Round 21, Pick 640
Michael Amditis – C – University of Miami
5’11” – 190 lbs – Age: 21
The Indians have had their eye on Amditis for a long time, originally drafting him in the 37th round of the 2016 draft out of Boca Raton Community High School. Now in his third season after being red shirted in his first year, Amditis not only has good contact numbers (18 strike outs in 146 at bats), but has fair on base ability and has begun to develop some power. After just six extra base hits in his first 30 games, he hit seven home runs and six doubles across 45 games in the 2019 season.
Round 22, Pick 670
Austin Pinorini – C – Gonzaga
5’10” – 185 lbs – Age: 22
Pinorini is a graduating senior after spending two years at Bellevue Community College, then two more years with Gonzaga. He has surprising speed for a catcher, shown by his 17 steals his sophomore year and 35 overall in 42 attempts. He also brings a bit of power and OBP as he has posted a .288/.405/.409.
The Indians have shown a very poor ability in selecting catchers (at least prior to 2018) and still appear to be taking the shot gun approach by drafting as many as possible. Pinorini is the third taken in 2019 following Amditis and Will Bartlett (round 9).
Round 23, Pick 700
Chandler Fidel – LHP – University of Arkansas Little Rock
6’5″ – 225 lbs – Age: 21
Fidel has steadily improved after each of his first three seasons at Little Rock. Used primarily at a starter, he has increased his K/9 to 9.13 as a junior while maintaining a walk rate below 3.00. At the same time, hit hit and home run rates have dropped leading to a corresponding decrease in ERA to 3.52 in 94.2 innings.
Round 24, Pick 730
Joab Gonzalez – SS – New Mexico Junior College
5’11” – 175 lbs – Age: 19
Originally from Puerto Rico, Gonzalez has spent the last two seasons at New Mexico JC where he hit .302/.429/.593 as a sophomore. While it’s hard to judge while playing against lesser talent, Gonzalez showed good power and speed during his two college seasons after graduating from the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy. He is considered intelligent and a good defender up the middle.
Round 25, Pick 760
Eric Mock – RHP – Penn State
6’2″ – 220 lbs – Age: 22
Another senior being drafted for the first time, Mock made an incredible leap in production over the last year as he transitioned from reliever to starter. In 66 innings, he struck out 77 with five home runs allowed, leading to both his best strike out and home run rates in three years. He has also greatly improved his control with a decrease in walks and wild pitches during the 2019 season.
Round 26, Pick 790
Armani Sanchez – SS – Ronald Reagan High School (TX)
6’2″ – 175 lbs – Age: 18
After starting out high school heavy (five of the first six picks this year), the Indians went with 13 college players in a row before taking Sanchez in round 26. Sanchez appears to be another defense first middle infielder who is a high contact slap hitter with little power potential. Sanchez is committed to Oklahoma if he doesn’t sign.
Round 27, Pick 820
Landy Pena – SS – Leadership Christian Academy (Puerto Rico)
6’1″ – 280 lbs – Age: 17
Both a second baseman and short stop, Pena was hand picked by Roberto Alomar to participate in a Canadian baseball tournament along with six other young Puerto Rican players. He is considered a good defender. Pena is committed to Indiana State if he doesn’t sign.
Round 28, Pick 850
Serafino Brito – RHP – Rutgers
6’0″ – 200 lbs – Age: 22
Brito has been used as a reliever in the last two seasons for Rutgers after beginning his college career as a starter. As a senior, he should be an easy sign, but none of his peripheral stats seem particularly impressive. He has improved some since moving to the bullpen and his K/9 peaked at 8.43 in 2019 with a career worst 4.6 BB/9 in 47 innings.
Round 29, Pick 880
Nate Ocker – RHP – College of Charleston
6’0″ – 190 lbs – Age: 22
Ocker has been a right handed reliever all four of his seasons at the College of Charleston South Carolina with great results. In 187 innings across four years, he has a 10.24 K/9, 1.81 BB/9 and a 3.00 ERA (2.45 ERA in 2019).
[protected-iframe id=”2dcffbe30964dfa38c2c0c18df4888cd-142507471-107853376″ info=”https://streamable.com/m/2019-draft-jonathan-french-c” width=”560″ height=”315″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen=””]Round 30, Pick 910
Jonathan French – C – Parkview High School (Georgia)
5’11” – 210 lbs – Age: 18
Committed to Clemson and originally ranked 124th among all those entering the 2019 draft, French is an offense first catcher with potential to remain behind the plate. It’s highly unlikely that French will sign, but this could be a situation where the Indians are trying to establish a relationship with the young catcher with the intention of drafting him again in a few years like they did with Amditis.
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