Well, that was truly uneventful.
After that, there was a lot of chatter, but no action — unless you count the JLB Green Draft which concluded over the weekend.
FOURTH ROUND
30. QUAD EH ALL-STARS: Maxwell Clark, N/A, LF: Maybe the top high school pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, the Vanderbilt commit has four tools that grade above 60, including his speed which is at 70. A nice left-handed swing, but still a lot of time to develop — especially depending on where he goes in the draft.
31. PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS: Adael Amador, COL, SS: A former top international prospect, Amador batted .292 at Single-A last year, with 100 runs scored and 26 stolen bases. He also walked 87 times to just 67 walks, so that fits the Cheese Steak mold. ... Ew.
32. LITTLE LEBOWSKI URBAN ACHIEVERS: Zach Neto, LAA, SS: Oh, Neto. Look. The Dude's future shortstop. Neto batted .320 in limited action last season after being selected 13th overall by the Angels in the 2022 MLB Draft, and he should either start in Double-A and quickly move up, or maybe even start in Triple-A to start the season.
33. CROX SOX: Jackson Jobe, DET, SP/RP: Jobe was last year's No. 7 right-handed prospect according MLB Pipeline, but the new list that just came out this week is Jobe-less. That probably has something to do with the fact that he gave up 69 hits and 30 walks in 77.1 innings last year, posting a 3.84 ERA. If there's a bright side, when he was promoted to High-A, he pitched better (albeit just 15.2 innings), and overall his strikeout numbers were good.
FIFTH ROUND
34. QUAD EH ALL-STARS: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, CIN, 1B/3B: Now this is a guy I like. I've had him starred on my watch list for a while, but just couldn't pull the trigger. He was a monster last year at High-A and Double-A, batting .304 with 32 homers and 114 RBIs. That should play in Great American Ballpark, right?
35. PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS: Jarlin Susana, WSH, SP: Susana struck out 66 in 45 innings of low-level minor league ball, pitching mostly in rookie ball. He's 6-6, 235, so he is going to be very imposing from the right side. He'll have to work on his secondary pitches, but his fastball is a 70-grade.
36. CROX SOX: Jay Groome, SD, SP: He's come home. Jay Groome is back. He was a No. 1-rated draft prospect in 2016 and has fallen off ever since with struggles and injuries, including Tommy John. Boston gave up on him and now the Padres have a chance to get him back on track.
SIXTH ROUND
37. CROX SOX: Paul Skenes, N/A, C/RP: A strong two-way player at Louisiana State will undoubtedly be drafted as a pitcher with a 70-grade fastball. He's 6-6, 235, so very imposing on the mound. I wrote that and then checked out the scouting report and it said the same thing, so maybe I should do this for a living? In any case, not a bad "Mr. Irrelevant" in the 2023 JLB Green Draft.
Comments