2018 Draft & 2019 Team

ball4life66

ball4life66

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Luke Bartnicki #149 MLB.com draft prospect

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

Walton High (Marietta, Ga.) is a baseball powerhouse, winning three state titles, sending seven players to the big leagues and getting six players drafted in the top three rounds. Bartnicki entered 2018 as a good bet to increase that last number to seven, but he hasn't thrown as well as he did on the showcase circuit last summer. While he still offers more upside than the typical prep left-hander, clubs don't think they can take him high enough to sign him away from his Georgia Tech commitment.

After sitting at 92-93 mph and touching 95 at times with angle and run on his fastball last summer, Bartnicki has seen his velocity drop 2-3 mph for much of this spring. His slider has similarly regressed, losing some power and bite and rarely looking like the potential plus pitch he flashed in the past. His changeup wasn't quite as deceptive as it had been previously, though he has the makings of an average third offering.

Bartnicki has a strong frame and the athleticism to throw strikes, though his control also has wavered this year. His delivery is clean but also somewhat slow and gives batters a good look at his pitches. He has a ceiling as a mid-rotation starter but will need plenty of patience and development to get there.
 
GTNavyNuke

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ball4life66 said:
Luke Bartnicki #149 MLB.com draft prospect

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 45 | Overall: 45

Walton High (Marietta, Ga.) is a baseball powerhouse, winning three state titles, sending seven players to the big leagues and getting six players drafted in the top three rounds. Bartnicki entered 2018 as a good bet to increase that last number to seven, but he hasn't thrown as well as he did on the showcase circuit last summer. While he still offers more upside than the typical prep left-hander, clubs don't think they can take him high enough to sign him away from his Georgia Tech commitment.

After sitting at 92-93 mph and touching 95 at times with angle and run on his fastball last summer, Bartnicki has seen his velocity drop 2-3 mph for much of this spring. His slider has similarly regressed, losing some power and bite and rarely looking like the potential plus pitch he flashed in the past. His changeup wasn't quite as deceptive as it had been previously, though he has the makings of an average third offering.

Bartnicki has a strong frame and the athleticism to throw strikes, though his control also has wavered this year. His delivery is clean but also somewhat slow and gives batters a good look at his pitches. He has a ceiling as a mid-rotation starter but will need plenty of patience and development to get there.
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Thanks for the update. I liked it because you provided it, not because Bartnicki isn't doing as well.

I think Bartnicki is the only drama in the draft for us this year with English probably out of serious contention to leave.

I only hope Wiley Ballard isn't drafted to another announcing spot! (I'm being selfish, he deserves to be rewarded more.) Losing him would make the games a lot less enjoyable for us.
 
THWG

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It looks like we are going to make it through the draft unscathed. It's a huge boost to get both Bartnicki and Simmons on campus as they will be impact players right away.

This is how I see the team next year, right now:
1st base will be McCann/ English/ Serratos
2nd base will be Waddell
Shortstop will be Wilhite
3rd base will be Simmons/ Serratos
Catcher will be McCann/ Turley
RF will be Colin Hall
CF will be Guldberg, Carter Hall
LF will be Murray
DH will be English/ Serratos/ Radcliffe/ Miller
The wild card for the offense is Carter Hall because if he is healthy, he makes a huge difference in the lineup with his speed. Does anybody know if he will try to come back next year or has he given up baseball?

The Pitching staff is a huge mystery other than a few guys.
I believe the rotation will be the same as last year (Curry, Thomas, English, and Hurter) with Bartnicki being the fifth option here.

There are 3 tiers in the pen imo. Tier 1 is guys that I trust to come in and get us a win in any situation, tier 2 is guys that should pitch and are capable of getting us a save, but won't necessarily be shutdown pitchers. Tier 3 guys should only be used in blowouts.
Tier 1 in the pen is Archer, Carpenter, Shirah, and whoever doesn't make the rotation (probably Bartnicki)
Tier 2 is probably Winborne (righty specialist), Mannelly (lefty specialist), Brace, Lee, Serratos, Chapman, Olson, Combs.
Tier 3 is any of the other freshmen pitchers, Gibson, and Gooden.
The wild card for the pitching staff is Hughes because he could fall into any tier, but hopefully he will get back on track and become a go to guy out of the pen.
 
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Ramblinwreck07 said:
Simmons drafted by the Phillies in round 6
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I was about to post that and of course it happened after I just made that long winded post. The 6th round is kind of a precarious spot because it's not high enough where he'll get a big signing bonus, but it isn't low enough to know that he is for sure coming to Tech.
 

GTJon

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THWG said:
It looks like we are going to make it through the draft unscathed. It's a huge boost to get both Bartnicki and Simmons on campus as they will be impact players right away.

This is how I see the team next year, right now:
1st base will be McCann/ English/ Serratos
2nd base will be Waddell
Shortstop will be Wilhite
3rd base will be Simmons/ Serratos
Catcher will be McCann/ Turley
RF will be Colin Hall
CF will be Guldberg, Carter Hall
LF will be Murray
DH will be English/ Serratos/ Radcliffe/ Miller
The wild card for the offense is Carter Hall because if he is healthy, he makes a huge difference in the lineup with his speed. Does anybody know if he will try to come back next year or has he given up baseball?

The Pitching staff is a huge mystery other than a few guys.
I believe the rotation will be the same as last year (Curry, Thomas, English, and Hurter) with Bartnicki being the fifth option here.

There are 3 tiers in the pen imo. Tier 1 is guys that I trust to come in and get us a win in any situation, tier 2 is guys that should pitch and are capable of getting us a save, but won't necessarily be shutdown pitchers. Tier 3 guys should only be used in blowouts.
Tier 1 in the pen is Archer, Carpenter, Shirah, and whoever doesn't make the rotation (probably Bartnicki)
Tier 2 is probably Winborne (righty specialist), Mannelly (lefty specialist), Brace, Lee, Serratos, Chapman, Olson, Combs.
Tier 3 is any of the other freshmen pitchers, Gibson, and Gooden.
The wild card for the pitching staff is Hughes because he could fall into any tier, but hopefully he will get back on track and become a go to guy out of the pen.
Click to expand...

I still like the idea of English as closer. It's a small sample size but he looked great in the ACC Tourney coming in late. If this season taught us nothing else, it's we've got to focus on having quality at the end of the games and he could certainly stabilize what we've had. Just let him DH and focus on late inning pitching.

That would leave your starters as Curry, Thomas, and Hurter/Bartnicki. Then potentially a bullpen of Archer, Carpenter, Shirah, Winborne, and Hughes as the primary setup men for English (plus whatever returners/freshmen surprise) and you've got the makings of one of the best pitching staffs we've had in years.
 
THWG

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GTJon said:
I still like the idea of English as closer. It's a small sample size but he looked great in the ACC Tourney coming in late. If this season taught us nothing else, it's we've got to focus on having quality at the end of the games and he could certainly stabilize what we've had. Just let him DH and focus on late inning pitching.

That would leave your starters as Curry, Thomas, and Hurter/Bartnicki. Then potentially a bullpen of Archer, Carpenter, Shirah, Winborne, and Hughes as the primary setup men for English (plus whatever returners/freshmen surprise) and you've got the makings of one of the best pitching staffs we've had in years.
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I like English as the closer too, but he is very valuable as a starter and I know that the scouts will be looking at him that way. If Bartnicki can come in and take a starting spot, then I hope that English is the closer. If not, then Carpenter and Archer will probably share closer duties.
 
GtBaseball3

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THWG said:
I like English as the closer too, but he is very valuable as a starter and I know that the scouts will be looking at him that way. If Bartnicki can come in and take a starting spot, then I hope that English is the closer. If not, then Carpenter and Archer will probably share closer duties.
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Yeah, I like English as the closer, with archer/ Carpenter as the setup men. We need a left handed pitcher in the bullpen though. I would love to see shadday (if healthy) or Bartnicki take over that role.
 
THWG

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Atl sports3 said:
Yeah, I like English as the closer, with archer/ Carpenter as the setup men. We need a left handed pitcher in the bullpen though. I would love to see shadday (if healthy) or Bartnicki take over that role.
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We have Mannelly and Shirah. I imagine both of them will make big leaps as sophomores.
 
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