Dodgers Chose RHP Dustin May with their 3rd Round Draft Pick - Welcome to the Blue!

For their first pick of the day, in the 3rd Round of the 2016 Draft, the Dodgers select 18-year old right-handed pitcher Dustin May.  He went to Northwest High School in Justin, Texas.  Dustin is a big kid at 6' 6" tall and was slated to go to Texas Tech.  You can follow him on twitter here: @d_maydabeast.  Per an MLB.com scouting report:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 45

Early in the spring, May looked like the best high school pitching prospect in Texas after potential first-rounders Forrest Whitley and Kyle Muller. His stock cooled a bit when his velocity did the same, though he should be the first player ever drafted out of Northwest High (Justin, Texas), the alma mater of big leaguer Tyler Collins.

May threw in the low 80s as a sophomore but has added significant velocity as his 6-foot-6 frame has started to fill out. He dealt at 90-93 mph and reached 95 at the outset of his senior season, and he still has room for additional projection. His fastball had one of the highest spin rates (2649 rpm) at the World Wood Bat Association World Championship in October, which translates into riding life that makes it hard to hit.

May's curveball had the best spin rate (3105 rpm) at the WWBA event, though this spring he has gone more to a harder slider that may be a better fit for his slingy delivery. He hasn't had much need for a changeup and will need to develop one at the next level to remain a starter. A Texas Tech recruit, he's an efficient strike-thrower but also will have to clean up his mechanics so he can stay on top of his pitches and reduce the stress on his arm.

Per Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, from an ESPN report:

May is indeed raw. His pitch quality is inconsistent, his velocity will fall off late in outings and he will have issues repeating his delivery. Teenagers this size don’t usually have dictatorial control over their limbs, and May should iron things out as he gets older and stronger. He’s also one of the older Top 100 arms; he’ll turn 19 in a few months.

In honor of his selection by the Dodgers I decided to make a couple fantasy Baseball cards of him.  For the card on the left I using a photo taken from the Dustin May's twitter and the 1986 Topps Baseball card design.  For the card on the right I grabbed another photo taken from Dustin May's twitter and the 1982 Topps Baseball card design.

UPDATE:  Per Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, Billy GAsparino had this to say about Dustin May:

“Dustin’s one of our favorites — not only the talent with being up to 93 and a plus breaking ball, but he’s got big red hair and tons of personality. We call him “The Viper” because he has a really unique arm action that we think produces plus stuff. He’s a fan favorite for sure, from our scouts’ point of view.”

UPDATE II:  Per a Dodgers press release:

The Dodgers started the second day of the draft by selecting Northwest (TX) High School right-handed pitcher Dustin May in the third round. The 18-year-old Texas native pitched in seven games his senior year, going 3-1 with a 1.92 ERA (11 ER/40.0 IP) and limited the opposition to a .175 average. He struck out 58 batters against 13 walk and was rated by Baseball America as the 117th overall prospect in the 2016 draft.

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