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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD
Posted Sun, Jul 11 5:19 pm
Congrats to Bruin SS Matt McLain, who was taken #17 overall in the MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. McLain has two years of eligibility remaining, so he has the option of returning to school if he thinks he can bump up his draft value further. But, he was already taken #25 in the 2018 MLB Draft and opted to attend UCLA.

https://www.mlb.com/draft/tracker

The difference in the slot value between #18 and #25 in this year's draft is $870k (presumably that slot value was lower back in 2018), so McLain's time in Westwood will likely pay off quite well. In the meantime, he developed into an All-American at UCLA after a shaky freshman season.

No other Bruins are expected to go in the 1st Round, but quite a few will likely get their name called before the MLB Draft concludes.

This year's draft schedule coincided with the MLB All-Star Game instead of taking place during the College World Series. It's better in that it does not disrupt the NCAA postseason, but it also screws up the collegiate recruiting season even more by pushing the signings into August. Coach Savage won't know until then just who will return to Westwood next season.

In past years, third year players had the most contract negotiating leverage because they had the option of returning to school rather than going pro. However, this year's draftees have an extra year of eligibility, so they can come back for a 4th year and still retain their negotiating leverage for next year's draft. Something to watch for the players that drop down in the 3rd Round or below.

As far as McLain's concerned, I doubt he will turn down MLB for a second time. His slot value is $3.6M, and the ESPN and MLB Network anchors are noting that this year's draft will likely see higher signing bonuses for a lot of the 1st Rounders, and money gets moved up from the lower round players.
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UclanDoIt
Joined: 1/13/14 Posts: 3,917

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Start of uncertainty for college baseball teams like UCLA
Posted Sun, Jul 11 9:09 pm
In response to Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD (Woochifer)
The bigger issue for UCLA baseball (as with all college teams) is how many committed recruits bypass college to sign a major league contract. Eligible players like McLain who are drafted early are likely to leave for MLB since they have already spent several years playing college ball.

Woochifer, any thoughts about other draft eligible UCLA players like Pettway? I imagine their decisions would be impacted by their draft position.
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MarkLA
Joined: 12/06/11 Posts: 2,850
Jump likely targeted today
Posted Mon, Jul 12 7:36 am
In response to Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD (Woochifer)
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/2021-mlb-draft-best-available-players-for-round-2-including-a-nebraska-two-way-player-and-top-high-schoolers/amp/

Was this the first time in a long time UCLA hasn't had an incoming recruit drafted in the 1st round?
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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
BB: Toglia crushes 446' bomb at MLB All-Star Futures Game
Posted Mon, Jul 12 8:41 am
In response to Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD (Woochifer)
Speaking of Michael Toglia, expect him to make the jump to the majors soon, even though he's still playing single-A ball. He was selected to play in the MLB All-Star Futures game last night at Coors Field (one of the leadoff events heading into Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game), and crushed a 446-foot two-run homer on his first swing.

https://www.mlb.com/rockies/video/michael-toglia-s-two-run-homer

Toglia's in the Rockies farm system and currently rated as their #3 minor league prospect. He currently leads the league in homers, though he's only batting .229. He certainly made a case for himself at his presumptive future MLB home field.

https://www.denverpost.com/2021/07/11/michael-toglia-rockies-all-star-futures-game/

Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
Bruin recruits announcing they will bypass MLB Draft
Posted Mon, Jul 12 9:59 am
In response to Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD (Woochifer)
I just checked the 24/7 board, and it looks like Baseball America reported that Cody Shirer and Nick McLain have informed MLB teams that they are taking themselves out of the draft pool in order to attend UCLA. Shirer is projected by MLB.com as a 2nd Round draft pick. McLain has been moving up the draft boards and projected as a 3rd or 4th Round pick. Nothing to stop teams from still drafting them, but the likelihood of attending college does factor into the draft position. And if McLain and/or Shirer fall into the later rounds, then the chances of them going pro go from low to near nil.

Someone on the 24/7 board also indicated that pitcher Thatcher Hurd announced on Twitter a few days ago that he would also remove himself from the MLB Draft. Hurd is the top rated high school RHP in California, and he went to Mira Costa HS, where he played baseball on the same team with his future Bruin teammates Kyle and Jared Karros. Here's his tweet.

https://twitter.com/ThatcherHurd/status/1412904155518160898


So, it looks like LHP Gage Jump and OF Malakhi Knight are the highest rated Bruin signees still in the MLB Draft pool. Jump is a projected 2nd Round pick, while Knight is a 3rd or 4th Round pick.

Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
Baseball: alum Eric Filia headed to Tokyo Olympics
Posted Mon, Jul 12 11:09 am
In response to Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD (Woochifer)
Eric Filia was one of the key spark plugs on UCLA's 2013 national championship team. He played with abandon and seemed to go full speed on every play. He also gained notoriety and somewhat of a cult following for his outgoing personality and the inordinate amount of TV time that his girlfriend got on ESPN during the College World Series.

Since then, his baseball career has gone in fits and starts with injuries, a season-long suspension for plagiarism, and multiple drug suspensions in the minors. And then last season got cancelled because of COVID. He plays AAA ball for the Tacoma Rainiers, and has yet to receive a MLB callup. He's also now a father of five (IIRC, he was already a dad at UCLA).

https://www.king5.com/article/sports/olympics/olympic-dreams-mariners-outfielder-eric-filia-to-play-for-team-usa-at-tokyo-olympics/281-9256d33c-abc6-4cd8-8436-83268d031cbc

But, through all that, Filia got the call up for the US national team and helped Team USA qualify for the Olympic baseball tournament back in June. And he's now headed to Tokyo as an Olympian. Filia is the 1st Bruin baseball player selected to the Olympic team since Troy Glaus and Jim Parque in 1996.

https://uclabruins.com/news/2021/7/2/baseball-filia-selected-to-team-usa-for-tokyo-olympics.aspx

Colt Seavers
Joined: 6/05/14 Posts: 241
Schwartz and Nastrini selected in the 4th round
Posted Mon, Jul 12 2:52 pm
In response to Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD (Woochifer)
Kendall goes in the 7th and Cardenas in the 8th. Knight and Jump are still on the board which bodes well for their arrival in Westwood.
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MarkLA
Joined: 12/06/11 Posts: 2,850
Many thanks for the play by play and analyses! (NM)
Posted Mon, Jul 12 6:46 pm
In response to Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD (Woochifer)
Go Bruins!

Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,123
More Bruins taken on final day of MLB Draft
Posted Tue, Jul 13 11:30 am (Edited Tue, Jul 13 11:47 am)
In response to Baseball: Matt McLain selected 17th in MLB Draft 1st RD (Woochifer)
This is now where things get interesting!

Bergin (Marlins) and Mullen (Rays) were both drafted in the 11th Round, which has no signing bonus slot value. They might still get signing bonus money, especially since they have the negotiating leverage of being able to opt out and return to UCLA next season. But, that would mean pulling the bonus pool money away from other players that those teams drafted in the earlier rounds.

With both players, they could well return to UCLA and try to move up in next year's draft.

The other Bruin players drafted in the final rounds include seniors Adrian Chaidez (15th RD, Astros), Mikey Perez (son of softball coach Kelly Inouye, 15th RD, Twins), and Zach Pettway (16th RD, Indians). Seniors Cuellar, Mora, and Townsend were not drafted. All of them have another year of eligibility, but would not have negotiating leverage next year. I do not expect any of them back at UCLA next season.

The draft-eligible juniors not taken include Jake Moberg, Pat Caulfield, Jack Filby, and Jake Saum. I expect all of them back.

Depending on what happens with Bergin and Mullen, it looks like the Bruins will have to rebuild their entire weekend starting rotation. They'll also need to find a new cleanup hitter (I don't expect JT Schwartz to come back) and starting catcher (Cardenas could elevate his draft stock if he improves his hitting, but he's not a power hitter and that could limit his upside). Much of the Bruins' run production might not come back. Looks like another potential rebuild like in 2020. But, that 2020 team went beyond all preseason expectations (only to see the 2021 team fall short).

I haven't checked to see which recruits were drafted. I don't expect any of the late rounders to go pro, since once you dip into the 11th Round and below, a UCLA scholarship becomes the better financial play.

On that note, UCLA recruit Gage Jump was drafted by the Padres in the 18th Round. The LAT's Eric Sondheimer tweeted that Jump was the best prep pitcher in CA bar none. He's the Bruins' highest rated recruit, but it could also be the case that teams didn't think he was signable, so they didn't want to use a draft pick. He was also viewed as undersized, and teams might not have wanted to use a high slot value draft pick on a player that still needs to develop arm strength.
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