2009 Draft Resource Thread

[colbyjack]

In the next week or two I hope to have my 2008 draft review/2009 draft preview story up on the homepage. At that time I plan to have the top 30 2009 draft eligible players/scouting reports entered on the default draft page.

 

In the meantime, with the release of the Elias rankings I figured it was time to put this thread together. Here are some handy links to recent conversations and links to similar threads from last year.

 

Recent 2009 Discussion:

 

2009 Draft Order

2008 Summer Showcase/League Thread

2008 College Resource Thread (some notes on '09 eligibles)

Player Spotlight/Scouting Report Thread

2008 Draft Review/2009 Preview

 

2008 Draft Resource:

 

2008 Draft Resource Thread

Official Draft Pick Selection/Signing Thread

Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 1-5

Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 6-20

Draft Pick Discussion, Rounds 21-50

General Draft Discussion

 

Like past year's, this thread will provide a handy resource with the raw draft order while also keeping tabs with free agent activity to determine compensation picks.

 

2009 Raw Draft Order

 

Overall Order/First Round Changes

 

1. Nationals (.384)

2. Mariners (.377)

3. Padres (.389)

4. Pirates (.411)

5. Royals (.428)

6. Braves (.442)

7. Giants (.445)

8. Orioles (.448)

9. Reds (.452)

*9a. Nationals (for not signing A. Crow)

10. Rockies (.456)

11. A's (.459)

12. Tigers (.479)

13. D-Backs (.490)

14. Indians (.490)

15. Rangers (.490)

16. Marlins (.507)

17. Dodgers (.514)

18. Yankees (.527)

19. Cardinals (.534)

20. Blue Jays (.541)

*20a. Mariners (if they don't sign J. Fields)

21. Astros (.544)

22. Phillies (.544)

23. Twins (.548)

24. White Sox (.555)

25. Brewers (.565)

26. Mets (.566)

27. Red Sox (.588)

28. Cubs (.603)

*28a. Yankees (for not signing G. Cole)

29. Rays (.604)

30. Angels (.610)

 

Second Round Changes

 

2a. Pirates (for not signing T. Scheppers)

29a. Yankees (for not signing S. Bittle)

 

Third Round Supplemental Round (for unsigned third rounders

 

1. Astros (for not signing C. Davidson)

[colbyjack]

2008-09 Free Agents

 

I'm still waiting for the actual Elias rankings, as that definitely plays a part with draft picks compensation, but for now I'll just post the list which is provided via Sports Illustrated:

 

http://sportsillustrated....elias.rankings/index.html

 

UPDATE: Here's a link to the actual rankings. I've tried my best to put the players in order below:

 

http://www.usatoday.com/s...ias-player-rankings_N.htm

 

Type A free agents represent the top 20% of players at their position category, while Type B free agents represent the top 21-40% of players at their position category.

 

Below I will break the list down by the free agents, subtracting names as we find out which ones aren't offered arbitration, and also subtracting them (or crossing them out) as they are signed, noting the compensation as the offseason moves along.

 

For Brewers fans, CC Sabathia had the second highest Elias rating of any free agent to Mark Teixeira, while Ben Sheets was also ranked as a Type A. Mike Cameron, Eric Gagne, Brian Shouse and Salomon Torres were ranked as Type B free agents.

 

Type A Free Agents:

 

Mark Teixeira - 98.889

CC Sabathia - 98.110

Manny Ramirez - 93.438

A.J. Burnett - 89.729

Brian Fuentes - 86.694

Francisco Rodriguez - 87.196

Orlando Cabrera - 86.000

Raul Ibanez - 83.684

Bobby Abreu - 83.421

Russ Springer - 82.580

Adam Dunn - 81.25

Andy Pettitte - 80.911

Pat Burrell - 80.000

Orlando Hudson - 79.911

Edgar Renteria - 79.429

Ben Sheets - 79.038

Oliver Perez - 78.694

Juan Cruz - 76.627

Kerry Wood - 76.364

Jason Varitek - 76.037

Derek Lowe - 75.430

Trevor Hoffman - 74.613

Doug Brocail - 73.650

Jamie Moyer - 73.110

Darren Oliver - 70.798

Bobby Howry - 66.968

 

Type B Free Agents:

 

Garret Anderson - 72.105

Milton Bradley - 70.909

John Smoltz - 70.103

Jeff Kent - 70.089

Moises Alou - 69.792

Ken Griffey - 69.605

Ivan Rodriguez - 69.585

Casey Blake - 69.505

Brad Penny - 68.729

Jon Garland - 66.473

Alan Embree - 65.902

Randy Wolf - 65.550

Brian Shouse - 65.541

Jason Isringhausen - 65.334

David Weathers - 64.955

Paul Byrd - 64.922

Greg Maddux - 63.832

Brandon Lyon - 63.729

Jeremy Affeldt - 63.000

The Reds receive a supplemental first-round pick

Braden Looper - 62.973

Mark Grudzielanek - 62.733

Arthur Rhodes - 62.008

Randy Johnson - 61.856

Luis Gonzalez - 61.667

Frank Thomas - 60.000

Mark Loretta - 59.598

Gregg Zaun - 59.447

Joe Beimel - 59.192

Dennys Reyes - 57.480

Rudy Seanez - 57.047

Luis Ayala - 56.668

Juan Uribe - 56.571

Eric Gagne - 56.493

Paul LoDuca - 56.371

[colbyjack]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/awhite08428309aw.jpg

 

UNC RHP Alex White graces the homepage of Baseball America today as they release their top 100 college prospects eligible for 2009 (subscribers only):

 

http://www.baseballameric...aft/news/2009/267141.html

 

I missed this last week, but they released their top 100 high school prospects (again, subscribers only):

 

http://www.baseballameric...aft/news/2008/267114.html

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/jturner08428309ab.jpg

Jacob Turner

[colbyjack]

PG Crosschecker has had their top prospect lists out for quite some time, so I'm not going to bother link to those individual lists, but I do want to remind people of their daily (or at least frequently) top 10 lists. One of their most recent ones covered the top 10 players that created a buzz, with Shelby Miller checking in at #6. Miller was already one of the nation's top prospects going into the event, but as David Rawnsley notes, he might be the top pitching prospect in the nation coming out of Jupiter.

 

I brought up Miller in the Jupiter thread as a name to keep an eye on at this event, as I've been hearing more and more about this young man. He appeared in two games at the tournament, and touch 94 during both of those games. He already was on my top 10 prep list, and could debut in the top 5 when my list is finally released.

 

Here's a link to the top 10 list archives. Click on week 41 for the list referenced above:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker...toptenlists/archives.aspx

[colbyjack]

BA has released their top 100 overall prospects today. It's not a surprise that 7 of the top 10 prospects, and 11 of the top 15, are pitchers. (Link for subscribers only.):

 

http://www.baseballameric...aft-dish/2009/267144.html

[colbyjack]

Today I have released my annual draft review/draft preview story, which can be found on the draft page of the fan forum. The 2009 draft preview is probably is most readers interest, especially those that are fans of other teams.

 

Since that story includes my top 12 prospects from both the high school and college ranks, it's time to release my top 30 overall players. If the name shows up as a link, click on it and you will be taken to their scouting profile as they are added in the 2009 player spotlight thread.

 

When the default draft page that most of you are familiar with, dedicated to the 2009 draft, is up, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

 

Brewerfan.net Top 30 Prospects for 2009:

 

1. Stephen Strasburg, RHP, San Diego State

2. Matthew Purke, LHP, Spring, TX

3. Grant Green, SS, USC

4. Alex White, RHP, North Carolina

5. Dustin Ackley, 1B/OF, North Carolina

6. Aaron Crow, RHP, Fort Worth Cats (Independent League)

7. Donovan Tate, OF, Cartersville, GA

8. Andrew Oliver, LHP, Oklahoma State

9. Tyler Matzek, LHP, Mission Viejo, CA

10. Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri

11. Mike Minor, LHP, Vanderbilt

12. Jacob Turner, RHP, St. Charles, MO

13. Shelby Miller, RHP, Brownwood, TX

14. Kentrail Davis, OF, Tennessee

15. Mychal Givens, RHP/SS, Tampa, FL

16. Zack Wheeler, RHP, Dallas, GA

17. Kendal Volz, RHP, Baylor

18. Austin Maddox, C/RHP, Jacksonville, FL

19. Matt Davidson, 3B, Yucaipa, CA

20. Jason Stoffel, RHP, Arizona

21. Blake Smith, RHP/OF, California

22. Keyvius Sampson, RHP/OF, Ocala, FL

23. Ben Tootle, RHP, Jacksonville State

24. Robbie Shields, SS, Florida Southern

25. Ben Paulsen, 1B, Clemson

26. Jonathan Walsh, C/3B/OF, Coppell, TX

27. Brian Goodwin, CF, Rocky Mount, NC

28. Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Saint Paul Saints (Independent League)

29. Brad Boxberger, RHP, USC

30. Max Stassi, C, Yuba City, CA

[colbyjack]

My Crack of the Bat column this week focused on some of the more interesting groupings as they pertain to the 2009 draft:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker...2009_draft_groupings.aspx

[colbyjack]

While the scouting reports aren't much different than the ones linked above to the player spotlight thread, the 2009 draft page at Brewerfan.net is now up and running (thanks Brian!). You can access all of the scouting reports and other handy links/features on the default draft page. Access that page by clicking on "draft" in the maroon sub-nav bar on every Brewerfan.net page, or click on this link:

 

http://www.brewerfan.net/...DraftArchive.do?draftId=7

[colbyjack]

I'm going to keep a running tab of the players that were/weren't offered arbitration in a separate post before updating the master list as shown above. Here is what I have so far, as you can compare between the two just to see how few were offered arbitration, and this is only based on reports from MLB Trade Rumors.

 

Type A Free Agents:

 

Mark Teixeira - 98.889

Angels receive the Yankees first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

CC Sabathia - 98.110

Brewers receive the Yankees second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

Manny Ramirez - 93.438

Re-signed with the Dodgers

A.J. Burnett - 89.729

Blue Jays receive the Yankees third-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

Brian Fuentes - 86.694

Rockies receive the Angels first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

Francisco Rodriguez - 87.196

Angels receive the Mets first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

Orlando Cabrera - 86.000

White receive the A's second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

Raul Ibanez - 83.684

Mariners receive the Phillies first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

Orlando Hudson - 79.911

D-Backs receive the Dodgers first-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

Ben Sheets - 79.038

Oliver Perez - 78.694

Re-signed with the Mets

Juan Cruz - 76.627

D-Backs receive the Royals second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

Jason Varitek - 76.037

Re-signed with the Red Sox

Derek Lowe - 75.430

Dodgers receive the Braves second-round pick and a supplemental first-round pick

 

Type B Free Agents:

 

Milton Bradley - 70.909

Rangers receive a supplemental first-round pick

Casey Blake - 69.505

Re-signed with Dodgers

Jon Garland - 66.473

Angels receive a supplemental first-round pick

Brian Shouse - 65.541

Brewers receive a supplemental first-round pick

Paul Byrd - 64.922

Brandon Lyon - 63.729

Diamondbacks receive a supplemental first-round pick

Jeremy Affeldt - 63.000

Reds receive a supplemental first-round pick

Mark Grudzielanek - 62.733

Dennys Reyes - 57.480

Twins receive a supplemental first-round pick

 

The Marlins are unlikely to offer Arthur Rhodes, Luis Gonzalez and Paul LoDuca arbitration. The Astros are unlikely to do so with Mark Loretta. I'm unsure of the status of Rudy Seanez, but if I had to guess I would say that he will not be offered arby since he didn't even make the Phillies postseason roster. All of the other players listed above have either already been offered arbitration or are expected to, meaning there could be as many as 31 sandwich picks in next year's draft. Of course, some of these players are likely to re-sign with their 2008 ballclubs.

 

UPDATE: The Marlins did not accept arby to Gonzalez, Rhodes or LoDuca.

 

UPDATE #2: Somewhat surprisingly, Pat Burrell, Jamie Moyer and Randy Wolf were not offered arbitration. That leaves 25 free agents that could effect free agent compensation, and we'll have more players to trim off this list by the end of the week when we learn which players have accepted (although I doubt it will be more than 3-5 players).

 

UPDATE #3: Darren Oliver and David Weathers have accepted arbitration. We now know for sure that the sandwich round won't be longer than 23 picks.

[colbyjack]

There used to be a Canadian sports network called Slam! I think that had some really useful information pertaining to the top players that hailed North of the border. I know both Mass and myself were pretty bummed to see that site go away, but Bob Elliott has started a new site, the Canadian Baseball Network, which seems to accomplish the same things Slam! did:

 

http://canadianbaseballnetwork.com/

 

Also, the College Baseball Blog has a very detailed story from Elliot up today that covers the top Canadian players playing college ball. Keep an eye on these names, as you know the Brewers will be. One of the players mentioned on the first team, Garrett Reagan, is a former Brewers draft pick.

 

http://thecollegebaseball...-leads-the-way/#more-7747

 

Actually, here's the link to the same story on the Canadian Baseball Network, with a few extra links on the bottom for those interested in reading about some familiar names:

 

http://canadianbaseballnetwork.com/node/1769

 

And here's Elliot's top prospect list for the 2009 draft eligible players. Mike Monster is a favorite of mine (you gotta love that name), and Jake Eliopoulos impressed people during his stint at the Under Armour Classic at Wrigley Field:

 

http://canadianbaseballnetwork.com/draftlist/2009

[colbyjack]

I wanted to provide a list of how the picks shake out through the supplemental third round to get an idea of how far picks after the first-round supplemental round could fall due to the number of compensation picks that could be awarded based on the number of free agents that will effect this process. I also wanted to provide this list, since compensation picks for unsigned players from the 2008 draft fit in, since those picks are awarded right after the same overall pick in 2009. Meaning, as of right now, the Pirates compensation pick for Tanner Scheppers would fit into the sandwich round.

 

EDIT: Casey Blake re-signed with the Dodgers. The max length of the sandwich round is down to 22.

 

So this is how the order stands as of right now, assuming all of the free agents that were offered and declined arbitration end up signing, and if Joshua Fields doesn't end up signing with the Mariners. Keep in mind that the sandwich picks are awarded starting with the Type A free agents first, with picks being handed out team-by-team in order, one at a time, and then cycled back through the list for team's with multiple Type A free agents (such as the Brewers with Sabathia and Sheets, which is why they wouldn't have consecutive picks). Then, compensation is awarded for Type B free agents using the same method.

 

First-Round:

1. Nationals

2. Mariners

3. Padres

4. Pirates

5. Orioles

6. Giants

7. Braves

8. Reds

9. Tigers

10. Nationals (unsigned '08 pick Aaron Crow)

11. Rockies

12. Royals

13. Athletics

14. Rangers

15. Indians

16. Diamondbacks

17. Diamondbacks (pick from the Dodgers for Orlando Hudson)

18. Marlins

19. Cardinals

20. Blue Jays

21. Astros

22. Twins

23. White Sox

24. Angels (pick from the Mets for Francisco Rodriguez)

25. Angels (pick from Yankees for Mark Teixeira)

26. Brewers

27. Mariners (pick from the Phillies for Raul Ibanez)

28. Red Sox

29. Yankees (unsigned '08 pick Gerritt Cole)

30. Rays

31. Cubs

32. Rockies (pick from Angels for Brian Fuentes)

 

First-Round Supplemental:

33. Mariners (Ibanez)

34. Rockies (Fuentes)

35. Diamondbacks (Hudson)

36. Dodgers (Lowe)

37. Blue Jays (Burnett)

38. White Sox (Cabrera)

39. Brewers (Sabathia)

40. Angels (Teixeira)

41. Diamondbacks (Cruz)

42. Angels (Rodriguez)

43. Reds (Affeldt)

44. Rangers (Bradley)

45. Diamondbacks (Lyon)

46. Twins (Reyes)

47. Brewers (Shouse)

48. Angels (Garland)

 

Second Round:

49. Pirates (unsigned '08 pick Tanner Scheppers)

50. Nationals

51. Mariners

52. Padres

53. Pirates

54. Orioles

55. Giants

56. Dodgers (pick from Braves for Derek Lowe)

57. Reds

58. Tigers

59. Rockies

60. Diamondbacks (from Royals for Juan Cruz)

61. White Sox (from A's for Orlando Cabrera)

62. Rangers

63. Indians

64. Diamondbacks

65. Dodgers

66. Marlins

67. Cardinals

68. Blue Jays

69. Astros

70. Twins

71. White Sox

72. Mets

73. Brewers (pick from Yankees for CC Sabathia)

74. Brewers

75. Phillies

76. Yankees (unsigned '08 pick Scott Bittle)

77. Red Sox

78. Rays

79. Cubs

80. Angels

 

Third Round:

81. Nationals

82. Mariners

83. Padres

84. Pirates

85. Orioles

86. Giants

87. Braves

88. Reds

89. Tigers

90. Rockies

91. Royals

92. Athletics

93. Rangers

94. Indians

95. Diamondbacks

96. Dodgers

97. Marlins

98. Cardinals

99. Blue Jays

100. Astros

101. Twins

102. White Sox

103. Mets

104. Blue Jays (pick from the Yankees for A.J. Burnett)

105. Brewers

106. Phillies

107. Red Sox

108. Rays

109. Cubs

110. Angels

 

Third-Round Supplemental:

111. Astros (unsigned '08 pick Chase Davidson)

 

At this point in time the Brewers fourth-round pick would be the 136th overall selection. Add 30 for each round to figure out their subsequent selections.

[colbyjack]

Clearing something up that Tom Haudricourt wrote on his blog today:

 

I'm also attaching a report from the New York Daily News that says the Yankees are preparing an offer to right-hander Ben Sheets. So, there's the possibility now that the Yankees could sign the Brewers' top two pitchers from last year -- CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets.

 

If that happens, the Brewers obviously wouldn't get a first-round draft pick in June from the signing team for both pitchers because the Yankees have only one first-round pick. I believe the way that would work is that the Brewers would get the first-round pick from New York for the first pitcher they signed, then the Yankees' second-round pick for the next pitcher they sound. The Brewers also would get compensation picks for both pitchers between the first and second rounds.

 

So, in that event, it would be better for the Brewers, in terms of getting first-round draft picks, if Sheets and Sabathia don't both sign with the Yankees. But it sounds like it could happen.

 

CORRECTION UPDATE:

 

I forgot the Yankees have an extra first-round pick in 2009 because they didn't sign their first-rounder this year. So, with two first-round picks, they'd surrender the highest one for the first Class A free agent they signed and the other one for the second Class A free agent they sign.

 

Sorry I had that wrong initially.

 

Actually, Haudricourt still has it wrong.

 

First of all, teams can't lose compensatory picks. The pick the Yankees got for not signing Gerrit Cole can't be awarded to another team for free agent compensation.

 

Secondly, picks aren't awarded by which player signed first. This is where the Elias rankings come into play. The team that loses the free agent with the higher Elias ranking gets the higher of the two picks. If the Yankees were to sign both Sheets and Sabathia, and no other free agents signed by the Yankees ranked higher than those two, the Brewers would get the Yankees OWN first-round pick for Sabathia and their OWN second-round pick for Sheets. I bolded OWN to stress that no other compensatory picks can be included, since the Yankees will also get a compensatory pick in the second round for not signing Scott Bittle.

[brewerguy71]

No Stephen Perez, SS, from Miami?

[colbyjack]

I love Perez' D', and his overall approach at the plate, but he needs to add strength before he proves to me he can hang with the big boys on a consistent basis to be considered among the top 30 overall prospects. He has the talent to soar up prospect lists in the spring, but he needs to prove it.

[brewerguy71]

Ive never seen the kid play myself, but he is on a few lists, including BA. I would assume his body type and the fact that he can already play great D as you say, makes him a prime candidate to be high on peoples lists. I guess he is committed to Miami next, and the Brewers dont like taking kids who have solid committments in place (espcially U of Miami). But I would be interested to see what kind of season this kid has, and if a first round pick is made, if he can be pried away from UM.

[colbyjack]

Lincoln Hamiltion at Project Prospect deserves a ton of credit for taking the time to put this story together:

 

http://www.projectprospec...ge-hitters-quantitatively

 

Of course we need to see if these results correlate with what actually happens down the road, plus I'm sure the overall figure will be more accurate once the sophomores on the list have their junior seasons under their belts, but for nothing else it's a lot of fun to study.

 

I've felt for a while that Pollock's decent BB rate, incredibly low K rate, ability to hit, hit for power and speed makes him a relatively safe pick to succeed, and this formula obviously backs that up.

 

For fans of the under-appreciated, limited tools players that simply produce, keep an eye on Marc Krauss. I think he could be this year's Kevin Youkilis.

 

And Brewers draft fans may remember the name Andrew Clark from the '06 draft, who attended Ole Miss citing that he intended to prove scouts wrong by not taking him earlier, only to transfer to Louisville the next year after some off-the-field issues.

[colbyjack]

My PG colleague Anup Sinha (recently added to the staff after spending several years as a scout with the Padres and Cardinals -- some fans may remember Anup from his days with Team One) has written an interesting analysis about staff aces and where they come from:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker...yArticle.aspx?article=532

[colbyjack]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/sstrasburg09428309js.jpg

 

Baseball America's early draft coverage kicked off today, profiling top prospect Stephen Strasburg and offering their top 33 draft prospects (factoring in the compensation picks for unsigned first-rounders a year ago).

 

Since the stories are for subscribers only, I'm only going to link to their draft default page. I'm sure you know how to get there by now anyway.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/

 

One story in particular is a must-read, as Jim Callis takes an early look at a few of the draft stories we may be following between now and draft day:

 

http://www.baseballameric...-preview/2009/267545.html

 

In particular, how is the economy going to effect the draft? We're certainly seeing it effect free agent activity, as outside of the Yankees prices league-wide seem to be down. While this will never stop Scott Boras from asking for record-breaking deals (it should be noted that the two record-breaking deals from a year ago were for non-Boras clients, Tim Beckham and Buster Posey), you have to figure the players have taken notice of this and may be more anxious to sign because of it.

 

It may also cause some teams to make stretches with their picks to identify players that will sign quickly for money less than slot value. Since the Brewers will have extra picks again (although probably fewer than expected given the turn of events with Ben Sheets), this could once again play a part in their decisions. I doubt it, since the team does seem to be somewhat financially stable given their payroll, projected ticket sales, 2009 expectations, etc., and they did note last year that they had budgeted appropriately to sign all of their extra picks for slot value while also adding in their usual collection of later-round/early round money investments. However, you just never know.

[And That]

Josh Fields signed with the Mariners today. All the Brewers' selections move up one. Yay! This totally makes up for getting nothing for Sheets.

[colbyjack]

Thanks Toby. I updated the raw draft order (again, I'm using a "worst-case," removing players as they sign (or re-sign) as opposed to adding them.

 

Keep an eye on the current draft slots for the team's comp pick for Shouse and their two second-rounders. If Manny Ramirez ends up re-signing with the Dodgers and Sheets doesn't garner compensation (as both scenarios seem likely to happen), the comp pick for Shouse moves up three spots as they would leap frog the Pirates and their compensatory pick for not signing Scheppers a year ago (which is going to remain the 49th overall pick no matter what happens).

 

The same goes for the team's two second-rounders, as the first of two (the comp pick for Sabathia signing with the Yankees) would move up three spots as well, ahead of the Yankees comp pick for not signing Scott Bittle, while the second of the two second rounders (their own) would rest just behind the Yankees comp pick for not signing Bittle. That pick can also move ahead of the Bittle pick if one other free agent either re-signs with their 2008 team or doesn't sign at all (I noticed some talk that Juan Cruz may re-sign with the D-Backs since no one wants to give up a first-round pick for him).

 

Jumping ahead of the Bittle selection would at least be a modest victory for the Brewers over the Yankees.

[colbyjack]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/rsierrajr09428309mf.jpg

 

Ruben Sierra Jr. and some other Puerto Rican players are creating quite a bit of stir for the 2009 draft class. The picture from above is from Baseball America, but their coverage from the event is for subscribers. PG Crosschecker has a report from Puerto Rico as well via their new blogs:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker...yArticle.aspx?article=543

 

Be sure to check out PGCC's blog page. You can catch up on the PG Indoor Showcase from a weekend ago, as well as first-hand reports from the early juco action and another on DII SS prospect Robbie Shields. All of the blogs are free to all to enjoy.

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/blogs/blogs.aspx

[DHonks]

Patrick or Toby,

I thought there was a signing deadline now. If the deadline was mid-August, how could he have signed this weekend?

[And That]

He was a college senior that had no more eligibility to play in college.

[colbyjack]

Matthew Purke has been throwing in the low-90s, touching 94, early this spring, showing impressive command of his three-pitch repertoire while getting some attention as a possible 1/1 per PGCC's David Rawnsley. He's currently #2 overall on my list.

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker...yArticle.aspx?article=583

 

There have been some excellent updates in the blog section of PG Crosschecker, with roughly 2-3 updates a day.

[colbyjack]

The Diamondbacks are putting together a nice little draft haul with Hudson going to the Dodgers. I'm not sure if Juan Cruz is going to end up signing anywhere else, but Arizona already has consecutive first-round picks (16 & 17) and a pair of sandwich picks for Hudson and Brandon Lyon. I know this could fire up some Brewers fans, but that is closer to the haul we were expecting with the free agents we had entering the offseason. Not to mention the Dodgers were the worst of the top 15 teams, and the only FA they could sign that would bump the pick to the 2nd round would be Orlando Cabrera, and I don't see that happening.

 

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.