a pretty wide gap in terms of talent at catcher without Bailey.
We are looking at Ricardo Genoves as the next best thing but he is most likely going to play in Augusta once minor league baseball resumes. After that, there's Rayner Santana, a potentially good one but is yet to arrive to the States. There's a wide gap between Bart and Genoves that most likely will be filled by organizational depth players and career backups that once Bart ever gets hurt and misses time, there's potentially going to be a big gap in terms of production and potential stability.
With Bailey on board, it fills that gap between Bart and Genoves not only talent-wise but also timeline-wise as Bailey figures to be a quick-mover if he conducts himself like he usually is. If we are talking about superstar catchers in the Majors, there are only a few of them. There are also so few potential superstar catchers (Bart and Rutschman).
If both Bart and Bailey reach the end of their trajectories and developed well, the Giants will be really lucky to have two really good catchers and if the club is ever in a position to compete and a team ever dangle a top pitcher for Bailey, even though he will not reach his full potential with the Giants, that's still a win value-wise because it helps the club obtain something that they are probably seeking when Bailey was still eligible for the draft. Good problem to have.
The Final Verdict: My final verdict with Patrick Bailey is the same as my verdict on Jordan Love: I like the player, I just don't like where he was selected with several guys of equal value (and of higher projected ceiling) that I like and fits the depth chart better than Bailey. Safe pick and adds depth to the catching position and that always sounds good in my ears.
Grade: B
Second Round
With the 49th selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, selected Casey Schmitt, a third baseman/right-handed pitcher from San Diego State University.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
This is another one of those "due diligence" looks for me because even though I like the two-way profile, I felt that there's probably a small chance that Zaidi and company are looking at this kind of mold. Sure enough, I was proven wrong once again and it's a lesson learned to get looks on players equally.
THE Scouting Report
Before we get to where he slots in the organization depth-wise, a potential two-way entry to the Majors, Below is my scouting report based on my looks on his tape and stats.
Casey Schmitt 3B/RHP COL
6'2" 200 lbs. R/R 21.3 y/o
Rank: 117 by MLB.com, 76 by Baseball America, 87 by FanGraphs and 90 by Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to Fox 5 San Diego, D1 Baseball and Perfect Game Baseball
Hit 45 | Power 50+ | Speed 40 | Arm 60+ | Glove 55
FB 55 | SPL 55 | CMD 45
tl;dr: Schmitt is an intriguing two-way player where there's more ceiling when he plays third base due to his defensive potential there with the range, arm strength and instincts to become a stud defender at the hot corner with above-average to plus raw power to be tapped on his swing but don't count him out as a pitcher as he's a pretty good reliever too with a fastball touching 96 MPH with a nasty splitter to boot.
Schmitt is the best college two-way player in the draft that has the potential to make an impact on both sides of the ball. Schmitt's grown a couple of inches to his frame and added on some weight in his three years in college, and has admitted to not work a lot in his prep days but has put on the work to improve and reach his potential. His frame has plenty of raw power to tap on and has some quick twitch in it.
His potential on the mound is limited strictly to relief but there's things to like. The fastball's been sitting in the low-90s but could reach 96 MPH with life. His splitter when combined with his fastball is very good as the split has above-average ability in my looks with him as the Aztecs closer. His arm action is compact and gets to his load relatively quickly, generating deception. While only projected as average in terms of his command, the fastball-split combination will miss bats in pro ball.
It was at third base though that I feel there's a potential to be a big leaguer in the future. Defensively, he possesses mature and clean actions at the hot corner, where his feet looks light and is pretty rangy with instincts and soft hands to boot. His low to mid-90s velocity on the mound translates on the dirt, as he's shown the ability to throw on multiple angles on different platforms with accuracy to third base. He projects to be an above-average defender at third base with potential of being even better with pro reps.
Offensively, it's pretty fascinating to be honest. Even though the swing mechanics looks smooth and has the spine tilt to create a lofty bat path, Schmitt's numbers suggests that he is a contact-oriented hitter. However, he does not translate that power in-games very often, though he's shown the power with wood bats in the Cape where he matched his homers total in his sophomore season with 5 at the Cape. I feel that getting him to be less rotational and more forward with his swing will help tap onto that power.
He's more of a early-count hitter where he looks for pitches to drive early in the count, that could be a reason of his rather average walk numbers in college. However, he does have some ability to work the zone, work the count and reverts to a contact-oriented approach, ditching his leg kick to a more of a heel lift.
The question though is how much he will ultimately hit. His underwhelming offensive stats suggest that there's only a fringy to average at best hitting ability there. He has a different mentality on the mound and in the dirt and talks like a professional and a self-aware person. A team who would have him focus on his bat must develop him to further improve his approach and mentality on the batter's box. Schmitt's pretty young for the class so it's an added bonus.
Who's On The Board?
With the way the the draft transpired at around pick 49, the Giants could have taken a first dip to what would eventually lead to a big run on pitchers. Guys like Clayton Beeter, Masyn Winn, Kyle Nicholas who would have been a welcome addition to the squad and give the Giants an exciting pitcher to follow.
However in retrospect, there's actually not a lot of prospects that would stick at third base until Round 4 when Gage Workman was selected by the Tigers (I do not think Blaze Jordan would stick at the hot corner, and so does Tork). Also, there are still plenty good pitching talent to add on in the compensation rounds and later on that are of equal value than the pitchers drafted ahead of them. I mean, it's understandable that the Giants will not touch Freddy Zamora due to makeup issues and there's not probably much of an inclination towards drafting an outfielder this high.
It seems a bit of a reach given where Schmitt was ranked. However, the chance of landing an actual third baseman with power at this point in the draft is looking pretty slim, unless they want to draft Workman in the later rounds but given that the Giants have a high respect for hitters with good approaches, Workman is not a viable option. Blaze is again not a third baseman and that leaves the front office with Schmitt.
Is This A "Need" Selection?
With Schmitt on the board, he fits right into the third base depth chart behind Luis Toribio. That is how dire it is at the moment at the hot corner position. This is given that Marco Luciano will stay at shortstop in the future so I'm not trying to cheat my way here. I feel that having Schmitt in automatically makes him the organization's best defender at the hot corner, as his defensive tools are head and shoulders above the rest of the prospects in the org.
It is a known fact (if not already) that the infield depth in the organization is actually not that great, especially at third base, where even Toribio has a non-zero chance to move out of the position due to having several questions with his defense. With the bat looking to move quick enough to basically ignore the defensive blunders at third base, that would leave the system basically bone dry, where Sean Roby is the other surefire guy to stick at third base.
I feel that when pick 49 comes around, Farhan and Holmes has the organization depth chart around (either theirs or this beauty by Roger Munter) and looked at the options and they probably value Schmitt equal to other prospects at that spot and most likely thought that if they don't get him now, they probably won't get him later on. It is still a "best available player" approach but there's definitely a topic of "perceived need" that's in play here.
Final Verdict: Schmitt might be lower on most due to questions with his overall hitting ability but his selection makes sense when thinking of the grand scheme of depth in the system. There are more exciting prospects (specifically, pitchers) that could have been taken sure, but it's not a bad pick whatsoever.
Grade: B
With the 67th selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected Nick Swiney, a left handed pitcher from North Carolina State University. Really, whoever is the scout that covers the NCSU Wolfpack deserves a raise because he killed it over the past 6 months, adding Will Wilson and now drafting both Bailey and Swiney. In this first of back to back selections in the 2nd round, some are expecting that the Giants would get fancy with the pick, playing with the draft pool and nabbing a HS prospect here (I was on that boat). Sure enough, the Giants went to the college route with this selection of Swiney.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
I was a skinny, frustrated lefty pitcher in the casual ball and stick games here in the community and I find it hard to locate the ball when I throw it in a three-quarters spot. It's either when I throw the ball over the top like a Jaime Garcia or on a low three quarters slow bordering sidewinder like a Chris Sale. I actually felt more comfortable throwing the ball like Chris Sale than throwing the ball like a Jon Lester or any pitcher who throws on a true three quarters slot.
So I was watching Wolfpack games and/or highlights and I saw Swiney. My first impression is like damn, he throws like how I throw the ball! He's not really eye-popping or such but his pitching motion reminds me of myself. I started doing my "due diligence" looks because he is a reliever last year but when he's suddenly in the rotation, I started taking a deeper look at him. Eventually, I like him a lot even though there's probably not a high ceiling to tap on.
THE Scouting Report
Before we get to the discussions of him entering the pitching depth of the organization and how he stacks up against the best that this organization as to offer, here is my full scouting report on the Wolfpack left-hander:
Nick Swiney LHP COL
6'3" 187 lbs. R/L 21.3 y/o
Rank: 78 by MLB.com, 85 by Baseball America, 51 by FanGraphs and 42 by Brian Recca
Video: Credits to Moore Baseball, Gutter Towers and Perfect Game Baseball
FB 50 | CB 55+ | CH 55+ | CMD 50+
tl;dr: Swiney has the tools to become a mid-rotation piece, more likely a #3-4 option, with a mechanics that allows him to throw his pitches close to a vertical plane, giving his rather average fastball velocity more life and better spin efficiency, paired with an above-average to plus changeup, a solid looking curveball and a much improved strike throwing ability when he transitioned from the bullpen to the rotation this year.
A full-time reliever last season for the Wolfpack, Swiney transitioned to the starting rotation in 2020 and improved his stock significantly when he's shown improvements on all facets of his game in an abbreviated season. The transition to the rotation did not affect much of Swiney's velocity and his frame is pretty physical and durable even though it's pretty lean. Rounding out his weight to a 190 or a 195 pounds at most would be beneficial for his stamina moving forward.
While Swiney's fastball is relatively fringe average to average, ranging from 87-92 MPH consistently in his starts, the pitch plays up thanks to his mechanics. Swiney reaches back as he drives to the plate, and opens up his front side at front foot plant. However, he's done a very good job this year to not leak his hips that will result to erratic control.
The arm action's clean and there's a good amount of hip-shoulder separation but Swiney could gain even more velocity if he tries to lag his throwing arm a bit to create more arm speed at front foot plant. His open front side allows him to throw in a near vertical arm slot, some might mention a high three-quarters slot, in a more natural way (even though the irony is that throwing a baseball is unnatural).
As a result, that arm slot gives his fastball a steep downhill plane on balls down and gives the ball plenty of rise when thrown high in the zone, even though the pitch itself is fairly straight with not a lot of tailing movement. The vertical arm slot that Swiney repeats consistently now also helped improve the metrics of his curveball. Swiney's curveball, an above-average to plus offering, is similar to Reid Detmers as it is a looping, low-70s offering with a big shape and a near 12-6 action with snap. His changeup also flashes plus even though it's from an arm slot that's not that friendly to throw a cambio but the pitch has late hard sink and is a true swing and miss offering.
It is actually a toss up on what is Swiney's best secondary pitch, whether it's his curveball or his changeup. Some like his curveball more when it's properly located for called strikes or for swings and misses in the dirt while some like the changeup because of the break and a similar arm speed and action as his fastball.
What's aided the development of Swiney is actually him not trying to throw the ball too hard in the rotation. That helped him locate his fastball much better, throwing quality strikes in two-strike counts, not hanging his curveball that often, keeping his changeup down. There's still the rotational nature of his mechanics that Swiney needs to keep in check so that he does not get erratic once again. However, if Swiney conducts himself on the field like he usually do, there's a chance of him becoming a staple in a big league rotation.
Not A Sexy Pick But...
With Swiney there's actually not much sexiness with the selection. To be frank, it's another solid pick, one for the working class. Looking at the prospects drafted, the real sexy picks would have been Alex Santos, Nick Garcia and even Cole Wilcox who was thought to be a really tough sign in the third round. All three prospects throws a lot harder than the lefty Swiney and has some promise on their secondary pitches.
It's not that Swiney does not have a high ceiling, as there's possibly more room to grow. Who knows if he gains more velocity when he adds a bit more to his frame and generate more arm speed by lagging his throwing arm a bit at front foot plant, similar to what Max Meyer is doing, while keeping his improved control and command in his pocket? Who knows if he gains more swing and miss ability if he improves on the lateral movement of his fastball by tinkering more on his finger placement? There's still a ceiling here.
I'm Thirsty For Pitching
Once again, taking a look at the depth chart of the Giants, there is obviously need for starting pitching talent. Even more so, there's an obvious dearth of lefty starting pitching talent aside from Seth Corry. Selecting Swiney in terms of filling up the depth chart while also looking at the draft board, I can imagine Farhan and company looking at Swiney as the best lefty starter on the board.
I'll stack up Corry, Swiney and Kyle Harrison later on the Harrison post but yeah, I mean it's just a good pick. What's more to say? I can just shut up and move to the next one.
Final Verdict: Best college lefty starting pitching left on board that fills a need in the depth chart while also having the same talent level of guys who are perceived as sexier but comes with more risk. That's not saying that Swiney does not have risks because there's not enough time to really ensure that his improved command and pitch mix is for real. Maybe that's a blessing in disguise for the Giants, who did the most homework on Wolfpack players than anyone.
Final Grade: A-
With the 68th selection of the 2020 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected Jimmy Glowenke, a middle infielder from Dallas Baptist University in their second of the back to back selections. We've missed on having the best selection in this year's draft as MLB pulled Boston's second round pick as a result of their sign stealing controversy.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
While the draft is happening and is into the later stages, I DM'd Glowenke a congratulations on Twitter and he said that it means the world to him to be drafted by the Giants as he is a big Giants fan, referencing to this Twitter photo. It just goes to show how much it means for the players who are drafted by the teams that they are a fan of growing up.
I'm sure that the Glowenke family is having a blast right now and I wish Jimmy the best and I hope to see him in Oracle one day. I hope to talk to him soon.
That aside, it is another one of those "due diligence" looks from mine as I did not have as deep of a beat on him as some people but I liked what I saw from him last year and the stats looked really good.
THE Scouting Report
Before discussing the topic of is this a potential underslot by the front office because they are possibly targeting a prep player in the later rounds, here is my scouting report on him:
Jimmy Glowenke 2B/SS COL
5'10" 185 lbs. R/R 21.0 y/o
Rank: 171 by MLB.com, 110 by Baseball America, 197 by FanGraphs and 215 by Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to 2080 Baseball, DBU Athletics and Gain MoMoney
Hit 55 | Power 40+ | Speed 40 | Arm 50 | Glove 45+
tl;dr: Glowenke has the tools and the track record of becoming an above-average Major League hitter but there are questions about his power potential and his ability to play in the infield though an adjustment in his approach might tap more on to his average raw power and has the sure hands to become a reliable defender at second base.
Glowenke has hit and hit and hit in his three season at Dallas Baptist, as evidenced by his college career triple slash line of .340/.433/.506. He's also hit well with wood bats in the Cape Cod League, batting .296, but has struggled to drive the ball either with wood or BBcor bats.
Obviously, Glowenke's best tool is hitting. He has plenty of traits that Major League hitters has: the ability to work the count and control the zone, feel for the barrel, natural eye-hand coordination and surprising bat control. He also gets hit a ton but did not miss games as a result of those hits, where his only injury that kept him on the field is an elbow injury that needed surgery (not Tommy John). He makes line-drive contact with ease and has an all-fields approach.
There's average raw power that Glowenke can tap on due to his pretty thick core and overall body frame, but the nature of his swing does not allow him to fully tap on it. Even though there's a substantial leg kick to shift his momentum and the overall swing mechanics looks pretty textbook, Glowenke can try to flatten his bat path to generate more pop or adopt a more pull-side approach to his game.
Glowenke needs to hit however because aside from his hit tool, there's not much excitement on the profile. His home to first speed is below average but gets to fringe average once underway. That limited range moves him out of shortstop and would make him a full-time second baseman in pro ball where his arm strength is still a question after his elbow surgery. Even though he has solid quick-twitch, Glowenke still needs to keep his body in shape. However, he has soft hands on the dirt and has shown the agility to make routine and flashy plays in the infield.
More Like Williamsport "Cost"Cutters, Right?
Based on how the teams are conducting their drafts and how the players are falling off the board, this has the smell of an under-slot signing in order to position themselves better financially in the later stages of the draft, right? Aside from the Rangers who looked like in their own world, I mean there's not a lot of "shocker" picks when the Giants are on the clock at 68.
Glowenke has plenty of fans in Baseball America, citing his college performer middle infielder profile as a valuable one, but it seems that the rest are lower on him. I mean they could have popped someone like a Trei Cruz or Anthony Servideo, a couple of college shortstops with better athleticism than Glowenke but does not have the track record of hitting. I actually thought that it's the perfect time to pop David Calabrese, the quick-footed Canadian prospect. Add to that the pitching prospects that I mentioned with the Swiney selection.
Finally, A Guy At Second Base!
Glowenke's profile reminds me of C.J. Hinojosa, a prospect with below average speed and range in the dirt and questionable power but he can hit. Now, I think that Glowenke has a better chance to stick than C.J. but the comparison is still pretty haunting.
The Giants actually has a pretty decent depth at shortstop but not at second base, although other current shortstop prospects in the organization are projected to move to second base like Will Wilson as the first prospect that comes off the top of my head. Glowenke gives the Giants an actual second base prospect there, with the chance to play well at that position for years to come. While Glowenke does not have a high ceiling, he does offer a good amount of floor and stability at the position if he continues to hit like how he did it in the collegiate level.
It is not a knock against Jimmy but his overall profile fits really well there. Even though there's a possibility that the Giants will give him all the chances in the world to play him at shortstop, I think that it's better to trust his hands at second base and have the coaches try to incorporate more power into his game.
Final Verdict: Not really warm with the selection value-wise as there are better prospects on the board, but it could be seen as an underslot play by the Giants. However, this underslot offers a bit more ceiling than the usual prospects that were drafted to save money so it leaves me pretty content. Later on, we would find out that did this potential money-saving maneuver by Farhan and company was ever needed because of what they have done in the 5th round and they could have gotten a more exciting talent.
Grade: C-
Round 3
With the 84th selection of the 2020 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected Kyle Harrison, a left handed pitcher from De La Salle High School, a powerhouse in Northern California. Giants fans, rejoice! This is the selection that had everyone (including I) stood up and slow clapped. This is a selection that checks all the boxes that Giants fans wanted: hometown kid, fills the need for pitching, exciting prep talent.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
Since December, I had followed select prepsters in Team USA in the U-18 World Cup. Soderstrom is at the top followed by Abel, Robert Hassell III, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alejandro Rosario, and Harrison. The game against Team Panama is actually a double whammy game because it was a game that featured both Harrison and Soderstrom and it's a treat watching those two play as batterymates. Even though his opponents did not exactly have top shelf talent but he won the best ERA title where he did not allow an earned run in three of his outings.
Ever since then, I've been watching as much Kyle Harrison stuff as I can, and I have a confident enough scouting report on him as much as Soderstrom even though Harrison is not as highly touted as Sode is. You can watch all of the U-18 Baseball World Cup and other international tournaments in both baseball and softball in WBSC's YouTube page.
THE Scouting Report
Before we get to the discussion of comparing the two lefty pitching prospects drafted (Swiney and Harrison) to Seth Corry, here is my scouting report based on my looks on him over the summer.
Kyle Harrison LHP HS
6'3" 200 lbs. R/L 18.8 y/o
Rank: 63 by MLB.com, 71 by Baseball America, 103 by FanGraphs and 111 by Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to Baseball., Prospects Live and The Prospect Pipeline
FB 50+ | CB 55 | CH 50+ | CMD 50+
tl;dr: Harrison is one of the more polished prep pitchers in the draft class, with a fastball only sitting 89-92 MPH at the moment but could tick up once he fills his projectable frame and the pitch at the moment plays up because of the flat plane at the top of the zone thanks to his low to true three-quarter arm slot and generates tremendous extension with his mechanics even though it has sidespin, and his secondaries flashing potential, with his mid-70s curveball looking like a potential plus pitch once he's shown more consistency with the pitch and his arm action gives him the potential to throw a nasty changeup.
Harrison is a consistent performer in the showcase circuit last summer, throwing on plenty of famous nationally televised games and is one of the starters with Team USA in the U-18 World Cup held in South Korea last year. Over the offseason however, he's still the long and lanky, athletic pitcher that he is and has the potential to add a good 10-20 pounds in his frame without losing his very good athleticism.
That potential additional weight could increase his velocity a couple of ticks that could turn him from a good pitcher to a great pitcher. His fastball is currently operating at 89-92 MPH but has shown the ability to throw the pitch to 94 MPH early in games this year. The pitch has a solid spin rate, and has sidespin, with fingers close to a 45 degree angle relative to the ground on release point, so it has plenty of running and sinking action when thrown on both sides of the plate. Even though sidespin is not metric-friendly, Harrison throws the pitch in such a difficult angle to pick up.
It's not exactly a sidewinder arm slot, more of a low to true three-quarters slot, but Harrison's delivery where he loads his back leg well creates tremendous triple extension seen on pitchers like Tim Lincecum and other famous drop and drive pitchers. Like Swiney, Harrison his his legs open at front foot land but keeps his hips closed up and does not leak most of the time. The arm action is clean even though the entire operation is very funky and deceptive.
Even though the fastball is average velocity-wise, it plays up because of the increased perceived velocity thanks to his extension, unusual arm slot and creates a flat trajectory when he throws the ball high in the zone. A further reduction of his sidespin to more backspin would help tremendously as well as more velocity.
For Harrison's secondaries, his mid-70s curveball is more of a mystery as the pitch flashes plus when all the stars align, showing sharp snap and shape that I first thought it's a knuckle curve but after seeing the slo-mo, it's a true curveball grip. Harrison has some issues getting on top of the pitch but he's shown the ability to throw the pitch to both lefties and righties with consistent feel. His changeup at the moment is sparsely thrown and the ones that I saw flashed more average but I feel that with more reps, the arm slot and the arm action could potential give him more of another above average offering.
Harrison is athletic on the mound, repeats his delivery fairly well and is more known for his pitchability and feel for the zone rather than pure stuff. However, I see plenty of room left for his development such as proper finger placement at release point to induce more vertical break to make his fastball better, stay on top of his curveball more consistently and tuck in more weight to improve his stamina and velocity.
If he is athletic enough to throw consistent strikes and quality strikes with his three pitches in that funky delivery, I feel that he can improve even though he is a bit old for the prep class. I see his present ceiling as more of a mid to back-rotation starter, similar to Sean Manaea but I would not be surprised three years from now after maturing that he is a top-rotation material. He needs to be on the right club to do so.
Great Value, Right?
Yes it is, man. Yes it is. Even though a couple of highly regarded prospects, Casey Martin and Blaze Jordan, went off the board and looks to be signable, having Harrison on board is certainly big and is already pegged as national media's favorite pick of the Giants draft class. Jake Vogel is actually another one that I find intriguing but I really find it tough to not draft Harrison at that spot. As what Bailey's coach when he was young said, lefty pitcher is the quickest way to the Majors, next is switch-hitting catcher.
Stacking the Southpaws
Now, for the most important question. The Giants drafted two left handed starting pitchers and immediately improved the depth of that demographic a hundredfold. But, how do the two lefties drafted, Swiney and Harrison, fare against top lefty prospect and possibly the best pitching prospect in the organization, Seth Corry?
First of all, here's my grades on the three for comparison:
Pitch Mix Corry Swiney Harrison
Fastball 50+ 50 50+
Curveball 55 55+ 55
Changeup 60 55+ 50+
Control 45 50+ 50+
I apologize for the OCD people who find are probably losing their minds right now because the grades are not exactly vertical. I tried my best.
As you can see, both Swiney and Harrison has Corry beat in terms of control and command but Corry beats Harrison with his off-speed offerings and Corry has the better fastball than Swiney velocity-wise and movement-wise. Even though Harrison is a bit inferior as compared to the two, I feel that he has the highest ceiling among the three because of his pitchability and the potential for his pitches to be even better while having a better command of his pitches than Corry. Swiney offers more floor and relative safety as a reliable back-end piece.
Are Swiney and Harrison possibly be better than the other starting pitching options by the Giants like Sean Hjelle and Logan Webb? I don't really see it. I feel that Harrison and Swiney fits on that same tier of pitching in terms of talent, with Harrison possibly a touch lower currently but offers a higher ceiling.
Final Verdict: The Harrison pick is a favorite of mine, can't really get much better in terms of checking the boxes. Value-wise, it felt like the Giants have already determined the signability of plenty other prospects to pull the trigger on Harrison, a local kid who would be loved by fans if his development proceeds as usual. Do I think the Giants can help Harrison reach his potential? Yes.
Grade: A
Fourth Round
With the 114th selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected R.J. Dabovich, a right handed pitcher from Arizona State University.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
Yes, you heard it right. Arizona State Sun Devil baseball. Hunter Bishop. Carter Aldrete. R.J. Dabovich. That's quite a good amount of Sun Devils on one team. Add that Trevor Hauver, Gage Workman and the Tork all drafted in the last two years among others, the Sun Devils lost a lot of talent in that timespan but give credit to head coach Tracy Smith and the power of their recruitment to lure and develop these college kids into pro baseball players. Let's give them a slow clap.
Because I heavily followed the likes of Bish and Tork over the last two years, it gave me quite a good look about Dabovich, who was being bounced either as a starter or a reliever last year and was entrenched as the closer this year.
THE Scouting Report
Before going to the discussion of where he slots in the pretty deep relief corps of the Giants, here is my scouting report on him based on looks last year and this year.
R.J. Dabovich RHP COL
6'3" 215 lbs. R/R 21.4 y/o
Rank: 120 by MLB.com, 130 by Baseball America, 79 by FanGraphs and 170 by Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to The Prospect Pipeline and Alec Dopp
FB 65 | SL 55 | SPL 45 | CB 45 | CMD 40+
tl;dr: Dabovich made an adjustment to his release point when the year turned to 2020 from a three-quarters to a more overhead slot, having his fastball churn impressive spin rates and can reach 99 MPH out of the bullpen but tends to lose control and needs to throw in the 95-96 MPH to maintain average control while his slider is a consistent plus offering while his split/change are fringe offerings if he ever returns to the rotation in pro ball after becoming a full-time closer in 2020.
Dabovich turned a new leaf in 2020, transitioning to a full-time closer this year after bouncing around between starter and relief after transferring to the Sun Devils last year. He also turned in a new wrinkle to his mechanics, turning a more true three-quarters arm slot last year to an overhand one this year. And the athletic Dabovich enjoyed a spike in strikeouts as a result, albeit in the pen.
His fastball ramped up to 99 MPH on the radar gun in one-inning, let it loose stints, and is able to keep his impressive spin rates in check. There's not a lot of tail on the pitch but it has good rise high in the zone. However, he tends to throw the ball all over the place when he is reach back for those juicy radar gun poppers, so dialing back the pitch to a more manageable 93-96 MPH is possible.
Throwing from the stretch, Dabovich now features a shorter, more deceptive arm path than the one that he's shown in the Cape. Other than the new overhand armslot and the shorter arm path, most of Dabovich's operation is still pretty much similar. He pushes his back foot well and throws with very good arm speed. Overall, his mechanics looks pretty vanilla to be honest.
His slider flashes plus offering though there are instances of the pitch flattening out because it does not have a sweeping, lateral break but more vertical break due to his arm slot. As his third pitch, he throws a changeup or a split that looks fringy to average but gets some swings and misses. There's also a curveball that he featured last year that flashed average but he's mostly pitched off his fastball-slider-split/change repertoire in his outings.
If clubs want to try out Dabovich back to the rotation in pro ball, teams might want to note that even though Dabovich is athletic on the mound and has a rather clean and cookie-cutter delivery, his command is still average at best in my looks, more on fringe average. That's pretty concerning to be honest as the reality of becoming a relief option in the Majors is clearer than envisioning him in a rotation because of his control.
Is This Good Value?
Looking at how the draft transpired between the picks that was sandwich in between the 4th and 5th round selections of the Giants, the selections were mostly towards money-saving but there are some pretty good prospects that were drafted like the slick-fielding Milan Tolentino but after targeting Harrison a round before looked to be a tough sign. Beck Way is also an intriguing pitching option aside from Dabovich. There's also Carter Baumler who I like because of his smooth mechanics but looks to be a tough sign also and Joe Boyle who throws around 102 MPH but is nowhere near Dabovich in terms of feel.
Based on the national media rankings, I feel that Dabovich is a good sign and I feel that 4th to 5th round is a good landing spot for him, to be honest.
Birdshot With Buckshot Rounds, Again
After selecting two what I would consider pitchability-first pitchers in the earlier rounds, it's finally time that Farhan and company nabbed a guy who the farm system has aplenty of, power arms with an impressive second pitch but was limited in terms of potentially starting in the big league level due to his control issues, specifically with the fastball.
Dabovich has starter traits like his size, stuff and mechanics, but it's really tough to imagine him becoming a big league starter at this point in time. He slides right alongside Blake Rivera, Prelander Berroa and Jose Marte as the right-handed, velocity-first pitchers.
Final Verdict: Dabovich looks more relief than starter in my opinion but the national media is high on him and you can't teach velocity with some knowhow of locating it in the zone alongside a pretty good secondary pitch. It's a profile that typically gets to the Majors and for a fourth round selection filled with selections either to save money or a tough sign, it's a pretty good pick and is very likely to sign.
Grade: A-
Fifth Round
With the 144th selection, the final selection of the San Francisco Giants, in the 2020 MLB Draft, the club selected Ryan Murphy, a right handed pitcher from Le Moyne College in New York.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
The draft is winding down, I've cooked and eaten breakfast, readying my tabs on my Google Chrome to write down the Giant draft class and when the Giants announced the selection, it's a collective WHO? from the Giants community. After a draft class that I have pretty much a good beat on 6 selections in, I expected that it's a guy I know of to end the day. But alas, it's a GUY WE DON'T KNOW.
It's not on Baseball America's top 500 list, not on MLB.com's top 200 list, not on FanGraphs' draft prospect list, not even on Recca's comprehensive draft prospect database. Even the great Recca has no idea on this fella! This is not Jon Ryan Murphy.
THE Scouting Report
I don't have a scouting report on Murphy but for a guy who is considered a real barn find, here's what Johathan Mayo of MLB.com said about Murphy.
"Performance pick, 87-91 mph, lots of strikes, average secondaries, good spin rate on his pitches, division 2 program, ability to mix 4 pitches for strikes, pitches off his fastball, commands the fastball well, plenty of swings and misses, not afraid to come in (with his fastball), best pitcher in New England leagues."
Fortunately, I have seen a video of him, aside from what GPT posted in his Twitter. It's from his freshman year in 2018. It's actually a very clear video so you guys might want to check it out. From what I see, it matches what Mr. Mayo has said in the broadcast.
He Comes From The Same Neighborhood As.. WHAT?
Ryan Murphy hails from Dutchess Country in the state of New York. I have not really heard of that place. When I try to dig for background information about Murphy, it is said that Dutchess Country has produced two notable baseball players in the last decade.
First one is Lenny Torres, a pitcher from the Cleveland Indians organization. The second one is Joe. Panik. Yes. The real Joe Panik. The one who patrolled second base in a good amount of years in AT&T (now Oracle). The #ForeverGiant Joe Panik. In fact, Panik even congratulated Murphy personally as his uncle personally knows the former Giant second baseman.
The full article is right here.
Punt Fiesta
I am pretty certain the Giants 99.99% (can't kill that 0.01%, stupid soap!) punted this pick for money-saving reasons. There are a couple of guys that I liked, led by Kala'i Rosario, a mammoth of a Hawaiian who posted top-notch exit velocities so I thought Giants would've popped that power in a heartbeat. Other than Rosario and Hayden Cantrelle, I would've liked a pretty solid selection but Giants said a big ass NOPE.
Final Verdict: The Giants ended the draft in a whimper. It's not a late riser-type or a projectability-type of a prospect. Not a lot of value. More on saving money, but how much could they even save anyway? Maybe the Giants drafted Murphy because they liked him enough that they don't want to have him get to the undrafted free agent fiesta that could happen and a local team like the Yankees or the Mets would pop him. It makes sense that way but the profile is pretty average.
Grade: D-
Closing Thoughts
Patrick Bailey.
Casey Schmitt.
Nick Swiney.
Jimmy Glowenke.
Kyle Harrison.
R.J. Dabovich.
Ryan Murphy.
This is your 2020 San Francisco Giants draft class. They stuck to their board until round 4 where Murphy is an underslot play. The Giants needed pitching depth, especially left handed pitching and they got two of the better ones in the class in Swiney and Harrison. There's a big gaping hole at the depth in the hot corner and they filled that up with Schmitt who looks like a keeper at the position.
They loved hitters who can "control the zone" and they got it with Glowenke who also has a decent glove at second. Want more arms? They got it with Dabovich and Murphy. With the shenanigans that happened before the Giants were on the clock, they went with a "safe" pick with Bailey as he has a very high chance to be a Major Leaguer behind the plate, away from the risks that right-handed prep pitching brings and the several question marks that other prospects in consideration had be it either injury, defense, swing mechanics, etc.
The national media predicted that the draft will tend to force teams to be more careful with their picks and the Giants certainly did that. It might not be splashy or sexy but you know what, I kinda like this draft class. Sometimes, boring is good right? In a world of uncertainty, you just want stuff that are surefire, right? There's a bit of disappointment with the Giants community that they want the Giants to be a little sinful because they have this amount of picks and they can play with fire.
With the case of Bailey, drafting a catcher is not bad even though we think that they Giants already have enough catching. Do they? Imagine being the envy of other teams that the organization has a stable pipeline of talented catchers. Imagine teams wanting your catchers and paying quite a premium for it. I know it's going to be a hard sell right now to Giants fans. It might be even more of a harder sell if Bart has proven himself to the franchise cornerstone and Bailey's left in the dust. I kind of agreed with what Kevin Cunningham of Giants Futures but it's not up for us. The front office believed in Bailey. The Dodgers had great catching depth when Yasmani Grandal was still on the fold. They kept adding on catchers year after year, drafting Will Smith, Connor Wong and signing Diego Cartaya even though they had a pretty good one in Austin Barnes. Zaidi brought that concept to the Bay Area. I'm fine with reinforcing the catcher position.
It is not as sexy of a draft as the Marlins, the Tigers or the Padres, but I see six prospects making it into my top 30 prospect list off the top of my head, adding even more depth to the organization and filled up areas of need with draftees that could make an impact at the position (left handed pitching, third baseman, second baseman). Thank God, the Giants did not draft an outfielder and looks like outfield is not on the agenda in the past couple of days as they probably believe about the depth of the position as a whole. Drafting mostly college guys also helps with the idea of competing in 2022 and beyond as this wave of prospects can reach the Majors in that time frame as well as long as their development went as planned.
For a team with plenty of smart guys in the draft room, they made sensible, no-overthink picks in the past 36 hours.
Overall Grade: B+ for boring but with positive intrigue
It's still full of crap that the draft has to be this way but it's a blast writing full scouting reports on everyone in one go and not rotting my brain out for 3 days. I hope you enjoyed reading this one. I hope the draft returns to normal. I hope baseball returns to normal.
Hit 50 | Power 55 | Speed 40 | Arm 55 | Glove 55+
tl;dr: Bailey is a switch-hitting catcher with three-true-outcomes traits where he looks to regain his ability to hit for average but there's no question that he's a potential anchor behind the plate with his catch and throw skills, call his own game, receiving and blocking, and on-field leadership.
In a draft class where there are uncertainties in any level on other catching prospects whether from the prep class or the collegiate class, Bailey offers a very high certainty that he'll stay behind the plate for years to come. Thus, making him the "safest" and also the highest rated catcher in the draft class.
Bailey's frame is broad and square-shaped from shoulders to hips, where the body has plenty of weight and the thighs are thick enough to endure long hours of being on the crouch. The body does not look like ripped and he is only an average to solid athlete overall but I believe it's a frame that will play behind the plate for years to come.
Offensively, Bailey is more power-over-hit in his profile on both sides since he is a switch-hitter, showing more of a power stroke on the left side. Bailey's hitting mechanics in his left side is kind of similar to how Heston Kjerstad works, with a pronounced leg kick, arm circle and with his swing having loft. Bailey is at his best when he drops down the barrel and punishes low pitches resulting to majestic homers. His hitting mechanics looks when batting right-handed looks rather vanilla and has a flatter bat path compared to his lefty stroke. Even though Bailey's bat speed on both sides is more solid than plus, his innate strength allows him to post very strong exit velocities, averaging under 92 MPH in 2019.
One of Bailey's strengths is his willingness to work the count, having enough plate discipline to lay off easy takes and also some borderline calls outside the zone. As a result, he's posted a stronger walk rate in every season in college. His numbers in an abbreviated 2020 season where his batting average took a major dip and his strikeout numbers spiked hard but was compensated by surpassing his homer total last year in just over half of the games. This shift to a more three-true outcomes-type of a hitter that Bailey's become could possibly be a shift in his mental approach at the plate, becoming more of an OPS threat.
The things that I saw from Bailey that caps his offensive potential is the sudden spike of his strikeout rate, one that was a concern for plenty of scouts when he played in with the CNT last summer, where he also struggled to hit with wood bats (also a concern for some). Also, his more lofty than usual bat path on his left side could leave him susceptible to balls high in the zone, although there are instances that he handles the top of the zone pretty well.
Bailey's strongest suit however is his defense behind the plate, one that he is proud of since high school. Bailey is not a top flight athlete by any means but he moves well behind the plate, exhibiting very good side to side movement, quick reactions to balls in the dirt (moving down to his knees, controlling the baseball and popping up to his feet quickly for alert throws when men are on base), and other agility traits that allows him to instill more confidence to his pitchers. His arm strength is only solid (best pop time I had him was in the high 1.90s) but his arm utility (throwing the ball on different angles while keeping its accuracy and showing consistent strength) helps raise the profile.
What I like the most about Bailey is that he calls his own games, a plus trait. His on-field leadership and building rapport with pitchers is also a plus. His hands behind the plate are soft, he catches the pitches quietly and he does not need to exaggerate his actions to get calls. His defense only gets an above-average grade presently but there's room for growth as a potential Gold Glover even though his ability to control the run game is less inspiring.
Teams who are progressive in terms of their philosophy would love Bailey for model-friendly traits: young for the class (only turned 21 recently), on-base approach, ability to hit for power on both sides of the plate and post strong exit velocities with the launch angle to boot, framing (though robo umps might take away this trait), maturity on the field. Add on his switch-hitting and him playing the most important position on the field could make teams in the 8-15 range to pop Bailey sooner than later and has a good shot of becoming an everyday player with potential to be more if he becomes more well-rounded offensively.
BUT WE HAVE BART
A couple of years after taking Joey Bart, the Giants are once again back at it with another collegiate backstop with Bailey. The reason that plenty of Giants fans are mad at the selection is because Bart looks the part of a potential star in the Majors and plays like a star in the Minors and in a cup of coffee in Spring Training before the facilities shut down. Why draft another catcher?
BUT YOU'RE ALSO REALLY HIGH ON TYLER SODERSTROM WHO IS ALSO A CATCHER ANYWAY?
However, Soderstrom is also projected to move out of the crouch, potentially to either corner infield or corner outfield to fast-track his very promising bat. Bailey does not project to play the Will Smith/Austin Barnes-role that the Zaidi Dodgers love to do with their athletic catchers. Bailey is and will be a catcher. That's the issue here for most fans who dislike the pick.
bEsT pLaYeR aVaiLaBlE
This is where most of the anger comes I really feel like it, I think even more than the fact that it's the second time in three years that the Giants drafted a collegiate catcher in the first round. The 2020 Draft is projected to be a crazy one and boy it delivered and then some. However when looking at it, the draft actually went pretty normal in terms of who would be projected to be selected in the top 12. It's just how the players were selected in order that's the crazy part.
It's been noted that Giants tend to draft safely in the first few rounds, if we base it on the track record of the Giants last year and how Oakland operates itself in years past when scouting director Michael Holmes is still part of the club. There's been rumors weeks before the draft that the Giants are willing to take risk and try to dip on the prep pitching Mick Abel, Nick Bitsko and Jared Kelley. However, it's more likely that the Giants were just doing due diligence on them checking on their signability if ever they are left open in the later stages of the draft rather than actually dipping on murky waters.
There's been some injury concerns regarding Cade Cavalli and with Garrett Crochet taken by the White Sox a couple of picks earlier, that's pretty much it for the Giants in the pitching front.
Now for hitters left on the board, it's obvious that Legacy Giant Tyler Soderstrom is still available. My brain and my heart wanted the Giants to draft him but questions on his defensive home and other unknown reasons left the Giants wanting to elect for more of a sure thing defensively with Bailey. Ed Howard could also have been taken there at that spot, given that the Giants do need infield depth rather than catcher depth. Garrett Mitchell and Pete Crow-Armstrong are also great middle-of-the-field prospects because they can play center field and looks like a lock there.
The question in my mind is WAS THE GAP BETWEEN BAILEY AND THE REST OF THE PROSPECTS IN THE BOARD SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO MOVE PAST CERTAIN NEEDS AND BIASES AND THINK THAT BAILEY IS CLEAR-CUT THE BEST PLAYER ON THE BOARD?
In my opinion, the answer is no. There's not a big gap between Bailey and the other prospects mentioned. All prospects mentioned above graded out as equal in my opinion on the tape and in terms of overall value.
San Francisco Is Actually Green Bay?
I know some of my readers here are Niners fans and were probably delighted when their squad whooped the ass of the Packers twice last season. However, there are some pretty clear similarities that would probably sum up my thoughts with the Bailey selection.
The Packers still have Aaron Rodgers holding the fort on the most important position on the football field and play at a high level for years to come. The Giants have their franchise stalwart Buster Posey and is ready to pass on the reins to Joey Bart to hold the fort on the most important position on the baseball field and is expected to play at a high level for years to come. However, the Packers thought of the long-term, drafted Jordan Love as the front office look at the long-term and "best player available" even though the draft class is abundant on wide receivers, a perceived need. The Giants, went "best player available" and drafted Bailey even though the draft class is abundant on top-shelf pitching, a perceived need.
To be hit by lightning twice is unlikely but when it did on me in a span of a couple of months, it's surreal. What it does to the catching depth of the squad is pretty intense. In just a snap, the Giants possibly have the best catching depth in the sport. With Posey still capable but is fading away and is projected to be replaced by Bart in a couple of years, there's actually a pretty wide gap in terms of talent at catcher without Bailey.
We are looking at Ricardo Genoves as the next best thing but he is most likely going to play in Augusta once minor league baseball resumes. After that, there's Rayner Santana, a potentially good one but is yet to arrive to the States. There's a wide gap between Bart and Genoves that most likely will be filled by organizational depth players and career backups that once Bart ever gets hurt and misses time, there's potentially going to be a big gap in terms of production and potential stability.
With Bailey on board, it fills that gap between Bart and Genoves not only talent-wise but also timeline-wise as Bailey figures to be a quick-mover if he conducts himself like he usually is. If we are talking about superstar catchers in the Majors, there are only a few of them. There are also so few potential superstar catchers (Bart and Rutschman).
If both Bart and Bailey reach the end of their trajectories and developed well, the Giants will be really lucky to have two really good catchers and if the club is ever in a position to compete and a team ever dangle a top pitcher for Bailey, even though he will not reach his full potential with the Giants, that's still a win value-wise because it helps the club obtain something that they are probably seeking when Bailey was still eligible for the draft. Good problem to have.
The Final Verdict: My final verdict with Patrick Bailey is the same as my verdict on Jordan Love: I like the player, I just don't like where he was selected with several guys of equal value (and of higher projected ceiling) that I like and fits the depth chart better than Bailey. Safe pick and adds depth to the catching position and that always sounds good in my ears.
Grade: B
Second Round
With the 49th selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, selected Casey Schmitt, a third baseman/right-handed pitcher from San Diego State University.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
This is another one of those "due diligence" looks for me because even though I like the two-way profile, I felt that there's probably a small chance that Zaidi and company are looking at this kind of mold. Sure enough, I was proven wrong once again and it's a lesson learned to get looks on players equally.
THE Scouting Report
Before we get to where he slots in the organization depth-wise, a potential two-way entry to the Majors, Below is my scouting report based on my looks on his tape and stats.
Casey Schmitt 3B/RHP COL
6'2" 200 lbs. R/R 21.3 y/o
Rank: 117 by MLB.com, 76 by Baseball America, 87 by FanGraphs and 90 by Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to Fox 5 San Diego, D1 Baseball and Perfect Game Baseball
Hit 45 | Power 50+ | Speed 40 | Arm 60+ | Glove 55
FB 55 | SPL 55 | CMD 45
tl;dr: Schmitt is an intriguing two-way player where there's more ceiling when he plays third base due to his defensive potential there with the range, arm strength and instincts to become a stud defender at the hot corner with above-average to plus raw power to be tapped on his swing but don't count him out as a pitcher as he's a pretty good reliever too with a fastball touching 96 MPH with a nasty splitter to boot.
Schmitt is the best college two-way player in the draft that has the potential to make an impact on both sides of the ball. Schmitt's grown a couple of inches to his frame and added on some weight in his three years in college, and has admitted to not work a lot in his prep days but has put on the work to improve and reach his potential. His frame has plenty of raw power to tap on and has some quick twitch in it.
His potential on the mound is limited strictly to relief but there's things to like. The fastball's been sitting in the low-90s but could reach 96 MPH with life. His splitter when combined with his fastball is very good as the split has above-average ability in my looks with him as the Aztecs closer. His arm action is compact and gets to his load relatively quickly, generating deception. While only projected as average in terms of his command, the fastball-split combination will miss bats in pro ball.
It was at third base though that I feel there's a potential to be a big leaguer in the future. Defensively, he possesses mature and clean actions at the hot corner, where his feet looks light and is pretty rangy with instincts and soft hands to boot. His low to mid-90s velocity on the mound translates on the dirt, as he's shown the ability to throw on multiple angles on different platforms with accuracy to third base. He projects to be an above-average defender at third base with potential of being even better with pro reps.
Offensively, it's pretty fascinating to be honest. Even though the swing mechanics looks smooth and has the spine tilt to create a lofty bat path, Schmitt's numbers suggests that he is a contact-oriented hitter. However, he does not translate that power in-games very often, though he's shown the power with wood bats in the Cape where he matched his homers total in his sophomore season with 5 at the Cape. I feel that getting him to be less rotational and more forward with his swing will help tap onto that power.
He's more of a early-count hitter where he looks for pitches to drive early in the count, that could be a reason of his rather average walk numbers in college. However, he does have some ability to work the zone, work the count and reverts to a contact-oriented approach, ditching his leg kick to a more of a heel lift.
The question though is how much he will ultimately hit. His underwhelming offensive stats suggest that there's only a fringy to average at best hitting ability there. He has a different mentality on the mound and in the dirt and talks like a professional and a self-aware person. A team who would have him focus on his bat must develop him to further improve his approach and mentality on the batter's box. Schmitt's pretty young for the class so it's an added bonus.
Who's On The Board?
With the way the the draft transpired at around pick 49, the Giants could have taken a first dip to what would eventually lead to a big run on pitchers. Guys like Clayton Beeter, Masyn Winn, Kyle Nicholas who would have been a welcome addition to the squad and give the Giants an exciting pitcher to follow.
However in retrospect, there's actually not a lot of prospects that would stick at third base until Round 4 when Gage Workman was selected by the Tigers (I do not think Blaze Jordan would stick at the hot corner, and so does Tork). Also, there are still plenty good pitching talent to add on in the compensation rounds and later on that are of equal value than the pitchers drafted ahead of them. I mean, it's understandable that the Giants will not touch Freddy Zamora due to makeup issues and there's not probably much of an inclination towards drafting an outfielder this high.
It seems a bit of a reach given where Schmitt was ranked. However, the chance of landing an actual third baseman with power at this point in the draft is looking pretty slim, unless they want to draft Workman in the later rounds but given that the Giants have a high respect for hitters with good approaches, Workman is not a viable option. Blaze is again not a third baseman and that leaves the front office with Schmitt.
Is This A "Need" Selection?
With Schmitt on the board, he fits right into the third base depth chart behind Luis Toribio. That is how dire it is at the moment at the hot corner position. This is given that Marco Luciano will stay at shortstop in the future so I'm not trying to cheat my way here. I feel that having Schmitt in automatically makes him the organization's best defender at the hot corner, as his defensive tools are head and shoulders above the rest of the prospects in the org.
It is a known fact (if not already) that the infield depth in the organization is actually not that great, especially at third base, where even Toribio has a non-zero chance to move out of the position due to having several questions with his defense. With the bat looking to move quick enough to basically ignore the defensive blunders at third base, that would leave the system basically bone dry, where Sean Roby is the other surefire guy to stick at third base.
I feel that when pick 49 comes around, Farhan and Holmes has the organization depth chart around (either theirs or this beauty by Roger Munter) and looked at the options and they probably value Schmitt equal to other prospects at that spot and most likely thought that if they don't get him now, they probably won't get him later on. It is still a "best available player" approach but there's definitely a topic of "perceived need" that's in play here.
Final Verdict: Schmitt might be lower on most due to questions with his overall hitting ability but his selection makes sense when thinking of the grand scheme of depth in the system. There are more exciting prospects (specifically, pitchers) that could have been taken sure, but it's not a bad pick whatsoever.
Grade: B
With the 67th selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected Nick Swiney, a left handed pitcher from North Carolina State University. Really, whoever is the scout that covers the NCSU Wolfpack deserves a raise because he killed it over the past 6 months, adding Will Wilson and now drafting both Bailey and Swiney. In this first of back to back selections in the 2nd round, some are expecting that the Giants would get fancy with the pick, playing with the draft pool and nabbing a HS prospect here (I was on that boat). Sure enough, the Giants went to the college route with this selection of Swiney.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
I was a skinny, frustrated lefty pitcher in the casual ball and stick games here in the community and I find it hard to locate the ball when I throw it in a three-quarters spot. It's either when I throw the ball over the top like a Jaime Garcia or on a low three quarters slow bordering sidewinder like a Chris Sale. I actually felt more comfortable throwing the ball like Chris Sale than throwing the ball like a Jon Lester or any pitcher who throws on a true three quarters slot.
So I was watching Wolfpack games and/or highlights and I saw Swiney. My first impression is like damn, he throws like how I throw the ball! He's not really eye-popping or such but his pitching motion reminds me of myself. I started doing my "due diligence" looks because he is a reliever last year but when he's suddenly in the rotation, I started taking a deeper look at him. Eventually, I like him a lot even though there's probably not a high ceiling to tap on.
THE Scouting Report
Before we get to the discussions of him entering the pitching depth of the organization and how he stacks up against the best that this organization as to offer, here is my full scouting report on the Wolfpack left-hander:
Nick Swiney LHP COL
6'3" 187 lbs. R/L 21.3 y/o
Rank: 78 by MLB.com, 85 by Baseball America, 51 by FanGraphs and 42 by Brian Recca
Video: Credits to Moore Baseball, Gutter Towers and Perfect Game Baseball
FB 50 | CB 55+ | CH 55+ | CMD 50+
tl;dr: Swiney has the tools to become a mid-rotation piece, more likely a #3-4 option, with a mechanics that allows him to throw his pitches close to a vertical plane, giving his rather average fastball velocity more life and better spin efficiency, paired with an above-average to plus changeup, a solid looking curveball and a much improved strike throwing ability when he transitioned from the bullpen to the rotation this year.
A full-time reliever last season for the Wolfpack, Swiney transitioned to the starting rotation in 2020 and improved his stock significantly when he's shown improvements on all facets of his game in an abbreviated season. The transition to the rotation did not affect much of Swiney's velocity and his frame is pretty physical and durable even though it's pretty lean. Rounding out his weight to a 190 or a 195 pounds at most would be beneficial for his stamina moving forward.
While Swiney's fastball is relatively fringe average to average, ranging from 87-92 MPH consistently in his starts, the pitch plays up thanks to his mechanics. Swiney reaches back as he drives to the plate, and opens up his front side at front foot plant. However, he's done a very good job this year to not leak his hips that will result to erratic control.
The arm action's clean and there's a good amount of hip-shoulder separation but Swiney could gain even more velocity if he tries to lag his throwing arm a bit to create more arm speed at front foot plant. His open front side allows him to throw in a near vertical arm slot, some might mention a high three-quarters slot, in a more natural way (even though the irony is that throwing a baseball is unnatural).
As a result, that arm slot gives his fastball a steep downhill plane on balls down and gives the ball plenty of rise when thrown high in the zone, even though the pitch itself is fairly straight with not a lot of tailing movement. The vertical arm slot that Swiney repeats consistently now also helped improve the metrics of his curveball. Swiney's curveball, an above-average to plus offering, is similar to Reid Detmers as it is a looping, low-70s offering with a big shape and a near 12-6 action with snap. His changeup also flashes plus even though it's from an arm slot that's not that friendly to throw a cambio but the pitch has late hard sink and is a true swing and miss offering.
It is actually a toss up on what is Swiney's best secondary pitch, whether it's his curveball or his changeup. Some like his curveball more when it's properly located for called strikes or for swings and misses in the dirt while some like the changeup because of the break and a similar arm speed and action as his fastball.
What's aided the development of Swiney is actually him not trying to throw the ball too hard in the rotation. That helped him locate his fastball much better, throwing quality strikes in two-strike counts, not hanging his curveball that often, keeping his changeup down. There's still the rotational nature of his mechanics that Swiney needs to keep in check so that he does not get erratic once again. However, if Swiney conducts himself on the field like he usually do, there's a chance of him becoming a staple in a big league rotation.
Not A Sexy Pick But...
With Swiney there's actually not much sexiness with the selection. To be frank, it's another solid pick, one for the working class. Looking at the prospects drafted, the real sexy picks would have been Alex Santos, Nick Garcia and even Cole Wilcox who was thought to be a really tough sign in the third round. All three prospects throws a lot harder than the lefty Swiney and has some promise on their secondary pitches.
It's not that Swiney does not have a high ceiling, as there's possibly more room to grow. Who knows if he gains more velocity when he adds a bit more to his frame and generate more arm speed by lagging his throwing arm a bit at front foot plant, similar to what Max Meyer is doing, while keeping his improved control and command in his pocket? Who knows if he gains more swing and miss ability if he improves on the lateral movement of his fastball by tinkering more on his finger placement? There's still a ceiling here.
I'm Thirsty For Pitching
Once again, taking a look at the depth chart of the Giants, there is obviously need for starting pitching talent. Even more so, there's an obvious dearth of lefty starting pitching talent aside from Seth Corry. Selecting Swiney in terms of filling up the depth chart while also looking at the draft board, I can imagine Farhan and company looking at Swiney as the best lefty starter on the board.
I'll stack up Corry, Swiney and Kyle Harrison later on the Harrison post but yeah, I mean it's just a good pick. What's more to say? I can just shut up and move to the next one.
Final Verdict: Best college lefty starting pitching left on board that fills a need in the depth chart while also having the same talent level of guys who are perceived as sexier but comes with more risk. That's not saying that Swiney does not have risks because there's not enough time to really ensure that his improved command and pitch mix is for real. Maybe that's a blessing in disguise for the Giants, who did the most homework on Wolfpack players than anyone.
Final Grade: A-
With the 68th selection of the 2020 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected Jimmy Glowenke, a middle infielder from Dallas Baptist University in their second of the back to back selections. We've missed on having the best selection in this year's draft as MLB pulled Boston's second round pick as a result of their sign stealing controversy.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
While the draft is happening and is into the later stages, I DM'd Glowenke a congratulations on Twitter and he said that it means the world to him to be drafted by the Giants as he is a big Giants fan, referencing to this Twitter photo. It just goes to show how much it means for the players who are drafted by the teams that they are a fan of growing up.
I'm sure that the Glowenke family is having a blast right now and I wish Jimmy the best and I hope to see him in Oracle one day. I hope to talk to him soon.
That aside, it is another one of those "due diligence" looks from mine as I did not have as deep of a beat on him as some people but I liked what I saw from him last year and the stats looked really good.
THE Scouting Report
Before discussing the topic of is this a potential underslot by the front office because they are possibly targeting a prep player in the later rounds, here is my scouting report on him:
Jimmy Glowenke 2B/SS COL
5'10" 185 lbs. R/R 21.0 y/o
Rank: 171 by MLB.com, 110 by Baseball America, 197 by FanGraphs and 215 by Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to 2080 Baseball, DBU Athletics and Gain MoMoney
Hit 55 | Power 40+ | Speed 40 | Arm 50 | Glove 45+
tl;dr: Glowenke has the tools and the track record of becoming an above-average Major League hitter but there are questions about his power potential and his ability to play in the infield though an adjustment in his approach might tap more on to his average raw power and has the sure hands to become a reliable defender at second base.
Glowenke has hit and hit and hit in his three season at Dallas Baptist, as evidenced by his college career triple slash line of .340/.433/.506. He's also hit well with wood bats in the Cape Cod League, batting .296, but has struggled to drive the ball either with wood or BBcor bats.
Obviously, Glowenke's best tool is hitting. He has plenty of traits that Major League hitters has: the ability to work the count and control the zone, feel for the barrel, natural eye-hand coordination and surprising bat control. He also gets hit a ton but did not miss games as a result of those hits, where his only injury that kept him on the field is an elbow injury that needed surgery (not Tommy John). He makes line-drive contact with ease and has an all-fields approach.
There's average raw power that Glowenke can tap on due to his pretty thick core and overall body frame, but the nature of his swing does not allow him to fully tap on it. Even though there's a substantial leg kick to shift his momentum and the overall swing mechanics looks pretty textbook, Glowenke can try to flatten his bat path to generate more pop or adopt a more pull-side approach to his game.
Glowenke needs to hit however because aside from his hit tool, there's not much excitement on the profile. His home to first speed is below average but gets to fringe average once underway. That limited range moves him out of shortstop and would make him a full-time second baseman in pro ball where his arm strength is still a question after his elbow surgery. Even though he has solid quick-twitch, Glowenke still needs to keep his body in shape. However, he has soft hands on the dirt and has shown the agility to make routine and flashy plays in the infield.
More Like Williamsport "Cost"Cutters, Right?
Based on how the teams are conducting their drafts and how the players are falling off the board, this has the smell of an under-slot signing in order to position themselves better financially in the later stages of the draft, right? Aside from the Rangers who looked like in their own world, I mean there's not a lot of "shocker" picks when the Giants are on the clock at 68.
Glowenke has plenty of fans in Baseball America, citing his college performer middle infielder profile as a valuable one, but it seems that the rest are lower on him. I mean they could have popped someone like a Trei Cruz or Anthony Servideo, a couple of college shortstops with better athleticism than Glowenke but does not have the track record of hitting. I actually thought that it's the perfect time to pop David Calabrese, the quick-footed Canadian prospect. Add to that the pitching prospects that I mentioned with the Swiney selection.
Finally, A Guy At Second Base!
Glowenke's profile reminds me of C.J. Hinojosa, a prospect with below average speed and range in the dirt and questionable power but he can hit. Now, I think that Glowenke has a better chance to stick than C.J. but the comparison is still pretty haunting.
The Giants actually has a pretty decent depth at shortstop but not at second base, although other current shortstop prospects in the organization are projected to move to second base like Will Wilson as the first prospect that comes off the top of my head. Glowenke gives the Giants an actual second base prospect there, with the chance to play well at that position for years to come. While Glowenke does not have a high ceiling, he does offer a good amount of floor and stability at the position if he continues to hit like how he did it in the collegiate level.
It is not a knock against Jimmy but his overall profile fits really well there. Even though there's a possibility that the Giants will give him all the chances in the world to play him at shortstop, I think that it's better to trust his hands at second base and have the coaches try to incorporate more power into his game.
Final Verdict: Not really warm with the selection value-wise as there are better prospects on the board, but it could be seen as an underslot play by the Giants. However, this underslot offers a bit more ceiling than the usual prospects that were drafted to save money so it leaves me pretty content. Later on, we would find out that did this potential money-saving maneuver by Farhan and company was ever needed because of what they have done in the 5th round and they could have gotten a more exciting talent.
Grade: C-
Round 3
With the 84th selection of the 2020 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected Kyle Harrison, a left handed pitcher from De La Salle High School, a powerhouse in Northern California. Giants fans, rejoice! This is the selection that had everyone (including I) stood up and slow clapped. This is a selection that checks all the boxes that Giants fans wanted: hometown kid, fills the need for pitching, exciting prep talent.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
Since December, I had followed select prepsters in Team USA in the U-18 World Cup. Soderstrom is at the top followed by Abel, Robert Hassell III, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Alejandro Rosario, and Harrison. The game against Team Panama is actually a double whammy game because it was a game that featured both Harrison and Soderstrom and it's a treat watching those two play as batterymates. Even though his opponents did not exactly have top shelf talent but he won the best ERA title where he did not allow an earned run in three of his outings.
Ever since then, I've been watching as much Kyle Harrison stuff as I can, and I have a confident enough scouting report on him as much as Soderstrom even though Harrison is not as highly touted as Sode is. You can watch all of the U-18 Baseball World Cup and other international tournaments in both baseball and softball in WBSC's YouTube page.
THE Scouting Report
Before we get to the discussion of comparing the two lefty pitching prospects drafted (Swiney and Harrison) to Seth Corry, here is my scouting report based on my looks on him over the summer.
Kyle Harrison LHP HS
6'3" 200 lbs. R/L 18.8 y/o
Rank: 63 by MLB.com, 71 by Baseball America, 103 by FanGraphs and 111 by Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to Baseball., Prospects Live and The Prospect Pipeline
FB 50+ | CB 55 | CH 50+ | CMD 50+
tl;dr: Harrison is one of the more polished prep pitchers in the draft class, with a fastball only sitting 89-92 MPH at the moment but could tick up once he fills his projectable frame and the pitch at the moment plays up because of the flat plane at the top of the zone thanks to his low to true three-quarter arm slot and generates tremendous extension with his mechanics even though it has sidespin, and his secondaries flashing potential, with his mid-70s curveball looking like a potential plus pitch once he's shown more consistency with the pitch and his arm action gives him the potential to throw a nasty changeup.
Harrison is a consistent performer in the showcase circuit last summer, throwing on plenty of famous nationally televised games and is one of the starters with Team USA in the U-18 World Cup held in South Korea last year. Over the offseason however, he's still the long and lanky, athletic pitcher that he is and has the potential to add a good 10-20 pounds in his frame without losing his very good athleticism.
That potential additional weight could increase his velocity a couple of ticks that could turn him from a good pitcher to a great pitcher. His fastball is currently operating at 89-92 MPH but has shown the ability to throw the pitch to 94 MPH early in games this year. The pitch has a solid spin rate, and has sidespin, with fingers close to a 45 degree angle relative to the ground on release point, so it has plenty of running and sinking action when thrown on both sides of the plate. Even though sidespin is not metric-friendly, Harrison throws the pitch in such a difficult angle to pick up.
It's not exactly a sidewinder arm slot, more of a low to true three-quarters slot, but Harrison's delivery where he loads his back leg well creates tremendous triple extension seen on pitchers like Tim Lincecum and other famous drop and drive pitchers. Like Swiney, Harrison his his legs open at front foot land but keeps his hips closed up and does not leak most of the time. The arm action is clean even though the entire operation is very funky and deceptive.
Even though the fastball is average velocity-wise, it plays up because of the increased perceived velocity thanks to his extension, unusual arm slot and creates a flat trajectory when he throws the ball high in the zone. A further reduction of his sidespin to more backspin would help tremendously as well as more velocity.
For Harrison's secondaries, his mid-70s curveball is more of a mystery as the pitch flashes plus when all the stars align, showing sharp snap and shape that I first thought it's a knuckle curve but after seeing the slo-mo, it's a true curveball grip. Harrison has some issues getting on top of the pitch but he's shown the ability to throw the pitch to both lefties and righties with consistent feel. His changeup at the moment is sparsely thrown and the ones that I saw flashed more average but I feel that with more reps, the arm slot and the arm action could potential give him more of another above average offering.
Harrison is athletic on the mound, repeats his delivery fairly well and is more known for his pitchability and feel for the zone rather than pure stuff. However, I see plenty of room left for his development such as proper finger placement at release point to induce more vertical break to make his fastball better, stay on top of his curveball more consistently and tuck in more weight to improve his stamina and velocity.
If he is athletic enough to throw consistent strikes and quality strikes with his three pitches in that funky delivery, I feel that he can improve even though he is a bit old for the prep class. I see his present ceiling as more of a mid to back-rotation starter, similar to Sean Manaea but I would not be surprised three years from now after maturing that he is a top-rotation material. He needs to be on the right club to do so.
Great Value, Right?
Yes it is, man. Yes it is. Even though a couple of highly regarded prospects, Casey Martin and Blaze Jordan, went off the board and looks to be signable, having Harrison on board is certainly big and is already pegged as national media's favorite pick of the Giants draft class. Jake Vogel is actually another one that I find intriguing but I really find it tough to not draft Harrison at that spot. As what Bailey's coach when he was young said, lefty pitcher is the quickest way to the Majors, next is switch-hitting catcher.
Stacking the Southpaws
Now, for the most important question. The Giants drafted two left handed starting pitchers and immediately improved the depth of that demographic a hundredfold. But, how do the two lefties drafted, Swiney and Harrison, fare against top lefty prospect and possibly the best pitching prospect in the organization, Seth Corry?
First of all, here's my grades on the three for comparison:
Pitch Mix Corry Swiney Harrison
Fastball 50+ 50 50+
Curveball 55 55+ 55
Changeup 60 55+ 50+
Control 45 50+ 50+
I apologize for the OCD people who find are probably losing their minds right now because the grades are not exactly vertical. I tried my best.
As you can see, both Swiney and Harrison has Corry beat in terms of control and command but Corry beats Harrison with his off-speed offerings and Corry has the better fastball than Swiney velocity-wise and movement-wise. Even though Harrison is a bit inferior as compared to the two, I feel that he has the highest ceiling among the three because of his pitchability and the potential for his pitches to be even better while having a better command of his pitches than Corry. Swiney offers more floor and relative safety as a reliable back-end piece.
Are Swiney and Harrison possibly be better than the other starting pitching options by the Giants like Sean Hjelle and Logan Webb? I don't really see it. I feel that Harrison and Swiney fits on that same tier of pitching in terms of talent, with Harrison possibly a touch lower currently but offers a higher ceiling.
Final Verdict: The Harrison pick is a favorite of mine, can't really get much better in terms of checking the boxes. Value-wise, it felt like the Giants have already determined the signability of plenty other prospects to pull the trigger on Harrison, a local kid who would be loved by fans if his development proceeds as usual. Do I think the Giants can help Harrison reach his potential? Yes.
Grade: A
Fourth Round
With the 114th selection in the 2020 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected R.J. Dabovich, a right handed pitcher from Arizona State University.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
Yes, you heard it right. Arizona State Sun Devil baseball. Hunter Bishop. Carter Aldrete. R.J. Dabovich. That's quite a good amount of Sun Devils on one team. Add that Trevor Hauver, Gage Workman and the Tork all drafted in the last two years among others, the Sun Devils lost a lot of talent in that timespan but give credit to head coach Tracy Smith and the power of their recruitment to lure and develop these college kids into pro baseball players. Let's give them a slow clap.
Because I heavily followed the likes of Bish and Tork over the last two years, it gave me quite a good look about Dabovich, who was being bounced either as a starter or a reliever last year and was entrenched as the closer this year.
THE Scouting Report
Before going to the discussion of where he slots in the pretty deep relief corps of the Giants, here is my scouting report on him based on looks last year and this year.
R.J. Dabovich RHP COL
6'3" 215 lbs. R/R 21.4 y/o
Rank: 120 by MLB.com, 130 by Baseball America, 79 by FanGraphs and 170 by Brian Recca
Videos: Credits to The Prospect Pipeline and Alec Dopp
FB 65 | SL 55 | SPL 45 | CB 45 | CMD 40+
tl;dr: Dabovich made an adjustment to his release point when the year turned to 2020 from a three-quarters to a more overhead slot, having his fastball churn impressive spin rates and can reach 99 MPH out of the bullpen but tends to lose control and needs to throw in the 95-96 MPH to maintain average control while his slider is a consistent plus offering while his split/change are fringe offerings if he ever returns to the rotation in pro ball after becoming a full-time closer in 2020.
Dabovich turned a new leaf in 2020, transitioning to a full-time closer this year after bouncing around between starter and relief after transferring to the Sun Devils last year. He also turned in a new wrinkle to his mechanics, turning a more true three-quarters arm slot last year to an overhand one this year. And the athletic Dabovich enjoyed a spike in strikeouts as a result, albeit in the pen.
His fastball ramped up to 99 MPH on the radar gun in one-inning, let it loose stints, and is able to keep his impressive spin rates in check. There's not a lot of tail on the pitch but it has good rise high in the zone. However, he tends to throw the ball all over the place when he is reach back for those juicy radar gun poppers, so dialing back the pitch to a more manageable 93-96 MPH is possible.
Throwing from the stretch, Dabovich now features a shorter, more deceptive arm path than the one that he's shown in the Cape. Other than the new overhand armslot and the shorter arm path, most of Dabovich's operation is still pretty much similar. He pushes his back foot well and throws with very good arm speed. Overall, his mechanics looks pretty vanilla to be honest.
His slider flashes plus offering though there are instances of the pitch flattening out because it does not have a sweeping, lateral break but more vertical break due to his arm slot. As his third pitch, he throws a changeup or a split that looks fringy to average but gets some swings and misses. There's also a curveball that he featured last year that flashed average but he's mostly pitched off his fastball-slider-split/change repertoire in his outings.
If clubs want to try out Dabovich back to the rotation in pro ball, teams might want to note that even though Dabovich is athletic on the mound and has a rather clean and cookie-cutter delivery, his command is still average at best in my looks, more on fringe average. That's pretty concerning to be honest as the reality of becoming a relief option in the Majors is clearer than envisioning him in a rotation because of his control.
Is This Good Value?
Looking at how the draft transpired between the picks that was sandwich in between the 4th and 5th round selections of the Giants, the selections were mostly towards money-saving but there are some pretty good prospects that were drafted like the slick-fielding Milan Tolentino but after targeting Harrison a round before looked to be a tough sign. Beck Way is also an intriguing pitching option aside from Dabovich. There's also Carter Baumler who I like because of his smooth mechanics but looks to be a tough sign also and Joe Boyle who throws around 102 MPH but is nowhere near Dabovich in terms of feel.
Based on the national media rankings, I feel that Dabovich is a good sign and I feel that 4th to 5th round is a good landing spot for him, to be honest.
Birdshot With Buckshot Rounds, Again
After selecting two what I would consider pitchability-first pitchers in the earlier rounds, it's finally time that Farhan and company nabbed a guy who the farm system has aplenty of, power arms with an impressive second pitch but was limited in terms of potentially starting in the big league level due to his control issues, specifically with the fastball.
Dabovich has starter traits like his size, stuff and mechanics, but it's really tough to imagine him becoming a big league starter at this point in time. He slides right alongside Blake Rivera, Prelander Berroa and Jose Marte as the right-handed, velocity-first pitchers.
Final Verdict: Dabovich looks more relief than starter in my opinion but the national media is high on him and you can't teach velocity with some knowhow of locating it in the zone alongside a pretty good secondary pitch. It's a profile that typically gets to the Majors and for a fourth round selection filled with selections either to save money or a tough sign, it's a pretty good pick and is very likely to sign.
Grade: A-
Fifth Round
With the 144th selection, the final selection of the San Francisco Giants, in the 2020 MLB Draft, the club selected Ryan Murphy, a right handed pitcher from Le Moyne College in New York.
Pre-Scouting Report Story Telling From Your Boy
The draft is winding down, I've cooked and eaten breakfast, readying my tabs on my Google Chrome to write down the Giant draft class and when the Giants announced the selection, it's a collective WHO? from the Giants community. After a draft class that I have pretty much a good beat on 6 selections in, I expected that it's a guy I know of to end the day. But alas, it's a GUY WE DON'T KNOW.
It's not on Baseball America's top 500 list, not on MLB.com's top 200 list, not on FanGraphs' draft prospect list, not even on Recca's comprehensive draft prospect database. Even the great Recca has no idea on this fella! This is not Jon Ryan Murphy.
THE Scouting Report
I don't have a scouting report on Murphy but for a guy who is considered a real barn find, here's what Johathan Mayo of MLB.com said about Murphy.
"Performance pick, 87-91 mph, lots of strikes, average secondaries, good spin rate on his pitches, division 2 program, ability to mix 4 pitches for strikes, pitches off his fastball, commands the fastball well, plenty of swings and misses, not afraid to come in (with his fastball), best pitcher in New England leagues."
Fortunately, I have seen a video of him, aside from what GPT posted in his Twitter. It's from his freshman year in 2018. It's actually a very clear video so you guys might want to check it out. From what I see, it matches what Mr. Mayo has said in the broadcast.
He Comes From The Same Neighborhood As.. WHAT?
Ryan Murphy hails from Dutchess Country in the state of New York. I have not really heard of that place. When I try to dig for background information about Murphy, it is said that Dutchess Country has produced two notable baseball players in the last decade.
First one is Lenny Torres, a pitcher from the Cleveland Indians organization. The second one is Joe. Panik. Yes. The real Joe Panik. The one who patrolled second base in a good amount of years in AT&T (now Oracle). The #ForeverGiant Joe Panik. In fact, Panik even congratulated Murphy personally as his uncle personally knows the former Giant second baseman.
The full article is right here.
Punt Fiesta
I am pretty certain the Giants 99.99% (can't kill that 0.01%, stupid soap!) punted this pick for money-saving reasons. There are a couple of guys that I liked, led by Kala'i Rosario, a mammoth of a Hawaiian who posted top-notch exit velocities so I thought Giants would've popped that power in a heartbeat. Other than Rosario and Hayden Cantrelle, I would've liked a pretty solid selection but Giants said a big ass NOPE.
Final Verdict: The Giants ended the draft in a whimper. It's not a late riser-type or a projectability-type of a prospect. Not a lot of value. More on saving money, but how much could they even save anyway? Maybe the Giants drafted Murphy because they liked him enough that they don't want to have him get to the undrafted free agent fiesta that could happen and a local team like the Yankees or the Mets would pop him. It makes sense that way but the profile is pretty average.
Grade: D-
Closing Thoughts
Patrick Bailey.
Casey Schmitt.
Nick Swiney.
Jimmy Glowenke.
Kyle Harrison.
R.J. Dabovich.
Ryan Murphy.
This is your 2020 San Francisco Giants draft class. They stuck to their board until round 4 where Murphy is an underslot play. The Giants needed pitching depth, especially left handed pitching and they got two of the better ones in the class in Swiney and Harrison. There's a big gaping hole at the depth in the hot corner and they filled that up with Schmitt who looks like a keeper at the position.
They loved hitters who can "control the zone" and they got it with Glowenke who also has a decent glove at second. Want more arms? They got it with Dabovich and Murphy. With the shenanigans that happened before the Giants were on the clock, they went with a "safe" pick with Bailey as he has a very high chance to be a Major Leaguer behind the plate, away from the risks that right-handed prep pitching brings and the several question marks that other prospects in consideration had be it either injury, defense, swing mechanics, etc.
The national media predicted that the draft will tend to force teams to be more careful with their picks and the Giants certainly did that. It might not be splashy or sexy but you know what, I kinda like this draft class. Sometimes, boring is good right? In a world of uncertainty, you just want stuff that are surefire, right? There's a bit of disappointment with the Giants community that they want the Giants to be a little sinful because they have this amount of picks and they can play with fire.
With the case of Bailey, drafting a catcher is not bad even though we think that they Giants already have enough catching. Do they? Imagine being the envy of other teams that the organization has a stable pipeline of talented catchers. Imagine teams wanting your catchers and paying quite a premium for it. I know it's going to be a hard sell right now to Giants fans. It might be even more of a harder sell if Bart has proven himself to the franchise cornerstone and Bailey's left in the dust. I kind of agreed with what Kevin Cunningham of Giants Futures but it's not up for us. The front office believed in Bailey. The Dodgers had great catching depth when Yasmani Grandal was still on the fold. They kept adding on catchers year after year, drafting Will Smith, Connor Wong and signing Diego Cartaya even though they had a pretty good one in Austin Barnes. Zaidi brought that concept to the Bay Area. I'm fine with reinforcing the catcher position.
It is not as sexy of a draft as the Marlins, the Tigers or the Padres, but I see six prospects making it into my top 30 prospect list off the top of my head, adding even more depth to the organization and filled up areas of need with draftees that could make an impact at the position (left handed pitching, third baseman, second baseman). Thank God, the Giants did not draft an outfielder and looks like outfield is not on the agenda in the past couple of days as they probably believe about the depth of the position as a whole. Drafting mostly college guys also helps with the idea of competing in 2022 and beyond as this wave of prospects can reach the Majors in that time frame as well as long as their development went as planned.
For a team with plenty of smart guys in the draft room, they made sensible, no-overthink picks in the past 36 hours.
Overall Grade: B+ for boring but with positive intrigue
It's still full of crap that the draft has to be this way but it's a blast writing full scouting reports on everyone in one go and not rotting my brain out for 3 days. I hope you enjoyed reading this one. I hope the draft returns to normal. I hope baseball returns to normal.
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