Thought some of you might be interested . . . I interviewed a person who is behind the team responsible fo the documentary Pelotero, which should be coming out this fall in the Festival circuits after a re-edit.  These guys were given some publicity last year via Sports Illustrated.  A good deal of their focus is Miguel Angel Sano Jean from a publicity standpoint.  Anyway, he provided some interesting comments in this interview.

The interview contains a rough cut of an 8 minute segment of the film.  Also, if you can, they are accepting tax deductible donations to finish the project.

http://camdendepot.blogspot.com/2010/02/pelotero-interview-with-one-of-films.html

Quick clarification—the term ‘buscon’ has become something of a derogatory term implying corruption, lying and cheating. The majority of trainers in the Dominican Republic prefer the term 'entrenador' or trainer.
There is no barrier to entry to become a trainer in the Dominican Republic. The are thousands of trainers across the country ranging in seriousness and experience. Some begin grooming their sons or nephews in the streets and will hand that player off when they begin to show some promise, while others have neatly manicured complexes with state of the art facilities. Many of the thriving programs are run by ex-players who know how to teach kids, and who surround themselves with talented specialized coaches. Trainers will begin scouting players as young as 12, and enrolling them in their program. Trainers find players in two main ways. First, they maintain a close network with other coaches of little leagues for younger ages who will alert them to any special talents. Secondly, once a trainer is established within a community family members will bringtheir eligible players to try out. Spots in the better programs are highly desired and often competitive.

Answer to a question about going overslot to Osich:

It will still be a bit before Osich throws, and he won't be anywhere near full strength before the signing deadline. I could see him drafted but not until the late rounds, and I don't think he signs. I agree he could be worth that investment.

BUT, Don't forget Osich had questions entering the season at it is, with regards to making the shift to starter and holding up over the full college season (let alone pro season).

Pretty interesting chat.  Should be fun.  It is live right now.

http://pnrscouting.com/rankings_2010_fallwinter_top300_chat.html

I was emailed dougdirt's post the other day and it made me think of something.  If there was such a great disparity between Wang's evaluation for pitching and positional prospects, why are no progressive teams putting most of their amateur money in  positional prospects and going later after pitching prospects?

I think the answer is the cost efficiency of free agent pitching.  I think it is less efficient to sign a pitcher to a free agent contract than a hitter.  This is not really a new concept as it has been part of Baltimore's strategy for a few years now.

Anyway, here is my short writeup on it if you are interest:

http://camdendepot.blogspot.com/2010/01/cost-efficiency-of-pitchers-and-hitters.html

It would be interesting to see if anyone could develop a more comprehensive study.

Here is the full report and below is an excerpt:

Krol missed the 2009 season due to suspension stemming from off-field issues. As a result, he's seen his stock slip since his impressive showings last summer, and it remains unclear how strong his commitment remains to the University of Arizona (word is that he has explained the suspension to the satisfaction of Arizona head coach Andy Lopez). On pure talent, Krol lands comfortably within our top 75-125, though it's unlikely we'll target him prior to the Fourth Round or so. His solid feel for his secondary stuff and relatively clean mechanics make him an attractive proposition, but the uncertainty of not seeing him in action this spring makes us wary of spending too high a pick. He's an excellent candidate to be nabbed in the 5th to 8th Round and offered Top 100 money.

This is the Orioles MOD.

Stotle (Nick James) and I (Jon Shepherd) run the site Camden Depot. 

Our selections will be 1:5, 2:5, and 3:5.  At the moment we are considering these players for the 5 slot in the first:

Grant Green, SS, USC

Dustin Ackley, 1B/OF, UNC

Alex White, RHP, UNC

Tyler Matzek, LHP, Capastrano HS (CA)

Aaron Crow, RHP, Fort Worth (Indy)

Matt Purke, LHP, Klein HS (TX)

Tanner Scheppers, St. Paul (Indy)

Feel free to advise.

Well, the Phillies are checking in with a dearth of action expected on June 6th here.  Our picks are:

#75

#137

The system is rather toolsy and the team seems to go after high upside pitchers.  That said . . . I think we will be looking to overslot these two places and trawl for guys who are falling.

Some targets I am thinking of right now are:

Ian Krol, LHP, Neuqua Valley HS (IL)

Ryan Jackson, SS, Univ. of Miami (FL)

D'Vontrey Richardson, OF, FSU

Maybe someone fall like:

Ryan Wheeler

All help is welcome and appreciated.