{"id":13056,"date":"2016-11-21T09:23:27","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T14:23:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=13056"},"modified":"2016-12-19T10:12:04","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T15:12:04","slug":"2016-season-statistical-review-of-the-2015-draft-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=13056","title":{"rendered":"2016 Season Statistical review of the 2015 Draft Class"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_13075\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Watsontyler-Auburn-2016-via-auburnpub.com_.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13075\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13075\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13075\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Watsontyler-Auburn-2016-via-auburnpub.com_-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"Years from now we may be saying Tyler Watson is the class of this draft. Photo via auburnpub.com\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Watsontyler-Auburn-2016-via-auburnpub.com_-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Watsontyler-Auburn-2016-via-auburnpub.com_-768x1153.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Watsontyler-Auburn-2016-via-auburnpub.com_-682x1024.jpg 682w, https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/Watsontyler-Auburn-2016-via-auburnpub.com_.jpg 1174w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-13075\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Years from now we may be saying Tyler Watson is the class of this draft. Photo via auburnpub.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Second in our set of Draft class Reviews. \u00a0First was the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=13029\">2016 class<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Web links to use while reading:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stats are pulled from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/search\/?query=austin+voth\">milb.com<\/a>\u00a0and\/or\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.fangraphs.com\/\">fangraphs.com<\/a>; put the player name into the search bar to get his seasonal stats<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"http:\/\/m.mlb.com\/draft\/tracker\/#!ft=round&amp;fv=1\">MLB.com Draft Tracker<\/a> (which I believe is the best draft tracker out there) is the best place to get draft class information.<\/li>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/186nm-v5F-zTCoR2Be7TFYM3e2cZ-gYi2WVqJLEkHdmc\/edit?hl=en#gid=1078892545\">Big Board<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1pZpAxtq3K6SxrHb6YSe3_NF6Cay0MkeYwW1Dc2_KHrE\/edit?hl=en#gid=0\">Draft Tracker<\/a> are the goto resources for prospects for any Nats fan.<\/li>\n<li>More obscure stats on players are sometimes found at places like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thebaseballcube.com\/\">thebaseballcube.com<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/perfectgame.org\/\">perfectgame.org<\/a>, their college websites, twitter accounts for the players, and good old fashioned deep-dive googling.<\/li>\n<li>My <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/1ufpQabmX1XLTN9ShcgBDOLeOnfoIQLfXlk01qelJZbA\/edit?usp=sharing\">historical list of Nats prospect rankings<\/a>, updated for all 2016 mid-season rankings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>With out further ado&#8230;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Round 1: forfeited by virtue of the <strong>Max Scherzer <\/strong>signing.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/mlb.mlb.com\/mlb\/events\/draft\/y2015\/drafttracker.jsp\">Would have been the 26th pick overall<\/a>, which ended up being <strong>Taylor Ward<\/strong>, a C from Fresno State. \u00a0Ward stepped back a bit in 2016, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=621493#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\">losing nearly 300 points off his OPS<\/a> in High-A, but is still listed as the <a href=\"http:\/\/m.mlb.com\/prospects\/2016?list=ana\">Angel&#8217;s #3 prospect<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 2:\u00a0<strong>Andrew Stevenson<\/strong>, OF (CF).\u00a0 COL jr from Louisiana State.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=664057#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\">Slashed .276\/.332\/.374<\/a> across 2 levels, spending three months in Potomac and then finishing the season in Harrisburg. \u00a095\/44 K\/BB ratio, 3 homers and 39SBs in 529 ABs. \u00a0He was also named an All-star for Potomac this year and was the MVP of the Carolina-California League all-star game. \u00a0Two years in the system and two multi-level promotions for Stevenson. \u00a0Clearly he profiles as a &#8220;speedy leadoff-center fielder&#8221; type, so you&#8217;d like to see his overall OBP improve. \u00a0You&#8217;d like to see fewer strikeouts too. \u00a0Otherwise, its hard to quibble. \u00a0He&#8217;s also starting to get some notice on prospect rankings; last \u00a0year he was generally in the 10-14 range for our system. \u00a0Now I&#8217;m seeing him ranked in the 6-10 range. \u00a0 He&#8217;s taken his talents to the Arizona Fall League, where i&#8217;m curious to see how he fares against top-end AA\/AAA competition. \u00a0Maybe our long term CF solution is in-house after all. \u00a0<strong>Post-Writing update<\/strong>: Stevenson lit up the AFL, hitting north of .350 and being named by<a href=\"http:\/\/m.mlb.com\/news\/article\/209321078\/top-10-arizona-fall-league-breakout-prospects\/\"> MLB.com as being a breakout star<\/a>.\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #339966;\">Trending up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 2:\u00a0<strong>Blake Perkins<\/strong>, OF (CF) from Verrado HS, Buckeye, Ariz.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=663368#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\">Slashed .233\/.318\/.281<\/a> for Auburn this year before spending the last week in Hagerstown (part of the typical 9\/1 cascading minor league roster shuffle), with 39\/25 K\/BB in 210 ABs. \u00a01HR, 10SB. \u00a0 Another player who (like Stevenson) is a &#8220;Leadoff-CF&#8221; type (for Auburn he only played CF and only lead-off). \u00a0As we learned last year, he&#8217;s learning switch hitting and its showing in his stat line; as a righty against lefties he slashed\u00a0.306\/.343\/.355, but as a lefty against righties he slashed only\u00a0.203\/.308\/.250<strong>. \u00a0<\/strong>Ugh. \u00a0 I wonder if the team, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/news\/article.jsp?ymd=20160622&amp;content_id=185650712&amp;fext=.jsp&amp;vkey=news_milb&amp;sid=milb\">which asked him to learn switch hitting<\/a> even before they drafted him, will eventually just let him focus on his strengths. \u00a0His overall batting line continues to depress his prospect value; he&#8217;s generally ranked somewhere in the 16-21 range for the system right now after being in the 10-12 range after his drafting. \u00a0I&#8217;ll say\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending steady\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">since his RH split is so good and he may just eventually go back to it full time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 3: <strong>Rhett Wiseman<\/strong>, OF (corner), COL jr from Vanderbilt.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=621443#\/career\/R\/fielding\/2016\/ALL\">Slashed .255\/.325\/.410<\/a> \u00a0in a full season in Low-A with 104\/42 K\/BB in 478ABs. \u00a013 \u00a0homers, 19 SBs. \u00a0Wiseman played exclusively RF and was mostly the clean-up hitter for Hagerstown and had a solid season, but not without some red-flags. \u00a0104 Ks in 478Abs isn&#8217;t like 30% awful, but its getting up there. \u00a0He did have a nice balance of homers and Stolen Bases; if you&#8217;ve ever seen Hagerstown&#8217;s stadium you&#8217;ll know it isn&#8217;t the easiest place to hit (indeed; his away split shows an OPS figure 140 points higher than at home). \u00a0 He only hit .198 against lefties, exhibiting a typical failing of a lot of lefty power hitters. \u00a0I&#8217;m going with\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending steady<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">and would like to see how he does in more of a hitter&#8217;s park. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 4: <strong>Mariano Rivera Jr<\/strong>, RHP (reliever) COL sr from Iona. \u00a0Went <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=656899#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">5-1 with a 4.04 ERA<\/a> in Low-A with 52\/22 K\/BB in 69 relief innings. \u00a01.35whip, 4.49fip, .296 babip. \u00a0He was also 8 for 14 in Save opportunities as the Hagerstown bullpen seemed to do closer by committee (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/milb\/stats\/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&amp;did=milb&amp;cid=563\">12 different relievers had a Save<\/a> this year for Hagerstown). \u00a0 Rivera Jr. improved his numbers across the board in the jump from Short-A to Low-A and seems permanently relegated to the bullpen at this point. \u00a0But we&#8217;re not seeing the lights-out production that you&#8217;d want to see in the low minors from a future reliever. \u00a0I think he&#8217;ll keep moving up next year of course, based on his draft pedigree and name only, but where&#8217;s the dominance that his father showed? \u00a0 It may also just be a case of short sample size unluckiness; he gave up 9 runs between two consecutive outings in June; those two innings cost him more than a point on his ERA for the season. \u00a0We&#8217;d be having a different conversation if he had a 2.92 ERA in 67 innings instead of a 4.04 ERA in 69 innings. \u00a0Still want to see a K\/inning. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending steady<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 5: <strong>Taylor Hearn<\/strong>, LHP (reliever) COL jr from Oklahoma Baptist. \u00a0Was 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA for Hagerstown this year when he got traded to Pittsburgh (along with <strong>Felipe Rivero<\/strong>)\u00a0in the\u00a0<strong>Mark Melancon<\/strong> deal. \u00a0For Pittsburgh&#8217;s low-A team he&#8217;s continued to be solid, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=621368#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">posting a 1.99 ERA<\/a> with 36Ks in 22 innings for their low-A team. \u00a0I know we had some seller&#8217;s lament about parting ways with both Rivero and Hearn, especially when a few weeks later the team had to trade a decent hitting prospect to acquire 5 weeks worth of a veteran lefty. \u00a0But you have to give up players to get players, right? \u00a0\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Out of the Organization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 6: <strong>Matt Crownover<\/strong>, LHP (starter) COL jr. from Clemson. \u00a0Posted a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=608327#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">9-5 record with a 3.36 ERA<\/a> across two levels this year \u00a0110\/42 K\/BB in 128 2\/3 IP combined. \u00a0For Potomac specifically; 4-4, 4.28 ERA, 1.45 whip, 4.48 fip, .317 babip. \u00a0Crownover quickly showed he was too good for Low-A (1.17 ERA his first two months there) and then settled into Potomac&#8217;s rotation for the rest of the year. \u00a0He wasn&#8217;t as lights out in Potomac but was solid. \u00a0He nearly led Potomac in starts and was part of their post-season rotation (where he pitched into the seventh and gave up just one earned run but took the loss in the season finale). \u00a0I could see him starting next year in Potomac with an eye towards jumping up to AA similarly to the way he split time this year. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Trending Up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 7: <strong>Grant Borne<\/strong>, LHP (starter\/reliever) COL jr from Nicholls State. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/pitching\">Went 5-2 with a 3.34 ERA<\/a> in a full season at Hagerstown. \u00a046\/11 K\/BB in 59 1\/3 innings of mostly long relief. \u00a01.20 whip, 3.15 fip, .307 babip. \u00a0Borne didn&#8217;t make the rotation in Hagerstown but seemed to stay on somewhat of a starter&#8217;s schedule, throwing every 4th or 5th day for 2-3 innings at a clip. \u00a0All his numbers improved over what they were in Short-A last year, which is great for a guy jumping to full season ball. \u00a0A couple of bad outings in August spoiled his numbers; otherwise his month by month splits all were pretty solid. \u00a0I see no reason for him not to serve as a spot-starter in Potomac next year. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Trending Up<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 8: <strong>Koda Glover<\/strong>, RHP (reliever) COL sr from Oklahoma State. \u00a0Was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=606983#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">3-1 with a 2.25 ERA<\/a> combined across three minor league levels, resulting with a call-up to the Majors on 7\/20\/16. \u00a0In DC he posted a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/gl.cgi?id=gloveko01&amp;t=p&amp;year=\">5.03 ERA in 19 innings<\/a> and was left off the post-season roster in favor of a third lefty (due to who the Nats were playing most-likely), but that did nothing to diminish what an amazing rise he had in 2016. \u00a0To go from High-A to pitching 7th and 8th innings in high-leverage games inside of 5 months is amazing. \u00a0His outlook for 2017 is repeating as a 7th inning RHP in the MLB bullpen with a future eye perhaps on closing for this team if he can prove himself reliable enough. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Matriculated to the Majors.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 9: <strong>David Kerian<\/strong>, 1b COL sr from Illinois. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=607596#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\">Slashed just .144\/.186\/.226<\/a> while repeating Short A. \u00a031\/7 K\/BB with 1 homer. \u00a0Kerian failed to make the Hagerstown squad out of spring training and then struggled mightily while repeating Short-A. \u00a0I&#8217;m surprised he hasn&#8217;t been released already. \u00a0He was a long-shot to contribute after being a senior sign\/low bonus guy and he seems destined for a release soon. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Trending Down<\/span>. \u00a0<strong>Post publishing update<\/strong>: Kerian was <a href=\"http:\/\/web.milb.com\/milb\/stats\/stats.jsp?t=l_trn&amp;lid=127&amp;sid=l127\">released on 12\/15\/16<\/a>, fulfilling my guesses on his disposition unfortunately.<\/p>\n<p>Round 10: <strong>Taylor Guilbeau<\/strong>, LHP (starter) COL sr\u00a0 from Alabama.\u00a05-2 with a 3.61 ERA in a full season in Hagerstown. \u00a099\/27 K\/BB in 107 1\/3 innings split between starting and relieving. \u00a01.43 whip, 3.15 fip, .360 babip. \u00a0Guilbeau didn&#8217;t make the Hagerstown roster out of spring training, but settled into the rotation for the beginning of the 2nd half and stayed there the rest of the way. \u00a0As a starter his ERA was 3 points better than as a reliever (2.55 versus 5.36), and he looks like a very solid lefty starter. \u00a0His performance is even more impressive considering his dim draft pedigree; like Kerian above him he was a senior sign for limited dollars. \u00a0If he turns out to be successful the Nats front office should really do something nice for the area scout. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Trending up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 11: <strong>Andrew Lee<\/strong>, RHP (starter) COL jr from Tennessee. \u00a0Was <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=622230#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">2-2 with a 3.71 ERA<\/a> in Hagerstown. \u00a046\/18 K\/BB in 51 innings. \u00a01.24 whip, 3.15 fip, .308 BABIP. \u00a0Lee was the opening day starter for Hagerstown after having finished there in 2015, had 11 solid starts and then hit the D\/L on 6\/7\/16, remaining there for the duration of the season. \u00a0I could not find much detail on his injury. \u00a0He was trending pretty well though; solid K ratios and a good FIP. \u00a0 <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending steady <span style=\"color: #000000;\">thanks to the unknown injury, otherwise i&#8217;d say Trending up again.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 12: <strong>Tommy Peterson<\/strong> RHP (reliever) COL jr\u00a0 from South Florida. \u00a0Went 4-2 with a 2.64ERA bouncing between Hagerstown and Potomac. \u00a056\/14 K\/BB in 58 relief innings, with very solid FIP and BABIP numbers in Hagerstown but not so much in Potomac. \u00a0For Hagerstown he was an effective closer; for Potomac he was used more as a setup guy. \u00a0He struggled with the jump to High-A and seems like to try it again from the on-set next year. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending steady<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 13: <strong>Max Schrock<\/strong>, 2B COL jr from South Carolina. \u00a0Had an OPS north of .800 for both Hagerstown and Potomac before getting flipped to Oakland in late August for <strong>Marc Rzepczynski<\/strong>. \u00a0Oakland quickly put him to AA where he hit well and now is in the AFL. \u00a0He&#8217;s the most polarizing Nats prospect I can think of since perhaps\u00a0<strong>Brad Peacock<\/strong> or\u00a0<strong>Billy Burns<\/strong>. \u00a0Schrock was paid like a 4th rounder in terms of bonus money and never failed to hit at any level, so we shouldn&#8217;t necessarily think of him as the equivalent of a 13th rounder. \u00a0The knock on him is his size; he&#8217;s just 5&#8217;8&#8243; in a sport that calls anyone under 6&#8242; &#8220;short.&#8221; \u00a0Nonetheless, he was a high price to pay for 5 weeks of a veteran lefty, and we&#8217;ve had no shortage of arguments here about the trade, what led to its necessity, and the price we paid for Rzepczynski. \u00a0We&#8217;ll just have to &#8220;Trust in Rizzo&#8221; again and hope we don&#8217;t get burned on Schrock. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Out of the Organization<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 14: <strong>Mack Lemieux<\/strong> LHP (starter) from Jupiter Community HS (FL): <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">At the time of his drafting we thought he was heading to\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Florida Atlant<\/span>ic University (FAU). \u00a0Instead, he headed to JuCo (Palm Beach State in Florida) and was Arizona&#8217;s 6th round pick this year. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=663856#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">He split time between Rookie and Short-A ball<\/a> in his age-19 season and performed well.<\/p>\n<p>Round 15: <strong>Kevin Mooney<\/strong>,\u00a0 RHP (reliver) COL jr from UofMaryland. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=622476#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">0-2 with a 3.33\u00a0ERA<\/a> while repeating Short-A. \u00a019\/11 K\/BB in 24 1\/3 innings. \u00a01.19 whip, 3.69 fip, .257 babip. \u00a0Despite repeating the level, he improved markedly from last year (shaving 2 points off his ERA). \u00a0He should have earned his way to a full-season reliever job in 2017. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending Steady.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 16: <strong>Ian Sagdal<\/strong>, SS COL sr\u00a0 from Washington State U.\u00a0 Slashed .303\/.362\/.474 in a full season with Hagerstown with 90\/36 K\/BB in 409 ABs. \u00a010 homers, 6SB. \u00a0Sagdal was listed as the &#8220;DH&#8221; but played like a corner-utility guy, jumping around and playing some 1B, some LF, some 2B\u00a0(he was drafted as a SS but his 6&#8217;3&#8243; frame clearly can&#8217;t handle the position defensively). \u00a0Its hard to argue against a .300 hitter with power though, so lets see what he can do next year against better competition. \u00a0He has definitely improved his standing since last year (when he hit just .235 in Auburn). <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">\u00a0Trending Steady.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 17: <strong>Dalton Dulin<\/strong>, 2B from Northwest Mississippi CC.\u00a0 Slashed just .186\/.277\/.265 while repeating Short-A. \u00a034\/13 K\/BB in 113 AB playing 2B, 0 homers, 7 SB. \u00a0A huge step back for the JuCo signing, who turned 22 in May. \u00a0 He split time at 2B with 2016&#8217;s\u00a0<strong>Jake Noll<\/strong> among others, and i&#8217;d be very surprised if he isn&#8217;t released next spring when he inevitably fails to make the Hagerstown squad. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Trending Down<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 18: <strong>Melvin Rodriguez<\/strong> 2B COL sr from Jackson State U. (MS). \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Released 4\/2\/16<\/span>, presumably after not making the Hagerstown squad and likely being &#8220;behind&#8221; others at the position (others like the man just mentioned Dalton Dulin). \u00a0He got <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.cgi?id=rodrig000mel\">picked up by the Indy league team<\/a> in Joliet and played 79 games for them this year. \u00a0I&#8217;m not sure if I noticed this last year, but he was *old* coming out of college. \u00a0This is his second pro year and he turned 25 in February.<\/p>\n<p>Round 19: <strong>Clayton Brandt<\/strong> SS COL sr from MidAmerica Nazarene U (KS).\u00a0 Slashed just .179\/.271\/.248 in Short-A, 33\/16 K\/BB in 145 ABs. \u00a00 homers, 2 SBs. \u00a0These numbers are rather similar to his numbers last year in the GCL, but it isn&#8217;t like there was another high-powered middle infield star prospect pushing him; the other two &#8220;short stops&#8221; on Auburn&#8217;s roster this year were equally inept with the bat. \u00a0Like others above with batting averages below .200, i&#8217;m saying\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Trending Down <span style=\"color: #000000;\">but I wonder if some of these guys will hang around into 2017 simply to fill roster spots. \u00a0<strong>Post publishing update<\/strong>: Brandt voluntarily retired on <a href=\"http:\/\/web.milb.com\/milb\/stats\/stats.jsp?t=l_trn&amp;lid=127&amp;sid=l127\">on 12\/15\/16<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 20: <strong>John Reeves<\/strong> C, COL sr\u00a0 from Rice (TX): <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign<\/span>.\u00a0 Despite being listed as a &#8220;College Senior&#8221; he really was a 4th year junior and opted to return for his 5th year. \u00a0A quick check at Rice&#8217;s 2016 stats page shows that Reeves <a href=\"http:\/\/www.riceowls.com\/sports\/m-basebl\/stats\/2015-2016\/teamcume.html\">did not play for Rice<\/a>\u00a0in 2016; It does not look like he was re-drafted, nor play in any independent leagues. \u00a0A curious case; if the Nats felt like it was worthy of a 20th round pick, why have we not pursued him since he&#8217;s now freely available? \u00a0Unless this was a &#8220;favor pick&#8221; to someone &#8230; but a 20th round pick seems way early for a throwaway pick.<\/p>\n<p>Round 21: <strong>Matt Pirro<\/strong>, RHP (reliever) COL sr\u00a0 from Wake Forest. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=664783#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">3-2, 4.43 ERA<\/a>\u00a0across two levels, ending in Short-A. \u00a0 17\/12\u00a0k\/bb in 22 1\/3ip, 1.30 combined whip,\u00a06.50 fip, .217 babip in short-A. \u00a0Pirro failed to make even the Short-A team once the 2016 class was signed; he repeated both levels he played at last year with worse numbers. \u00a0He struggled last year and he struggled again this year. \u00a0Hard to see him here for the long term. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Trending Down. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Post publishing update<\/strong>: Pirro was <a href=\"http:\/\/web.milb.com\/milb\/stats\/stats.jsp?t=l_trn&amp;lid=127&amp;sid=l127\">released on 12\/15\/16<\/a>, indeed a release candidate.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 22: <strong>Adam Boghosian<\/strong> RHP (reliever) COL 5s from North Greenville U. (SC). \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Released 3\/26\/16<\/span> when he didn&#8217;t make a full-season squad.<\/p>\n<p>Round 23: <strong>Alec Rash<\/strong>, RHP (starter) COL jr from Missouri: <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign<span style=\"color: #000000;\">. Initially it seemed that Rash was returning to school to try to rebuild his value after an injury plagued collegiate career. \u00a0Word came out though in Sept of 2015 that he was <a href=\"http:\/\/d1baseball.com\/news\/prized-alec-rash-leaves-missouri-baseball\/\">quitting the team<\/a> (and the sport) for good. \u00a0A tough break for Rash, who passed up 2nd round money in 2012 and now has nothing to show for it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 24: <strong>Blake Smith<\/strong> RHP (reliever) COL jr\u00a0 West Virginia: <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign<\/span>. \u00a0Returned for his &#8220;senior&#8221; year with West Virginia and was drafted by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/draft\/?query_type=name&amp;name=Blake+Smith&amp;\">Angels in the 29th round of the 2016 draft<\/a>. \u00a0He put up decent numbers for their Low-A affiliate this year.<\/p>\n<p>Round 25: <strong>Calvin Copping<\/strong> RHP (reliever) COL jr from Cal. State Northridge. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Released on 3\/16\/16<\/span> when it became clear he wouldn&#8217;t make Hagerstown.<\/p>\n<p>Round 26: <strong>Russell &#8220;Rocky&#8221; Harmening<\/strong>. RHP (reliever) COL jr Westmont Coll (CA). \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=665106#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">0-1, 2.57 ERA<\/a> for Auburn this year. \u00a023\/8 K\/BB in 28 relief innings. 1.21 whip, 3.06 fip, .294 BABIP. \u00a0A \u00a0nice 2nd pro season for Harmening, who improved his numbers across the board jumping from GCL to Short-A. \u00a0He also apparently now goes by &#8220;Rocky.&#8221; \u00a0Should make the Hagerstown pen as a middle reliever. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending Steady<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 27: <strong>Ryan Brinley<\/strong>, RHP (reliever) COL jr from Sam Houston State U. (TX). \u00a0Posted a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=665096#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">4-3 record with a 3.55 ERA<\/a> across two levels. \u00a038\/9 K\/BB in 50 2\/3 innings. \u00a01.07 whip combined, 2.68 fip and .243 babip in Potomac. \u00a0Brinley was a surprise performer last year and he continued his good work this year; he made the Potomac team out of spring and dominated there for two months before getting promoted to AA. \u00a0There however, he struggled, giving up 14 runs and 17 hits in 11 innings, and was back in Potomac by August 1st. \u00a0Presumably he&#8217;s going to try AA again next spring. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Trending Up<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 28: <strong>Mick VanVossen<\/strong> RHP (reliever) COL sr from Michigan State U. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=607099#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">4-4, 4.25 ERA<\/a> across 2 levels. \u00a050\/19 K\/.BB in 59 1\/3 innings, mostly with Hagerstown. 1.28 whip, 4.13fip, .285 babip while in in Low-A. \u00a0He bounced around in what seemed like a bunch of procedural moves but was essentially a middle reliever for Low-A all year. \u00a0He had relatively solid numbers in Hagerstown and should get a look at moving up a level for 2017. \u00a0\u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending Steady<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 29: <strong>Philip Diedrick<\/strong> OF COL sr\u00a0 Western Kentucky U. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Released 4\/2\/16<\/span> after struggling in 2015 in the GCL. \u00a0No surprise here.<\/p>\n<p>Round 30: <strong>Jorge Pantoja<\/strong> RHP (reliever) COL jr Alabama State U. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=664090#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">9-2 with a 3.20 ERA<\/a> across two levels. \u00a046\/19 K\/BB in 64 2\/3s innings, mostly with Hagerstown. \u00a01.15 whip, 2.67 fip, .302 babip while in Low-A. \u00a0As we noted last summer, he just needed some time to show that his 2015 numbers were better than they appeared, and the team was rewarded. \u00a0Pantoja went 9-1 with a 2.63 ERA for Hagerstown this year, earning a bump up to Potomac on August 8th. \u00a0He struggled there, walking 9 guys in 10 innings after walking just 10 in 54 innings in Hagerstown. \u00a0Nonetheless, he&#8217;s looking up and should be a solid Potomac bullpen guy (later innings or perhaps closer) in 2017. He&#8217;s playing in the Mexican Winter League this off-season. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Trending Up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 31: <strong>Nick Sprengel<\/strong> LHP (starter) from El Dorado HS (CA): <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign<\/span>. \u00a0Honored his commitment to the U of San Diego, where he went <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usdtoreros.com\/sports\/m-basebl\/stats\/2015-2016\/teamcume.html\">3-5 with a 6.17 ERA<\/a> his freshman year as a mid-week starter.<\/p>\n<p>Round 32: <strong>Dalton DiNatale<\/strong> 3B COL jr Arizona State U. \u00a0\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Released 6\/7\/16<\/span>; he hung around for a bit after not making a full-season squad and then got released once the 2016 draft occurred.<\/p>\n<p>Round 33: <strong>Angelo La Bruna<\/strong> SS COL 5S\u00a0 from U. Southern California. \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=665031#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\">Slashed .246\/.320\/.325<\/a> between Short-A and Low-A, with 20\/12 K\/BB in 114 total ABs. \u00a01hr, 2SB playing 2B and SS. \u00a0La Bruna was assigned initially to Short-A, but came out on fire going 10-21 and quickly getting bumped to Low-A. \u00a0There he was less effective, hitting just .194 with little power (5 XBH in 33 games). \u00a0 If I sense a recurring theme among these reviews so far of the 2016 and 2015 classes, its relatively zero depth in the middle infield. \u00a0So I see no reason for La Bruna not to hang around another year. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending Steady<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 34: <strong>Tyler Watson<\/strong> LHP (starter) from Perry HS (AZ). \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?sid=milb&amp;player_id=663533#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\">2-3, 2.64 ERA<\/a> split between Short-A and Low-A. \u00a064\/15 K\/BB in 58IP, 1.05 whip, 2.05 whip and .261 babip in Auburn. \u00a0Watson was the opening day starter for Auburn after turning 19 in late May and had an awesome season; in 9 starts facing competition that was (on average) <a href=\"http:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/register\/player.cgi?id=watson001tyl\">2.4 years older<\/a> than he was, he had a 1.88 ERA and gave up just 30 hits and 9 walks in 48 innings. \u00a0His ERA jumped when he got to Hagerstown but his peripherals did not; he still struck out a guy an inning and his Hagerstown FIP was 2.87. \u00a0He looks like he could be a stud. \u00a0He has nothing left to prove in Short-A; I&#8217;d expect him to be in the Low-A rotation in 2017 but to have his season cut short as they build up pro innings on his arm. \u00a0<span style=\"color: #339966;\">Trending Up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 35: <strong>Coco Montes<\/strong> SS from Coral Gables HS (FL): <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign.\u00a0 <span style=\"color: #000000;\">Montes honored his commitment to South Florida. \u00a0At USF Montes was a starter as a Freshman and <a href=\"https:\/\/admin.xosn.com\/pdf9\/4850806.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=7700&amp;\">slashed .218\/.287\/.264<\/a>. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Round 36: <strong>Taylor Bush<\/strong> SS from The Linfield School (CA): <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign<\/span>.\u00a0 Bush honored his commitment to Westmont College. \u00a0As a freshman, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.westmont.edu\/athletics\/mens-baseball\/baseball-season-stats\/\">got into 30 games and only had 15 ABs<\/a> in a late-innings defensive replacement role.<\/p>\n<p>Round 37: <strong>Steven DiPuglia<\/strong> SS from Cooper City HS (FL): <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign<\/span>.\u00a0 DiPuglia\u00a0 honored his commitment to Western Kentucky. \u00a0At WKU, DiPuglia started as a freshman and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wkusports.com\/sports\/m-basebl\/stats\/2015-2016\/teamcume.html\">slashed .253\/.323\/.264<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 38: <strong>Matt Morales<\/strong> SS from Wellington Community HS (FL): <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign<\/span>.\u00a0 Morales honored his commitment to Stetson University. \u00a0At Stenson, Morales started as a freshman and <a href=\"http:\/\/stetson_ftp.sidearmsports.com\/custompages\/stats\/baseball\/2016\/teamcume.htm\">slashed .250\/.324\/.286<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Round 39: <strong>Jake Jefferies <\/strong>2B COL jr\u00a0 from Cal. State Fullerton. \u00a0Hit .208 in 24 ABs for Auburn in Short-A before being <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">released on 7\/5\/16<\/span>. \u00a0He just never showed enough at the plate despite being chased by this organization for years (they drafted him in 2012 as well).<\/p>\n<p>Round 40: <strong>Parker Quinn<\/strong> 1B from The Benjamin School (FL): <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">did not sign<\/span>.\u00a0 Quinn honored his commitment to Hofstra. \u00a0Quinn had <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gohofstra.com\/cumestats.aspx?path=baseball&amp;\">no stats for Hofstra in 2016<\/a>, either he didn&#8217;t make the varsity team or he was hurt. \u00a0His <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/quinning17\">Twitter account<\/a> still reports him as being at Hofstra and being class of 2019, so i&#8217;m not sure what his status is.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Trending Summary:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #339966;\">Matriculated to Majors<\/span>: (1): Glover<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #339966;\">Trending Up<\/span> (7): Stevenson, Crownover, Borne, Guilbeau, Brinley, Pantoja, Watson<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Trending Steady<\/span> (10): Perkins, Wisemann, Rivera Jr, Lee, Peterson, Mooney, Sagdal, Harmening, Van Vossen, La Bruna<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Trending Down<\/span> (4):\u00a0Kerian, Dulin, Brandt, Pirro<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Released\/Retired<\/span> (6):\u00a0Rodriguez, Boghosian, Copping, Diedrick, DiNatale, Jefferies<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Did Not Sign<\/span> (10): Lemieux, Reeves, Rash, Smith, Sprengel, Montes, Bush, DiPuglia, Morales, Quinn<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">No longer with the Org<\/span> (2): Hearn, Schrock<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Executive Summary<\/p>\n<p>The 2015 class is holding its own so far, with a number of guys with promising starts and just 6 releases after two full pro seasons. \u00a0Watson looks like a stud, Glover looks like a heck of a find, and the upper round picks are at least treading water thus far if not exceeding expectations (Stevenson).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Second in our set of Draft class Reviews. \u00a0First was the 2016 class. Web links to use while reading: Stats are pulled from\u00a0milb.com\u00a0and\/or\u00a0fangraphs.com; put the player name into the search bar to get his seasonal stats The MLB.com Draft Tracker (which I believe is the best draft tracker out there) is the best place to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2854,2881,2859,2814,2858,2124,2821,2855,35,2882,2851,2888,2887,2861,2828,2237,2826,2849,2836,3345,2852,2885,2827,2880,3344,2823,662,2825,2891,2853,1037,2878,2850,2856,129,2886,2892,2857,3189,2883,2884,2890,2889,2829,2824,2819,2860,1296],"class_list":["post-13056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-draft","tag-adam-boghosian","tag-alec-rash","tag-andrew-lee","tag-andrew-stevenson","tag-angelo-la-bruna","tag-billy-burns","tag-blake-perkins","tag-blake-smith","tag-brad-peacock","tag-calvin-copping","tag-clayton-brandt","tag-coco-montes","tag-dalton-dinatale","tag-dalton-dulin","tag-david-kerian","tag-felipe-rivero","tag-grant-borne","tag-ian-sagdal","tag-jake-jefferies","tag-jake-noll","tag-john-reeves","tag-jorge-pantoja","tag-koda-glover","tag-mack-lemieux","tag-marc-rzepczynski","tag-mariano-rivera-jr","tag-mark-melancon","tag-matt-crownover","tag-matt-morales","tag-matt-pirro","tag-max-scherzer","tag-max-schrock","tag-melvin-rodriguez","tag-mick-van-vossen","tag-mike-rizzo","tag-nick-sprengel","tag-parker-quinn","tag-philip-diedrick","tag-rhett-wisemann","tag-russell-harmening","tag-ryan-brinley","tag-steven-dipuglia","tag-taylor-bush","tag-taylor-guilbeau","tag-taylor-hearn","tag-taylor-ward","tag-tommy-peterson","tag-tyler-watson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13056"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13271,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13056\/revisions\/13271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}