Just some quick notes on a bunch of random players that stood out to me on Saturday
Brandon Dufault, rhp, Northeastern, 35 FV- 6'5/195 with a long build and high waist. Looks like he could put on some good weight in his lanky build. Loose on the mound with athleticism. Some deception in the delivery and throws from a 3/4 arm slot. Fastball sat 93-96 and had sharp/heavy arm side run when thrown in on righties. Has been up to 98 in the past but maxed out at 96 on Saturday, hit 95-96 several times. Dufault located the fastball pretty well for the most part which has been an issue for him in the past. The slider wasn't located well but it flashed some good depth and was thrown in the zone. Has thrown a quality changeup (received some 55 grades in the CCBL) in the past but did not see one in this outing. Reliever only profile but I wouldn't be surprised if his stuff ticked up in pro ball. He's already 22 and is a pure reliever which limits his overall stock. He could be a potential bonus saver in that 7-10 round range. I'd look to grab him towards the back half of day 3. The hope would be that you could boost that velo to the 96-98 range and focus on developing at least one of his offspeed pitches to get it to a 55 or 60 grade.
Jordan Patty, rhp, Central Michigan, No Grade (NG)- I went over Patty a bit in my "Scouting the State Line" piece back in mid-May. Patty led Central Michigan to an upset victory with 7.2 shutout innings, an absolute gem performance. He scattered 8 hits, walked no one, and struck out 6. He lived off his fastball which was located extremely well throughout the game. Patty has a knack for locating his fastball at the top of the strike zone and was able to get several swings and misses with that pitch. He sat 86-90 and touched 91. Was in the 86-88 range for his last couple of innings but showed the ability to get to 90-91 after runners reached base. The radar gun on the broadcast was questionable at best, so it's possible Patty was actually throwing harder in the later innings. Patty started showing a bit more feel for his breaking ball and popped off a couple of good ones in the 4th and 5th inning. He showed the ability to steal strikes with the pitch by backdooring it. There wasn't much movement on his changeup when he threw it and he left it up in the zone multiple times. This tracks with what I've seen from Patty in the past. It's not exciting stuff but he gets the job done against quality college lineups. The strike zone in this one was pretty wide on the outside and Patty took advantage of that all game long. He's a smart pitcher with a ton of moxie and isn't afraid to challenge good hitters with his fastball. Patty eclipsed 100 pitches in the 7th inning and worked out of a bases loaded/no out jam to keep the game out of reach. Here's a Patty K clip. Doesn't have much of a ceiling but his performance could get him some NDFA (non-drafted free agent) interest.
Ted Burton, 2b/1b, Michigan, 35 FV- Sometimes double-checking the DOB's for some of these 2nd year players pays off. Because the draft is a month later than usual (July instead of June) I've been more inclined to check birth dates for players in their 2nd year of college. 90% of the time they aren't eligible. Burton is part of that 10%. He will be 21 on draft day despite this only being his 2nd year at Michigan. Burton was a 1st team all-conference pick in the Big Ten at second base. He split time there and at first base during the season and also received minimal playing time at third. He was the DH against Central Michigan Saturday so I don't have a grade on his defense at any of those spots. He went 0-4 in this one and swung through 40/45 grade velocity fastballs up in the zone. He has power though and homered in Saturday's game. I've added him to the 35 FV tier but he's probably someone that returns to campus for 2022. Here's the homer from Friday.
Niko Kavadas, 1b, Notre Dame, 35+ FV- After Kavadas hit two moonshots on Friday he added two more bombs on Saturday. The first was an opposite field grand slam off Ben Casparius (35+ FV) and the second was a 9th inning shot off a lefty. He might have 80 raw power. His second home run was particularly impressive. In a 3-2 count Kavadas lifted an inside fastball from lefty Brendan O'Donnell and inside-outed it for a homer to left-center field. The power that Kavadas generates on contact is second to none in this draft. The swing can get long at times and he's going to accumulate K's at the next level, but the power is MLB ready. I've been impressed with how well his approach has improved over the years. He's a patient hitter who makes pitchers work and he's able to work deep counts while waiting for his pitch. On top of that, Kavadas has become a dependable defender at first base after it looked like he was trending towards a DH-only future. As a pro, I'd like to see Kavadas work on toning his body a bit more to ensure his looseness at the plate/maintain his mobility at first base long term. Apparently, he's never been much of a weight room guy as he's been able to rely solely on natural strength. At this point, I'd have to imagine he's done enough to go early on day 2 of the draft. Notre Dame's Twitter account was nice enough to provide a clip of the 4 Kavadas dingers.
Tyler Black, 2b, Wright State, 40 FV- Wright State was eliminated after losing back-to-back games against Tennesse and Duke. However, you can't really blame Black for that. He homered 3 times in those 2 games, including a solo shot yesterday in a lefty/lefty matchup. He also nearly had an opposite field grand slam but it was robbed by the left fielder. Black has handled quality pitching all year and has a pretty solid track record of hitting overall. In a draft class short on college hitters that have performed with the bat, Black stands out. That could very well push him into the back half of the 1st round next month. He shares some similarities with recent 1st rounders like Justin Foscue (Rangers, #14th overall, 2020) and Will Wilson (Angels, #15th overall, 2019). I don't think Black has quite the tools of those two and he also didn't play in a power conference. Black does have good knowledge and feel for the strike zone and gets the barrel on the ball often. I wouldn't love him at #14 for the Giants, but that is probably the only way they could end up with him.
Quincy Hamilton, of, Wright State, 35 FV- Hamilton received NDFA interest after the 2020 5 round draft. He experienced a breakout during the 2020 season in a small sample after not getting much playing time the two years prior. His decision to return for 2021 seems to have paid off. Hamilton beat out teammate Tyler Black for conference player of the year and was named a 1st team All-American by CollegiateBaseball; a team that included college stars like Jack Leiter (55 FV), Brooks Lee ('22), Jace Jung ('22), Kevin Kopps (35+ FV), Gavin Williams (40 FV), and Matheu Nelson (40 FV). Hamilton is a plus athlete with a strong, compact build at 5'10/190. His swing is short and quick and the bat/barrel stays in the zone a long time. He's at least a 60 runner and uses his speed exceptionally well on the bases. He stole 20 bases this season with an 87% success rate. He turned a double into a triple in his 3rd at bat and turned a single into a double in his final at bat. Hamilton blazed his way to 2nd base in under 7.35 seconds on the double. He shows the ability to handle velocity up in the zone and covers the outside portion of the plate extremely well. His power plays to all fields and he recorded both of his extra base hits the opposite way while also flying out to the warning track. Hamilton might be susceptible to hard stuff on the inner half as well as breaking stuff down and out of the zone. He had a couple of whiffs on offspeed pitches in this game.
During the two games, Hamilton went 4-8 with 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, a double, and a triple. He finished the year with 14 homers and a 54% extra base hit % (XBH%). Despite his power numbers, Hamilton profiles more like a table setting, 4th outfielder as a pro. His speed plays in the field and he shows good range in center with a fringy arm. It's a tweener profile but there's upside for more here if he can show the ability to handle velo inside. He'll be 23 on draft day but is a late bloomer which could get him drafted in the 6-10 round area. We already know teams were interested in him last year. I'm tempted to put him in the 35+ FV tier but I don't think I can given the age. He's been really fun to watch this year. Burke Granger with a great little clip of a Hamilton homer below.
RJ Schreck, of, Duke, (NG)- One of the big reasons why Duke made it this far was the emergence of RJ Schreck this season. He was extremely hot the last couple of months and has 18 homers to date. After homering 3 times in 2 games against Clemson in the ACC tournament, Schreck left the yard 3 times against Wright State this Saturday. He finished 4-6 with the 3 homers and added a double for good measure. He also robbed a grand slam off the bat of Tyler Black which kept the game completely out of reach for Wright State.
I've seen two sides of Schreck this season. He's had games where he handles everything you throw at him as we saw yesterday. I've also seen him swing and miss a ton as he did against Virginia and NC State during conference play (combined 0-9 with 5 Ks). He's strong with plenty of bat speed but can get beat against quality breaking stuff. The power is mostly limited to his pull side but it's plus raw power. I didn't focus on Schreck enough to feel comfortable giving him a grade. He's certainly going to draw some draft interest after his phenomenal season. Schreck is slated to play in the Cape Cod League this summer which may be his best opportunity to prove his 2021 season was for real. Check out Schreck's home runs and grand slam steal below.
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