We did it everyone. We survived the exciting three days of the 2019 MLB draft. In my opinion, this is one of the best drafts by the team based on an initial reaction standpoint, with the Zaidi-Holmes regime still able to draft prospects in day 3 that are in the top 200 draft prospects list of MLB.com. Not just drafted, they are also expected to sign and play for the club.
Now, this is where it really starts. Once the pleasantries have been delivered, buffet's been served, hugs been given, it's now time to put in the work in order to not just live their draft expectations, but reach their ultimate dream of reaching the big leagues and winning a title (hopefully, with the Giants). There are a lot of draftees in day 3 so I will just do a highlight or partial scouting reports on each signable draftee (those who chose to play college over pro ball will not be included).
The third day was lead off by the Giants selection of Trevor McDonald in the 11th round. McDonald popped up in the 2019 Perfect Game World Showcase where he absolutely dominated the competition with his four potential pitches and pitchability. In the later months, he's just sitting at 89-92 MPH with his sinking fastball but his slider still stayed sharp. I have seen his curveball and changeup and those two pitches are potentially above average pitches for him. McDonald's body is still thin and has very long levers with some hips to dream to tuck in more strength, which in turn should result to his velocity reaching towards the 95s again. McDonald really reminds me of Clarke Schmidt, a first rounder by the Yankees a couple of years back with his four outstanding pitches, command, and similarities in their mechanics. Those who are hopeful are expecting for McDonald to be an injury-free version of Schmidt, a potential mid-rotation starter.
Chris Wright from Bryant is an interesting case, a two-way player in college where he performed on both sides, with a good record of hitting but an even dominant pitcher, where he is a lights out reliever in the Cape Cod League, with a 16.20 K/9 and 3.86 BB/9. His control suffered, with 5.74 BB/9 but had a 17.23 K/9. From what I read and saw, he has a low-90s fastball with a high spin rate. Interesting.
Harrison Freed was set free *winks* in his junior year and posted bonkers numbers for Butler, with power as his best tool (.683 SLG). Nick Morreale is a tall dude who tried to be a starter but lost his mid-90s velo. A move back to the pen can get that velo back to a better octane rating. His slider and cutter might be hurting their potential and should scrap one of the two for his second pitch, and his mechanics has some funk so he will lose control from time to time. Carter Aldrete is a solid performer and has some bloodlines with the Giants org, as nephew of former Giant Mike Aldrete and college teammate of Hunter Bishop (now if we can bring the Sun Devils to the Bay Area by drafting Tork next year hmm WAIT DON'T DREAM TOO MUCH YET).
Brandon Martorano has swing and miss in his game but he looks agile behind the dish, has a good arm, and has shown that he can launch balls very far when he connects. Connor Cannon is a huge man with tons of raw power, with 18 homers this year, but was announced as a pitcher. Cole Waites is a big power arm, able to reach high-90s but has some effort in his delivery and struggles with control. Kanoa Pagan looks like a Twitter find by the Giants R&D as his advisor has posted tons of clips of him on Twitter and he looks like he knows what he's doing on the mound with a semi-projectable frame, mid-90s cheddar and a good looking curveball.
Najee Gaskins looks athletic with plus-plus speed, athletic actions and a quiet swing. Could be a steal if they develop his bat and he adds some muscle in his frame. Bryce Fehmel is part of the national champion Beavers but is more of a control artist than stuff with ever improving BB/9 (1.74 in his senior year) in his four year stay with Oregon State. Javeyan Williams looks similar to Gaskins in terms of frame and type of skillset. Taylor Rashi has size and good numbers (11.04 K/9, 1.38 BB/9).
I like Evan Lumbert because he smiles in his delivery, looks like a happy-go-lucky guy, but has some redeeming to do because his stats regressed this year. Richard D. Rodriguez has some bat speed but it's rare to have your middle name in a baseball card, like Samuel L. Jackson. Nick Avila has mediocre stats but Giants see intrigue (there's something in the black market that I can't see, probably). Connor Beichler put up a 6.38 60 in the PBR showcase with athleticism and some defensive chops at short. Hopefully, he'll sign. Same can be said to Reese Sharp, I am unsure if he will sign.
Brooks Crawford could come back strong in pro ball after his senior year is awash. Same can be said for Justin Crump. Tyler Wyatt is a teammate of Jake Wong in college. The 30s is where there are a lot of unknowns now but Giants took a common theme in day 3, drafting college performers in Nolan Dempsey, Cole Weiss and Chris Lanzili.
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All in all, this represented the new, next-gen, analytics-driven draft class that is to be expected from the Zaidi-Holmes duo that came from teams that heavily emphasizes college production, ability to get on base by walks, not strike out a lot, intriguing pitchers with spin rates, and so on. If they don't have a good track record, we can look at one thing that will get our hopes up for the guy, like Najee Gaskins and Connor Beichler's speed. I like that the Giants are really turning the page in terms of the regime. Slowly but surely, Zaidi is wiping the slate clean and is filling up the next chapter of SF Giants with his own style. Sabes loves drafting pitchers, usually from unknown places, but Zaidi filled up the depth chart with bats. Looking at the minor league, there's an obvious dearth of bats, aside from Heliot, Bart and Luciano. Does this mean the Giants really would move the fences in? Possibly. But yeah, this draft definitely adds a lot to the farm system that is often rated in the bottom third in all of baseball. And the Giants do play terrible this year, which means another inside the top 6 draft pick in the 2020 MLB Draft, and another shot at filling up the cup even more.
I have decided to stop right here because I want to fully prepare for the 2020 MLB Draft post because I expect that one to be full of hype. I will probably set up a voluntary Patreon in order to take my blogging to bigger heights but let's see where that goes. But I will never, ever make my content as paid content. It will always be free. As for me, that's all for now and thank you for patronizing my draft coverage!
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