The 2018 MLB Draft Thread

[Eye Black]

It's never too early to start thinking about the 2018 MLB Draft, so I am starting up the official discussion thread. I will also take this opportunity to point out that as of today (June 16th) the Brewers are slotted into the 22nd draft position and the St. Louis Cardinals are knocking on the door of drafting inside the top ten.

 

As far as 2018, it looks like there are a number of highly touted prep prospects that are candidates to flood the upper half of the first round including a Wisconsin high school senior to be that is in the running to be a top five selection. Below is a list of some of the current top college and high school prospects, a couple of way too early mock drafts, and a list of where to catch some of the top 2018 talent this summer. Let the 2018 MLB Draft speculation begin!

 

Top High School Prospects

Brice Turang, SS, Santiago HS (CA)

Kumar Rocker, RHP, North Oconee HS (GA)

Jarred Kelenic, OF, Waukesha West HS (WI)

Joe Gray Jr., OF, Hattiesburg HS (MS)

Triston Casas, 3B, American Heritage HS (FL)

Ethan Hankins, RHP, Forsyth Central HS (GA)

Kendall Simmons, SS, Tattnall Square Academy (GA)

Will Banfield, C, Brookwood HS (GA)

Luke Bartnicki, LHP, Walton HS (GA)

Nolan Gorman, SS, Sandra Day O`Connor HS (AZ)

Austin Becker, RHP, Big Walnut HS (OH)

Elijah Cabell, OF, TNXL Academy (FL)

 

Top College Prospects

Brady Singer, RHP, Florida

Seth Beer, OF, Clemson

Jackson Kowar, RHP, Florida

Konnor Pilkington, LHP, Mississippi State

Cal Raleigh, C, Florida State

Nick Madrigal, 2B, Oregon State

Luken Baker, 1B, TCU

Colton Eastman, RHP, Cal State Fullerton

Chandler Day, RHP, Vanderbilt

Casey Mize, RHP, Auburn

Shane McClanahan, LHP, South Florida

Tristan Beck, RHP, Stanford

 

Early Mock Drafts

MLB.com: Early 2018 mock: Another SoCal SS at No. 1?

Bleacher Report: 2018 MLB Mock Draft: Early Predictions for Top 1st-Round Baseball Prospects

 

Prospect Appearances/Events

Under Armour All-America Game: Saturday, July 29 (Chicago, IL)

Perfect Game All-American Classic: Sunday, August 13 (San Diego, CA) - Televised on MLB Network

Perfect Game National Showcase: June 16-21 (Fort Myers, FL)

Area Code Games: August 6-10 (Long Beach, CA)

USA Baseball Collegiate National Team: June 22 - July 17 (Cary, NC and various other locations)

USA Baseball 18U National Team: June 27 - Sept. 5 (Cary, NC and various other locations)

[MrTPlush]

Wow a Top 5 potential prep bat from Wisconsin? Don't see that everyday.

[colbyjack]

Jarred Kelenic is an incredible player. I actually think he could be in play for the No. 1 overall pick next year. I saw him last February, when he was a high school sophomore, and he took one of the best, if not the best, batting practices I have ever seen (please keep in mind that I have seen a lot of batting practices), and he was a high school sophomore at the time. After that he tried to talk his coach into letting him get another round as he was disappointed with the results, which is crazy. He's incredibly hard working and he is a true 5-tool player, with very good time speed and a strong outfield arm.

 

However, the Brewers won't have a chance to take him, unless one of them tanks significantly and I would prefer that neither happens.

 

If you're interested we've had a top 100 list up for 2018 since last November and we will be updating it another month or so once we've had a chance to see the top high school players again at several of our top events.

 

https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=13360

[3and2Fastball]

Kumar Rocker threw 98 at the PG National in the last few days. Provided he stays healthy I would think he'd have a shot at a Top 5 spot. I've heard again & again that this is one of the strongest draft classes in a long long time

[CheezWizHed]

I've heard again & again that this is one of the strongest draft classes in a long long time

 

[sarcasm]What are we doing in first place??? Tank! Tank! Tank![/sarcasm]

[lynchp]

Does Kelenic play for Waukesha West High School or does he play for a summer travel team (Hitters, Stixs, etc.)?

[3and2Fastball]

Does Kelenic play for Waukesha West High School or does he play for a summer travel team (Hitters, Stixs, etc.)?

 

He plays for Hitters. He doesn't play for Waukesha West as they have a summer Baseball program. He has played for Chicago Scouts in Fall Ball in the past.

[jw5511986]

Colby, curious your view on Max Alba RHP from Franklin HS. That's my alma mater and I saw he just committed to pitch for UNC.

[Eye Black]

The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team just completed their schedule this week. Although likely just a coincidence the Brewers have drafted the player the past two years who led the USA Baseball college team in OPS (Corey Ray and Keston Hiura). These are small sample sizes since the team only plays around 20 games each summer. This year's leader was Arkansas C/OF Grant Koch with a 1.035 OPS. Koch was limited to just 43 at bats however, among players with 60+ at bats the leader was Oklahoma outfielder (and former Wisconsin Woodchucks player) Steele Walker with a .931 OPS. Another notable USA Baseball CNT player was Clemson's Seth Beer who finished with a .672 OPS.

 

Complete 2017 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Stats

[Eye Black]

Last week Baseball America released a 2018 MLB Draft Watch List which includes a current top ten for both the College and High School prospects that are draft eligible next year.

[Eye Black]

Reminder that the Under Armour High School All-American Game is tonight at 7:00pm CT. It is available live on MLB.com and tape delayed next week on MLB Network. All of the details are available at this LINK.

[3and2Fastball]

Perfect Game All-American Classic live from San Diego this coming Sunday Night at 7pm on MLB Network

[3and2Fastball]

Nolan Gorman has a truly elite swing. Really impressed in the Perfect Game All-American Classic

 

https://www.perfectgame.org/Pl...ofile.aspx?ID=378823

[Eye Black]

The Brewers slot in at the #21 overall selection in the first round of the 2018 MLB Draft (LINK). That is one spot behind the playoff bound Minnesota Twins. Other NL Central teams include the Reds (#5), Pirates (#10), Cardinals (#19), Cubs (#24). Under the new collective bargaining agreement all first round picks are now protected, so the highest pick a team that signs a free agent who received a qualifiying offer would have to give up is their second selection.

[3and2Fastball]

Kelenic to the Giants at pick #2 makes too much sense. I predict the Tigers take Hankins #1 overall

[Eye Black]

With the draft now just a mere six months away more scouting content is becoming available.

 

MLB Pipeline released their initial Top 50 Draft Prospects list. For those interested here is the ARTICLE and here is the LIST.

 

Also, this is a little older but from Baseball America’s initial (and way too early) Mock Draft they have the Brewers taking Georgia high school catcher Will Banfield. For the draft prospect lists, Baseball America splits their lists into College Draft Prospects and High School Draft Prospects.

[reillymcshane]

With the draft now just a mere six months away more scouting content is becoming available.

 

MLB Pipeline released their initial Top 50 Draft Prospects list. For those interested here is the ARTICLE and here is the LIST.

 

Also, this is a little older but from Baseball America’s initial (and way too early) Mock Draft they have the Brewers taking Georgia high school catcher Will Banfield. For the draft prospect lists, Baseball America splits their lists into College Draft Prospects and High School Draft Prospects.

I want us to draft high school pitcher Kumar Rocker because it's an awesome name.

[colbyjack]

The PG draft list is currently 250 names deep, and we also have lists up for 2019 (top 100) and 2020 (top 50) in addition to separate JUCO and college lists. All of this content is available for free between now and the end of the year, so feel free to copy and paste to save for later.

 

Top 250 2018 MLB Draft: https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=14735

Top 100 College: https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=14734

Top 75 JUCO: https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=14738

Top 100 2019 MLB Draft: https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=14736

Top 50 2020 MLB Draft: https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=14737

 

All of our HS rankings are also available for free right now (as is all of our content). Here's the class of 2018, you can toggle between classes, states, etc.:

 

https://www.perfectgame.org/Rankings/Players/NationalRankings.aspx?gyear=2018

[nate82]

Players I like from Colby's list the ones in Bold fit the Brewers recent draftees:

 

14 Travis Swaggerty C OF L-L 5-11 180 South Alabama Mandeville LA

Tremendous bat speed, lots of power potential, impact middle-of-field athlete.

 

19 Jeremy Eierman C SS R-R 6-1 205 Missouri State Warsaw MO

Physical SS, may stick there long-term; power to profile, advanced feel to hit.

 

24 Joe Gray, Jr. H OF R-R 6-3 195 Hattiesburg Hattiesburg MS Ole Miss

Toolsy, physical OF, big-time arm strength, raw power, feel to hit is catching up.

 

25 Tim Cate C LHP L-L 6-0 187 Connecticut Manchester CT

Dominating CB, one of best pitches in college; works low-90s with command.

 

29 Triston Casas H 1B/3B L-R 6-4 240 American Heritage Pembroke Pines FL Miami

Extremely physical LH bat with prodigious raw power.

 

35 Austin Becker H RHP R-R 6-6 185 Big Walnut Sunbury OH Vanderbilt

Extreme projection and arm speed, into mid-90s, flashes plus curveball.

 

42 Steven Gingery C LHP L-L 6-1 210 Texas Tech Huntington Beach CA

Gets into low-90s; shows dynamic swing-and-miss CH with lots of strikes.

 

43 J.T. Ginn H RHP R-R 6-2 200 Brandon Brandon MS Mississippi State

Power-armed, physical, up to 97-98 mph with dynamic curveball.

 

50 Nicholas Schnell H OF L-R 6-2 180 Roncalli Indianapolis IN Louisville

Handles bat extremely well, plus runner/plus arm with athleticism in CF, power projection.

 

58 Tristan Beck C RHP R-R 6-4 190 Stanford Corona CA

 

49 Tanner Dodson C RHP/OF B-R 6-2 180 California Elk Grove CA

Legit 2-way player, prospect on mound; pitches in mid-90s with sharp breaker.

 

I think my favorites are J.T. Ginn and Austin Becker. I am extremely intrigued by Tim Cate.

 

 

Colby would a Capuano like comparison be apt for Cate?

[LouisEly]

Seth Beer ranked #75 on that list. If he's still available at the Brewers compensatory pick I'd be giddy. Not just the LH power, but walked almost twice as much as he struck out - 11.8% K rate, 21.5% BB rate. If you factor in HBP, his non-hit OBP was .263. That's pretty amazing.

 

Just reading these one sentence write-ups, I'm gravitating towards Mike Vasil, Mason Denaburg, Ryan Weathers, and Anthony Siegler.

[colbyjack]

Nate, Steven Gingery is probably a better comp to Capuano given the changeup and overall lack of one dominant pitch as both are/were more 'sum of their parts' type of hurlers (Marco Gonzales and Sean Gilmartin were much more Capuano-esque when they were taken where they were in the draft in recent years). Cate's curveball gives him a legit out pitch and more of a power pitcher profile to go along with his low-90s fastball. A good comp for Cate really doesn't come to mind at this point in time, but he reminds me more of some prep lefties that went early in the draft in recent years like DL Hall, Kolby Allard and Rob Kaminsky.

 

Beer is an interesting prospect for the reasons you pointed our LouisEly. I think a lot of people are still hung up on his freshman year and what he did, but he's still a pretty good prospect as one that can get on base at a really good clip while hitting for a lot of power. On the low end he's Ben Grieve to me.

[Austin Tatious]

Great resources, thanks.

 

I have seen Will Banfield mocked to Milwaukee somewhere. That sounds terrific. Sounds like a legit catcher with the potential to hit.

 

Good catching is very hard to find. We have some decent prospects, but I'd jump on an impact catcher if possible.

[WV Brew]

JW- I was just watching the Park-Franklin basketball game and they mentioned Alba was going to some meet and greet thing with the Cubs. Don't be surprised if he is drafted by them.

[Eye Black]

An interesting set of Tweets from Fangraphs’ Kiley McDaniel...

 

@kileymcd: Been hearing this for a month but hearing it more now: the Tigers are looking at Waukesha HS (WI) center fielder Jarred Kelenic as the #1 overall pick. Not just a rumor designed to get other player's prices down. Auburn RHP Casey Mize is still the favorite right now to go 1-1.

@kileymcd: Kelenic was in Lakeland, FL to see a spring training game at the Tigers facility on March 6th, which is when I first heard this was a possibility.

@kileymcd: Also worth noting that Kelenic will be playing for a travel ball team this spring, not his high school. Should be more games and better competition, so seems like the right move.

And a clarification to that last Tweet via Patrick...

 

@PGPatrickEbert: Not will be, Kelenic is already playing for his travel team, Hitters Baseball, as the season started three weeks ago -- he didn't play this past weekend due to illness but has looked very strong otherwise while facing a steady group of good pitchers

[And That]

PG Mock Draft 1.0

 

Has the Brewers taking prep catch Will Banfield.

 

Jeff Ellis' mock draft

 

Has the Brewers taking Wichita State CF (and likely pro RF) Greyson Jenista.