Braves select Vanderbuilt left-handed pitcher Mike Minor with their first pick
by gondeee on Jun 9, 2009 7:38 PM EDT
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PrintOne thing is for sure, the Atlanta Braves and scouting director Roy Clark, have their own agenda when it comes to draft day. They haven't been afraid to take risks on guys like Cody Johnson or Beau Jones, and today was no different. The Braves, with the number-7 overall pick in the first round of the draft, selected a player that most experts didn't list in their top-20 prospects -- Mike Minor, a collegiate left-handed pitcher from Vanderbuilt.
In late May, Baseball America had Minor listed at the 35th-best prospect available in the draft. In mid-May they listed him as the 10th-best left handed pitcher, rating him as a second-round talent. Minor's stock was at it's highest last year after he pitched brilliantly for Team USA, including two victories against Cuba. His numbers suffered last year at Vanderbuilt due to a lack of confidence in throwing to third and fourth-string catchers, as Vandy's catching injuries forced inexperienced backstops into regular duty and limited Minor's off-speed repertoire.
The word you hear repeated most often with Minor is pitchability. He doesn't have typical first-round "stuff." His fastball is around 86-to-91, occaisionally touching 93, but he compliments that with a plus changeup to go along with two other solid pitches, a slider and a curveball. Minor also comes with one of the best pickoff moves of any pitcher in the draft, and controlling the running game is something Atlanta pitching needs to improve upon. His pitchability also extends to his presence on the mound. He's a pitcher who thinks and adjusts on the mound and has the ability to be one pitch ahead of the hitter.
Minor follows in the footsteps of some other high picks from Vanderbuilt, Jeremey Sowers and David Price. Winning the Summer Player of the Year award is something else Minor and Price have in common. Like Price, Minor could move fast through the Braves system. If he signs quickly, and reports are he is very "signable," then he could start the year at either Rome or Myrtle Beach.
Mike Minor is not the "sexy" pick at number-7, and his ceiling seems to be that of a number-2 or number-3 starter. Many fans, including those chatting on this site, were not too impressed with this pick, hoping that the team would instead go with a higher upside talent. But the Braves are one of the best teams at scouting and player development, and rarely do they waste first-round picks on prospects that never pan out. Perhaps there was a bit of hesitance to select a high-risk-high-reward player with this high of a selection, and they instead went with one of the few sure-things in the draft.
I give this pick a grade of B+. That's kind of how you could describe Minor. He's polished, but not flashy.
Click here for an MLB scouting report and some video of Minor. Below is his video highlight reel from his last three years at Vanderbuilt:
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Vanderbilt, no "U"
And I hate the pick
If Dunn walks 30 fewer times, he'll drive in 15 more runs. This is thanks to the scientifically proven formula: RBI = (this is nonsense) (I made it all up).
Here's a stat: Wins as manager: Dusty Baker, 1,162; Bill James, 0.
not a fan
of the pick. However, he’ll sign for slot and he’ll be in the majors in the next couple of years. I wonder if Minor was the pick all along…
Yeah. He’s a #4. Plus change, average curve, average slider, not even average fastball, good command. If everything clicks he’s a #3.
That’s about what I’ve read from a bunch of different places. I don’t think I’ve read anywhere that projects him as even having the ability to be a #2. This is a back of the rotation guy who has the chance to be a middle of the rotation guy. This was signability all the way it seems, which is extremely disappointing.
http://www.whensidslid.com
LOL
I Can’t Fucking believe this!! First Top ten pick since 92’ and the braves going to be the KC Royals of Drafting using signability over talent and selecting a slug pitcher that is mid of the rotation starter 3-5… This has all to do with money and nothing more because you don’t go out and not select a potential #1/2 SP but go CHEAP and waste it on a guy that you can sign that has a ceiling of a #3/4 SP. Unless FW told ROY that we can’t spend $$ over slot for actually high ceiling SP than I would really start to question this organization decision making on how to draft the BEST player avaliable and not the best player that the braves can sign..
THIS PICK WAS PLAIN AWEFUL!!
I don’t know shit about the players available at the time, other than what you fine people have said…but I look forward to the FO’s reasoning about this pick.
I guess I'm in the minority
But I’m gonna take the high road and just go with the fact that the Braves scouting/drafting department has been nothing short of superb in the past couple of decades, so instead of talking about slots and signability, I welcome simply welcome Minor to the Braves organization and hope he becomes a future All-Star.
I figured since we didn’t have a 2nd rd pick we would be able to go over slot money but we go with Minor. Im not very happy with this pick
It’s not just about the actual dollars, going over slot is frowned upon by MLB and Selig. Some clubs don’t give a good G-d@mn, and some, like the Braves, do.
The slot system is a joke anyways. Until they change the system in the CBA (which I hope they do), good ole Bud can blow it out his ass.
by soup du jour on Jun 10, 2009 8:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Agree 100%, but I don’t think that the Braves see it that way. That’s why this TC meme about “signability” bothers me a little. While the $$ may have been a concern with Matzek, my sense is that the decision to pass on him wasn’t entirely about being cheap—it was the consideration that he would require above-slot money, which the Braves weren’t willing to give, because it would buck the MLB rules.
Then again...
How much signing bonus money for that #2 went straight to Lowe?
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 10, 2009 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions
I dont like this pick we already got a lefty in Devall last year why didnt we go for a Bat
by Heyward is the next crime dog on Jun 9, 2009 9:53 PM EDT reply actions
He was talked about there for several weeks.
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 10, 2009 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions
maybe it’s because he’s an SEC boy, and i am compelled to root them on (when they’re not playing the dawgs, of course!), but i have a decent feeling about this guy for some reason
"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."
by Bravely going forward on Jun 9, 2009 10:13 PM EDT reply actions
Terrible pick. Braves should not be concerned about signability, they needed to spend money on this draft pick to get a high upside arm, of which there were PLENTY in this draft. Instead they go and draft a vanilla pitcher whose ceiling is average at best.
Why the fuck are they drafting according to slot, anyways? Didn’t they get the memo that no teams pay attention to fucking SLOT any more? What are we, the Florida Marlins? Jesus Christ.
i think jo jo has better stuff. and his stuff isnt that good.
why didnt we take the UNC pitcher?
AB: Jeff Francoeur
Pitching: Any pitcher in MLB
Runners: Escobar at 3rd, Chipper at 2nd, McCann at 1st.
Pitch 1: In play, out(s)
by Scott Coleman on Jun 9, 2009 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions
or matzek
atleast he gets his fastball over 90mph
AB: Jeff Francoeur
Pitching: Any pitcher in MLB
Runners: Escobar at 3rd, Chipper at 2nd, McCann at 1st.
Pitch 1: In play, out(s)
by Scott Coleman on Jun 9, 2009 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions
downside.
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 10, 2009 1:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I think we will end up regrettin not draftin Green. I really like this guy i think he will really get it together and mash in the minors. I realize we have Chipper and Escobar right now but if Green hits as good as he is capable of doin then the Braves would have been able to find somewhere to play the guy, or he could have at least been very good trade bait. Minor wasn’t a terrible pick, it was a “safe” pick. Only time will tell if it was a good pick or not. Who knows, this guy might end up bein a very good serviceable and valuable number 3 for us in the comin years.
braves#1
I’ll just go ahead and go with the minority and say that I think Roy and the Braves development staff deserve some slack on their picks. Lets see how this kid develops. He might be Jo-Jo, or he could be the next Tom Glavine (minus the drama).
Yeah, this is where I come out too. Look, there are worse things than having a guy who is an MLB-ready #4 in late 2011-early 2012. It’s not all about #1 upside.
I think with the 7th pick in the draft you have to look towards ceiling over safety. There are plenty of pitchers in this draft with #4 upside; the Braves could’ve taken three or four over the first ten rounds and kept stocking that Danville rotation with guys like Francis, Sullivan, and Hoover. Build up the depth of #3/4 starters and a few will develop. A high first round pick is for picking guys that really stand-out; guys that you can’t pick 3-4 and hope one develops. Matzek may have been overpriced according to MLB’s slot recommendations and the current market, but he’s not overpriced based on his talent. That the Braves didn’t pick him (or Turner or Purke) is a major mistake. You only get one chance to get talent like that into your system and usually only when you were a bad team the previous year. We pissed away our chance.
That doesn’t mean I don’t think Minor is a major league starter for us in two years. He’ll slot in very nicely and pitch 180 innings a year and post a 4.50 ERA and earn his signing bonus and much more over those 6-7 controlled years. Look for him to be a guy like Jarrod Washburn (statistically).
You only get one chance to get talent like that into your system and usually only when you were a bad team the previous year. We pissed away our chance.
You mean like Tommy Hanson? OK, maybe a cheap shot, and I don’t totally disagree with you, however, there are obviously many other ways to get #1/#2 starters into a system or onto a major league team, including free agency, trades, and non-US based player scouting and development, to name a few.
"I think with the 7th pick in the draft you have to look towards ceiling over safety."
Really? I’d say it’s much easier to accept blown picks when they’re lower and the signing bonuses aren’t so crazy.
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 10, 2009 1:27 PM EDT up reply actions
The scouting department isn’t to blame here…its the fact that they weren’t given the money to do what they wanted to do. Through reports they wanted Matzek, but the FO wouldn’t give them enough money to sign him, even though we didn’t have any supplementary or second round picks.
by soup du jour on Jun 10, 2009 8:21 AM EDT up reply actions
Since everything must resort to this
It sucks that we had to go slot because we are paying FYF 3.4 mil to be a fourth outfielder.
Seriously, I this was one of the worst I remember with signability trumping so high over talent. Matzek is clearly a top 5 pick but slid out. Crow and Scheppes top 10. Purke too. Kastan lied and went below slot with their redo pick. Weird year. Don’t wanna use the E word that everyone has been using in sports but maybe it played a part.
But I think you have to be a little upset with Wren’s back up plan. Wheeler or MINOR? I think in that situation you say “we want to save money and get the guy we want in Wheeler but if for whatever reason we don’t fuck it lets get the best guy.”
I said it as a joke but seriously FYF gets paid 4 mil to be a fourth outfielder, Bloomquist gets 3 mil to be Willie Bloomquist. Matzek has more value than both (in terms of trading, on field, morale to fans) and even if Matzek was not to pan out like alot of top 10 picks (Wade Townsend, Sowers, Bailey from the 04 draft) he is still going to give you more options as an organization than Mike Minor.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=494039
Beating a dead horse but seriously 689
LOL look who is literally the next person on the list! Delmon Young the guy we were talking about swapping Frenchy for. So funny.
Hey, he's ahead of David Ortiz!
That guy was an All-Star!
Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.
by MichaelProcton on Jun 10, 2009 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions
Really?
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
He’s 23, only 3 months older than Tommy Hanson, and posting a 3.41 ERA with 58 K’s, allowing 68 hits and 22 BB in 66 innings in AAA. I doubt we’ve seen the last of him and he actually seems to be improving.
Mike Minor? "Roy Clark is tied up in a closet in Atlanta’s offices."
I would expect Cincinnati says no first
Mike Minor? "Roy Clark is tied up in a closet in Atlanta’s offices."
I wish Mike Minor the best of luck and I hope he winds up being a good player but despite the weakness of the draft, when you pick 7th, you should land an impact talent. Atlanta didn’t land an impact talent. Take Matzek, Miller, Turner, or Purke and make your best offer. Worst comes to worst, you take the 8th pick next year and if you can’t find a player you like that will sign for slot or close to it, then you look at a Mike Minor type. There will be guys of his talent and with his price tag in every draft. At least make an effort to acquire talent worthy of a high pick. I don’t hate Mike Minor and he has ability and I’d be excited if we drafted him 27th but not 7th with so many high upside arms still on the table. Hopefully Mike Minor will make an ass of me for complaining and go on to a long, successful career but I feel like a fucking Pirates’ fan at the moment.
Mike Minor? "Roy Clark is tied up in a closet in Atlanta’s offices."
+1
I’ll reiterate the fact that I don’t hate Minor. Far from it. He’s a decent pitcher who is a first round talent. But I do hate the fact that we drafted him seventh, when we could’ve had a much higher potential player with our highest pick in years.
by soup du jour on Jun 10, 2009 8:24 AM EDT up reply actions
But as some have pointed out on other threads, it’s possible guys like Minor could be developed and eventually become trade bait for an impact player the not too distant future.
"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."
by Bravely going forward on Jun 10, 2009 10:35 PM EDT up reply actions
After having a night to think about it, I like this pick more and more. Obviously, the Braves wanted to take Zach Wheeler. He’s a local guy and a prime HS talent, but the Giants weren’t going to pick poorly like the Marlins did with Matt Dominguez in 07, so that just didn’t work out.
Frankly, after Strasburg, it just wasn’t a strong draft. There were a bunch of pitchers, and it really was take your pick. And then you factor in that some of the guys (Matzek and Purke) don’t really want to play, and your options become a little more limited. The Braves obviously went with the player they liked the most. They’ve been doing it for years and it’s worked out fairly well.
So why pick a college guy over a HS guy; I mean, HS guys have such high ceilings. Well, we picked 3 HS guys last year, so we’ve already got a ton of potential that may or may not pan out. With a college guy, he’s probably a lot closer to being finished off. Why not bring in somebody who could start out at Myrtle Beach and be further along, when you’ve already got a stockpile of potential working out their growing pains. And why pick Minor over Alex White if you’re going to go with a college guy? Well, neither one exactly wowed this year, but, obviously, the Braves like Minor better. Again, these guys have been fairly good at their jobs, so maybe we take their word for it.
And then there’s the matter of how where we were picking should have affected our selection. Everyone’s saying we should have gone for it with the 7th pick, taken a guy and paid him whatever; heck, we don’t have a second rounder anyway. Well, personally, and I think the Braves feel this way too, if a guy is asking for an insane bonus, he doesn’t really want to play anyway. As we all know, this is the highest pick we’ve had in years, so why screw it up and not sign a guy? Why waste a high pick on a guy who could easily turn down a reasonable offer and go to college or indy ball; are we the Natinals? And it’s not like last year where there was a ton of talent, last year’s #7 is already in AA and #8 is in the Majors. This was a down year, so why get screwed?
With all the factors, the Braves picked the guy they liked the best and he’s as likely to reach his ceiling as Strasburg or Ackley, even if he only ends up being a #4 starter. You can’t judge a draft the day of. In 07, the Brewers took a huge reach and picked a guy that some people didn’t think would get picked in the top 20. Well, Matt LaPorta mashed as a pro, and netted them CC Sabathia, so that pick that looked terrible at the time worked out pretty well.
"At least he didn’t nail the bitchy fat girl from Hell's Kitchen."
www.dropoutproductions.com
good points.
"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."
by Bravely going forward on Jun 10, 2009 10:46 PM EDT up reply actions
His stock is rising
I saw where Bravely Going FWD said he is an SEC player so I will support him. I don’t think he needs your pitty, Don’t be hating “The Kid” is good…real good. Being a Vandy fan I had read a little about him via the Local Nashville paper and had thought he would make a really good pick for the Braves. Over the past few years Vanderbilt baseball has had a moment in the sun mainly because of their pitching…if you want to read the article about their pitching coach and his opinion of Minor and a few other of their first round pics here is the link;
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090528/SPORTS0602/905280352/1036/Vandy+pitching+coach+cultivates+young+arms
enjoy!
"I don’t think he needs your pitty, Don’t be hating "The Kid" is good."
Wow, frankly i’m not sure what that fragment is supposed to mean, but i certainly don’t “pitty” any guy who’s signing bonus would likely be more money than i’ll see in the next 10 years, lol. I was mainly just pointing out that he was a player in the SEC, which is known for its level of competition and has produced some really talented players of late. And it’s okay to respond directly to my comments. I almost missed this and I needed a laugh after tonight’s loss.
"When life gives you lemons, just say 'F*ck the lemons,' and bail."
by Bravely going forward on Jun 10, 2009 11:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Minor was outstanding with Team USA with a 0.75 ERA in 5 starts (including two against the Cubans). Strasburg was on that team and Minor matched him in stats and was even a little better. This past year at Vandy, he lost his top two catchers early and had a couple of kids filling in. They had difficulty handling his off speed stuff and limited what he could do. He improved the last month of the season when they allowed him to call his own games. His changeup is possibly the best in the draft; his FB has late movement and he can spot it where he wants. His slider is getting better and his curve is good enough. He throws in the 89-92 MPH range but can reach back and hit 94 mph on occasion. Not a homerun pick but solid. Leaves the Braves money for their international signings where they’ve been solid in recent years.
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