Would you start your rebuild by spending top draft picks on pitchers or hitters?
Last year, most of the MLB Draft experts were penciling Vanderbilt RHP Kyle Wright to go number one overall. Up to the day of it still appeared that the Minnesota Twins were going to select Wright, and it would have been a sound choice. The Twins need high-level caliber starting pitchers to pair with their blossoming prospects in the field. Instead of selecting Wright, the Twins drafted prep shortstop Royce Lewis, which Baseball America learned minutes before the draft started.
Instead of taking the best starting pitcher in the draft, Minnesota continued to stockpile position players in their pipeline. Joe Sheehan wrote a compelling piece for Baseball America that teams are better off drafting bats and buying pitchers whether through trade or free agency. With this line of thinking, Minnesota made the right choice going with the bat instead of the arm.
I recommend reading that piece because I do believe the majority of teams will be following that strategy in this draft. The only issue I have with the philosophy is pitching is expensive. Despite this slow off-season when pitchers eventually signed, starters or relievers, they are getting a high AAV. White Sox fans know very well on the type of return All-Star pitchers merit. Only teams who are comfortable spending the necessary cash or have enough prospect depth to acquire difference makers on the pitching staff can pull this draft strategy off.
Which leads to the situation that the Detroit Tigers and general manager Al Avila are in. Auburn's RHP Casey Mize the last six weeks has been the assumed number one pick. Two weeks away from Avila having to make a potential organization changing decision a new challenger to be selected first overall has emerged.
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When ranking draft prospects before the season started, Georgia Tech's Joey Bart was considered the best catcher in this year's class. Power-hitting bat who can handle duties behind the plate, but struck out at a high clip while not walking much. A first-round grade player, but not Top 10 worthy because teams could be scared away with the swing-and-miss in his game.
Bart has risen his game so much from his Sophomore to Junior season that I believe he could be the best player in this class.
What first caught my eye watching Bart in action was his defense. Strong hands allow him to frame pitches well, and despite his large size (6'3", 225 lbs) Bart is very athletic behind the plate moving well side to side blocking breaking pitches in the dirt. Bart leads the ACC in fewest passed balls with just two on the season. He has a strong arm throwing out 12 out of 33 base stealers in 2018, and an excellent example of his ability to combine his defensive talents was his performance against Georgia.
He's a terrific low ball hitter which means opposing pitchers are better off attacking high against Bart. In college, that's a tough thing to ask because not every pitcher can effectively throw high and they've been taught to stay low in the zone. It'll be interesting in how Bart attacks pitchers once he's in the minor leagues. Those pitchers remain high in the zone learning to combat the trend of hitters improving launch angle. In the meantime, Bart is crushing pitches that most college hitters can't. That's a big plus.
Like Bohm, I haven't seen much opposite field power from Bart. Most of his contact stays in center to left field, so he has pull tendencies. He's rolled over on breaking pitches to short and third base, but even though he's a catcher, Bart can move down the line. I would say he's below average runner at 45 grade, but for a catcher that's pretty quick. If Bart and Bohm ran a 60-yard dash, my money would be on Bart winning that foot race.
I've been watching Bart the past three weeks, and the problematic conversation I keep having in my head is "Who is the best college position player in this draft class?" Is it Bart? Is it Madrigal? Both are a very different type of players and excel at what they do. I guess it all depends on what you value more, a catcher or middle infielder?
It doesn't matter if the White Sox would consider Bart at #4 because I doubt he's not falling that far. As Jim wrote yesterday in the Mock Draft roundup, it appears the Detroit Tigers front office is seriously considering Bart. Which to come full circle with the question at the beginning, how would you rebuild your pipeline? Do you load up on bats or stockpile pitchers? That's the question Al Avila will need to answer the next two weeks because depending on what he thinks is best for Detroit, will determine who goes number one overall. I guess it comes down to either Mize or Bart at this moment. Yes, Bart is that good.
Draft Notes:
- Conference tournaments start this week. One tournament, in particular, I think White Sox fans should pay attention to is the SEC. Action begins on Tuesday, May 22nd but with Florida having the bye they'll play the winner of Mississippi State and LSU on Wednesday, May 23rd. SP Brady Singer was scratched from Friday's start against Mississippi State because of hamstring tightness, but all reports say he should make that Wednesday start for the Gators. First pitch is at 4:30 pm CT on the SEC Network or ESPN app if you are looking for something to watch before the White Sox game.
- The PAC-12 doesn't have a conference tournament (lame) which means Oregon State's last series of the season will be at home against UCLA. This past weekend with White Sox GM Rick Hahn in attendance, Madrigal was 2-for-4 with an RBI double and three stolen bases. Saturday, Madrigal was 1-for-4 with a triple, three RBI, and a stolen base. Sunday, Madrigal was hitless going 0-for-4. On the year Madrigal is hitting .452/.513/.644 with six doubles, four triples, two home runs with 27 RBI and eight stolen bases in just 26 games.
- Next Sox Machine mock draft will be this Friday, and we'll be having the Sox Machine Draft Show on June 4th covering the first day of picks. I'll be joined by Jim Osborn (lil jimmy) and Future Sox's Brian Bilek. The show will start at 6 pm CT and you'll be able to listen to the stream here on soxmachine.com or at mixlr.com/soxmachine.
