2024 MLB Draft--Thomas Round 2; LBJ Round 5; Witt Round 14



and he made it. Figured he would but of course I was here with popcorn just in case. Congratulations to DC for signing. And I think that’s everyone drafted. We know who we are getting back, now just need to see who makes it on campus from the freshman.

Congrats to DC!

And nice patience to get more $$$ in the negotiations!

:bevo::bevo::bevo:
 

Good grief, there sure are a ton of people high on J Flores, I swear if he catches fire at the plate like J Thomas did last year, we are a shoo in for the title. Could you imagine (if Flores finds his offensive footing)?

Thomas, Flores, Powell, Brown, Cummins and Gasparino??? (based off what Cummins and Gasparino have showed in the fall) and you still have O'Dowd who isn't a slouch, that's 7 of your 9 batters that are game changing dangerous at ANY at bat!!!! that's insane.

That still leaves the following for the remaining two offensive positions:

Schuessler - C Was a very solid hitter before his injury and likely rotates into C often
Belyue - Showed strong hitting improvement in summer ball
R Galvan - Home run hitter, needs to work on laying off pitches low and out of the zone but with improvement here could be a shooting star.
J. Duplantier One of the best clutch performers last year at the plate
S. Werchan Very solid transfer, should be a regular contributor in key situations

Very Promising freshmen and the future faces of Texas baseball
N. Sanders
Oliver Santos
Oliver Service
Sweeney
Kennedy
 
Good grief, there sure are a ton of people high on J Flores, I swear if he catches fire at the plate like J Thomas did last year, we are a shoo in for the title. Could you imagine (if Flores finds his offensive footing)?

Thomas, Flores, Powell, Brown, Cummins and Gasparino??? (based off what Cummins and Gasparino have showed in the fall) and you still have O'Dowd who isn't a slouch, that's 7 of your 9 batters that are game changing dangerous at ANY at bat!!!! that's insane.

That still leaves the following for the remaining two offensive positions:

Schuessler - C Was a very solid hitter before his injury and likely rotates into C often
Belyue - Showed strong hitting improvement in summer ball
R Galvan - Home run hitter, needs to work on laying off pitches low and out of the zone but with improvement here could be a shooting star.
J. Duplantier One of the best clutch performers last year at the plate
S. Werchan Very solid transfer, should be a regular contributor in key situations

Very Promising freshmen and the future faces of Texas baseball
N. Sanders
Oliver Santos
Oliver Service
Sweeney
Kennedy
This year could feature one of our best top-to-bottom batting lineups we've seen in the Burnt Orange and White. The team batting average may well exceed 0.300 (and possibly 0.310+). There's also a lot of homeruns (and countless doubles) in that lineup. We should score a lot of runs.

I don't like losing Mercer to injury, but overall the pen looks deeper, with good quality, than we've seen in recent years. IMHO, the bullpen has been our biggest issue for quite a number of years.

The starting pitching, outside of LBJ and Hurley, looks to be the biggest concern. If one of: Selvig, Morris, or another newcomer steps up, maybe Coach could put Ace W. as the Sunday starter, and let the newcomer start out pitching mid-week games. (Tumis has the best "stuff" of the new pitchers by a mile, but his style screams reliever/stopper; same with Hamilton--whom the coaches seem really high on). Selvig looks like another Ace Whitehead -- a guy who throws strikes, is steady and reliable, and doesn't blow leads and lose games. Selvig throws a few mph faster than Ace. He might make a good mid-week starter right away. The online reporters/services/etc. say Morris is great. I hope they're right. His film looks good. Grubbs might also work into the mix as a mid-week starter this year.
 
I completely agree about the offense, people are sleeping on this team offensively (fans), folks think we had a good offense two years ago but this one has the potential to be in a class by itself not only for the University of Texas but in the nation. These guys could set some new records.
 
I completely agree about the offense, people are sleeping on this team offensively (fans), folks think we had a good offense two years ago but this one has the potential to be in a class by itself not only for the University of Texas but in the nation. These guys could set some new records.
Yes indeed. I don't see an Ivan Melendez in this year's lineup, but in the aggregate we might hit those home run numbers and exceed the batting average/OB% numbers of that great offensive year.
 

11. Bryce Ranier - chances he makes it the 40...slim
25. Theo Gillen - ditto
 

Here are our lads that are listed by Perfect Game in the Top 400:

14. Bryce Ranier (3B/RHP)
26. Theo Gillen (SS/OF)
88. Levi Sterling (RHP)
172. Drew Rerick (RHP)
177. LBJ (RHP)
201. Samuel Richardson (3B)
204. Jalin Flores (SS)
234. Jason Flores (RHP)
248. Ryan Schwartz (C)
266. Bryan Navarre (LHP)
369. Carson Luna (SS)
388. Tanner Witt (RHP)
 
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I'd say we have a pretty fair shot with everyone ranked above 200 or so.

LBJ is an interesting case.
 

Here are our lads that are listed by Perfect Game in the Top 400:

14. Bryce Ranier (3B/RHP)
26. Theo Gillen (SS/OF)
88. Levi Sterling (RHP)
172. Drew Rerick (RHP)
177. LBJ (RHP)
201. Samuel Richardson (3B)
204. Jalin Flores (SS)
234. Jason Flores (RHP)
248. Ryan Schwartz (C)
266. Bryan Navarre (LHP)
369. Carson Luna (SS)
388. Tanner Witt (RHP)


That ranking appears to be dated April 4th. I wonder how much it has changed.
 
Evaluating players is a strange alchemy. You've got the stats guys. You've got the stats guys using different stats. You've got the eyeball test guys. You've got the measured metrics guys (speed off the bat, etc.). You've got the mechanics guys. You've got those who care about the clubhouse and off-the-field stuff. You've got those who couldn't care less about the clubhouse and off-the-field stuff. You've got those who shy away from previously injured players. You've got those who take chances on injured players.
 
I couldn't find that the MLB April 2024 rankings had been updated, but note that Jared Thomas was 67 on that one. I found a May 29th, 2024 ranking of the top 200 on the MLB website, but don't know if it was compiled by the same person(s). There are some differences (NEW: Top 200 Draft Prospects list features new No. 1).

Rainer moved up 4; Gillen moved up 2; Jared moved up 7; Levi Sterling jumped 30 from 88 to 58; Jalin Flores jumped from 204 to 116; Rerick is up to 140 from 172;

Summer ball won't be included in that update but that could have some impact too.
 
Summer ball won't be included in that update but that could have some impact too.
Summer ball -- if you see a batter with a really high batting average and slugging % by the end of Summer season in the Cape League, that guy's going to be good. They use wooden bats and it's a pitchers' league.

Summer season is also a good place to identify "break outs" of players who didn't get much playing time at their colleges, but then go on to have big years back at college after their big Summer season. This happened with Peyton Powell two Summers ago, Max Belyeu last Summer, Max Grubbs last Summer, Ace Whitehead last Summer, Schuesler last Summer, and many others.
 
Bryce Ranier - Round 1 pick 11 - Detroit Tigers - est. $5.71 million

Theo Gillen - Round 1 pick 18 - Tampa Bay Rays - est. $4.37 million

Levi Sterling - Round 2 pick 37 - Pittsburgh Pirates - est. $2.51 million

Jared Thomas - Round 2 pick 42 - Colorado Rockies - est. $2.22 million
 
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Bryce Ranier - Round 1 pick 11 - Detroit Tigers - est. $5.71 million

Theo Gillen - Round 1 pick 18 - Tampa Bay Rays - est. $4.37 million

Levi Sterling - Round 2 pick 37 - Pittsburgh Pirates - est. $2.51 million

Jared Thomas - Round 2 pick 42 - Colorado Rockies - est. $2.22 million
LBJ - Round 5 pick 139 - Colorado Rockies - est. $500k

That's it through Round 10.
 
Other than Ranier, Gillen and Sterling, it does not appear that our high school recruits will be drafted high enough for it to be worthwhile $$$$ skipping college.

We're through 10 rounds. The pick value is down to $180K (pre-tax). You can blow through that pretty quick.
 
The game is at a point where only the cream of the cream of high school players will get picked at a point where it makes sense to skip college for the $$$$. I'm talking first 2-3 rounds only. Rounds 4-10 were dominated by college players with very few high schoolers. From a life of the player standpoint, it's probably better this way, with most of the good players going to college and the best of them will get drafted from there.
 
After Round 10, the pick value is down below $180k. It's not worth it for players with college eligibility left to take that offer.
 

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