True Blue LA - 2017 Dodgers 2nd-round draft pick, RHP Morgan CooperWhere The Dodger Dogs Are Always Grilledhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/49563/truebluela_fav.png2017-06-12T21:56:21-07:00http://www.truebluela.com/rss/stream/155579092017-06-12T21:56:21-07:002017-06-12T21:56:21-07:00Billy Gasparino on Dodgers’ first 2 selections
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<figcaption>Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="A1mL22">LOS ANGELES — The <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> made their first two selections of the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb-draft">2017 MLB Draft</a>, and the theme on Monday seemed to revolve around strikeouts.</p>
<p id="DcSOcp">First-round selection Jeren Kendall, a <a href="http://www.truebluela.com/2017/6/12/15786838/2017-mlb-draft-jeren-kendall-dodgers-first-round-pick">speedy center fielder from Vanderbilt</a>, hit .307/.372/.556 with 15 home runs and 20 stolen bases as a junior, but also struck out 74 times in 295 plate appearances (25.1%).</p>
<p id="hUD9yo">“That’s an area of improvement,” Dodgers scouting director Billy Gasparino said on a conference call. “I’m sure our player development staff will starting working on how to improve it.”</p>
<p id="zWgzUc">Even with the strikeouts, the Dodgers were intrigued with the production, and potential.</p>
<p id="YL4YsK">“When he puts the ball in play, there is a speed-power result that happens, whether it’s home runs, or doubles or ability to steal bases,” Gasparino said. “If we can raise that contact rate up and put the ball in play, we feel confident he can be a productive major leaguer.”</p>
<p id="H3NsWa">Morgan Cooper, the <a href="http://www.truebluela.com/mlb-draft/2017/6/12/15789014/morgan-cooper-mlb-draft-2017-dodgers-texas-2nd-round">Dodgers’ second-round pick</a>, struck out 110 batters in 89⅓ innings as a redshirt junior for Texas, two years removed from Tommy John surgery.</p>
<p id="M4xFmc">“He’s what you expect out of of a Texas right-hander. He’s big and strong, 6’5, 220 pounds,” Gasparino said. “He’s really competitive. He has an active fastball, and two breaking balls now that we think are potential plus pitches.”</p>
<p id="RQrslT">Gasparino said Cooper could be a fast mover through the system, but not because he could switch to a relief role.</p>
<p id="1lzbsj">“He has a lot of star qualities. Our scouts were high on him coming out of the fall. He’s definitely a starter,” Gasparino said. “Most of his stuff is present. On the development end, we’re not waiting for a pitch to come or maybe have to work on his delivery.”</p>
<p id="DjgTQK">Kendall is the third Vanderbilt player selected by the Dodgers in the first round in the last three years, joining pitchers Walker Buehler (2015) and Jordan Sheffield (2016).</p>
<p id="iUlmVC">“We have a lot of respect for the program,” Gasparino said. “But I think this is just coincidental.”</p>
<p id="S3LAjv">It seems relative to most national rankings, Kendall was projected to go higher than 23rd, and Cooper was projected to go lower than 62nd. Gasparino was pragmatic when asked about the signability of the duo.</p>
<p id="wblzip">“Like always, the college juniors, we expect them to sign. We’re hopeful we can get things done. We think our organization is a place where people want to come,’ Gasparino said. “But it’s a two-way street, and we’ll wait to see what happens.”</p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2017/6/12/15789592/2017-mlb-draft-dodgers-rounds-1-2-recap-interviewEric Stephen2017-06-12T21:27:42-07:002017-06-12T21:27:42-07:00MLB draft profile: Morgan Cooper
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<figcaption>Texas RHP Morgan Cooper could be big league ready in a relatively short time frame. | <em>Photo credit: </em><a href="http://www.texassports.com/index.aspx?path=baseball"><em>Texas Sports</em></a></figcaption>
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<p id="xnaSiu"><strong>Name: </strong>Morgan Cooper</p>
<p id="jNJF5Z"><strong>Selection: </strong><a href="http://www.truebluela.com/mlb-draft/2017/6/12/15789014/morgan-cooper-mlb-draft-2017-dodgers-texas-2nd-round">Second round, 62nd overall pick</a> </p>
<p id="vAzU2X"><strong>School: </strong>University of Texas</p>
<p id="z0TzcU"><strong>Top 200 Ranking: </strong><a href="http://www.truebluela.com/2017/6/9/15772464/2017-mlb-draft-top-200-prospects">46th</a></p>
<p id="RWVpbw"><strong>What he’s good at right now: </strong>Cooper has returned from Tommy John surgery earlier in his career to be the top arm in a talent Texas rotation. Cooper can flash a mid-90s fastball, but his go to pitch this year was a downer breaking ball the he can throw for strikes. He works deep and has the build that portends durability.</p>
<p id="UY3TmM"><strong>What he can be good at in the future: </strong>Cooper is an older collegiate prospect and has a fairly filled out frame, so he’s not likely to gain too much on his stuff. He does need to log more innings after working back slowly from injury so more repetitions could help him maintain his above average velocity on his fastball.</p>
<p id="6mvd74"><strong>What does he need to work on: </strong>His control is solid, but Morgan Cooper does have a small stab in the back of his rotation that could cause some timing issues. Cooper’s changeup is solid now but he needs to throw it with more confidence to remain a starter. </p>
<p id="nyH2b4"><strong>Carry tool: </strong>The breaking ball is plus and gives him strikeout potential. Outside that, Cooper’s control is solid enough to give him a future in the back half of a rotation if he makes no further gains. </p>
<p id="dOlVS6"><strong>Biggest weakness: </strong>Perhaps projectability, as Cooper is an older prospect that isn’t likely to make much more physical progress.</p>
<p id="wmIAfM"><strong>ETA: </strong>Probably ready for High-A by year’s end, so he could be big league ready within two years.</p>
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<p id="iA8zAd"><strong>Realistic best-case scenario: </strong>Cooper could refine his changeup enough to hold the third or fourth spot in the rotation, with a sharp breaking ball as a swing and miss offering, and enough velocity in the tank when he needs it to produce at a first-division level. </p>
<p id="RIzbLu"><strong>Wrap: </strong>If Kendall is going to require a little more to sign in Round 1, or the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> have plans to spend big elsewhere, Cooper might represent a chance for a little bit of savings on slot while also nabbing a prospect I ranked almost twenty spots ahead of this pick. The Big 12 was the top RPI conference this year and Cooper was one of the league’s best arms and showed better stuff a year further removed from Tommy John surgery. He has a high floor as a middle reliever with more upside than <span>Ross Stripling</span>, but I wouldn’t quite rate his rotation upside as high as Brock Stewart’s at the moment. Cooper has the chance to move quickly and provide a quick return on investment. </p>
https://www.truebluela.com/2017/6/12/15789496/morgan-cooper-mlb-draft-2017-profile-dodgers-texas-second-roundDavid Hood2017-06-12T20:31:23-07:002017-06-12T20:31:23-07:00Dodgers draft Texas RHP Morgan Cooper in 2nd round
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<figcaption>The Dodgers selected Texas right-hander Morgan Cooper with their second-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. | <em>Photo credit: </em><a href="http://www.texassports.com/index.aspx?path=baseball"><em>Texas Sports</em></a></figcaption>
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<p id="F0TQpA">With their second-round selection in the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb-draft">2017 MLB Draft</a>, the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> on Monday night selected Texas right-handed pitcher Morgan Cooper with the No. 62 overall pick.</p>
<p id="mysPEH">Cooper, who missed all of 2015 after Tommy John surgery, was 6-3 with a 2.32 ERA in 16 games for Texas in 2017, including 15 starts, with 110 strikeouts and 33 walks in 89⅓ innings.</p>
<p id="vwfbcC">Cooper was ranked No. 46 overall in <a href="http://www.truebluela.com/2017/6/9/15772464/2017-mlb-draft-top-200-prospects">our David Hood’s top 200 draft prospects</a>, was slated No. 80 in <a href="http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft-preview/">the Baseball America top 500</a>, and was ranked 94th in <a href="http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2017?list=draft">the MLB Pipeline top 200</a>.</p>
<p id="9jUWOF">"Cooper has maintained steady stock as a late second or third round pick all spring but he could go as high as the supplemental round due to his relative lack of leverage and his status as an advanced college arm," <a href="http://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/6/11/15776460/2017-mlb-draft-profile-morgan-cooper-rhp-university-of-texas">wrote John Sickels at Minor League Ball</a>. "He could reach the majors fairly quickly."</p>
<p id="hfyapB">From the <a href="http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2017?list=draft">MLB Pipeline scouting report</a>:</p>
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<p id="tTmv4s"><em>At his best, Cooper can deal at 92-94 mph and reach 96 with his fastball. He uses his size and an overhand delivery to generate steep downhill plane, helping his heater induce swings and misses as well as groundballs. He still has to prove he can maintain his velocity over a full schedule because it has dipped in the second half of the last two college seasons.</em></p>
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<p id="jSJKYP">Cooper was drafted as a redshirt sophomore in 2016 in the 34th round by the <a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a>, but did not sign.</p>
<p id="HoLefR">The No. 62 overall pick <a href="http://m.mlb.com/news/article/223686792/2017-mlb-draft-bonus-pools-pick-values/">comes with a slot value of $1,018,200</a>.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you to the LA Dodgers Organization. So excited for this opportunity and can't wait to get started. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/hookemforever?src=hash">#hookemforever</a></p>
— Morgan Cooper (@mojaycoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/mojaycoop/status/874478349967642624">June 13, 2017</a>
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https://www.truebluela.com/mlb-draft/2017/6/12/15789014/morgan-cooper-mlb-draft-2017-dodgers-texas-2nd-roundEric Stephen