[SPEAKER_00]: Hello, and welcome to baseball America's draft podcast.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm Carlos Clause, a joint by Peter Flarity.

[SPEAKER_00]: Peter, we are ten days away from draft day.

[SPEAKER_00]: How you doing?

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm doing excellent.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's kind of crunch time.

[SPEAKER_01]: We're getting down to the stretch a little bit, both in updating reports.

[SPEAKER_01]: What we're hearing really in all aspects.

[SPEAKER_01]: So it's another very fun time of the year.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I'm kind of just ready for it to be here.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure you are as well.

[SPEAKER_01]: Especially, but I'm very excited.

[SPEAKER_01]: I had a great draft chat yesterday.

[SPEAKER_01]: We've got our staff draft later on today or yesterday.

[SPEAKER_01]: We had it when you're now listening to this.

[SPEAKER_01]: So a lot of fun stuff happening.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, very busy time.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like at this point, especially for people who listen to the podcast, I feel like we've, we've like exhausted the conversations about this class.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've been talking about it for like, full on year.

[SPEAKER_00]: At this point, and it's also reached the part of the calendar where you're getting a lot of requests to do radio hits and different interviews on podcasts and

[SPEAKER_00]: Like for me, it feels like I'm just saying the same thing over and over again about players.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, man, I probably should have something different to say, but at the same time, not everyone has been following the draft as obsessively as we have been.

[SPEAKER_00]: So just reminding myself that everyone's coming to this at a different place is useful, but not you guys listening to the BA draft pod.

[SPEAKER_00]: Y'all are experts on the draft.

[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to know all these players.

[SPEAKER_00]: on Sunday, I guess two Sundays for now and we actually get rolling.

[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, we're in the process of putting the finishing touches on the B.A.

[SPEAKER_00]: five hundred that's taking a bulk of my time right now, just making sure you guys will have finalized reports, finalized tool grades, finalized B.A.

[SPEAKER_00]: grades.

[SPEAKER_00]: So when these players are taken, you can get a really complete picture of what your team is getting.

[SPEAKER_00]: Today we're going to talk through

[SPEAKER_00]: A few different topics, shout out to Mark Chier, really, for giving us a handful of interesting ideas to talk through today.

[SPEAKER_00]: But one of the things he was curious about was, as we have updated top hundred prospects, and I think I've expanded a little beyond top hundred prospects for my list.

[SPEAKER_00]: But players, you've found yourself liking more down the stretch.

[SPEAKER_00]: As we've kind of had some time to really go over these players with the totality of their season,

[SPEAKER_00]: in the tank, as you were just doing the final, the final right report writing, like players you find yourself liking more, or players that you find yourself a little bit more skeptical of.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've got a handful in both categories, but I'm curious if there's a new one who stands out for you, Peter.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, so full disclosure for the just taking me to the guys I wrote at least initially like I wrote Kate Anderson I like Kate Anderson I wrote up behavioral lawyer.

[SPEAKER_01]: I like behavioral lawyer I wrote up Devon Taylor.

[SPEAKER_01]: I like Devon Taylor one of the best hit power combos in the class so instead of

[SPEAKER_01]: going the obvious route, at least to start.

[SPEAKER_01]: I guess I'll sort of start in reverse order and go with, I guess, sort of a lesser-known name, more of a dark horse, but Jack Garovich from San Diego is someone I really liked.

[SPEAKER_01]: I wrote him up.

[SPEAKER_01]: I saw him handful of times last summer and came away and pressed, but he had

[SPEAKER_01]: a really impressive season this year, I think he had over three, twenty, or I mean he had three, sixty, four actually with fourteen doubles, fourteen homers and forty nine RBIs.

[SPEAKER_01]: He is kind of a unique set up in the box.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's pretty deep in his base with a high hand set.

[SPEAKER_01]: He hasn't really made any drastic operation or swing adjustments throughout his time at USD, but the front side's a little more closed off.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a really under control and easy operation.

[SPEAKER_01]: There are present contact skills, especially against heaters, and you can drive the baseball to all parts of the field in either gap.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's got above average power, perhaps even plus raw, especially the pull side, but he also stands out on the data side under the hood numbers.

[SPEAKER_01]: Ninetyth percentile exavolosity over hundred and ten.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's posted multiple bad at balls over one fifteen.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's consistently on the barrel.

[SPEAKER_01]: He jumps on pitches kind of in his go zone or nitros zone.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, there's really optimal data here on top of performance.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a little bit of a tough profile because he's a first baseman, but

[SPEAKER_01]: You want your first basement, you want to feel confident in your first base and being able to hit at a high level and hit for power at a high level.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I've become increasingly more optimistic, excited, confident.

[SPEAKER_01]: I guess all of the above with garbage being able to do that.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a real impressive track record of performance.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's going to go in a good spot.

[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe like third or fourth round.

[SPEAKER_01]: Wouldn't totally shock me if someone jumped on him in like the back of the second.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I think he fits in the third or fourth.

[SPEAKER_00]: Nice.

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, one of the guys that I found myself really liking in this update process was Ethan Grimm, who is a high school right-handed pitcher at a Pennsylvania Committed or Virginia Tech.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have him right in the one, twenty range.

[SPEAKER_00]: So around fourth fourth round, fifth round on talent.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like he's just one of the better pitchability arms in the class.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know that there's a single pitch that you can point to and say, hey, this is a plus offering right now, but given how everything plays, I certainly think he could just be a pitcher who always maximizes his pure stuff.

[SPEAKER_00]: I remember watching him at East Coast Pro a year ago, and he was just dominating hitters.

[SPEAKER_00]: We have like a fastball that was topping out around ninety three maybe ninety four between East Coast pro and area code games.

[SPEAKER_00]: He faced nineteen batteries struck out eleven and walked none give up just one hit.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's one of the few high school pitchers that we have a sixty control great on which maybe feels aggressive but I do think that.

[SPEAKER_00]: It is realistic for a picture like him looking at the strides he's made with his delivery.

[SPEAKER_00]: This spring is also encouraging to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Last summer he had a pretty aggressive stabbing action in the back of his arm stroke, which to his credit didn't really seem to inhibit his controller command or consistency with his release point at all, but the delivery, at least in my opinion, looks a lot cleaner and easier this spring and then

[SPEAKER_00]: We've got some more pitch data on him and unsurprisingly, the fast ball seems to be a really high riding pitch.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe explain how it's able to play so well at the top of the zone.

[SPEAKER_00]: But it's a four pitch mix.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a fast ball slider curve ball, change up and ties it all together with the six to control.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm not sure exactly where he's going to fit.

[SPEAKER_00]: In the draft, it wouldn't be surprising to me if someone took a shot on him.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's also reasonably young for the class, but this does seem like a sort of profile that gets to school at times.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if he gets to Virginia Tech, he just screams started to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: He feels like a guy who would immediately jump into that pitching staff and would have a chance to really blow up his draft stock in a few years.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm all in on Ethan Grim.

[SPEAKER_00]: As we finalize the reports, I found myself liking him.

[SPEAKER_00]: even more so he's one of the guys at all point two here.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's a good pull.

[SPEAKER_01]: I a little bit like Graham the next guy'll go with and admittedly I'm already going off the prompt because I didn't actually write him up.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I don't think that's because.

[SPEAKER_01]: But Josh Owens left hand hitting shortstop at a Tennessee the state of Tennessee's a prep guy.

[SPEAKER_01]: He feels like someone that has had a consistent

[SPEAKER_01]: up arrow next to his name also bringing admittedly you would tip me off to him a little while ago and I I dug in further and I I really really like him but some of the grim you might not have like a plus tool right now you could argue maybe plus Ron.

[SPEAKER_01]: and perhaps plus wrong that I think right now it's more above average.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it is plus, but six, three, a hundred and eighty five pounds left in it hit a great body.

[SPEAKER_01]: Really, really good athlete.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's a multi-sport kid or I guess was a multi-sport kid in high school.

[SPEAKER_01]: He also played football and Providence Academy.

[SPEAKER_01]: I believe is where he went to school.

[SPEAKER_01]: But he's got a ton of room to fill out and put on some good strength and physicality.

[SPEAKER_01]: But it's a real solid blend of average tools at least average across the board.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, there's not a super lengthy track record of hitting, but, you know, there's solid bet to ball skills.

[SPEAKER_01]: And it's a pretty clean and fluid left hand at swing.

[SPEAKER_01]: At least I thought, can get a little lengthy and long at times, but, you know, I think you'll grow in a plus power.

[SPEAKER_01]: Backspins the baseball.

[SPEAKER_01]: You would mention he showed well at the combine.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think he read, I think I read from you that he posted a maxi V of one-oh-eight or something like that at the combine.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that he's going to move off of shortstop, just kind of looking at the actions a little bit, but he's going to turn arm strength on the left side that play well over third.

[SPEAKER_01]: The speed and athleticism would also translate to center field.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think there's

[SPEAKER_01]: Just the whole fun blend here of, you know, there are some now tools, athleticism, projectability, body, you know, there are a handful of positive boxes that he checks.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I like that one.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's good.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like there's a good chance to go in a producing spot on draft as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: It sounds like they're handful of teams that are pretty enamored with the projection, the upside that he offers.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, I'm going to stick in your neck of the woods, Peter.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to stick in the northeast.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm going to go with New Jersey, high school left in a pitcher, Frank Kai-Rone.

[SPEAKER_00]: He just sounds fascinating to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, six foot two, six foot three, two hundred, fifteen pound frame.

[SPEAKER_00]: A guy that a year ago was pitching more in like the mid upper eighties with his fastball, and then came out this spring, just showing much better velocities, not throwing low nineties.

[SPEAKER_00]: He gets to the pitch up to ninety four miles per hour, and he also has really special fastball extension, like a well above average.

[SPEAKER_00]: So maybe that pitch is going to play up from the lower racide and a really big extension, even without getting to above average velocity.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm pretty excited about that pitch.

[SPEAKER_00]: He also has a breaking ball, a big sweeper in the upper seventies, low eighties gets up to three thousand RPMs.

[SPEAKER_00]: That looks like it could easily be a plus offering moving forward.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's tinkered with a new cutter variant to this spring.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's mixed in an occasional change up.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, it sounds like it's mostly fastball slider at the moment, but given his sort of release traits, his ability to get down the mound, his ability to spin the ball, feels like you're looking at at least two above average pitches.

[SPEAKER_00]: He works from the stretch only.

[SPEAKER_00]: There's a bit of effort in the delivery.

[SPEAKER_00]: So some reliever risk here, but he's also one of the youngest players in the class.

[SPEAKER_00]: I believe he's the third youngest player on the B.A.

[SPEAKER_00]: five hundred.

[SPEAKER_00]: It will still be seventeen on draft day committed to coastal Carolina.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, I think you fits on talent in the like two to five round range or so, and I would love to see a team take a shot on him and develop him in a starter role in pro ball because I think he just has really

[SPEAKER_00]: unique sort of release traits and just to feel to spin the baseball that's that's super exciting.

[SPEAKER_00]: So Cairo is a guy who was definitely an upbearer player this spring and like bearing down on him a little bit more deeply down the stretch here.

[SPEAKER_00]: I find myself really fascinated with him.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm probably going to surprise you and also any consistent listener and stick on the prep side.

[SPEAKER_01]: Let's go with with who I'm going to say next.

[SPEAKER_01]: And again, it's I'm sticking on the prep side and I'm also going outside the top one hundred though, not by a whole lot, but Michael, all of that.

[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I debated picking him.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's a great one like that.

[SPEAKER_01]: catcher out in New York state of, you know, I caught him and everyone, this was kind of this coming out party, but I'm not really.

[SPEAKER_00]: Somebody must didn't go because of a hurricane that came through.

[SPEAKER_01]: Well luckily I was able to call an audible in the the powers that be at BA were kind enough to to still send me down there.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I caught him in Jupiter at World Woodbat.

[SPEAKER_01]: He was excellent.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think he he put up a video game type of stint.

[SPEAKER_01]: He went eight for thirteen with a couple homers.

[SPEAKER_01]: Two triples in a double.

[SPEAKER_01]: Just hammered the baseball is consistently on the barrel.

[SPEAKER_01]: I really like him for the offensive profile.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, you know, it's a common relax set up in the box.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a very rhythmic swing.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and he's got a sound approach to go with it.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's really loose and easy.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and there's presence strength and physicality that translates to pretty easy power, especially the pull side.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and he's going to continue to fill out and as he gets kind of closer to his physical peak.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um,

[SPEAKER_01]: It's not so difficult to say that he's going to have fifty-five power to all fields, let alone just the pull side.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm interested to see how the hit tool translates to the next level, but it's a dangerous game to isolate one tournament or one short-stint and kind of

[SPEAKER_01]: I guess put your stamp on that as to why you're confident with something like his hit tool translating, because he's not seeing unbelievable arms.

[SPEAKER_01]: It says a prepster in New York state, but seeing how he handled himself and how he hit the ball down in Jupiter, I do feel confident that he's going to continue to hit and continue to hit at a high level.

[SPEAKER_01]: I got yipped up there as he progresses in a pro ball.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think though like any prep catcher like most prep catchers I'm curious to see how the defense progresses the arm is fine.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'd say it's average if not maybe a tick above but you know the receiving in general defensive skills could use a a coat or two polish but I really love the offensive profile.

[SPEAKER_01]: I really like his body is six three hundred and eighty five pounds.

[SPEAKER_01]: probably continue to fill out a little further to get to his physical peak, but I'm a real believer in the hit power combo with all of that.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think he's going to go in a really, really good spot.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, those are a handful of guys that we kind of shifts at our opinions on a little bit more off the mistake.

[SPEAKER_00]: We could go into more of the few topics we want to get to on today's show as well.

[SPEAKER_00]: Peter one thing that we're noticing is just players are moving rapidly to the big leagues out of the draft.

[SPEAKER_00]: So another topic here is if you had to make a pick for who reaches the majors first in this year's class, who would be

[SPEAKER_00]: your player.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've got I have like three players listed here plus a dark horse.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm assuming there's going to be a lot of overlap in in our favorites here, but do you have like one clear and obvious name?

[SPEAKER_00]: I think I'm assuming it's Kate Anderson, but

[SPEAKER_01]: So yes, but I also have just based on this kind of dope we're getting and just the trend.

[SPEAKER_01]: I have a more clear and obvious one that you've probably have down as well, but it's Liam Doyle.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Tennessee left hander.

[SPEAKER_01]: That is me sort of banking on him being selected at two by Los Angeles.

[SPEAKER_01]: Right.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I think whoever is selected at

[SPEAKER_01]: number two overall both you eye and and perhaps a lot of others would feel pretty safe in them getting fast tracked so yeah it's also a profile that you know especially if he selected by Los Angeles that they would get pretty aggressive with it's just seventy grade heater would you in the class so would you choose Liam Doyle in a vacuum team agnostic if you're just saying which of the players in the class is most big league ready who would you pick

[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, big league ready, Kate Anderson.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think so for me, I had these list of players down.

[SPEAKER_00]: I actually didn't list a doile, but I think it makes all the sense in the world, but I think Kate Anderson, Jamie Arnold Tyler Bremner, are all players that you can easily rapidly push.

[SPEAKER_00]: lot like we're talking about a lot of it is going to just depend on like which team is taking them how aggressive those teams are either willing or her need to get given maybe competitive timelines but we've even seen players push quickly on teams that I don't necessarily think are like in a competitive window so

[SPEAKER_00]: I think all these pictures were talking about here have the sort of polish to move really quickly and do well.

[SPEAKER_00]: I have one dark horse here that's not a picture because all the college pictures in the top are fairly boring and maybe obvious candidates and that's Andrew Fisher at Tennessee.

[SPEAKER_00]: I feel like, I mean, while we get a lot of Michael Bush comps and Michael Bush is maybe famous for being

[SPEAKER_00]: Like he took so long to get through the minors because he was kind of stuck in the log jam with the Dodgers.

[SPEAKER_00]: I do think that Fisher has one of the most well-rounded offensive skill sets in this college class.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's playing a position that I don't think is going to require a lot of defensive reps to improve his ability.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe just more time at first.

[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if teams are going to explore the third base experiment with him.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would probably just put him at first and let him bang.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I do think Fisher

[SPEAKER_00]: Like if he sneaks into the middle of the first round and even if not, I mean, I just think he's a bat that is proven in power conferences.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think he has the approach, the context skills, the power, the physicality to move very quickly.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not saying he's like a Nick Kurtz, Jack Kackley on type of player, but it wouldn't shock me if he moved on a similar timeline.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's an interesting call for me, especially on the dark horse side.

[SPEAKER_01]: But I think in re shaping the question to Big League ready, which I find a little bit more useful.

[SPEAKER_01]: We would have the same players like Kate Anderson, Jamie.

[SPEAKER_01]: Tyler Bramner, those three arms stick out to me.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think you could also throw a Tyson with her spoon in that bucket that we probably rank fourth in that category in terms of big league readiness for me.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then in thinking of a dark horse.

[SPEAKER_01]: Man, I should have come more prepared.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm, this isn't saying that he'll reach the big leagues first and, you know, even if he's, I don't even, he's not nearly a big league ready hit or yet, but I'm still a believer in Brandon Compton.

[SPEAKER_01]: Just from what I saw last summer, I think that this spring,

[SPEAKER_01]: Was a complete anomaly and less so a trend in an indicator of who he actually is as a hitter.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's way closer to what he was on the cave.

[SPEAKER_01]: Now that's not to say he's going to hit three twenty three thirty first career.

[SPEAKER_01]: I know I know I people are going to roll their people.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm just kidding.

[SPEAKER_01]: I don't like a power going on when I'm like I saw this guy I saw that guy, but I did catch them really good.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's legit, seventy raw power and I feel confident that he's going to get into it on a game-to-game basis.

[SPEAKER_01]: He showed it.

[SPEAKER_01]: When I saw him, he showed it at ASU in twenty four.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, the hit tool isn't glowing by any stretch, but I think that it's, you know, a fifty in a comfortable fifty at that, which it sounds crazy to say, but that might be a little aggressive.

[SPEAKER_01]: I just, I believe in the impact, I believe he's going to hit it enough.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I think he's going to do it at a high level.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that's a fun one too.

[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, let's move into some favorite tools in the class Peter.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's not necessarily the best tools in the class, but tools that you find yourself really excited about.

[SPEAKER_00]: Pitches you like to watch players that you like to watch for specific reasons.

[SPEAKER_00]: I've got three tools down here.

[SPEAKER_00]: One of them is a player that I've already talked about today.

[SPEAKER_00]: And mine are also not just your

[SPEAKER_00]: two of them are, but I have one that's not a typical traditional like hit or tool or picture tool.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's more like a skill set or like a physical trait of a player.

[SPEAKER_00]: But do you have any favorite tools in the class that immediately jump out to you?

[SPEAKER_00]: And if not, I can go first.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'll start on the pitch side.

[SPEAKER_01]: There are a couple of fastballs.

[SPEAKER_01]: There are a few fastballs I really like.

[SPEAKER_01]: Liam Doyle's the obvious one.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think, but both gauge wood and AJ Russell also have seventy-grade heaters for my money's worth and not to buck at them.

[SPEAKER_01]: into one.

[SPEAKER_01]: I guess I'll talk about Russell because he's engaged with his rightfully so gotten his fair share of buzz over the last handful of weeks.

[SPEAKER_01]: But with Russell, you know, he's an outlier release height of just five foot one.

[SPEAKER_01]: He is a relatively flat vertical approach angle of

[SPEAKER_01]: four point one five and it gets flatter on pitches further up in the zone and when talking about vertical approach angle when you say this picture is a flat vertical approach angle, you know, that's what helps create that ski ball or like rise ball and visible, whatever you want to call it effect.

[SPEAKER_01]: on pitches in the top half of the strike zone.

[SPEAKER_01]: And so when you combine those traits with Russell's fastball, it sits in the mid nineties, it's been up to ninety eight.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, the results are tantalizing.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's a six, six, two hundred and twenty three pound kid with a big league frame.

[SPEAKER_01]: The year has tons of life through the zone and circling back to that initial point.

[SPEAKER_01]: He consistently locates it and gets it above the barrel of opposing hitters.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, he throws his fat.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's very heater align.

[SPEAKER_01]: He throws it over two thirds of the time.

[SPEAKER_01]: But as mid to upper eighties, sliders flashed.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then the mid eighties change up that he's got.

[SPEAKER_01]: Looks the part of a potentially viable third offering.

[SPEAKER_01]: So there's work to be done on the secondary side.

[SPEAKER_01]: But you've got a big league body with a seventy grade heater.

[SPEAKER_01]: All of the makeup reports seem to be really positive with Russell.

[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, I think that that he will also go in a good spot.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, great, great choices there.

[SPEAKER_00]: I will also start with a single pitch type.

[SPEAKER_00]: This won't be surprising to many who know my tendencies, but I'm gonna go with a change up on the sucker for really good changeups.

[SPEAKER_00]: Typically, left handed pitching changeups, but I do think in this year's class, our best changeups come out of the hand of right handers.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm gonna go with Seth Hernandez as this changeup.

[SPEAKER_00]: If I had to choose a single individual pitch that I was most excited about in the class,

[SPEAKER_00]: his would be very much on the short list.

[SPEAKER_00]: I would be basically be deciding between his change up and maybe Jack Bower's fastball just because so crazy.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think some of the college fastballs are more maybe effective right now, but I could throw in a hundred and two from the left side in high schools and saying, but Seth Hernandez has changed up.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think is one of the better amateur changeups I've ever seen.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think certainly it's in a like tier of

[SPEAKER_00]: Two changeups, not a tier two, but there's only one other high school changeup, I think is as good as Seth Hernandez is right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: Or at the same time, I should say, and that's dealing less goes.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think Seth Hernandez has a really compelling case to either match or

[SPEAKER_00]: This feels crazy because I really loved dealing with this change but it could be better.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if you fold in college players as well, I still think it's like Seth Hernandez until let's go for me.

[SPEAKER_00]: I pulled up all of the synergy data that we have on Seth Hernandez and it's almost a thousand total pitches from twenty twenty two.

[SPEAKER_00]: to now.

[SPEAKER_00]: And he has like a sixty percent mystery on the change up in high school like I know it's it's against high school competition and there's undoubtedly a lot of non competitive at bats against hitters who are going to be hanging up the police after they graduate high school but.

[SPEAKER_00]: It still has all of the traits that you want to see for an elite bat missing change up.

[SPEAKER_00]: The velocity separation, the pitch movement, the arm speed, his touch and feel of the offering, which is maybe as important for a change up as anything.

[SPEAKER_00]: Like his ability to just choke the ball out to manipulate his thumb placement on the pitch to locate it or to add a little bit more movement and use it for chases out of his own.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's just really, really special.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'm going to go with Seth and I just change up as maybe my single individual favorite tool.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'll swing it back to you.

[SPEAKER_01]: I guess in a similar breath, because this is where I was going to go next.

[SPEAKER_01]: So it's funny.

[SPEAKER_01]: Tyler Bremer's change up.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: So a double plus pitch.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'll keep it brief because you give such a great summary on sets, but mid-eighties pitch, he's really comfortable using it against both varieties and lefties.

[SPEAKER_01]: The feel for is really advanced.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a wipe out pitch and it just flashes really late, tumbling life kind of that falling off the table action with some fade to the arm side.

[SPEAKER_01]: He throws it with conviction maintains our speed.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's just, it's what it looks like.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, so that's a double plus pitch, forty eight percent with rate this spring.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, pairs it really well with this heater and then a slider, which is also a

[SPEAKER_01]: a plus offering.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, so I'll keep it pretty with Bramner, but he's also got a great commio and then Billy Carlson's defense.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's kind of an obvious one, perhaps the best glove in the class.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, regardless of level, and you want to talk about what it looks like.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it's

[SPEAKER_01]: super clean hands, really good quick feed, a seventy arm, perhaps across the diamond.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's got a ton of range and either direction.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's comfortable attacking the baseball throwing from multiple arm angles.

[SPEAKER_01]: The instincts are outstanding.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, he has the look of a big league shortstop.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I think he could defend in the big leagues right now and hold his own.

[SPEAKER_01]: I don't think that's all that crazy to say.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's just really, really impressive.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's just, the actions are just outstanding and you couple that with the arm and the instincts and the range.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's, it's the whole package.

[SPEAKER_01]: So.

[SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's a good one.

[SPEAKER_01]: A lot of choice, but I remiss if I didn't talk about it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned it because I've, I'm looking at my list now and I basically have stuck to high school pitching prospects for this category, which maybe says something about me.

[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe says something about this class, I don't know.

[SPEAKER_00]: But my, the second one I had here

[SPEAKER_00]: Um, and I don't need to go too long about it because I've already talked about a little bit, but Ethan Grimm's pitch ability in particular.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I think maybe separate from controlling command, but like his ability to mix and match with his pitches specifically, like his demeanor on the mound, how we attacks, how he's able to locate his pitches.

[SPEAKER_00]: Um, the more I watch him, the more I'm just a fan, like when I saw him in person, I was immediately a fan.

[SPEAKER_00]: The more I've dared down on him this spring over video.

[SPEAKER_00]: Um,

[SPEAKER_00]: Just his ability to make some match with his pitches, locate everything, feel for the secondaries.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think it's really impressive.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I think it's going to make him just a really complete pitcher in the future.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, the thinking already is a pretty complete pitcher.

[SPEAKER_00]: And then my other tool I had here was Landon Harmon's Arm Speed.

[SPEAKER_00]: So we do have him with one of the best fastballs in the class, but what seems out to me more than like, even the quality of the fastball itself right now is just the his ability to generate like arm speed with ease is it's one of the like fastest and easiest arms I've seen.

[SPEAKER_00]: Again, I think I mentioned before in the podcast, but when I saw him initially at East Coast Pro, the way he was warming up on the mound, it looked like he was just having a very casual

[SPEAKER_00]: like game of catch when he was warming up and the effort almost takes away from how quick his arm is actually coming through because I feel like with a lot of pitches who have a ton of arm speed, there's also a little bit of effort like CJ Gray is another one who has a ton of arm speed in this class on the high school side and I think his has a little bit more effort but

[SPEAKER_00]: Laneon Harman just does it so easily and the velocity that comes out of his hand is almost shocking because of the ease with which he like delivers his arm.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that specifically is a tool that I just think is it's cool to watch him pitch because of how quick and easy it is.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'll go with Laneon Harman's arm to my three or his arm.

[SPEAKER_00]: Ethan Grimm's pitch ability, Seth Hernandez has changed up.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's a good one.

[SPEAKER_01]: I had a couple of questions yesterday in the draft chat about Harmon and I'm with you.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, the upside with him is

[SPEAKER_01]: immense in the Arab speeds tremendous.

[SPEAKER_01]: I do think his fastballs eventually going to get to that ceiling of being a double plus pitch.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, there's some things that I'm like a little concerned about, like just quality and consistency of the secondaries at this point, the consistency of the command.

[SPEAKER_00]: I definitely think there's some things he needs to clean up, but I have to think that he's going to be able to get to a real hammer breaking ball with that sort of arm talent, the power he's able to

[SPEAKER_00]: to throw with.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I would be really excited if I was a team to get him into pro development.

[SPEAKER_00]: We've had a lot of questions about like if he's going to get to campus at Mississippi State, I don't know if you have a strong feeling either way.

[SPEAKER_00]: For me, like I think someone's going to take a shot on him, but he's also in that bucket where like there are a lot of high school pitchers and only a certain amount are going to actually get signed.

[SPEAKER_00]: And once we get to a range where

[SPEAKER_00]: Like the three plus round range high school players start to price themselves out at the draft.

[SPEAKER_00]: So I'll be really curious to see who is the team that takes the shot because I think someone should.

[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'm with you.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, the upside is tantalizing.

[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, six, five, one, nine, either is a ton of room for him to fill out.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a people love to use the phrase.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, moldable ball of clay.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think you fits that description to a tea.

[SPEAKER_01]: You're going to a fast ball with double plus upside.

[SPEAKER_01]: That's already a plus pitch.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I think if at least a plus pitch currently, and then you mentioned the arm speed and

[SPEAKER_01]: in the breaking ball.

[SPEAKER_01]: And I think just the general ceiling with Harmon is is outstanding.

[SPEAKER_01]: But the last tool I'll go with is Caden Bowdines hit tool.

[SPEAKER_01]: Not as sexy or as flashy as some of the other tools and pitches we've talked about.

[SPEAKER_01]: from this chair, I think he's the best pure hitter in this year's college class, at least towards guys that rank in a somewhat prominent spot.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's the only guy that I felt really comfortable sticking a sixty on their hit tool.

[SPEAKER_01]: He said it every stop outside of a

[SPEAKER_01]: like not so impressive, like five games stint on the cable last year from a statistical standpoint, he's raked everywhere.

[SPEAKER_01]: You know, the hitability is outstanding.

[SPEAKER_01]: He's consistently on the barrel, the powers below average, but I really do think that he's going to hit at a high level.

[SPEAKER_01]: throughout his playing career at that you stop professionally.

[SPEAKER_01]: The contact skills are double plus.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a really easy repeatable swing from both sides.

[SPEAKER_01]: The swing decisions are sound and it's an advanced approach.

[SPEAKER_01]: And the bat to ball skills are just outstanding.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think this year ran a ninety six percent overall in zone contact rate, ninety eight percent against fast balls.

[SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's, it's really, really impressive.

[SPEAKER_01]: He'd just, well, he gets the barrel to all four quadrants of the zone.

[SPEAKER_01]: He can hit any pitch.

[SPEAKER_01]: Um, he keeps his head like, it's just, it's a very appealing swing and operation for me.

[SPEAKER_01]: And then you add that to the fact that he's in a above average defender behind the plate.

[SPEAKER_01]: I've been beaten the drum for a while, but I think he's a, he's a no-brainer, first round pick for me.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm excited to see where he goes.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I guess for my final tool here, I didn't have this one written down, but since you mentioned both, I just feel like I should mention case and cutting him, because I think of our final grades here, we've got two only two hitters with plus hit tools, which is much different from last year's class, case and cutting him has a sixty hit for us, and our sort of final tools break down.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think that

[SPEAKER_00]: He's clearly the best pure hitter in the high school class.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if I had to pick between cutting him and Bowdine, I would probably go with cutting him personally in terms of pure hitting ability.

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not sure if you're in agreement with me or if you'd stick with Bowdine, just to lead to ball skills at the college level, maybe proven against some more better pitching, but cutting him

[SPEAKER_00]: I'm a little concerned that he's going to slide on draft day.

[SPEAKER_00]: It sounds like he's got a chance to slide into the twenties and I just don't think he should given the quality of his pure hitting ability and just the lack of other hit tools that I'm confident in that are going to go in front of him now granted like a lot of other players maybe have more chances to to be impact defenders at short stop or they come with a lot more power but

[SPEAKER_00]: I just really do bucket case and cutting him.

[SPEAKER_00]: And this Kevin McGonagull, Cole Young, Cole's Emerson sort of high school header that I'm just really confident in his ability to hit.

[SPEAKER_00]: He has the best speed.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's got great barrel manipulation.

[SPEAKER_00]: He gets all sorts of airs at the zone.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's always on the barrel.

[SPEAKER_00]: He's timing his solid.

[SPEAKER_00]: It's a pretty low maintenance swing.

[SPEAKER_00]: I just think he's going to be a really, really impressive hitter.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if he does slide into the twenties, or

[SPEAKER_00]: I got forbid further than that.

[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Kudos to any team who's able to get him that far down because I think the track record of the draft is pretty solid for players with reputations as the best pure high school hitter in the class.

[SPEAKER_00]: And if it was me, I would want to take him inside the first fifteen picks, but I guess we'll see what happens.

[SPEAKER_00]: But if he does slide and winds up being good, I'll be glad to have mentioned his hitting ability here.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm with you.

[SPEAKER_01]: If he slides into the twenties, I mean, I'd be doing backflips if I were to team again in that range because I'd take him inside the top fifteen picks.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm with you.

[SPEAKER_01]: I didn't for all the reasons that you said, but I love the hit tool.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm a believer in it.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm a believer that he's going to hit at a high level as he progresses through professional baseball.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's just really, really impressive.

[SPEAKER_01]: Consistently on the barrel, hardly ever swings and misses.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's a quick, efficient, adjustable swing with really impressive bad speed.

[SPEAKER_01]: I like the little Kevin McGonagall shout, you know, you can, in case in can really, really swing it.

[SPEAKER_00]: So it's weird because I'll have conversations with Scouts and they're like, yeah, we think we think a case in might slide kind of like Kevin McGonagall did.

[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like,

[SPEAKER_00]: Well, do you think that McGonagall should have slid like an hindsight?

[SPEAKER_00]: Like I think every team would have wanted to grab him in the first round knowing what what he's done in pro ball right now.

[SPEAKER_00]: So that one is always a bit odd to me.

[SPEAKER_00]: But I guess we'll see maybe he'll go like right in the ten spot on draft day and all this will be for not so.

[SPEAKER_00]: Cool.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's all.

[SPEAKER_00]: That's all I had Peter.

[SPEAKER_00]: Anything else you want to mention or chat about for we get out of here?

[SPEAKER_01]: No.

[SPEAKER_01]: That was all I had for I think we could we could bounce favorite tools and exciting tools and pitches off each other for a few hours.

[SPEAKER_01]: But that was a that was a fun podcast.

[SPEAKER_01]: I think we hit on a handful of yeah and three topics and you know as the draft approaches and even after the draft is always there will be no shortage of content over at baseball america.com.

[SPEAKER_01]: So

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I think we might.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think we might have like one more draft podcast before the draft itself.

[SPEAKER_00]: So if you guys have any questions or comments or thoughts or anything, you guys want us to address on our final draft pod.

[SPEAKER_00]: I think we're going to do like a combined future projection me Peter Ben JJ hop on and do like a really big draft preview.

[SPEAKER_00]: before draft day.

[SPEAKER_00]: If you guys have anything you want us to address, again, if you're a fan of a certain team and have any specific thoughts on the team or questions, you think that be sure to send that our way and we'll try and address it if we can.

[SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, like Peter was saying, we had a ton of content on the site for the draft.

[SPEAKER_00]: In the final stages now, it's very close, ten days away.

[SPEAKER_00]: I guess nine days away as you guys are listening to this.

[SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I can't wait to get rolling.

[SPEAKER_01]: Likewise, I couldn't set it any better myself.

[SPEAKER_01]: I'm excited for the mega pod we do.

[SPEAKER_01]: It's one of my favorites that we record every year because we really get in the weeds.

[SPEAKER_01]: We go for a while.

[SPEAKER_01]: We talk about a lot of guys, a lot of teams.

[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm already looking forward to it.

[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, can't wait.

[SPEAKER_00]: All right, for Peter, I'm Carlos.

[SPEAKER_00]: Thanks for listening everybody.

[SPEAKER_00]: We will see you next time.