DAY TWO OF THE MLB DRAFT

MLB completed day 2 of its draft on Monday afternoon and we learned a couple of things:   First, I have no special talent for mock drafts.  I struck out on all of my choices.  Not to worry though, I still enjoyed myself some delicious sweet potato cheesecake, from Sharon’s Creole Kitchen, one of my absolute favorite restaurants located in Murrieta.  I enjoyed some fried alligator there on Sunday evening.   Delicious!!!  But I digress.  Second, there was no discernable strategy employed by teams that was different from prior years.   As in the past, several high school talents, that figured to be tough signs, were not drafted.  No surprise there.   The Dodgers deviated from their normal script in that instead of selecting pitchers, this year they selected 8 position players out of their 9 selections.  Last year they selected 19 pitchers out of their 20 picks, with Damon Keith being the only position player selected.

I know that virtually every Dodger blog has already profiled the players selected by the Dodgers and this may seem a bit repetitious to some of you readers.  However, not to be outdone, and to keep Jeff’s blog relevant, I provide my short recap of the selections:

*         Pick No. 98:   Chase Harlan, Central Bucks East High School, Doylestown, PA.  Harlan is a solidly built young man, 6’3″, 215 lbs who has a ton of power.  He throws and bats right-handed, was a second-team All-American selection by Baseball America following his senior year at CB East. He also earned first-team All-Suburban One League Colonial Division honors three times. According to most baseball wags, he was the best high school position player in Pennsylvania.  Harlan was drafted a third baseman, which was his primary position in high school.  However, unless he’s Nolan Arenado, he’ll probably end up being a corner outfielder or first baseman.  I hope he can stick at third, as it would be nice for the Dodgers to develop a thrived baseman.  Wherever he plays, one thing is certain, the dude can hit.  He participated in the invitation only MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix recently and opened a lot of eyes.  Apparently, he hit the longest home run (453.4 feet) of all the prospects and tied for the second with the highest exit velocity (112.4 MPH).  Hitting a baseball 450 feet is impressive no matter how the ball is pitched.  Harlan lives in the borough of Doylestown.  Doylestown is located about 40 miles north of Philadelphia.  After the way the Phillies treated us recently, it feels good to stick to them, by drafting the best player in their state our from under them.  Take that Phillies!  Doylestown to the outside world through the “Tools of the Nation-Maker” museum of the Bucks County Historical Society. I’m embarrassed to admit it, but until today, I was totally unaware of that museum.  Probably its most famous resident is Pulitzer Prize winning author, Pearl S. Buck, who, I’m happy to say I have heard of.  Though I haven’t read any of her books.

Harlan batted .414 over his final three seasons, helping the CB East to the school’s first baseball berth in the 2024 PIAA state playoffs. For the year he hit 13 home runs, with 63 RBI, along with 18 doubles and 58 runs scored.  He also had an OPS of 1.220 during that span.

As to his excitement about getting drafted, Harlan said “this is what I worked my whole life for — to play professional baseball, for all of it to (begin) on Sunday, it’s a crazy thing to think about. I can’t really describe how excited I am. There’s a lot to take in at once.”  As to the Dodgers, he texted “Very happy, Fantastic organization and great fit.”  He’s a Clemson commit, but the feeling is that he will sign.

As another point of honor, Harlan is the highest drafted Bucks County position player since the Cleveland Indians selected Holy Ghost Prep’s Nolan Jones in the second round (55th pick) in 2016.

*         Pick No. 125: Jakob Wright, LHP, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  Wright does not have your prototypical pitcher’s build, being 6’0″ 170 lb. Wright is a typical Dodger draftee.  He redshirted his freshman year in 2022 because of internal brace surgery on his elbow.  We just love those players that have had arm, elbow or shoulder surgery.  He didn’t pitch much his second year, but this past year he came into his own, being the best pitcher for the Cal Poly Mustangs.  He finished this past year, 8-2, 2.77 and 92 Ks in 78 IP.  While he doesn’t throw particularly hard, he has some serious spin on his slider, which scouts say is a major league pitch now.  He’s a very good athlete and can repeat his delivery consistently.  I’m partial to Cal Poly players, and hopes he finds much success. I wouldn’t expect to see him have the success of recently drafted Mustangs, Brooks Lee and Drew Thorpe. I sincerely hope that I’m wrong, but I see him as a decent bullpen piece.  Picture him as possibly being a better version of Justin Bruihl.  That’s not a hall of Fame career, but not bad.

*         Pick No. 190:   Brooks Auger, RHP, Mississippi State University.  Auger is a 6’5, 215 lb senior. Auger hails from Farmerville, Louisiana, which is 1½ hour east of Shreveport.  Farmerville is a small town with a population of 3300, which is the home to Lake D’Arbonne, which I’ll have you know has been named either #2 or #3 in the USA for crappie fishing.  Auger’s parents are Kurt and Renee, and he has 2 siblings, a brother and sister.  Kurt Auger is the pastor at First Baptist Church of Farmerville, a position he has held since 2008.   Auger attended Cedar Creek High in Rushton, where he was selected as a 2020 Rawlings-Perfect Game Senior Preseason Honorable Mention selection for the Southeast Region.  In 2019, struck out 79 batters in 56.2 innings pitched while compiling a 3.47 ERA for the Cedar Creek Cougars.

He attended Hines Community College as a freshman, where he had 7-1 record, giving up 17 runs (13 earned) on 33 hits in 40.2 innings of work. He struck out 53 and walked 18, with a 2.88 ERA.  He transferred to Mississippi State as a sophomore and pitched mostly out of the pen.  He had a good, but not spectacular year, 2-0, with a 3.05 ERA. In 20.2 innings, he struck out 27, allowed 10 runs (7 earned) on 16 hits and 12 walks.  He held opponents to a .219 batting average.  The next year he was out with an injury.  Of course he was.  This past season, he was named to the SEC All-Tournament Team. He finished 1-2, with 2 saves in 20 appearances, 5 of which were starts.  He struck 50, walked 17 and allowed 20 runs (17 earned) in 45.2 innings.  He had a 3.35 ERA, second best on the team and held opponents to a .215 batting average.  He throws hard (93-97), but not exceptionally so.  He has a reliever’s profile, but depending on how he takes to minor league life and the development team of the Dodgers, he could do more.  He’ll probably sign an under-slot deal.

*         Pick No. 220: Elijah Hainline, OF, Oregon State, OR.  Hainline is a Spokane native, who attended Mead High School, and played two years at Washington State before transferring to Oregon State.  Hainline was a four-year letter winner for the Mead Panthers.  He was also a captain his junior and senior year, batting .444 with 21 runs, 13 stolen bases, and 16 walks in his senior year. His parents are Jim and Melissa Hainline.  Jim is the owner of Sportscards North West and Melissa is a second-grade teacher.

Out of high school, Hainline made the short move to Pullman to play infield for the Washington State Cougars. Over two seasons at WSU, Hainline started 96 games and appeared in 99 games overall. He was named an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention as a sophomore and became the first Couger with double figures in doubles, home runs, and stolen bases since 2010.

After two years at Washington State, Hainline transferred to Oregon State. This past season, Hainline helped lead the Beavers to a top-12 finish in every major top-25 poll in a year where the Beavers hosted and won the 2024 NCAA Corvallis Regional of the NCAA Tournament, beating Tulane and UC Irvine.

The Beavers then moved on to the Super Regional round, where Oregon State fell to Kentucky. In 2024, Hainline played in and started 59 games, batting .280 with 16 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, and 45 RBI.

Hainline’s ambitions are low.  When asked about being drafted, he said “It’s just baseball and it’s an opportunity to play. I think the end goal is to play in the big leagues for a long time and become a Hall of Famer, and that’s kind of just the end goal anyway. So just got to keep that in your mindset.”  Let’s hope he achieves his goal.

Hainline also said that he was surprised at being drafted by the Dodgers. He does have the option to return for another year to OSU, but the feeling is he will sign.

*         Pick No. 250: Brendan Tinink, OF, Newman Central Catholic, Oregon, Illinois.  Tinink is a 6’1″ 190lb left-handed hitter who excelled as both a hitter and pitcher at Newman Catholic. In September of 2022, Tinink committed to playing baseball at Notre Dame.  More importantly, he may be Bluto’s favorite draft pick.  That is enough to secure a solid major league career right there.  According to Dodger’s Digest, Jim Callis described him as “a center fielder who can run and has some hitting ability, and you like the bat speed. If he gets stronger, there might be some power.” Callis gave him a Charlie Tilson comp. Say what?  Who the heck is Charlie Tilson?  I had to look him up.  In a 3-year MLB career, Tilson had a -1.9 WAR, an OPS of .600 and an OPS+ of 65.  No thank you, I’ll pass on that comparison and go with Bluto’s Cody Bellinger comparison.  We don’t need no stinkin’ -1.9 WAR.

Tinink appears to be a very hard and dedicated worker.  He spoke about his love for baseball: “I love it so much that I would rather be sleeping at a baseball field than my house. I’d rather be at the baseball field for hours instead of going inside. I also want to perform well and that’s why I want to train every day. I want to be prepared for better pitching, better teams. I want to perform well in front of other people. That’s the dedication of training in the winter every day.”

*         Pick No. 280: Kole Myers, OF, Troy University, Alabama.  Myers, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, where he attended Jennings High School. He was an honor student, four-year all-district selection, all-state and all-Southwest Louisiana recipient and his senior year he hit .571 and six home runs.

Myers started his college career at Louisiana State University at Eunice from 2020 to 2022, batting .306 in 188 games and 81 starts with 83 hits, 9 home runs and 69 RBI while also being a member of the team’s 2021 National Championship squad.

In his two years at Troy, Myers had a .309 batting average in 472 plate appearances with 146 hits, 25 home runs, 85 RBI and a slugging percentage of .553. He also holds a .980 fielding percentage with 286 putouts for the Trojans and was named Second Team All-Sun Belt in 2024.

Most telling about this young man is what his coach Skylar Meade had this to say about him “two years ago when Kole set foot on our campus, he helped us create an identity as a program, He set the tone for us nearly winning 80 games the last two years as one of the most dynamic players to ever play at Troy. He is a super kid from an awesome family and is going to an elite organization where talents can prevail. We are over the top happy for Kole and can’t wait to see him in professional baseball.”

Sounds like the type of young man you can’t help but root for.  As a senior, he will sign and probably significantly under slot.

*         Pick No. 310: Seamus Barrett, RHP, Loyola Marymount, California.  He’s a big kid, 6’7″ 220 lbs that previously pitched for Louisville.  He’s originally from Arlington, Massachusetts and was rated the number 10 pitcher in the state out of high school. Apparently, his nickname is “Moose.”  He appears to throw hard and, while that hasn’t translated into glowing success.  He has a good attitude and wants to succeed. I hope he does, but truthfully, not many 10th round picks do.  Again, I hope he proves me wrong.  Uncharacteristically, the Dodgers selected more position players than pitchers on day one and 2.  The theme seemed to be to select athletic, character guys, with string work ethic that seem to be personally well-grounded and disciplined.  They also seemed to lean towards players that came from small towns.  It’s a tough field in which to make a living, but I do hope that for these young men, the dream of being drafted and playing pro ball is everything they hoped for and I also hope they can have an injury free career, however, long or short it might be.