Last weekend I had a chance to check out three of the top prospects in the Northeast region for the 2019 MLB Draft- Jack Leiter, Anthony Volpe, and Chris Newell.
After going to that game here are some thoughts on each one of the three.
Jack Leiter, RHP, New Jersey HS
The biggest name of the trio is Jack Leiter, the son of former big league pitcher and MLB TV personality Al Leiter. Jack is seen as a late first round pick, but due to his family situation, Vanderbilt commitment, and small list of teams on his wish list, he is considered to be a very tough sign for most teams. There are reports of an asking price of $4 million so it is no guarantee that he will sign.
A funny thing happened with Leiter, who normally sits in the low 90s velocity wise. Just a week before I went to see him, Prep Baseball Report, a website that covers high school baseball, had people at the game and saw Leiter’s velocity up to a new high of 93-96 and touching 98 MPH. For a guy with great pitchability this was a major development involving his draft stock. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t catch that version of Leiter. The Leiter I saw was the Leiter everyone is used to, as he sat 88-92 and touched 93 MPH once for me.
Leiter showed off an easily plus to plus plus curve ball and a very promising 55-60 change up, but the fastball I saw was looking more like a future 50 pitch as it didn’t have exceptional life. Add in the fact that he battled his command - he had at least five balls in the dirt that got away from his catcher, including three to one particular batter mentioned below, helping a runner get from first all the way around to score. It was tough to project better than 50 on his command from what I saw, though I understand this wasn’t his best day and am aware he’s got better command than this.
With a 6’0 tall prep right hander that has a 50 fastball and inconsistent command, I struggle to see a guy that is going to be able to see a $4M signing bonus and can easily see him making it to Vanderbilt. Of course this is one start and I wouldn’t lock this in.
It is worth noting that despite his lack of ideal size, Leiter has some projection remaining on his body and is considered to be a good athlete, so it isn’t out of the question that more velocity comes out of him in the future- though it’s also hard to believe the guy I saw was the guy hitting 98 MPH on a gun the week prior to me catching his game.
Anthony Volpe, SS, New Jersey HS
Jack Leiter’s teammate and a fellow Vanderbilt commitment is Anthony Volpe. Like Leiter, Volpe has a high price tag associated with buying him out of his Vandy commitment. Presently many are starting to put Volpe up in the later part of the first round in mock drafts.
Volpe was interesting to watch. He is a very polished player who does a little bit of everything. He’s an excellent fielder with a strong arm, and great instincts for the position. Volpe is also a plus runner who I saw use his legs to help his team on the bases, though can see him eventually slowing down to an above average runner in the future.
Volpe has a solid hit tool, with the ability to make contact and a real ability to have strong at bats. The strength of his at bats was a thing that really stood out to me, as he would take pitches and foul others off to wait for his pitch or draw a walk. Volpe doesn’t have a ton of power, which is his biggest drawback.
Volpe is a very sound all around middle infielder. He’s going to run and defend very well, take quality at bats and hit for some average. The only real question is how the power will play.
Chris Newell, OF, Pennsylvania HS
The star for the opponent, Chris Newell really had a strong showing without needing to swing the bat much. In his first at bat against Leiter, Newell quickly drew a walk. The next time up is the at bat I was referring to as Newell came up with a runner on first, and took three pitches in the dirt that each moved the runner up a base until he scored. I couldn’t tell if Leiter was struggling with his command or avoiding pitching to Newell, since his command wasn’t exactly on point the rest of his outing either.-
Newell reached base a second time in the at bat I talked about with a walk, and proceeded to steal second base after taking a good jump. His speed was solid, but it was definitely the instincts and base running ability that helped him steal the base, and he eventually came home to score on a sac fly. I saw Newell face Leiter one more time, and he grounded out weakly to second base, but it felt more like he was trying to put a ball into play on a pitch not in a great spot because his team was trailing by so many at that point.
Newell played center field and was very good there in the few chances he got. He moved well and seemed to take good reads and routes to the ball. It’s not surprising considering how polished of a player he is, and it’s why he has a chance to stick in center despite being a more ideal right fielder in the future.
Newell is known for his bat, but I didn’t really get to see his bat. Still he moved up for me in terms of draft stock because he was so polished and did so many little things well. I would be a big fan of seeing him come off the board as early as the second round.
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