Summer 2007 talent, Cape, Team USA, Aflac, Area Codes, etc.

[Mass Haas]

I'm hoping colbyjack will see this shortly and explain just how it all works, but the Brewers do have a strong presence in making early contact with premier high school players via their involvement in California's Area Code Games, probably moreso than any other organization --

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

ssbaseball.rivals.com/con...CID=689564

 

Saratoga, CA - It was the final tryout for the 2007 Area Code Games this summer with 100 players from Northern California in attendance at West Valley College to show case their skills in front of MLB Scouts and college coaches. Now the tough decision for the Milwaukee Brewers Area Code Staff, to chose the best 50 players from California, to be on their Area Code Team.

 

Catcher Michael Turay had a good day at the tryout. The 5-10, 175 pound catcher is out of Davis High School in Davis, California. Posting a 60-yard time of 7.22 he showed a good display of catching and throwing. He was one of the better catchers at the workout with solid fundamentals.

 

Running a 7.06 in the 60-yard, first baseman Ryan Rieger is out of Woodcreek High School in Roseville, California. The lefty showed well during batting practice with a nice swing and a good approach at the plate.

 

In the afternoon session (the simulated game) he was one of two players to hit one out. "I got a pitch to hit and was able to drive it," he said of his home run.

 

"I did pretty good today, I was more confident this time," Rieger said of his second time out here. He added that right now, hitting is the strongest part of his game. Not only for the homer he hit, but the solid round of batting practice he took as well.

 

"I lift six days a week," Rieger said of his off season regiment. He added that the biggest improvement because of working out is the increase of strength.

 

For a second year Kareem Edwards out of Encinal High School made it to an Area Code Baseball Tryout. In 2007 he hit about .390 with over 20 stolen bases.

 

He posted one of the fastest 60-yard times of the tryout with a 6.54. He had a good overall day at the tryout both in the outfield showing a good arm and at the plate spraying line drives and showing off his speed in the afternoon session.

 

"I think I did pretty good," said Edwards of his day today. "I could have done better with the bat, but overall it was pretty good.

 

With having the experience of last year under his belt, Edward knew what to think and to expect, which gave him an advantage of sorts over the other players at the tryout.

 

"Last year I was a young guy and I had an advantage this year as one of the older guys," Edwards remarked.

 

As for the pitchers, Kevin Eichorn out of Aptos High School threw the ball well. With good mechanics on the mound, he was clocked in the high 80's.

 

Lefty Josh Poytress out of Fowler High School was clocked in the mid 80's. He too had good mechanics and had good command when throwing to the live batters. He also had a good feel for pitching on the mound.

 

Finally out of the 2009 class, Scott Griggs is out of San Ramon Valley. At 6-2, 180 pounds, Griggs is a big kid. He had good mechanics and was impressive as he was clocked in the low 90's during the simulated game. With all the 2009 showing well, look for the 2009 class in Northern California to be solid.

[colbyjack]

The article kind of talks about it, but the Brewers scouting staff is responsible for selecting the best players from California to field two teams (grey and blue I believe) that participate in the Area Code Games, one of the most pretigious summer showcase events. The scouts also coach the players on the field.

 

This experience gives the scouting staff a natural advantage because not only do they get to see these kids up close, but they also get to know these kids fairly well in the dugout and on the field.

 

I believe the Rangers host the team from Texas, the White Sox usually host the midwest team, I believe the Mariners host the Pacific Northwest team, and there are a couple of other teams sprinkled in.

 

For the most part, teams aren't involved with the selection process of other showcase and All-Star events around the country, such as the Perfect Game National, Aflac All-American Classic and the East Coast Professional Showcase. Those events are coordinated by the events producers, such as Perfect Game.

 

EDIT: I forgot to mention this, but despite what would seem to be a natural advantage for the Brewers scouting dep't., they haven't been overly active selecting players from California since they took over these responsibilities. Ryan Babineau is one draftee that participated with the Brewers at Area Code Games that comes to mind, but of course he didn't even sign with the club (he's at UCLA). The Brewers remain active in the Southeast (Weeks, Fielder, Braun, Gamel, Brewer, Palmisano, Brantley, Fermaint, LaPorta etc.) and has been hitting the Northeast pretty hard in recent years (Garrison, Salome, Braddock, Rogers etc.). The more notable west coast guys they have taken early and/or given larger bonuses to are from college or JC's (Gwynn, Gillespie, Errecart, Parra).

[colbyjack]

This story talks about the players that were selected to participate for the two Brewers teams:

 

ssbaseball.rivals.com/con...CID=691327

 

One perk about this is seeing photos of some of the top players from California over the next year dressed in Brewers gear. Isaac Galloway, Aaron Hicks, Gerrit Cole and Kyle Skipworth at this point in time are the top prospects from CA for the '08 draft.

[colbyjack]

I'm going to adjust this thread title to talk about all of this summer's action at both the high school and college levels as it pertains to the talent that is on display as part of the numerous showcase and tournament events for the high school players and the summer college leagues.

 

First of all, I just discovered this site today. I receive a lot of inquiries about how people can get a start in the scouting industry. If you don't have previous experience as a player at the college and/or minor league level, I always suggest that you really need to be proactive and get out to see as many players as humanly possible while sharing your opinions and thoughts with the professionals involved in the industry in an attempt to make your mark on them.

 

The guy that runs the site linked below is doing about as good of a job as one can with similar aspirations:

 

www.capeprospects.com/index.html

 

Solid reports, and video for everyone to see. Quite simply, a must stop for anyone interested in following some of the top players available for the draft.

 

And if you want to see a future MLB hitter, one who Blazer25 has pimped a few times before, check out the video of David Adams. That's a big-league swing, and his production this summer (.295/.379/.430 with 14 doubles -- 1st in the league, 3 triples -- tied for 1st in the league, 44 hits -- 2nd in the league) is supporting his case.

 

Yonder Alonso might be my favorite prospect on the Cape, and you can check out his video as well. He too is having a big summer.

 

You can check out all of the Cape league's stats via the league's official website:

 

www.capecodbaseball.org/

 

Team USA is having a rather disappointing summer. While there are plenty of big names to follow, the talent on the Cape has been more impressive. You can check the stats here:

 

mlb.mlb.com/usa_baseball/...073007.txt

 

I am currently in the process of contacting the Northwoods League managers and area scouts covering the league to come up with the top 25 prospects. That list will be psted on PG Crosschecker when it is completed, although for subscribers only. The talent in the NWL isn't anywhere near the level of the Cape, particularly this year, but there are still plenty of interesting players that will be worth noting.

 

An early head's up, this year's Aflac All-American Classic will once again be televised. Check out the details for the game and view the rosters via the official website:

 

www.aflacallamerican.com/

[Blazer25]

Solid reports, and video for everyone to see. Quite simply, a must stop for anyone interested in following some of the top players available for the draft.

That's an awesome site. Reports are really concise and detailed. I'd say his OFP grades are a touch high for me but overall it's a great job.

 

Thanks for passing that on CJ.

[colbyjack]

I had a chance today to sneak out of work for an hour or two to swing by Miller Park and see the scouting event Brewers area scout Harvey Kuenn had organized, collecting the best '08s and '09s in Wisconsin. Sam Munson to no surprise showed the best bat, with plenty of hard hit balls to all parts of the stadium. I only stuck around for BP and not for the game action, so I wasn't able to see any of the pitchers. There were about 10-12 scouts/college coaches in attendance.

 

The practices for the Aflac All-American Classic are in full swing, with a few reports from the Perfect Game staff via PG Crosschecker on the first few days of practice:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/showcase/2007/aflac/aflac07_day1.aspx

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/showcase/2007/aflac/aflac07_day2.aspx

 

Don't forget, the game is televised on Fox Sports on Saturday afternoon.

 

While I will be sure to add my impressions from the game in the next week or two, my column on PGCC this week focused on the best players from the Cape this summer:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/crackthebat/patrick_ebert/07_08_09_cream_ofthe_cape/

 

Thanks to MassHaas for helping me get a good look at some of the best players on the Cape.

[colbyjack]

Most to all of the summer leagues have wrapped up play, with Yarmouth-Dennis taking the crown on the Cape. Here's a link to the Cape's website to check stats, play of the year awards, etc.:

 

http://www.capecodbaseball.org/

 

Wichita State 3B Conor Gillaspie was named the league's MVP by leading the league in hitting and slugging, and was among almost every other major statical category as well hitting .345/.448/.673, which are some incredibly impressive numbers.

 

Missouri's Aaron Crow was named the league's best pro prospect as voted by the scouts that covered the league. Crow is a RHP that commands his 90-94 mph fastball incredibly well, going 3-1 on the summer while posting the league's best ERA at 0.67. He was particularly impressive in the All-Star Game, striking out the side in the first inning (Cole Figueroa, Collin Cowgill and Yonder Alonso, three pretty good bats).

 

St. Cloud took the Northwoods League title, beating Eau Claire last Saturday. The top prospect lists for all of the summer leagues will soon be posted on PGCrosschecker as well as Baseball America. I actually compiled this summer's top prospect list for the Northwoods League, going 25 players deep, compiling thoughts from each of the league's 14 field managers as well as area scouts that covered the circuit.

[colbyjack]

In relationship to Aaron Crow, I forgot to add the prospects since 1999 that have received the top prospect award in the eyes of scouts. Some pretty good names on this list, which usually can attest to not only the talent level on the Cape, but how well the scouts are at evaluating that talent:

 

2006: Matt Wieters

2005: Andrew Miller

2004: Tyler Greene

2003: Wade Townsend

2002: Wes Whisler

2001: Russ Adams

2000: Bobby Brownlie

1999: Mark Teixeira

 

Keep in mind that Townsend and Brownlie in particular were very highly sout after pitching prospects entering their junior years in college. Injuries for the most part really got both of them. This list reminded me just how big of an impression Wes Whisler left on scouts in 2002, in which he was named the league's top prospect after his freshman year at UCLA. He never was the same player, a mystery that left quite a few people scratching their heads.

[GagneCY03]

CJ, did you catch the AFLAC game this year? If so, any prospects that stood out to you?

[colbyjack]

I sure did. My column from last week got buried a little on PGCC's homepage due to the amount of info recently released on the Aflac game, Area Code Games and the East Coast Pro, but here's the link if you're interested:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/crackthebat/patrick_ebert/07_08_17_aflac_impressions/

[GagneCY03]

Great read, thanks CJ. I've already decided that Harold Martinez is my favorite prospect in the class. He has the perfect HS hitter's build and good bat speed. I was surprised to read that his defense is so good. I think he could be a special player if he can play SS as a pro. Have you chosen a favorite player or two yet?

[Blazer25]

Kyle Skipworth is my guy. He's Joe Mauer good. I also like Eric Hosmer but he's a gimmie. Third favorite guy was Robbie Grossman, I got to see him play 8-10 games this summer.

 

For pitchers I'm a fan of Michael Palazzone, Michael Tonkin and Nick Maronde.

[colbyjack]

All of the players listed are the ones I was particularly impressed with, which not only reflects their performances from the Aflac game, but some of the other events they have participated at this summer.

 

Tim Melville is a stud. He's big, athletic, he can pitch and hit and he's one of those guys that just has it.

 

Jack Armstrong doesn't throw hard, but I loved the way he pitched.

 

Tim Beckham, Ethan Martin, Eric Hosmer, Kyle Skipworth and Harold Martinez are all going to hit. I think Galloway will as well.

 

Taylor Jungmann was probably the most pleasant surprise for me of the group. Gerrit Cole can also bring it.

 

Two guys stood out to me though: Alex Meyer and Aaron Hicks.

 

Hicks is just an exciting all-around ballplayer. Offensively he reminds me of Jose Reyes. Pitching he reminds me of Jeremy Jeffress. All around explosive athlete that can make a difference no matter how he's doing it.

 

Meyer really impressed me with his fastball-slider combo. He spotted his FB very well, and his slider got better the more he threw it. He's a big guy, the type of pitcher I usually shy away from, but he reminded me a little bit of Dellin Betances in that he had great stuff, commanded it well and showed that he knew how to pitch. He's almost as tall as Betances but has a lot more meat on his bones.

 

Now, if I had the first overall pick I'm not saying I would take either one of those two players (I would probably take one of either Melville, Beckham or Skipworth), but they made the biggest impression on me.

 

Once again SoCal is loaded, and I hope you get the chance to get out and see some of these kids play in person. Did you make it to the Aflac game?

[GagneCY03]

Didnt make it to the AFLAC game but I was able to watch it live. I'm definitely going to try to get to some games next year, though. I liked what I saw from Alex Meyer. Just a huge kid and his arm worked well. Hicks is a SoCal kid, so I'm hoping to see him play live prior to the draft.

 

Blazer, you really think Skipworth has Mauer potential? Gotta say his HR was impressive. And Grossman was another guy I liked going into the game. Funny how he robbed my other favorite twice.

[colbyjack]

I've been watching quite a bit of baseball lately, particularly from the college level, catching up on a long summer of misc. videos, recordings, etc. (thanks to the people that have helped me out in this regard, you know who you are).

 

I think the college bats could be similar to the number available in 2005, when Alex Gordon, Jeff Clement, Ryan Zimmerman, Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki were selected among the first seven picks of the draft. Pedro Alvarez is this year's version of Alex Gordon, who has been putting up big numbers ever since stepping onto Vanderbilt's campus. I've had a few opportunities to see him in action for Team USA, and he is about as refined and lethal of a hitter as you can find, and he has really impressed me with his glove. I got a chance to see Alvarez play in person back in April, and it's impossible not seeing him lacing up the spikes at the big-league level.

 

Justin Smoak is also playing for TUSA, and he too has a lethal bat, a switch-hitting bat to boot. He along with Yonder Alonso, and even Allan Dykstra, are going to give next year's draft some serious first base sluggers to look forward to. Alonso is probably my favorite of the three, as he has an extremely patient eye and I think his swing will lead to more hits and a better overall hitter.

 

I've already shared my thoughts on David Adams earlier. The guy can rake, and he's a pretty good overall athlete. He hasn't hit for much power in college, but I think it will come down the road. He reminds me of Jeff Kent every time I watch the guy.

 

There are a lot of guys that could really elevate their positions with strong springs. Jordan Danks will once again form one of the more feared tandems in all of college baseball with Kyle Russell returning to Texas. Brooks Kieschnick has big-time power and is a prototypical RF in the mold of Jeromy Burnitz, but like Burnitz he really needs to tone down his swing to cut down the Ks. Brett Wallace could be the nation's best hitter, and may be a perfect fit for the A's as somewhat of a Scott Hatteburg clone in that he doesn't have an ideal position on the field and receives scrutiny for his body type.

 

Brandon Crawford, Ryan Flaherty, Danny Espinosa, Logan Forsythe, Jermaine Curtis, Conor Gillaspie and Gordon Beckham are all very skilled infielders, with Gillaspie making the most of his summer opportunities.

 

Jemile Weeks didn't play this summer trying to recover from a few nagging injuries carried over from the spring. He is arguably the most dynamic player available from the college ranks, and as we've talked about on this forum before, probably a more "true" leadoff hitting second baseman than his older brother.

 

And Matt Hague, coming off of a solid summer on the Cape, may put up some huge numbers since he transferred from Washington to Oklahoma St.

 

Not a huge fan of the catchers that are available. Petey Paramore (ASU) may be the most patient slugger in the country, but I'm not sold on his D', while Buster Posey may be better off making the most of his athleticism a la Craig Biggio by moving him to 2B at the pro level.

 

The college pitching, similar to '05, isn't as strong IMO. Brian Matusz is one heck of a lefty. Not as overpowering as David Price, but with very good stuff and a very tall, projectable frame. Matusz should front arguably the best pitching staff in the nation at San Diego.

 

After Matusz, you have a collection of guys that really haven't separated themselves, with none of them currently projecting as a staff ace. Lance Lynn (Ole Miss), Aaron Shafer (Wichita State), Aaron Crow (Missouri), Jacob Thompson (Virginia), Tyson Ross (Cal) and Christian Friedrich (Eastern Kentucky) could all factor in the first round, but a few of them need to step up to make me feel more comfortable with the college pitching that projects to be available.

 

Cole St. Clair and Josh Fields both decided to return for their senior seasons (Rice and Georgia) and will help make the '08 draft class that much better. They along with Cody Satterwhite (Ole Miss) and Brett Hunter (Pepperdine) give the '08 draft several live-armed short relievers that could/should factor into the first round.

[colbyjack]

Baseball America has unveiled their top 30 prospects for the Cape Cod League this past summer (for subscribers only):

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/college/features/264762.html

 

Just a minor comment based on Jim Callis' write-ups, it is mentioned that Dennis Raben hit a 3-run shot off of Christian Friedrich, who is the 4th best prospect according to BA's rankings. Having watched the game, I know that this was a solo shot (not that it matters), but this stood out to me because it should have been a 3-run shot. Yonder Alonso scored on a Gordon Beckham double courtesy of a poor throw from the leftfielder, which also allowed Beckham to advance to third, only to score on a wild pitch just before Raben hit his shot.

 

PG Crosschecker has been unveiling their summer league top prospects over the last week+. The content is also for subscribers, but you can view the league's top prospects via this page:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/summer/2007/summer_league_prospects/top_prospects.aspx

 

While BA goes 30 deep in the Cape, PGCC goes 100 deep, and also goes deeper with some of the better summer leagues (I went 25 deep with the Northwoods League, which I compiled the info for despite the story saying it was compiled by Allan Simpson). PGCC hasn't unveiled the top Cape prospects yet, but likely will do so in the next few days.

 

I don't think I provided this link in this thread yet, but a few weeks ago my weekly column focused on some of the better players on the Cape based on their performances (although the better performances do reflect the better prospects):

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/crackthebat/patrick%5Febert/07%5F08%5F09%5Fcream%5Fofthe%5Fcape/

 

Not much news on Team USA. I noted a few of my observations above, but overall the team was rather disappointing this year.