Palm Desert pitcher Jeremiah Estrada expects to be selected on Day 2

The standout right hander was joined by family and friends on Monday to watch the 2017 MLB Draft in the hopes of possibly being taken in the first couple of rounds today. After not being picked, he will now look forward to Tuesday as he expects to hear his name called by a major league team.

Estrada is signed with UCLA on scholarship but if drafted, he will have to decide between turning professional or heading to college to play for the Bruins.

The PDHS pitcher projects to be selected on Day 2 of the draft which begins at 10:00 a.m.

Per MLB.com:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

“If one was to base Estrada’s Draft status on his summer showcase performance, he’d be approaching the top group of high school right-handers in the country. Looking at how he’s pitched this spring, however, could lead an evaluator to leave him off of the Top 100 completely.

Over the summer, Estrada showed electric stuff from his slightly under-sized frame, starting with a fastball that was 93-95 mph. This spring, he’s been topping out at 92 mph and often sitting in the upper-80s. He showed one of the best changeups in the country last summer, but hasn’t been throwing it much this spring. And he’s lost sharpness in his breaking ball as well, a pitch that flashed plus at times and was up into the mid-80s but this spring has come in closer to 80 mph.

Estrada seemed to pitch with a chip on his shoulder last summer and he used that to his benefit. To some evaluators, he’s lost that edge, so any team considering him in the early rounds will be doing so based on the right-hander they saw over the summer. Seeing him head to UCLA for college seems a distinct possibility at this point.”