Cleveland Indians 2016 MLB Draft Day Three Roundup

Cleveland Indians 2016 MLB Draft Day Three Roundup

The 2016 Major League Baseball Draft concluded Saturday, with Rounds 11-40 taking place. After making three picks on Day One of the draft and eight on Day Two, the Indians made 30 picks on Day Three. Here are the picks:

Round 11 (332) – Andrew Calica, CF, UC Santa Barbara

The second player drafted out of UC Santa Barbara (4th rounder Shane Bieber), Calica played four years of collegiate ball. Another high walk, low strikeout guy having walked more than twice as much as he struck out in 2016 (44 BB, 21 K).

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Round 12 (362) – Zach Plesac, RHP, Ball State

Plesac worked as a starter and a reliever for Ball State the last three years. He is the nephew of former big league pitcher Dan Plesac. The right-handed pitcher only threw 48.2 innings in 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, which he’s still recovering from.

Round 13 (392) – Gavin Collins, C, Mississippi State

The third college catcher drafted by the Indians, Collins is a 20-year-old junior who’s season ended yesterday after Arizona defeated Mississippi State in the Super Regionals. After showing almost no power his first two years on campus, he hit 10 home runs in 2016 while batting .302/.405/.516.

Round 14 (422) – Mitch Longo, LF, Ohio University

A native of Mayfield, Ohio, Longo was a three-year player at Ohio University. The left-handed hitting outfielder hit .360 as a junior in 2016 and finished his career with a .355 average. Also, stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but he walked more than he struck out in his career (60 BB, 48 K).

Round 15 (452) – Zack Smith, C, Eastern Wayne HS

A high schooler from North Carolina, Smith is another catcher (the fourth) for the Indians this draft. He’s committed to UNC Charlotte. He played shortstop in addition to catcher and even pitched in high school running his fastball up to 88 mph. He’s a left-handed hitter some power potential and quick hands. Very athletic and could play a couple positions though catcher is probably his spot as a professional.

Round 16 (482) – Ben Krauth, LHP, Kansas

A four-year starter in college, Krauth spent the last two year of his collegiate career at Kansas. He posted a 3.33 ERA in 92 innings while striking out 10.1 batter per nine innings. He’s an undersized lefty at just 6’0″. He’s also best friends with Indians’ 7th round pick Michael Tinsley, his catcher at Kansas.

Round 17 (512) – Trenton Brooks, OF, Nevada-Reno

A college junior, Brooks is a left-handed hitting outfielder out of Nevada. After a monster sophomore year which he hit .365/.484/.515, he cooled off as a junior this year hitting just .277/.391/.451 in 2016. Yet another guy who walked more than he struck out in college, walking 90 times to just 68 strikeouts in his career.

Round 18 (542) – Raymond Burgos, LHP, Pedro Falu Orellano HS

A 17-year-old out of Puerto Rico, Burgos is committed to Florida A&M. A big 6’5″ lefty who doesn’t turn 18 until November.

Round19 (572) – Dakody Clemmer, RHP, Central Arizona College

A college sophomore, Clemmer was draft eligible out of junior college. He struck out 83 in 79.2 innings and posted a 4.63 ERA.

Round 20 (602) – Benjamin Baird, SS, Agoura HS

Baird is a high school shortstop from California. A top 150 draft prospect according to Baseball America, he’s probably one of the “unsignable” guys that the Indians and other teams drafted on Day Three.  He has a good arm, having pitched in high school as well. He’s committed to the University of Washington.

Next: Rounds 21-30

Round 31 (932) – Chris Farish, RHP, Wake Forest

A red-shirt sophomore, Farish worked out of the bullpen in college. He strikes out a ton, posting an 11.3 K/9 rate in 2016; however, he also walked nearly 10 per nine innings (9.6 BB/9). In fact, he’s walked more than he’s struck out in his collegiate career (45 BB, 42 K).

Round 32 (962) – Kramer Robertson, 2B, LSU

A college junior, Robertson hit .327/.420/.445 in 2016 and while it’ll sound like a broken record, he walked more than he struck out (27 BB, 20 K). It was a breakout year for Robertson who hit sub- .230 his first two seasons.

Round 33 (992) – Blake Sabol, C, Aliso Niguel HS

Hailing from Alliso Viejo, California, Sabol hit .381 as a senior in 2016. He not only caught in high school but has experience at first base and the outfield, though his future seems to be behind the plate. He’s committed to USC and seems likely to attend rather than sign.

Round 34 (1022) – Austin Shenton, 1B, Bellingham HS

A third baseman in high school, Shenton hails from Bellingham, Washington. He’s a short, right-handed hitter committed to the University of Washington. He was a top prospect per publications like Baseball America and is not likely to sign with the Indians.

Round 35 (1052) – Armani Smith, OF, De La Salle HS

Smith is a high school outfielder and third baseman from Martinez, California.  He’s committed to UC Santa Barbra and is another that seems destined for college versus signing with the Indians.

Round 36 (1082) – Andrew Baker, LHP, Ridge Community HS

Another highly rated high schooler, Baker hails from Davenport, Florida. He’s got a strong commit to the Florida and is not likely at all to sign with the Indians.

Round 37 (1112) – Mike Amditis, C, Boca Raton Community HS

An extremely short high school catcher committed to the University of Miami. He’s another top prospect who is not likely to sign. Instead, he’ll head to Miami with the chance to replace top 10 pick Zack Collins in the Hurricanes’ lineup.

Round 38 (1142) – Jacob DeVries, LHP, Air Force

A college junior from the Air Force Academy, DeVries started 13 games in 2016 with a 5.09 ERA. He walked nearly as many as he struck out in his three seasons. If he signs, he’ll still have his military obligation to work around.

Round 39 (1172) – Pedro Alfonseca, CF, North Kansas City HS

Alfonseca is a high school outfielder from Kansas City, Missouri. He’s committed to Black Hawk Community College, located in Illinois.

Round 40 (1202) – Dan Sinatro, SS, Skyline HS

A high schooler from Sammamish, Washington, Sinatro has some good baseball bloodlines as his father Matt Sinatro played ten years in the bigs leagues and has coached some at the big league level.

Next: Indians Day Two Draft Roundup

After 40 rounds and 41 picks, the 2016 MLB draft is in the books for the Indians. Most of these picks from above will not sign and that’s no surprise. Most late picks don’t sign and it’s become even tough to get the high upside high schoolers to sign with the new rules, although the Indians have gotten a few to sign, like shortstop Luke Wakamatsu last year. As with any draft it’ll be years before we know how things turn out but they got a nice mix of high upside high schoolers and college pitchers with pinpoint command.