Michigan Baseball: Preview of 2015 MLB Draft

Submitted by Raoul on

The 2015 MLB Draft will be held Monday (rounds 1 & 2), Tuesday (3-10), and Wednesday (11-40). Here's a preview from a Michigan perspective, covering both current players and members of the 2015 recruiting class.

Three of Michigan's top juniors—Jacob Cronenworth, Evan Hill, and Travis Maezes—are expected to be drafted. On his appearance last week on WTKA, Wolverine head coach Erik Bakich said that it's looking like Cronenworth and Maezes will be drafted on day 2 and Hill on day 3, and he's anticipating that all three will sign. Baseball America's top 500 for the draft has Cronenworth at #194, Maezes at #376, and Hill at #381. The only senior that Bakich mentioned as a possible draftee was Jackson Glines. He might go late on day 2 or on day 3. (Note on Cronenworth, a two-way player at Michigan: he's likely to be drafted as a pitcher.)

With the first two recruiting classes he put together at Michigan, Bakich had the fortune to not lose any of his recruits to the draft. This year, two players in particular have been garnering draft buzz. First, here are the 11 Michigan signees or commits that I'm aware of.

Jack Bredeson — 6-6 RHP/3B, Arrowhead HS (Hartland, WI)

Andrew David — 5-10 SS/2B, Massillon Washington HS (OH)

Charlie Donovan — 5-11 SS/2B, Westmont HS (IL)

Jonathan Engelmann — 6-4 OF, Burlingame HS (CA)

George Hewitt — 6-3 3B/MIF, Salisbury School (CT); hometown: Brooklyn, NY

Ricky Karcher — 6-4 RHP, Saline HS (MI)

Ben Keizer — 6-2 LHP, Portage Northern HS (MI)

Troy Miller — 6-3 RHP, Soquel HS (CA)

Joe Pace — 6-0 OF/2B, Notre Dame HS (Sherman Oaks, CA)

Ako Thomas — 5-9 2B/SS, Mount Carmel HS (Chicago, IL)

Will Tribucher — 6-2 LHP, San Clemente HS (CA)

Note that Bakich said last week on WTKA that the class actually includes 13 players—5 pitchers and 8 fielders—so there are 2 I'm unaware of. It's clear that the California pipeline continues to be tapped, and in fact Bakich said that 5 of the 13 are from that state. (It wouldn't be surprising if the missing California commit is a juco, following in the footsteps of Glines and Cody Bruder.)

Back to the draft: Jonathan Engelmann seems to be the member of the class most likely to be drafted and sign with an MLB club. Baseball America has him at #253. He also appears in MLB's Draft Tracker, with this comment:

A former infielder who outgrew the dirt and moved to a corner outfield spot, Engelmann is a strong athletic high school hitter with some tools you can dream on. The University of Michigan commit is still growing and getting stronger, learning to use his 6-foot-4 frame to its fullest potential. An aggressive hitter at the plate, there is still work to be done on Engelmann's mechanics and timing. But he is able to make loud contact and there is plenty of raw power for the right-handed hitter to tap into. Engelmann is an average runner with enough arm to be an athletic right fielder in the future, though he might play center field should he go on to play for the Wolverines. Engelmann is very much potential over performance right now, but his high upside is bound to draw interest.

Charlie Donovan is the other one with significant draft buzz, coming in at #405 on Perfect Game's draft ranking. Prep Baseball Report (see under "Comments"), which has him ranked #16 in the 2015 class in their overall rankings (covering about two dozen states), is more bullish on him, calling him (see under "Comments") a "top three–round talent" and that he's a "likely early round pick in next month’s MLB Draft, signability put aside." According to Big Ten blogger Chris Webb, Donovan recently worked out for the White Sox, but Webb thinks Donovan will end up at Michigan.

Troy Miller is another one to keep an eye on. He's listed in the MLB Draft Tracker, although less prominently than Engelmann and Donovan. Overall, it should be an interesting few days of draft watching.

Comments

Raoul

June 7th, 2015 at 11:21 PM ^

I had one other note, but this post turned out longer than I had intended, so I'll mention it here: If three or more current Michigan players end up getting drafted, that will be the most since 2010, when five Wolverines were drafted (see mgoblue.com list of Michigan draftees). That's certainly another sign of the turnaround of Michigan baseball since Bakich's arrival (although, to be fair, Cronenworth, Hill, and Maezes were all recruited to U-M by Bakich's predecessor). And looking toward next year's junior class (who are Bakich's recruits), there are likely several potential draftees for 2016, including Brett Adcock, Carmen Benedetti, Keith Lehmann, and Johnny Slater.

In reply to by JOHNNAVARREISMYHERO

Raoul

June 8th, 2015 at 8:09 AM ^

although it might better be said that he "hopes" to play both. Found this in an article from last month.

In February, he signed to play football at Michigan with new head coach Jim Harbaugh. His hope is to continue to be a two-sport athlete in college.

“Michigan was my first love,” David said. “The baseball staff there is a great group of guys. My scholarship there is for football, though, and I think there is a really big upside for me there as a kicker. I love both sports and I don’t want to give up either. I’m hoping we can work something out.”

David will need the permission of the football staff to play baseball for the Wolverines next spring.

One thing I probably should have pointed out in the OP is that I have no idea if David is included among the 13 players that Bakich said are in the 2015 recruiting class.

Raoul

June 8th, 2015 at 8:45 AM ^

Found a top 200 for the draft posted at MLB.com. It includes:

  • #156 Travis Maezes
  • #164 Jacob Cronenworth
  • #190 Jonathan Engelmann

So another indication that Engelmann might get drafted high enough to sign, although it's interesting that Perfect Game doesn't have him in their top 500 for the draft.

Raoul

June 8th, 2015 at 2:28 PM ^

I'm not sure what's going on with him. He's no longer listed on the football roster, and although he's still on the baseball roster, he wasn't with the team during the NCAA Regional. By that time, he had already joined his summer baseball team, the Wisconsin Woodchucks, hitting a grand slam during one game that weekend. But on his Twitter page, he still calls himself a "Michigan student-athlete."

EDIT: This doesn't answer your question either, but it seems to point more in the direction of him not returning next year: The first summer baseball update has been posted on mgoblue.com, and there's no mention of Romano.

Wolverine Devotee

June 8th, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^

Sigh. Cronenworth would be a big loss.

2 questions-
1) could Hewitt be the grandson of 30s Football End Bill Hewitt?

2) why did you block me on twitter? I like your posts/tweets about WBB/Baseball. Just curious.

Raoul

June 8th, 2015 at 2:28 PM ^

Highly unlikely those Hewitts are related. George Hewitt is African American. He's the younger brother of Anthony Hewitt, who was a first-round draft pick of the Phillies in 2008 and has been in the minors ever since.

I don't know why I need to justify to you what I do with my personal Twitter account. But as I recall, you posted some nasty stuff on Twitter (and here too, actually). Actions have consequences.

Wolverine Devotee

June 8th, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^

It was 3 years ago when I was 17 & a junior in high school and it was still before people knew how old I really was on here before I came out and said it maybe a year later.

I was sent to Bolivia for it. I've grown up since then and have mentioned here before that I'm proud of myself for growing up and realizing how immature and embarrassing my posts used to be around here. And that maturation process hasn't gone unnoticed by the mod that did send me to Bolivia.

 

 

 

WMUgoblue

June 9th, 2015 at 4:22 PM ^

Cronenberg just got taken in the 7th round by the Tampa Bay Rays, that pick has a slot bonus of $201,400. As it appears Jake is going to have a tough decision ahead of him.

Raoul

June 9th, 2015 at 4:29 PM ^

Seniors have little leverage to negotiate, so it's highly likely that he'll sign.

It's also interesting that many people arae commenting that the Rays announced him as a second basemen, when most projected him as a pitcher at the next level.