Follow Up Review of 2024 LAD Draft

The Dodgers had 18 picks in the 2024 draft.  They lost their 2^nd and 5^th round choices due to signing Shohei Ohtani.  For comparison only, the 2^nd and 5^th picks for LAD in 2023 were 3B Jake Gelof and 1B Joe Vetrano respectively.  I think the Dodgers made the right choice, even with his strikeouts.

• SS – 4 (2 high school and 2 college)
• 3B – 1 (high school)
• LHP – 4 (1 college senior, 2 college juniors, 1 JC)
• RHP – 6 (4 college seniors, 1 college junior, 1 JC)
• OF – 3 (1 high school, 1 college senior, 1 JC)

• High School – 4 (1^st, 2^nd, 8^th, 15^th) – Erik Parker (15^th) is going to Georgia
• College Junior – 5
• College Senior – 6
• Junior College – 3

College Seniors – RHP Brooks Auger (6^th round), OF Kole Myers (9^th round), RHP Seamas Barrett (10^th round), RHP Aidan Foeller (11^th round), LHP Evan Shaw (16^th round), RHP Isaac Ayon (18^th round).

With eight position players including five of their top eight picks, it has been written that the LAD offensive development team will be challenged and under scrutiny to produce from this draft.  (Please note, I do not remember who said it, as I was on vacation and could not document who said what – Sorry Bluto).  I think that is especially true with SS Kellon Lindsey (1^st) and 3B Chase Harlan (2^nd).  Two positions of need.  I will also include OF Brendan Tunink (8^th) as well, he will be another to watch develop.

The 2024 MLB draft was not considered a deep draft, especially when compared to the 2023 draft.  The Dodgers chose to look at high school players with high ceiling positions of need with their first two picks and three of their first six.

Rob Schelling wrote a fantastic article on 1^st round pick, high school SS Kellon Lindsey…

https://doger.livewebsitedesign.com/meet-kellon-lindsey/

Rob followed that up with a nice dossier on the next 6 picks:

• High School 3B – Harlan Chase (#3 draft pick)
• LHP – Jakob Wright – Cal Poly SLO (#4 pick)
• RHP – Brooks Auger – College Senior Mississippi State (#6 pick)
• SS – Elijah Hainline – Oregon State University (#7 pick)
• High School OF – Brendan Tunink (#8 pick)
• OF Kole Myers – College Senior Troy University (#9 pick)
• RHP – Seamas Barrett – College Senior Loyola Marymount (#10 pick)

https://doger.livewebsitedesign.com/day-two-of-the-mlb-draft-2/

The LAD first 8 picks had slot values associated totaling $6,114,700.  The first seven picks in the draft made more money alone than the LAD total.  Three of those eight are college seniors that do not require full slot values and generally allow for large below slot values.

Six of the eight picks signed for below slot values.

#1 – Kellon Lindsey – Signed for $3,297,500 – $378,900 under slot

#4 – Jakob Wright – Signed for $553,800 – $2,700 under slot

#6 – Brooks Auger – Signed for $197,500 – $118,000 under slot

#7 – Elijah Hainline – Signed for $197,500 – $50,200 under slot

#9 – Kole Myers – Signed for $2,500 – $186,300 under slot

#10 – Seamas Barrett – Signed for $5,000 – $174,000 under slot

That is a total below slot of $910,100.

#3 – Chase Harlan – Signed for $1,747,500 for $1,002,500 above slot.

#8 – Brendan Tunink – Signed for $412,500 for $206,700 above slot.

Harlan had a commitment to Clemson University while Tunink had a commitment to University of Notre Dame that required over slot bonuses.  Lindsey also had a commitment to University of Florida that did not require an above slot bonus.  I am certain that the Dodgers knew beforehand what Lindsey would require for his bonus, and that was a key criterion in their pick.

Since none of the final ten picks went over $150,000 the total above slot totaled $299,100 or 4.89% above.  This is just under the allowable 5% above slot bonus without penalty.

The Dodgers signed 8 of their next 10 picks.

#11 – Aidan Foeller – A 6’3” RHP who comes to the Dodgers via Southern Illinois as a college senior.  He is a pitcher that creates a lot of “swing and miss”.  He had 105 Ks this past season and ranked top-30 nationally in Ks/9 at 12.17, which led the MVC, and he has the frame and tools to keep adding.

#12 – Cody Morse – A  6’6 LHP out of Weatherford College (JC) who was committed to Skip Johnson at Oklahoma University. If Skip Johnson wants you, you can pitch. Skip Johnson is one of the best pitching coaches in the game, at any level.

Fastball was low 90’s this past Spring, to pair with a good backdoor slider that has very sharp breaking action. 3/4 slot, which gives his slider a “natural” sweeping motion, and also gives a “crossfire” feel to his “glove side” locations to his fastballs.  His 3/4 slot, especially at 6’6”, suggests the potential to be very difficult on lefties, especially if he throws a sinker to pair.

#13 – Mike Villani – A 6’2” RHP pitcher out of Long Beach State with a good fastball/slider combo. His fastball has “sinker” tendencies with quite a bit of “arm side” run, which is something the Dodgers will use to command the inner half of the plate against righties. Bruce Kuntz, a Long Beach State broadcaster, believes Villani is destined for the bullpen.

#14 – Will Gagnon –  A 6’1” RHSP from Reedley JC in the Central Valley. He was good enough to get a scholarship offer to UCLA, and the Dodgers did not have to pay more than $150K to sign him as a 14^th round pick.  Any pitcher that John Savage wants is a pitcher very worthy of being drafted.  He will be fun to watch.

#15 – Erik Parker – 18 year old high school SS who had a University of Georgia commitment.  He notified the Dodgers early that he would not be signing with LAD and would honor his University of Georgia commitment.

#16 – Evan Shaw – A 6’4 left-handed pitcher out of Kansas, who has always shown to have good “swing and miss” offerings.  Shaw is another college senior arm.

#17 – Jackson Nicklaus – University of Oklahoma SS for three years, who had some clutch ABs in tournament play.  17^th round SS are looooong shots.  But he comes from a pedigreed program.

#18 – Isaac Ayon – A 6’4” RHP that came to the Dodgers from Oregon and is from Fresno. He was a top 300 National Player coming out of High School but had his Senior season canceled due to Covid.

He got mound time right away as a Freshman in 2021, then was a workhorse in 2022 throwing 87.1 innings. So, he had a good first couple of years but then had to miss all of 2023  due to elbow problems that eventually led to (UCL) brace repair, which is an alternative to Tommy John Surgery.

Although he avoided Tommy John the first time, he wasn’t able to escape it as he had to miss 2024 as well, this time to have the Tommy John Surgery.

His stuff plays up when healthy though and has touched high 90’s, and his ball has a pretty distinct sinker-ish right turn on pitches located middle-in to righties. His slider has a sharp break, great depth, and the potential to be a + pitch. He pairs that with a changeup with good tumble.

The Dodgers have done well selecting pitchers with TJ surgeries.  Caleb Ferguson, Michael Grove, Justin Wrobleski.  The Dodgers will be hoping Ayon is more Grove/Wrobleski than Jordan Sheffield.

The final two selections have not signed and are not expected to.

#19 – Junior College OF, Chase Williams – Committed to Florida State.  If he was willing to sign for $150K, he would be under contract.  But as a Florida State commitment, he has no reason to sign this year.  I believe he will be eligible to be redrafted in 2025 as a sophomore eligible.

#20 – Hunter Elliott – A 6-3 LHP who did not pitch this past season at Ole Miss due to having Tommy John surgery. He still has another year to pitch at Ole Miss, so he is under no urgency to sign this year for $150K.   Elliott was a big part of the Ole Miss squad that beat Jackson Nicklaus and the OU bunch for the 2022 National Championship, so he has high-level experience, albeit limited due to injury. As a freshman, he posted an ERA of just 2.70 and also threw 80 innings, so he was good and was a workhorse. He also recorded 102 Ks and had a batting average against of just .201 and for a Freshman in that competitive of a world, that’s insanely impressive.

The Dodgers have also signed three UDFA to MiLB contracts:

• Catcher – Gus Cueto – Stetson University
• RHP – Logan Tabeling – University of Illinois
• LHP – Myles Caba – University of Miami

Unlike in previous years, there is no rookie league for these new players to be assigned to.  For those who may be considered advanced enough for low A, they could get assigned to Rancho, but the others are headed for Camelback with non team oriented development.