Over the final two days of the 2016 MLB Draft, the Los Angeles Dodgers continued emphasizing their priority of up-the-middle players as well as power arms.
The class continued to be overwhelmingly skewed toward the college crop, though some intriguing high schoolers were selected in later rounds.
After reviewing the Dodgers’ four first-day picks, let’s take a look at how the rest of the 2016 Draft played out for Los Angeles.
High-school righties
While the Dodgers did take a prep player with their first pick in shortstop Gavin Lux, they selected just eight high school players overall. The few they did take early could provide a lot of upside, should they sign.
Dustin May (third Round)
May’s arm action is complicated, as he twists and turns his arm before delivering the ball. This has prompted the Dodgers to nickname him “Viper.”
Whether he can reach the Majors with this arm movement remains to be seen, but already he does a good job of throwing strikes. He has arm strength, reaching 95 mph in the past and sitting anywhere from 88-93 mph this spring.
May spins a good breaking ball and shows the makings of a usable changeup. There’s also been discussion of May’s spin rates, which are very high on both his fastball and breaking ball.
He projects well at 6’6 and 180 lbs., and reportedly signed for above slot.
A.J. Alexy (11th round)
Alexy is another lanky, projectable high-school righty. The Pennsylvania prep stands 6’4 and weighs 190 lbs. and has already added velocity this year, going from sitting in the high 80s to sitting 88-92 mph.
He features a curveball and a changeup, and both show potential. Alexy throws free and easy, giving him starter potential. However, in a start this spring, he made 164 pitches in a nine-inning game, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a light workload for the teenager in his debut.
Graham Ashcraft (12th round)
Ashcroft has some of the best arm strength in the class. He hit 99 mph earlier this spring and has been in the low-to-mid 90s. He also throws a slider that could become his out pitch in time.
Ashcroft is athletic, as he hit 16 home runs during his junior year to lead the state of Alabama. He already has a fairly mature body at 6’2 and 208 lbs. His delivery isn’t perfect and he needs to improve his command, but the arm strength and potential plus slider would give the Dodgers a very promising ball of clay to mold.
CONTINUE READING: Up-the-middle athletes
