Written by Al Ciammiachella

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With the 67th overall pick in the MLB Draft, the Indians have selected high school righthander Dillon Howard out of Searcy High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Howard was seen as a 1st round talent but is expected to have sizeable bonus demands as a Scott Boras client. Howard is 6'3", 200lbs but has the body type to fill out, add some muscle and really be an imposing physical presence on the mound. He already sits between 91-95 MPH with his sinking, heavy fastball and should pick up a few MPH as he matures. He has a very mechanically sound, repeatable delivery that shouldn't need tinkering from a professional pitching staff. He throws a hard curveball and an inconsistent changeup, but very few HS pitchers have three developed pitches when they graduate so that's not a huge concern. He dabbles with a somewhat flat slider that will either have to be greatly improved on or abandoned at the major league level. He's a tremendous athlete who played also SS, C and batted cleanup for his high school team. He has a good feel for pitching, and is a fairly advanced high school arm.

ESPN's Keith Law has Howard ranked as his #18 player in the entire draft, and Baseball America has him at #31. He was an all-state selection from his sophomore through senior year, and was seen as the best player coming out of the state of Arkansas. It's an aggressive pick for the Indians, and you have to love getting a 1st round talent at #67 overall. Now all they have to do is sign him, and like 1st round pick Francisco Lindor, it will have to be an over slot deal.