The Dodgers are idle on Thursday and should be flying up to San Francisco to prepare for a three game series over the weekend. While the boys in blue are off licking their wounds after their pathetic series loss to the Rockies, the MLB draft is going on in the background.
The Dodgers have three picks in the first round this year. They have the 20th overall pick which they have a slotted amount of 2.3 million dollars for. They have the 32nd pick, which is the compensation for Zack Greinke signing with Arizona, and then they also have the 36 pick. That’s a lottery round A pick which they received as compensation for their 2015 pick Kyle Funkhouser not signing. The Dodgers have 1.9 million dollars slotted to their 32nd pick, and 1.7 million slotted to their 36th pick.
The Dodgers surprisingly didn’t pick a pitcher with their opening choice, instead they selected shortstop Gavin Lux out of Indian Trail high school in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This kid is 18-years old and 6.2 175 pounds. He bats left and throws right and was a 2016 Rawlings-perfect game 1 team All-American.
Gavin is considered one of the top 50 high school draft prospects in the entire country. He wants to play professional baseball, but would also like to attend Arizona State University. His Uncle is Augie Schmidt who played in the minors for the Toronto Blue Jays. This kid seems pretty grounded.
The Dodgers could of course switch him to another position if he they sign him. Maybe they can switch him to third base? Or they could also switch him to second base as well. The future seems pretty bright for this kid. He is also considered a 5-tool type prospect. He batted .481 with 40 runs scored last season for the Indian Trail club.
The Dodgers also drafted right handed hitting catcher Will Smith out of Louisville. He was a 2013 region player of the year back in his high school days. He batted .242 with 2 home runs and 15 RBI during his sophomore season at Louisville. He’s known as a defensive wizard behind the plate. However he doesn’t seem like much of a hitter.
Finally for their 36th round lottery pick, the Dodgers selected right handed pitcher Jordan Sheffield out of Vanderbilt. He’s a 21-year old pitcher from Tennessee. Unsurprisingly he had Tommy John surgery in high school because there is no way the front office could resist drafting a pitcher that didn’t have at least one Tommy John or major arm surgery. Supposedly he’s more of a max effort guy and profiles more as a reliever than a starter.
What makes anyone think that FAZ would have anymore knowledge of who and how to draft than they do to run a team. We all hope that they will draft winners but they are suspect to say the least. Sorry to be so negative. I have not commented here but a few times but I enjoy reading what some folks that know what is real. I have been a Dodger fan for over 60 years and now have been faced with the probability of the team needing many more years before being competitive. Sad, very sad. Scott, Thank You for your your your perspective which I believe is spot on.
Just what we needed: two more college pitchers coming off Tommy John surgery. I’m glad to see they finally drafted another promising shortstop, but where’s our right-handed power hitter?
Snider. You took the words out of my mouth. There wasn’t anyone in the world better and healthier than those 2 pitchers? Unbelievable. I live near Santa Clara University, and I have never heard of our second round pick. Not once in local paper. What a wasted draft. Pick a shortstop when you have one for the next 10 years? I thought when we cleaned house of half of the scouts last year, we would be better at this. It looks like it’s worse. Like the team. But, we have great prospects.