High School draft eligible player updates

[colbyjack]

While this isn't an update, and isn't completely restrictred to draft eligible players to '05 (Kyle Drabek, son of Doug Drabek, is a junior), here is Baseball America's preseason high school All-American list:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...3hsaa.html

[colbyjack]

By now most high school seasons should be underway. I know a lot of high schools in the northeast to east kicked off their seasons yesterday (Justin Upton & Justin Bristow in particular).

 

I received the most recent issue of BA yesterday, and they already have posted their first HS player of the year feature. Cameron Maybin got the spotlight to start the season, and is a perfect 3 for 3 with a HR in an extremely miniscule sample size.

 

Most impressive of the names on the list is Colby Rasmus from Seale, Alabama, who already has 10 home runs on the young season in 44 ABs. His 44 ABs were more than double the next highest person on the list.

 

As for pitchers, Florida righty Chris Volstad has 20 strikeouts in 12 innings of work so far this year, giving up only 3 hits and 1 walk.

 

Anyway, hopefully we'll start to hear more & more news leak out from the prep side of amateur baseball.

 

Here's BA's most recent HS POY feature:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...05poy.html

 

And Alan Matthews HS notebook, with comments on Volstand, Bradley Clark among others (all of these links contain free BA content):

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...notes.html

[colbyjack]

The most recent HS POY watch:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...05poy.html

 

Arizona prep RHP Brett Jacobson with the spotlight this week.

[nikip43]

According to the Ann Arbor News, prep pitcher Zach Putnam threw last week against a quality opponent as his team won in five innings due to the mercy rule.

 

Putnam's squad won and the young righty threw a solid game.

 

5 IP 10 K, 2 BB, 1 hit given up

 

The article mentioned he struck out the final 7 batters with five of those K victims being on his newly enhanced curveball. Also worth noting is that the only opposing runner who reached third base was picked off by Putnam in the third.

 

Quote:

---

Putnam has added a deceptive curveball to an arsenal that already included a 95-mile-per-hour fastball and a nasty splitter.

---

-Ann Arbor News

 

While the splitter is a tough pitch to hit, it also has a history leading to injury if I'm not mistaken. According to Colbyjacks reference in the draft guide on brewerfan.net though, Putnam has very good mechanics which eases some doubts about the kid throwing a straining splitter.

 

Being that Putnam is from the great white north much like Glen Perkins (U of Minnesota) and Erik Cordier (Southern Door, WI) in 2004, I think that he would have some sentimental favor with a lot of posters here who hail from those areas.

 

link to article on Putnam's performance

[ja002h]

A prospect in my town?! I should go see this kid...

[batman]

I saw Putnam play in the AFLAC game last year and he was pretty impressive. They interviewed him after he pitched and he was a real polished, intelligent speaker who seemed to be taking everything in stride.

 

I'm no fan of drafting prep pitchers, but he was the goods.

 

~Bill

[Blazer25]

If you want to draft a prep pitcher take Brett Jacobsen....

 

He threw the last 2 fall seasons for our Blazer team down in Jupiter....my top prep pitcher by leaps and bounds...

 

6-6 200 lbs throws 92-93 with a nasty 80-81 slider....has good feel for a change as well...

 

Clean arm, throws with unbelievable downward plane, off the chart makeup, smart, polite kid, that might not know how good he is....

 

He's my pick if I'm making the selection.

[colbyjack]

BA's most recent HS POY watch, this week focusing on CA prep OF John Drennen:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/t...05poy.html