Rolling the dice here makes sense if they can cash in with their other two first-round picks, but at No. 8 overall this is a huge risk.
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Right-handed pitcher Daulton Jefferies, from the University of California, was the A’s second pick – taken 37th overall in the Lottery Round A. The Athletics then selected right-handed pitcher Logan Shore with the 47th overall pick.
“It’s every kid’s dream to get drafted”, said Moniak.
“We’re really excited, this is the guy we wanted”, Reds senior director of amateur scouting Chris Buckley on the 6-foot-1, 205 pounder. Here are some of the best Phillies first-round selections. And Mickey Moniak was able to get that honor on Thursday, just hours before he graduated high school. Puk, Jason Groome, and Kyle Lewis?
Moniak, a high school outfielder from La Costa Canyon (Calif.), is projected as a contact hitter and stellar defensive center fielder with speed.
“We have a chance to win a national championship, ” the 21-year-old Iowan said.
“Oh, goodness”, he said.
Senzel became the Volunteers’ highest-drafted player, surpassing Todd Helton, who went eighth overall in 1995. “I was pretty good, so it was a pretty big deal”.
After all the uncertainty surrounding the No. 1 pick, the Phillies think they have a sure thing. And it’s not Mickey Mantle.
Gowdy also has a scholarship to UCLA so let the negotiations begin! His ability to hit the baseball is above everyone else in the country. Gerrit Cole did just that himself in 2008 and went on to lead the Bruins to the 2010 College World Series before, ultimately, losing to SC in the championship series. Even when hitters know it’s coming, he still gets outs.
They could go with a smooth-hitting high school outfielder with the No. 1 overall pick Thursday night. It’s hard to believe they would have drafted them otherwise.
“I hope so”, Klentak said. “We obviously can’t do it yet and we haven’t done it yet but as soon as [we can], we’ll do it”.
The 6-6, 220-pound Benson, who was also with his parents, was a standout in both baseball and basketball at The Westminster Schools in Georgia.
He played on the U.S. 18U team that won a gold medal last fall in Japan. His ERA was 1.12 this season, and his fastball has been clocked as high as 95 miles per hour.
The 6-3, 170-pounder from Shenendehowa High School in upstate NY immediately slipped on a Braves home jersey and cap, and his mother, sitting with his father in a makeshift dugout in the studio, wiped away tears as her son shook hands with Manfred and placed his own name on the draft board. One of those prospects is right-hander pitcher Kevin Gowdy.
The last time the Phillies drafted a high school outfielder in the first round, it didn’t turn out well. When he’s throwing three pitches for strikes, Puk can be extremely unsafe.
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Scouts say that Puk will have his fastball generally sitting at between 93-96 miles per hour, and when he pumps it up, he can hit 97 or 98. His best pitch is his changeup, which he locates and sinks extremely well. He typically has a free and easy delivery that he repeats well. After signing for a $3-plus million bonus, Burrell played well in the minors where he was switched from third base to first with the success of Scott Rolen.
