MLB Draft Breakdown: Top 10 Overall Drafts pt. 5
In our final installment of our draft grading series, we review the Marlins and Tigers. The two teams who we believe to have had the best 2020 draft classes
2. Detroit Tigers – 6 draft picks
With how early the Tigers picked in the draft you would hope that they make this list. They added six high level prospects into their system. Their last 1st overall pick was set to make his debut in the MLB this season along with their 2016 1st rounder. Casey Mize and Matt Manning respectively would have taken the Top 2 Tigers prospects off the board. After Riley Greene you do not have many impactful prospects. The 2020 draft was huge for injecting life into the system.
The Tiger made a great choice and chose Spencer Torkelson to be their future middle of the order bat. There is not much he cannot do at the plate. We could spend all day talking about how good he is and he went 1st overall for a reason. They will send him out as a 3B and hopefully they can create more value from him at a positional standpoint. There next pick was Dillon Dingler the supreme athlete out of Ohio St. Most thought he would go in the 1st round, but he fell to them in the 2nd. The Tigers will give him time to develop behind the plate and hopefully he can maintain his athleticism long term. A great value pick for the Tigers as he signed for slot value.
The Tigers continued their college trend and let another guy fall to them in Danny Cabrera. The LHH/OF produced in the SEC for LSU and was expected to higher than the CBB. Cabrera has a strong build with power potential. Teri Cruz may have been their only reach starting the 3rd round according to the industry. However, he looks like a steal in the 3rd. He consistently barrels balls and has tremendous exit velocities. He may be a offensive minded 2B or be able to stick at SS with improved skills.
Gage Workman is another ASU bat that has a 6-4 frame at the hot corner. He has good power potential with a strong arm. It is another great value in the 4th and gives the Tigers yet another proven collegiate bat. He is also a LHH that needs to refine his approach but he can hopefully climb with the other college bats in this class. The 5th round started with Colt Keith is a tremendous value. He was committed to ASU and was looked at as a two-way player. He is another LHH and looks to play 3B long term. The Tigers did not need to go over slot to sign him either. One of my favorite picks and a great blend with their collegiate bats.
This draft class provided the Tigers with;
· Five College Bats
· Four LHH’s
· Three 3B
This was exactly what the Tigers needed and look to add 4-5 Top 15 prospects to their system.
1. Miami Marlins – 6 draft picks
The Marlins have done a great job infusing talent into the farm system through trades and the last couple drafts. They have had trouble developing arms in recent memory, but they have high hopes for Sixto Sanchez, Edward Cabrera and their 1st round LHP’s Trevor Rogers and Braxton Garrett. They drafted a potential starting OF in JJ Bleday, Kameron Misner, and Peyton Burdick in 2019. They also added a couple high level HS players. The 2020 draft class infused the system with six high level arms.
It all starts with Max Meyer the 3rd pick out of Minnesota. He dominated over his college career and with Team USA. He has premium velocity with large amounts of swing and misses. He has a 90 mph SL that plays against RHH and LHH. That combo will allow him to be the ace of the future and climb quickly. Dax Fulton was popped in the 2nd round after potentially going in the 1st before injury. His 6’6 frame allows massive growth and great value for the Marlins in the 2nd. He has some inconsistent shape and may need more time to develop than the other arms in this class. He has a sweepy SL and a CB that plays well off that. Kyle Nicolas is another insane value in the CBB. His production was what landed him in that round but his stuff is 1st round level. His SL has elite level swing and misses and his CB has a massive amount of spin. He also has good rise to his FF and can sit 94+. If his command is refined and he can maintain production he will fly up the system.
The 3rd round provided the Marlins with another 1-2 round talent in Zach McCambley. He had some inconsistencies in college but offered one of the best CB’s in the draft. He also offers a FF with good spin but was left too much in the zone. He played well in the Cape Cod league and offers another developmental arm. 4th rounder Jake Eder is a good LHP to add into the mix as far as proven performance. He does not offer the pitch arsenals of Nicolas or McCambley, but he does offer a 6-4 frame with a proven ability at Vanderbilt. Eder is a good depth pick for the system. To finish off the class the Marlins took Kyle Hurt in the 5th round. Hurt is interesting because he has a lot of high-level reps with his FF and needs to ditch the FT. He has a high performing SL and a CH that can get swing and misses from a LHH.
When looking at the Marlins top prospects you can easily see all six players fitting in there. Meyer will immediately be Top 3 and Fulton, McCambley, and Nicolas will fit in the 10-20 range. Eder and Hurt will fit in the back end or need to wait till a few guys graduate to the majors. This is a top of the line class and I like their approach of improving their pitching depth. They have a lot of outfielders within their Top 30 prospects.