Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Here’s the next version of my Dodgers Big Board. There hasn’t been much of a change at the top, but there have been some notable changes down the board. And — let’s be real — there will be changes at the top at some point.
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Previous Boards
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Some guys have dropped off the board due to the fact they probably won’t make it to the 40th pick — outfielder Justin Crawford, right-hander Adam Mazur and third baseman/right fielder Sterlin Thompson to be specific. Prep righty Jacob Miller and prep outfielder Gavin Turley dropped because others rose, but they could easily find their way back onto the board. Last year, I had Maddux Bruns on the first version of my board last year, but he didn’t make it back on. He ended up being the Dodgers’ first selection and I looked dumb (which is quite common).
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Big Board 2.0
- SS/3B Peyton Graham, Oklahoma [Profile]
- RHP Peyton Pallette, Arkansas
- RHP Andrew Dutkanych, Brebeuf Jesuit Prep (Ind.)
- RHP Blade Tidwell, Tennessee
- OF Drew Gilbert, Tennessee [Profile]
- RHP Landon Sims, Mississippi State
- OF Jud Fabian, Florida
- RHP Thomas Harrington, Campbell
- OF Dylan Beavers, Cal
- OF Ryan Cermak, Illinois State [Profile]
- 3B/OF Cayden Wallace, Arkansas
- 1B/OF Spencer Jones, Vanderbilt
- LHP Carson Whisenhunt, East Carolina
- C Malcolm Moore, McClatchy HS (Calif.)
- RHP Jackson Cox, Toutle Lake HS (Wash.)
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The top three remain unchanged, as I still like Graham the best at this point. Pallette sticks at No. 2 and normally wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Tommy John surgery. Dutkanych is still here, as prep righties tend to fall come draft day. But, he’s one of the best, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him taken in the teens.
Volunteer teammates Tidwell and Gilbert jump, but it’s also looking less likely either of them will be there for the Dodgers. Sims also jumps because his stuff is too good not to be in my Top 10. Like Pallette, he’s coming off TJ, which allows him a chance to make it to the Dodgers at 40.
Fabian dips a bit, but he’s still a solid Top 10 guy for me.
Harrington makes his list debut and could see himself higher on the final version. Campbell is starting to churn out some solid baseball prospects, as his teammate Zach Neto is a projected mid-1st-round pick. I also liked the Rays’ Seth Johnson, who was, coincidentally, the 40th selection in the 2019 draft. He’s been good so far in his pro career (2.81 ERA, 21.7 K-BB%). And the best alum to date has been the Orioles’ Cedric Mullins.
Beavers can probably be interchanged with Fabian and Cermak, who’s profile I’m completely enamored with. All are athletic, power-hitting outfielders with contact concerns. I have a type. Wallace could also sneak his way into this group, though, he’s not as athletic as the trio mentioned above.
Jones makes his board debut, kinda. I had him on my final board for the 2019 draft, and FanGraphs even mocked him to the Dodgers. He ended up going in the 31st round to the Angels and made it to Vanderbilt. He’s basically given up pitching after having TJ in July 2020, but he has plenty of bat to make it to the big.
Whisenhunt might be one of the safer college arms the Dodgers could grab at 40. With the way they develop pitchers, he could take a big step forward thanks to a solid fastball-changeup profile.
Moore has been loosely connected to the Dodgers, and there’s always a lot of risk in drafting a prep catcher, but he might also not stick at catcher. He’ll make the bigs on the strength of his bat.
Cox doesn’t have prototypical size, but he has the stuff of a prototypical starter. He could be a sleeper for the 40th pick.
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Profiles continue every week until the draft on July 17.
