The Los Angeles Dodgers made 40 overall picks in the 2017 MLB Draft, selecting 22 pitchers (18 right-handers, four left-handers), eight outfielders, eight infielders (five shortstops, two second basemen, one third baseman) and two catchers.
Of their 18 drafted position players, 12 are right-handed hitters, five are left-handed hitters and one is a switch-hitter. Thirty-five were selected from the college ranks, while five were drafted out of high school.
After reviewing some of the organization’s individual draft picks, let’s examine the Dodgers 2017 MLB Draft class as a whole.
Trends
Scouting director Billy Gasparino and company certainly didn’t shy away from power righties. From Morgan Cooper to Marshall Kasowski, the Dodgers spent eight of their top 13 picks on right-handers.
Most of whom can get their fastballs into the mid 90s or higher. Later picks such as 18th-rounder Max Gamboa and 25th-rounder Mark Washington are projects who could throw in the upper 90s with some development.
The Dodgers did shy away from high schoolers. Fourth-round draft pick James Marinan was their highest selection and the only high school pitcher chosen. The Dodgers took three high school shortstops: 11th-rounder Jacob Amaya, 21st-rounder Joshua Rivera and 27th-rounder Jeremy Arocho.
And last, but certainly not least, Logan White Jr. was taken in the 39th round.
The draft class was also pretty old. Obviously, only taking one high schooler in the top 10 rounds will have that effect, but three of the players Los Angeles drafted in the first 10 rounds have 1994 birthdays and one (Zach Reks) was born in 1993.
Strengths
The Dodgers got good value early in the draft. Jeren Kendall falling to No. 23 overall was very unexpected. Second-rounder Morgan Cooper had some first-round buzz. Marinan and Connor Wong both could have gone higher.
The Dodgers also gave themselves plenty of chances to develop a power arm. Be it the early-round selection or later-round lottery tickets, there’s some upside for one or two of the pitchers to figure it out and take off.
They organization got some premium athletes who play up the middle. Kendall is one of the best overall athletes in the draft, with his strength and speed, while Wong played shortstop before moving to catcher in his sophomore season at Houston.
The trio of high school shortstops all look like they can stay in the middle of the diamond and 20th-rounder Donovan Casey will provide premium defense in center field.
Concerns
I may have been the low man on Kendall out of Dodger bloggers who covered the Draft. Both David Hood of True Blue LA and Dustin Nosler of Dodgers Digest absolutely loved him. I’m more concerned.
One worry is his offensive profile. While Kendall does have the speed to produce a strong BABIP and some pop to get the ball over the fence, he’s had major contact issues at Vanderbilt and his swing is not conducive to hitting for average. He’ll need to make extensive adjustments in order to reach his offensive potential.
And then there’s signability. Kendall is represented by Scott Boras, who is notorious for making outrageous demands for his clients and, sometimes, convincing his clients not to sign. This happened to the Dodgers two years ago with Kyle Funkhouser, the team’s 35th overall selection in 2015.
It will likely take considerably more than slot value ($2,702,700) to keep Kendall from heading back to Vanderbilt for his senior season.
Then there are the aforementioned power arms. While there’s a non-zero chance any one of them could turn into the next Walker Buehler or Mitchell White, it’s far more likely that they end up in the bullpen.
Cooper and Marinan seem capable of starting, but the rest of the aforementioned picks in the top 13 rounds seem destined for relief.
Outlook
Like any draft class, everything depends on who signs. If the Dodgers get Kendall, as well as some later round picks, it would obviously improve the likelihood of the team hitting on some of those lottery tickets.
The Dodgers announced the signing of more than half of their picks, with fifth-round pick Riley Ottesen the headliner.
I like this class less than Gasparino’s first two, since so much value is tied to one player. If Kendall goes back to Vanderbilt, the Dodgers could lose nearly half its bonus pool money, which could have a ripple effect through the later rounds and significantly decrease the number of players the club is able to sign.
Hopefully, I’m just being pessimistic and the Dodgers know exactly what they’re doing. Kendall could turn into the next Jacoby Ellsbury and one of the late round picks could be another Jose De Leon. But until Kendall signs on the dotted line, I’m not going to get my hopes up.
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