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#Post#: 434704--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: Reb Date: July 12, 2021, 4:44 pm
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BA:
Chavers ranked as the No. 167 prospect in the 2020 class and
likely would have ranked higher than that if it wasn’t for an
arm issue that prevented him from playing at all in the
shortened season. Plenty of scouts really liked the five-tool
ability Chavers has shown, but they wanted to see more
collegiate production and were a bit worried about some of his
swing-and-miss tendencies. This spring, Chavers led the
Chanticleers in hitting and posted a .318/.407/.477 line with
five home runs and lowered his strikeout rate from 18% in 2019
to 13%. Listed at 5-foot-11, 185 pounds, Chavers is a plus-plus
runner with above-average defense, above-average arm strength
and at least solid raw power. He didn’t tap into as much in-game
juice this spring as he showed in 2019, but that overall tool
set from a lefthanded-hitting center fielder is typically
coveted by scouts. What could complicate Chavers’ draft stock is
his age. He’ll be 23 just after the draft and how teams decide
to weigh that could lower him on some boards. While Chavers does
have the tools for an everyday profile, he has struggled
throughout his collegiate career against lefthanders, and this
spring hit just .246/.313/.328 against them in an admittedly
small sample—though he also struggled against southpaws in 2019
#Post#: 434706--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: Reb Date: July 12, 2021, 4:47 pm
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BA:
A 27th-round pick of the Indians in 2017 coming out of high
school, Opitz has played nearly 150 games for Arkansas, although
thanks to the coronavirus eligibility rules, he could return for
another year in 2022. Opitz does everything scouts want to see
behind the plate. He’s an excellent catch-and-throw catcher with
arguably the best arm in the draft class. Opitz regularly
records plus-plus pop times. He has thrown out 43% of
basestealers for his career, and his presence has largely led
some teams to shut down their basestealing when he’s at work. He
works well with pitchers and shows excellent ability to block
balls in the dirt. So why has a catcher with above-average
defense and a plus-plus arm struggled to gain traction with
scouts? It’s the bat. Opitz projects as a well below-average
hitter with bottom-of-the-scale power. He has hit five home runs
in over 500 career plate appearances. His 2021 season
(.259/.370/.351) tracks right in line with his .253/.365/.344
career line at Arkansas. Opitz understands the strike zone and
draws walks, but he struggles to catch up to velocity. A team
picking Opitz knows it will be getting a backstop who can
improve a pitching staff, but to even be an MLB backup he’ll
need to significantly improve as a hitter.
#Post#: 434708--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: Reb Date: July 12, 2021, 4:48 pm
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BA:
Watkins is no stranger to playing in various environments,
having started his career at Cal Poly in 2019 before
transferring to College of Central Florida in 2020, where he
went 4-1, 1.91 with 44 strikeouts in 28.1 innings. He found a
home in Oregon State’s bullpen this season, where he was used as
a situational lefthander. Watkins has a long frame at 6-foot-4,
217 pounds, with a fastball that sits 90-92 mph. He commands the
pitch well, and has shown the ability to spin his hammer
curveball. He also throws a cut-action slider and changeup, with
good deception thanks to his arm speed. Some evaluators believe
he has the stuff to start, although he has just 14 collegiate
starts to his name.
#Post#: 434709--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: Reb Date: July 12, 2021, 4:50 pm
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BA:
Riley Martin
The 6-foot-1, 215-pound lefthander is a fifth-year senior at
Quincy who racked up 152 strikeouts in his 78.2 innings this
season, making him an attractive choice for evaluators with a
likely low price tag. The southpaw has been 88 to 92 with a
fastball that has some ride, coupled with a plus curveball,
leading to his success.
#Post#: 434710--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: craig Date: July 12, 2021, 4:54 pm
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Cubs wrap up the draft with another 23-year-old in round 10. So
five of their last 6 picks were either 23 or will turn so by end
of the month.
The 9th rounder is only 21, a lefty reliever.
#Post#: 434712--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: Reb Date: July 12, 2021, 4:55 pm
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BA:
Christian Franklin
As of early June, Franklin was hitting below .300 (.294), but
like the rest of his teammates he dominated opponents by drawing
walks and hitting for power. Franklin’s power/speed combo is
even more alluring now that he’s answered some of the questions
that once surrounded his ability in center field. The 5-foot-11,
195-pound center fielder is an average runner who takes a while
to get to top speed (and his big swing means he generally turns
in 4.35-second times to first), but he is excellent at leaving
his feet and is fearless going back on balls to the wall. He’s
an above-average defender who also has an above-average,
accurate arm. At the plate, Franklin uses the entire field well,
with above-average power and the ability to turn on fastballs on
the inner half. He has a modest timing step, getting his foot
down consistently on time. When he gets a ball to pull, he does
an excellent job of using his lower half, generating excellent
exit velocities. Franklin recognizes and feasts on changeups in
the zone as well. He proved vulnerable to chasing sliders down
and away in the zone, but if pitchers get greedy, he will lay
off of them if they go far out of the zone. Franklin can be
beaten in the zone, but he rarely expands to chase pitches out
of it, especially when he gets into two-strike counts.
Franklin’s well-rounded skill set and three years of production
for Arkansas make him a pretty safe pick, and he has enough
power and plate discipline to make a solid MLB impact as well.
#Post#: 434713--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: CUBluejays Date: July 12, 2021, 5:19 pm
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[quote author=Dave23 link=topic=580.msg434684#msg434684
date=1626119199]
Triantos sounded great until the part about his front side
flying open and his max-effort swing...hope it's not as bad as
it sounds...
Also makes me question the level of comp he faced, considering
the contact numbers he put up. Sounds like his 91-94 FB was
leaving the opposition in awe during the championship
game...were they seeing low to mid 80's all season before that,
if that?
[/quote]
The Fangraphs article that was poster earlier he had 350 pitches
on tape on the showcase circuit. 70 BIP and 6 swings and
misses. So he’s done it against velocity. I’m not a hitting
guru, but there wasn’t a huge flaw in his swing that I saw.
#Post#: 434714--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: Dave23 Date: July 12, 2021, 5:44 pm
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Thanks…I totally glossed over the part that mentioned those
numbers being against the showcase circuit…that makes me a bit
more optimistic…
#Post#: 434716--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: CurtOne Date: July 12, 2021, 6:58 pm
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[quote author=CUBluejays link=topic=580.msg434713#msg434713
date=1626128357]
there wasn’t a huge flaw in his swing that I saw.
[/quote] Cub coaching will fix that!
#Post#: 434718--------------------------------------------------
Re: Cubs Draft 2021
By: Dave23 Date: July 12, 2021, 7:06 pm
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Having said that…a hitter’s front side flying open and a max
effort swing doesn’t worry me as much vs. velocity as it does
against good offspeed stuff…especially well placed on the outer
half.
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