Now that the 2013 season is in the books, I wanted to look at the performance of the 2013 MLB Draft picks. Here I have included stats for all draftees, plus some thoughts about the first 10 rounds plus any other notable picks. It must be noted that stats are fairly meaningless at this stage of a player’s career, but fun to look at nonetheless. For more draft information, such as signing bonuses for each pick, please see the FutureSox 2013 MLB Draft tracker.
1 (17): Tim Anderson, SS, Kannapolis (A):
68 Games, 267 AB, .277 AVG/.348 OBP/.363 SLG, 23 BB/78 SO, 1 HR, 24 SB
I should start this by saying that I was never a big fan of the Tim Anderson pick. He’s obviously a great athlete, but I’m just not convinced about his offensive potential, and his performance at Kannapolis is more or less what I was expecting from him. Starting with the negatives, Anderson has some contact issues, with a 25.9 K%, and he didn’t hit for much power either, with just 1 Home run and a .086 ISO. The lack of contact is the biggest concern for Anderson, as he is supposed to be a guy that makes “solid contact” and can “consistently put the ball into play”. On the positive side, his speed is a great asset and he’s a big threat on the base paths. 24 steals from 28 attempts is excellent, and he hit 5 triples too. He has also shown some aptitude for taking a walk, which is always good to see. Power may never be a big part of Anderson’s game, so increasing his contact rate will be essential if he is going to develop into an impact player at the Major League level.
2 (55): Tyler Danish, RHP, Bristol (RK)/Kannapolis (A):
15 Games, 30.0 IP, 1.20 ERA, 28 SO/ 5 BB, 3.36 GO/AO
Tyler Danish had probably the most impressive debut of any White Sox ’13 draftee. Pitching out of the bullpen, but on a starter’s schedule, Danish really excelled. He has shown a mixture of good strikeout-ability with great control and ground ball rate. His stat line is something that you would expect from an experienced college pitcher in Rookie ball, not from a high schooler. There have been some questions about Danish’s delivery and ability to hold up as a starter long-term, but from a performance perspective there are no negatives to talk about, and I am very excited to see what he does next year.
3 (91): Jacob May, CF, Great Falls (RK)/Kannapolis (A):
66 Games, 251 AB, .303 AVG/.372 OBP/.458 SLG, 16 BB/49 SO, 8 HR, 24 SB
Jacob May had a very successful debut as he showed all of the advertised lead-off hitter skills, with 24 stolen bases in 30 attempts, a good walk rate (8 BB%) and solid contact (17.2 K%). The big surprise for me was the excellent power he displayed at Kannapolis, where he hit 8 home runs with a .175 ISO. This came after non-existent power (.067 ISO) in 12 games with Bristol. While he probably won’t sustain a .175 ISO over the course of a full season, hitting for some pop, combined with the other skills that May has, make him a very interesting prospect.
4 (123): Andrew Mitchell, RHP, Great Falls (RK):
14 Games, 56 IP, 4.50 ERA, 47 SO/30 BB, 1.37 GO/AO
Getting Andrew Mitchell in the fourth round was considered a ‘steal’ by some, and I liked this pick a lot at the time, but his early performance has been a little disappointing. His main deficiency is a lack of control, as he posted a BB/9 of 4.82 with Great Falls, after having a 4.9 BB/9 in 202 IP with TCU (6.06 BB/9 in ’13). I didn’t realise his control was such an issue, and this definitely tempers my expectations for Mitchell going forward. The strikeout rate, at 7.55 K/9, was lower than I would have expected, after he struck out 10.29 batters per 9 with TCU. Many ‘experts’ see Mitchell as a future relief pitcher due to his lack of a third pitch, but if he can’t improve his control, it won’t matter how many pitches he throws.
5 (153): Thaddius Lowry, RHP, Bristol (RK):
15 Games, 44.1 IP, 5.48 ERA, 30 SO/22 BB, 1.19 GO/AO
Lowry is an inexperienced, hard throwing RHP, who offers interesting upside. Lowry hasn’t pitched much in his career to date, and as a result it was almost inevitable that he would struggle in his professional debut. I would expect him back in rookie ball for 2014, where he will hopefully be given plenty of time to develop. Numbers at this stage of a player’s career are fairly meaningless, and this is especially true for Lowry.
6 (183): James Dykstra, RHP, Great Falls (RK):
6 Games, 5.1 IP, 5.06 ERA, 2 SO/5 BB, 5.00 GO/AO
There’s not much to say about Dykstra after he threw only a handful of innings. He displayed excellent control in college with a 1.31 BB/9 in 2013, but he was not a highly thought of prospect coming into the draft, and he signed for significantly less than slot money in the 6th round.
7 (213): Trey Michalczewski, 3B, Bristol (RK):
56 Games, 195 AB, .236 AVG/.324 OBP/.328 SLG, 23 BB/56 SO, 3 HR, 2 SB
Michalczewski was the White Sox’ big over-slot signing in the ’13 draft as he got $500k in the 7th round. He’s thought to have a solid approach at the plate and good power potential. He did show some signs of this with an excellent 10.4 BB%, but the strikeouts were a little on the high side at 25.2 K%, and there wasn’t much power (.092 ISO) to speak of. He may need time to grow into his power, but his patient approach at the plate gives me hope that he’ll be able to make better contact in the future.
8 (243): Chris Freudenberg, LHP, Bristol (RK):
9 Games, 28.1 IP, 5.40 ERA, 27 SO/10 BB, 2.22 GO/AO
While Freudenberg’s ERA may have been a little on the ugly side, his peripherals were fairly encouraging. He struck out almost a batter per inning, and his 3.18 BB/9 was much better than the 5.21 BB/9 he posted with South Mountain CC this year.
9 (273): Nick Blount, RHP, Great Falls (RK):
16 Games, 51 IP, 3.18 ERA, 41 SO/17 BB, 1.97 GO/AO
After three fairly pedestrian seasons at Tennessee, Blount was kicked off the team for breaking team rules and transferred to Southern Polytechnic State, where he excelled. His numbers with Great Falls were ok, with a 3.00 BB/9 and 7.24 K/9, but nothing to get excited about.
10 (303): Brad Goldberg, RHP, Great Falls (RK), Kannapolis (A), Winston-Salem (A+):
16 Games, 35 IP, 1.54 ERA, 49 SO/9 BB, 0.93 GO/AO
As a fifth year senior who signed for just $10,000 in the 10th round, expectations for Goldberg were low, but his performance was exceptional. Across three levels he posted a 12.6 K/9 and 2.31 BB/9, reaching Winston-Salem by the end of the year. Given his lack of a track record it’s difficult to know what to expect from Goldberg going forward, but if he continues pitching like this, he could conceivably reach Chicago in 2014.
11 (333): Matt Ball, RHP, Bristol (RK):
14 Games, 22.1 IP, 4.84 ERA, 23 SO/8 BB, 0.62 GO/AO
A high school pitcher from California, Matt Ball signed for $150k in the 11th round after striking out a lot of batters in high school. I don’t know much about what he throws, but the early results have been promising, striking out over a batter per inning while walking a decent 3.22 per 9. His 3.20 FIP is a much better representation of his performance than the 4.84 ERA. I’m very intrigued to see what he can do next year.
12 (363): Tyler Shryock, SS, Great Falls (RK):
60 Games, 255 AB, .286 AVG/.354 OBP/.349 SLG, 25 BB/27 SO 0 HR, 15 SB
Shryock showed an solid approach at the plate, making consistent contact and drawing walks, but no power whatsoever.
13 (393): Danny Hayes, 1B, Great Falls (RK):
58 Games, 232 AB, .267 AVG/. 354 OBP/.431 SLG, 34 BB/51 SO, 5 HR, 0 SB
Good patience at the plate from Hayes with some power.
14 (423): Tyler Barnette, RHP, Bristol (RK):
13 Games, 33 IP, 5.73 ERA, 19 SO/10 BB, 2.04 GO/AO
Barnette has been a disappointment ever since his excellent freshman year at UNC Charlotte, and that continued with Great Falls.
15 (453): Andre Wheeler, LHP, Bristol (RK)/Kannapolis (A):
18 Games, 31 IP, 3.19 ERA, 38 SO/9 BB, 1.39 GO/AO
Excellent K:BB numbers from Wheeler, even after moving up to Kannapolis.
16 (483): Christian Stringer, SS, Great Falls (RK):
47 Games, 154 AB, .312 AVG/.414 OBP/.416 SLG, 22 BB/12 SO, 1 HR, 4 SB
Excellent approach at the plate with phenomenal contact (6.3 K%) and patience (11.6 BB%). Supposedly a good defender, but is unlikely to hit for much power.
17 (513): Joey Wagman, RHP, Great Falls (RK):
16 Games, 22.2 IP, 3.57 ERA, 28 SO/7 BB, 1.00 GO/AO
Wagman showed a strong K/9 (11.12) and BB/9 (2.78) combination with the Voyagers out of the bullpen.
18 (543): Michael Carballo, CF, Great Falls (RK):
18 Games, 55 AB, .127 AVG/.158 OBP/.145 SLG, 1 BB/37 SO, 0 HR, 2 SB
Moving swiftly on…
19 (573): Adam Engel, Great Falls (RK):
56 Games, 239 AB, .301 AVG/.379 OBP/.414 SLG, 21 BB/34 SO, 3 HR, 31 SB
A toolsy prospect with elite speed (plus-plus according to some), Engel signed for $100k in the 19th round. Engel made excellent contact (12.4%) and showed good patience (7.7 BB%) in his debut, allowing him to get on base consistently and make the most of the his speed. A disappointing finish to his amateur career caused him to slide in the draft, but he looks a very good gamble at this point. Power will probably never be a big part of his game, but has shown everything else, including supposedly “excellent defense in centre field.” Definitely one to watch going forward.
20 (603): Dillon Haupt, C, Great Falls (RK):
25 Games, 88 AB, .284/.357/.375, 7 BB/16 SO, 1 HR, 1 SB
21 (633): Toby Thomas, SS, Bristol (RK):
51 Games, 210 AB, .319/.329/.462, 2 BB/33 SO, 4 HR, 2 SB
Thomas hit for a high average with good power, but his 1.9 BB% was almost comical.
22 (663): Nolan Earley, OF, Bristol (RK):
61 Games, 203 AB, .310/.410/.424, 32 BB/26 SO, 2 HR, 2 BB
Earley is another with an excellent approach at the plate, walking more than he struck out. Unfortunately the power output was fairly minimal.
23 (693): Trey Wimmer, C, Great Falls (RK):
37 Games, 143 AB, .266/.321/.490, 10 BB/25 SO, 6 HR, 0 SB
Catcher who displayed excellent power (.224 ISO).
24 (723): Jacob Morris, CF, Great Falls (RK):
64 Games, 224 AB, .246/.394/.478, 51 BB/97 SO, 12 HR, 7 SB
Morris posted an interesting stat line with big power (.232 ISO), walks (18.2 BB%) and strikeouts (34.6 K%). I’m not expecting much from him, but he could be fun to watch going forward.
25 (753): Alex Powers, RHP, Bristol (RK)/Kannapolis (A):
14 Games, 18 IP, 5.00 ERA, 22 SO/8 BB, 1.13 GO/AO
26 (783): Charles Sharrer, RHP, Bristol (RK):
15 Games, 21.2 IP, 4.98 ERA, 23 SO/12 BB, 1.1 GO/AO
27 (813): Devin Moore, RHP, Bristol (RK):
18 Games, 20.2 IP, 7.40 ERA, 19 SO/10 BB, 0.91 GO/AO
28 (843): Jeff McKenzie, LHP, Great Falls (RK):
16 Games, 25 IP, 1.44 ERA, 23 SO/6 BB, 1.18 GO/AO
29 (873): Matt Abramson, RHP, Great Falls (RK):
18 Games, 32 IP, 4.22 ERA, 29 SO/13 BB, 1.74 GO/AO
30 (903): Jon Bengard, RHP, Bristol (RK):
17 Games, 22.1 IP, 4.43 ERA, 22 SO/9 BB, 0.91 GO/AO
31 (933): Sean Hagan, LHP, Great Falls (RK):
17 Games, 32 IP, 6.19 ERA, 20 SO/16 BB, 1.24 GO/AO
32 (963): Darian Johnson, OF, Bristol (RK):
DNP – Restricted List
35 (1053): Sam Macias, OF, Bristol (RK):
16 Games, 42 AB, .143/.265/.167, 4 BB/23 SO, 0 HR, 1 SB
36 (1083): Nick Parent, 1B, Bristol (RK):
23 Games, 70 AB, .114/.244/.114, 10 BB/33 SO, 0 HR, 0 SB
Son of Sox bench coach Mark Parent showed good walks before being busted for PED use.
37 (1113): Cody Yount, 1B, Bristol (RK):
30 Games, 82 AB, .195/.340/.207, 19 BB/17 SO, 0 HR, 0 SB
Son of Robin Yount walked a lot, more than he struck out, but did little else.
38 (1143): Audry Santana, SS, Bristol (RK):
11 Games, 34 AB, .147/.268/.147, 6 BB/7 SO, 0 HR, 0 SB