Funkhouser reminds me of Hochevar. He'll probably get drafted higher the following year than when the Dodgers drafted and failed to sign him, but he's not someone who will be terribly missed. In fact, I hope he gets drafted higher so that it moves others down the list for us to take.
I was just thinking about this yesterday: I'd rather have either Cal Quantrill or Jordan Sheffield than Funkhouser. Yes, Cal is indeed Paul Quantrill's son. No, Jordan is not Gary Sheffield's son, but he has a brother Justus, who was drafted 31st overall by the Cleveland Indians in the 2014 MLB draft. Both Cal and Jordan have dealt with Tommy John surgery but were high upside arms who still show flashes of their potential. Right now, I prefer Cal to Jordan but both were supposedly high up and out of our range for the 22nd overall pick in 2016 as college arms, but now look like possibilities at that draft slot.
OF Will Benson is another prospect who may have been pushed down a bit by the rise of others to be within reaching distance while 3B/RHP Josh Lowe's helium seems to be elevating him out of our range. Benson and Lowe are toolsy prep position prospects. Another name I'm enamored with is C Cooper Johnson. His defense is elite level with a bat that is in development but has something to work with. He reminds me of former Dodgers catcher Charles Johnson, who I was always fond of since his draft year. Who knows how Cooper will turn out as a hitter, but I love the idea of having an advanced defensive catcher in the system who is not hopeless with the bat.
Other names I like right now are UCLA-bound outfielders Blake Rutherford and Mickey Moniak, but neither should be available when our pick comes up. Pitchers Jason Groome, Alec Hansen, A.J. Puk, and Riley Pint are expected to be the first 4 picks in the draft while OF Buddy Reed and SS Delvin Perez are very intriguing prospects who are also projected to be out of reach. 3B/2B Nolan Jones is lauded for his leadership and compares favorably to Ben Zobrist while RHP Alex Speas is a live high-school arm who is often compared to Touki Toussaint due to their high upside and lack of polish. Flame-throwing right-handed pitcher Zack Burdi, like his brother Nick, can reach triple digits on the radar gun, but doesn't do it regularly like his sibling. Zack also doesn't have as good a secondary pitch as Nick's slider. However, Zack does have a cleaner delivery and throws more strikes, which makes him a better candidate to be a starting pitcher, but his fastball tends to flatten out.
Right now, I'm hoping for the following results
1st Round (20th Overall): Josh Lowe
1st Round (32nd Overall): Nolan Jones
Competitive Balance Round A (36th Overall): Alex Speas
2nd Round (65th Overall): Cooper Johnson
3rd Round (101st Overall): ?
In the likely event that Lowe will not be available at 20th overall, I'd take any of Benson > Quantrill > Sheffield in that order. If either Quantrill or Sheffield continue to slide to the 32nd overall pick due to injury concerns, I'd jump at the chance to take either of them. I really want Johnson in the Dodgers' farm system but his rankings have been all over the map as a projected 2nd or 3rd rounder with plenty of other catching prospects discussed as being ahead of him at one point or another, however, last year there was a run on name catchers early with the Angels surprisingly taking Taylor Ward 26th overall and the Braves snatching Lucas Herbert 54 overall. Given the gaps before and after our 2nd-round pick, I'd even be willing to use the 36th overall pick to select Cooper Johnson. Like I said, I really want him in our organization. I don't know enough to target 3rd-round prospects at this point but there are some intriguing names that have piqued my curiosity.
