2008 Draft Resource Thread

[colbyjack]

Sorry, I do not.

[fewgoodcards]

what is up with harold martinez? i have seen a couple of places (including callis) say that he is dropping like a rock this spring. is it something similar to michael burgess last year, or was he just seriously overhyped? i saw him last summer and liked him a lot. he was my favorite for the cardinals pick at 13, but i felt all along he would go before that. now it seems like he might be headed off to college.

[GagneCY03]

what is up with harold martinez? i have seen a couple of places (including callis) say that he is dropping like a rock this spring. is it something similar to michael burgess last year, or was he just seriously overhyped? i saw him last summer and liked him a lot. he was my favorite for the cardinals pick at 13, but i felt all along he would go before that. now it seems like he might be headed off to college.

 

Miami is probably quietly cheering, seeing as how they're going to lose Alonso, Weeks and Raben this year.

[fewgoodcards]

well, the who's hot list is back, but it only has one name on it. a big disappointment. on a better note, good article on the california talent colby.

[GagneCY03]

The Who's Hot list has been updated, with about 10 names on it now.

[DAS1410]

FYI

 

Per Jim Callis' "Ask BA", Baseball America will be posting its mid season draft report tomorrow, April 8th.

[colbyjack]

I've been meaning to update my rankings for several weeks now. I hope to do so soon, as Tanner Scheppers has been missing for far too long while Gordon Beckham and Buster Posey both deserve a substantial jump.

 

Allan Simpson with a terrific focus on some of the top JC players in the nation in last week's Juco notebook at PGCC:

 

http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/juco/2008/notebooks/notebook_4308.aspx

[Never Outhustled]

Colby, you seem high on Aaron Hicks, and you were correctly high on Cameron Maybin in 2005. They seem like very similar talents to my untrained eye, with Hicks maybe even possessing slightly more raw talent. Could you compare and contrast Hicks to your pre-draft thoughts of Maybin? Thanks as always for your awesomeness.

[colbyjack]

Hicks and Maybin are different players. Maybin has huge power potential, and that potential was evident when he was in high school. He was one of those guys, along with Justin Upton, that you could just tell were special players when they took the field. Add Maybin's arm, speed and makeup to the picture and you have a perennial all-star.

 

I like Hicks because of his overall athleticism, as the tools are there and he's a confident and high-character young man that has been able to make all of the necessary adjustments to succeed so far in his career. He doesn't have Maybin's power potential, but I do think he could be a similar offensive threat to Jose Reyes of the Mets. He runs in the 6.3-6.5 range and has been clocked in the low to mid-90s from the outfield. And when he comes in to a game to close things out and throws 95 with one of the best curveballs in the draft, he definitely grabs your attention. I prefer him as a positional player, even without the caveat that he could pitch down the road should he fail as a hitter, because I wouldn't even want to think about that as a plan B.

 

And it's possible that Hicks' power develops, much like Carlos Beltran's did early in his career. I hate throwing out these names as comparisons, but that's the kind of athletic talent and overall confidence this young man has, and when you have that kind of exciting combination of qualities, I like his chances to make a lot of noise at the highest level.

[colbyjack]

BTW, as DAS1410 noted yesterday, BA has posted their midseason top 50 draft-eligible prospects today. Not much has changed, and few true surprises or "sleepers" are listed.

[fewgoodcards]

maybe not maybin, but i think andrew mccutchen is a decent comp. hicks is a little taller, but both were really skinny and their offensive profiles are pretty similar. the only problem with that comp is mccutchen was seen as a great pure hitter coming out of high school, and hicks is a little more raw.

[colbyjack]

BA notes that Colby Shreve has missed his last few starts due to injury, and may need TJ surgery, while also reporting on Tim Melville from the prep side, noting that his velocity is getting back to where it was last summer (90-94 range):

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=267

 

They also note that MLB will test the top 200 draft-eligible prospects for performance-enhancing drugs. Players that refuse to take the test will not be eligible for the draft. Those that fail the test will still be eligible, but the info will be shared will all MLB teams making it up to them to determine whether or not they want to draft a tainted player. As BA notes, there could be some legal ramifications to this, but it's going to be hard to argue against this point given the recent anti-steroid pub, particular since players in the draft aren't under the umbrella of the MLBPA:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=268

 

BTW, I know Perfect Game has signed up with ESPN to be their official scouting partner, so if I had to guess right now I'd say the top 200 prospects would be determined by PG, and not BA, as Will Lingo recommends.

[fewgoodcards]

i was at melville's start yesterday, and he was sitting 87-89 touching 90 only a few times. he also gave up 7 earned runs in 5 innings. he's not helping his stock much this spring as i believe his ERA is now over 4.

[colbyjack]

Thanks for sharing that fewgoodcards. How did his secondary stuff look? Was he hitting the strike zone, falling behind or was he getting hit that hard due to the lack of velocity? 87-90 is still pretty good vs. HS competition, so I'm guessing his command was also suspect. Also, how was the weather?

 

I think we've all heard previous reports on Melville suggesting he hasn't been as sharp. UNC recruits are already hard enough to sign as is, and if Melville slips out of the first round, he very well could be college bound.

[fewgoodcards]

he had some good curveballs, but he could still sharpen up that pitch. his command actually wasn't that bad, but his fastball was just really straight and he couldn't get swings and misses with that pitch. i heard some scouts talking about that and saying it isn't a good sign when a guy can't get a swing and miss with his fastball in a high school game. i think i only saw one swing strike three, and that was on a change-up. it seemed like all of his strikeouts came on called strike three on a curve.

 

as for the weather, it sucked. it was about 40 degrees with 20 mph winds and spitting rain every once in a while. i heard one scout say you had to take 5 mph off the velocity right off the top b/c of the weather.

[colbyjack]

I have updated my top 30 prospects (don't rely on the rankings of the other players listed in the database, which won't be as deep as it has been in past years), as well as the corresponding draft notes. In the next week or two I'm going to profile some players that may be good fits/picks for the Brewers given their wealth of early picks.

 

http://www.brewerfan.net/ViewDraftArchive.do?draftId=6

[splitterpfj]

• With the dearth of catching throughout the game, don't be surprised if the Rays take Florida State catcher Buster Posey -- a converted shortstop -- with the first pick in the June draft. -Peter Gammons

[fewgoodcards]

gammons usually doesn't get too much right when it comes to the draft, but if all he is saying is don't be surprised its hard to really get on him. i would be somewhat surprised if they took posey, but if they aren't going to take alvarez and don't want a pitcher i think it comes down to tim beckham had buster posey for that pick.

[GagneCY03]

CJ, do you think Zach Collier can handle CF as a pro?

[colbyjack]

BA reports that MLB has switched back their draft rule changes regarding compensation for unsigned picks. That means all three of the Brewers 2nd round picks just moved up one spot, as they own the 16th, 32nd, 35th, 53rd, 54th, 62nd and 94th overall selections among the top 100 picks.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=272

[colbyjack]

Regarding Zach Collier, I've heard he's better suited for a corner spot, but should be able to handle CF. He's one guy that I really haven't heard much about other than the fact that he's moving up draft boards quickly and has one of the more polished bats among draft-eligible players.

[Pioneers3]

I would love to see the Brewers take Tyler Ladendorf from Howard College with one of the supplement picks! I think he will end up at Second! This kid keeps his nose clean and works like he did over the last two years, he will play in the big leagues.

[DAS1410]

Colby,

Too further Gagne's (and mine as well) quest for info on Collier, where do you see/hear of him landing in the draft. Would he still be around at 61?

[fewgoodcards]

• With the dearth of catching throughout the game, don't be surprised if the Rays take Florida State catcher Buster Posey -- a converted shortstop -- with the first pick in the June draft. -Peter Gammons

allan simpson must be hearing the same thing b/c he projected posey to go #1 overall to the rays in a mock draft he has posted over at pgcrosschecker.com.

 

[fewgoodcards]

colby, what can you tell me about trey haley? i just saw his profile on milb.com and his video was extremely impressive. he had a great looking delivery, a projectable frame, supposedly already throws 90-95 mph, and was dropping a filthy curve at times. i know he is committed to rice and those guys are typically tough signs, but where is this guy projected to go?