The 2011 MLB draft concluded yesterday with the final 20 rounds. Previously I've reviewed the Dodgers first round pick, as well as all the selections from day 2. Before I recap the Dodger picks in rounds 31 - 50, here is the summarization of picks, and my overall thoughts on this draft.
Summary (All 50 Rounds):
15 College Pitchers (4 LHP, 11 RHP)
21 College Hitters (6 OF, 5 SS, 4 Catchers, 3 3B, 2 2B, 1 1B)
8 High School Pitchers (2 LHP, 6 RHP)
6 High School Hitter (2 2B, 1 SS, 1 OF, 1 3B, 1 Catcher)
Overall, I'm much less excited about this draft when compared to the past few years. I don't see many players with a lot of upside in this draft, which is almost directly related to the fact that we selected very few signable high school players. I don't really see any potential All Star players of the 50 guys we selected, although there are several guys that have a good chance of making it the big leagues.
13th round pick David Palladino (18 years old, RHP) is probably the most intriguing pick for me because of his size, his outstanding high school stats, and the fact that he already throws 93 mph. Shortstop Justin Boudreaux (21, SS) was a good 14th round pick for us as he has a good combination of speed and power, and 17th rounder Jesus Valdez (19, 3B/RHP) could be a real wildcard if we could get him to sign. 6th round pick Scott Barlow (18, RHP) also has potential, and I like 4th rounder Ryan O'Sullivan (20, RHP) as well. 2nd rounder Alex Santana (17, 3B) appears to be a good athlete with solid bloodlines, but he seems like a big project and I don't like his chances of staying at 3rd base. He was a pitcher in high school that high 91 mph on the mound, however, so at least we have options with him. Then of course we have 1st round pick Chris Reed (21, LHP), and while I think we could have drafted much better players at #16 overall, I do believe that Reed will be a solid reliever for us one day.
In terms of the later round picks, we drafted quite a few high school players with high ceilings, but my guess is that very few of them sign, if any. In 2010 only 6 players signed after the 30th round, none of them high school players, and the same can be said for 2009. In fact, the only high school player to sign as a 30th round pick or later since 2000 was Matt Magill. That being said, of the guys who have at least some chance of signing, 33rd rounder Malcolm Holland (18, 2B) would be fun to watch, and 42nd round pick Max Povse (17, RHP) could be a monster for us on the mound if the Dodgers can convince him to sign on the dotted line. For the later college round picks, I wouldn't mind seeing what 38th round bloodline pick Devon Shines (23, OF)could do for us in the minor leagues, and I think 35th rounder Mike Thomas (22, LHP) could surprise us all despite coming from a small college.
Round 31: Mickey McConnell, SS, St. Mary's - The Dodgers used their first pick of day 3 on a player who hadn't played organized baseball in 4 years. The 6'1" senior from St. Mary's had been a basketball star all through college, and was even the WCC Player of the year this past season. He was a solid shortstop in high school, but he currently has no plans to play baseball as he has a few workouts with NBA teams lined up in the near future.
Round 32: Hunter Jennings, OF, Delgado CC - The 6'2" Jennings saw limited action for the Delgado Dolphins but hit .326 in 43 at bats. He did not have a home run, and his 4 errors in the field resulted in a .750 fielding percentage.
Round 33: Malcolm Holland, 2B, Hamilton HS (AZ) - I don't know much about Holland as a baseball player, but Logan White said that he has tools similar to Dee Gordon. The Dodgers are going to have to lure him away from a football scholarship at Boise State to sign him.
Round 34: Rob Chamra, RHP, North Carolina State - Charma is 6'4" and 225, and he sounds like he is eager to start his professional career. I'm not sure about his stuff, but I do know that he went 8-3 with a 4.35 ERA and 39 K's for the Wolfpack in 2011 through 68.1 innings.
Round 35: Mike Thomas, LHP, Rider - Thomas is a 6'2" lefty who had a 2.34 ERA for Rider in 2011. He recorded 92 strikeouts in 96 innings, and batters hit .240 against him.
Round 36: Kevin Taylor, 2B, Western Nevada CC - Taylor, who stands at 5'11", apparently didn't play at Western Nevada in 2011 due to some sort of an injury. In 2010 he hit .328 with 3 HR's and 4 SB's.
Round 37: Reid Redman, 3B, Texas Tech - Redman was drafted as a 3rd baseman, but he didn't show any pop during his junior year at Texas Tech as he didn't have a home run. He did, however, hit .320 with 12 doubles, 34 RBI, and 6 SB's, but I really don't think this 6'0" player has much going for him if he signs.
Round 38: Devon Shines, OF, Oklahoma State - Devon is the son of form Expos 1B Razor Shines. He didn't really shine at the plate for the OK State Cowboys, however, as he hit just .270 in 2011. He also had 4 homers and 6 SB's.
Round 39: Jordan Kipper, RHP, Mountain Pointe HS (AZ) - The 6'4" righty sounds pretty intriguing, although his webpage on perfect game says he only hits 84 mph. His college commitment is to Central Arizona CC, so we might actually have a shot at signing him.
Round 40: Stefan Jarrin, 2B, East LA College - As we all know by now this is the son of Dodger Spanish announcer Jaime Jarrin. Much has already been written about him, but he doesn't seem to be much of a prospect at all. I bet he does sign, though, just to say he played in the Dodgers organization. Also, it looks like he had a short stint as a Dodger blogger a few years back (and was a big Juan Pierre fan).
Round 41: Casey Thomas, 2B, Desert Vista HS (AZ) - Thomas is the son of Dodger Amateur Scout Tom Thomas. One report said that "Thomas was one of the best defensive shortstops in the East Valley last season, and his offense improved. At the end of the season, according to coach Stan Luketich, Thomas had not signed with anyone of the JC colleges yet, but was expected to soon thereafter." Sounds like he could possibly sign also since he doesn't have a strong college commitment.
Round 42: Max Povse, RHP, Green Hope HS (NC) - Povse is listed at 6'8" and 185 lbs, and according to Baseball America "He doesn't yet use his height to his advantage, as he is slight hunched over in his delivery. He has an 86-89 mph fastball and the makings of a decent curveball." I read somewhere else that he can get into the low 90's, but I'm not sure about that. He has committed to play his college ball at University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Round 43: Alex Hermeling, RHP, Glenbrooks HS (IL) - The 6'5" Hermeling sounds like a projectable right hander, but according to a local paper "Chances are the 6-5 hurler will honor his commitment to college and pitch for Louisiana-Monroe, where he wants to also study aviation."
Round 44: Austin Slater, SS, Bolles School HS (FL) - Slater was actually a big time draft prospect a few months ago, and as late as November 2010 he was considered the 55th best high school player in the draft. However he was banged up all spring and because he fell so far in the draft he will almost certainly take his game to Stanford next year.
Round 45: James Lynch, OF, Salisury HS (AZ) - He's 6'2" and 190 pounds, but that's honestly all I could find out about him. That being said, high school players this late in the draft almost never sign.
Round 46: Victor Munoz, C, Claremont HS (CA) - He's 6'2", 215 pounds, but again I don't know much about him. I'm not sure what his college commitment it, but I'm guessing he'll pass up the Dodgers as a 46th round pick.
Round 47: Gregg Downing, LHP, Franklin Pierce University - A smallish lefty, Downing had a 2.30 though 74.1 innings in 2011. He struck out 93 and walked 30.
Round 48: Kevin Thompson, SS, Eastern New Mexico - Thompson is originally from La Canada, but he played his college ball in New Mexico and was mediocre at best. He had 2 career homers, 4 career SB's, and a career batting fielding percentage of just .901.
Round 49: J.J. Ethel, C, Louisville - Ethel has a cool name, but he didn't do much at all during his 2 years at Louisville. J.J. hit .251 in 2011 with 0 HR's and 16 RBI's.
Round 50: Chris Ellis, RHP, Spain Park HS (AL) - The last Dodger pick of the 2011 draft is a 6'4" right-hander, but he wasn't exactly healthy this spring and Baseball America says that he's going to college at Mississippi.