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Recap of Day Two Baseball Factory MLB Draft Selections

June 11 2016 MLB Draft, News

Day two of the 2016 MLB Draft is complete and we saw many Baseball Factory alumni selected between Rounds 3 and 10. Let’s take a look back through the day to see where some landed.

RHP, Nick Hanson, who participated in the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game, was selected 79th overall by the Cincinnati Reds, just as Day two action got underway. The Savage, MN native attacks hitters with a low 90s fastball and a curve with good 11-5 shape.

At pick 84, the Miami Marlins tabbed athletic OF prospect from the state of South Carolina, Thomas Jones. Jones, a 2015 Under Armour All-American, batted leadoff for the American team in last year’s game and is an outstanding athlete, who performed well on the baseball diamond and on the gridiron in football as well.

Austin Franklin, a RHP from Paxton High School in Paxton, FL, stays in the state, drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 90th overall selection. Physical, strong-bodied and possessing a three-pitch mix, Franklin has come through numerous Baseball Factory events as one of the best players on the field. The two-time Under Armour Pre-Season All-American came back to Mesa, AZ this past January for the event and threw well, topping out at 94 mph on his fastball and showing good feel for his change and curve as promising off-speed deliveries that will get to be on display in the Rays organization. Franklin also participated in a previous USA Baseball 17U Championships in 2013, Under Armour Baseball Factory College PREP events in Mobile, AL between 2013 and 2015 and the Arizona Junior Fall Classic in 2014.

We loved the makeup of the Washington Nationals first selection in Day 2 and that was LHP, Jesus Luzardo. Luzardo was a high school prospect to be reckoned with when we saw him at last year’s All-America Game, wielding a mid 90s fastball. Unfortunately for Luzardo, he hurt his arm and needed Tommy John surgery. Picked 94th overall, he’s been selected by an organization that has handled quality pitchers who have rehabbed and returned fully healthy from surgery before (Stephen Strasburg and Lucas Giolito).

We saw talented two-way athlete, Khalil Lee at the 2015 Pre-Season All-America Tournament as a toolsy-type hitter and OF with a good arm, but more important with major upside on the mound as a pitcher. The Kansas City Royals drafted Lee with the 103rd pick as a centerfielder, but the potential is there for pitching. For now, they’ll focus on developing his bat, already having quick hands and bat speed that will play at the next level, Lee drove the ball gap-to-gap at Pre-Season, so the power potential is there. His best attribute may be his arm, rated at the event as a “pro-level type arm” with his accurate arm to the target and the ability to take proper routes and track the ball.

A very cool story emerged with the very next pick as Oklahoma State University RHP Thomas Hatch was selected with the 104th overall pick by the Chicago Cubs. What’s the meaning of this? Hatch was a pitcher in the 2012 Under Armour All-America Game, pitching on the mound at Wrigley Field where many pitchers have also thrown. Selected by the Cubs with their first pick of the entire draft, that dream of pitching again at Wrigley could become a reality. Hatch returned from an elbow injury to pitch this season and was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year as he went 7-2 with a 2.16 ERA in 16 starts.

The Colorado Rockies tabbed 3B Colton Welker with the 110th selection in the draft, perhaps snagging one of the best prep bats in the class. We saw Colton last year at the All-America Game, always seemingly finding the barrel to the ball. He drove the ball for power all over the field and in the game, went 1-for-2 with an RBI. The Stoneman Douglas High School grad is also a University of Miami commit and has attended previous Baseball Factory events, including the 2012 Under Armour Fall Classic, the Under Armour Memorial Day Classic in 2013 and National Tryout events in Florida back in 2013 and 2015.

In the fifth round, the Cleveland Indians selected intriguing CF prospect, Conner Capel out of Seven Lakes High School with the 152nd pick. Strong bloodlines are here with Capel, who’s Dad Mike, was one of the four big league pitchers who played on the Texas Longhorns 1983 College World Series Championship Team. We first saw Conner at the 2014 All-America Pre-Season Tournament who hit and fielded his position well. Later that year at Futures Texas, we saw an exciting prospect with an exciting set of tools. Capel ran a 6.65-60 and was clocked with a 93 mph raw velocity. He uses the middle of the field well with the bat, geared for hard line drives and defensively, he takes great routes and shows a ton of energy. The Indians are getting a solid prospect in Capel.

In the sixth round, the Colorado Rockies selected University of Miami right fielder, Willie Abreu. Abreu has shown raw power from the left side and has hit .269 with 12 doubles, 12 home runs and 55 RBI this season. Going 170th overall, Abreu will look to continue to tap into that power potential as he is 6’4 and 225 pounds with a solid arm to stick in right.

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