Irvine JUNE PR: Draft Report - First Four

The Irvine organization have selected 3 high schoolers in their first four selections as the team has looked at talent/tools more closely than players that might be farther along but don’t have as high a ceiling. Three selections were in Scout Snider’s top 25 including SP Juan Martinez, 3B Kel Davis, and C Ken Perez with SP Elliot Hinton also selected during the run on starting pitchers in the first round.

SP Juan Martinez, drafted 23^rd, currently is out with a torn elbow flexor tendon but the team expects a full recovery. His stuff is electric although he does need to work on his control. His changeup appears filthy and he averaged 16.2 K/9 in his first year of high school. His work ethic has been a concern but he appears to be intelligent so we’ll see which side wins out in the future. As he will be out for another 8-9 weeks, he likely won’t see much opportunity to pitch this season in rookie ball. Surprisingly, Martinez also appears to easily signable for the organization – something the team rarely sees in higher potential pitching prospects this draft.

SP Elliot Hinton was selected with the 6^th pick of the supplemental first round after Southern Cal signed Campos. No, Irvine refuses to vote for Campos for all star CF as we hold a grudge…but back to Hinton. Hinton may have been a bit of a reach but with three good pitches, including a very good changeup, and a high intelligence and decent work ethic, the team hopes he develops into a solid middle of the rotation starter. He improved dramatically his third year of high school although how one really evaluates high school pitchers when they only pitch around a dozen innings is challenging. In two of his high school seasons, Hinton averaged over 18 K/9.

Ken Perez was taken in the second round as the farm team is hurting for valid catcher prospects. Perez looks to provide a solid presence behind the plate but concerns have been expressed about his work ethic as well. He’s also gotten worse each season in high school which is not very promising but the team will obviously seek to give him a chance to bounce back and figure things out. He has solid power potential and has hit 5 grand slams in his high school career already.

Third round selection Kel Davis was in Scout Snider’s top 12 this draft and team couldn’t pass him up at this place in the draft. He’s got an excellent glove at the hot corner, got some pop, and Snider is optimistic that he might even surpass projections and expectations. Time will tell. He’s also not a certainty to sign with the team as he’s been telling the team that he might be looking to return to Butler for his junior year. He’s definitely got power potential with two grand slams in his career already and he improved his sophomore season.