Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2018 21:15:44 GMT -5
The Dodgers walked away from Round 1 thrilled with their draft class. They entered the day with picks 5, 12, and 20 and walked away with Tom Henke - the top player on their board and thought to be a certain top 3 pick - with the 5th pick, Jeff Calhoun - the 2nd most talented pitcher on their board - with the 6th pick after a trade up from 12, and Don Slaught - the 2nd ranked catcher on the board - with the 15th pick after another trade up from 20.
Henke entered the draft as a closer with filthy stuff and ready to help a major league bullpen immediately. The Dodgers see that as the floor. Dodgers coach Tommy Lasorda seemed optimistic he could be more. When reached for comment, Lasorda only offered that he didn't expect Henke to be the Dodgers primary source of saves in the future. "We're gonna bring him into our system and let our player development guys develop him and see where it leads us" Lasorda said. He continued "we believe the sky is the limit for Tom. If things don't go according to plan we can always fall back on late inning, high leverage relief." Henke simply fell into the Dodgers lap at 5 and they were ready to pounce.
Similar to Henke, Calhoun is viewed internally as a dynamite arm with untapped potential. He's not ready for The Show like Henke is, but he will be on a similar development plan. He will need some time in the minors but is also viewed with similar upside by the team. He is certainly a difference-making arm that, again, can fall back on late inning relief if plans do not work out as the Dodgers hope. Hoping he would last till 12 but doubtful that he would, the Dodgers began working the phones immediately after selecting Henke. They were able to work out a deal with the Texas Rangers a year after dealing for the Rangers 2nd round pick. In order to move up 6 spots in the draft, the Dodgers gave up promising young closer prospect and borderline Top 100 guy Luis DeLeon. Lasorda said "we are high on DeLeon and wish him the best of luck in Texas, but thought it was a move that had to be made to take a shot on the upside of a guy like Calhoun."
Had the Dodgers kept pick 12, Slaught was thought to be high on their list of potential targets along with Calhoun. Lacking an ideal long term solution at catcher, the Dodgers were pleased to pick up Slaught mid-round. He has a chance to be a plus defender with a solid bat that can lead a pitching staff. Though after losing pick 12 in the trade up to 6 another trade up was required as the team didn't see any way he would last till 20. Disappointed that one potential deal fell thru due to time constraints, the Dodgers were frustrated and afraid that they missed an opportunity to strike. Undeterred, they kept seeking another spot to trade up and found a willing partner in the Phillies. In order to move up 5 spots from 20 to 15, the Dodgers dealt another pitcher that just cracked the top 100 - this time starter Ed Lynch. Though similar to the guys being selected in that area, the club saw this as an opportunity to deal from what they considered an area of depth to address an area of weakness and gladly made the move to nab their 3rd target in the first round.
While busy in round 1, the Dodgers now expect to sit tight the remainder of the draft and pick up depth pieces at their current draft locations. But they are always open to making a move should the opportunity present itself again.
Henke entered the draft as a closer with filthy stuff and ready to help a major league bullpen immediately. The Dodgers see that as the floor. Dodgers coach Tommy Lasorda seemed optimistic he could be more. When reached for comment, Lasorda only offered that he didn't expect Henke to be the Dodgers primary source of saves in the future. "We're gonna bring him into our system and let our player development guys develop him and see where it leads us" Lasorda said. He continued "we believe the sky is the limit for Tom. If things don't go according to plan we can always fall back on late inning, high leverage relief." Henke simply fell into the Dodgers lap at 5 and they were ready to pounce.
Similar to Henke, Calhoun is viewed internally as a dynamite arm with untapped potential. He's not ready for The Show like Henke is, but he will be on a similar development plan. He will need some time in the minors but is also viewed with similar upside by the team. He is certainly a difference-making arm that, again, can fall back on late inning relief if plans do not work out as the Dodgers hope. Hoping he would last till 12 but doubtful that he would, the Dodgers began working the phones immediately after selecting Henke. They were able to work out a deal with the Texas Rangers a year after dealing for the Rangers 2nd round pick. In order to move up 6 spots in the draft, the Dodgers gave up promising young closer prospect and borderline Top 100 guy Luis DeLeon. Lasorda said "we are high on DeLeon and wish him the best of luck in Texas, but thought it was a move that had to be made to take a shot on the upside of a guy like Calhoun."
Had the Dodgers kept pick 12, Slaught was thought to be high on their list of potential targets along with Calhoun. Lacking an ideal long term solution at catcher, the Dodgers were pleased to pick up Slaught mid-round. He has a chance to be a plus defender with a solid bat that can lead a pitching staff. Though after losing pick 12 in the trade up to 6 another trade up was required as the team didn't see any way he would last till 20. Disappointed that one potential deal fell thru due to time constraints, the Dodgers were frustrated and afraid that they missed an opportunity to strike. Undeterred, they kept seeking another spot to trade up and found a willing partner in the Phillies. In order to move up 5 spots from 20 to 15, the Dodgers dealt another pitcher that just cracked the top 100 - this time starter Ed Lynch. Though similar to the guys being selected in that area, the club saw this as an opportunity to deal from what they considered an area of depth to address an area of weakness and gladly made the move to nab their 3rd target in the first round.
While busy in round 1, the Dodgers now expect to sit tight the remainder of the draft and pick up depth pieces at their current draft locations. But they are always open to making a move should the opportunity present itself again.
