Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The MLB Draft is less than three weeks away, which is about all we have to look forward to when it comes to baseball right now.
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Previous Entries
- V 1.0 (May 13)
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There have been some changes, including some new names and a look at the second round.
Big Board v 2.0
- OF Robert Hassell, Independence HS (Tenn.)
- RHP Jared Kelley, Refugio HS (Texas)
- OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, Harvard Westlake HS (Calif.)
- RHP Nick Bitsko, Central Bucks East HS (Penn.)
- RHP Bobby Miller, Louisville [Profile]
- OF Daniel Cabrera, LSU [Profile]
- SS Ed Howard, Mount Carmel HS (Ill.)
- RHP Cole Wilcox, Georgia
- RHP Slade Cecconi, Miami (FL)
- C/3B/OF Tyler Soderstrom, Turlock HS (Calif.)
- C/1B/LF Austin Wells, Arizona
- RHP Carmen Mlodzinski, South Carolina
- RHP Cade Cavalli, Oklahoma
- OF Dylan Crews, Lake Mary HS (FL)
- RHP CJ Van Eyk, Floirda State
- RHP JT Ginn, Mississippi State
- 2B Justin Foscue, Mississippi State
- C Dillon Dingler, Ohio State
- SS Nick Loftin, Baylor
- RHP Bryce Jarvis, Duke
The top three haven’t changed, as three unlikely-to-make-it-to-29 prep players lead my board. A new prep entrant is Bitsko, who, like Kelley, has a high ceiling, but also some flaws. Also, the Virginia commit will be a tougher sign.
Slipping into the Top 10 for the first time is prep catcher Soderstrom. Now look, the track record of prep catchers is well-known. And since 2014 (when that article was written), things really haven’t changed. In the last five drafts, 11 catchers have been selected in the first round, including the competitive balance and supplemental rounds. Of the 11, only three have come from the prep ranks — Tyler Stephenson, 2015; Anthony Seigler and Bo Naylor, both 2018. Stephenson has come around a bit after a slow start to his career. Seigler has done next to nothing in his two pro seasons and Naylor handled himself well as a 19-year-old in the Midwest League.
All of that is to say Soderstrom might have a better chance than all of them since some don’t think he’ll stick behind the plate. He could move to an outfield spot or the hot corner because his bat will play anywhere on the diamond.
Cavalli is another new addition to the list. He’s likely to go higher than 29, but if he’s there, he’s the type of college pitcher the Dodgers like to target.
Foscue has been mocked to the Dodgers a couple times already, as he’s a high-floor, advanced college bat in the mold of Michael Busch and Kody Hoese.
Dingler is one of the best catching prospects available and it’s likely he doesn’t slip this far. He’s a plus-defender, athletic, has a good eye at the plate and power potential.
Loftin is one of the least flashy players on the list, but he does almost everything well. His present power is lacking, but all his other tools grade out as at least average.
Jarvis is an interesting prospect. He garnered first-round consideration after a hot start to the season. His velocity ticked up, his command improved and he got noticed.
As a bonus, here are some players I’m keeping an eye on for the second round. The Dodgers hold picks 60 and 66, the later coming in the Brusdar Graterol/Kenta Maeda deal. Who they select here will be impacted by who they select at No. 29. If they go for a guy who will command a big bonus, expect the next two picks to be safer/college guys. If they go with a high-floor college player in the first, they could take a chance on a higher-risk/higher-reward guy with one of their seconds.
- RHP Clayton Beeter, Texas Tech
- 3B Drew Bowser, Harvard Westlake HS (Calif.)
- LHP Burl Carraway, Dallas Baptist
- RHP Jeff Criswell, Michigan
- OF Chase Davis, Franklin HS (Calif.)
- LHP Jake Eder, Vanderbilt
- LHP Dax Fulton, Mustang HS (Okla.)
- OF Isaiah Greene, Corona HS (Calif.)
- RHP Cole Henry, LSU
- RHP Jared Jones, La Mirada HS (Calif.)
- OF Kalai Rosario, Waiakea HS (Hawaii)
- LHP Jared Shuster, Wake Forest
- LHP Nick Swiney, North Carolina State
- SS Cole Tucker, Mountain Pointe HS (Ariz.)
- SS Freddy Zamora, Miami (FL)
I’m shooting for at least two more Big Boards and still planning to get to 10 draft profiles.
