Draft Prep
While two drafts under Gasparino isn’t a huge sample size, we can still look for any trends that might have developed. Gasparino generally tends to favor college players early. Three of his four top picks (Walker Buehler, Trea Turner and Hunter Renfroe) came from the college ranks.
Another trend that emerged but was broken last year was Gasparino’s selections of athletic, up-the-middle high school players in the second round. Dustin Peterson, Michael Gettys and Mitchell Hansen all fit that mold.
Gavin Lux fit the mold, if not the draft slot, as he was selected in the first round in 2016. Don’t be surprised if the Dodgers spend an early pick this year on an athletic high school bat.
White ignored conventional wisdom and regularly took high school pitching in the first and supplemental first round. From 2002-10, seven of his 15 first-rounders were high school pitchers.
However, that trend came to a fairly abrupt end after the 2010 Draft. Over the next six years, the Dodgers used just one of their 10 first-round picks on a prep arm.
With Gasparino at the helm, don’t expect the Dodgers to return to the prep pitching pool with their top pick. In his four drafts, Gasparino hasn’t taken a high school pitcher within the first two rounds.
Early Returns
Looking at Gasparino’s two drafts with the Dodgers, there is a significant amount of talent that has been acquired. His first pick, Walker Buehler, wasn’t necessarily lauded at the time, as he was hurt when he signed and missed the 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
But Buehler has returned from surgery better than before and is now one of the top pitching prospects in the game. Other notable prospects to come out of that draft include Hansen, Josh Sborz, Willie Calhoun, Brendan Davis and Edwin Rios.
Gasparino’s 2016 haul looks promising as well. Armed with three first rounders, he popped Lux, Will Smith and Jordan Sheffield. Exciting picks followed in the ensuing rounds.
Mitchell White, the team’s second-rounder, looks like a steal. Dustin May, the Dodgers’ pick in the third round, became the highest drafted high school arm in Gasparino’s career and has pitched very well since signing. DJ Peters, AJ Alexy and Cody Thomas all show promise as well.
What to Expect
The easy money for the Dodgers’ first-round pick in the 2017 Draft is on a college player. Los Angeles has been linked to both college hitters and pitchers over the past few years, taking one of each in the first round in 2016.
However, there’s also a persistent rumor that the Dodgers are looking at high school outfielders this June.
