JotCast | Kiley McDaniel Chat - 5/8/19

Kiley McDaniel Chat - 5/8/19

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Kiley McDaniel

12:11

Was slightly delayed by some Scout shenanigans in the backyard, then I cornered a wasp and smothered it with a towel, then tough talked it like a real hero.

12:12

but also hello from ATL! heading out to check in on CJ Abrams playoff doubleheader later today, working out a mock draft and getting industry thoughts, but don't want to spoil too many of the scoop-y nuggets we have

draft board was just expanded today to 350 players and it's getting updated daily at this point: https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/the-board/2019-mlb-draft?type=0&so...

Jorby

12:13

Scout's take on the upcoming storms?

Kiley McDaniel

12:14

she feels it in her bones but also I'm going out of town this weekend for a crazy run of draft prospects so we haven't covered it in much detail

Greg

12:14

When's the next mock?

Kiley McDaniel

12:14

Maybe Friday, probably Monday

Jeff

12:14

Any new buzz in the top 10?

Kiley McDaniel

12:15

the projected picks in the top 10 will mostly stay the same, but lots of machinations are becoming clearer, about who has been seen where, what the likely choice is between at each pick and one club in the top 10 that looks like they're gonna do something you guys wouldn't expect

Jim Leyland Palmer

12:17

All things equal, would you rather have Mize or Gore in your org?

Kiley McDaniel

12:17

they were within 8 spots of each other preseason and both have been really shoving. Still probably lean Gore but you can easily make the case for either.

Steve

12:18

Does Logan Wyatt have the ability to play anywhere other than 1b? Is a swing change needed to reach his power potential?

Kiley McDaniel

12:19

Louisville 1B Logan Wyatt had some day one buzz over the off-season and early spring, but has fallen off a lot, hasn't tapped into the power but it's also 5 raw power, so there wasn't much to begin with. I didn't like the look I got at Clemson and sounds like he's more 4th-5th round at this point.

Paul

12:19

Is Michael Toglia back in the discussion for the top half of the first round?

Kiley McDaniel

12:19

Had the look and the Cape to be that guy, has not been good this spring and even as he's playing a bit better, no one seems too eager to pop him high. I would guess late first to early second

Recca

12:20

Any speculation on the signability on some of the lower tier HS arms? Fitterer, Dalquist, Maxwell, Brett Thomas, Rascon, and Kendall Williams?

Kiley McDaniel

12:22

Becoming a little more clear who the signability guys may be. Jack Leiter has been the leading name there for awhile and the chatter is $4M+ and maybe only a couple teams would interest him, so he likely won't be in the next mock. Matthew Allan also may be a roughly $4M pricetag and has a real chance to go Kumar Rocker/Cole Wilcox and go to Florida if he slides past the middle of the 1st round. Some talk on Corbin Carroll and Blake Walston, but not as likely as the first two. Of those guys, Thomas (S. Carolina commit) may be the one that's asking for more than the industry figures he's worth, Maxwell (Ga Tech) may also fit.

Dan

12:22

Redraft today: where ideas

Kiley McDaniel

12:22

Indeed

UGAGUY35

12:23

Going to the SEC tourney? I am heading over, who should I watch for 2020/2021 drafts? Asa, and Emerson are two that I know of

Kiley McDaniel

12:23

Tentative plan is to go for at least a day, but not positive yet. Lucky for you we have a whole mess of guys ranked for the 2020 and 2021 drafts right here: https://www.fangraphs.com/prospects/the-board/2020-mlb-draft?type=0&so...

12:24

They may be the most extensive 2020/21 rankings out there but I can guarantee you they're the only ones with regular updates on the whole class

and the SEC is loaded for both years

Ghelsson

12:24

Are most scouts confident that Witt Jr. will hit enough to carry the rest of the package (which is outstanding)? He won't have to hit a ton necessarily, but when you put him next to the other top position players in this class I find him pretty scary. Am I off base?

Kiley McDaniel

12:25

Trevor Story is a name that comes up a lot. The idea of a prep bat in the top 10 having to be a 50 bat (.260 to .270 average) to take him is a little dated now since there's plenty of ways for Witt to hit .250 with walks and power and play at least an average SS and be a 3+ WAR guy every year.

12:27

Witt now is seen as the more polished of the two between him and Abrams because he's closer to what he needs to be stylistically, whereas Abrams is faster and a superior athlete but could stand to have some tweaks to his game. It's kinda unusual for the projected hit tool to be higher on the guy (Abrams) who is seen as more raw/needing more work, but that's where we are.

Big Nate

12:27

What does it mean "control over command"? That seems like an issue somebody pointed out for Nate Pearson after he had his AA debut (5IP, 2H, 0BB, 8Ks)

Kiley McDaniel

12:28

Control is throwing the ball in the strike zone, command is throwing it to the specific location (like quarter of ninth of the zone) that you intend. For guys with bonkers stuff, control is usually fine until the big leagues, but if you have average stuff, you need at least average MLB command to get by in AAA.

12:29

and if you have like Kimbrel-level stuff and are pitching one inning at a time, you can have 40 command and 50 control and still be good, since if you miss a location but it's near the zone, the hitter still can't really square it up but probably has to swing.

Billy Beane

12:29

Kiley, did you think you would get away with your weird, baseball-like 12:05 start and think we wouldn't care about the five minutes? Because... You're right. I don't think it matters.

Kiley McDaniel

12:29

good to know

Ben

12:29

Any thoughts on the UCSB baseball team? Players that look promising?

Kiley McDaniel

12:30

both are on THE BOARD but giant LHP Ben Brecht and conversion C Eric Yang are the guys we've heard with day 2 potential on that team

Time Baby

12:30

Is Greg Jones a possibility for the Sox at #45?

Kiley McDaniel

12:30

yeah, if they take Vaughn at 3, I could see them going for more upside with the 2nd pick

And Jones may get there

Peet

12:30

Trout

Kiley McDaniel

12:30

right?

Bryan

12:31

Can you tell us about the reported swing changes for Austin Riley? Saw something about him shortening the swing to better hit velocity?

Kiley McDaniel

12:32

Not really swing changes in the way the internet talks about (launch angle stuff). His issue has been his hands getting too deep and being late or barring (locking his front arm) and limiting his ability to get to inside pitches

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