Top Summer Talent for 2007 Draft

[colbyjack]

Numerous summer showcases have already been held, as scouts are already looking ahead to the 2007 draft. The Cape Cod League and Team USA are also in full swing. The Perfect Game National, one of the biggest scouting events of the summer, was held in mid-June, while the WWBA East Cobb tourney was conducted just a couple of weeks ago. Time to tour some pertinent links...

 

The Brewers Area Code rosters (California based players) have been announced. Robert Stock and Eric Goeddel are the big names to watch here:

 

Brewers Area Code Games rosters

 

The Aflac All-American Classic has released their final roster. Michael Main is currently the top rated prep player, with a high 90s heater and equal promise as a 5-tool outfielder. Props to Blazer25 for former Midwest Blazer D.J. LeMahieu's inclusion.

 

Aflac All-American Classic roster release

 

Unfortunately, I do not think I will be able to attend this year's Aflac game.

 

My Perfect Game associates Allan Simpson, David Rawnsley and others continue to post solid information on this past year's draftees while looking ahead to next year as well at PG Crosschecker:

 

PG Crosschecker

 

BaseballWebTV.com continues to post videos from the summer's events:

 

BaseballWebTV

 

Keep an eye on Perfect Game's site where I'll have some thoughts on the Northwoods League in my next column, hopefully posted by the end of the week. The NWL All-Star Game was held last Wednesday in La Crosse. The Cape Cod League All-Star Game will be held the weekend of July 28th, and probably will be televised as it was a year ago. Team USA's website is currently being revamped, but you can read thoughts on Team USA on PG Crosschecker.

[colbyjack]

I wanted to add this earlier before my job called me away from posting (how dare they) that a couple of former Brewer draft picks are impressing this summer.

 

Jemile Weeks reportedly has continued his spring success while playing for Team USA. As noted above, Team USA's site is under construction, so there are no stats available, but he hasn't missed a beat playing against some of the top talent in the world.

 

Tim Smith is currently seventh in the Northwoods League in hitting, batting .309. He is also tied for first in hits (50, with one of my faves from the '05 draft pool, Charlie Cutler). Smith has been playing CF and batting leadoff for the Mankato Moondogs, and is 11 for 14 in stolen base attempts. He only has six extra-base hits, but that's not really that bad in a wood-bat league, especially when the fifth-best slugger in the league (Cutler) is slugging .399.

[Bambis Bombers]

Was is Tim Smith's status? Was he drafted this 2006? If not, can he be signed as an undrafted free agent?

[colbyjack]

Tim Smith went unsigned by the Brewers as a draft & follow candidate, which made him eligible to be drafted again this June. No one drafted Smith this year, so no one controls his rights at this point in time. I forgot to mention above that Smith is heading for offensive powerhouse Arizona State in the fall. Kudos to him, but usually there is a reason why a team doesn't sign a player as a DFE, especially when no one else drafts that player at all (including the Brewers).

[NastyTwig]

Quote:

---

Sequoyah Stonecipher '07 Mission Bay High School

---

 

We have to draft this guy. All the beatings he recieved in school on account of the name must have made him into the grittiest of battlers.

[colbyjack]

I've already seen a few interesting stories on Sequoyah. I think it goes without saying that he's from California http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

[colbyjack]

PG Crosschecker has some very good writeups on all of the players that will be participating at the Aflac All-American Classic. The write-ups are for subscribers only, but I hope more and more of you will see that the subscription is well worth it:

 

www.pgcrosschecker.com/

 

If you're a BA subscriber, give PG Crosschecker a try, because Allan Simpson, if you haven't been able to tell already, is bringing the same ranking features that he instituted at BA to the new site (so I'm not just being a homer).

 

The game itself will be aired live on TV Saturday, August 12th at 2:00 pm on Fox Sports Net. I just checked and the local FSN channel (31 on TW Cable in Milwaukee) is carrying the game. I will likely be offering a few scouting reports on the players that stand out to me to keep an eye on next week (Michael Main is the name to remember for the '07 draft).

 

By the way, the Cape Cod League All-Star Game was played last weekend. Last year it was televised, this year it was not. While last year's game (and overall league) was filled with top level talent, this year that talent level seems to be down somewhat on the Cape.

[colbyjack]

PG Crosschecker (see the link above) has a lot of good stories out right now covering the East Coast Professional Showcase in Wilmington and the Area Code Games. They also are starting to break down the top 10 prospects in each of the college summer leagues (scroll down towards the bottom of the homepage). There is some great information to enjoy for those of you that to keep up with the next crop of draft eligible prospects.

 

BA has a story on their homepage concerning the Area Code Games. Nowhere near as detailed as PG Crosschecker's, but it's free:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...62136.html

 

And I love seeing the young kids wearing Brewers' gear:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/mdominguez06428309js.jpg

[colbyjack]

Jerry Ford and Allan Simpson of PG Crosschecker have some really nice writeups of the Aflac All-American Classic that are free for everyone to enjoy:

 

Aflac Day One

 

Aflac Day Two

 

Aflac Day Three

 

Aflac Day Four

 

I'm going to be watching the game over the next few days and will offer my own thoughts on the players & performances within the next week or two.

 

Here's BA's coverage of the game:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...62209.html

[colbyjack]

I'm starting to look ahead more and more to the '07 draft class, having watched half of the Aflac game last night and checking up on the collegians that have recently finished up their summer seasons. Heading into the 2007 season, David Price is typically considered the top college, and overall, prospect. A 6' 6" lefty from Vanderbilt, Price has a very similar scouting makeup to Mark Prior (Prior as he was coming out of USC, not necesarrily the Mark Prior of today, as he was one of the most celebrated amateur prospects ever).

 

Matt Wieters, a switch-hitting catcher from Georgia Tech, is a player I had ranked very high coming out of HS (top 10 opening the spring of 2004, 22nd in my final ranking-just behind Yovani Gallardo for what it's worth). Most didn't rank him that high because it was almost a given that he would attend college. Wieters also serves as the Yellow Jackets closer, and has been clocked as high as 98 mph with good control and a good breaking ball.

 

Behind the dish is where Wieters' value lies. As noted he's a switch hitter with power, discipline, the ability to hit for average and he's pretty good defensively. He is also praised for his leadership abilities, all of which makes for an easy comparison to Jason Varitek.

 

Let's take a look at Wieters' and Price's numbers this summer and their cumulative totals from their first two years in college:

 

David Price

 

Brewerfan.net 2004 profile

 

Final 2004 Brewerfan.net ranking (141, but I don't rank past the top 30) comment:

Projectable lefty with good stuff.

 

Summer of 2006-Team USA

5-1, 0.20 ERA (only 1 ER), 8 games (7 starts), 1 CG shutout, 44 IP, 21 H, 61 K, 7 BB

 

Cumulative total at Vanderbilt, Freshman & Sophomore years

11-9, 3.61 ERA, 35 games (27 starts), 2 CG (1 shutout), 179.2 IP, 143 H, 247 K, 73 BB, 13 HR allowed

 

Price obviously has the propensity to miss a lot of bats, and he has brought his walk total down significantly this summer. As a left-handed pitcher with the size and stuff to match, he seems poised to be a staff ace and probably the best LHP to come out of college since Mark Mulder.

 

Matt Wieters

 

Brewerfan.net 2004 profile

 

Final 2004 Brewerfan.net ranking (22) comment:

A great athlete, will probably go to Georgia Tech and won't get drafted where he should based on talent.

 

Summer of 2006-Cape Cod League (Orleans)

.307/.417/.535 in 127 AB, 5 2B, 8 HR, 27 BB, 21 K, 0 E in 24 games as catcher

 

Cumulative total at Georgia Tech, Freshman & Sophomore years

.360/.475/.595 in 486 AB, 37 2B, 1 3B, 25 HR, 101 BB, 71 K, 4 E

Threw out 19 runners in 55 attempts (35%)

 

Wieters' batting average and OBP was 2nd in the Cape this summer, while his slugging percentage was third. He was also tied for second in home runs, that after arriving on the Cape a little later than everyone else given GT's postseason run. He controls the strike zone incredibly well.

 

As much as I like lefties, especially seemingly can't-miss lefties like Price, catchers like Wieters simply don't come around very often, and he has proven to hit both at GT and with wood on the Cape against some of the best players in the nation.

 

My nod for the best prospect for the 2007 draft will go to Matt Wieters, with David Price a close second. I will offer my top 10-12 prospects frm both the college and high school in my annual draft recap story which should hit the homepage in mid-to-late September.

[colbyjack]

Allan Simpson recently has added the top 10 prospects in the Northwoods League at PG Crosschecker.com. This link is for subscribers:

 

www.pgcrosschecker.com/su...19_06.aspx

 

Former Brewers draftee and DFE candidate from a year ago, Tim Smith, was rated the league's third best prospect and is heading to Arizona State for his junior year.

 

Jordan Zimmerman of UW-Stevens Point was rated the league's #1 prospect.

 

Here's a link to all of the league top prospect lists at PG Crosschecker.com as well as links to the various summer notebooks:

 

www.pgcrosschecker.com/su...bball.aspx

[colbyjack]

This is an interesting an surprising story:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...62267.html

 

Robert Stock, BA's youth player of the year last year, the starting pitcher for the West squad at the Aflac All-American Classic and one of the top high school prospects for the 2007 draft has decided to attend USC a year earlier and will not be eligible for the draft until 2009. Definitely an interesting twist, since Stock is only 16 right now, and will be eligible for the draft when he's 20 years old after his junior year in college.

 

I'm sure USC is pretty happy about this move, but I'm sure this isn't the last we've heard about this story.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Wow is that story amazing . . .

 

Quote:

---

Stock, who was named Baseball America's Youth Player of the Year in 2005 as a 15-year-old, met early academic admission requirements based on several criteria outlined in Rule 14.3.1.4 of the NCAA's early admission program. Stock ranked in the top 20 percent of his high school class and has completed each of his core class requirements, except English. He also had the required GPA of at least 3.5 in each of his last four high school semesters. He then had to apply for a waiver from the NCAA that would grant him eligibility to play baseball at USC, which he received. His 1410 SAT score helped him overcome the final stumbling block of getting into Southern California through its Resident Honors Program, which allows about 30 elite students who have demonstrated exceptional maturity to enroll in the university a year early.

---

 

I don't think baseball is this kid's only option in life.

[colbyjack]

BA has their top 30 Cape Cod League prospect list up for subscribers:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/o...62305.html

 

South Carolina freshman 1B Justin Smoak in at #1. Towering NC State RHP Andrew Brackman in at #2, Georgia Tech C Matt Wieters at #3.

[colbyjack]

Here's a link to Team USA's final stats. Jemile Weeks fared very well. I have already covered LHP David Price, whose stats are incredibly impressive.

 

mlb.mlb.com/usa_baseball/...081406.pdf

[colbyjack]

There was some talk on the minor league forum about drafting for need. Catching clearly is the organization's biggest need, and has been for quite some time. Next year offers a fair amount of talent at the catching position, most notably from the college ranks (Robert Stock would have made it that much better from high school IF teams preferred him as a catcher and IF he hadn't enrolled at USC a year early). In addition to Wieters, as profiled above, the Cape had two more catchers on BA's top prospect list: Josh Donaldson (#11) of Auburn and Mitch Canham (#13) of Oregon State. J.P. Arencibia of Tennessee was Team USA's primary catcher, and once again put up big numbers this summer playing against some of the best talent in the world.

 

J.P. Arencibia-Tennessee

 

Summer of 2006-Team USA

.302 batting average in 116 AB, 9 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 11:23 BB:K

 

Sophomore year, spring of 2006-Tennessee

.352/.419/.583 in 216 AB, 17 2B, 11 HR, 20:30 BB:K, 8 Es

 

Summer of 2005-Team USA

.404 batting average, .579 SLG, 2 HR (led TUSA in BA, SLG, hits-23, RBI-12, TB-33)

 

Freshman year, spring of 2005-Tennessee

.322/.379/.534 in 283 AB, 16 2B, 1 3B, 14 HR, 24:37 BB:K, 6 Es

 

Arencibia was a top prospect coming out of high school, but made it clear early that he was going to attend Tennessee. All he has done since attending college is hit, and hit in bunches, and has proven his worth hitting with a wood bat for Team USA. He hits for average and power, and shows a keen eye at the plate. He was big at the World University Championship in Cuba this summer hitting 4 of his 8 home runs and 23 of his 37 RBI. He's a good athlete, and while he's probably never going to win a Gold Glove behind the plate, there is no reason to think he can't stick there. Arencibia could very easily go in the top 5-10 picks in next year's draft.

 

Josh Donaldson-Auburn

 

Summer of 2006-Cape Cod

.302/.382/.456 in 149 AB, 11 2B, 4 HR, 20:33 BB:K, 8 Es, threw out 48% of runners

 

Sophomore year, spring of 2006-Auburn

.276/.331/.487 in 228 AB, 16 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 15:41 BB:K, 9 Es, 16 PB, threw out 39% of runners

 

Freshman year, spring of 2005-Auburn

.294/.347/.477 in 153 AB, 7 2B, 7 HR, 11:34 BB:K, 12 E

 

As noted above, Donaldson was rated the Cape's 11th best prospect according to BA. He finished 2nd in extra-base hits on the Cape, third in doubles and fifth in batting average. He played 17 games at 3B and 16 games at catcher, as he bounced back and forth the two position his sophomore year at Auburn as well. He played exclusively at 3B his freshman year, but is expected to make the permanent transition behind the plate once he enters the pro ranks if he doesn't do so his junior year at Auburn. A very good athlete with a very strong arm, Donaldson was the Gatorade player of the year in Alabama coming out of his senior year in high school. While he's raw behind the plate, scouts expect him to be able to stick there given his agility and arm strength. If he carries his Cape success into next year and continues to prove his worth behind the plate, he could go in the middle to second half of the first round.

 

Mitch Canham-Oregon State

 

Summer of 2006-Cape Cod

.300/.388/.473 in 110 AB, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 10:23 BB:K, 4-5 SB, 4 E

 

Sophomore year, spring of 2006-Oregon State

.299/.390/.496 in 224 AB, 13 2B, 5 3B, 7 HR, 30:45 BB:K, 10 for 12 SB, 4 E

 

Redshirt freshman year, spring of 2005-Oregon State

.325/.423/.531 in 160 AB, 5 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 24:37 BB:K, 4-8 SB

 

Again, as noted above, Canham was the Cape's 13th best prospect after showing up late after Oregon State won the CWS. He was a co-captain for the championship Beavers, and was draft-eliglble as a sophomore after red-shirting his freshman year (he had surgery to remove bone spurs in his elbow). He was drafted in the 41st round by the Cardinals, but will return for his junior year of eligibility and no doubt will go much higher than that next June. Other than batting left-handed, Canham is a similar prospect to Donaldson in that he is athletic and has only spent the last two years behind the plate (previously playing third base). He hit very well on the Cape, finishing just behind Donaldson in the batting race and his slugging percentage was fourth best. Canham faded in May which brought his college stats down, but he rebounded well in the regionals and at the CWS. He probably will never be better than average defensively, but with his bat he could be a solid catcher at the big-league level. He's probably a 2nd to 5th round pick, likely going closer to the 2nd since catchers are always at a premium.

[homer]

Colby,

I'm sure you've posted someplace, but what kind of talent goes to the Cape Cod league?

[colbyjack]

The Cape has the best collection of college players. Team USA tries to collect the best college players in the nation as well, but some players actually opt not to play for TUSA so they can play on the Cape.

 

They do this for a couple of reasons. For one, they don't travel as much in the Cape. Jim can tell you how close the teams are better than I can, but I don't think any of them are more than an hour apart from one another, making it truly a unique atmosphere. Two, players know the Cape League is very heavily scouted, and one's ability to perform well on the Cape often draws a lot of interest & attention. For whatever reason, hitting well on the Cape is more impressive that hitting well for TUSA, despite the fact that both leagues use wood bats.

 

The Northwoods and Alaskan summer college leagues probably have the next best collection of college talent.

 

The leagues serve somewhat as a developmental league for college players so they get used to life as a minor leaguers somewhat. They don't get paid, so some of the players have to get jobs, and they typically live with host families. Leagues like the Northwoods League also is a developmental league for umpires, one of the few leagues to employ such a tactic for the umps.

 

That's probably more than what you were asking for, either that or I answered everything but your question http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Players in the Alaskan League get "paid" for "jobs" in that age old college athelete way, if you know what I mean.

 

Housing is free with a local family.

 

We get the West Coast players who don't get the call from the Cape.

[homer]

Freddie Prinze Jr. worked for his dad doing landscaping.

 

 

Then he watched Jessica Biel walk around in a bikini.

[colbyjack]

PG Crosschecker's Jeff Simpson (Allan's son) has recently compiled the Cape Cod League's top 100 prospects (subscribers):

 

www.pgcrosschecker.com/su..._6_06.aspx

 

I don't want to sound like I'm a corporate stooge constantly pumping up PG Crosschecker, but they really have some features that have taken familiar lists from sources such as Baseball America and have taken them another step further (such as the top 100 prospects on the Cape). Blaine Clemmons also has a list of the top 50 prospects from the Area Code Games up on the homepage. You can find top prospect lists from the PG National and the East Coast Professional Showcase. Those three events along with the Aflac All-American Classic are arguably the best collective talent showcases during the summer. Of course, you have reports from the WWBA (another division of PG) tournament events making the player info to be found at PGCC truly astounding.

 

If you're a draft nut like yours truly, enough so to have a subscription at BA, you have to sign up for one at PG Crosschecker.

 

For the rest of you, I don't think my articles are subscriber-based http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

[RyDogg66]

Patrick - great article on the front page review this years draft and mini-previewing next years. Sounds like a good year to get some extra 1st round/comp picks with the depth of college pitching that could be available in the mid to late rounds.

[colbyjack]

PG Crosschecker has just unveiled their top 1,000 (yes, 1,000) draft eligible high school prospects for 2007. You need to be a subscriber to view the list, but again, if you're a big draftnik the cost of the subscription is well worth it.

 

PG Crosschecker

[Mass Haas]

California high school third baseman Matt Dominguez has been on BA's home page all week with his Brewer cap from the Area Code Games. Doesn't mean anything draft-wise, I just like that the Brewers scouting department has such a presence with Area Code:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/mdominguez068371.jpg

[colbyjack]

Hey Jim, see page 1 of this thread for the full picture.