KC Royals: Notable picks by divisional opponents in 2019 MLB Draft
By Cullen Jekel
Cleveland Indians
Round 1, Pick No. 23: Daniel Espino, Right-handed Pitcher, Georgia Premier Academy (Ga.)
The Indians really bucked the trend that the Royals, White Sox, Tigers and Twins all followed. While Cleveland, like every A.L. Central team save for Chicago, picked a high school player in the first round, the Indians kept taking high school players. All four of the Indians’ first four selections were out of the high school ranks, as were six out of their first ten picks.
Overall, the Indians selected 13 high school players in this year’s draft, the first of them being fireballer Daniel Espino, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound 18-year-old out of Georgia Premier Academy.
We have signed 32 draft picks including our first round selection, Daniel Espino.
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 14, 2019
Here is a clip of Espino registering high 90s on his fastball ... On the last pitch in the clip, Daniel's heater registered 123 (probably).https://t.co/y4biVqxnVJ#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/vHO7ICCGFf
Espino’s calling card is his fastball, which rates as a 70 according to MLB Pipeline. However, he has some control issues, as his control only comes in at 50. And though there isn’t anything specific in Espino’s history to indicate this, as a young flamethrower he could be at risk for future arm problems.
In the eighth round of the draft, Cleveland selected Will Brennan, a left-handed center fielder out of Kansas State. Brennan, a junior, then signed for just under $164,000. Just by looking at his stats while playing in Manhattan, Brennan is by no means a power threat, but certainly has speed, a keen eye, and some gap power.
In three years with the Wildcats, he hit 34 doubles while stealing 40 bases in 49 attempts as he walked 92 times compared to just 35 strikeouts. In what will be his last year in college, he slashed .291/.369/.417, which is incredibly solid–and also Brennan’s worst collegiate slash line.