2014 Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 21-40

[CheezWizHed]

Is there anything gained by a team drafting an unsignable HS player? Is there any relationship started that might help them in a future draft?

 

Or do teams do that as a way to "throw away" a late pick that they don't have to spend any money on signing?

[Patrick425]

Was not sure where to post this or ask this. Is there a good site to see all the draft picks, sorted by State?...and if they are picks out of college, is there anywhere to sort further to see where they went to HS?

[Mass Haas]

Is there a good site to see all the draft picks, sorted by State?

 

MLB Draft Tracker

 

and if they are picks out of college, is there anywhere to sort further to see where they went to HS?

 

See, now you're getting greedy . Luckily though, when you sort by state on the tracker, it will also list players who are from the state, but went to school out of state.

[wichmae]

Is there anything gained by a team drafting an unsignable HS player? Is there any relationship started that might help them in a future draft?

 

Or do teams do that as a way to "throw away" a late pick that they don't have to spend any money on signing?

They has a segment on this somewhere. Maybe it was a podcast. A lot of teams do just that. Take a guy late to establish a rapport with them. Pretty good strategy IMO.

[Mass Haas]

30th rounder Taylor Stark was the 11th best prospect in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League during the summer of 2011. Could be a nice find that late in the draft as an undersized pitcher with good stuff that profiles best in short relief.

 

11. TAYLOR STARK, rhp/of, Amsterdam Mohawks (Mississippi State/SO in 2012)

SCOUTING PROFILE: Stark showed one of the better 1-2 punches in the league with his low-90s fastball and filthy 82-83 mph slider, but worked in just six games in relief. In 12 innings, he walked six and struck out 14. His two-pitch arsenal will be best served in short relief given his smaller 5-foot-11 stature and somewhat awkward mechanics. Stark is a good overall athlete with two-way ability at the college level, though he hit just .194 in 36 at-bats for the Mohawks. He is similar to his Mississippi State/Mohawk teammate DeMarcus Henderson as was offered early-round money as a 42nd-round draft pick of the Nationals coming out of high school in 2010.

 

Twitter photo: He's in the fold.

[Mass Haas]

40 (1196). Taylor Lane, SS, The Pendleton School, FL WILL NOT SIGN

 

Tweet

[splitterpfj]

Eric White is positively thrilled at having been drafted, but he tells me he hasn't made a decision yet.

[Mass Haas]

Pelham to decide baseball future in a month

Bret McCormick, Lancaster (PA) Herald Online

 

http://media.heraldonline.com/smedia/2014/06/10/14/58/tV0sH.AuSt.6.jpeg

 

Photo by ALEX HICKS JR

 

There was one scout at C.D. Pelham’s season-opening pitching performance for Lancaster High School in 2013.

 

Twenty-five showed up at South Pointe High School for Pelham’s final outing later that same season.

 

Despite getting selected by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 746th pick in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball Draft on Saturday, Pelham is still getting scouted. The Spartanburg Methodist College freshman, and the Brewers, will make a final decision on his immediate future on or before July 13.

 

“I don’t think they’ve offered me yet, but I think they’re gonna follow me and see,” said Pelham, who is playing for the Columbia Blowfish of the Coastal Plains League this summer. “If the money is right, I’m probably gonna’ go pro; if it’s not, then I’ll probably go back to SMC.

 

”If Pelham does that, he’ll be a sophomore at Spartanburg Methodist. The 6-foot-6, 215-pound left-hander went 2-2 in 10 appearances for the Pioneers this past spring, striking out 51 batters in 39 innings. Pelham battled with bouts of intermittent wildness, walking 28, but he put together a stingy 1.85 earned run average and held opposing hitters to a .131 average when he was pitching.

 

“He pitched well for us, especially the last two weeks,” said Spartanburg Methodist head baseball coach Tim Wallace. “Yeah, he’s a work in progress, but he’s gotten better as the year progressed.

 

”Pelham was one of 22 pitchers taken by the Brewers. He is a baseball scout’s dream, the unpolished rare discovery blessed with natural arm strength and height, and a tuba-like voice that reenforces his towering dimensions. Pelham‘s fastball kisses 95, spending most of its time in the 90 to 92 mile per hour range. Spartanburg Methodist pitching coach Marc Rape said pro scouts compare him to Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman, who regularly fires his fastball over 100 miles per hour. Wallace told Pelham after his first start for the Pioneers during their abbreviated fall season that he had a chance to make a living playing baseball.

 

“He has all the things you can’t teach,” said the Pioneers coach.

 

And yet, Pelham seems rather surprised by the recent lift-off of his baseball career. He was also an excellent basketball and football player, and while he played baseball the longest of any of the three, he really only took the sport seriously his senior year at Lancaster. Pelham was planning on accepting an academic scholarship to Coastal Carolina when the Spartanburg Methodist opportunity arose. The Pioneers began recruiting him midway through the 2013 season, just a few months after he had surfaced on recruiting/scouting radars.

 

“As soon as we saw him he was 90, 91, even 95,” said Rape. “We knew with the pro attention he was getting, it was going to be difficult for us to be able to have him at the college level. And he did turn down some money offers to come to SMC, but we were thrilled to get a chance to work with him, and polish him and get him drafted better.

 

”Pelham was on his way to Charleston with his girlfriend to put in some work with a pitching trainer last Saturday when his phone started to light up, friends congratulating him via Twitter and text message on being drafted by the Brewers.

 

“I didn’t know what they were talking about,” said Pelham, who finally got a call from Milwaukee confirming the selection. “I was figuring I would get picked, but I thought it was gonna be later than that. I was driving so I wasn’t really paying attention to it.

 

”That kind of Pierre-don’t-care-air speaks to Pelham‘s bewilderment at his own rise. He first experienced that self-surprise last year with Lancaster, as scouts quickly multiplied behind Region 3-4A back-stops.

 

“I didn’t know anything about what I was doing. After that first game the scouts kept coming,” said Pelham, who is 18 years old and hit 96 on the radar gun this season. “I honestly didn’t know why. I’d never been clocked before, didn’t know how fast I was throwing.”

 

“And still, I don’t think it’s really set in to him about how good he can be,” said Rape. “This year was kind of eye-opening because he got to pitch at the college level but there’s more in the tank for him.

 

”SMC coaches worked on Pelham’s mechanics, but the biggest focus of their teaching was mentality.

 

“He knows if he’s throwing strikes, he can’t be beat,” said Rape. “That’s what I try to reenforce in his head. ‘Just have fun; you’ve got the stuff to do it. All the stuff we work on in bullpens during the week, leave that there, and just go out and let it come natural to you and have fun.

 

”Pelham struck out seven with no walks in four innings of a 2-1 win over Surry Community College on Feb. 8, but allowed five earned runs and walked seven in his next two appearances, which went for a combined 4.2 innings.

 

In his last five performances, he put together encouraging numbers. Pelham struck out nine and allowed just two hits in a 10-1 win over Rockingham Community College on April 8, before striking out seven and walking one in a one-hit performance against hometown USC-Lancaster. Pelham went eight innings in the district championship win over USC-Sumter, which got the Pioneers to the Junior College World Series, allowing five hits, no runs and striking out eight, while walking three.

 

Pelham then walked four, but struck out seven and allowed just two hits and an earned run in a 10-2 win over Blinn College at the Junior College World Series late last month, his final outing of the spring.

 

The key for Pelham going forward, whether in the pros or college, is to add a breaking ball. He readily admits he throws one pitch, a fastball, though he is able to change the speed on it, sometimes unwittingly. Wallace pointed out that Pelham threw exclusively fastballs in his last two starts; the Pioneers coach would like to see him return for a sophomore season at Spartanburg Methodist and enhance his arsenal.

 

“The thing with him now is just potential and projectability,” said Wallace. “He hasn’t harnessed his command of his fastball, his off-speed stuff is practically non-existent. He’s a young man that has a bright future in front of him, but he has a lot of work to do too.

 

”Still, this past season was Pelham’s first with a full-time pitching coach and the progress is already evident.

 

“The sky is the limit,” said Rape. “If he continues to get better this summer, we get him back in the fall and he keeps his high work ethic, this kid could be a first-rounder. That’s extreme, but I’d say the goal is to get him in the top 10 rounds.

 

”Depending on the Brewers’ offer, Pelham might not be in next year’s draft. He will start Friday for the Blowfish against the Asheboro Copperheads, though. You can bet there will be a scout or two standing behind home, radar gun aimed right at the tall southpaw.

[TooLiveBrew]

That's... um... a ridiculously unfortunate surname for the Spartanburg Methodist pitching coach.

[SRB]

Pelham looks pretty intriguing. Any guesses as to what it would take to sign him?

[splitterpfj]

Radio interview with Eric White....

 

[Mass Haas]

Stark, Leal selected by Brewers in MLB Draft

by Andy Collier, The Bolivar (MS) Commercial

 

Bolivar Commercial Photo / Elisabetta Zengaro Delta State catcher Carlos Leal got in some action as a pitcher during last fall. Even though Leal was a catcher at DSU for two seasons, he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers as a pitcher in the 34th round of the MLB draft.

 

http://matchbin-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/public/sites/1043/assets/GIAA_Carlos_Leal_Pitching.jpg

 

Delta State’s Taylor Stark and Carlos Leal had the thrill of having their names called out during the Major League Baseball Draft this past weekend.

 

Stark, a right handed pitcher was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 30th round (896th pick), while Leal was selected by the Brewers in the 34th round (1,016th pick).

 

“I hope both of those guys can go on and prove themselves,” Delta State head baseball coach Mike Kinnison said. “I’m just excited about the opportunity both of them have in front of them. Like it is for so many players, it’s a dream come true for them.”

 

Stark and Leal recently concluded their careers at DSU with good seasons.

 

Stark went 2-1 with four saves and a 2.66 ERA in 16 appearances. Stark gave up 19 hits with 23 strikeouts and only four walks in 20.1 innings of work.

 

Last season, Stark went 3-0 with a 3.52 ERA in 18 appearances. He struck out 24 batters and gave up 24 hits with nine walks in 23 innings. Stark played his first two seasons of college ball at Mississippi State University.

 

“Stark showed enough arm strength during the year that I think the scouts were interested in that and wanted to see how much more he could develop,” Kinnison said. “He was able to get the fastball in the 90-mile an hour range, and he’s certainly got some potential to develop there. I wish him the best.”

 

Leal, who played catcher at DSU for two seasons, finished up 2014 with a home run, 37 RBIs, 56 hits and a .359 batting average in 46 games. Leal threw out 12 of 42 base runners trying to steal and committed just five errors with a .980 fielding percentage. Last season, Leal hit .310 with a home run and 27 RBIs in 45 games.

 

Leal was drafted as a pitcher, because of his strong throwing arm. Leal played his first two seasons of college ball at East Central Community College and drafted in the 33rd round of the MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012 as a catcher.

 

“A lot of people had interest in him,” Kinnison said about Leal. “I knew it would be late rounds, but I’m excited he got an opportunity. He had two great years for us. He was one of those hard workers you really appreciate as a coach. He has a great attitude and for him to get an opportunity is a dream come true for him.”

[Mass Haas]

21 (626). Donnie Hissa, RHP, Notre Dame

 

According to my local paper, Donnie Hissa (round 21 pick) will be headed to Helena.

 

http://www.ashlandwi.com/sports/article_388818c6-f116-11e3-b02e-001a4bcf887a.html

 

He's a long shot, but I hope that he makes it to the T-Rats at the very least. It's fun to have a Wisconsin kid drafted by the Crew. I know his aunt quite well and I can tell you that there are many people up here in the woodwork of NW Wisconsin who will be cheering for Donnie.

[splitterpfj]

Cre Finrock, Round 26, will not sign.

[splitterpfj]

Chad Reeves has signed - Round 33

[Mass Haas]

39th round California high school LHP John Gavin will be honoring his commitment to Cal State Fullerton.

[And That]

27th rounder Matt Martin and 34th rounder Carlos Leal have signed per the Brewers.

[Mass Haas]

Via Jon Heyman --

 

Brewers RHP draftee Turner Larkins, 28th rounder due to belief he was college bound, turned down $1M. Will go to Texas A&M.

 

***

 

That'll be a name to watch and compare in three years...

[Noche]

Heyman tweeted that 28th Rounder Turner Larkins turned down $1M from the Brewers to go to Texas A&M.

 

On to the next one, I guess.

[SRB]

Wow! I guess the bright side of that is that it means the Brewers have $1M burning a hole in their pocket. Maybe can make sure nobody swoops in and steals Gilbert Lara.

[narwhalattack]

Wow! I guess the bright side of that is that it means the Brewers have $1M burning a hole in their pocket. Maybe can make sure nobody swoops in and steals Gilbert Lara.

 

I think the draft budget is independent of the international budget.

[TheCrew07]

I'm sure most remember I don't hold Mayo in all that high of regard as a prospect evaluator, however I did like this piece and not from a homer perspective, I think it was well done.

 

Pipeline Perspectives: Brewers had best Draft

Calculating approach could pay off big with Medeiros, Gatewood, Harrison

[Mass Haas]

Nice local news video report on 37th round California high school 1B Eric Ramirez (unlikely to sign, but perhaps still a small chance).

[Mass Haas]

Cape Cod League blog --

 

"Pitching: Orleans’ Kolton Mahoney (BYU Junior) gave up just two hits and three walks while striking out six over six shutout innings during the Firebirds’ 7-0 win against Wareham on 6/21. Mahoney is now 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two appearances this season. He earned a save in his first outing — a four inning appearance on June 14 against Chatham."

 

Ten scoreless innings thus far -- 4 H, 4 BB, 13 K

 

I hope to attend the Orleans at Wareham game on July 16th. Maybe I can convince Mahoney to sign by the July 18th deadline .

[Mass Haas]

Cape Cod League blog --

 

"Pitching: Orleans’ Kolton Mahoney (BYU Junior) gave up just two hits and three walks while striking out six over six shutout innings during the Firebirds’ 7-0 win against Wareham on 6/21. Mahoney is now 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two appearances this season. He earned a save in his first outing — a four inning appearance on June 14 against Chatham."

 

Ten scoreless innings thus far -- 4 H, 4 BB, 13 K

 

I hope to attend the Orleans at Wareham game on July 16th. Maybe I can convince Mahoney to sign by the July 18th deadline .

 

Mahoney struck out 11 and walked zero in a six-inning win on Saturday (three ER). He's now walked only four while striking out 24 in 16 innings.

 

Having served on a Mormon mission, the BYU junior and Brewers 23rd round pick turned 22 in May.