Rounds 8-10

 Before we go to the round 8 pick I wanted to pass something by all of you.   Here are the Indians picks in the 2017,  2018 and 2019 drafts in rounds 6-10.

2019:

6 - Jordan Brown HS SS

7 - Xzavion Curry college RHP

8 - Will Brennan college OFer

9 - Will Bartlett HS C/1B

10 - Zach Hart college RHP

2018:

6 - Raynel Delgado HS SS

7 - Cody Morris college RHP

8 - Alex Royalty college RHP

9 - Brian Eichhorn college RHP

10 -  Robert Broom college RHP

2017:

6 - Mike Rivera college catcher

7 - Kirk McCarty  college RHP

8 - Eli Morgan college RHP

9 - James Karinchak college RHP

10 - Jesse Berardi college 2B/Ss

From 2019 Curry looks like the best and from 2018 Broom and Morris look like the best and in 2017 Karinchak and Morgan appear the best with McCarty still having a good chance to make the majors.   2018 was a bit of a mess as Royalty and Eichhorn don't look too promising but in every year the college pitchers appear to be progressing fast and the HS draftees appear to be stalling/progressing slowly.   So, looking back, it appears that the Indians' plan for 2021 seems to be based on the results from previous seasons.   

In round 8 the Indians select Rodney Boone, a 6'1" college junior LHP.  Again, he is a value picked with the 246th selection and rated by MLB as their 192nd best draft prospect.  While McGreevy was the top UC Santa Barbara pitching prospect, Boone is no slouch.   He was their Friday starter and had good command and swing-and-miss stuff with 55 H allowed in 97 IP with 128 K and 39 BB.  He appears to be a grinder like Civale and, again, is a good candidate for the Indians pitching development program.  He is not tall and is the 3rd short lefty drafted so far by the Indians but it addresses a need in their system, left handed starting pitching.  

In the 9th round the Indians, trying to mix it up, select Will Dion with the 276th pick in the draft.  Dion is a college short LHP junior and is not ranked on any listing I can find.   Not surprising because of his lack of height, slow fastball and lack of good competition to get a good read on how his stuff will play in pro ball.  He has extreme control (18 BB in 99 innings this year) and has some swing and miss (121 Ks) and throws a lot of first ball strikes. His fastball is below MLB average at 87-91 with a good curveball and, I think, a slider that might make him effective against lefties.  Looks like a potential reliever for me to put into the Indians pitching development machine and see what comes out of the other end.

In the 10th and final round on the second day the Indians, with the 306th pick, select...[drum roll please]...Franco Aleman, a 6'6" RHP college junior from the University of Florida.  Aleman was the #243 prospect on MLB's top 250 list.  Aleman is the 9th player in the top 11 picks by the Indians to be highly ranked.   If my memory serves this is a draft record for the Indians as, like most teams, they start to diverge from prospect lists in the 4th or 5th rounds.  This time they hung true to drafting college pitchers who were highly rated.  His scouting report says he is a sinker-slider guy who can throw up to 98 and get swings and misses on the slider (though his K/IP numbers are mediocre for college ball).  He looks like another potential reliever who came on and pitched his best ball at the end of the year against good competition.   

So, folks, there you have it.   If you like picking college pitchers you probably loved this draft.  If you think we need more pitcher/hitter balance or if you wanted us to go for broke with some highly rated high school player with huge bonus demands then you are probably pulling your hair out right now.  

For me, the first 10 rounds were great for the Indians as they drafted to their development strength: taking good college pitching prospects and plugging them into their pitching development program.

Now, tomorrow in rounds 11-20 I think the Indians should go after some HS pitchers and position players almost exclusively.   I think with the emphasis on college pitchers in the first 10 rounds I think people might think we need to add a few college position players.   However, of the 58 remaining players on MLB's top 250, only 8 are college juniors or seniors, about 5 are JUCO players and the rest are HS players.   I think the focus for the next 10 rounds should be signable JUCO players, sprinkling in a few HS players who will sign.   With the elimination of the Mahoning Valley team there is no longer any need to draft organizational position players.   So, with the exception of drafting the best college catching prospects left, I think we should go young.   Here is the breakdown of what I would like to see the last 10 rounds to look like:

College catchers (2) (wouldn't Luca Tresh and Dominic Keegan look good if we could get them and we would have the cash to sign them for $250,000 each)

JUCO non-catcher position players (4) and pitchers (2)

High school position players (2)