Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Day 2 of the 2024 MLB Draft is underway, and the Dodgers made selections at the No. 98 and No. 128 spots. They took Kellon Lindsey in the first round as their only selection on Day 1 of the draft, and they added another prep bat as well as a college southpaw to begin the draft’s second day.
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With the 98th overall selection, the Dodgers drafted 18-year-old third baseman Chase Harlan out of Central Bucks East High School in Pennsylvania. Harlan, a Clemson commit, is said to have big power as his main trait.
Rankings
The Athletic: N/A
FanGraphs: 85
MLB Pipeline: 112
Perfect Game: 91
According to PhillyBurbs, Harlan hit the longest home run of any prospect at the MLB Draft Combine, launching a ball 453 feet. He also tied for the second highest exit velocity of the combine at 112.4 mph. For a high schooler, those are both very impressive figures.
On his MLB Pipeline profile, Harlan is given 50-grades for his power, run, arm and field tools. He is tagged with a 45 for his hit grade.
Harlan being a Clemson commit likely won’t be a big factor here in terms of signability since he was drafted early enough. However, the Dodgers may have to go over or right around the $745,000 slot value to sign him. It is not confirmed that their first-rounder Lindsey will sign under-slot, but if he does, that may free up some money for Harlan.
The Dodgers pull 3B Chase Harlan down to pick No. 98. That's an enormous win. There's a ton of Josh Jung in that kid. pic.twitter.com/ueSbgsw3OD
— Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) July 15, 2024
Dodgers 3-98: Chase Harlan, 3B, Central Bucks-East HS (PA) — offensive upside RHH prep, pwr over hit w/ strong/big phys that flashes abv/plus raw pwr, needs consistent approach/swing to tap into hit upside, avg dirt athl/arm that will let bat play on left side (Clemson commit)
— Taylor Blake Ward (@TaylorBlakeWard) July 15, 2024
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With the 128th overall selection, the Dodgers selected 21-year-old left-hander Jakob Wright out of Cal Poly SLO. Wright has a nasty sweeper and was named to the 2024 all-Big West first team.
Rankings
The Athletic: N/A
FanGraphs: N/A
MLB Pipeline: 146
Perfect Game: 191
Wright started 15 games for Cal Poly this spring, posting a 2.97 ERA with a 27.2% strikeout rate. His best pitch is his potentially double-plus slider which gets north of 20 inches of sweeping action. He also throws a four-seam which averages 90.8 mph, a cutter and a changeup.
Although his results were impressive, Wright struggled a bit with walks in college, issuing free passes at a 11.3% rate this spring. He is given a 45 grade for control by MLB Pipeline, which also notes his “premium athleticism” as helping his delivery be repeatable out of a lower three-quarters arm-slot.
Having just turned 21 in May, signability shouldn’t be a big problem here. That said, Wright has only appeared in two years of college ball after he was a redshirt freshman in 2022 while recovering from internal brace surgery in his elbow. The slot value for pick 128 is $556,300.
Dodgers 4-128: Jakob Wright, LHP, Cal Poly — smaller/athletic lefty w/ real weapon, plus sweeping SL that flashes ++ w/ ability to manipulate, low 90s FB w/ CV/CH all fringy as is control, SL can get him to MLB in relief while delivery/athleticism could turn into rotation future
— Taylor Blake Ward (@TaylorBlakeWard) July 15, 2024
