Friday, June 10, 2016

Dodgers Pick Mitchell White in the 2nd Round - Welcome to the Blue!


With their 2nd round pick last night, 65th overall, the Dodgers selected right-handed pitcher Mitchell White.  He is 21-years old, 6' 4" tall and a finance major at Santa Clara University.  White had Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school, and redshirted the next year in Santa Clara.  In 2015 he came out of the bullpen and closed games.  Then became a starter this season.  Per Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider:
He redshirted his true freshman year in 2014 after having Tommy John surgery in 2013. As a redshirt sophomore in 2016, he had a 3.72 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 118 strikeouts in 92 innings. On May 14, he struck out 15 batters and allowed one run in a complete game against the University of Portland.
As for what he throws, per the Baseball Draft Report:
Mitchell White is a redshirt-sophomore with a fastball that dances (87-93 with serious movement), an above-average slider, and an intriguing cutter. On his best days, the three pitches seem to morph into one unhittable to square up offering. I like him a whole heck of a lot right now.
Per a CBS Sports report:
After working out of the bullpen last year, he really shined in the rotation this season, posting an 11.54 K/9 thanks to a low-90s fastball that can touch 96 and an upper-80s cutter. He also offers a curveball and a changeup, but his cutter is his top secondary pitch, which it can take the shape of a hard slider. 
You can follow him on twitter here: @Mitchwhite19.  Here are some other stories worth checking out:
“Kind of a second-half performer this year,” Dodgers amateur scouting director Billy Gasparino said of White. “He was a little slow coming off Tommy John (surgery) two years ago. He was a reliever (as a freshman). Six-four, projectable body up to 95, plus slider. Arm has recovered from the Tommy John.”
In honor of his selection by the Dodgers I decided to make a couple fantasy Baseball cards of him.  For the card on the left I using a photo taken from the Santa Clara Broncos website and the 1983 Topps Baseball card design.  For the card on the right I grabbed another photo taken from Santa Clara Broncos website and the 1971 Topps Baseball card design.

BTW, there's a video of Mitchell White talking about the team's spring break trip to Hawai'i earlier this year and his new role as a starter in 2016.  Watch it below.

YouTube Link:

Here is an excerpt from a Dodgers press release:
In the second round, Los Angeles selected 21-year-old Santa Clara University right-handed pitcher Mitchell White. As a redshirt sophomore in 2016, he has posted a 3-6 record in 15 starts while recording a 3.72 ERA (38 ER/92.0 IP). Rated as the 138th-overall prospect by Baseball America, he led the Broncos in starts (15), innings pitched (92.0), strikeouts (118) and strikeout per nine innings (11.54) this season. The San Jose, CA native was named to the 2015 All-West Coast Conference Freshman Team after finishing the year 3-2 with a 3.62 ERA (13 ER/32.1 IP) and five saves in 29 relief appearances as a redshirt freshman. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound pitcher was scouted by Dodger scout Tom Kunis.

“He was a second half performer this year and went up to 95 late in the year, collecting multiple high strikeout games. He has a plus slider, he is big, he is physical, and we really feel like he is trending up into being a mid-rotation starter,” said Gasparino. 

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

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