Pittsburgh wanted Reese McGuire. Scout Greg Hopkins, the Pirates Northwest evaluator, followed him extensively, even meeting with the family, and the draft gurus generally agreed he was high on the Bucco radar. They were right.
The Bucs selected him in the first round as the 14th overall pick, right after having another HS player, OF'er Austin Meadows, fall into their lap at #9. Baseball America rated McGuire as the #12 player in the draft and the top catching prospect. He officially signed today. His slot value is $2,569,800, and he was expected to sign for just around that figure; Jim Callis of Baseball America tweeted it was for under slot at $2.369M.
McGuire, 18, had a verbal commit to San Diego State, but he was presumed signable from the start. The teen wasn't too shy about letting it be known he was ready to play pro ball after the draft, as he broadly hinted that was the case to his local newspaper, and tweeted that he couldn't wait to get started. It was also copacetic that he and Meadows were buds, having played together on the All-Star circuit.
He comes from the same high school as Matt Hague, Kentwood in Kent, Washington, and he was part of a 21-5 team. He hit .hit .436 with 13 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 20 RBI in his senior year, catching, playing third base and also some OF.
The 6'-1" 190 pounder won a raft of awards: USA Baseball National Player of the Year, Washington State Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year, 2013 Rawlings First Team All-American West and more. He earned a spot on the USA Under 18 Team which won a World Championship, and his performance there - he hit .400 with 11 RBI - blew up his radar blip and moved him up he charts.
McGuire has a good combo as a catcher - he throws right handed and bats lefty. Everybody raves about his defensive abilities. He has a cannon for an arm, boasting both accuracy and sub 1.9 pop times (throws to second), which in itself is MLB caliber.
The youngster is athletic, blocks balls well, receives pitches softly, and has called his own game since little league days, so he knows the strategies and mind games. His only sore point is that he doesn't frame pitches terribly well, but a camp with Russell Martin should take care of that art. It's been said that he would be a first round pick (albeit later in the day) based solely on defensive ability.
The scouts aren't so sure about his stick He's a pull guy with an open stance who tends to overstride and has a leg kick as part of his swing; and he'll roll over on pitches away. McGuire does have decent bat speed, loft and some power, but has to work on more consistent contact and hitting the ball up the middle. Still, his projections are in the range of a .260+ BA with 10-15 HR, and with his defensive tool kit, that would make for a pretty fair everyday MLB catcher.
Catching has become a premium position, and teams are always looking for upside and depth. But make no mistake - prep
catchers are hard to project long-term and inherently risky picks. In the last decade, the only high school catcher that was taken in the first round and is starting today is Neil Walker, and it's been awhile since he's put on the tools of ignorance.
HS first rounders Devin Mosaraco (2007) and Hank Conger (2006) are back-ups, while Brett Lawrie (2008) and Brandon Snyder (2005) are bench infielders, so the success rate for the dozen or so preppies taken since 2004 has been pretty underwhelming. The college guys are much safer selections.
McGuire joins a budding collection of young Pirate catchers, although there is a wide gap between Tony Sanchez, who is just about ready for the show, and the Wyatt Mathieson/Jin-De Jhang combo in Low A. The guys in the middle, Carlos Paulino and probably Jacob Stallings, are defensively MLB catchers, but unfortunately, not MLB sticks.
Mathieson is in Low A West Virginia, Jhang in short season Jamestown, and that leaves the GCL Rookie League for McGuire. It'll be interesting to see how these three guys move through the system. Catcher is the position that takes the longest to master, but there will be plenty of fast-track opportunities for them; maybe one of the trio will be ready by 2017 or so.
Showing posts with label reese mcguire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reese mcguire. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
The Envelope, Please...Meadows & McGuire In the First Round
The picks before the Bucs, who are at #9 and #14 in tonight's first round:
1 - RHP Mark Appel (Stanford) to the Astros;
2 - 3B Kris Bryant (San Diego) to the Cubs;
3 - RHP Jonathan Gray (Oklahoma) to the Rockies;
4 - RHP Kohl Stewart (St. Pius X HS) to the Twins;
5 - OF Clint Frazier (Loganville HS) to the Indians;
6 - 3B Colin Moran (North Carolina) to the Marlins;
7 - LHP Trey Ball (New Castle HS) to the Red Sox;
8 - SS Hunter Dozier (Stepen Austin) to the Royals, in the first stretch of the night; he was considered a marginal first round talent.
And the Bucs picked *tada* Austin Meadows, a high school outfielder from Grayson HS in Georgia. The 18 year old lefty is big (6'3", 210) and raw, and requires some coaching up, but was considered by many services to be a potential top five selection. MLB Network's John Hart compared him to Jay Bruce.
He doesn't come with a blowout five tool package, but across the board all his tools are above average to plus, making him a pretty complete player. Meadows is a kid that should bat for average (he hit .535 with 14 doubles, a triple, four HRs and 28 RBI as a senior) and power. He's considered a top notch defender with a chance to stick in center field (he may grow into a corner OF'er), owning the kind of profile that the Pirates look for in their OF candidates. In comparing him to the Pirates' last high round OF prep selection Josh Bell, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweeted that Bell has a better bat, but Meadows has better all-around tools.
The draft went on:
10 - RHP Phil Bickford (Oaks Christian HS) to the Blue Jays;
11 - 1B Dominic Smith (Serra HS) to the Mets;
12 - 1B/3B DJ Peterson (New Mexico) to the Mariners;
13 - OF Hunter Renfroe (Mississppi State) to the Padres.
The Bucs next pick was catcher Reese McGuire from Kentwood High School in Washington, who many had going to Pittsburgh as the ninth selection, so the brass should be happy with their early haul. Meadows fell to them yet they still got their original man. He hit .436 with 13 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 20 RBI in his final prep season. McGuire is also an 18 year old lefty hitter (throws right) who is 6'1", 210 pounds.
He was thought to be by many the top catching prospect in the 2013 draft class, athletic, good technically behind the plate, blessed with a rocket arm and has been calling his own games throughout HS. McGuire will also take some time to percolate through the system.
Now comes the hard part - signing them. Neither will be cheap, and both have major college scholarships in their pockets. The slot amount for Meadows is $3,029,600, and for McGuire it's $2,569,800, so let's hope that's in their price range...but don't be surprised if it's not, especially in Meadows' case.
The Pirates continued their quest for upside players rather than going the safer college route. There's more risk and time involved from draft to the show for prep players, but it's the road that the smaller revenue clubs have to travel to become successful.
1 - RHP Mark Appel (Stanford) to the Astros;
2 - 3B Kris Bryant (San Diego) to the Cubs;
3 - RHP Jonathan Gray (Oklahoma) to the Rockies;
4 - RHP Kohl Stewart (St. Pius X HS) to the Twins;
5 - OF Clint Frazier (Loganville HS) to the Indians;
6 - 3B Colin Moran (North Carolina) to the Marlins;
7 - LHP Trey Ball (New Castle HS) to the Red Sox;
8 - SS Hunter Dozier (Stepen Austin) to the Royals, in the first stretch of the night; he was considered a marginal first round talent.
And the Bucs picked *tada* Austin Meadows, a high school outfielder from Grayson HS in Georgia. The 18 year old lefty is big (6'3", 210) and raw, and requires some coaching up, but was considered by many services to be a potential top five selection. MLB Network's John Hart compared him to Jay Bruce.
He doesn't come with a blowout five tool package, but across the board all his tools are above average to plus, making him a pretty complete player. Meadows is a kid that should bat for average (he hit .535 with 14 doubles, a triple, four HRs and 28 RBI as a senior) and power. He's considered a top notch defender with a chance to stick in center field (he may grow into a corner OF'er), owning the kind of profile that the Pirates look for in their OF candidates. In comparing him to the Pirates' last high round OF prep selection Josh Bell, Jim Callis of Baseball America tweeted that Bell has a better bat, but Meadows has better all-around tools.
The draft went on:
10 - RHP Phil Bickford (Oaks Christian HS) to the Blue Jays;
11 - 1B Dominic Smith (Serra HS) to the Mets;
12 - 1B/3B DJ Peterson (New Mexico) to the Mariners;
13 - OF Hunter Renfroe (Mississppi State) to the Padres.
The Bucs next pick was catcher Reese McGuire from Kentwood High School in Washington, who many had going to Pittsburgh as the ninth selection, so the brass should be happy with their early haul. Meadows fell to them yet they still got their original man. He hit .436 with 13 doubles, three triples, four home runs and 20 RBI in his final prep season. McGuire is also an 18 year old lefty hitter (throws right) who is 6'1", 210 pounds.
He was thought to be by many the top catching prospect in the 2013 draft class, athletic, good technically behind the plate, blessed with a rocket arm and has been calling his own games throughout HS. McGuire will also take some time to percolate through the system.
Now comes the hard part - signing them. Neither will be cheap, and both have major college scholarships in their pockets. The slot amount for Meadows is $3,029,600, and for McGuire it's $2,569,800, so let's hope that's in their price range...but don't be surprised if it's not, especially in Meadows' case.
The Pirates continued their quest for upside players rather than going the safer college route. There's more risk and time involved from draft to the show for prep players, but it's the road that the smaller revenue clubs have to travel to become successful.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)