2014 Supplemental First Round Pick: Alex Blandino

[RED VAN HOT]

Two points:
Building on an earlier Pepper Jack post, the game is cyclical; it is always changing. It went from power bats to power arms. Teams now have multiple high 90's arm coming out of the pen. High contact guys that can hit 20-25 HR's are becoming more valuable.

High ceiling guys are very important, but they are high risk also. A team must come away from every draft with 2-3 major league players. There is a need to balance risk with some safe choices. To me, Howard was taken because the Reds believed he could be a starter and reach the majors in a relatively short period.
There is risk there. Still, fall back is a top bullpen arm. Sparks is high risk/high reward. Awesome power with a lot of swing and miss in his game. Sandwiched between these picks is Blandino, a relatively safe pick who profiles as an offensive minded second baseman. I think you need to look at all three picks together.

[malcontent]

nm

[Gallen5862]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

Reds To Sign Alex Blandino

By Steve Adams [June 19, 2014 at 5:44pm CDT]

The Reds have agreed to terms with first-round selection Alex Blandino, reports Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (on Twitter). Blandino, the 29th overall selection, will receive the full slot value of $1.788MM, according to Mayo.

The Stanford third baseman ranked 52nd on the Top 200 draft prospects list compiled by Mayo and his colleague, Jim Callis. ESPN’s Keith Law was a bigger fan and ranked Blandino 39th on the final edition of his Top 100, and Baseball America liked him even more, pegging Blandino at No. 30 on their pre-draft Top 500.

In his Junior season for the Cardinals, Blandino hit .310/.397/.531 with 12 homers, 14 doubles and a pair of steals. He was drafted by the A’s back in 2011 (in the 38th round) but he instead elected to attend college. Clearly, that decision paid off in the short-term, from a financial standpoint.

BA praised his bat speed and quick wrists, noting that he stays inside the ball well but at times “sells out trying to generate home run power.” BA feels that his power may end up being merely average and suggests that a move to second base makes sense, as his bat will play better there. Law agrees that a move to second is possible due to his bat, but thinks Blandino can handle the hot corner defensively. Mayo and Callis praise his plate discipline and ability to hit the ball to all fields, though they, too, note that a move to second seems likely.

Blandino was one of two first-round picks for Cincinnati, who also selected Virgina righty Nick Howard with the No. 19 overall selection. The Reds received the No. 29 overall selection as compensation for losing Shin-Soo Choo to free agency. Blandino’s agreement means that 25 of the 34 first-round selections in this year’s draft have signed or agreed to terms.

[wastedtime]

Is it safe to assume Blandino is going to Billings?

[Edd Roush]

Blandino is now slashing .304/.414/.543 in his first 111 PAs in Billings. Clearly, he is off to a good start at the plate. Has anyone heard anything about his defense? How is he looking at short? Could he stick there in the bigs? If Blandino is a legit SS prospect, he becomes very interesting.

[fearofpopvol1]

Blandino is now slashing .304/.414/.543 in his first 111 PAs in Billings. Clearly, he is off to a good start at the plate. Has anyone heard anything about his defense? How is he looking at short? Could he stick there in the bigs? If Blandino is a legit SS prospect, he becomes very interesting.

It's still very early obviously, but he's looking less and less like a reach at where he was picked. Even if he can't play SS, I'd take that kind of output at 2B to eventually replace Phillips all day.

[Rojo]

It's still very early obviously, but he's looking less and less like a reach at where he was picked. Even if he can't play SS, I'd take that kind of output at 2B to eventually replace Phillips all day.

Yep, I'm not complaining. But it is the Pioneer League, where Gary Redus hit over .400.

The reports were that Blandino wouldn't stay at short and might be a pedestrian glove at 3rd or 2nd. That was my problem with the pick -- that he might be a tweener.

My guess is that we're look at a Matt Carpenter ceiling.

[mdccclxix]

Here is his player page at mlbfarm.com. It shows his hit locations and a bunch of other cool stuff: http://mlbfarm.com/player.php?player...68&position=DH

[Tom Servo]

I'm very curious as to what the timeline plan is for Blandino. In his first pro season Frazier started in Billings and finished in Dayton, wonder if that is what we will see with Blandino.

[dougdirt]

I'm very curious as to what the timeline plan is for Blandino. In his first pro season Frazier started in Billings and finished in Dayton, wonder if that is what we will see with Blandino.

I would doubt it simply because they want him at shortstop and they aren't going to just move Carlton Daal off of the spot for a few week call up. I would expect him to finish out the season in Billings, then depending on what the Reds want to do with him re: shortstop, it will probably determine where he winds up. If he is going into 2015 as a shortstop, he will be wherever Daal isn't among the A-ball levels. If he is going to be at second base, there's not someone standing in his way at either level.

[fearofpopvol1]

Yep, I'm not complaining. But it is the Pioneer League, where Gary Redus hit over .400.

The reports were that Blandino wouldn't stay at short and might be a pedestrian glove at 3rd or 2nd. That was my problem with the pick -- that he might be a tweener.

My guess is that we're look at a Matt Carpenter ceiling.

True. Perhaps the Lohman pick jaded me and the fact that Blandino seems to be several cuts above him has me optimistic.

[powersackers]

I didn't like the pick, but am warming up to it. Dick Schofield is helping him re-adjust to SS and he "shows range, quickness and arm strength there"

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp..._milb&sid=milb

[Tom Servo]

We should talk about Blandino more! He's overshadowed by teammate Ervin, but he's been hammering Florida State League pitching as well.


And I'd forgotten how much gnashing of teeth there was last year!

[RedlegJake]

2015 Daytona 3 HR .288/.370/.488/.857 80 ABs
Minors Career 11 HR .284/.368/.481/.849 324 ABs

That's consistency. Has hit well at every level, raked at Billings, as he should have, and is rocking the FSL, a much more difficult league for hitters, plus, he is holding his own at SS. Every "safe" pick should do so well....and maybe the Reds should look a bit more at "safe" picks. Leake, Lively (traded, of course), Blandino, Howard, even Ervin was considered a bit of a safe pick, as was Lorenzen - seem to be doing much better than the high ceiling picks.

Thanks Doug

[dougdirt]

*raked at Billings*