17 replies to this topic

[Slidemaster]

Griff O'Ferrall. SS, Virginia.

[Slidemaster]

Looks like a contact-first SS without any particular strengths, but who also lacks major weaknesses outside of power.

[dude]

[BaltBird 24]

Don't know anything about him. Doesn't sound like an overwhelming pick, but I defer to the Orioles evaluation staff. They've earned that much.

[Slidemaster]

Don't know anything about him. Doesn't sound like an overwhelming pick, but I defer to the Orioles evaluation staff. They've earned that much.

They have a pretty good track record so far of developing shortstops.

[BobPhelan]

Super safe pick. Have to see if they can get an extra gear out of him.

[mdrunning]

They went high ceiling with Honeycutt. O'Ferrall is high floor.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Meh pick. Dont hate it but dont understand why we passed on Brecht here.

[BobPhelan]

Right handed Terrin Vavra that can play SS.

[makoman]

You never know how development goes, but I don't remember anyone being all that excited about Westburg in 2020, he was just an all around solid guy. Power is obviously important and needs works, but it is also sometimes improvable.

 

Matt Weyrich
@ByMattWeyrich

 

Jordan Westburg's MLB Pipeline scouting grades when Orioles drafted him No. 30 in 2020:

Hit: 45, Power: 50, Run: 55, Arm: 55, Field: 50, Overall: 50

 

Griff O'Ferrall's grades with Orioles drafting him No. 32 tonight:

Hit: 55, Power: 40, Run: 55, Arm: 55, Field: 50, Overall: 50

 

10:08 PM · Jul 14, 2024

 

https://twitter.com/...670468236714422

[Dr. FLK]

I know nothing about this guy.  But a guy named Griff from UVA...just sounds like he ain't my kinda dude.  

[Nigel Tufnel]

Law had him at #32

 

Scouting Report

Bats: R, Throws: R

O’Ferrall might have ended up in the first round if he’d stuck with his swing and approach from 2023, when he hit .396/.453/.495 for the Hoos while playing strong defense at short. Instead, he tried to get all launch angle-happy and pull the ball for more power, instead of using the whole field, losing 86 points off his OBP for the sake of four extra home runs (in a year when homers are up all over the place). The swing is very forced, like he’s trying to catch the ball and lift it out to his pull side, when he’s already shown strong contact skills and has enough strength to hit for average in pro ball with plenty of doubles. He can still play above-average defense and at least continued to make contact at a high rate, striking out just 7.4 percent of the time this spring, so there’s at least some floor here for a team that takes him and tries to restore his old swing.

[BaltBird 24]

Right handed Terrin Vavra that can play SS.

Right handed Terrin Vavra doesn't inspire much confidence when there were much higher upside picks still on the board, like Brecht.

[Mackus]

Right handed Terrin Vavra doesn't inspire much confidence when there were much higher upside picks still on the board, like Brecht. M

 

that can play shortstop is the key part of that.

 

Cadyn Grenier is the comp that sprang to mind when reading about O'Ferrall.  That didn't work out well, but doesn't mean it can't work out this time.  

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Sounds like the bat control is legit. Tough out. A baseball rat. Not sure how close that was to Grenier coming out. Probably pretty similar.

[BaltBird 24]

Grenier was also considered, maybe, the best defensive SS in his draft class.

Griff just sounds like a solid guy all around, minus power.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Grenier was also considered, maybe, the best defensive SS in his draft class.

Griff just sounds like a solid guy all around, minus power.

Yeah, O'Ferrall probably has a better bat but worse glove.

[Nigel Tufnel]

Law recently went to a couple of Ironbirds game and wrote the following:

 

Ironbirds shortstop Griff O’Ferrall, on the other hand, looks fantastic. It doesn’t hurt that he homered off rehabbing Mets starter Paul Blackburn in the first, taking a slider that hung a little out to left field. The No. 32 pick in last year’s draft out of Virginia has always been a plus defender at short, but this was the best I’ve ever seen him in the field, including a grab on a hard-hit ground ball with the infield in where he got it on a short hop and would have had the runner at the plate had the guy not gotten the perfect jump on contact. He homered again Sunday against Jonathan Santucci, a guy with premium stuff, boosting his slugging percentage to .460 on the short season to date.

He’s more similar to the guy he was as a sophomore at UVA, before he changed his swing, and he’s making a ton of contact while getting to occasional power like he did Saturday. That version of O’Ferrall is at least an everyday shortstop in the majors.

 

Scouting Carson Benge, Griff O’Ferrall and other Mets and Orioles prospects - The Athletic