The Dodgers on Thursday evening announced their five selections of the second day of the 2020 MLB Draft, taking right-handed pitcher Landon Knack out of East Tennessee State University in the second round, right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter from Texas Tech University in the Competitive Balance Round B, outfielder Jake Vogel from Huntington Beach High School in the third round, catcher Carson Taylor out of Virginia Tech University in the fourth round and right-handed pitcher Gavin Stone from the University of Central Arkansas in the fifth round.
The 22-year-old Knack was selected 60th overall after finishing his shortened senior campaign with a 4-0 record and a 1.08 ERA in four starts. This season, he fanned 51 batters against one walk, leading NCAA D-1 Baseball in strikeouts and strikeout-to-walk ratio (51.0). In two years with the Buccaneers, he went 13-4 with a 2.25 ERA and 145 strikeouts over 19 starts. The Johnson City, Tennessee native pitched two seasons at Walters State Community College prior to joining East Tennessee State University, going 13-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 19 games, 16 of which were starts.
Beeter, 21, made four starts for the Red Raiders in his abbreviated 2020 season, allowing five runs over 21 innings (2.14 ERA) with 33 strikeouts against four walks. He posted a 2-1 record, including a career-high 12 strikeouts over 6.0 innings of one-run baseball to earn the victory on March 6 against Rice University. The Colleyville, Texas native was a Freshman All-American in 2019 after recording a team-high eight saves in 20 appearances with a 3.20 ERA and 39 strikeouts. The two-sport athlete was a four-year letter winner at Birdville High School, earning All-District honors his senior season after posting a 0.81 ERA with 106 strikeouts over 56 innings.
Vogel, 18, was the 100th selection in the 2020 Draft and first position player taken by the Dodgers. The UCLA commit entered the 2020 season rated the No. 59 prospect in the country by Prep Baseball Report and was listed as the 15th-best prospect in California by Perfect Game. He was a Preseason High School All-American and participated in the 2019 Perfect Game National Showcase, where he was named to the All-Prospect Team.
The 21-year-old Taylor appeared in 16 games for the Hokies this year, batting .431 (25-for-58) with seven doubles, one triple, two homers and 20 RBI. He led the team in batting average, runs, doubles, RBI, OBP and OPS, while ranking among the NCAA Division 1 leaders in OBP (27th), batting average (32nd) , doubles (34th), RBI (35th), runs (49th) and hits (50th). The switch-hitting catcher was a two-year starter at Virginia Tech, hitting a combined .332 (65-for-196) with 16 doubles, four homers and 39 RBI. Prior to joining Virginia Tech, the Duluth, Georgia native played two seasons at Greater Atlanta Christian and was a two-time Perfect Game honorable mention All-American and First Team All-State both his junior and senior seasons.
Stone, 21, made four starts for the University of Central Arkansas, going 3-1 with a 1.30 ERA and 31 strikeouts. On March 6 against Southeastern Louisiana, he became the third pitcher in school history to throw a no-hitter, recording 13 strikeouts and facing one batter over the minimum. In three seasons for the Bears, he posted a 9-6 record with a 2.42 ERA and 109 strikeouts against 33 walks. The Lake City, Arkansas native was a two-time All-State and four-time All-Conference player at Riverside High School. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Arkansas High School All-Star Game in 2018.
The Dodgers completed the draft by selecting four pitchers, one catcher and one outfielder.
(Juan Dorado provided the information furnished in this report)
Overall, I’m quite pleased with what AF and the gang did during the draft. Of course, you never know how these turn out until a few years later (and that’s assuming you can sign everyone).
I heard one analyst say that Beeter had the best curveball in the draft and I’m especially intrigued by Vogel, who when asked to compare himself to a major leaguer picked Trout. Maybe he’ll turn out to be what we hoped we had in Kendall when we drafted him a couple years ago and which never materialized.
I know the minor leaguers will be competing in some shape or form once things get going, but it’s tough to fathom how big an impact the absence of a real season will be for them in their respective leagues. You’d think the MLB veterans would be much more equipped to handle such a scenario. Nevertheless, if they do end up playing in the majors, hopefully the expanded rosters will give some youngsters a chance who otherwise might not have been selected for the 26-man.
The real tragedy is a lost year for all,the minor leaguers!
Well not just the minor leagues. MLBPA is ready to reject the proposal MLB sent earlier this week. Looks like cooler heads did not prevail. They are going to alienate a lot of fans. I do not know how they will recover is the season is lost. Fans are POed enough as it is, And Manfred and others are not helping by taking a hard line. The contention is based on the salary structure. Players want prorated salaries, and the owners do not. This is just getting too ugly to watch and I am beginning to believe there will be no baseball this year.
They’ll play. It’s just a question of how long the season will be. Apparently, Manfred has the ability to intervene and set his own terms. Honestly, the longer this gets stretched out, the more I’m personally losing interest. I think there are many others who feel the same way.
I’m not sure either side here is thinking long term and I think both sides are failing to take your point into consideration. People are starting to lose interest. Even if Manfred forces a short schedule on the players this year, what happens if we have a second wave of COVID next year. Do they have to negotiate this all over again because the start of the season needs to be delayed? Then, the following year they have to negotiate a new CBA and by that time there will be such bad feelings between the two sides that they won’t even be able to sit down with each other. Ultimately prices go up at the parks, fewer fans show up, owner profits are cut down and teams offer less in free agency. Everyone loses.
If, at some point, spectators are permitted in the stands this year, I’m absolutely afraid to see what prices around the stadiums might look like. Not necessarily for tickets, but for parking, concessions and everything else. To be honest, I’m not exactly excited at the prospect of a 2020 season. What little enthusiasm I do have dwindles with each passing day.
You ain’t alone my friend. Although I know myself well enough that once they start playing my enthusiasm will return, at least to some degree. As far as profits are concerned, the owners will have to count more and more on tv revenue because attendance will go down either because fans are pissed or because they won’t be able to afford to attend games.
Funny tweet by Daniel Descalso, who seems to agree with those who say the owners keep coming back with different versions of the same proposal:
MLB: Do you want a half dozen donuts?
MLBPA: No.
MLB: Oh, So you want 6?
MLBPA: That’s the same thing
MLB: Our mistake. How about 2 sets of 3?
MLBPA: Never mind.
MLB: Wait wait, I can give you 3 sets of 2. How’s that?