2009 Draft Resource Thread

[colbyjack]

Since we don't really follow the high school level as closely as the college level (largely because it is much more difficult to do so, unless you're seeing it live and in person), I'm going to add this here.

 

Anyway, BA has come out with their High School All-American teams. They also came out with their top national high school teams, which PG Crosschecker unveiled a couple of days ago. If you're that interested in the team-by-team rankings, I'm sure you know where to find those.

 

Here are the All-American lists:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/high-school/awards/all-america-teams/2009/267718.html

 

First team with scouting reports (subscribers only):

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/high-school/awards/all-america-teams/2009/267717.html

 

 

Chad Thompson

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/cthompson09428309lg.jpg

[colbyjack]

With Juan Cruz signing with the Royals and Orlando Cabrera signing with the A's, we're down to two type A free agents, Manny Ramirez (how can he not sign with the Dodgers?) and Ben Sheets.

 

While the Brewers have not had much luck on their side this offseason as it pertains to draft picks, the Diamondbacks definitely have, adding a first-round for Hudson last week, two more sandwich picks (in addition to the one they already had coming to them for Lyon) and an early second-rounder. Not bad for the likes of Hudson, Cruz and Lyon, and not bad for an organization who has plenty of young talent at the big-league level, but after Jarrod Parker, could use a talent infusion in the minors.

[colbyjack]

PGCrosschecker has a dramatic different look to it starting today. Things should be a lot more organized and easier to find moving forward.

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/

[Mass Haas]

PGCrosschecker has a dramatic different look to it starting today. Things should be a lot more organized and easier to find moving forward.

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/

Still a busy home page, but a 100% improvement over the maze that was there earlier.

 

This link in particular is much easier to find now! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Articles By Patrick Ebert

[colbyjack]

PGCC is always going to be busy for the simple fact that we report on so many different levels of amateur baseball. Hopefully the new site design will help keeping things archived better given the amount of stories and rankings.

 

I have updated the draft order on page one of this thread now that Manny Ramirez has re-signed with the Dodgers. I also have removed Ben Sheets, Paul Byrd, Mark Grudzielanek and Dennys Reyes from the order since there is a chance none of them will effect the 2009 draft order. Sheets of course is injured, although some have suggested that a team may be willing to give up an early draft pick if they think he could be a valuable mid-season acquisition. Same goes for Byrd, who may retire.

 

All of the Brewers picks starting with the sandwich pick of Shouse jumped up a few notches because of this. I will add back the others into the draft order when and if they sign with other teams.

[battlekow]

Jeff Sackmann has a look at third base defense at the college level, though he freely admits the data has severe limitations. X ellence's favorite "rocket-armed monster" Chris Dominguez comes a little below average.

[Never Outhustled]

Its a pretty good chance Dominguez ends up in RF, but thats OK because he can run too. I'm still interested in this freak. His raw power is something I want a closer look at. He could be a righty swinging Russel Branyan.

 

Interesting to see that Conar Gillespie rated very highly defensively, as his defense was a major question among us before last years draft, because he had a ton of errors. The Brewers showed alot of interest in him, but ultimately took Jake Odorizzi ahead of him.

 

Tommy Mendona (the inspiration to the story Battlekow linked to) is someone I mentioned in that "What bat would you like to draft" thread, and he might fit us somewhere in the 2-3 round range. We've never really had a chance to draft a slugger who also happened to be a great defender. The question with Mendona is whether he'll make enough contact/hit for enough average.

[colbyjack]

I just talked to a scout yesterday about Mendonca, who is a conversation piece in the area for his defense alone. As X noted, if you think he has a chance to make good enough contact, his glove and power (as a LH hitter) are going to provide some value at the highest level. His inability to make consistent contact is a problem though. As I talked to the scout about, his Ks are down this year as compared to last (he's around 50 now, he was around 90+ last year), but he really had nowhere to go but down.

 

Dominguez had the same problem last year, and has a similar concern at the next level.

[colbyjack]

I mentioned that LHP Chad James may be on of the targets of the Brewers in a different thread, who impressed scouts at the Perfect Game pre-draft showcase in Cedar Rapids on Monday, throwing 91-93 with a good CB. He is starting to throw his fastball consistent harder this spring, which was somewhat expected given his size and arm strength.

 

The name that impressed the most was a local talent, LHP Kevin James from Whitefish Bay, who is going to soar up draft charts after his performance at the same showcase on Monday. Read about both of them here, courtesy of my PG associate David Rawnsley:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/articles/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=1322

 

Kevin James is also the teammate of Charlie Markson, who also attended the event. Markson is known for his 5-tool talents, highlighted by his speed. Whitefish Bay plays their baseball season in the summer, so don't be surprised to see both drafted and followed the next few months to see how they perform.

[Never Outhustled]

Who are all the Boras clients in this draft? I know of Strasburg, Grant Green, Andrew Oliver, Kentrail Davis, Dustin Ackley, Aaron Crow, Donovan Tate, Matt Purke, Jacob Turner, Levon Washington, James Paxton. Who am I missing?

[colbyjack]

You just name a couple of guys that I wasn't aware of (Paxton/Washington), thanks X. You got all of the ones I was aware of.

 

Rawnsley wrote a story yesterday about the top 10 players that likely will pose some signability trouble (story for subscribers only):

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/articles/DisplayArticle.aspx?article=1417

[colbyjack]

Jim Callis makes prep LHP Garrett Gould his pick for the Brewers in his latest mock draft. He notes that the team has been scouting Bobby Borchering, Mike Trout, Max Stassi and Matt Davidson hard. Borchering and Trout won't make it to the team's pick.

[DHonks]

will the first round AND supplemental round be on TV, or just round 1?

[Never Outhustled]

Who are all the Boras clients in this draft? I know of Strasburg, Grant Green, Andrew Oliver, Kentrail Davis, Dustin Ackley, Aaron Crow, Donovan Tate, Matt Purke, Jacob Turner, Levon Washington, James Paxton. Who am I missing?

I'll answer my own question and add Brian Goodwin to that list.

[colbyjack]

The Brewers pre-draft workout was held earlier today. I went and had lunch at Fridays and took in the action for a couple of hours. Out of respect for the Brewers scouting department, I am not going to say which players were there that I recognized, but I will say there's a good chance the team targets college pitching early.

[TheCrew07]

You better spill the beans on Monday mr Secrets!

[colbyjack]

I'll reveal some of the names after the draft, not on Monday though. The draft starts Tuesday and runs through Thursday.

[DHonks]

Colby, will you have sort of 1st day draft recap? Surprise picks? strongest selections? best still available? I think that'd be a fun feature at brewerfan. Perhaps even breaking down the best fastballs available, best HS RHP, etc.

 

With the 2 day format, this has been hard. But it'd be possible for you to list the top options after the 1st 4 rounds

[colbyjack]

I'm the first to admit that I haven't provided the same amount of coverage as I have in past years. My life is already stretched pretty thin right now, and honestly I'm looking forward to the end of the week when the draft is behind us. My wife and I welcomed our second child into the world in mid-April, so as you can imagine that alone has taken up a lot of our time, and that's the main thing that prevented me from writing my annual draft preview story.

 

Next spring we already have another trip to Nashville planned, and I hope to continue the development of my 5 Tool Talk site September through December.

 

I typically do have a column at PGX, where most of my features can still be found, that covers my initial impressions on the draft. I usually focus on the teams that had strong drafts and which players rose/fell the farthest. Here's a link to all of my columns and blog entires:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/columnists/patrickebert/Archives.aspx

 

I hope by either tomorrow or Tuesday to have my final mock draft up as well.