MLB draft starts tomorrow.

Of interest are of course: how the Owls and potential future Owls fare.. and then how the Astros continue their rebuilding, and who they decide to select at #1.

There are 2 Owls in the Top 200 on MLB's site:

Zech Lemond:

Quote:Scouting Grades: Fastball: 65 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50

Lemond set the Rice record for saves last year with 14, one more than future big leaguers David Aardsma and Tony Cingrani posted in their best seasons with the Owls. He began 2014 as Rice's closer once again, but when projected ace Jordan Stephens blew out his elbow, Lemond moved to the rotation in March.

Because he pitched so well and didn't see any dropoff in stuff in much longer outings, Lemond put himself in position to go in the top 50 picks of the Draft. But because the Owls didn't exactly ease him into his new role, he was sidelined with elbow inflammation after five starts.

Before he went out, Lemond operated with a 92-96 mph fastball with some arm-side run on a nice downward plane. His spike curveball can climb as high as 85 mph and makes batters look silly, though it also can be tough to command. He had no problem working his fading changeup into his mix and continued to throw strikes.

Yeesh at the bolded part.


And Skyler Ewing:

Quote:Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 30 | Arm: 50 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45

In a down year for position players in the state of Texas, Ewing intrigues scouts because he offers right-handed power potential and has a chance to become a catcher. After batting a combined .238 as a part-time player in his first two years at Rice, he won the Cape Cod League home run derby last summer and took a huge step forward as a junior.

Ewing's strength always has been evident, and he finally found success at the plate this spring by shortening his swing and improving pitch recognition. He can crush the best of fastballs and while he still can struggle against offspeed pitches, he's making adjustments.

Ewing hasn't caught regularly for the Owls, so it's hard to know whether he'll be able to stick behind the plate in pro ball. His marginal athleticism and slow release mitigate his arm strength, and he's a bit stiff as a receiver. Scouts laud his work ethic, which should help as he tries to make the transition to a full-time backstop.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y...list=draft

For the Astros I guess the big choice is do they take the best college arm, who has had a lot of wear/tear this year, the best HS arm, which are huge risks, or go with a bat instead.

(06-04-2014 01:04 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Zech Lemond:
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 65 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50

Skyler Ewing:
Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 30 | Arm: 50 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45

Can someone give perspective on the max/min of the scouts' grading scale ... and the values that typically indicate MLB success?

(06-04-2014 01:09 PM)Almadenmike Wrote:  

(06-04-2014 01:04 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Zech Lemond:
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 65 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50

Skyler Ewing:
Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 50 | Run: 30 | Arm: 50 | Field: 40 | Overall: 45

Can someone give perspective on the max/min of the scouts' grading scale ... and the values that typically indicate MLB success?

From MLB.com:

Quote:Players are graded on a 20-80 scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average.

(06-04-2014 01:11 PM)d1owls4life Wrote:  From MLB.com:

Quote:Players are graded on a 20-80 scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average.

Thanks!

I feel like they're underrating Ewing's speed. It's deceptive, but he can motor for a big guy.

(06-04-2014 01:31 PM)talon owl Wrote:  I feel like they're underrating Ewing's speed. It's deceptive, but he can motor for a big guy.

He seems to have great technique which makes him faster than his speed would allow. Think Jeff Bagwell.

BA's top 500 is out:

Zech Lemond: 78
Skyler Ewing: 168
Stone Garrett: 252
Blake Fox: 472

Most of the mock drafts have the Astros taking Brady Aiken, the LHP HS from San Diego. Though I would guess the Astros will be trying to find a deal similar to the Correa situation to give them extra room to go after high price talent with their other picks.

Astros do take Aiken with the top overall pick.

Local product Tyler Kolek is taken with the 2nd pick by Miami.

Surprised that Rodon went from sure 1-1 earlier this year, to not even in the first two picks.

Of course signing demands figure heavily in this, and Rodon was supposedly asking for > $6M.

Rodon still gets picked 3rd overall. He's fine. Kolek is a TCU signee I believe?

Yes, TCU. Aiken was a UCLA commit, a SS from Florida was an FSU signee.

Nola from LSU just went 7th.

Jeff Hoffman picked at #9 just boggles the mind. Just had Tommy John Surgery, and will be out for 15 months. Though I recognize tha the scouts love him because of his 95 - 97 MPH fastball, but he never put up elite stats as a college pitcher in his 3 years at ECU. He was never as good as the hype. This year, for example (and it was his best at ECU): 10 games, 3-3 record, 2.94 ERA, and only a couple more strikeouts than innings pitched. I'm glad he's got a "plus" fastball and scouts love his "swagger" on the mound, but....

(06-05-2014 07:16 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Jeff Hoffman picked at #9 just boggles the mind. Just had Tommy John Surgery, and will be out for 15 months. Though I recognize tha the scouts love him because of his 95 - 97 MPH fastball, but he never put up elite stats as a college pitcher in his 3 years at ECU. He was never as good as the hype. This year, for example (and it was his best at ECU): 10 games, 3-3 record, 2.94 ERA, and only a couple more strikeouts than innings pitched. I'm glad he's got a "plus" fastball and scouts love his "swagger" on the mound, but....

Several experts on MLB radio were kicking this around and felt that he'd go about there, with the idea that he'd sign cheap because he has pretty much zero leverage, and they could then use the savings to go over slot and take guys who fall into the second and third rounds.

Astros go with a pretty modestly productive UVA OF with their 37th overall pick.

(06-05-2014 09:52 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Astros go with a pretty modestly productive UVA OF with their 37th overall pick.

Then they got a steal in A.J. Reed at the top of the 2nd round.

how far does Lemond fall before he comes back?

Could his injury have created a CSC type situation. Based on his performance before the injury, I think he would have been gone by now.

(06-06-2014 08:01 AM)MemOwl Wrote:  how far does Lemond fall before he comes back?

Could his injury have created a CSC type situation. Based on his performance before the injury, I think he would have been gone by now.

I think he's one of the first picks in the 3rd round, though I am a bit surprised at some of the college RHPs selected ahead of him. Given he only had tendonitis (and no ligament damage), and when he returned he was pumping it up there at 95 - 96 MPH, I cannot believe the injury will have much of an impact on his draft status. BA certainly did not drop him very much, if at all, in their rankings, and they're in close contact with the scouting community. Didn't they have him ranked something like #83 in their latest prospect rankings? I think the highest he was ever ranked was somewhere around #78.

I don't think there's any chance Lemond falls beyond the 4th round, and he'd likely have to fall beyond the 7th round for us to have any chance of his returning to campus.

(06-06-2014 06:33 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:  

(06-05-2014 09:52 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Astros go with a pretty modestly productive UVA OF with their 37th overall pick.

Then they got a steal in A.J. Reed at the top of the 2nd round.

They also took the SEC player of the year last year, and he's been tearing it up in the minors so far.

(06-06-2014 09:58 AM)At Ease Wrote:  

(06-06-2014 06:33 AM)d1owls4life Wrote:  

(06-05-2014 09:52 PM)At Ease Wrote:  Astros go with a pretty modestly productive UVA OF with their 37th overall pick.

Then they got a steal in A.J. Reed at the top of the 2nd round.

They also took the SEC player of the year last year, and he's been tearing it up in the minors so far.

The question for the Astros is whether all those prospects will be able to replicate their lower level performances as they advance. Some surely won't, some almost certainly will. The odds would say that enough will to make them contenders for a number of years.

If they can keep them. And that's where the cable TV deal comes in. They have to get it resolved, and that resolution has to let them go somewhere other than Comcast. Otherwise they'll find it almost impossible to retain enough talent to remain competitive. The cable TV deal was probably the single biggest screw-up in the history of a franchise with a lot of them.

I really think this bunch of prospects has the potential to rival the late 1960s group--Morgan, Wynn, Staub, Cedeno, Dierker, Wilson, Cuellar, Giusti, Richard, Mayberry, Jackson, Rader, Watson, Colbert. A lot of household names there. Unfortunately too many of them became household names elsewhere. That group got broken up because of financial problems, and I think also a bit of racism. Hope this organization can avoid a similar fate.

Query--Suppose you kept that group together for the 70s. How good would they have been? You need a catcher, but they could have gotten a serviceable one somehow, and they had Edwards at least at the start of the 1970s. And you need a long-term shortstop since Jackson only lasted a couple of years, but Metzger came along later to fill that hole.

Zech goes 86th overall in the 3rd round to the San Diego Padres.