Prep Baseball Report

PBR Draft Board Review


David Seifert & Nathan Rode

With our final 2021 Draft Board currently under discussion and the MLB Draft fast approaching, it’s a good time to review our original Draft Board from way back in 2018. How did we rank them? And just for the fun of it we will compare our Top 10 to those who were actually picked in the Top 10 by the MLB clubs themselves.

 

2018 MLB Selections:

PICK  PROSPECT POS     CLUB   CAREER WAR
1 Casey Mize RHP    DET  2.2
2 Joey Bart C SF  0.4
3 Alec Bohm 3B PHI -0.9
4 Nick Madrigal 2B CWS  1.8 
5 Jonathan India 3B CIN  1.1    
6 Jarred Kelenic OF NYM -0.7
7 Ryan Weathers LHP SD  1.3
8 Carter Stewart RHP ATL  ---
9 Kyler Murray OF OAK  ---
10 Travis Swaggerty     OF PIT  ---
         5.2 TOTAL WAR 

2018 PBR Draft Board:

RANK  ROSPECT POS CAREER WAR
1 Casey Mize RHP  2.2
2 Brady Singer     RHP  1.5
3 Matthew Liberatore   LHP  ---
4 Jonathan India 3B  1.1 
5 Nick Madrigal 2B  1.8    
6 Joey Bart C  0.4
7 Jarred Kelenic OF -0.7
8 Ryan Rolison LHP  ---
9 Alec Bohm 3B -0.9
10 Mason Denaburg RHP   --- 
       5.4 TOTAL WAR


As a point of reference for WAR, the Top 5 WAR leaders to date from the 2018 draft include:

RANK  ROSPECT POS CLUB CAREER WAR
1 Casey Mize RHP DET  2.2
2 Nico Hoerner           SS CHI  2.1
3 Nick Madrigal 2B CWS  1.8
4 Brady Singer RHP KC  1.5 
5 Ryan Weathers LHP SD  1.3    

 

THE BREAKDOWN:

Common picks (both PBR ranked and the Clubs drafted in Top 10): Mize, India, Madrigal, Bart, Kelenic, Bohm.

MLB picks not in common with PBR: Weathers, Stewart, Murray, Swaggerty

PBR rankings not in common with MLB picks: Singer, Liberatore, Rolison, Denaburg

The future total WAR of the common picks will obviously be equal. Those not in common will determine the WAR ceiling that the MLB clubs or PBR can achieve in the future. It boils down to the collective MLB group of Weathers, Stewart, Murray and Swaggerty vs. PBR's Singer, Liberatore, Rolison and Denaburg.

Weathers made his MLB debut in the playoffs last year and is off to a strong start this season with a 2.47 ERA in 47.1 IP. His potential for more WAR looks very good. Stewart is playing overseas in the Japanese professional league and has experienced success in 2021 with a 5-0 record, to go along with 2.23 ERA. Kyler Murray won a Heisman and signed a lucrative NFL contract, but will likely never see the major leagues. Swaggerty is the Pirates No. 8 ranked prospect in their system per MLB Pipeline. He began the 2021 season in AAA and is currently on the 60-day Injured List and likely out for the remainder of the season after hitting .220 through his first 47 at-bats.

Brady Singer is in his second season as a starting pitcher for the Royals. Barring injury, he is likely to gain significant WAR in his MLB career. Matt Liberatore is 21 years old and a starting pitcher in AAA with a 4.62 ERA in 37 IP. He is ranked as the No. 27 overall prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline. Ryan Rolison was off to a strong start in AAA this summer for the Rockies with a 4.38 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12.1 IP before recently undergoing surgery to remove his appendix. Mason Denaburg has battled injuries throughout his pro career and underwent Tommy John surgery this spring. He is currently ranked No. 9 in the Washington Nationals system by MLB Pipeline.


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