Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
This is the second installment of my 2021 MLB Draft Big Board for the Dodgers. As I’ve been able to do more research, there have been some changes in the rankings. However, the Top 2 remain the same as the first board.
Previous Boards
- Version 1.0 (June 7)
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Big Board 2.0
- RHP Chase Petty, Mainland Regional HS (N.J.)
- RHP Sam Bachman, Miami (Ohio)
- RHP Jaden Hill, LSU
- OF Benny Montgomery, Red Land HS (Penn.)
- RHP Gunnar Hoglund, Mississippi
- 2B/SS Peyton Stovall, Haughton HS (La.)
- RHP Ryan Cusick, Wake Forest
- OF Jud Fabian, Florida
- OF Joshua Baez, Dexter Southfield HS (Mass.)
- RHP/SS Bubba Chandler, North Oconee HS (Ga.)
- C Adrian Del Castillo, Miami (FL)
- OF Christian Franklin, Arkansas
- RHP Andrew Painter, Cavalry Christian HS (Fla.)
- RHP Michael McGreevy, UC Santa Barbara
- RHP/SS Spencer Schwellenbach, Nebraska
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Petty and Bachman remain atop my board. The odds are that Petty is much, much more likely to be there at No. 29 than Bachman. The latter is getting talk as a Top 10 selection, who might be a cheaper sign for a team in the Top 10.
Hill jumps up to No. 3 from 5, despite the Tommy John surgery that ended his season (and likely collegiate career) early. He’s a large adult son and, as long as he comes back from the surgery, could be a steal at No. 29.
Montgomery makes his board debut, but like Bachman, the chances of him being there for the Dodgers to take with the last pick of the first round seem unlikely.
Hoglund is down a couple spots but is in the same kind of boat as Hill. The Dodgers would pounce at a chance to take a guy with his arm talent.
Stovall is the name who has been most linked to the Dodgers, but he also has some helium that could take him into the Top 20 of the first round.
Cusick jumps a bit. Like Hill, he’s a large human with a premium fastball. He’s similar in profile to Bobby Miller from last year’s draft.
Fabian jumps a bit. A consensus Top 10 guy before the season, he has fallen a bit due to swing-and-miss concerns. But, as Future Dodgers said in his Big Board 2.0, Fabian has the highest ceiling of anyone who might be, realistically, available for LA at 29.
Baez drops a bit, but not because of anything he has or hasn’t done. He’s still one of the top prep bats on board for the Dodgers.
Chandler falls a bit due to some uncertainty of future position. He might be a legit 2-way player, but he’s going to need some significant development time. Still, the ceiling is high.
Del Castillo is making his board debut as well. One of the best college bats available, he has a chance to be a premium bat-first catcher, and we know how much the Dodgers like their college catchers.
Franklin is also making his board debut. He’d be a bit of a sleeper at 29, but he checks a lot of the boxes the Dodgers look for in a college hitting prospect.
Painter falls just a bit. Like Chandler, he’s going to need a lot of development time, and he might not even make it to the Dodgers’ pick.
McGreevy takes the biggest fall due to inconsistent stuff (hello, Mitch White). Still, I’d be confident in the Dodgers’ player development department if they took him.
Schwellenbach is a new entrant and has one of the more interesting profiles of anyone here. He’s probably a pitcher at the next level, but he has plus-power at shortstop and could be quite the prize for Dodgers’ PD.
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Hill is up next in the profile series. I might have another one later in the week, too.
