High School Baseball 2006

[colbyjack]

PG's Who's Hot list corroborates the stats that NFWB has provided on Cody Johnson. Seems he's found that HR stroke. Colby, do you think Johnson will climb back into the top half of the first come draft time, or do you think he'll be in the bottom half no matter what stats he puts up?

 

Johnson could definitely move back up to the top half. Draft charts are so fluid, although Johnson has to show the scouts watching him that he has made the necessary adjustments at the plate. I think he is always going to be prone to strikeouts, but how quickly has he adjusted to breaking balls skipping in the dirt before they even reach home plate?

 

As I've said before, his power potential alone could have him drafted very high. I know I've compared him to Adam Dunn in the past, and that still is his upside.

 

Patrick, what do you know about Jeremy Barfield? I heard an interview with Jesse Barfield last week, and he mentioned that Jeremy was a pretty highly thought of draft prospect.

 

Jeremy Barfield is a big kid, 6'5", 215 or so, and he's a LHP, so he is somewhat different than dad and his older brother in the Padres organization. His fastball is in the 86-88 range, and he throws a pretty mean split. His breaking ball needs to be sharpened up, and I'm sure coaches at the pro level will try to get him to ditch the split in favor of a change. According to Perfect Game's hot list, he is tearing it up at the plate this spring with no updates on his pitching performances. With his size for all I know he's throwing in the 90s now, and if not, he could be one day in the next couple of years. Not a top, top ranked guy, but certainly someone to watch for the top 3-5 rounds.

[brettac1]

I know I've compared him to Adam Dunn in the past, and that still is his upside.

 

You know, you're starting to get me liking a high schooler a lot.

 

Thanks for the Barfield info, his dad said that he hasn't seen a better hitter in the state of Texas, so maybe he's possibly drafted as a hitter, too? Or is he just a LHP?

[Blazer25]

Quote:

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his dad said that he hasn't seen a better hitter in the state of Texas,

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The problem with Barfield the younger is, although he can hit, he is kind of a big non-athlete type kid. The only possible place for him would be 1B and I don't know if he'd be able to get it done over there.

 

He might just have to hope he gets drafted by a NL team as a pitcher and be the best hitting pitcher to come out of TX http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[NWFBaseball06]

Tonight Cody Johnson went 3-3 5RBI 2 HRs 1 being a grandslam his second in as many games. He is now hitting .509

[GagneCY03]

Wow, he's really come on of late. Do you actually go to the games, NFWB?

[NWFBaseball06]

Yes, I live in Panama City and have followed Mosley for years.

[GagneCY03]

Unbelievable luck. I've been excited about him for the past several months. How has he looked in the field? Has he been playing 1B and OF? One more than the other?

 

I hope you dont mind playing scout. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[NWFBaseball06]

No, I dont mind playing scout, myself along with everyone else that follows Mosley is also excited about him and the team they have this year. To answer your question, he has split time between first and rightfield. He has done very good work around the bag and has saved the infielders several errors. In the outfield I dont believe that I have seen a ball hit to him, but his arm has looked ok during warm ups.

[GagneCY03]

Thanks again for all the info. I'd be interested to know how Cody looks playing the OF if you see him there.

[templeUsox]

CJ, I have sever high school questions. Any response is appreciated.

 

First, are there any prospects that teams already know will slip in the draft because of signability issues? Who would the best of these prospects be?

 

Second, Clayton Kershaw seems like he has been dominating this season. Actually it doesn't seem like it, he has. Have you heard any talk of him gaining helium? He plays against good competition and the anecdotes about him on PG seem to match the numbers he is putting up. Do you see him as a potential pick in the first 2 rounds?

 

Third, what kind of committment does Billy Rowell have to Alabama and how high can you see him going?

[NWFBaseball06]

Saturday Cody Johnson continued his hot pace going 2-3 with a game tying homerun in the bottom of the 7th. To answer your question about him playing the outfield, he looked very comfortable chasing down flyballs, he also threw the ball well.

 

This game was broadcast on www.floridacast.com it is on the recent archives page under Mosley vs Crystal River at Tallahassee Community College.

[colbyjack]

First, are there any prospects that teams already know will slip in the draft because of signability issues? Who would the best of these prospects be?

 

On my own top 30, look no further than Jared Mitchell and Riley Cooper. Both are football stars as well, and might be hard to sign away from the gridiron.

 

I haven't heard any names for certain that are tough signs. Most to all players that are drafted in the top five rounds sign, as the money is just too good to pass up. Speaking in generalities, players that commit to Stanford, North Carolina and Vanderbilt tend to be the toughest to sign, while prep Texans with a commitment to Texas are typically considered to be pretty tough signs as well (although not as tough as Stanford, UNC and Vandy, as those three tend to draw the more academic types given their reputations as strong academic institutions). Speaking of strong academic institutions, throw Georgia Tech onto the list.

 

LSU always seems to land more of their recruits than most teams.

 

And while I haven't heard of many prep Scott Boras clients, they tend to favor the college ranks.

 

A few names:

 

Ryan Adams: I just saw that he has had an injured hamstring lately. That won't help his draft stock, and his in-state LSU commitment may be tough to pry him away if he slips at all.

 

Travis Snider: I should have added another category, players from the Pacific Northwest that commit to Arizona or Arizona State. Travis Buck and Colin Curtis were both pretty well known commodities coming out of HS, but both slipped in the draft and headed to college.

 

Torre Langley: Georgia Tech recruit, and he could slide if teams question his size looking past his statistical production.

 

Brandon Belt, Taylor Hammack: Texas LHPs committed to Texas.

 

Clint Stubbs: Drew Stubbs little brother, committed to Texas and may be the heir apparent in CF for the Longhorns.

 

Matthew Petiton: NY LHP committed to UNC.

 

Travis Tartamella: Call this one a gut feeling, but this Pepperdine catching recruit may be poised to replace Chad Tracy.

 

Jake Locker: Washington football recruit.

 

Second, Clayton Kershaw seems like he has been dominating this season. Actually it doesn't seem like it, he has. Have you heard any talk of him gaining helium? He plays against good competition and the anecdotes about him on PG seem to match the numbers he is putting up. Do you see him as a potential pick in the first 2 rounds?

 

Easily. He only slides past the 2nd round if signability is a concern. Kershaw is the type of player that could sneak into the first round come June. He's consistently in the low-90s, and there isn't much not to like about they guy.

 

Third, what kind of committment does Billy Rowell have to Alabama and how high can you see him going?

 

I don't know about Rowell's commitment, but I would guess if he's taken in the third or fourth round, which is about where I would guess he would be taken, that he would sign.

 

Keep in mind, that players are only starting to talk about money about this point in time in the scouting season. We are going to hear a lot more about signability from this point forward, as I'm already hearing some interesting developments, although more from the college side.

[colbyjack]

NWFBaseball06,

 

First of all, thanks for posting, we enjoy the first-hand observations.

 

I have a specific defensive-related question regarding Cody Johnson that I hope you can answer for me. When I saw him shagging flies as part of the IF/OF drills at the Aflac game, I wasn't impressed with his arm. This ties into a big misconception that a strong arm on the mound translates into a strong arm on the field (which it doesn't necessarily, as Johnson can touch 90 as a pitcher), and this applies to Johnson IMO, or at least it did when I saw him.

 

When Johnson pitches, he throws from a low-3/4 delivery, and he makes his throws from RF the same way, which has two huge effects on his throws: 1. It takes away the carry, or the sustained velocity of the throw, and 2. It hurts the accuracy of his throws.

 

Throwing side-arm from the infield is one thing, but for accurate, strong throws from the OF one should be throwing over the top, like if they were playing long toss. Any thoughts on this from seeing him this spring?

[GagneCY03]

Thanks again NWFB. I'm also interested in knowing how his throws look and if he raises his arm at all.

[NWFBaseball06]

I can finally answer your question about Johnson's arm. Last night he threw a laser from rightfield to get a runner at the plate, this also preserved the shutout for the Dolphins. He was also 2-2 which puts his average at .524.

[GagneCY03]

Awesome. Was his arm action over the top or lower, like 3/4?

[RCWarrior1]

Colby what is the latest projection on Kiker?

[NWFBaseball06]

He threw from over the top.

[colbyjack]

Colby what is the latest projection on Kiker?

 

I think his status has held steady all spring. He is what he is, and he continued to throw hard. Consistently low-90s from what I heard, and has been able to reach back to touch the 96 range on occasion. His curveball and changeup are also plus pitches.

 

The only holding him back from being ranked higher is his size. He's a late first-rounder.

 

NWFBaseball06, any clue who got him to throw more over the top? I made the comment about his throwing last summer after seeing him take OF drills during the Aflac events, as someone had to work with him to get him to change his throwing mechanics. Any more insight on that?

[natedogge7]

seems like Colton Willems is rising pretty high on draft boards. Scouts project him to be picked between 12-25 in this article.

 

www.palmbeachpost.com/hea..._0411.html

[GagneCY03]

Perfect. Thanks yet again, NWFB.

[GagneCY03]

Cody Johnson's final line for the regular season:

 

.524 BA (33-63), "Roughly" .681 OBP (26 Walks and 5 HBP), 1.24 SLG (6 Doubles and 13 HR). That's a 1.931 OPS. And he struck out only 7 times. Seems to me like he's put himself in a position to go in the Top 20.

[GagneCY03]

Nevermind. Read the blurb under the list. It would be a coup for the Dodgers to pick up Kershaw and Latos, along with a prep hitter like Snider or Parmelee.

[GagneCY03]

Colton Willems finishes his season with 84 K's in 42 IP with only 5 Walks. CJ, please tell me there's at least an outside shot of him being there at #26.

[colbyjack]

Sure there's a chance. Prep pitchers have fallen more the past 2-3 years, with Chris Volstad being the first one picked a year ago with the 16th pick.