The MLB Draft is just two days away and I'll have a couple articles as a preview. Yesterday I posted my final comp mock draft and tomorrow I'll update my compilation rankings for one final time. Then following the draft I'll have an article reviewing the picks.
One facet of the draft is players that decide not to sign. I thought it would be interesting to take a look back at the past few drafts and check in with 7 kids that declined to sign with New York. Some of the kids turned out well, and some not so much...
Cal Quantrill (2013 Draft - 26th Round - pick 794)
The son of former All-Star pitcher Paul Quantrill, Cal had the kind of makeup and advanced understanding of the game expected of a Major Leaguer’s son. Like his father, Quantrill was a sinker baller and had a nice change-up. He also throws a changeup, curveball and slider. Of his secondary pitches, his changeup is the best and has the potential to become a plus offering. Cal received a lot of attention playing for the Canadian junior national team. He was ranked 109th on my final comp board last year and it was obvious when he lasted until the 26th round he would be practically impossible to sign due to his commitment to Stanford.
Cal played a big role on the Stanford squad. He started on opening day, making him the first Cardinal freshman pitcher to do so since Mike Mussina in 1988. Though the season started rough with a 10-3 loss to Rice, he finished the season with 6 wins and a 2.65 ERA, holding his opponents to a .215 BA. Kiley McDaniel ranked Quantrill the 7th best college prospect for the 2016 Draft.
Josh Pettitte (2013 Draft - 37th Round - pick 1124)It may be unfair to Josh, but the first thing that has to be said about him is he the son of Yankee legend Andy Pettitte, (who the team could sure use right now, but I digress). Josh deserves acclaim on his own merit, having thrown 2 no-hitters and broke the school ERA and strikeout records his senior year at Deer Park HS in Texas. He was actually drafted on the day his father won his 250th game. Andy recounted to reporters that Josh was in the clubhouse and told him he had been drafted by the team after the game. Pretty cool.
Josh intended to keep his commitment to Baylor all along and was never a serious consideration for signing. He never appeared in a game for the Bears this season and underwent Tommy John surgery. News broke in April that he would transfer from the school.
Cody Thomas (2013 Draft - 30th Round - pick 914)
Cody was a 2 sport star at Colleyville Heritage HS near Dallas, TX, being highly recruited both as a QB in football and OF in baseball. He threw for over 4,100 and 51 TDs for the football team as a senior at Colleyville then hit .482 with 15 HRs for the baseball team. That's a pretty amazing year. Rivals.com and ESPN both had Thomas rated a 4 star QB prospect. Baseball America ranked him 165 prospect headed into the draft.
Cody Thomas (2013 Draft - 30th Round - pick 914)
Cody was a 2 sport star at Colleyville Heritage HS near Dallas, TX, being highly recruited both as a QB in football and OF in baseball. He threw for over 4,100 and 51 TDs for the football team as a senior at Colleyville then hit .482 with 15 HRs for the baseball team. That's a pretty amazing year. Rivals.com and ESPN both had Thomas rated a 4 star QB prospect. Baseball America ranked him 165 prospect headed into the draft.
Cody redshirted on the football team and is expected to compete for the backup position this fall. He had a pretty disappointing year on the diamond, having just 1 hit in 12 AB.
Ty Moore (2012 Draft - 25th Round - pick 787)
Ty Moore was an OF from baseball (and sports in general, actually) powerhouse, Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. Ty was the 246th ranked prospect in the Baseball America Top 500. He was an USA Today All-American and named California's State Player of the Year, which is impressive considering Lucas Giolito and Max Fried were also from Cali. Ty was known going into the draft as a tough sign, explaining why he lasted until the 25th round and the 787th pick. The OF was known for having a solid bat but lacking in speed.
He followed through on his UCLA commitment and appeared in 27 games for the Bruins his freshman, starting in 19. Ty struggled at the plate, going 15 for 72, (.208 BA), with .292 OBP and .293 SLG, (.585 OPS). The Bruins went 40-17 during the season and won the NCAA championship.
Ty Moore (2012 Draft - 25th Round - pick 787)
Ty Moore was an OF from baseball (and sports in general, actually) powerhouse, Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. Ty was the 246th ranked prospect in the Baseball America Top 500. He was an USA Today All-American and named California's State Player of the Year, which is impressive considering Lucas Giolito and Max Fried were also from Cali. Ty was known going into the draft as a tough sign, explaining why he lasted until the 25th round and the 787th pick. The OF was known for having a solid bat but lacking in speed.
He followed through on his UCLA commitment and appeared in 27 games for the Bruins his freshman, starting in 19. Ty struggled at the plate, going 15 for 72, (.208 BA), with .292 OBP and .293 SLG, (.585 OPS). The Bruins went 40-17 during the season and won the NCAA championship.
He followed that year up with a better year statistically but much less successful in the win column. Ty hit .294/.375/.417 with 2 HRs in 211 ABs. The team won just 25 games and did not get a chance to defend their crown.
DJ Stewart (2012 Draft - 28th Round - pick 877)
DJ Stewart was another high school OF taken in the late rounds by the Yankees. Like Moore, DJ was known to have a strong commitment to go to school, with DJ committed to attend Florida State. He was a 2 sport star, (baseball and football), at the Bolles High School in Jacksonville, Florida. He had a stalky, solid frame standing at 6' and weighing in at 215 lbs, which sounded more like a fullback body than an OF body. That being said, he was known to be a good athlete with a strong arm and a good power bat.
At Florida State, DJ started in 56 of the 60 games the Seminoles played his freshman year. Florida State played extremely well, finishing the season in the top 10. On top of hosting a regional, the team was the number 7 national seed. DJ had a much stronger year than Moore statistically their first college season; he hit .356/.458/.543 with 4 home runs and 58 RBIs. He was always on base!
DJ followed that up with a .351/.472/.557 slash line with 7 HR in 94 ABs. Florida State had an excellent year and was one of the favorites to win the national championship but the team was unable to make it out of the Regionals.
Going forward there will be knocks against his body but if he can continue to perform at this level, he'll make a lot of top 100 lists when he's eligible for the draft again in 2015. Scout.com's Kiley McDaniel recently rated him the 7th best collegiate prospect for the 2015 draft.
Vincent Jackson (2012 Draft - 23rd Round - pick 727)
Vincent Jackson is the third OF from the 2012 draft for us to look at, and going into that draft he was considered by Baseball America to be the best of the three. BA ranked Vincent the number 174 prospect for the draft, which is a pretty strong ranking. Vincent stood 6'4" and weighed 190 lbs going into the draft. The Georgia OF had crazy athleticism with the possibility of sticking in CF, but long term probably RF, (his strong arm making him a RF instead of a LF).
Vincent performed ok for UT his freshman year; he hit .290/.317/.426 with 2 HRs and 15 RBIs in 155 AB and 43 games, (he started 38 games). He was out on the SEC All-Freshman team that year. He followed that up with a down year statistically, hitting .235/.311/.325 with 2 HR in 154 AB. Kiley McDaniel rated him the 38th best collegiate prospect for the 2015 draft.
Vincent Jackson (2012 Draft - 23rd Round - pick 727)
Vincent Jackson is the third OF from the 2012 draft for us to look at, and going into that draft he was considered by Baseball America to be the best of the three. BA ranked Vincent the number 174 prospect for the draft, which is a pretty strong ranking. Vincent stood 6'4" and weighed 190 lbs going into the draft. The Georgia OF had crazy athleticism with the possibility of sticking in CF, but long term probably RF, (his strong arm making him a RF instead of a LF).
Vincent performed ok for UT his freshman year; he hit .290/.317/.426 with 2 HRs and 15 RBIs in 155 AB and 43 games, (he started 38 games). He was out on the SEC All-Freshman team that year. He followed that up with a down year statistically, hitting .235/.311/.325 with 2 HR in 154 AB. Kiley McDaniel rated him the 38th best collegiate prospect for the 2015 draft.
I actually was able to watch Jackson play his Freshman year against the Razorbacks last month and I was really impressed with his fielding. This guy was catching everything hit to his field. I am hoping he will be on New York's radar in 2015.
Jordan Foley (2011 Draft - 26th Round - pick 809)
Jordan played HS ball in Texas but committed to Central Michigan because his parents were moving there. He had a prototype size at 6'3" 215 lbs. Jordan declined to sign with the Yankees in favor of playing for the Chippewas.
Jordan played HS ball in Texas but committed to Central Michigan because his parents were moving there. He had a prototype size at 6'3" 215 lbs. Jordan declined to sign with the Yankees in favor of playing for the Chippewas.
The reason Jordan shows up on this list is because he's eligible again for the 2014 draft and appears to be ranked relatively high. Baseball America has him ranked the 128th prospect in the class, which would make him around a 4th round pick. The knock on him is his ability (or lack thereof) to repeat his command, which might make him a reliever long term . It'll be interesting to see if NY takes another crack at him this year.
Jonathan Gray (2011 Draft - 10th Round - pick 329)
I had to save the best (and most heartbreaking) for last. Yes, the guy picked 3 in the 2013 draft was once selected by the Yankees. Anyone familiar with my twitter feed would know how much I've bemoaned this missed opportunity. Gray would be our top prospect and maybe be in line for a call up at some point this year. Jon Heyman reported last April that the Yankees offered the RHP who was pitching for Eastern Oklahoma State JC at the time a $500,000 bonus, which was a pretty fair offer for a 10th round pick. Well, Gray made a wise decision because he received a $4.8 million bonus from Colorado just two years later. That's quite the investment...
Jonathan dominated Sooners opponents all last year with a stellar 10-2 record, 1.59 ERA, .84 WHIP, and 10.4 K/9. He reportedly hit 100 early, late, and often for the Sooners. This year he has a 3.86 ERA through 10 games started with a 1.06 WHIP and 7.71 K/9. BA rated him the #12 prospect in baseball prior to the season and Keith Law ranked him the #7 prospect in baseball.
Jonathan Gray (2011 Draft - 10th Round - pick 329)
I had to save the best (and most heartbreaking) for last. Yes, the guy picked 3 in the 2013 draft was once selected by the Yankees. Anyone familiar with my twitter feed would know how much I've bemoaned this missed opportunity. Gray would be our top prospect and maybe be in line for a call up at some point this year. Jon Heyman reported last April that the Yankees offered the RHP who was pitching for Eastern Oklahoma State JC at the time a $500,000 bonus, which was a pretty fair offer for a 10th round pick. Well, Gray made a wise decision because he received a $4.8 million bonus from Colorado just two years later. That's quite the investment...
Jonathan dominated Sooners opponents all last year with a stellar 10-2 record, 1.59 ERA, .84 WHIP, and 10.4 K/9. He reportedly hit 100 early, late, and often for the Sooners. This year he has a 3.86 ERA through 10 games started with a 1.06 WHIP and 7.71 K/9. BA rated him the #12 prospect in baseball prior to the season and Keith Law ranked him the #7 prospect in baseball.
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