Diamondbacks chase upside late in MLB draft, select Hamilton’s Gavin Turley in 19th round
The Diamondbacks concluded the draft on Tuesday by devoting a handful of Day 3 selections to high-ceiling players who might prove difficult to sign.
Among them is Chandler Hamilton outfielder Gavin Turley, whom they drafted in the 19th round with their second-to-last pick of the day. Turley suggested to The Republic last week that he would honor his commitment to Oregon State if he weren’t taken on the first day of the draft.
“Sunday will be an interesting day because it will tell me if I’m going to college or pro ball,” he told reporter Richard Obert. “Oregon State is my dream school and I have always envisioned myself going there. But I never got into baseball to end it at college. Whatever route makes more sense to me for my development is the one I will choose. Whether it’s college or pro.”
Teams can offer players in the 11th round and beyond bonuses up to $125,000 without having to worry about fitting them into their bonus pools. Anything above that is applied toward the Top 10 round bonus pool.
The Diamondbacks’ bonus pool is worth more than $15 million. Roughly $8.2 million of that is already earmarked for No. 2 overall pick Druw Jones.
In addition to Turley, the Diamondbacks also selected three other prep players who had been viewed as candidates to go off the board relatively early in the draft: right-hander Malachi Witherspoon (12th round), infielder Aiva Arquette (18th round) and right-hander Riley Kelly (20th round).
“I think when you get to the point in the draft where we were today and you’re intrigued by tools like that, we’ll take him them and kind of see how the next few weeks play out,” Diamondbacks scouting director Ian Rebhan said.
If Turley valued himself as a Day 1 player — for reference, each pick through the first two rounds had bonus pool values in excess of $1 million — the Diamondbacks would need to save money on their Top 10 round signings in order to redirect that savings to him.
Players who were candidates to go early often slip to the late rounds if they aren’t selected in a range that matches up with their pre-draft price tags.
Turley was said to be “among the toolsiest players in the 2022 class,” according to Baseball America. He has tremendous speed and raw power at the plate, where he is said to have an overly aggressive approach that needs refinement. MLB.com wrote that his combination of tools were reminiscent of those of Elijah Green, who went fifth overall to the Washington Nationals.
“Obviously, just really intrigued by the total tool package there,” Rebhan said. “It’s big, big raw power. He can run. He can throw. He can play center field. He’s a guy who is right in our backyard. So we got to see him a ton.”
Rebhan said the Diamondbacks were drawn to Witherspoon for the upside he possesses, along with his ability to spin a breaking ball.
“It was kind of a collective conviction from both the data team and our scouting conviction there,” Rebhan said. “They liked the data, liked the breaking ball, and then all of our scouts who went in there and saw him really enjoyed him.”
Arquette comes with physical projection, Rebhan said, in that he has the potential to grow into a run-producing power bat. Kelly is a strike thrower with a fastball up to 92 mph but, like Witherspoon, the Diamondbacks were most intrigued by his breaking ball, Rebhan said.
Reach Piecoro at (602) 444-8680 or nick.piecoro@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickpiecoro.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hamilton's Gavin Turley drafted by Diamondbacks in late round
