With the draft quickly approaching and in light of the incident with Buster Posey at the plate a week ago, I think it makes sense to look at the catcher position and the future of it within the draft.  Granted I probably would not even have considered this if the two best catchers in baseball weren’t currently on the disabled list, but that hardly makes anything about the inherent risks of the position less true.  No reader of this site requires an explanation of these risks and the dangers of the catcher position, but I am skeptical many would disagree that it’s about time the offensive catcher disappears from baseball, and it starts with the draft.

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Taylor Jungmann is currently 10-0 with a 0.90 ERA and a 5.79 K:BB in nearly 90 innings.  He features a fastball that sits in the low-90s that can reach above 95 mph when he needs/wants it.  His breaking ball is borderline-knockout currently, with a chance to pick up a little pace.  It currently is thrown in the high-70s with excellent depth and break in two planes.  His changeup grades as solid average to plus as well, although he doesn’t use it as often.  It is thrown in the 84-86 mph range with decent fade, though.  Most importantly, Jungmann commands all three pitches very well to both sides of the plate and has an athletic 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame that obviously projects.

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The back of the first round this year features a couple of high-upside prep righties in 6-foot-5, 235-pound Jose Fernandez (Alonso HS, FL) and Searcy HS’s (AR) Dillon Howard.

I had the opportunity to see Howard throw last summer for the Midland Redskins, and he was quite dominant.  Howard flashed mid-90s a few times and consistently worked in the 91-93 mph range with an easy, athletic delivery and good sink.  He showed a quality 12-6 curveball that featured plenty of tilt to get right-handed hitters out.  He did not really feature a usable third pitch, but his athleticism suggests that he should pick one up with time.  Howard is 6-foot-2 and 195-pounds and projects well physically.  Considering there is at least a chance he slips into the supplementary round, I would not be surprised if he comes associated with a great deal of signability risk headed into June.  He is committed to Arkansas and has a chance to open the spring as their Friday-nighter.

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Recently I mentioned Archie Bradley’s current ranking as the third-best prep pitching prospect in this June’s draft, behind Dylan Bundy of Owasso (OK) and Taylor Guerrieri of South Carolina’s North Augusta.  Let’s look a little more closely at these two young flamethrowers as the prep season approaches the postseason.

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Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com: With a smooth delivery, Bradley shows a plus fastball at times, but sits around 90-92 mph. He throws a curve and a slider, and commands the ball fairly well. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, he’s got the build and projectability that scouts love.

Nathan Rode, Baseball America: Bradley stands about 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. Scouts love his frame and the projection it oozes. He works with a fastball that gets up to 95-96 mph. He also throws a knuckle-curve and is working on improving a circle changeup.

John Sickels, Minorleagueball.com: Rated a likely first-rounder pre-season and still does. Has football leverage since he’s a great quarterback, too. Athletic, mid-90s fastball, good breaking ball, reasonable level of polish for a young power pitcher, competitive makeup. Would be a top ten guy in a thinner class and might still get there.

Dee Clark, The Golden Sombrero: Bradley might be the most well-known member of this year’s draft class due to his success on the football field as well as the baseball field.  Even though his fastball velocity and breaking ball sharpness have been down a little this spring compared to where they were toward the end of the summer, he will still go inside the first 20 picks.

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