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ayaghmour2 · 07-09-2020, 03:37 PM

2nd Round, 28th Overall: 1B Leo Mitchell
There were a pair of center fielders I really wanted with this pick, but Paddy Smith went 24th to the Chiefs and then Hal Roberts went to the Stars the pick before mine. I really didn't no who to take with this, but I had a very sound strategy. "If you can't get Harry Barrell, why not get all his friends!"

It's been a very weird draft for me, grabbing back to back corner players with my first two picks. Teammate of Barrell and our 1st Rounder Ed Reyes, Leo Mitchell is a slugging lefty, something we don't have much of in our system. His best season was as a sophomore, where he hit .378/.432/.669 (205 OPS+) with 11 homers and 51 RBI's in 190 trips to the plate. And in 552 career high school plate appearances he hit an extremely impressive .359/.400/.566 (174 OPS+) with 18 homers and 111 RBI's. The power hasn't been there his entire career, just one homer as a sophomore, but he's really started to add pop to his bat. He's not very big, just about 160 pounds, but as he gets older he has time to add more weight.

I'm not thrilled with this pick, but Mitchell is an extremely gifted hitter. There isn't a direct path for him to the majors, with Ashbaugh entrenched as the starter, a dependable backup in Phil Vaughan, and our 7th best prospect Jim Hatfield is a first basemen. I'm a big fan of taking whoever the best available is, and Mitchell was the best available for the pick.He's committed to Central Ohio, the school Freddie Jones went to, but I think I'll be able to convince him to sign with us instead.

2nd Round, 31st Overall: SP John Hartz
Up next is what seems to be the obligatory prep arm in the second round. It was Bobby Love in 1927, Ike Quinn in 1928, Roy Byrd in 1929, #57 prospect in all of baseball Mel Leonard last year, and now joining them is Denver HS ace John Hartz. He's a two way-player as well, getting a little time at first and left in high school. I don't plan on using him as a hitter, but he's got a pretty solid batting line regardless. He hit .351/.398/.419 (144 OPS+) in just 74 at bats.

His real gift is on the mound. He's a tall skinny righty with an absolutely devastating curveball. He doesn't throw too hard, relying on finesse and mixing up his pitches rather then overpowering hitters. He has a four pitch arsenal with the curve, a fastball, slider, and changeup that all project to be big league pitches. He was dominant as a senior despite going just 3-4, as he worked to a 1.88 ERA (183 ERA+), 1.00 WHIP, and 62 strikeouts in 72 innings pitched. It was only the second season he pitched, finishing his prep career 6-7 with a 2.38 ERA (157 ERA+), 1.01 WHIP, and 119 strikeouts in 128.1 innings pitched. He's a high risk, high reward type pick, but with having two seconds, I'm more then okay with taking a risk here.

07-09-2020, 03:37 PM	#156
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	1931 Draft: Round 2 2nd Round, 28th Overall: 1B Leo Mitchell There were a pair of center fielders I really wanted with this pick, but Paddy Smith went 24th to the Chiefs and then Hal Roberts went to the Stars the pick before mine. I really didn't no who to take with this, but I had a very sound strategy. "If you can't get Harry Barrell, why not get all his friends!" It's been a very weird draft for me, grabbing back to back corner players with my first two picks. Teammate of Barrell and our 1st Rounder Ed Reyes, Leo Mitchell is a slugging lefty, something we don't have much of in our system. His best season was as a sophomore, where he hit .378/.432/.669 (205 OPS+) with 11 homers and 51 RBI's in 190 trips to the plate. And in 552 career high school plate appearances he hit an extremely impressive .359/.400/.566 (174 OPS+) with 18 homers and 111 RBI's. The power hasn't been there his entire career, just one homer as a sophomore, but he's really started to add pop to his bat. He's not very big, just about 160 pounds, but as he gets older he has time to add more weight. I'm not thrilled with this pick, but Mitchell is an extremely gifted hitter. There isn't a direct path for him to the majors, with Ashbaugh entrenched as the starter, a dependable backup in Phil Vaughan, and our 7th best prospect Jim Hatfield is a first basemen. I'm a big fan of taking whoever the best available is, and Mitchell was the best available for the pick.He's committed to Central Ohio, the school Freddie Jones went to, but I think I'll be able to convince him to sign with us instead. 2nd Round, 31st Overall: SP John Hartz Up next is what seems to be the obligatory prep arm in the second round. It was Bobby Love in 1927, Ike Quinn in 1928, Roy Byrd in 1929, #57 prospect in all of baseball Mel Leonard last year, and now joining them is Denver HS ace John Hartz. He's a two way-player as well, getting a little time at first and left in high school. I don't plan on using him as a hitter, but he's got a pretty solid batting line regardless. He hit .351/.398/.419 (144 OPS+) in just 74 at bats. His real gift is on the mound. He's a tall skinny righty with an absolutely devastating curveball. He doesn't throw too hard, relying on finesse and mixing up his pitches rather then overpowering hitters. He has a four pitch arsenal with the curve, a fastball, slider, and changeup that all project to be big league pitches. He was dominant as a senior despite going just 3-4, as he worked to a 1.88 ERA (183 ERA+), 1.00 WHIP, and 62 strikeouts in 72 innings pitched. It was only the second season he pitched, finishing his prep career 6-7 with a 2.38 ERA (157 ERA+), 1.01 WHIP, and 119 strikeouts in 128.1 innings pitched. He's a high risk, high reward type pick, but with having two seconds, I'm more then okay with taking a risk here.