Draft Preview: Outfield #PersonalCheeseballs

[Jeremy Nygaard]

We’re moving to the outfield in this week’s #PersonalCheeseballs installment. We’ve looked most recently and players who project to play the left side of the infield. Now we shift to the grass.

The outfield group can certainly be an eclectic group. There will be your burners at centerfield. The group that is athletic enough to play shortstop, but are either so fast or slightly-built that they are best suited for the middle of the outfield. You’ll have your really big-bodied corner outfielders that still move well enough to have a chance to stay in the grass (before moving to first base). There’s also the group that has played in the dirt but probably needs to be moved down the defensive spectrum. 

And, of course, there is a group of just really good outfield prospects who may sort of fit into one of those categories… or just be a really good baseball player who plays best in the outfield.

The term “personal cheeseball” (better represented by #personalcheeseball) originated over twenty years ago in the Baseball America offices when former writer and current Twins scout John Manuel started using it as “shorthand for a personal favorite that does not reflect the popular consensus.” 

And that’s what you’ll see here. If the first four installments, we covered players from the midwest, catchers, shortstops and third basemen. Today, we’ll look at some outfielders. And, again, as a warning, my radar isn’t reflective of any single team’s preferences or draft board. 

Before getting into other names, it should go without saying that the trio of Wyatt Langford (Florida), Walker Jenkins (South Brunswick, NC HS) and Max Clark (Franklin, IN HS) are all definitely in play for the Twins first pick (#5 overall). If there was a line on it, the Twins selecting one of these three would be heavily favored at this point in time. We will cover these three plenty over the next two months, but for today we're going to look at some other outfielders in the draft.

Enrique Bradfield, Vanderbilt: Bradfield isn’t the highest-ranked college outfielder. Or even the highest-ranked SEC outfielder (or second for that matter). But he’s the fastest. He’s a safe bet to have a long major league career, but there’s a floor for any prospect who may not ever develop power and has an arm better suited for left field. But if that floor is Billy Hamilton - and I’d buy Bradfield’s hit tool over Hamilton’s any day - that’s still a very usable player. 

Will Gasparino, Harvard-Westlake HS, California (committed to Texas): A big (6-6) above-average runner will turn heads. Sprinkle in some power and a father with a background in baseball and Gasparino will have plenty of people’s full attention. There is so much to like about the son of the Dodgers scouting director, but there’s also plenty of questions about the hit tool. Plus, a hand injury over the winter limited the views people could get of him. But the potential is there… so, like Gasparino, maybe you take a swing for the fences. 

Parker Picot, Rochester Adams HS, Michigan (committed to Alabama): This young, super athletic outfielder who also plays quarterback for his football team has plenty of untapped potential. It might be difficult to keep from the SEC - and could really help his stock in three years - where the currently 17-year-old could skyrocket with a singular focus and college coaching.

Kyle Henley, Denmark HS, Georgia (committed to Georgia Tech): If you’re a fan of Bradfield, then you’re also a fan of Henley. He’s got elite speed which translates to the outfield, but hitting is a question mark. If you believe he can be a productive hitter, the sky’s the limit.

JonJon Vaughns, UCLA. Vaughns is a unique collegiate two-sport athlete playing baseball and football. But even more unique that it’s as a outfielder/linebacker! Maybe Vaughns doesn’t go the baseball route. I’d simply suggest, in a 20-round draft, you could find a spot to take a chance on a stud athlete with raw tools. 

Next week, we will take a look at some pitchers, though there will be a second installment of pitchers later in the process as well.

There are plenty of others that could have been listed here. This isn’t to say anyone is or isn’t going to be a good draft or baseball prospect. If you have your own #personalcheeseball, leave in the comments!

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[tony&rodney]

The Twins got really lucky drawing the #5 pick. Every team always needs pitching but with four outfielders among the top five expected draft choices, the Twins are going to get an excellent athlete. Having only seen video of the top outfielders, i don't see a bad choice. Most people expect both Crews and Skenes to be gone by the time the Twins pick leaving three outstanding outfielders. My initial thoughts were to choose Max Clark because his swing is short to the ball, he is fast, has a big arm, and is uber competitive. The pick could immediately become the Twins #1 prospect. 

[Cory Engelhardt]

So let's say at #5 it's one of the 3 outfielders. If you were to draw up your dream/realistic mock for picks #34 and #49, who are you hoping would fall to those spots?

[Major League Ready]

18 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

So let's say at #5 it's one of the 3 outfielders. If you were to draw up your dream/realistic mock for picks #34 and #49, who are you hoping would fall to those spots?

I had the same thought but I just don't know how to predict who might fall, especially this early.  Right now it looks pretty certain the 1st pick will be an OFer.  Some of the national guys say there is a big drop off after #5 but maybe someone else rushes up the board.  I guess what I would hope for is a high ceiling pitcher at 34 and a catcher at 49.  Don't get me wrong, draft the best available.  I just hope that includes a pitcher and a catcher.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

25 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

So let's say at #5 it's one of the 3 outfielders. If you were to draw up your dream/realistic mock for picks #34 and #49, who are you hoping would fall to those spots?

Oh this is a fun question.... (and subject to change).

If I knew I was getting an outfield bat (and likely a high school one), I'd probably aim towards sliding pitcher and college hitter.

If Juaron Watts-Brown was available at #34, I'd be a big fan of that. Transfer from Long Beach to Oklahoma State and has a very good slider, which fits the Twins mold.

At #49, there would hopefully be some options like Colton Ledbetter (Ms St OF), Jack Hurley (Va Tech OF) or Cole Carrigg (SDSU utility).

After that, I would guess the Twins round out the Top 10 round by taking (in no particular order): C, P, P, P, P, P, P and P.

 

[Cory Engelhardt]

24 minutes ago, Jeremy Nygaard said:

Oh this is a fun question.... (and subject to change).

If I knew I was getting an outfield bat (and likely a high school one), I'd probably aim towards sliding pitcher and college hitter.

If Juaron Watts-Brown was available at #34, I'd be a big fan of that. Transfer from Long Beach to Oklahoma State and has a very good slider, which fits the Twins mold.

At #49, there would hopefully be some options like Colton Ledbetter (Ms St OF), Jack Hurley (Va Tech OF) or Cole Carrigg (SDSU utility).

After that, I would guess the Twins round out the Top 10 round by taking (in no particular order): C, P, P, P, P, P, P and P.

 

That FEELS like a homerun draft to me :)

 

What do you think of high school pitcher Justin Lee? He intrigues me quite a bit in terms of projection.

[Jeremy Nygaard]

3 minutes ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

That FEELS like a homerun draft to me :)

 

What do you think of high school pitcher Justin Lee? He intrigues me quite a bit in terms of projection.

He's certainly in an area that the Twins scout heavily. High school pitchers that aren't solidly projected to go in the first round are tough to peg down. BA has him at 181. MLB has him at 123. I would *guess* if teams have in that range on their boards that he'll end up at UCLA. 

But all it takes is one, right?

[Cory Engelhardt]

Thanks!

[2wins87]

1 hour ago, Cory Engelhardt said:

So let's say at #5 it's one of the 3 outfielders. If you were to draw up your dream/realistic mock for picks #34 and #49, who are you hoping would fall to those spots?

I don't know enough about guys in that range to say much individually, but there seems to be a pretty big group of high school SS prospects that could project to be late first round or early second round picks.  A couple will probably end up being mid first rounders, and a couple others might be tough to sign, but in terms of pure upside that's probably where I'd be looking at #34 or possibly #49.

Right now that group might include Kevin McGonigle, Colin Houck, Roch Cholowsky, Walker Martin, Colt Emerson, George Lombard, Cooper Pratt, Eric Bitonti, and Adrian Santana.  Maybe you could throw in HS catcher Ralphy Velazquez to that group as well.

I don't know that they can get much of a discount, if any, at #5, but they have the 4th largest pool and even a small discount there could be a couple hundred thousand.  I think they could easily maneuver over $3 million for their comp round pick if they wanted to, which would be first round money and tough for anyone to pass up.

[Dman]

3 hours ago, Jeremy Nygaard said:

Oh this is a fun question.... (and subject to change).

If I knew I was getting an outfield bat (and likely a high school one), I'd probably aim towards sliding pitcher and college hitter.

If Juaron Watts-Brown was available at #34, I'd be a big fan of that. Transfer from Long Beach to Oklahoma State and has a very good slider, which fits the Twins mold.

At #49, there would hopefully be some options like Colton Ledbetter (Ms St OF), Jack Hurley (Va Tech OF) or Cole Carrigg (SDSU utility).

After that, I would guess the Twins round out the Top 10 round by taking (in no particular order): C, P, P, P, P, P, P and P.

 

Yeah I am hoping they somewhat repeat the 2021 draft by taking pitching high and low in the draft.  Granted 1st round pick is likely a position player this year but then swap comp pick for pitcher throw in a position player that maybe has fallen and keep picking arms as the system needs more of them after trading away most the 2021 top end pitchers.

[Mike Sixel]

I'd bet good money pick 1 is an OF.....meaning picks 2 and 3 are a pitcher and either catcher or SS....but those are, of course, guesses.

[gunnarthor]

I'm hoping Max Clark is there at 5. If we get him, it's a strong draft. 

At 34, along with the names already suggested, someone like Charlee Soto would be wonderful and, potentially, realistic. I like tall pitchers but I don't think Sykora will be there but he could be. 

If we got Clark and one of those two tall HS arms and Ledbetter at 49 ... 😁

[Doctor Wu]

Other than reading about these potential draft picks, I don't have a clue about which ones are best or which ones would best fit our needs. But at some point early in this draft, please please please find some quality pitchers!

[SteveLV]

I happen to live 10 minutes away from where Walker Jenkins plays HS ball.  Went to a couple games, first HS BB games I have watched in eons.

Huge crowd.  At least 10 video cameras set up behind the plate.  Allegedly several pro scouts in attendance.

Walker is a man amongst boys at this stage.  Tall, rangy kid with a sweet left handed swing.  Moves well, glides around the outfield and good, not great, arm based on watching warmup throws.

Hitting, tough to judge as they wont pitch to him.  Opposing pitchers get fired up and throw as hard as they can, and then come nowhere near the strike zone.

He gets jeered by the opposing fans, too.  Part of that may be due to the shocking neon orange cleats he wears!

I have no idea how you can possibly project a young man like this.  He looks terrific, but he is playing so far below his level that it is all guesswork.  I guess that is why scouts and FO people make the big bucks.....

Me, I would prefer drafting a more sure-fire college prospect, but I would take a conservative approach with the 5th overall pick.

[Jocko87]

1 hour ago, SteveLV said:

I happen to live 10 minutes away from where Walker Jenkins plays HS ball.  Went to a couple games, first HS BB games I have watched in eons.

Huge crowd.  At least 10 video cameras set up behind the plate.  Allegedly several pro scouts in attendance.

Walker is a man amongst boys at this stage.  Tall, rangy kid with a sweet left handed swing.  Moves well, glides around the outfield and good, not great, arm based on watching warmup throws.

Hitting, tough to judge as they wont pitch to him.  Opposing pitchers get fired up and throw as hard as they can, and then come nowhere near the strike zone.

He gets jeered by the opposing fans, too.  Part of that may be due to the shocking neon orange cleats he wears!

I have no idea how you can possibly project a young man like this.  He looks terrific, but he is playing so far below his level that it is all guesswork.  I guess that is why scouts and FO people make the big bucks.....

Me, I would prefer drafting a more sure-fire college prospect, but I would take a conservative approach with the 5th overall pick.

I'm with you on this.  At #5 I want as close to a sure thing as we can get.  If we are bringing the risk of a high school kid into the picture I'd rather have the risk of Dollander.  Two months ago he was the next Strasbourg but now Skenes is making him anonymous.  Upside of a true ace vs another LH outfielder 4 years away.

I think my position player preference at #5 is Langford, hopefully he falls, RH outfielder that can be up in 18 months fits what we are doing and the window is now.  If they like either pitcher I'm comfortable with the risk and would prefer to swing at it.

A high school outfielder better be special special to return value at this pick.  I just don't see it.  I'd take a Jack Wilson over them.