{"id":33230,"date":"2020-06-13T21:17:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-14T01:17:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonbaseball.com\/?p=33230"},"modified":"2020-06-13T21:23:24","modified_gmt":"2020-06-14T01:23:24","slug":"2020-arizona-diamondbacks-draft-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2020\/06\/13\/2020-arizona-diamondbacks-draft-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"2020 Arizona Diamondbacks Draft Recap"},"content":{"rendered":"

2020 Arizona Diamondbacks Draft Recap<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> Draft in 2020 saw them select five players across five rounds. Four were pitchers and one was a third baseman. Three were college players, while two were high school seniors. Here is a look at the five.<\/p>\n

Round One, Pick 18: Bryce Jarvis, RHP, Duke University<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Bryce Jarvis<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 son of retired pitcher Kevin Jarvis<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 is a 6\u20192\u201d, 195-pound pitcher<\/a> from Duke University<\/a>. Diamondbacks Scouting Director Deric Ladnier<\/a><\/strong> said that what caught the team\u2019s attention was his \u201cadvanced ability to use four pitches and ability to pound the strike zone.\u201d Another factor that Ladnier called \u201cquite intriguing\u201d is that Jarvis has \u201calready mastered\u201d skills that the Diamondbacks try to get players to develop when they enter the system. These skills include pitch shape and design as well as \u201ctunneling\u201d \u2013 something that it takes time to learn. The Diamondbacks draft based on ability, of course, but a bonus for Jarvis was that he has the \u201cadvanced approach to pitching, which is going to allow him to advance quickly through our system and, hopefully, impact our major league club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ladnier has known Kevin Jarvis for years, so he got to see Bryce in his high school days. He told Kevin, \u201cI like him, but he\u2019s not where he needs to be. This is the perfect guy that needs to go to college and prove that he\u2019s gonna be something.\u201d Kevin said, \u201cHe\u2019s gonna be something. I promise you, he\u2019s gonna be something.\u201d While Bryce was at Duke, he certainly showed he was \u201cgonna be something,\u201d with his pinnacle achievement being the perfect game he pitched against Cornell on February 21<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bryce is not just talented on the field, but he is also talented scholastically. The mechanical engineering major is someone who is \u201cwired for success,\u201d according to Ladnier. Bryce told reporters on draft night that he will finish his degree. The Diamondbacks are thrilled to have him \u2013 so much so that as their turn in the draft drew close, they were hoping and praying no one else would take him.<\/p>\n

Competitive Balance Round A, 33rd Overall Pick: Slade Cecconi, RHP, University of Miami (Florida)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Slade Cecconi<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 6\u20194\u201d, 219 lbs \u2013 is a right-handed pitcher<\/a> from the University of Miami<\/a> in Florida. When initially asked, Ladnier said, \u201cYeah, I was sweating that one out, too,\u201d regarding whether Cecconi would still be available. He continued, \u201cHe\u2019s got the size and stuff \u2013 a four-pitch mix. (Cecconi) is really <\/em>intelligent.\u201d Although he\u2019s \u201cnot as advanced\u201d in his \u201cability to control the zone\u201d as Jarvis is, \u201che\u2019s an elite strike-thrower.\u201d He\u2019ll need more development in the ability to \u201cutilize his pitches,\u201d something Ladnier hinted could be fixed through gaining more confidence with his third and fourth pitches.<\/p>\n

One area where Cecconi is strong, indicating that he might be able to address pitch confidence quickly, is familiarity he has with the data that the Diamondbacks use with their major- and minor-league players. \u201cHe\u2019s up to par on everything,\u201d Ladnier said. He continued that, like Jarvis, Cecconi is an \u201cadvanced thought-process guy with really good stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Round Three, 90th Overall Pick: Liam Norris, LHP, Green Hope High School, Cary, North Carolina<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Liam Norris<\/a><\/strong>, who stands 6\u20194\u201d and weighs 215 pounds, is a left-handed pitcher from Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina. According to Ladnier, what the team liked about him last summer was the \u201cbody, the arm action, the velocity, and the rotation on the breaking ball.\u201d He said that last summer, Norris\u2019 command and control were \u201cjust ok, but the stuff was there.\u201d Last year, the team pinned him as a guy they \u201cwanted to make sure we saw early,\u201d and, \u201cthankfully, we did.\u201d This year, before the season came to an abrupt halt, his command was \u201ctwo grades better,\u201d his fastball was up to 96, and his breaking ball and changeup were developing.<\/p>\n

What amazed Ladnier in the Zoom call they had with Norris was how advanced his \u201cpitching IQ\u201d was. He understood the aspects that Ladnier mentioned when discussing Jarvis \u2013 pitch shape, pitch design, and tunneling. Because of this, the Diamondbacks selected him and made it a goal to sign him, even though he has already committed to play baseball at the University of North Carolina<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Round Four, 119th Overall Pick: A.J. Vukovich, 3B, East Troy (Wisconsin) High School<\/strong><\/h3>\n

High school senior A.J. Vukovich<\/strong><\/a> is a 6\u20195\u201d, 210-pound third baseman from East Troy High School in East Troy, Wisconsin. He has committed to go to the University of Louisville<\/a>, but his \u201cbody, . . . strength, and athletic ability\u201d were such that the Diamondbacks decided they\u2019d try to lure him away. Ladnier said, \u201cWe see him as a third baseman but the thing about it is he\u2019s so athletic he could probably play anywhere \u2013 probably not to the level of playing up the middle like shortstop or second base.\u201d He continued, \u201cWe like the power, the bat, the speed, the strength, the projection, (and) the body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because Vukovich lives in Wisconsin, the Diamondbacks had to rely on their scouting from last summer. \u201cWe had one report from an area scout at a scrimmage. That was about it.\u201d However, they had \u201c20 different reports from 20 different guys\u201d from his time in the summer. His prowess in another sport also contributed to their opinion of his athletic ability \u2013 he scored over 2,000 points in his high school basketball career. Ladnier concluded, \u201cWe like him at third base. We\u2019ll leave him there,\u201d but added that he\u2019s going to \u201cdevelop and grow\u201d and might \u201cgrow out of that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Round Five, 149th Overall Pick: Brandon Pfaadt, RHP, Bellarmine University<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Brandon Pfaadt<\/a><\/strong>, a pitcher from Bellarmine University<\/a> in Louisville, is 6\u20193\u201d, 220 pounds. Ladnier said their reports on Pfaadt came both from the Cape Cod Summer League and from the shortened Spring of 2020. His fastball is \u201cup to 96,\u201d going with a \u201cplus curveball, feel for a changeup, (and a) really good delivery.\u201d Pfaadt is a \u201cbig, strong, durable guy that we felt had upside as a starter like Liam Norris. To get him where we got him, we were pleased. We had really good reports on him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outlook<\/strong><\/h3>\n

At first glance, many would assume that the Diamondbacks went into the draft with a heavy focus on pitching, but that is not true. Both Hazen and Ladnier relayed to reporters in post-draft interviews that the organization had a \u201cbest guy available\u201d strategy. The Diamondbacks draft team crossed a player off their board \u2013 one that was filled with both pitchers and position players \u2013 whenever a team picked him. When the Diamondbacks got their turn, the top guy on their board who hadn\u2019t been picked yet just so happened to be a pitcher four of the five times.<\/p>\n

The next step in building the organization is signing the undrafted free agents. This is a tremendous unknown, but Ladnier thinks \u201cit\u2019s going to be crazy. Every team is going to be calling similar people. Ultimately, they\u2019ll make a decision to sign, and if they have 10 clubs that are interested,\u201d the player will have to make a decision. Ladnier likened the process to recruiting. He added that they\u2019ll only go after guys whom they feel are definite prospects and not borderline guys.<\/p>\n

The big question now \u2013 one that will remain after the undrafted free agent signing process \u2013 is what to do with these prospects from a developmental standpoint. If they don\u2019t play, they regress. The minor leagues have been in a holding pattern since March. Serious doubt persists as to their ability to play at all in 2020. Ladnier said he\u2019d like to see some type of instructional league or leagues show up as soon as possible, but he doesn\u2019t know when that will be. This must be resolved soon since the players are all eager to get to work on the next phase of their baseball careers.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>