Are Padres Planning on Taking Matthew Liberatore in Upcoming Draft?
The San Diego Padres, after a 71-91 record in 2017, earned themselves a spot at number seven in the 2018 MLB Draft, and with it, a chance to find perhaps the next great Padres player.
While many players have been connected to San Diego, there are rumblings that prep left-hander Matthew Liberatore could be selected at the seventh spot, with Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo having the Padres selecting him at number seven. In the latest EVT Podcast, Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs said that the Padres were heavily scouting the Mountain Ridge star.
So, in preparation for the upcoming draft, who is this left-handed pitcher that has so many hailing him as the top high school arm of the year?
Liberatore is an 18-year old left-handed pitcher who is currently committed to Arizona, but is sure to reconsider if he is selected in the first round. He has posted video-game like numbers in his senior season, posting a 0.93 ERA while walking 18 batters and striking out a mere 104 batters in 60 1/3 innings. He has allowed 18 runs to score in his 10 appearances, but only eight of those were earned runs.
Advanced strikeout ratios are hard to come by for high school players, but by conducting some simple math, one can discover just how wild his strikeout to walk ratios. Liberatore has posted a 15.57 K/9 rate as well as a 3.74 BB/9 rate, while his K% and BB% ratio adds up to be a 44% and 11%, respectively. Pair these along with his 4.16 K/BB ratio, and you have a pitcher who could start racking up strikeouts like a video game once he is pitching for a pro team.
Liberatore does this with a fastball that averages around 88-94 that has peaked at 97, a slow curveball with good tilt, a change up that has the potential to be a plus pitch, and a fringe slider. Liberatore has been said to have made a few mechanical adjustments to help make his stuff better on the mound and the 6-foot-5 left-hander still has a few more years of growing left before he fully matures.
The Padres have been said to be heavily scouting the young Liberatore, as Logan White has been seen at his last few starts. With A.J. Preller’s penchant for drafting young left-handed arms like MacKenzie Gore and Eric Lauer, Liberatore would seem to be right up his alley. The slot value of the pick is at $5,226,500 so the Padres have some room to negotiate, but they also need to keep in mind of their own pool of $10,462,220.
@longenhagen informed Patrick and I that the #Padres were heavily scouting Arizona LH prep pitcher Matthew Liberatore. Logan White among others were present at his last few starts. #MLBDraft2018
— James E. Clark (@EVT_JClark) May 23, 2018
When the MLB Draft comes around on June 3, the San Diego Padres could very well be selecting the young Matthew Liberatore at number seven. Then again, they could also cut an under-slot deal with another arm like Carter Stewart, but the prep-lefty is considered to be the top left-hander in the Draft, and he would make a fine addition to the Padres’ farm system.
I am currently attending San Diego State University while working on achieving a major in journalism. At SDSU, I write for The Daily Aztec while also hosting the sports radio show “Picked Off”, for KCR Radio. A loyal fan of San Diego sports, I hope to bring content that you will enjoy reading.
Could you get Swaggerty and since he’s a college senior come up with a better deal to get a high potential draft pick later?
I’d almost prefer that unless the Padres seem that big on Liberatore – and admittedly pitchers who can’t throw at least 91 are in trouble nowadays (see Lauer, Eric) – and Liberatore seems to have upside for days. Although the Padres have more lefties than an average day at Ned Flanders’ Leftorium (and high upside lefties at that), I’m not sure Liberatore is the best fit.
They will probably choose Ryan Weathers (or someone similar) in an underslot deal, and use the extra money to get a high ceiling player at 38.
I like the underslot and go big at 38 idea as well
“Longenhagen informed Patrick and I” – should read “Patrick and me”. Also, “Logan White among others were there” should read “was”. Don’t mean to be annoying, but if your goal is journalism, correct grammar is vital.
And I’m pulling for Liberatore.
haha.. editing my tweets? If that’s the case… keep going. I’m sure you will find more errors.
Liberatore would be fine, though I prefer Carter Stewart.