Dodgers: First and Second Round Draft Pick Review

The Dodgers completed the first and second round of the MLB draft on Monday and came away with two pitchers.  The Dodgers’ first-round pick is a hard-throwing high school pitcher and their second-round pick is a pitcher from the college ranks.

The Dodgers currently have a large assortment of talented starting pitchers in their minor league system and on Monday they added two more pitchers to their farm system.  The Dodgers stuck to their MO of taking high school arms or injured college pitchers who have high upside.  With their first-round pick the Dodgers selected J.T. Ginn and with their second round pick, they took another right-hander in Michael Grove.

First Round- J.T. Ginn – RHP 6’1 210 lbs 

The Dodgers selected a high school arm with their first round pick and got the athletic J.T. Ginn out of Brandon High School in Mississippi.  Ginn hit sixteen home runs in his spring season so he is a talented young player.  Ginn throws in the mid to upper 90’s averaging 95-97 miles per hour with his fastball.  He also features a changeup that sits around 84-87 miles per hour and a sharp curveball that sits in the low 80’s.  Ginn’s best off-speed pitch is his slider that will likely lead to him dropping his curve in the pro’s.

In his senior year of high school, Ginn was dominating posting a 0.36 ERA in just under forty innings while posting 78 strikeouts and only nine walks.  Ginn is committed to Mississippi State so the Dodgers will have to pay up to keep Ginn from fulfilling his commitment to Mississippi State.  Ginn projects to be a relief pitcher in the big leagues unless he can refine his secondary pitches most notably his changeup.

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Second Round – Michael Grove – RHP 6’3 200 lbs

The Dodgers used their second-round pick on a college pitcher that didn’t even pitch this year.  Michael Grove of West Virginia University underwent Tommy John surgery and did not pitch in his redshirt junior season.  In his last season at West Virginia, Grove posted a 2.87 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings.  Grove’s strikeout ratio was 62 strikeouts to 15 walks in forty-seven innings of work.  Grove had his TJ surgery in May 2017 so he should be ready to pitch in the minor leagues for next season.

Prior to his surgery, Grove threw in the mid 90’s and had a pretty decent breaking ball.  Given how common Tommy John surgery is nowadays, Grove should be able to return and fit right in as another high upside in the Dodgers system that could’ve been drafted higher if he wasn’t injured.  The Dodgers have made it a habit of drafting pitchers who had Tommy John surgery as they drafted Caleb Ferguson in 2014 out of high school and Walker Buehler in 2015 out of Vanderbilt.  Ferguson had TJ surgery his senior year of high school and the Dodgers drafted Buehler knowing he needed TJ surgery.

Next: Dodgers Quick Hits: Ferguson, 40 man roster, draft

The draft will continue on Tuesday with rounds three to ten and conclude on Wednesday with rounds eleven to forty.  The Dodgers will look to draft the next generation of top prospects and potential stars of the future.