Tiger fans on Twitter are pissed about their pick. Clark is good.

Teel or Houck. Get it done JJ and company.

The Tigers rebuild has been ass they went Clark over Langford because Clark has more upside.

This is also GM Scott Harris' first draft. He's more in with the times than Al Avila was.

Lmao, who the Royals gonna piss us off with.

Looks like they're taking Blake Mitchell...that's a shitty pick.

Yep that's a bad pick...most people don't even think he sticks at catcher.

Royals go with Mitchell. They must have someone in mind for later with the money.

Underslot hopefully? Lets see who we get at our next pick

That dude lumbers out of the box..so basically a DH right there.

If they wanted to go under slot why wasn't it Houck?

I don't understand mlb draft. Why not take the best player available. Why underslot

Baseball America has his run grade at 40. That's not good for a young guy.

Basically, all the pressure is on his bat.

Such a stupid ****ing strategy. A Dayton Moore pick thru and thru.

So what happens first, new stadium is built or this jag off makes it to the majors?

Cause you try to steal guys later...here's the issue. When other teams do it too and pick before you problem...


Also the Royals system is so bad they can't handle missing on high picks, it's not a good system that can take chances at all.

To save money to throw it at players in the later rounds. Like a guy who is borderline on going to college or going pro, or a guy who slips in the draft like Sean Manea. It's the baseball version of a NFL trade down.

It's not a good strategy when your system is bad, bad systems can't really risk blowing high picks.

Anyway the biggest issue is you can easily argue there were better underslot options than this guy...

Fire Picollo he was skunkheads butt buddy made no sense why they got rid of skunkhead and hired that clown

The Royals are literally trying to have no fans apparently.

I actually think it makes sense given how bad the system is. You don't want to throw all your eggs in one basket. Try and find some guys later on in the draft. Now the issue is whether the guys making the pick are the ones who helped the system get this bad in the first place.

Beyond slot money, it may just be an admission that we are 3-5 years away from being decent.

Regardless of what has been said by others here, I think he sticks at catcher.

Keith Law:

What happens if the dude is a 1st baseman?

In all reality prep catchers just hit very low, take a look at Melendez to this point.

Makes perfect sense through the lens of 30 year rebuilds

4A chess

It's also funny to me that a bad farm system can supposedly risk blowing a top 10 pick so they can draft more guys later...

Dude has a rocket launcher on his arm. He has talent. You run him out there with Rusty Kuntz every day if that's what it takes to put him at a position where his arm can be a weapon. There is no way you put an arm like that at 1B.

This is an excellent point, but it's hard to compliment the Royals for playing the odds when they take a HS catcher with the strategy.

I just hope they were blown away with Mitchell's bat when they made the pick.

His absolute upside is Kyle Schwarber...arm doesn't make up for his lack of running ability.

Melendez isn't good in the OF and he's a far better athlete.

3-5 years? I think you’re being extremely kind on that figure

Personally I don't think the Royals have earned the ability to make this pick...with their system and MLB roster to go ahead and use your top 10 on something that hits at about the same rate as prep right handers.

Maybe they wanna build a stadium that looks like Yankee stadium downtown so these big lefty bats are locks for 30 HRs.

Will any of them still be on the team when that happens?

If I were this kid I wouldn’t sign with the Royals and would just go to LSU. Career trajectory has a better chance

Even if he goes WAYYY under slot he'll get between 4 and 5 million you turning that down at 18 years old?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I&#39;m not going to pile on the pick any more, at least until who we see the Royals pick at #44 and #66. If they succeed in nabbing a Top-20 talent with their next pick, Mitchell will feel a lot more like a calculated gamble than a botched pick.</p>&mdash; Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) <a href="https://twitter.com/jazayerli/status/1678194267536125952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

When your bottom 3 in systems with a terrible MLB team as well you can't botch a top 8 pick to save money..

Orioles who everyone gives a hand job for drafting take the guy everyone hates.....

Crazy the O's, who are on a good scouting and player development run, take Enrique Bradfield LOL

So Baltimore takes Bradfield which means he'll end up way better than projected.

When has this under slot plan shown to be effective with this franchise? If you can’t develop talent, what’s the point?

Look.at their MLB team and what's still in the system..they kinda deserve that handjob.

Actually worked in 2013 draft. Got a World Series ring from it.

If you surround Bradfield with hitters (which the O's have) and tell him to just go get the ball and be a pest on the bases with 2023 rules, he could definitely be an asset.

Helps to pick #1 or #2 for 4 years straight.

If the Royals were staying at Kauffman, he would be a perfect fit for center.

There's currently one MLB catcher who averages better than a 1.85 pop time. Realmuto and that's it. You never know but he pretty clearly has elite power and an elite arm. It's not like they went cheap to take a middling light hitting 2B with speed. It's definitely a serious risk but I like it better than some other ways they could have gone.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So, I&#39;ve watched this catch-and-throw from Sinton C Blake Mitchell no less than 10 times already. Haven&#39;t clocked anything more than a 1.85 pop. From a one-knee down, no less. <br><br>The physical tools on that kid are just tremendous. <br><br>�� <a href="https://twitter.com/3aSTXFan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@3aSTXFan</a> <a href="https://t.co/eQRAAHDdZ0">pic.twitter.com/eQRAAHDdZ0</a></p>&mdash; Joe Doyle (@JoeDoyleMiLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeDoyleMiLB/status/1662141784221437952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Prep catchers hit at a terrible rate..you trust the Royals with that?

Blue Jays take the Indian kid

So who did you want at eight?

I'd have probably taken Matt Shaw but if I was trying to get as much underslot as possible for a plan Houck or Nimmala would have been high on my list. Really liked Tommy Troy also, any of them would have worked.

I honestly don't care about that. It'd be different if it was a prep pitcher for sure. That's a different beast. There aren't many prep catchers (or major league catchers) with that arm. Unless there's some program specific reason why someone isn't learning baseball or football a certain way, I don't see the logical reason why a HS catcher can't have success. Our player development worries me far more than the prep catcher thing. They obviously went for a guy with tools they want to try and coach up.

https://twitter.com/maxrieper/status/1678196386070659072?t=Rer6cuzpD64qQecBe4PS7g&s=09

That was 10 years. Can’t always catch lightning in a bottle. Can’t discount the Greinke trade that facilitated much of that run

Weird. You always like power guys over a bunch of second baseman types.

The Royals system is so bad it's not the time to go HR or K, they just need some solid ****ing base hits.

That coaching up thing…. well yeah.. anyway. Hope he can develop on his own time.

From RoyalsReview:


There hasn't been a 1st-round HS catcher taken since 2001 that has a) remained in the position and b) accrued at least 10 WAR.

The Royals think they are smart enough to overcome that trend.

They don't have this dude's arm. They just don't. I'd have to go look but I'm pretty sure Naylor was considered a bat-first catcher too. Not that we're sure he's even staying at catcher but Mitchell has a 70-grade arm and can throw it almost 100 mph.

They're definitely taking a huge risk here, I agree, but at least they did it with a guy that has elite tools. Amazing arm, really good lefty power and appears to have good plate discipline too. If the Rays did this everybody would be saying how smart they are.

So if you think he's a catcher...does this mean they just gave up on Carter Jensen who was one of those finds from going underslot on Mozzicato?

Yes because they could give him 5 years. Mitchell is a DH with no athletic ability. He is nothing more than a system filler.

They don't think he's a catcher. They know he is a DH. BTW this is the pick that will get all of these guys fired.

I don't think teams should ever rule out any type of player (HS pitcher, HS catcher).

His howitzer of an arm is a bigger deal because of the 2023 rules and a potential automated strike zone in the coming years. But there's much more to catching than that. It's a tough position for obvious reasons. Even the high-performing Triple-A catchers bust at probably a 50/50 rate in the majors.

All that being said, the success of this pick is going to come down to whether Mitchell can hit or not, like any other pick.

And even with the polished college position players, we often don't find out if they can hit against pro pitching with the wood bat until they start accruing at-bats in rookie and low Single-A ball.

Also this is the 3rd high picks prep catcher taken recently by the Royals.

Melendez
Jensen
Mitchell

Melendez was a glove first prep catcher that scouts said could defensively play in the majors right away..yet today's he's an OFer because the Royals think he's awful behind the plate..

This is the team we trust to develop Mitchell...

I have more faith in him developing a bad case of jock itch than this clown franchise developing him

If everything goes perfectly he's Kyle Schwarber.

LMAO

Manfred looked like he was about to blow his top announcing that Astros pick trying to yell over the boos.

I just realized something...

You don't draft Blake Mitchell unless you think you have 100% job security..so even with this terrible MLB team...awful minor leagues..Piccolo and crew feel no heat or pressure.

That's sad and frankly ridiculous, they're on pace to be one of the 5 worst teams ever.

Schwarber has 4 seasons in home runs that would be top 12 in Royals history....

Wow Seattle just shit all over the Royals with those last 2 picks...

This is why this strategy is risky.

This if it goes perfectly, he was a college bat that was far more ready when picked.

Houck goes 32.

These last few picks were terrible for the Royals..Farmelo, Peete, Houck...this is why the underslot stuff can backfire.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I will say this: high school statistics generally don&#39;t mean squat, but the Royals press release about Blake Mitchell did open my eyes. A BB/K ratio of 51/8? An OBP north of .700? If he commands the strike zone, his odds of success go way up. <a href="https://t.co/vtfDkk7ewo">https://t.co/vtfDkk7ewo</a></p>&mdash; Rany Jazayerli (@jazayerli) <a href="https://twitter.com/jazayerli/status/1678207134872289280?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Blake Mitchell reaction:

If Keith Law thinks he will stick at C, I think you can discount thoughts he won’t stick behind the dish. Law is generally a very tough critic when it comes to ability to play C.

Not the pick I would have made, but also not one of the disaster picks that would have made me want to throw my phone like Noble Meyer or Enrique Bradfield would have been.

Re: Bradfield, the Orioles are a great fit for him. Gives them a premium defensive CF to stick in, and if he’s a 75 WRC type hitter, it’s OK. The defense and speed play up a lot on a good team.

Just saw this gem..."Mitchell is an 80 grade as a person"

Dayton Moore is still here I guess.

Won't sniff .500 baseball until the year 2030.

#catchroyalsfever!

Best take of the night!!
See you in the ‘30s!!
Lol.

Tigers drafting guys from northern states makes sense playing in Detroit.

Looks like the Royals aren't gonna have anyone to overpay at 44 or 66...so yea.