I view it more as looking at floor in their college picks and ceiling in their teenagers. Baron was a ceiling pick, because his floor is "not a major leaguer." Nick Franklin was an upside pick though few realized it at the time. Walker was barely a pitcher when they drafted him. All the international kids are high-upside, million-dollar risks. No safety there.
But the college guys...Jack has shown a preference for bat-first college hitters and trying to keep them at harder positions. He's not taking age-20-something hitters and hoping for upside in their swings - he hopes for it in their defense. Seager at 2B is a great pick, and proving it. Miller staying at SS or even 2B is a good pick if his hit tool is what it might be. Heck, Braun was drafted as a 3B, with the fallback position being LF. With his bat, it didn't matter that he couldn't stick to the harder glove position.
But he doesn't seem to draft college starters with the idea of converting them to closers. He drafts college starters to start, and college relievers to relieve. Capps, Burgoon, Bischoff, Kesler, Pryor... he goes after college arms that are already good at what they're being asked to do.
He can't be waiting 5+ years for upside-college guys to get decent. Occasionally you'll get a James Jones selection from a tiny college where he was more of a pitcher than a hitter, but normally he seems to want the college bats to play stopgap or to prove they can manage a tougher defensive position, for college pitchers to own their role as a #5 starter or bullpen arm, while the teen picks are the fliers taken on greatness.
Unless it's the #2 pick, of course, or a Paxton situation where a first-rounder drops. WE view Hultzen as some sort of reluctance to take an upside risk - which it might be - but I bet Zduriencik views him as the best convergence of potential and the chance to reach it...quickly.
Keep in mind, we have a 2 million dollar hitter in Pimentel, the reigning AZL top prospect, hitting Everett this year and two more million+ dollar teen bats coming into AZ I would think. We have the 800K arm of Shipers, the 300k arm of Taylor, and whatever we paid for the 98 mph Campos all as teenagers arriving in short-season to back up Taijuan Walker, Brandon Maurer and James Paxton as high-quality arms.
We are fielding quite a contingent of teens in a few weeks. I have other teens I would have preferred to the college bats we drafted, but there's a budget and a host of other concerns to take into consideration.
I agree with you that we look in different places for the upside between college and teenage players. I don't think it's a domestic vs. international issue, though. Jack just seems to think that if a player isn't impressing him by 22 then he's not gonna be impressed, and he has plenty of information on that player's growth arc. Teens have an unknown growth arc and Jack is more willing to bet upside on them.
I don't think that's a bad plan at all.
~G
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