Eye Black

Baseball America’s Ben Badler: “I really like the Brewers draft so far.”

I believe both Frelick and Black are players that had more walks than strikeouts in college.

From Will Sammon… Brewers scout Ty Blankmeyer on first round pick Sal Frelick: "If I was just a fan, I would go to the game and pay to watch Sal Frelick play baseball. ... This is the whole package in my opinion. It's legit." Must've repeated phrase, "He's a winner," half a dozen times.

To be fair, I don’t think anyone needs to wait to see how the Frelick development turns out to chuckle at the absurdity of someone making “the sky is falling” type prognostications over players they clearly don’t know much, if anything, about.

Mookie Betts is 5’9” and didn’t have a home run in his first 77 professional games.

Didn’t you say 45 minutes ago you didn’t want McLain? I thought it was Montgomery or bust… did the three clips MLB Network showed of McLain sway you?

From MLB Pipeline… Age: 21 BATS: L DOB: 04/19/2000 THROWS: R HT: 5' 9" DRAFTED: 2021, 1st (15) - MIL WT: 175 TWITTER: @SalFrelick Scouting Grades/Report (20-80 grading scale) HIT 60 POWER 45 RUN 70 ARM 50 FIELD 55 OVERALL 55 In 2019, a core of talented freshmen served notice that Boston College could very well be a force to be reckoned with in the ACC and a frequent destination for scouts leading up to the 2021 Draft. At the center of that group is Frelick, an undersized but athletic outfielder who batted .367/.447/.513 in a freshman year shortened by a knee injury. After not hitting well during the brief 2020 season, Frelick was one of the better offensive performers in the college ranks in 2021 to move him up Draft boards. Frelick was a three-sport star in high school, playing football, hockey and baseball at a high level. That athleticism is a big part of his game, with his easy speed helping him defensively and on the basepaths. Offensively, he has a strong history of making contact and getting on base. He walked more than he struck out in 2019 and '20 combined and has very impressive bat-to-ball skills along with plus bat speed, pointing to future potential as a plus hitter. He’s deceptively strong with good extra-base ability, and he could eventually get to average power from the left side of the plate. The 5-foot-9 Frelick has played mostly right field at Boston College, though he did see some time in center in 2019 and even played some shortstop last summer. He was in in center full-time in 2021, and thanks to his plus makeup, he worked to make good adjustments and prove he should be able to stay there long-term, and the Golden Spikes Award semifinalist was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a result of those efforts. Teams considering him early in the first round certainly will believe he can remain up the middle.

I still think I would’ve preferred McLain over Frelick, but I’ve also watched a lot more of McLain than Frelick so I’m a little biased.

From The Athletic… 10. Sal Frelick, OF, Boston College Previously No. 6 Frelick looks like a future MLB leadoff hitter, with a strong eye, high contact rates, and above-average speed. He’s shown he can generate enough power from his 5-foot-10 frame to make hard contact, albeit probably without much power. He moved to centerfield this year and has shown enough to be a plus defender there.

From Keith Law… There goes Frelick, a true center fielder with a short swing that should make him a high-contact hitter even with the wood bat in pro ball -- but he's got enough strength to drive the ball for doubles power and avoid getting the bat knocked out of his hands by velocity. The Brewers have really pivoted towards valuing defense in the last year or so, and Frelick fits that philosophy well.

From FanGraphs… A Massachusetts multi-sport prep standout (he was the Gatorade POY in football as a quarterback, as well as a lauded hockey player), Frelick emerged last spring playing outfield and putting up huge numbers for Boston College. He has several catalytic qualities already and might hit for more in-game power later as his swing and approach evolve. Right now Frelick is a slap-and-slash hitter who'll occasionally show you low-ball power. He has good vertical plate coverage and can catch pitches near the top of the zone. It takes projecting on some elements of Frelick's offense to see him as an impact regular, but so much of his skillset is either new or changing (he's also played some second base) and we're betting on late development here because of the multi-sport, Northeast background and time lost due to a 2019 knee injury/surgery.

From Perfect Game (ranked their #10 draft prospect)… 10. Sal Frelick, OF, Boston College (3Y) L-R, 5-9/175, Lexington, Mass. Previously Drafted: Never Drafted A multi-sport standout during his prep days who actually won the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year award in football his senior year, Frelick has done nothing but thrive since arriving on campus, going from relative unknown to potential first round pick, to just about a lock inside the top-10. The Boston College center fielder thrived this spring as he continued to show some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the draft on a regular basis, rarely swinging and missing while still showing easy plus speed that can effect a game both on the bases and while covering a vast amount of ground to either gap in the outfield.

From Baseball America (ranked #9 overall player on BA 500)… Sal Frelick Boston College OF Notes: Ht: 5-9 | Wt: 175 | B-T: L-R Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted Age At Draft: 21.2 BA Grade: 55 | Risk: High Hit: 60 | Power: 40 | Run: 70 | Field: 60 | Arm: 50 Undrafted out of high school, Frelick emerged as one of the most exciting players in college baseball, combining a mix of explosive athleticism and speed at a premium position with high contact skills and strong game performance. Frelick is a quick-burst athlete who accelerates fast into 70-grade speed, consistently getting home to first in 4.0 seconds from the left side and sometimes a tick under. An infielder in high school, Frelick moved to the outfield and played primarily right field his first two years, but he handled center field in 2021 and showed strong instincts that improved throughout the season en route to becoming the ACC defensive player of the year. His speed translates to good range in center field, where he has a fringe-average arm with good accuracy. Frelick hit .359/.443/.559 in 2021, showing a simple, direct swing from the left side without much movement. At 5-foot-9, he has a small strike zone and mostly stays within that zone, with good hand-eye coordination to make frequent contact, even on times when he does chase. Frelick does a good job of going with where the ball is pitched, with quick hands, and he's able to pull inside fastballs up and in while also sending pitches on the outer third to left field. Frelick has some sneaky power for his size, with the ability to drive the ball out pull side when he gets a pitch up in the zone, but it's more occasional pop that plays below-average in games. Frelick doesn't get off his best swings on pitches down in the zone, but his bat-to-ball skills and elite speed help him beat out infield hits. Frelick is one of the safer college hitters in the draft, with a chance to be a dynamic sparkplug who hits at the top of a lineup and plays good defense in the middle of the field.

I would guess Watson ends up going to the Reds since they have the 4th largest bonus pool this year.

Interesting. I didn’t follow Frelick all that closely because I always figured he’d be gone by the Brewers pick.

I’d be pretty happy with Watson or McLain at this selection.

Sounds like the Giants are working on trying to sort out a deal with Khalil Watson. Needless to say they didn’t expect to be in this position. Good news for the Brewers is they and the Giants were reportedly on a lot of the same players. EDIT: So much for that, they take Bednar.

Has anybody seen anything about Khalil Watson being unsignable? Wondering if he might be in play for the Brewers or Reds to make an over slot offer.

Seattle had been connected to Matt McLain quite a bit, wondering if he ends up being available at the Brewers selection.

The board is seemingly shaping up well for the Brewers if they’re in a position to take advantage of it (i.e. assuming they don’t already have an under slot deal in place).

So much for the Brewers getting Colton Cowser, he’s going to the Orioles.

That would be an amazing get for them. One of the best teams in baseball and because they had one bad [shortened] pandemic ball season they may end up with the most talented player in this year’s draft.

The Pirates officially announce Henry Davis, catcher, Louisville as tonight’s first overall selection.

Jeff Passan reporting that’s the case.

Well it sounds like the first overall pick isn’t going to be the industry consensus, so you can throw out the mock drafts.