Cleveland Sports Forum

it is pretty bizarre that Cleveland has an overall good past decade of producing players through the draft but the first round picks are a mixed bag. The one almost guaranteed failure is a first round college outfielder

Myles Naylor, SS/3B, St. Joan of Arc (Mississauga, Ont.)
DOB: 04-15-2005 | 6-foot-2 | 195 pounds | B/T: R/R

The youngest of the three Naylor brothers, and the only right-handed batter of the bunch, Myles has a very different profile than Josh or Bo, with some ceiling to his bat because he shows some power. He has a super-wide stance with no stride and is off balance too often, lacking the pitch recognition Bo had at that age to compensate. He’s a shortstop now but has to move to third base if he’s going to stay on the dirt at all. He’s committed to Texas Tech.

as I noted in another folder, Articles perhaps, the 2022 Guardians' draft has so far produced almost nothing positive.
No 1 pick DeLauter finally has debuted after repeating his predraft injury
No. 2 pick Campbell, promising pitcher, had surgery and may debut in 2023
No. 3 pick Messick, a college LHP, surprisingly started in Low A, took 1/2 year to get promoted and has been very bad in his first 2 Lake County starts
Next came OF Joe Lampe barely hitting over 200 of the Captains
2b Furman was great in Lynchburg, flopping so far in Eastlake
Then came OF Lipscomb another singles hitter who steals bases doing fair to mddlling with the Hillcats

the 2 later picks paid over slot were
Jackson Humphies 8th rounder paid 3rd or 4th round money a high school lefty has begun his career in Arizona as expected with 23 strikeouts in 15 innings

and the big over-slot signing talented HS pitcher Jacob Zibin paid $1.2M drafted in the 10th round, that's a 2nd round slot value. a 6-4 HS righthander with some character issues; has yet to debut, I believe I saw something about injury setback.

final predraft guessing game from BA; they've switched SS they think Cleveland will pick with these comments and other options:''



23. Guardians — Colt Emerson, SS, Glenn HS, New Concord, Ohio

Slot Value: $3,380,900

Total Bonus Pool: $8,736,700

Emerson continues to get linked to Cleveland, and he makes sense as an ultra-young prepster with solid contact skills. This feels like the lower end of outcomes for Nolan Schanuel, and if he’s on the board I could see the Guardians pouncing. I’d assume the same is true if Arjun Nimmala somehow makes it this far—for the same reasons they are tied to Emerson. Eric Bitonti could be an interesting underslot option here as well for a team that has employed that strategy in the past. LSU righty Ty Floyd has been gaining late helium and is sounding like a potential first-rounder, and Cleveland has historically valued pitchers with his fastball metrics. Chase Davis and Bryce Eldridge are two players who fit on talent in this range, but who might not be fits for Cleveland.

Dart Throw Later Picks: RHP Jason DeCaro; SS Jarren Purify; SS Eric Bitonti; RHP Tanner Hall

All these deals are pre-negotiated. Should be no surprises. G's will take another college pitcher in the first round.

If that's meant to imply that the Guardians routinely take a college pitcher in the first round, the history shows that from 2011-2022 they took 1 college pitcher in the first round. 2 high school pitchers. 1 catcher. 2 high school infielders; 3 college outfielders; 3 high school outfielders

And from that list of 1 st round picks , many were busts.

Stick with college pitchers.

Get some new scouts

we do better with 3rd through 5th round picks than 1st round.

Which would mean the scouts are doing a great job. First round is as much about contracts as talent.

In the Majors
Bo Round 1
Williams Round 1
Sandlin 2nd round
Freeman Round 2+
Civale 3rd round
Hentges 4th round
Bieber 4th round
Bibee 5th round
Kwan 5th round
Curry 7th round
Morgan 8th round
Brennan 8th round
Herrin 29th round

40 man roster with major league experience
McKenizie Round 1+
Logan Allen 2nd round
Gaddis 5th round
Karinchak 9th round

In the immedaite post draft analysis Jim Callis ranked Guardians as having 5th best draft haul. After one year there's very little to show for it

5. Guardians
James Madison outfielder Chase DeLauter (first) had the best combination of tools, plate discipline and performance among college hitters, yet Cleveland was able to snag him at No. 16. [missed 1/2 a season; great first 10 games in High A] The Guardians excel at enhancing refined college arms, and they grabbed three in Oklahoma State right-hander Justin Campbell (supplemental first), [injured, yet to play] Florida State left-hander Parker Messick (second) [1/2 season in low A; ERAover 9 in his first 4 High A starts] and Mississippi righty Dylan DeLucia (sixth). [not yet played] DeLucia won Most Outstanding Player honors at the College World Series. They also added several premier contact hitters, starting with high-energy Arizona State outfielder Joe Lampe (third), [avg just over 200, OPS low 600s in High A] and a pair of real talent values in high school arms Jackson Humphries (eighth) [just getting started in Rookie ball, lots of K's] and Jacob Zibin (10th) [not yet debuted].

23. Cleveland Guardians: Ralphy Velazquez, C, Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS
Who is Velazquez? A left-handed hitter who had a decorated high school career, Velazquez is a bat-first catcher with an emphasis on "bat" because there are a lot of doubts about whether he can remain behind the plate. His speed probably limits him to first base if he does have to change positions.

Why the Guardians took him here: There is no question about Velazquez's hitting ability, which ranks among the best of any high school player in this draft, and that's what the Guardians are betting on here. If Velazquez can develop enough defensively to stay behind the plate, this pick could look like a steal as he makes his way toward Cleveland. If not, the Guardians can still feel good about getting one of the most powerful bats in this draft this close to the back of Round 1. -- Mullen

Zack Silverman
@ZackSilverman18
·
1h
Guardians get an extraordinarily professional bat in Ralphy Velazquez. It's elite discipline and barrel to ball ability. Power comes more from strength/pitch selection/barrel to ball than it does from explosiveness. Pretty complete hitter even if defense is a question mark.

Guardians Prospective
@CleGuardPro
·
42m
There will be no Naylor trio in Cleveland as the A's select Myles Naylor with the 39th overall pick.

Peter Flaherty III
@PeterGFlaherty
·
11m
The Cleveland Guardians have selected 6’6” LHP Alexander Clemmey. The exact definition of “great clay.” Thunderous FB up to 99 mph, an offering he pairs with a plus SL. Plenty of room to fill out physically, his ceiling is as high as they come.