D-backs Amateur Scouting Director Ian Rebhan Explains Ivan Luciano Pick

Taken with the 64th pick overall, most draft boards had Luciano much lower. What did the Diamondbacks see in the 17 year old catcher that caused them to draft him that high?

Jun 18, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; El Shaddai Christian Academy catcher Ivan Luciano during the MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected 17 year old catcher Ivan Luciano out of El Shaddai Christian Academy in Puerto Rico with the 64th overall pick of the 2024 draft. The pick raised some eyebrows as Luciano was not ranked nearly that high on many public draft boards. MLB Pipeline for example, ranked Luciano 220th in their pre draft rankings.

The draft analysts on MLB Network's television broadcast depicted Luciano as a glove-first prospect and even referenced the work he was doing with Yadier Molina. Therefore it was somewhat surprising to hear Rebhan's first words about the young catcher.

"We love his bat. He's obviously super young but we think he's really advanced. The way he can talk you through his approach at the plate, his contact skills that he showed all summer long on the Island this year."

"We see him as someone who can catch and throw as well. So you're getting an offensive catcher whose 17 years old who also provides value behind the plate. He just checked a lot of boxes as a proven hitter that is advanced for his age and has always shown contact skills against really high-level competition."

Addressing the disparity between the public rankings and the position the D-backs selected him Rebhan said "I think we need to pay attention to our internal process. We're going to blend all the different sources of information from our analyst team that does a great job and our scouting team that is traveling all over and seeing all these players. "

"When all that came together on Ivan you're getting a 17-year-old really advanced hitter who we like because he doesn't swing and miss, he controls the strike zone. We think he can grow into power, and he plays a premium position. When you start putting all those pieces together it's a really interesting package."

Of course, it's very possible that this was a money-saving pick. The D-backs drafted two high school players, Slade Caldwell (29th) and JD Dix (35th), and one college player, Ryan Waldschmidt (31st). Perhaps they feel they might need to go over slot on the two high school players and wanted to save some money with this pick.

Rebhan expressed confidence they will be able to sign all four of these players. It will be interesting to see what the D-backs do on day two of the draft and if they attempt to draft any players that have fallen and become difficult signs, thus using the savings to towards that player.