One Stop Shop for the 2013 Draft.

[InfraRen]

@jimcallisBA: Won't say 100% but think they're locked in on Stewart. RT @infraren: what would you say the Stewart/McGuire odds are for #Twins? 80/20?

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@jimcallisBA: Won't say 100% but think they're locked in on Stewart. RT @infraren: what would you say the Stewart/McGuire odds are for #Twins? 80/20?

 

Nice questions and thanks for sharing. While even 20 sounds like a lot maybe there is something we are missing. Talent ALWAYS falls. Most likely, hopefully, the Twins front office knows something we don't.

[InfraRen]

Darren Wolfson ‏@DarrenWolfson49s

#MNTwins draft update: they held a workout in Rochester last Wednesday. Among those there, I hear: catcher Tanner Norton & OF Justin Glass.

[nicksaviking]

Things I'm wondering about with the draft:

 

1) Last year the Astros kept their plans to themselves until the pick was revealed at the podium surprising everyone with Carlos Correia who was not really known to be a consideration. They seemed to like that stratagy quite a bit. So why is there so much chatter this year about Colin Moran and Jonathan Gray? If they followed last year's stratagy the target may be someone else. If they are thinking about going underslot and it is not Moran, the first name that comes to mind is hometown kid Kohl Stewart.

 

2) Why are the Rockies so tied to Kris Bryant? Is it because the assumption is that Mark Appel and Gray will be off the board and Bryant is the 3rd best player? Things are not looking so set in stone any longer, there is a chance Appel or Gray are available. Are the Rockies dead set on passing up the pitchers over Bryant?

 

The Rockies need pitching more than any organization. In our forum there have been debates over the Twins selection of Bryant and Stewart. One would think the Rockies would have the same thought process, especially if need plays any part in the decision. The Rockies hope they just called up their 3B of the future in Nolan Arenado and their organizational OF depth is pretty solid.

 

3) Which ever team leaked the negative information about Gray wants him, and only three teams seem to have the draft position to take advantage of it. Houston may have done so in an attempt to drive down his price, but Chicago would not have done so as it could mean Houston could get one of the top two pitchers underslot while they pay full price. Colorado may have done so hopeing he would slip as may have Minnesota . I don't think it makes sense for Cleveland to do this as Minnesota drafts in front of them and they would be opening the door for a division rival to grab him. I suppose it's possible teams lower in the draft order may have done this but I don't think they could reasonably expect him to fall that far. Perhaps Miami or Boston have delusions of granduer?

[jaspatrick]

Why assume the team that leaked the Gray info wants him? He was tested by MLB and the results of those tests were released to all thirty teams prior to the "leak." I don't think the fact the info is now public will stop a team from taking him that would have taken him before it went public.

[nicksaviking]

Why assume the team that leaked the Gray info wants him? He was tested by MLB and the results of those tests were released to all thirty teams prior to the "leak." I don't think the fact the info is now public will stop a team from taking him that would have taken him before it went public.

 

Then why did it take so long for it to leak, and why now? The timing screams of stratagy, either by the Astros to get him at a discount or another team's desperate attempt to make him fall. Teams all knew but their fans didn't, drafting a drug abuser doesn't help perception.

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Law released his third and final top 100 board today. Top 5 are:

 

1: Appel

2: Bryant

3. Gray

4. Stewart

5. Meadows

 

Mcguire=19, Boldt =44, Windle=60

 

Insider link below:

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/9330709/mark-appel-kris-bryant-lead-final-ranking-top-draft-prospects-2013-mlb-draft

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Article from mlb.com on the Twins draft.

Twins poised to add to strong farm system in Draft | twinsbaseball.com: News

 

I like this quote from Radcliff:

 

"We don't get away from taking the [best available player] ever since Terry [Ryan] came over as scouting director, before he became general manager. So yeah, we need pitching in the big leagues, but this Draft won't impact the Major League team for years to come. Even though we need pitching now, two, three, five years later, we might need something else. So you just have to have conviction on who you like. And with the No. 4 pick, you have to take who you think the best potential Major League player is."

[Red Bull]

Article from mlb.com on the Twins draft.

Twins poised to add to strong farm system in Draft | twinsbaseball.com: News

 

I like this quote from Radcliff:

 

"We don't get away from taking the [best available player] ever since Terry [Ryan] came over as scouting director, before he became general manager. So yeah, we need pitching in the big leagues, but this Draft won't impact the Major League team for years to come. Even though we need pitching now, two, three, five years later, we might need something else. So you just have to have conviction on who you like. And with the No. 4 pick, you have to take who you think the best potential Major League player is."

 

I really hope they take either Appel, Gray, Bryant or Stewart. Yea the top 3 may be ahead of Stewart but hes still in HS, in a couple years he could be a way better prospect than they were at that age. I think they will take Gray or Stewart.

[bird]

Should have taken HS arms last year, instead of injured college relief pitchers......let's hope they learned their lesson.

 

 

How do YOU know what they should have done last year? Hey, let's just fire the whole scouting department. We have mike wants wins to guide us.

[Mike Sixel]

How do YOU know what they should have done last year? Hey, let's just fire the whole scouting department. We have mike wants wins to guide us.

 

I don't, but the whole point of most of these discussions is to offer our thoughts and opinions. Not sure what your issue is.

[bird]

So ESPN thinks maybe the drafting has something to do with being bad the last few years.....who would have gotten Meek correct in a trivia question? Not me.

 

You know, mike, almost everyone sees a connection between inferior draft order and the likelihood of poor relative results. Except you I guess.

 

So, no, the ESPN article is not saying that "the drafting" has something to do with being bad the last few years. That would be YOUR interpretation, because it fits your schtick.

[gunnarthor]

Article from mlb.com on the Twins draft.

Twins poised to add to strong farm system in Draft | twinsbaseball.com: News

 

I like this quote from Radcliff:

 

"We don't get away from taking the [best available player] ever since Terry [Ryan] came over as scouting director, before he became general manager. So yeah, we need pitching in the big leagues, but this Draft won't impact the Major League team for years to come. Even though we need pitching now, two, three, five years later, we might need something else. So you just have to have conviction on who you like. And with the No. 4 pick, you have to take who you think the best potential Major League player is."

 

I wonder what happens if they have a couple Boras clients sitting there at #4? I sure don't want them to pass on Bryant or Appel b/c of him.

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I wonder what happens if they have a couple Boras clients sitting there at #4? I sure don't want them to pass on Bryant or Appel b/c of him.

 

I can't see them passing on their BPA because of Boras. Twins have a big budget and as they showed last year after spending 12.6 million, they are willing to spend it.

[gunnarthor]

I can't see them passing on their BPA because of Boras. Twins have a big budget and as they showed last year after spending 12.6 million, they are willing to spend it.

 

I hope you're right. I have my doubts - they don't draft Boras guys at all - but we'll see. I'd be interested to know if they had a guy like Stewart ranked ahead of Appel.

[kab21]

Things I'm wondering about with the draft:

 

1) Last year the Astros kept their plans to themselves until the pick was revealed at the podium surprising everyone with Carlos Correia who was not really known to be a consideration. They seemed to like that stratagy quite a bit. So why is there so much chatter this year about Colin Moran and Jonathan Gray? If they followed last year's stratagy the target may be someone else. If they are thinking about going underslot and it is not Moran, the first name that comes to mind is hometown kid Kohl Stewart.

 

Here's why they are doing it.

 

1. 7.8M

2. 6.7M

3. 5.6M

4. 4.45M

 

They are dropping Moran's name a lot in the hopes that it shows they are serious about taking him and getting Gray to drop his asking price to 6.7M or lower since it's very easy for Gray to drop down to the #3 or #4 if the Astros pass on him. If Gray drops his asking price by 1+M then I think he's the Astros pick. I don't think Appel will deal and Boras also represents Bryant.

[clutterheart]

In 2012, there were many, many supplemental picks - the 1st round was extended to 60.

In 2013, I see that the first round is only extended to 39 picks.

So it looks to me that if Houston follows their same strategy as last year, they will have a greater chance at landing some better players...it could be the smart move for them to take a player like Moran - or Stewart if he would sign for 5 MM - and then load up on talent in later rounds

[Mike Sixel]

I don't think Boras is an issue.

[InfraRen]

Andrew Renny ‏@InfraRen7m

1. @
   kileymcd
   if Big 3 go 1-2-3, what's the ratio on Stewart/McGuire to Twins? 70/30?
   
   
   Expand
   
   
    
   
   

   
   

Kiley McDaniel

‏

@

kileymcd

3m

@

InfraRen

over 90%

[nicksaviking]

You know, mike, almost everyone sees a connection between inferior draft order and the likelihood of poor relative results. Except you I guess.

 

So, no, the ESPN article is not saying that "the drafting" has something to do with being bad the last few years. That would be YOUR interpretation, because it fits your schtick.

 

It's starting to look like your schtick is finding Mike's comments simply to make snarky comments about them. You're posts are starting to get pretty personal.

[nicksaviking]

I like this quote from Radcliff:

 

"We don't get away from taking the [best available player] ever since Terry [Ryan] came over as scouting director, before he became general manager. So yeah, we need pitching in the big leagues, but this Draft won't impact the Major League team for years to come. Even though we need pitching now, two, three, five years later, we might need something else. So you just have to have conviction on who you like. And with the No. 4 pick, you have to take who you think the best potential Major League player is."

 

Well the first sentance had me encouraged as they say they will take the BPA. After that it almost seems like the implication is that they don't feel a pitcher will be the BPA at pick #4. I hope he is saying this with the anticipation that the Twins will have the choice between Bryant and Stewart because if he is not giving this quote with Bryant in the back of his mind, I'd be pretty disappointed. They couldn't seriously say with a straight face that they think McGuire is the 4th BPA. Would they be thinking Frazier or Meadows? I hope this is a smoke screen or just a poorly spoken response.

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Christopher Crawford released his final board.

 

1.Appel

2. Gray

3. Bryant

4. Stewart

20. McGuire

50. Boldt

52. Windle

 

The Final Board |

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ESPN has an article out called The Problem with High School Catcher. If you can't tell by the name it is about drafting HS catchers. The article mentions that:

Of the 63 starting or backup catchers, roughly 20 percent were drafted out of the prep ranks at that position. You can count on your hands the amount that eventually made it out of the minors in the past decade.

 

The article states the three main reason's for catchers to fail are physical concerns, mental rigor of catching, and uneven performance. One NL scout had this to say:

 

"They get injured, they don’t develop, they don’t get stronger," an NL Central scout said. "You need a strong guy behind the plate, and a lot of those high school catchers need to get bigger and stronger. Some don’t. Their back can't take the stress that the position demands, and they end up being .200 hitters and maybe a backup in the big leagues."

 

On Law's and Christopher Crawford's draft boards they had McGuire at 20 and 19.

[markos]

Well the first sentance had me encouraged as they say they will take the BPA. After that it almost seems like the implication is that they don't feel a pitcher will be the BPA at pick #4. I hope he is saying this with the anticipation that the Twins will have the choice between Bryant and Stewart because if he is not giving this quote with Bryant in the back of his mind, I'd be pretty disappointed. They couldn't seriously say with a straight face that they think McGuire is the 4th BPA. Would they be thinking Frazier or Meadows? I hope this is a smoke screen or just a poorly spoken response.

 

A month ago when draft talk started to heat up, I thought the Twins would draft Meadows. He just fit their mold - toolsy prep player - that they have repeatedly drafted over and over in the past decade and longer. And if there is one thing they like better than toolsy prep position players, it is polished college right-handed pitchers. They have avoided taking college position players and high school pitchers, so I assumed that the top of their draft board went something like this:

 

1) Appel

2) Gray

3) Meadows

4) Frazier

5) Bryant

6) Kohl Stewart

 

I have been shocked - shocked!! - that the Twins have been linked to Stewart so often in the past few weeks.

 

Personally, I will be very disappointed if they draft someone outside of the Appel, Gray, Bryant, Stewart group; however, if they did, I would still guess it is Meadows.

[InfraRen]

Brian McTaggart ‏@brianmctaggart10m

#Astros likely to take college player, with Appel at top of their board a day out. Comes down to signability. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130605&content_id=49663144&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb …

Retweeted by Mike Berardino

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Coner Glassey at BA will be holding a draft chat at 1 CT. Follow the link to the chat and ask a bunch of Twins questions!

 

BaseballAmerica.com: Chat Draft

[InfraRen]

Coner Glassey at BA will be holding a draft chat at 1 CT. Follow the link to the chat and ask a bunch of Twins questions!

 

BaseballAmerica.com: Chat Draft

 

I'm in!

 

I usually ask a slew of questions, some as me, others as alter-egos to increase the chance they're answered

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Blam! Third question of the chat and it is mine.

 

 

• Which names have been linked to the Twins at 43?
  

 

Conor Glassey: Tough to say, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them make a run at toolsy local outfielder Ryan Boldt.

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A few more questions/answers.

 

• 
  Andrew (Minnesota): Latest rumblings on Twins pick at #4? Are they dialed in on Stewart if "Big 3" goes 1-2-3?
  

 

Conor Glassey: Yes, I think that's the most likely scenario.

 

 

• Buck (Galveston Island): What if Kohl Stewart becomes the RH version of Clayton Kershaw? I know it's a big if , but for about $4-4.5m why not take the first ever RHP HS kid. Why let some other team (Minn) take some one from Houston's own back yard and reap all the rewards.
  

 

Conor Glassey: Yeah, that's a big if. I imagine that a high school righthander will someday go 1-1, but I don't think Stewart's the guy just because he's from the same area as the team with the first pick. Gray, Appel and Bryant are better.

• 
  Who are the best college middle infielders in this draft?
  

 

Conor Glassey: It's slim pickins in that regard. For college shortstops, the best one on the BA 500 is Mississippi junior college SS Tim Anderson at 26. Stephen F. Austin State SS Hunter Dozier is at 39, but he’ll likely move to 3B. Mississippi State’s Adam Frazier is at 144, East Carolina’s Jack Reinheimer is at 155. Brutal year for college shortstops. Second base isn’t much better. JaCoby Jones from LSU is at 75, but he has serious questions about his bat, UConn senior L.J. Mazzilli is at 250….Tony Kemp! from Vanderbilt at 269….

• 
  Any news leaking out about HOU at #1 yet?
  

 

Conor Glassey: No, I expect a similar scenario to last year. I bet they're still hammering on signability and working through scenarios. I'm not sure we'll know who Houston's taking until minutes before the draft.

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SB nation put together a consensus draft list between 7 different expert mocks. No surprise but it goes Gray, Appel, Bryant, Stewart. Link for the full list:

 

MLB Draft 2013: Updated consensus mock draft list - SBNation.com