High School Baseball 2006

[colbyjack]

BA has released their early draft preview, starting with the high school prospects. The info is a little hidden at this point in time, but if you access their homepage and then click on high school on the left panel you can see their coverage:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...index.html

 

The top 100 prospect list and the top tools rankings are for subscribers only, but you can check out a look back on the '03 draft as well as a feature on slugging outfielder Cody Johnson:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...sof03.html

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...hnson.html

 

Cody Johnson

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images2005/cjohnson450350di.jpg

[natedogge7]

out of the top pitchers, who has the best overall pitching mechanics? which pitchers do you think might experience arm troubles down the road due to their deliveries?

[colbyjack]

I want to preface my response by saying I'm not a pitching coach, and I don't claim to know anything that would lead to a pitcher cleaning up his delivery, such as lowering their arm angle or using more hip rotation, etc.

 

I do look for fluidity, and I like a pitcher that can repeat their delivery with ease.

 

Brett Anderson is the most fluid prep pitcher available, and he also shows the most pitching savvy. I have a hard time believing that he won't be successful at the next level.

 

Dellin Betances is surprisingly smooth on the mound, despite a 6'9" frame. I typically shy away from extremely tall pitchers, since there is so much body for them to control. You just don't see too many super-tall pitchers succeed, although everyone seems to think the taller the better. Betances' delivery did not give me one ounce of concern.

 

Walden's is pretty compact, and he has a very athletic build.

 

Latos has long limbs, and somewhat of an exaggerated delivery. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with that, but again, his style of pitching doesn't catch my eye as much as others.

 

Jason Stoffel like Walden has a compact, no-nonsense windup and throwing motion.

 

While the ball explodes out of Drabek's hand, his delivery is a little on the violent, max effort side, and he looks as though he overthrows a little bit. I've commented on this before, with the mention that being the son of a former Cy Young Award winner I'm sure his pop would tell him if he was doing something wrong, so I'm not going to worry about his delivery too much.

 

Colton Willems and Chris Tillman both control their tall, rangy bodies pretty well. Kasey Kiker throws a little too much over the top for my tastes, but his delivery does resemble Ben Sheets' somewhat, although as a left-hander.

 

Have you checked out BaseballWebTV.com yet? Right now there is a short video clip of Walden from the Aflac game off of the homepage (towards the bottom, on the right, the one talking about recruiting classes):

 

www.baseballwebtv.com/

 

Also, have you read my draft assessment story? I know with Logan White you have confidence that he'll be able to draft and ultimately develop a pretty good prep arm, but with such a high pick (and we Brewers fans speak from experience) I would tend to look somewhere else. If you want to know who I would take at #7 overall, it wouldn't be a prep pitcher, but if it were it would probably be Anderson followed by Drabek, Betances and Walden, not necessarily in that order. I know I have Anderson ranked the lowest of the four, as he doesn't have as high of a ceiling as the other three pitchers, but in my mind he's the best bet of making a difference as a pro.

[natedogge7]

at baseballwebtv.com, do they have any games on there yet pitched by:

walden

drabek

latos

anderson

willems

 

??

[colbyjack]

I'm pretty sure there are no videos with those players. None of them participated at the WWBA to my knowledge, at least not as pitchers, and none of them went to the World Showcase earlier this month. There will probably be videos of them as the spring progresses.

 

Try to get your hands on a tape of the Aflac game to see all of those guys pitch. I would suggest contacting Fox Sports Net since they're the ones that covered the event, or even try contacting someone from the Aflac All-American Classic (check their website for contact information). If you talk to the right person they often will send you a tape for $20 or so (I've done this before with other events).

[RCWarrior1]

Colbyjack,

 

Where do you see these two players(Kasey Kiker, Cory Rasmus) fitting into the 06 draft?

[colbyjack]

I have Kiker currently ranked 30th overall, so he's a first-rounder in my mind. That's not saying Cory isn't, especially if he carries his 97 mph fastball over into the spring, not to mention his killer curveball. I mentioned on another thread that I tried to find a way to get Rasmus in the top 30, and noted that he likely will be rated there at some point this spring (probably sooner than later).

 

Given your board name, I'm guessing you know all about both of them http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

 

And if you haven't seen it, check out my interview with Tony Rasmus, Colby & Cory's father and their high school head coach, at Perfect Game:

 

www.perfectgame.org/2005/...rasmus.cfm

[natedogge7]

hey colby, can you talk a little about Carmine Giardina and the stuff he has. hes a LHP and rated as the #1 LHP prep prospect in the state of florida. hes comitted to texas.

 

do you know if baseballweb.tv has another video on him?

[colbyjack]

Giardina's best pitch is his changeup, and that may tell you already that he is more of a control pitcher than a power pitcher. He tops out around 91 or so, and works 88-90, which is pretty good velocity for a lefty. He may sneak into the first round like John Danks did a few years ago with a similar approach to pitching.

 

Brett Anderson is the best prep LHP of this year's class.

 

You can watch Giardina pitch at BaseballWebTV.com in WWBA tourney game #69, as he pitches for Chet Lemon's Juice against College Select. I think the games are $1.99 each. You can also watch Marcus Lemon, another Texas recruit, play SS and bat leadoff for his father's team.

[natedogge7]

i was reading the PG write ups of jupiter and this is what clemmens had to say about giardina

 

Quote:

---

Of those players, expect Giardina and Piggott to get the most draft interest. They have tools and abilities that profile well to the pro game right out of high school. Giardina raised his level a notch (was sharp all summer, in all the top events) by reaching up to 92 with his fastball. He goes in and out with ease and has a plus curveball too. His curveball reminds me of what Andy Pettitte's looks like on TV. On some draft depth charts, he is likely the top lefty in the nation and in the top five high school pitching prospects overall.

---

 

if he's already throwing 92 heading into his senior yr, with plus cb and plus change up, he seems extremely polished and would probably make way into the first round somehow, or at least the supp 1st round. He seems like a logan white type pitcher.

 

do you know how strong his committ to texas is? It seems texas players are harder to sign away from college then most.

[colbyjack]

if he's already throwing 92 heading into his senior yr, with plus cb and plus change up, he seems extremely polished and would probably make way into the first round somehow, or at least the supp 1st round. He seems like a logan white type pitcher.

 

Yup. That's why I said there's a good chance he creeps up a la John Danks.

 

Although the "logan white type pitcher" comment is a little funny. I think he's just about any scouting director's type of pitcher, with the exception of maybe the Blue Jays'.

 

As for his commitment, 99% of players are signable for first-round money. It's just hard to pass up seven figures, no matter how badly you want to go to college. Plus, while I'm not aware of where he was born, he lives in Florida now, as you noted, so I doubt his Texas commitment will be as difficult to deal with as it was with Jordan Danks a year ago.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Hey Patrick,

 

U of Washington's only football signee of note was the kid who declered when he was a sophomore anyway, QB Jake Locker. He's a huge kid [6'3", 211] , but now there is some worry that they will lose him to baseball a la Matt Tuiasosopo.

 

Is there any national buzz about him?

 

He seems too big to be anything but a power pitcher, but I have no clue about him as a baseball player.

 

of course they wouldn't have lost Tuiasosopo if the M's hadn't wanted the PR and were willing to spend the $2.5 million involved.

[colbyjack]

BA recently ranked Locker as their 87th prep player, so there is definitely national buzz. He was rated as one of their best athletes, noting that he has been clocked up to 94 mph. You're right, scouts prefer him as a RHP, but he also plays SS, and Tuiasosopo was a pretty big guy as well IIRC and he still plays the IF. I would imagine that he is going to have to soar up draft charts to sign away from football.

 

EDR, how close are you to Everett? Travis Snider, the best of Washington's prep class hails from there. He's one heck of a hitter. It seems the great players from Washington always end up at Arizona State, and he may be next in line.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

EDR, how close are you to Everett?

 

Everett is about an hour north (depending like always on traffic).

 

I usually get up ther once or twice to catsh an Aquasox game, but that's short season Northwest League so it starts long after the high school season is over.

 

With a new work schedule I do plan on seeing a lot more UW games this season.

[GagneCY03]

CJ, Robert Stock goes to school very close to where I live. Should I watch for him playing catcher or pitching? Which position does he figure to play as a pro?

[colbyjack]

Watch Stock play both, as at this point in time scouts aren't sure where he rates better. Throwing 95 at the WWBA certainly changed a few minds, as I think going into that event more viewed him as a catcher.

 

Also watch his teammate, Jason Stoffel, who is an '06 RHP that I was very impressed with at the PG Aflac showcase. He not only throws hard (93 range) with a very good curve, but he also displays an advanced knowledge of pitching. He broke a few bats in the two innings he worked, and induced a few weak grounders when he wasn't striking batters out.

[GagneCY03]

Alright. Looking at his schedule, the first game I'll be able to see isnt for about a month. I'll definitely try to catch Stoffel as well.

[natedogge7]

baseballwebtv is doing a 39 part series on the top HS players in the country. they are starting with right handed pitchers so far they have profiles walde, latos and betances. Hopefully drabek wil be soon... like tomorrowhttp://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[colbyjack]

Baseball America released their preseason All-American teams today (for subscribers only):

 

www.baseballamerica.com/o...1hsaa.html

 

They also listed their preseason top 50 prep teams (for all to view):

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...top50.html

 

Russell County is loaded, with Cory Rasmus & Kasey Kiker, both of whom could be first-rounders come June (like Cory's brother Colby was a year ago). Monsignor Pace has Chris Marrero, while Agoura has another fearsome twosome in Jason Stoffel, a '06 RHP, and Robert Stock, a RHP/C that currently stands as the top prep prospect for the '07 draft.

 

Marcus Lemon and Kyle Drabek

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images2005/lemondrabek450350.jpg

[GagneCY03]

I thought it was great to see El Camino Real on that list, since a friend of the family's grandson is on that team and I actually went to a fundraiser for the team earlier this month. I cant wait to see Stock and Stoffel.

[Oldcity]

Hey Colby, was Oak Creek by any chance on that list? I doubt it being from Wisconsin, but maybe three straight state championships would get them noticed?

[colbyjack]

Nope, no Wisconsin teams. I forget where I saw it, I think on the Wisconsin Baseball site, but Oak Creek isn't even the #1 summer team at this point in time. I'll have to try and find that link later.

[Oldcity]

Ok thanks. I find it amazing that Butler has the chance to be the ace on four state champion teams in his high school career.

[RCWarrior1]

here is an update on Kasey Kiker's first start. He touched 97 in a start against Cody Johnson and Mosley. Johnson K'd, hit dribbler to second and walked against Kiker. He was overmatched. Rasmus pitched against North Florida Christian and also touched 97 and pitched 93-95 with a plus curveball. Rc beat NF 8-5, Rasmus went 5 and gave up no runs.

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...ellhs.html

[colbyjack]

Unfortunately for Russell County, Monsignor Pace has taken over the top spot of BA's rankings with RC falling to 17th:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...top25.html

 

A nice picture of Chris Marrero of Monsignor Pace, one of the top prospects available for this June's draft. I love those old Phillies uniforms!

http://www.baseballamerica.com/images2005/cmarrero450350.jpg