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College draft-prospects with local-ties to keep an eye in for the 2016 draft

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UVA's Connor Jones is a likely first rounder in this year's draft. Photo via UVA sports

UVA’s Connor Jones is a likely first rounder in this year’s draft. Photo via UVA sports

For the fourth year running (here’s 2013’s wrap-up, 2014’s wrap-up, and 2015’s wrap-up), we’re going to keep an eye on “local” draft prospects leading up to the 2016 amateur draft.  By “local” I essentially mean anyone who hails from the DC/MD/VA areas plus anyone who is playing their college ball in the DC/MD/VA irrespective of where they hail from.


Here’s a list of DC/MD/VA college players draft-eligible in 2016 of note from our area.  We’re now to the point where HS seniors we covered previously in this blog are becoming college Junior draft eligibles; here’s our 2013 draft wrap up mentioning a number of these 2016 draft eligible players.

Major Local College Draft Prospects for 2016

These are the big-time names that we’ve been hearing may be 1st or 2nd rounders this year with Local Ties.

  • Connor Jones, UVA RHP via Great Bridge; a 1st round talent in 2013 who desired to go to college and he hasn’t disappointed; took over as the Friday starter by mid 2015, finished with a 7-2 record and a 2.96 ERA in 16 starts.  Pitched well in the CWS, getting an unlucky loss against Vanderbilt in the final.  Playing in the Cape Cod league this summer, on the 2015 Collegiate National team and on the MLB.com 2016 draft short list already.  Collegiate Baseball News pre-season 2nd team All-American.
  • Mike Shawaryn: RHP for Maryland; went 13-2 with a 1.71 ERA as Maryland’s friday starter as a sophomore.  He was named to Baseball America’s 2nd team All America in 2015.  2015 Collegiate National team.  He could be a very high draft prospect as a junior.  Didn’t pitch well for Team USA in summer 2015.  Collegiate Baseball News pre-season 1st team All-American.
  • Matt Thaiss, UVA C who led the team in hitting as a sophomore and is on the 2015 National Collegiate team.  Impressed while playing for Team USA in summer of 2015, with a top-2 round projection.  Collegiate Baseball News pre-season 3rd team All-American.
  • Buddy Reed, OF from Florida via Finksburg, MD (NW of Baltimore).  Not previously on the radar list despite hailing from Maryland b/c he attended a prep school in Rhode Island.  But he’s playing for Florida and is on the 2015 National Collegiate team.  Collegiate Baseball News pre-season 1st team All-American.
  • Errol Robinson, SS from Ole Miss via St. Johns Prep in DC: hit .297 and started every game for Ole Miss as a sophomore.  Getting a lot of attention in his junior year, with Ole Miss’ high national ranking and the general dearth of capable shortstops.

Other Local College draft eligibles w/ Local Ties

Some of these guys will get drafted, others may not.  But they’re all draft eligible, having gone to 4-yr programs 3 years ago.

  • Luke Gillingham a senior at Navy who was named Collegiate Baseball News pre-season 2nd team All-American.  There’s some history of Navy grads making the majors, including Mitch Harris and Oliver Drake in 2015.
  • Charlie Gould, a rising Sr at William & Mary.  Collegiate Baseball News pre-season 3rd team All-American, pre-season all-CAA.
  • Michael Morman, a 5th year senior/grad student at Richmond.  Collegiate Baseball News pre-season 3rd team All-American.
  • Daniel Pinero, UVA middle infielder who started 60 games and hit .300 as a sophomore.
  • Alec Bettinger, UVA RHP via Hylton: 50ip and 4 mid-week starts as a sophomore, could take a bigger role with the graduation/drafting of so many UVA arms in 2015.
  • Jack Roberts, UVA RHP via James River HS: struggled to a 6.08 ERA in 23 innings as a sophomore.
  • Andy McGuire, RHP from Texas via Madison HS: converted to middle relief at Texas, had 12 IP in 13 appearances in 2015, but does not appear to be on the Texas roster in 2016.  No idea where he is now.
  • Thomas Rogers, LHP from VCU via Lake Braddock: Initially went to UNC, transferred to VCU in the fall of 2014 and sat out 2015 per NCAA transfer rules.  Will be a draft eligible sophomore.
  • Tyler Ramirez, OF from UNC via Suffolk VA (Cape Henry Collegiate).  Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015.
  • Aaron McGarity, RHP from Virginia Tech (home town also Blacksburg).  Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015 and made the All-Star team; prospects looking up.
  • Andre Scrubb, RHP from High Point U by way of Woodbridge VA (Hylton HS).  Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015.
  • Luke Scherzer, RHP from Virginia Tech by way of Midlothian VA (Powhatan HS).  Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015.
  • Nick Walker, OF from Old Dominion by way of Chesapeake VA (Kellahm HS).    Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015.
  • Kit Sheetz, LHP Virginia Tech by way of Midlothian VA (James River HS).  Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015.  Not sure he’s actually still at Va Tech; missing from 2016 roster.
  • David Ellingson, RHP from Georgetown U.  Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015.
  • Andrew Yacyk, inf from Liberty U via Hagerstown.  Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015.
  • Andrew Knizner, C from NC State via Glen Allen, VA (Hanover HS).  Playing in Cape Cod league summer 2015.
  • Nick Cieri, C/IB from U Maryland, played in Cape Cod league and made the all star team.
  • Logan Farrar OF/2B from VCU
  • Parker Bean, RHP/OF from Liberty
  • Zack Rice: OF from UNC via Suffolk HS in Norfolk: converted to pitching at UNC: had a 2.31 ERA in 20 appearances in 2015.
  • Bryce Harman, jr 1B from ECU via Chesterfield, VA (Lloyd C. Bird HS).  Huge power potential but 1B-only guy, still projects as top 5-10 rounds in 2016.
  • Garrett Brooks, sr OF (CF) from ECU via Chesapeake VA (Western Branch).  Could be a classic round 6-10 senior sign this coming spring as a capable player who struggled early but is coming on late.
  • Luke Bolka, jr LHP from ECU via Mechanicsville, VA (Atlee HS).  Drafted late out of HS, has big K/9 numbers in small sample sizes and could easily feature as a matchup lefty reliever.
  • Mac Caples, jr OF from Virginia Tech by way of Midlothian VA (James River HS).

Sources used to kick off this post (which I started the day after the 2015 draft and update through out the 2015 spring awards season and the 2015 summer baseball showcase season):

Please let me know if you feel there are draft-eligible players with local ties who I should be following.  I don’t want to leave anyone out!

 

16 Responses to 'College draft-prospects with local-ties to keep an eye in for the 2016 draft'

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  1. Connor Jones may do better than mid 1st, given the issues with other collegiate starters, e.g., Hansen from OU. Should Puk from FL start to fall off a bit, Jones may be the #3 pitcher selected (behind prepsters Groome and Pint).

    Both Jones and Shawaryn are regular visits for the area scouts.

    joemktg

    31 Mar 16 at 10:08 am

  2. It always seems like preseason draft expectations often end up outweighing actual performance, doesn’t it? You would have thought Moneyball would have changed at least a little of that . . .

    Anyway, I was just browsing through some of the current college stats at lunch. Buddy Reed isn’t doing terribly, but he isn’t setting the world on fire, either. In the SEC, that would Anfernee Grier of Auburn, who leads the conference in AVG/OBP/SLG as well as HRs and total bases, and is high in SBs. He’s a junior, but there isn’t much online about him since high school, when he was a skinny little thing. Like Michael Taylor, he’s filled out a bit but can still fly. (And unlike MAT, he has low Ks.) But with the lack of preseason “prospect” creds, he’s the kind of guy who might fall to the Nats with one of their comp picks, or later.

    It’s never too early to start the wish list!

    KW

    31 Mar 16 at 12:50 pm

  3. JoeMktg: I tend agree. I wrote a large portion of this post prior to the season starting, based on the “pre-season scouting reports.” Now we see what’s happened: Hansen looks awful. Puk isn’t even the friday starter. But its not even April; by June those guys could be back throwing near no-hitters and have gotten everyone to forget how bad they were early.

    That being said … 3 years ago Jones was projected as a late first rounder. He’s still described as a #3 starter ceiling. He doesn’t overpower you, he doesn’t “look” like a upper-end 1st rounder. Is that going to be someone you pick in the top 5 picks? I dunno; something tells me teams would rather dream on the body and velocity of Hansen from OU even given his warts before they take a less flashy guy like Jones. I could be wrong.

    Todd Boss

    31 Mar 16 at 3:30 pm

  4. Todd –
    Are you planning a season-prediction post? Seems like we are due to throw out our informed (and uninformed) guesstimates on the Nats.

    Wally

    1 Apr 16 at 8:52 am

  5. I think my next post is reaction to the surprises in the 25-man roster. Starting it now but waiting for the final roster since it seems like it has surprises.

    Todd Boss

    1 Apr 16 at 10:01 am

  6. You mean when they waive Pap and make Rivero the closer? (It is April Fool’s, after all!)

    Re: Jones, he may still be available when the Nats pick, but I seriously doubt that they’d have an interest, as they’re completely sold on flame-throwers. All the more reason I’m surprised they haven’t traded Voth to the A’s yet . . .

    KW

    1 Apr 16 at 10:44 am

  7. I can’t see Jones lasting to the 28th pick. I’m guessing he goes like 11-15. Both pundits in this mock draft have him 15th to the Twins: http://www.scout.com/mlb/scouting/story/1656002-scout-s-2016-mlb-mock-draft-2-0

    He’d be a steal at 28 unless he blew out his arm or something.

    Todd Boss

    1 Apr 16 at 1:03 pm

  8. That link has a fairly well-reasoned development of the draft, and also plays into my hope that some of the second five of the top ten college hitter will fall to the Nats. I don’t want Nick Banks, though; no plate discipline and not enough power.

    I’m curious about the suggestion of one of the authors that the Nats might draft a catcher. With Severino, Kieboom, Read, and Reetz, the Nats have several backstops who are considered prospects, but none has stepped forward to look anything like an MLB starter. There seem to be four or five catchers who could go in the first two rounds of this draft.

    KW

    1 Apr 16 at 2:22 pm

  9. Hypothetical. If Ramos hits 20 homers and hits .260 this year, do you re-sign him? Because if you commit to Ramos for like 3-4 years, we could DFA Lobaton and go with Severino as the backup.

    Or….. do you say Hey lets go all in on Lucroy and let both Ramos and Lobaton go and go with a kid as a backup.

    Todd Boss

    1 Apr 16 at 2:33 pm

  10. I would take Ramos at that level in a heartbeat. Will Lasik really work that much of a miracle on him, though?

    The Nats actually still have control of Sheriff Lobo for another season, although he would probably have a small amount of trade value. His future may be more in Severino’s hands (read “bat”) than his own.

    It seems amazing in this day and age that catchers who can hit are *still* so hard to find.

    KW

    1 Apr 16 at 3:29 pm

  11. Last seats on the bus go to Heisey and Treinen. Gott and den Dekker to AAA. Dusty got to keep two of his boys in Heisey and Belisle. I think den Dekker is a better all-around ballplayer than Heisey, but they needed the RH bat, plus Heisey does have a good PH track record.

    Treinen last night looked like a guy who could be the heir apparent for closer. He was filthy. He’s been a Maddux project since the start of spring. Gott was shaky all spring but will figure it out.

    KW

    2 Apr 16 at 7:50 am

  12. New posted on the roster surprises.

    Todd Boss

    2 Apr 16 at 8:28 am

  13. […] 2016 Draft Preview for Local College-age eligible players of note. […]

  14. […] Here’s the same for DC/MD/VA tied College players […]

  15. […] 2016 Draft Preview for Local College-age eligible players of note. […]

  16. […] 2016 Draft Preview for Local College-age eligible players of note. […]

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