Latest / Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast / SATP Ep. 38 Part II feat. Austin F.

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SATP Ep. 38 Part II feat. Austin F. · Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast

0:00
Want dive into your team a little bit Sam Houston Bearcats?
0:05
Oh boy. Well, I just I just want to
0:09
touch on I mean, I was high on Waka Yannick last year.
0:13
I like I absolutely love that kid.
0:17
And I think that Houston got a steal in the draft.
0:20
So I mean. It was mad that he didn't fall
0:23
to the Rangers, honestly. He was one pick away.
0:25
One pick away, man. One pick away, but he would have
0:28
been he would have been great addition.
0:30
I just I just I love everything about him and it's college
0:33
baseball. You can find even with even
0:36
though you're having a rough seed, there's still guys that
0:38
you can find that are you know that have that potential upside.
0:42
I know you got you got Guy Hunter Autry, Addison Smith,
0:48
like who are some guys that you that you'd like to mention that
0:51
you think have a potential to be to hear their names called in
0:54
July? Yeah, honestly, like I don't I I
0:59
think Hunter Autry, he was a guy who was higher on going into the
1:02
season, but he he's a senior who finally has been able to play a
1:08
position other than first base. Like he was able to fill in
1:12
Samuelson's. Caleb Cotton got hurt prior to
1:15
the season. He's out for the whole year.
1:17
Like losing him was was big. And then they try to throw a
1:20
freshman in there at left who I think has a good bat in two
1:24
years, but he's having a typical freshman season and his defense
1:28
hasn't been great. So Autry was able to fill in
1:30
somewhat and left his issue. Like I like the raw power.
1:34
I think he's got really good pop, but I I would see him more
1:40
as like an undrafted or non drafted free agent kind of
1:43
signing. He he's got good pop, decent
1:46
defense, nothing, nothing special.
1:48
But his main issue is like he cannot layoff change up like he
1:51
will. He will swing over change UPS
1:53
every time and he's very aggressive up in the zone.
1:57
Like all you have to do is climb the ladder with him and he'll
1:59
chase every time. So I don't know if he gets
2:02
picked this year. I I could see him signing non
2:04
drafted free agent and maybe like spending a year or two in
2:07
an org which wouldn't be bad considering.
2:10
But you you mentioned Addison Smith, he was an Oklahoma State
2:14
transfer. He's a draft eligible sophomore.
2:16
He he's interesting. Like I don't think he has a
2:19
super projectable bat. I have seen him hit below and
2:23
I've seen a little bit of pop in his swing, but he's a plus
2:27
runner. So I, I think he's a good
2:29
athlete and a good runner that someone might take him.
2:32
I, I could see him coming back next year though and being like
2:36
a 22 year old junior that hits more.
2:38
He's also been hurt like the last, I don't think he's played
2:41
in like 2-2 or three weeks like it's been it's been a bit, but
2:44
the main guy who like I'm pretty interested in for for the lineup
2:47
this year is actually a guy who hasn't played in three years.
2:50
Like he's been hurt for three years, which is crazy.
2:53
But that's Ryan Brandon. Like he he also got hurt for a
2:57
little bit this year too. Like that guy just needs to stay
2:59
healthy and like I've seen him hit like 95 plus mph like not he
3:04
doesn't have over the fence power, which I think is going to
3:07
be what knocks him this year. Like I could, I could see
3:10
someone taking interest in the hit and maybe taking a chance,
3:13
but he probably would come back. But I, I think I love the hit
3:18
tool. Like I, I think that the way
3:21
that he hits below and his approach at the plate to it,
3:23
like he he doesn't expand a whole lot and he's got easy, not
3:28
power like he's got an easy swing all fields.
3:30
I should say. He like he knows how to hit the
3:31
other way. He can hit up the middle.
3:33
He hits 95 plus. I think he just needs to tap
3:36
into more power and if he can show that he can stay healthy.
3:39
If he's not a pick this year, I could see him being like a
3:41
midday to pick next year. But Franin is a guy that I think
3:45
people need to watch out for for the Conference USA moving
3:48
forward. There's one more name I think
3:52
Rob is having a hard time stating his name is Ty Martha,
3:55
Johnny. I think that's his name.
3:57
I don't know that's AI think I'm butchering it.
3:59
But what do you think about it? Because I read some stuff about
4:02
it and he's an interesting player for for Sam.
4:05
Thatcher, right? Yeah, yeah.
4:07
Ty, Martha, Johnny, you said it right.
4:09
But he's a guy that I saw at Temple Junior College last year
4:12
and like, I really like Ty. I don't, I think he has a light
4:20
bat somewhat. He definitely doesn't have
4:22
power. He he his bat's kind of weird
4:26
because it's like sometimes he has a really good understanding
4:29
of the zone and then other times it's just like he'll expand for
4:32
sliders or he'll expand for fastball.
4:34
So like I think there's a lot of uncertainty with his hits and
4:38
the fact that he doesn't have power.
4:39
I think he's going to be, I think he has a chance where I
4:44
think the industry doesn't know about his defense honestly,
4:47
because I've seen him make really good blocks.
4:49
Like he he doesn't move. Like he's not like a Walker
4:55
Yonic type blocker where he just moves so well laterally, but
4:58
like he can smother the ball. Like I've seen him make really
5:00
good blocks and keep the ball in front of him where he has saved
5:04
some runs that way. I think that his arm strength
5:07
could develop a little better. Like he he may he has quick pop
5:11
times where even if he lacks arm strength on his throw downs,
5:15
like his arm is quick where he can at least get the ball there
5:18
in time to get the runner out. I do think that at the next
5:22
level though, he is going to have to develop more arm
5:24
strength. So he's a guy where I really
5:28
love his glove that I could see him definitely not a pick this
5:34
year because the bat need the bat needs work, by the way.
5:39
But he follows me on Twitter. So watch him hear me say that
5:44
and he's like, you son of a bitch.
5:49
But no, like, but yeah, like I I really love his glove.
5:54
I think his glove is under the radar because I don't think a
5:58
lot of people know about it. So I think that he's minimally a
6:01
guy that you hope that the bat will get better next year and if
6:06
it does, I think he's at least a back end of the draft pick or a
6:10
non drafted free agent signing. Another school that I want to
6:16
talk about is Dallas Baptist University.
6:18
Believe it or not, former Blue Jays player Clip Pennington is a
6:22
hitting coordinator over there. Some of the names that I like to
6:26
bring up, and I know that you're pretty well known about it is
6:29
James L Wanger, Michael Michael Becton, Grant J, Jake Bennett,
6:36
Nathan Humphreys. And if there's names that I
6:38
missed out, you could mention about those guys.
6:40
But where do those guys stand when it comes to totem pole?
6:44
Like or like as in the way the player is or players are?
6:50
Yeah. So Bucknam was originally it's
6:53
Buckham. I forget what you said, it's
6:55
Buckham. He's a really interesting guy.
6:58
He didn't get any time in the rotation while he was at LSU the
7:02
last couple years. And L Winger was supposed to be
7:05
the Friday guy this year. But Buckham is so good that he
7:08
took over. And it's not that L Winger is
7:10
bad, but I think that Dallas Baptist is being a bit cautious
7:13
with him. He seems healthy, but after his
7:18
injury last year, I can imagine with how hard he throws that
7:21
they're probably trying at least like limit to where he can last
7:25
the whole season. But Bucknam is, I would say, A+
7:29
athlete. He moves off the mound really
7:31
well. I look, I honestly like looking
7:34
at my list, like I've been rolling it over for probably a
7:38
week now. I have a winger at the top of my
7:41
arms for Texas pitchers, but I'm really close to putting Buckham
7:46
over because he's a guy who he can.
7:50
He sits 9296. I think the slider is filthy.
7:54
Like he he probably has the best slider or tied with Ruger as the
8:02
best slider in the draft out of Texas this year.
8:05
And I think both play really well off of each other.
8:08
Honestly, his entire arsenal, like he has a change up as well.
8:11
All three pitches or 55 or better, like I have the fastball
8:14
at plus I think that the there's a bit more Velo left to be
8:19
tapped in. And his life on his fastball is
8:21
really good. Like he's got good ride and he
8:24
can get he can get hitters to expand with with the ride.
8:27
And then just the way that he pounds the slider glove side,
8:30
like he probably is around, I saw one of my friends put out a
8:37
Mariners mock draft this this week and he had Bucknam going
8:41
like third round to the Mariners.
8:42
I can see him going anywhere around like rounds 3 to 5.
8:45
Like, I think he's that good. But I I think that he just kind
8:50
of went into the season that, you know, he didn't get much
8:53
time in LSU and he's steadily climbed.
8:56
And I know that the numbers aren't great or anything, but,
8:59
you know, again, college baseball doesn't really mean as
9:02
much, but I think that the ceiling is really good for
9:06
Bucknam. I could see him being like a
9:08
back end rotation guy. I actually have have him come to
9:11
Jose Burrillos. So I think he's a guy who should
9:14
last a while. Again, like obviously you can't
9:17
predict that, but I I would say that he's gonna he should have a
9:20
successful career. And the reason why I, I'm
9:26
debating putting him over a winger at 1:00.
9:30
Like I, I kind of, I like El winger's chances of staying in
9:32
the rotation. I just think Bucknam has a
9:34
better chance of staying in a rotation with whatever org
9:37
picks. I'm like, I could see El winger
9:39
being a very good reliever if he doesn't stick, but Bucknam might
9:44
provide more value as a starter. So like I, I think those two are
9:48
interchangeable at 1:00 and 2:00 for arms out of Texas.
9:52
But yeah, the, I think I've covered the, the DV arms plenty
9:57
here right now so we can move over to the bats for DVU.
10:01
Yeah, you, you mentioned Grant Jay like he's been, he's, he's
10:06
an interesting. Like I saw him last year against
10:09
Sam Houston and his glove wasn't that good, but it seems to have
10:12
gotten better this year that I think he stays behind the plate
10:16
long term. I, I actually comped him to JP
10:18
Aaron Sibia, which, Rocky, you should remember who that is.
10:22
Yeah, yeah, being a Blue Jays fan, he he's very much a a power
10:26
first. That who his issue is he has so
10:30
much swinging this where like the pop is really good, but he
10:37
needs to improve his his pitcher recognition honestly.
10:40
Like I think that he's a guy where someone's going to take
10:43
them. They're going to like his
10:45
defense enough. And if you can find a catcher
10:47
with power like that, that's that's a win.
10:50
But they're going to have to really work on his hit tool.
10:53
So he's the main guy for DBUI. Think he's definitely a day two
10:56
guy. Nathan Humphries is a senior for
10:59
Dallas Baptist. I don't know how to feel about
11:00
the bat. Like I've started looking at him
11:02
more recently. I think he's a really good
11:04
glove. Like he he time, he's the center
11:08
fielder for the Patriots. He times the ball really well
11:11
off the bat and then he gets really good jumps.
11:14
So I think the defense is there. I would have him more as like a
11:17
day three guy just because he's a senior and they're, I'm not
11:21
sure how to project his bat right now, but I think there is
11:24
enough there that he at least gets picked.
11:26
And then another guy who I really liked getting into going
11:29
into the season was Michael Ditallo.
11:31
He's a Northwestern transfer. He he's interesting.
11:35
Like I think the glove is enough to stick it there.
11:39
I, I don't, I don't know, like he, he's kind of regressed for
11:42
me this year. Like I had him top 10 going into
11:45
the season or top ten, one of my top 10 bats going into the
11:48
season. But I think there's a bit of a
11:51
lack of power now, and I still like the hit tool enough.
11:55
But I think that his bat has regressed that I'm not sure if
11:59
he gets picked this year after all that.
12:02
If he does, it would probably be back into the draft or he
12:04
returns for a senior season and then he gets picked higher next
12:07
year. Are there any other college
12:11
pitchers in in the state of Texas that you'd like to talk
12:15
about any further? I know that you got Ryan Dollar
12:18
in Houston and and Davion Hickson at Rice.
12:23
Any other names that you that we haven't talked about that you
12:27
find intriguing? Arms.
12:29
Yeah, there's actually one junior college guy on all my
12:32
lists for for Texas, and that's Hayden Morris.
12:35
I saw him against San Jac, San Jacinto College like a month ago
12:40
and there were probably like four or five scouts that I was
12:44
sitting with to see him and he was pumping like 9596.
12:48
I thought the slider was OK. His issue is like he's not the
12:52
best athlete and he's like 68275, so he's like a giant of a
12:57
human being. And Morris's issue right now is
12:59
like he's a little oversized. So if he could at least work on
13:04
that. I think he's not signed with
13:06
anything with any school either. So I think he has intent to go
13:12
to the draft and the fact that he's pumping 9596 and he he
13:16
seems like a pretty good junior college arm.
13:18
I could see him being like a midday to pick.
13:24
He he's really interesting. Like I, I could see him being a
13:27
very good reliever. So I, I think that him being a
13:31
junior college guy and not as many people are high on him, but
13:33
like I, I know that like I was there with five scouts and I
13:37
know a couple of other scouts have seen him throughout the
13:39
season. So he's definitely got draft
13:41
interest. So he's going to be 1 to watch
13:43
out for. And then you mentioned Hickson.
13:46
He's another guy who I'm actually working on a report of
13:49
right now. He, he's interesting.
13:52
He transferred from AI think it was Florida State.
13:56
Someone in fact checked me on that, but I'm pretty sure it was
13:58
Florida State where he transferred from.
14:00
And I think he's trying to develop a cutter this year
14:02
because like I've seen his fastball sit 9395 touch 96.
14:07
The spin on his slider is filthy.
14:10
But I noticed like he's throwing, throwing what looks
14:13
like a cutter at 9092. So he's trying to develop a
14:15
fourth pitch. And he's a guy who can generate
14:19
with and your own ball action. Just with how well the the the
14:23
fastball insider play, I will say that the fastball is flat.
14:27
So he's going to have to add more life to it.
14:30
But the slider is really good and kind of makes up for that.
14:33
And he he's he, he's a guy who can attack hitters, but I don't
14:41
know, like I, I've got him come to Urban Santana and Santana had
14:45
a pretty long career, but he was never like one of the better
14:48
pictures in the league. So I, I think he's a guy who
14:50
will climb his way through his system and then have at least
14:53
somewhat some kind of some kind of success in the bigs.
14:59
So he, he's really interesting. He's a really good spin guy.
15:02
So I could see him going like somewhat early day 2, like maybe
15:06
rounds 5 through 7. OK.
15:10
Now I want to look at the positional player aspect of the
15:14
guys in college. Obviously in the Texas aspect is
15:17
Anthony Silva Shortsop from TCU, Kate Climie, outfield slash
15:22
first baseman from Cougar, Conor McGinnis from Houston and Mason
15:28
Lytle from UTSA. What do you think about those
15:32
guys and what what are their trajectories are?
15:35
Yeah, so Silva is really interesting.
15:37
He was a draft eligible sophomore last year who ended up
15:41
struggling at the Cape. I don't think his bat will
15:44
provide much production. He might end up doing enough in
15:48
his system where he ends up at least becoming a regular in the
15:53
bigs because his glove is so good.
15:54
Like he has really good range left to right.
15:57
He he can handle sharply hit balls.
16:00
I think he's I know it's like kind of bold, but I think he's
16:05
as sure of a long term shortstop that I've seen at the amateur
16:09
ranks. Like he he just looks that good
16:11
defensively. He's got a strong arm.
16:14
He throws bullets down to first with accuracy.
16:17
So he's a guy where you're going to bank on the glove.
16:19
His discipline is actually pretty good.
16:21
He's not going to expand the zone too much.
16:23
It's just he doesn't have a lot of power and whenever he does
16:26
hit home runs, they're more like wall scrapers pull side.
16:29
And I don't know, his his bat is kind of lackluster to me.
16:33
I, I think that someone is going to try and develop the hit tool
16:37
because his eye is good where his bat can at least hit 270 and
16:41
maybe hit a few home runs. But I I see him being worse,
16:46
like a 245 hitter who draws some walks, but his defense is so
16:50
good that he's at least going to be a big league regular.
16:53
And then he mentioned kid climbing or no.
16:57
Yeah, yeah, Climb is one of the man, Conor McGuinness or the
17:00
other two, so. Yeah, climbing I saw live
17:04
against Sam Houston and Oh my God, like that guy's barrel
17:07
capabilities are insane and like I don't know if he's going to do
17:10
it consistently enough to be like a real impact bat, but I've
17:15
seen his exit below as high as like 109, like he hit an inside
17:19
pitch 109 and it was a rocket over short like it he needed a
17:23
little bit more loft otherwise it would have been demolished.
17:25
But his home run against Sam Houston was no doubt off the
17:28
barrel. So I think the power potential
17:30
is really good there. I comped him to Hunter Renfro.
17:33
He's going to be a power first bat or power only bat really at
17:36
that matter. I don't think his defense is
17:39
that bad at first, but he you know, he was showing that he can
17:43
at least keep up and lift. I do think that his defense is
17:46
fringe there. So he's probably like I know
17:48
I've seen him at 3rd as well. So I think there is defensive
17:52
versatility where even if he's, you know, he, he can find some
17:57
place. But the power is like really,
18:00
really nice. And speaking in power, like
18:01
Conor McGuinness is who we mentioned as well.
18:04
Yeah, I don't know how much draft stock he has, but I've
18:07
seen like I, I saw him some when I was watching climbing and he
18:11
kind of caught my eye because his poolside bombs were really
18:14
impressive. Like I don't know how good the
18:15
hit tool will be, but I would say he's got good raw power and
18:19
I think that someone might end up taking him if they saw that
18:23
as well because like he wasn't just hitting cheap shot home
18:27
runs Whenever I saw him like they were, they were missiles.
18:29
So I wouldn't say that other word that I said when describing
18:32
Lazaro. Let's talk about some of the
18:37
high school positional players that are in the state of Texas.
18:42
I got Taylor Tracy, outfielder from Dripping Springs High
18:46
School is committed to Tennessee, Braxton Van Cleve,
18:50
outfielder from Mansfield High School committed to Kentucky and
18:55
Lucas Franco from Cinco Ranch commuted to to Texas Christian
19:00
University. So tell us about some of the
19:03
guys within Texas, some of the positional players that names
19:07
that you've covered or you're hearing from high school?
19:10
Yes, I I think the main guy he actually left off there is a
19:14
case in Cunningham. He's a from San Antonio.
19:16
Johnson signed of Texas. I don't know how I left him off
19:20
I. I think he's just like pretty
19:22
well known compared to the other guys that.
19:23
Yeah, I think, I think that's probably why, but yeah, yeah,
19:27
he's definitely the guy, right. So.
19:29
Yeah, I, I think he's pretty much like the best bat out of
19:34
the entire state where he's going to provide a little bit of
19:37
pop. Not I could see him pushing
19:38
twenty home runs a couple of times, sitting 15 plus most
19:42
mostly. But, you know, he drives the
19:45
ball, He's got good bat speed. You know, I, I like his plate
19:49
recognition and I, I think he's a plus hitter.
19:52
So he's like the one guy in the top ten who actually has a hit,
19:55
which is kind of sad, but I also like his defense.
19:58
I I think he moves well at short.
20:00
I think the glove work is good. So I I think I could see him
20:03
sticking in short. And another shortstop is Lucas
20:06
Franco. He mentioned was signed with
20:08
CCU. I've looked at him a little bit.
20:11
Unfortunately, I was stupid and I didn't make it out to Cinco
20:14
Ranch this year, even though they're all like an hour and a
20:16
half away from me. But I was busy covering other
20:20
other games. But.
20:22
We'll see what happens with him. I, I think that there's some
20:24
power potential in his bat. I think that he does stick it
20:27
short. He's got really good range at
20:29
short. He's got a good arm there.
20:31
So I, I could see him being like a day two guy as well.
20:34
I I if you notice the theme of the of prospects out of the
20:38
state this year, it's a lot of day two guys.
20:41
So yeah, Franco, I don't know how well he'll hit.
20:45
I think that he'll have to adjust his swing against better
20:48
breaking balls moving forward. So I think he's going to be a
20:50
power over hit guy, which again, is the theme of this this year's
20:54
draft class out of the state. But you mentioned you mentioned
20:59
Taylor Tracy. I unfortunately have not seen
21:03
anything of him this year yet. I plan to do a little bit deeper
21:06
of a dive. What pisses me off is I actually
21:07
visited my brother in he lives in Kyle, TX which is not too far
21:12
from Dripping Springs. We're actually in Dripping
21:14
Springs and unfortunately I was not able to get out to a game
21:17
out there. So I missed my chance to see
21:20
Taylor Tracy. But he seems pretty interesting.
21:22
I don't know too much about him to really do a do a dive but he
21:26
kind of seems like he's got a good frame for power.
21:29
Like he's 66195. So I'm interested to see if if
21:33
he does go to the draft this year or if he ends up going to
21:37
one of the potentially the, I know the Longhorns are #1 but
21:41
Tennessee was for all. So we'll we'll see how he his
21:44
journey goes to the pros. Now let's let's talk about the
21:49
high school pitching prospects that's been talked about a
21:53
little bit. Brody Walls, the right-handed
21:56
pitcher from McKinney Boyd High School.
21:59
Marco Pass from Hebron High School, Nicholas Partita.
22:06
I might be butchering this from Peeland High School and then
22:11
Johnny's Lewinsky from LBJ High School.
22:13
Like talk about some of those guys since you you're known with
22:18
the Texas high school process. Yeah, So the main two guys who
22:22
I'm more familiar with on the prep ranks, I haven't seen too
22:26
much of them, but I've seen what other people are in the industry
22:28
have said, and I plan to do deeper dives moving forward.
22:31
I know Sewinsky should be, he should be the top prep pitcher
22:35
picked out of the state. But I wonder, like I, I know
22:39
he's just like low to mid 90s. I think I saw him up to 97.
22:42
Someone's going to have to Fact Check me on that.
22:45
I think the slider is OK, but I wonder if with, with early and
22:51
now like, like Patton should be gone.
22:56
Prager should be gone. Cunningham.
23:00
We didn't even mention Cunningham earlier, but he's
23:01
been up to 96. He just hasn't pitched a lot for
23:04
A&M. And then Lamkin should be gone.
23:07
I wonder if Slawinski might end up taking his talents to A&M.
23:10
He seems to have a good pitcher's build, but he he
23:14
should be the top guy picked out of this year.
23:16
And then another guy will be Partita, I think.
23:19
I think you said it right. I don't.
23:20
I'm not super sure myself. Yeah.
23:23
I saw he was up to like 9495. He's another load the 90s guy
23:28
and he's also committed to A&M. I've seen him.
23:31
I think Baseball America had him ranked in their top 300 draft
23:34
picks. So he might be the next guy off
23:36
the board. But I don't know if it's going
23:37
to be enough where he goes pro and he might want to take his,
23:41
you know, he might want to improve his draft stock at A&M
23:44
where he'll be able to prove himself against SEC bats and
23:48
everything. So those are the two guys that
23:50
I'm most familiar with. I'm not going to go too much
23:54
into too much more detail. Last year you had Braden
24:00
Montgomery was drafted for 14th overall to Boston at the Times,
24:04
traded in the crochet deal to the White Sox.
24:07
Yet Jared Thomas, the second rounder at the University of
24:10
Texas, Chris Cortez, another second rounder drafted by the
24:14
Angels. So how would you compare this
24:16
year's class opposed to last year when it comes to Texas
24:19
based prospect? Is it college heavy, high school
24:22
heavy, more pitching than bats or the other way around?
24:25
Or is it a good mix? Tell our listeners about some of
24:29
the names that you've covered. You could possibly hear their
24:31
name called in July. Yeah.
24:34
So I actually like last year's class better like you mentioned
24:37
Braden Montgomery and there was also Walker Yannick.
24:39
I think that last year was probably more college heavy and
24:42
I think that it is again this year.
24:44
Like there really aren't a whole lot of high end draft prep guys.
24:50
Oh yeah, Lucas Franco is good case and Cunningham is good.
24:53
One guy who I think gets picked in July this year out of the
24:56
prep ranks is Omar Serena. I compared him to Mitch Garver
24:59
in my report. I think he's he doesn't really
25:02
have much of a hit tool, but the power is pretty immense.
25:05
Like his poolside nukes are just crazy to watch and he's got
25:09
really good arm strength behind the dish.
25:11
So I, I think that he could be like Mitch Garver, who is a
25:16
platoon guy but still has so much power that he at least like
25:19
gets a lot of point more playing time than most platoon guys.
25:23
So those are the three prep guys that I'm really high on this
25:26
year. I, I think last year's class had
25:28
a lot more depth, honestly. Like you notice the theme where
25:32
it was like power only bats like who I was talking about this
25:35
year. I think that's been the theme
25:36
this year where it's like Yannick, I think there's
25:41
definitely a glove first catcher, but I think that the
25:44
Astros could develop a hit tool with him.
25:46
Not that his bat won't play in the bigs like I think it
25:48
definitely will, but brain Montgomery, like he had a hit
25:52
tool. I don't know, like I, I like
25:55
last year's class just because I I think it was a bit deeper
25:59
compared to this year's. This year is just a bunch of
26:01
like day two guys, whereas you had two first round picks with
26:04
Brain Montgomery and Ionic. And like I, I don't, I don't
26:09
want to say this year's arm, this year's arms are better than
26:12
last year's, but I'm worth I would say I've done a deeper
26:15
dive this year that I think that it's at least like decent coming
26:19
out of Texas, just like Micah Bucknam, I think is going to be
26:23
a very hydra pick like Elle Winger should be.
26:26
And who are some of the top? Remind me who some of the top
26:31
arms were last year. Chase Burns.
26:35
Yeah, Chase Burns. Tarantula Sinchi, obviously.
26:40
Trade Savage was another one. From Texas so I'm trying to play
26:45
too. Yeah, like I I do like this
26:48
year's arms out of Texas lot more than last year, but I think
26:52
I like last year's bats better than this year.
26:54
Yeah. OK.
26:57
Yeah. Well, it's most.
26:58
Yeah, it was. It was all positional player
27:00
heavy last year. It was.
27:02
I will say Chris Cortez is filthy.
27:04
Like, he's definitely a reliever, but his slider, I saw
27:07
his slider a lot, but it was filthy.
27:09
Like, yeah, you mentioned Jared Thomas earlier, and one guy who
27:13
was his teammate was Lebaron Johnson.
27:15
Like that guy I don't like, he's so tricky because he has really
27:20
filthy stuff, but he just cannot throw strikes.
27:23
It's like, I think this year's arms are deep.
27:27
I don't want to say deeper, but I just like this year's class
27:30
better. But last year's, like with with
27:32
Yannick Montgomery and Thomas and a few others like I, I think
27:36
the bats were definitely better last year.
27:38
I was saying to Rocky earlier this week actually, that the one
27:43
thing that's impressed me about like Treya Savage, for example,
27:47
is he throws strikes. Yes.
27:51
He just consistently pounds the strike zone and it and it and
27:55
it, I think, I think you, you hit the nail on the head.
27:58
It's the hardest thing when it comes to pitching is to get that
28:02
control. And when you got the control,
28:04
everything else you could work on, you know?
28:07
So Yep. And like when I was seeing
28:10
Hayden, where is like I was sitting with scouts, like I
28:12
mentioned, and I'm not going to name names, but there was a Sand
28:15
Jack pitcher. He was topping out at like 97 on
28:18
the mound. I think it was like 9596 touch
28:20
97. And one of the scouts that I was
28:23
sitting next to, like said, he's got a live arm.
28:25
You just don't know where it's going to end up.
28:30
Yeah, totally. Man, It's, it's, it's so tough.
28:33
I'm doing, I want to wrap it up with this question and I know I
28:37
know where it's this is way too early.
28:39
The 2025 draft has yet to happen, but give us a little bit
28:44
of a preview of the 2026 MLB prospects.
28:48
That's coming from Texas. And I know there was a a pitcher
28:51
from Sam Houston who was was a player of the week, Pitcher of
28:55
the week, Ryan Peter said. You could dive into him as well.
28:59
Yeah, Peter Peterson is a really interesting arm.
29:02
I I think he's got a 55 slider. I've seen him up to 93 this
29:05
year. I think he's, I think he's a
29:08
legit draft pick. I just think this season he's
29:11
been too inconsistent. Like he started off the Friday
29:14
guy for Sam Houston for the first half of the season.
29:16
And then he, I think his issue is his fastball doesn't have as
29:20
much life as it should. I think like I mentioned, the
29:23
slider is a 55. I think it's got good sweep.
29:25
It actually has 2 shapes. 1 is like a tighter slider that
29:29
breaks later. And it's like almost like a
29:31
cutter. Like the first time I saw it, I
29:32
thought it was a cutter. And then one of the Sam Houston
29:34
coaches told me it was just a second slider.
29:37
So he's got 3-2 legit pitches, technically three different
29:42
shapes. And then he also has a change
29:45
up. And I think he needs to develop
29:46
the change up better. And if he can do that, I think
29:48
that he probably should be a day to arm next year.
29:51
Like I know that moving forward, they're only going to have two
29:53
days of the draft. So that's not really saying a
29:55
lot. But I think that he he at least
29:57
is a draft pick next year. I don't know how far he goes yet
30:00
just because, you know, anything can happen in 12 months.
30:03
But A&M is actually like, got rocky, like A&M is so loaded
30:08
next year for the draft. Like they've got Kayden Sorrell,
30:13
Sam Erickson, who hasn't even really played a lot this year.
30:16
Groovac should be healthy next year.
30:19
I would hope he'll be ready for a sophomore.
30:21
What's up? Western Moss is another one
30:23
that'll probably be in next year's draft too, right?
30:25
He's actually draft eligible this year and I didn't even
30:27
touch on him like Moss is really interesting.
30:31
He he'll be 21 by signing period.
30:33
So like he he's eligible this year.
30:34
Like he he's actually a change up heavy pitcher who really
30:37
knows how to pound it glove side and he can get weak contact that
30:40
way. I think that he needs to develop
30:42
better life on his pitches, but I could see him being picked
30:44
like late day too this year. Like I don't know if he's signed
30:47
so he still could be drafted eligible next year, but I like
30:50
him enough that someone might take him this year.
30:52
But I, I, he's interesting. Like I think that if he can
30:57
develop his slider a little bit more like he's I, I don't know
31:01
if you saw, but I think it was against Arkansas.
31:03
He went like 5 innings out of the pen and he was pretty
31:05
dominant. Yeah, he was.
31:07
I wonder if he's a guy who like, if A&M is so deep he stays in
31:12
the pen. But then a team might think that
31:17
there might be enough that they can develop him into a start.
31:19
Like there are some guys and actually we didn't mention two
31:22
arms out of Texas that are hurt this year, Siddow out of Anam
31:26
and then Ben Abel. Abel is another guy who's like
31:29
that where he he's been a reliever at TCU, but he has
31:32
starter stuff so. Because I'll save us a doubt.
31:36
Like I know that he was injured, that's why he was not on the
31:39
stat sheet or anything Like he would have been a big help for
31:42
this pitching stuff this year, right?
31:44
So. Yeah, that guy like that guy
31:46
knows how to pitch like he's got pretty good stuff and I think
31:49
he's just a gamer that, you know, he's got a good fastball
31:52
and sliders not bad either. I think he he probably would
31:55
have been a top five arm for for me this year.
31:57
Like he he's still a top ten guy just because of how good his
32:00
stuff is. And the command is not bad
32:02
either. So I wonder we're we're talking
32:05
about 2026. So like, I wonder if Sidau still
32:09
gets picked this year and he might end up signing if someone
32:12
throws enough money in his face. But like, I know he's such a die
32:14
hard Aggie that even if he ends up getting picked, I wonder if
32:18
he comes back and he you know, he might think like, oh, I have
32:21
unfinished business. I want to get my team to Omaha.
32:23
So like, he might be a really high draft pick next year if he
32:26
can come back healthy. What about Sawyer?
32:29
Far from from A&M. Yeah, he's really interesting.
32:33
Like I know he was a shortstop out of high school and he's he's
32:36
looked good and left this year so far.
32:38
Like he's not going to wow you, but I think the defense is is
32:42
good. I think the bats good.
32:44
I I think there's a bit of pop in there.
32:46
I could see him being like early day-to-day to pick next year.
32:51
Like I'm still, I'm more focused when it's the when I'm diving
32:56
into the draft, I'm more focused on the guys that are like draft
33:01
eligible this year or like the year of.
33:03
So I haven't been like super focused on far, but like the,
33:06
the far has been impressive enough that I, I see a little
33:09
bit of pop and you know, I hope I'm not eating in my own words.
33:13
And he like doesn't hit for pop next year.
33:15
So, but just from what I've seen, like I think there's a bit
33:19
of pop there. I like the hit tool.
33:22
He should be a pretty high draft pick.
33:24
And then like AM also has Barry Harrison, Carl Harrison's
33:27
brother. I saw him early in the season
33:30
and I didn't really like him that much, but he's been tearing
33:33
the cover off the ball recently and I was stupid and I didn't
33:36
get video when he was when AM was playing Sam Houston.
33:39
So, you know, I think that's Bears way of saying, haha.
33:45
But I, I think that he's got a good offensive profile for a
33:48
catcher and he, he is a decent catcher from what I've seen.
33:50
Like I don't think he's a gold globe winner or anything, but I,
33:53
I think he's a, he's at least a good college catcher.
33:56
And then so A&M is like pretty stacked next year.
34:01
And then Texas should be pretty decent.
34:03
Like they've got Ethan Mendoza. He he's interesting.
34:07
I think he's got a good bat. I don't know how impactful it
34:10
can be, but he's got a good contact, you know, contact
34:14
swing. He's a contact rate as well.
34:17
And then, you know, I think people are pretty familiar with
34:19
Gasparino. I think he's the guy to watch
34:21
for Texas next year. He, I know his dad is with the
34:25
Dodgers organization. I forget what he does.
34:27
I know he was a scout at one point, but I think he's like a
34:30
athlete. He's a trainer or something now.
34:32
Like someone's going to have to Fact Check me on that.
34:34
But he's definitely got like baseball bloodlines is what I'm
34:36
trying to say. And I think his issue, I think
34:41
he's like a Jace Light where he's got good athleticism and
34:44
he's got really good power. But I think he needs to further
34:50
develop his approach. But I think that there's enough
34:52
there where he still should be at a pretty high draft pick next
34:55
year. Well, Austin, we appreciate you
35:01
being here as a guest. Great insight, great
35:04
information. We had a great time here.
35:07
Where can we find you in social media and everywhere else?
35:11
Yeah, you can find me on X at at Austin FO 421.
35:15
I'm mostly there actually. That's pretty much like the only
35:19
social media thing I really do. But you can also follow you
35:22
subscribe to Prospects Worldwide's YouTube channel.
35:25
A lot of the game video that I get goes there.
35:28
And then you can also follow Prospects Worldwide on X at
35:32
Prospects World W. And yeah, I appreciate you guys
35:35
having me on. I know I talked so much just
35:37
now, like within an hour and a half of recording.
35:39
So I hope I didn't bore y'all. And I hope that this was, I hope
35:44
I at least kept up with Brian and Jake.
35:46
You did awesome man, fantastic job.
35:49
Thanks for joining us. Hope we can have you back again
35:53
in the future. Would be awesome man you.
35:54
You were great though. I appreciate it, it's definitely
35:57
been fun, and please let me know if you'll need another guest
36:00
again at some point. We will place the description
36:04
below where you can find Austin on in social media, but till
36:09
next time, take care, be kind to each other.
36:12
Signing off from the Sports Ave. Twisted podcasts on Tuesday, May
36:16
6th, 2025.