2015 MLB Draft: Pitcher and Hitter Rankings

dreadpirateroberts · Apr 6, 2015

Here are my 2015 MLB draft rankings of pitchers and hitters. These rankings will change as the draft comes closer.

NOTE: These rankings were made before injuries

Top 5 High School Pitchers:

1. Kolby Allard - LHP - San Clemente HS (Calif.)
2. Mike Nikorak - RHP - Stroudsburg HS (Penn.)
3. Justin Hooper - LHP - De La Salle HS (Calif.)
4. Beau Borrows - RHP - Weatherford HS (Tex.)
5. Luken Baker - RHP - Oak Ridge HS (Tex.)

Top 5 College Pitchers:

1. Brady Aiken - LHP - IMG Academy
2. Mike Matuella - RHP - Duke
3. Walker Buehler - RHP - Vanderbilt
4. Nathan Kirby - LHP - Virginia
5. Kyle Funkhouser - RHP - Louisville

Top 5 High School Hitters:

1. Brendan Rodgers - SS - Lake Mary HS (Fla.)
2. Nick Plummer - OF - Brother Rice HS (Mich.)
3. Alonzo Jones - IF/OF - Columbus HS (Ga.)
4. Daz Cameron - OF - Eagles Landing HS (Ga.
5. Chris Betts - C - Wilson HS (Calif.)

Top 5 College Hitters:

1. Dansby Swanson - SS - Vanderbilt
2. Richie Martin - SS - Florida
3. Alex Bregman - 2B - LSU
4. Ian Happ - 2B - Cincinnati
5. Joe McCarthy - OF - Virginia

JosMin · Apr 6, 2015

Seen Kyle Funkhouser pitch in person (Louisville metro native) -- dude can deal. Solid frame, three potential plus pitches. Control is a bit more of a problem now but on stuff alone, guy screams solid #2/ace if everything falls into place. Will definitely be a top 10 pick. Really hope he's available for the Cubs at #9.

dreadpirateroberts · Apr 6, 2015

JosMin said:
Seen Kyle Funkhouser pitch in person (Louisville metro native) -- dude can deal. Solid frame, three potential plus pitches. Control is a bit more of a problem now but on stuff alone, guy screams solid #2/ace if everything falls into place. Will definitely be a top 10 pick. Really hope he's available for the Cubs at #9.

Yeah, but the Cubs go could in any direction though. There will be plenty of options for the Cubs to choose on. It all depends on who they think is the best player available and their potential.

Zvbxrpl · Apr 6, 2015

Still too early for this.......

Tom Eschelman should be in your top 5 for starting pitchers in college. 21 and in his Junior year going into this CBB season at Cal State Fullerton. He's the guy I want #9. But it'll be hard to see Epstein buck his trend of only taking batters.

They need TOR material starter talent in the pipeline.

Boobaby1 · Apr 7, 2015

Zvbxrpl said:
Still too early for this.......

Tom Eschelman should be in your top 5 for starting pitchers in college. 21 and in his Junior year going into this CBB season at Cal State Fullerton. He's the guy I want #9. But it'll be hard to see Epstein buck his trend of only taking batters.

They need TOR material starter talent in the pipeline.

Here is Kevin Gallo's take on who he likes. He is a Cubs fan, but was also in the Indians scouting organization.

As far as College pitchers, his assessment is as follows:

Dillon Tate is a RHP 6’2 185lbs out of UCSB. He may just be the fastest riser I have ever seen -- even faster than his FB. OK, maybe not because he can hit 99 and sits 94 to 96. He also has a plus plus slider and at least an average change. When I first started looking at the draft this year, I had Tate as a sleeper 2nd round pick. Well, it looks like he was inserted with a coffee I.V. because he is fully awake now. As it stands today, I don’t think he will even make it past the 5th pick and may even go #1 overall.

Michael Matuella is a 6’7 210 RHP out of Duke. We all know he just had TJ surgery and before that there was no chance he was going to make it to the Cubs. Now there is an outside chance he will slide to the Cubs. He has 4 legit pitches, the best of which are a FB that sits at 93 to 95 with tailing action, a 12-6 curve that is a plus pitch, and a very good slider. His change is the pitch that is furthest behind, but it is still at least an average offering. Despite the great stuff, it was the command that had him ranked as a sure fire top 5 pick -- perhaps first overall. The command is above average overall but the FB command is plus. His health is the biggest question. It is not the elbow, however, that concerns me most. It is his back. Matuella was having some back issues even before the elbow issues became known. The question is did the back cause the elbow issue or did the elbow cause the back? Back issues are always a concern with a power pitcher such as Matuella. That is a big red flag for me.

There are a few pitchers that I could go with for my last 2 possible picks -- Kyle Funkhouser, Phil Bickford, and James Kaprielian among them -- but I am going to go with 2 different pitchers out of the same school.

Carson Fulmer is a 5’11 195 lbs RHP out of Vanderbilt. Yes, he is a little small but he has a big arm that has hit 97 and sits 93 to 95 with good late movement. Fulmer also has an above average curve and change, both of which still have plenty of room for improvement. The concern is that his command has always been shaky though his mechanics have a lot to with that. He can be a little herky-jerky with his delivery, but it is very fixable. I believe if they clean it up, it will help not just his command but also his secondary pitches. He concern with his size is legit but the smaller RHP are starting to show they can be aces too.

The guy I really like is Walker Buehler, who is a 6’2 175lbs RHP out of Vanderbilt. Buehler has a heater that sits between 92 to 94 with Arrieta type movement. He's a 4 pitch pitcher with the breaking stuff currently ahead of the change, something that is not unusual for amateur pitchers. The change, however, is an up and coming pitch while both the slider and curve project as at least above average pitches. There is a little concern about some elbow issues early in the season but I am not worried. Though he has generally thrown strikes, the command has not been sharp so far this season. I see a lot of Arrieta in him. He has so much movement that command will be last thing to come. I am not sure if he will be there for the Cubs but he would be pitcher that I would keep an eye on

dreadpirateroberts · Apr 7, 2015

Boobaby1 said:
Here is Kevin Gallo's take on who he likes. He is a Cubs fan, but was also in the Indians scouting organization.

As far as College pitchers, his assessment is as follows:

Dillon Tate is a RHP 6’2 185lbs out of UCSB. He may just be the fastest riser I have ever seen -- even faster than his FB. OK, maybe not because he can hit 99 and sits 94 to 96. He also has a plus plus slider and at least an average change. When I first started looking at the draft this year, I had Tate as a sleeper 2nd round pick. Well, it looks like he was inserted with a coffee I.V. because he is fully awake now. As it stands today, I don’t think he will even make it past the 5th pick and may even go #1 overall.

Michael Matuella is a 6’7 210 RHP out of Duke. We all know he just had TJ surgery and before that there was no chance he was going to make it to the Cubs. Now there is an outside chance he will slide to the Cubs. He has 4 legit pitches, the best of which are a FB that sits at 93 to 95 with tailing action, a 12-6 curve that is a plus pitch, and a very good slider. His change is the pitch that is furthest behind, but it is still at least an average offering. Despite the great stuff, it was the command that had him ranked as a sure fire top 5 pick -- perhaps first overall. The command is above average overall but the FB command is plus. His health is the biggest question. It is not the elbow, however, that concerns me most. It is his back. Matuella was having some back issues even before the elbow issues became known. The question is did the back cause the elbow issue or did the elbow cause the back? Back issues are always a concern with a power pitcher such as Matuella. That is a big red flag for me.

There are a few pitchers that I could go with for my last 2 possible picks -- Kyle Funkhouser, Phil Bickford, and James Kaprielian among them -- but I am going to go with 2 different pitchers out of the same school.

Carson Fulmer is a 5’11 195 lbs RHP out of Vanderbilt. Yes, he is a little small but he has a big arm that has hit 97 and sits 93 to 95 with good late movement. Fulmer also has an above average curve and change, both of which still have plenty of room for improvement. The concern is that his command has always been shaky though his mechanics have a lot to with that. He can be a little herky-jerky with his delivery, but it is very fixable. I believe if they clean it up, it will help not just his command but also his secondary pitches. He concern with his size is legit but the smaller RHP are starting to show they can be aces too.

The guy I really like is Walker Buehler, who is a 6’2 175lbs RHP out of Vanderbilt. Buehler has a heater that sits between 92 to 94 with Arrieta type movement. He's a 4 pitch pitcher with the breaking stuff currently ahead of the change, something that is not unusual for amateur pitchers. The change, however, is an up and coming pitch while both the slider and curve project as at least above average pitches. There is a little concern about some elbow issues early in the season but I am not worried. Though he has generally thrown strikes, the command has not been sharp so far this season. I see a lot of Arrieta in him. He has so much movement that command will be last thing to come. I am not sure if he will be there for the Cubs but he would be pitcher that I would keep an eye on

I have not seen a lot of Dillon Tate but have heard a lot about him and his potential. I have seen a lot of Chris Archer comparisons. I will have to get a deeper look into him.

I love Matuella's game and potential but the injury concerns scare me. If he only had an elbow injury, I would take him, but with a back injury as well, I would stay away from him if he was available for the Cubs.

Right now, I am not as high on Kyle Funkhouser as some are. He is a project and I think the Cubs want someone who is a little more MLB-ready.

I am not as high on Carson Fulmer and I think many people can agree with me. Scouts say his delivery does not have a high-effort, but his stuff is still electric. There are concerns about his ability to start long-term, however.

I like Walker Buehler and his potential to be the next Arrieta. While his command is not as good, he has good movement as Kevin Gallo said. I'd still take Aiken over him though.

Even with the injury, Brady Aiken is still my top pitcher. While the injury is a concern, that may have been the best thing for him. Before the surgery, he had a smaller ligament, but after the surgery, it should make it stronger. If I were the Cubs and he is available, I would have to take him.

As for high school pitchers, I am really high on Mike Nikorak. He has a good frame, a clean delivery, and has a plus breaking-ball and a solid change to go along with his fastball. I see him as a #2/#3 starting pitcher with ‘frontline’ type upside.

2015 MLB Draft: Pitcher and Hitter Rankings

dreadpirateroberts

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JosMin

Entirely too much tuna

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Zvbxrpl

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Boobaby1

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