Dreamcast 113: “Halftime”

I did no research on the Draft so don’t expect much talk in this episode about that (dying laughing)

Fun pick in round 4, Kaleb Wing

Back in 2001, Ryan Wing was a second-round pick of the Chicago White Sox out of Riverside City College, a two-year school outside of Los Angeles. The left-handed pitcher spent seven seasons in pro ball, topping out at the Triple-A level in the A’s organization. Now it’s his son Kaleb’s turn as a two-way player from the northern California high school ranks, a defensive-minded shortstop who appeared to be turning a corner this spring as a right-hander with an uptick in stuff, allowing him to move up boards. Wing doesn’t have a ton of history on the mound, but appeared to be figuring things out in a hurry during his senior season. The athletic 6-foot-2 righty made the Area Code Games as a backup arm and was mostly around 88-90 mph with a big loopy overhand curve. This spring he came out of the gate showing a fastball up to 95 mph and hasn’t backed off from those gains. His curve now flashes plus as a power breaker with depth, and his changeup is developing into a solid third offering. Wing’s athleticism helps him repeat his delivery and find the strike zone consistently. There’s a little concern about how much strength he’ll be able to add to his narrow frame, but the uptick in stuff across the board could have teams interested in signing him away from his commitment to Loyola Marymount, where he had originally planned to both pitch and hit.

Lots of former or prospective two-way type guys in this draft, this here is Kade Snell in the 5th

Recruited by Auburn as a left-handed pitcher, Snell redshirted while dealing with injuries in 2021 before transferring to Wallace-Dothan (Ala.) CC and starring as a two-way player. The national junior college player of the year in 2023, he played both ways at Alabama in 2024 before becoming a full-time left field this spring. He’s one of the more attractive discount hitters available as a Southeastern Conference performer with intriguing data and also no college eligibility remaining. Snell offers one of the better combinations of swing decisions, contact and exit velocities in the college ranks. He has a quality left-handed stroke, rarely misses a fastball while handling all types of pitches and drives the ball to all fields. While he’s a hit-over-power guy, he has enough strength to provide 15 homers per year and perhaps more if he learns to lift balls in the air more regularly. While Snell will flash close to average speed at his best, he’s more of a below-average runner with limited range in left field. He has an average arm and topped out at 93 mph with his fastball as a redshirt junior. Scouts love his competitiveness and leadership, and his all-star summer with wood bats in the Cape Cod League in 2023 is another point in his favor.

Round 6 build-a-player, Josiah Hartshorn

California’s Orange Lutheran High School has had three first-round picks over the years, most recently Mikey Romero in 2022. OLu’s best player in the 2025 class is Hartshorn, who isn’t in first-round conversations yet, but certainly raised his profile by showing off some serious offensive upside on the summer showcase circuit and continuing to post during his senior season. When healthy, Hartshorn is a talented switch-hitter with ability from both sides of the plate. A left-handed thrower, he actually hit only right-handed for nearly all of his first three years in high school because an issue in his left elbow made it hard for him to swing lefty. But then a back issue made hitting right-handed, a more consistent and easier swing, too difficult near the end of his junior season, so he brought the lefty swing back. It was clunky at first, but while you don’t want to put too much stock in a home run derby, the fact he found his lefty swing enough to share in the MLB High School Derby win was impressive. He’s back to hitting from both sides now, with a solid overall approach and some feel for it, an understanding of the zone and raw power he can get to from either side. It will largely be the run-producing potential of Hartshorn’s bat that will get him drafted, though he was moving around better than expected in the outfield during his senior season. He moves well for someone his size with a little sneaky speed, with more conviction he can handle an outfield corner, even though his arm that used to throw up to 94 mph off the mound is still coming back from that elbow issue. The good news is his offensive profile could be impressive enough for the Texas A&M recruit to go in the first three rounds.

Cubs gonna replace all the OFs they trade, as is the theory now (dying laughing)

Draft break, here’s PCA love

7th round pitcher, not sure if he also makes movies

Coppola is a huge left-hander who was a top prep prospect hailing from Verona High School in New Jersey ahead of the 2021 Draft, but he opted to head to Florida. The 6-foot-8 southpaw has had trouble staying healthy, with back and shoulder issues limiting him to just one appearance in 2022 and ‘23 combined. He threw just under 50 innings total, but he has shown glimpses of a fastball that can touch the mid 90s and has flashed an above-average slider at times, though it all comes with that lengthy medical history.

8th rounder another pitcher, Jake Knapp

Knapp redshirted at UNC Wilmington to begin his college career in 2020, then spent the next two years at Walters State (Tenn.) CC, tying for the national junior college lead with 14 wins as a sophomore. He had middling success after transferring to North Carolina in ‘23 before missing all of last season following Tommy John surgery. He returned this spring to win Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year accolades, going 14-0 to lead NCAA Division I in victories and tie a school record. He also ranked third in D-I in WHIP (0.83) and fourth in ERA (2.02). Teams aren’t quite sure what to make of Knapp because he turns 25 a month after the Draft and comes with a 6-foot-5, 270-pound frame. He’s a workhorse who ranges from 91-97 with nifty induced vertical break on his fastball, but his low-80s changeup is just average and his low-80s slider is fringy. He pounds the zone, especially with his heater, and has impressive mound presence.

Another guy I never heard of, which is the norm for the draft

Anyway, 9th round pitcher, Colton Book

A 6-foot-4 lefty who spent his first three college seasons at Stony Brook in New York, redshirting in 2023, Book transferred to St. Joseph’s for his junior year and promptly earned Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year honors after finishing with a 3.53 ERA, 12.7 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9 rates and a .208 batting average against. He’s a pitchability left-hander who has a 86-90 mph fastball that plays up (32 percent miss rate), a 79-80 mph slider and some feel for a low-80s changeup.

Oooh a catcher in round 10, Justin Stransky

After two years at Lower Columbia College, Stransky moved on to catch at Fresno State for two years and was a Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Year semifinalist. He’s an excellent athlete behind the dish with a lean frame and long levers. He has good arm strength and speed while showing durability by catching nearly every game for the Bulldogs. He finished with double digits in home runs and stolen bases in 2025 while making a ton of contact (8.4 percent K rate) and walking more than he struck out, and he could be an intriguing senior sign.

11th round is Eli Jerzembeck, a pitcher who has no write up, I guess he went to South Carolina

Rays sale!

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/07/stuart-sternberg-has-agreed-to-sell-rays-to-patrick-zalupski-deal-expected-to-be-final-by-september.html

Round 12, Connor Spencer, pitcher from Ole Miss

Round 13, another pitcher, this time Nate Williams from Mississippi State

Nolan Ryan wasn’t just a landmine, he was a tactical nuke

⚾️ Immaculate Grid 834 9/9:
Rarity: 61
IMMACULATE!
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Play at:
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Round 14, a high school pitcher from Oklahoma this time, Kaemyn Franklin

That name is a Tragedeigh

At least this was easy

Daily Walkoff ⚾️
Cubs #318

“HR Derby”
🟢🟢🟢🟢🚀

dailywalkoff.com

Round 15, Noah Edders, pitcher from Troy U

Round 16 (the tracker is frozen but folks be saying this) is Riely Hunsaker, another pitcher from a college I don’t know but apparently he works out at Tread and that has obvious Cubs ties

I’m just here to break up RC‘s streak

andcounting,

I’m just here so I don’t get fined.

Daily Walkoff ⚾️
Cubs #318

“HR Derby”
🟢🟢🟢🟢🚀

dailywalkoff.com

Round 17, Logan Poteet, catcher from UNC Charlotte

See, the Cubs had to trade Bellinger to save some money to then sign a Poteet after getting rid of the other Poteet

Round 18, another pitcher, Connor Knox from George Mason

Round 19, Caleb Barnett, a high school 3B

There will be 615 total selections by the time the Dodgers pick last, but the Cubs have their 20

Round 20, Freddy Rodriguez from U Hawaii, apparently a pitcher as well

Good work everyone, congrats and good luck

The rundown

https://www.mlb.com/draft/tracker/2025/all/team/cubs

Home Run Derby is imminent

These intros take too long grumble

The modified rules are interesting

Whoever picked Caminero might win the OV pool

Whoever picked Cruz might not be an idiot

New shit https://www.obstructedview.net/pre-trade-deadline-priorities-and-mid-season-scrap-heap-check-in/

This kid gonna have stories for years (dying laughing)

HR ROBBERY AT THE DERBY 😱

This kid made an incredible catch, but it was still counted as a home run 😳 pic.twitter.com/FBUidQteXi

— ESPN (@espn) July 15, 2025