Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin on MLB Network Draft Coverage
Tim Corbin knows baseball and can talk about things other than just his team. He proved that this week appearing on the MLB Network as an analyst for their draft coverage.
The Vanderbilt skipper had four players from his team selected throughout the two-day, five-round event with two more current commitments also being chosen in this year's draft. His program has placed more players in the big leagues in recent years than any other.
The first seven selections of round one were all college players, including Vanderbilt's Austin Martin, who was taken with the No.5 pick by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Host Brian Kenny asked Corbin his thoughts on the first round.
"Well, I think first off, it was a lot of fun for me," said Corbin. "You get to talk about a lot of kids you see and compete against, so that was enjoyable."
"I think the thing that stuck out the most to me was the amount of high school hitters that were taken in the first round, Brian, there were seven," said Corbin. "None really surprises in therm of the ability but probably more surprised that the major league teams went that way, knowing that they didn't get many looks at them during the course of the spring. At least physical looks. They may have had video calls, but to be able to see them, that didn't happen. So I guess that was the thing that surprised me the most."
The No.8 selection and first high school player taken was Vanderbilt's commitment Robert Hassell III from Independence High School in Franklin, Tennessee. Kenny asked Corbin why high school players were not considered as early this time as in past drafts.
"It typically seems Brian, that once one gets taken then it starts to follow suit a little bit," Corbin said. "It's almost like someone sets a precedent. But again, I think the talent of the kids, at least the kids that got taken was pretty good, but I think at the same time there were a lot of questions on what that was going to look like on what that was going to look like, and how that was going to play out, and how it will play out moving forward. (I'm) Not overly sure, because being an analyst you're trying to understand the strategy behind the clubs, but they have their reason for doing things."
Kenny then made perhaps the most astute point, mentioning the variable of a high school prospect in terms of their unknowns for teams.
"It's like sitting down with your financial advisor and saying, ok, I want to go with this stock because I know this stock may not accrue a certain amount of money for me, but at the same time I know it's safe and it's not going to hinder me," said Corbin. "I think when you look at it, the draft, at least the first round as a whole, Brian, you saw some of those picks. You saw some college kids that elevated themselves, and you're thinking, ahh, I didn't see first-round there, but then you say, ok, well, he was a safe stock, he probably gets through the system pretty well, and he didn't cost us a lot of money so we can get some other guys in rounds two, three, four, and five. I think it's all geared toward the personality of the organization and how they choose to go about the draft."
The draft now completed, Corbin will turn his attention to the possibility that some of last seasons undrafted seniors might decide to return to Vanderbilt for another season granted by the NCAA in the wake of the pandemic.
Pitchers Ethan Smith and Hugh Fisher and position players Harrison Ray and Ty Duvall, could all opt for another season on West End.
One thing is sure; the Vandy Boys roster will have plenty of talent when next season comes around.
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