In a new feature to The Wolfpacker website, the staff will tackle three questions on a weekly basis tackling several relevant subjects pertaining to NC State athletics.
Here are the three discussions for this week.
What was the biggest surprise from the 2021 MLB Draft?
Justin Williams
Outfielder Devonte Brown not hearing his name called was definitely unexpected, but I was most surprised from how far catcher Luca Tresh fell.
Tresh entered the draft as a consensus top 120 prospect by ESPN, MLB.com and The Athletic. That would typically warrant a selection anywhere from the third to fifth round.
Instead, Tresh didn't hear his name called until the 17th round, when the Kansas City Royal scooped him up.
Now Tresh has a decision to make, and a lot of it will depend how much the Royals organization decides to offer him for a signing bonus.
Had Tresh been picked up in the earlier rounds like the mock drafts suggested, he would have likely warranted a signing bonus three times the amount a 17th round pick will likely receive.
Tresh is a solid defensive catcher that certainly showcased his power by tying Tyler McDonough for a team-high 15 home runs. His batting average of .231 was the lowest among the Pack's starters, however.
Matt Carter
I'll agree with Justin. We noted in the War Room last week that there was some chatter that Tresh's struggles at the plate in the latter part of the season may have affected his stock, but I still thought that one team would take a chance on him, if not in the top five rounds then definitely by the end of day two.
Kansas City Royals assistant scouting director Danny Ontiveros may have explained why he fell best:
“I’m not trying to speak for the 29 other teams, but there might have been some concerns with some of the metrics, maybe, and maybe a concern with some of the signability — I don’t know,” Ontiveros said of Tresh sliding as far as he did.
“We like him, and we think there’s going to be minor mechanical issues with almost every player. It’s being able to try to figure out what you can fix and what’s workable ... So beauty is in the eye of the beholder, they say, and we like this guy and we think there’s still a lot more upside with him.”
