2020 MLB Draft: Barebones edition

[sportscoach]

Under slot deal or so I’ve heard

They have done that a few times, that means with the next pick they will go with like the highest profile player available. So I expect the top player available at 36 who is going to sign over slot. This is how we got Jones even though he was projected not to sign.

 

[sportscoach]

MLB broadcast team talked about how due to Covid19 instead of playing his senior season of HS, he’s been able to work out the past three months with his Major League brother and some of his major league friends.

I mean any chance you get to work with very advanced players to your age/ability, you have the chance to learn and develop a lot. I think he was our target regardless, but its always nice for the team that he got an extra chance to develop like that.

We have a lot of middle infielders, so it will be interesting who ends up with what position long term.

 

[MadThinker88]

They have done that a few times, that means with the next pick they will go with like the highest profile player available. So I expect the top player available at 36 who is going to sign over slot. This is how we got Jones even though he was projected not to sign.

IIRC at no point has the Tribe paid more for a 2nd round or comp pick then it paid for its top/ 1st round pick (that signed)

 

[Benway]

This is somewhat entertaining, courtesy of Trevor Bauer.
Carson Tucker takes Logan Allen Deep

 

[sportscoach]

IIRC at no point has the Tribe paid more for a 2nd round or comp pick then it paid for its top/ 1st round pick (that signed)

I didnt say that, I said we drafted someone who was going to sign under slot value so we could try and take a person who we know will be very hard to sign. I mean Benson signed at 2.5 while Jones signed for 2.25 (who was signed for double of his slot value).

What I was saying was they were going to take a chance on a lower signability guy, who will sign over slot.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

WOO! JUST WHO I WANTED! TANNER BURNS!!!

GO TRIBE! WAY TO GO!

(Just kidding, I have no idea who this guy is. Fill me in guys)

 

[MadThinker88]

I didnt say that, I said we drafted someone who was going to sign under slot value so we could try and take a person who we know will be very hard to sign. I mean Benson signed at 2.5 while Jones signed for 2.25 (who was signed for double of his slot value).

What I was saying was they were going to take a chance on a lower signability guy, who will sign over slot.

Not saying you did.
I was adding info so a 3rd party would not get the mistaken impression that Tucker was drafted to be signed so far under slot that all the extra money would head in the comp picks direction (in this case Tanner Burns)...

 

[sportscoach]

WOO! JUST WHO I WANTED! TANNER BURNS!!!

GO TRIBE! WAY TO GO!

(Just kidding, I have no idea who this guy is. Fill me in guys)

From reports he is low to mid 90s fastball, which he has good command of. His slider/slurve is supposed to be a possible plus pitch as well (low 80s in speed).11K per 9 and was under a 1 WHIP in the short season for this year.

To me he is more of the good command, high floor type of guy, maybe not as high of ceiling. Durability is a possible issue, so best case scenario he is a 2nd/3rd starter and worst case scenario he is a middle relief. Unless he has a bunch of injury issues, I see him on a shorter track to getting a pro chance. So almost a 23 with pro injuries or 24 ETA in the pros. I think at one point we will see him in the pros somewhere.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Burns has plenty of SEC experience. Depending on opportunities, you might see him by late 2021.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Burns has plenty of SEC experience. Depending on opportunities, you might see him by late 2021.

 

[Derek]

Burns has plenty of SEC experience. Depending on opportunities, you might see him by late 2021.

That seems very unlikely unless you think they're going to use him out of the pen. Which, I don't believe you suspect.

Tough to imagine any starter moving through the system faster than Bieber did, and even he didn't debut until mid-2018 after being drafted in 2016.

On another note, found some stuff on Burns.

Tanner Burns - Prospect Profile
MLB.com - May : "When he's 100 percent, Burns can work at 92-97 mph with his fastball and locate it to both sides of the plate. His breaking ball can be a plus pitch at times, combining slider velocity in the low 80s with curveball depth, but it gets slurvy at others."

Carlos Collazo - Baseball America - May 13th: "Burns throws an above-average curveball and a changeup that gets some above-average grades as well, though it fluctuates more around average than the curve or fastball. He also throws a slider, though some evaluators believe the two breaking balls blend together."

Kiley McDaniel - ESPN - May 13th: "Burns has the best fastball command in the draft and, along with Detmers, might move the quickest through the low minors."

Ian Smith - Prospect 365 - Apr. 26th: "Burns brings three pitches that grade at least 55 (fastball, curveball, changeup), and he throws them with solid command. His stuff plays up due to his aggressive mentality on the mound."

Dan Zielinki - Baseball Prospect Journal - Mar. 22nd: "He throws a mid-90s fastball. He might not have the upside as some of the other college pitchers but profiles as an effective major-league starter."

Jeff Ellis - 247 Sports - Feb. 14th: "The concerns with him are two-fold--height and injuries. He stands six feet tall and has had a few nagging injuries, though nothing major. His stuff is good, but not great, but it plays up because he spots it so well. If Burns was 6' 5" and had no injury issues, he would be talked about as a top ten pick."

Carlos Collazo - Baseball America - Jan. 31st : "Burns has been a workhorse in two years with Auburn, taking 32 starts and throwing 165.7 innings while posting a 2.89 ERA over that period. While he’s short for a typical innings-eater profile, Burns has a strong, mature frame and has been as reliable as anyone in the college game."

 

[petes999]

A little disappointed in not reaching for pitchers. It seemed a bit safe with both selections. With our stockpile of SS ... wished we went Bitsko/Kelley in the first pick. You only need one SS, so some will change positions (but not the smashing HR type you want on the corners 1B/3B/LF/RF) where we need some depth...even catcher to pair w Naylor. However, even if you have excess of starting P, it’s never that bad as that has been our strength in recent years in reaching playoffs (and didn’t have enough w injuries). Plus, always a good position of strength to have in trade talks.

 

[LL3]

The Tribe has no worries about stock piling young (per class), athletic middle infielders -- only a few will potentially stay at short, but can possibly be deployed/transition elsewhere. Only a few of these guys are likely to hit it big in the majors, so it is good to have a pool of strong possibilities. Burns seems like another guy in their profile mold... as to Burns, they have obviously had good, recent success at developing pitchers (Biebs, Civale,etc). I am sure they like the makeup on both guys, too.

Seems like the start to a "typical" Tribe draft -- I have some faith in their evaluators.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Keith Law weighs in:

"Cleveland values youth in draft prospects more than any other team, which is the main explanation I can see for its taking Carson Tucker, the younger brother of Cole and ranked 84th on my draft board. This is a big reach, as Carson is a talented player but doesn’t have the same upside Cole had when he was a first-round pick in 2014, lacking any plus tools and probably amounting to an average defender at short if he stays there. The Indians used their second pick on Tanner Burns, a starter at Auburn who had first-round stuff (ranking 27th on my board) and could end up a league-average starter."

If Tucker makes it to the bigs he will be forever confused with Tucker Carlson. Based on the reports it seems like his bat is the big attraction. At 6'2" and still filling out I can see him at third base eventually.

Tanner Burns sounds like the name of a fictional pitcher in a baseball movie. But he seems to fit the same general profile as Bieber, Civale, and Plesac, so let's hope he follows in those footsteps.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

His older brother Cole's scouting report on Carson:

"“Where he was at 5 years old was way better than I was at 5 years old,” Cole says. “Where he was at 10 years old was way better than I was at 10 years old. Where I was at 18, he’s just way better than me now.”

And from somebody named Cody Bellinger who Tucker has been working out with:

“What people preach to kids and what people try to get kids to learn, he already has,” says Bellinger, who has hit in the cage with Carson the last few months and regularly watches video of the young shortstop’s mechanics. “He’s got the hip drive, the looseness, the quick-twitch, the hands. He’s got all that. When he goes into pro ball, there’s obviously going to be an adjustment period because he’s going to see constant velo, but he’s already got the swing.”

The column in The Athletic finishes this way:

"Then there are Carson’s other, surrogate brothers — Bellinger, Kingery and the rest. They all entered the pro ranks during a time of transition in player development, with teams using new tools to teach new techniques. Those methods are now more widespread, and Carson will begin his career already versed in them. When you hit regularly with three big-leaguers, including one of the game’s best hitters in Bellinger, you’ll pick up a few things.

That’s why, on top of all the natural gifts his brother possesses, Cole is sure that Carson is ticketed for success.

“If pro baseball is the test,” Cole says, “he’s gotten a damn good study guide from all of us.”

It sounds to me like this kid is unusually advanced for an 18-year-old. He could move through the system faster than usual.

OTOH, despite having some advantages that most high schoolers didn't have, Tucker wasn't rated as a first round pick. Law had him at #84 and stated that he doesn't have his brother's upside. But Cole, however, talked about how he had to get where he is by hard work and "grinding" while Tucker is a much more natural athlete. Two opposite views. It will be interesting to see how their careers turn out.