Oregon Congressman David Wu:

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EIGHTBALL THE TIGER

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PLEASE VOTE FOR ME GUYS IT WOULD BE SO COOL IF YOU VOTE FOR ME I PROMISE TO HOOK YOU UP WITH THIS GUY I KNOW WE WOULD ALL HAVE A REALLY GOOD TIME I AM HAVING A GOOD TIME ARE YOU HAVING A GOOD TIME THIS IS GREAT ALSO I AM DOWN WITH OLIVER PURNELLS PUSSY YEAH YOU KNOW ME

Hey guys, I'm going to be stepping into the flat wastelands of central Florida for the first time later this month for the Champs Sports Bowl (NC State vs West Virginia... feel the mediocrity!) and I was hoping y'all expert drunks at EDSBS could give me some tips on where to stay in that area.

I figure we will be drinking and parking at the Citrus Bowl Stadium for tailgating purposes, so within super close distance of stadium isn't needed but we don't want to be driving all the way across down either.

What part of Orlando should I look to book at hotel room in that would be within walking distance to quality bars or other hijinks without being super expensive?

Thanks for any tips.

Who do you like as draft sleepers on Day 2?

The guys I mention here are not the top 200 guys that did not get picked on day 1, I'm thinking more of the deeper sleepers.

For the second year in a row I am going to go with....

Ryan Wood, 2b-RHP, East Carolina U.   He came to ECU as a pitching prospect with a bum arm.  He is going to leave as professional infielder.  He is 6'4 or 6'5 175-185.  That is one of the longest and lankiest second-basemen I have ever seen or heard of.  His build is more SS than 2b and his arm is definately strong enough to do that too.  He is really agile on the feet, which you need to play 2b at such a size.  On offense he is a very good present hitter with the frame to project for alot more power.  He walks plenty, the strikeouts are a little high but not too high, and he has been a centerpiece for a good college team for 4 years now.  He is a senior, so he has to sign cheap, so if you need to stay with a budget but still get talent Wood is your guy.  He is hittiing .379/486/629 with 22 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, 50 walks, 7 HBP, 41 strikeouts and 14 steals in 16 tries this year.

also..

Chris Masters, LHP; Nick Liles 2b-3b and Brent Greer SS Western Carolina.  Masters is the ultimate Jekyll/Hyde.  When he is on his has a low-90s fastball and a knockout hard curve/slider.  When he is off he has a high-80s FB and he throws no strikes.  He did have one of the better K rates in the NCAA this year and has a bright future as a LOOGY.

Kipp Schutz, OF, Indiana

Matt Way, LHP and Jared Prince, OF Washington State

Chase Austin, SS/3b and Cory Harrilchak; OF Elon College

Andrew Clark, 1b/OF, Louisville

Adam Warren, RHP, U North Carolina.  His last year in a college has been his best, which is saying something considering how solid he has been.  He fastball, as a sr, has gone from 88-92 to 90-94 and he still commands a somewhat broad repertoire of good pitches well and can get ground balls.  He is a smart pitcher with tons of experience against NCAA baseball's best hitters.  Durable and versatile.  I can see him as an innings eating back-rotation arm or in relief maybe his velo plays up even more and his ground-ball tendenices make him a great set-up man.  As a Sr. he has to sign for cheap.

Alex McRee, LHP, UGA  He isa 6-7 lefty with top 2 rounds stuff (low/mid 90s FB and good slider) who has been held back by Mono this year.  UGA's Dean Weaver is another arm to watch.  He has mostly relieved in college but he thows low/mid 90s has has gone from raw to refined in just a couple years

Carlos Ramirez, C, Arizona State.  Big power, and has shown he can do it with wood bats and his arm is solid too.  Build is maybe a little chunky.

Rob Lyerly, 1b-3b, Charlotte.  He went from hitting under .200 for Campbell to hitting over .400 for a good Charlotte program.

Andrew Carraway, RHP, Virginia.  He is a good pitcher with good stuff who has been overlooked for years.

Diego Seastrunk, C/IF, Rice.  He is a sleeper only if he can catch.  Solid, sound bat but not enough offensive upside as a 1b/3b.

Daniel Tuttle, RHP, Randleman HS NC,  Low 90s FB with a solid change and slider.

 

 

Way deep sleepers (the late round roster fillers that might have a future):

Kevin McAvoy, IF/OF, Maine.  He had a freshman All-American type season on a Maine offense that was loaded with bats.  The highlight of his year was a grand slam against UNC's all-time Wins leader (and current Padres AA pitcher) Robert Woodard.  Woodard later told me that, despite going through a full ACC sced and going to Omaha that that Maine offense was one of the toughest he had ever faced.  McAvoy disappeared as a sophomore and junior and was bounced between 2b/3b/of and the pitcher's mound as Maine floundered.  As a senior he finally found his stroke again to an extent.  He had a 1021 OPS as a freshman before falling into the 750-850 range as a soph-junior before rebounding to hit 379/4469/649 as a senior.  He has a stocky build, fringe-avg athleticism and a plus arm.

Kevin Mahoney and Kevin Mailloux, 2b-3b, Canisus.  They are basically idential players.  A little old and stocky but each has shown some speed and the ability to hit for power with wood and metal.  Check out a past post of mine for more details

Jordan Petraitis, SS-3b, Miami Ohio.  He is a little old but he has a great frame, a good arm and he might be athletic enough to stick at SS at least on a part time basis as he advances.  He has good gap power and is a fundamentally sound ball player.  Has shown the ability to hit with wood

David DiNatale, OF, Miami.  DiNatale was a high school Aflac All-America who started his career at Central Florida before that program imploded.  He transferred to Miami had has had a solid, but nowhere near great career.  His tools are solid and his track record is long.  As far as guys to fill out my minor league OF, he is one I would want to have.

BJ Dail, RHP, Mt Olive College.  A 32nd round pick out of HS in 2006 he was suspended for the entirety of his sophomore season at UNC after posting a 0.00 ERA with 7 hits, only one for extra bases (a double), 6 walks and 9 strikeouts as a freshman in 11.2 innings.  After being suspended for his sophomore season he made the mistake of being involved in a drunken mishap in the Cape Cod League with a UGA pitcher.  I don't remember the exact details but Dail was somehow run over by the UGA pitcher's truck.  After that disaster (and his previous suspension) Dail vanished from UNC's roster and wound up at D-2 powerhouse Mount Olive(NC) College.   He posted a 7-0 2.90 ERA in 64 innings giving up just 43 hits, 18 walks and he got 64 strikeouts.  At his best he is an athletic RHP with a 91-93 FB who can use a change and curve

Paul Goldschmidt, 1b, Texas State.  Kyle Drabek's HS teammate at a Houston powerhouse was a late-rounder out of HS and has developed into a 6-4, 240 college slugger.  He was one of the key players in Texas State's turnaround from a nobody to a #2 NCAA seed.

Pat Irvine, OF/C, Elon.  One of the NCAA's best hitters this year.  He entered his Jr year as a prospect before falling apart.  As bat as he was as a Junior he has been every bit as good as  Senior by hitting over .400 with an OBP and SLG in the top 10 nationwide.  Despite being a 220-pound ex-catcher is actually has solid wheels and athleticism.  He lead the nations #1 offense in steals, OBP, AVG and SLG.  On the downside he swings from his heels and might get killed by pro pitching.  Also, he played in a hitter's park in a hitter's league

Evan Crawford, IF/OF, Indiana.  Raw.  He is maybe a 2b, maybe a SS, maybe a CF.  He is skinny and could develop power but right now he is a toolsy table setter with a so-so bat.

Dylan DeGraaf, OF, Western Carolina.   Long and lanky as hell.  He is a very solid defender with good speed and power.  He is still basically as refined as HS player right now but the tools are there.

D'Vontrey Richardson, OF, FSU A backup QB on the FSU football team, Richardson made a big impact as a freshman before tailing off.  He didn't play as a soph was pretty fair as a redshirt-soph this year.  He still has talent and great tools.  He is worth taking late as a summer follow.  If Christian Ponder beats him out for the QB job again this fall maybe he signs at the Aug 15 dealline.

Aerik Taylor, Radford

Daniel Cooke, OF, Gardner-Webb.  A solid college baseball player with enough tools to be a repeat all-conference safety in football.

Joey Bergman, 2b-3b, Coll. Charleston.  He isn't THIS good but he did lead the NCAA in On-Base Pct and was 2nd in Batting Average (to Bryce Bentz) and was 13 in SLG.  He isn't all that but you can't overlook what he has done.

Kevin Nolan, IF, Winthrop

I'm drafting for the Braves with the made-up picks 7, 39, 56 amd 87 tonight. (yes, that is cheating but it is no fun to do a mock draft where you only get 2 picks on day 1.)

I'm not really trying to go college players, if anything my philosophy is more HS-heavy, but I've seen the college guys much more so they are currently dominating my draft.

This is just the raw version.  I'll flesh it out with a more detailed analysis of my though process later.

 

7. Mike Leake RHP Arizona State.  He is just so good.  I feel he will be a really good MLB pitcher.

Who I might have taken...Aaron Crow, RHP, Indy ball. Grant Green SS USC.   Alex White RHP UNC Shelby Miller RHP TX HS

39 Kentrail Davis OF Tennessee.  I still think he is loaded with talent.  The fact that the Braves suck in the OF doesn't hurt either.

Who I might have taken...  Mychal Givens, SS, FL HS.  Everett Willaims, OF, TX HS, Tyler Skaggs LHP CA HS, Matt Bashore LHP Indiana U, Tanner Scheppers RHP indy ball. Rich Poythress 1b UGA

56 Robert Stock RHP USC.  He has been a disappointment at catcher, but that has caused him to be really overlooked as a pitcher.  His stuff has been there and he has been one of the country's most domination strikeout pitchers.  The only concern is that the rumors are he doesn't want to pitch and won't sign as such

Who I might have taken... Brian Goodwin, OF, NC HS.  Chris Dominguez, 3b, Louisville.  Kyle Seager, 2b/3b/ UNC. AJ Morriss RHP Kansas State.  Alex Wilson RHP Texas A/M

 

Pick 87 coming up..

My lovely place of work informed me today that I would be needing to come into work tomorrow, BLAH!, thus I will have to call out of the Mock Draft for the Reds.   WHO WANTS TO BE THE REDS MOCK DRAFTER TOMORROW?

 

What was going to be my MOD #2 post is below if anyone who takes over for me wants some notes:

Pick #8 overall targets:

Zach Wheeler/Shelby Miller/Tyler Matzek: Great HS arms.  They've all got their plus/minuses but those seem to have been hashed out here before I don't really have any original info or thoughts on these guys.

Mike Leake:  Good stuff, great track record, great command, great athleticism, seems like a mortal lock to be a least a good pitcher with a decent shot at becoming a perennial all-star

Donovan Tate:  I'm not afraid of taking risks.  The tools are still there.  Some say he has the highest ceiling in the draft/

Alex White:  I love White's combination of upside and safety.  The upside comes from being a great athlete with a great FB who has flashed two plus secondary pitches and has faced the best of the best in college baseball.  He could develop into a front-of-rotation starter  The safety comes from the fact that White is probably damn close to being a decent MLB reliever right now.

Grant Green:  Again, I don't mind risks.  USC plays in a pitchers park (the last time a USC team had 2 players in double digit HRs was 2003, some Southeastern teams have their whole lineup in the 10-20 HR range), he HAS performed in the past (good frosh year, great Soph year, phenomenal with wood bats on the Cape), he has a good frame and good tools.  The USC program is also kind of dysfunctional right now.  Maybe getting away from there would help him develop.  Look how quickly Brandon Crawford has shown progress in pro ball.

 

----------------

 

Pick #43 (supplemental 1st round):

Baseball America's #43 prospect is Louisiana HS RHP Brody Colvin, a raw arm with great stuff, athleticism and potential.

Reds long-term C situation is questionable, so as much as I am normally against doing anything but "best-player-available" MLB draft wise an overdraft of Indiana C Josh Phegley or Boston College C Tony Sanchez (Sanchez will probably not be there) would be acceptable considering the dearth of college catching in this draft.  CA HS C Max Stassi would be a neat pick here too.

I still like Kentrail Davis.  If he is signable here I would be tempted to take him.  The talent is still there for me.

Matt Davidson (HS 1b/3b slugger), Wil Myers (same, except he can maybe play C) or Mychal Givens (former first-rounder, lots of upside at SS or as a P) would be great picks here too.

I would strongly consider taking USC C/RHP Robert Stock here as a P if he is signable.  Some reports say he won't sign if taken as a P so he can go back to college and try to prove himself as a hitter/catcher one last time.  I don't see any reason NOT to take Stock if he is available here.  He isn't too big but he has been raved out since he was 15 and has finally shown results this year and they have been great results off the mound and his arm backs those numbers up.

-----------------------------------------

Pick #57 (2nd round):

Baseball America's #57 prospect is Baylor LHP/OF Aaron Miller.  Miller was a huge recruit out of HS as a OF first, LHP second.  He has been a solid college slugger but hasn't been a good enough hitter overall to live up to his HS draft hype as an OF prospect.  With his offensive career fading he took up pitching again as a Jr and re-established himself as a pitching prospect with good athleticism, a good frame and a powerful left arm.

Indiana's Matt Bashore could be a great pick here.  An Ohio native, Bashore started the year as a possible top-40 pick but got off to a slow, injury-plaugued start.  As he got healthy he started to dominate and went on a huge tear down the stretch.  One thing I really like his college career is that, despite usually playing only fair competition, when he did get to face SEC lineups he struck out those monster college hitters by the boatload.

If Texas A&M RHP Alex Wilson is still around he would be a good pick here too.  I've liked his arm since I saw him pitch for Winthrop.  Great stuff.

If Indiana C Josh Phegley is still around he would be a great pick here.

I like Kansas St RHP AJ Morris here too.  Good stuff, though not great stuff.  He is not afraid to go head-to-head with anyone and has shown he can beat anyone

UNC 2b/3b Kyle Seager might be a little bit of an overdraft here but he is such a solid bat.  He has a compact line-drive swing.  It is hard to picture him NOT hitting at least .280 with 30 doubles in MLB.

Lousiville 3b Chris Dominguez is a game-changer with underrated athleticism.  He isn't a burner but he can play a decent 3b (cannon arm too!) and steal a base if a catcher isn't looking.  His power can scare anyone, it is a 70 or 80.

NC HS OF Brian Goodwin is a good tools pick.  His bat isn't quite there (I saw a 5-8 16-yo teammate have a better batting practice than him in travel ball last summer) but it is a solid bat with good potential (AFLAC All-Star game MVP) and his defensive tools are great.  Might be a tough sign though.

I would also look at any appealing HS arm that happened to fall.

 

Pick #88 (3rd round):

If I pick Tate  Stock or someone else likely to be tough-to-sign at pick #8 or #47 this is a good spot to make a draft a quality senior to makeup for the large expenditure earlier.  At this point in the draft you can get a senior worthy of a high-ish pick talent-wise but pay him much less than you would a junior or a HSer.

UNC's Adam Warren comes to mind here.  His fastball has been better than ever as a senior (sitting low 90s and hitting 94) has he has good control and a solid repertoire that he knows how to use.  Very experienced, smart pitcher with good stuff.

Alabama OF Kent Mattes, a corner OF with power (among the top NCAA HR leaders) and some athleticism, would also be good but he probably will not be here.

Baseball America's #88 prospect is Rhode Island RHP Eric Smith who dominated Miami earlier in the year.  It was the first time Miami had been shutout since 2004.  Miami coach Jim Morris described Smith as so:  ""That pitcher just stuffed us.  It wasn’t like he was a thumber–I think he’s going to pitch in the big leagues. He was 6-foot-3, throwing 88-92 with good sink, and a good hard breaking ball. He threw strikes, pitched inside, had a 1.1(-second) release time, and ate our lunch. We didn’t hit the ball hard off him, at all. What a crazy game. We faced pretty good pitching at Florida this weekend and hit the ball pretty hard, and this guy just ate our lunch for eight innings. He ate everybody’s lunch from one through nine.""

If any college bats like Marc Krauss, Ryan Jackson, Jason Kipnis, Kyle Seager or Chris Dominguez are here I would take 'em.

Brooks Raley is an interesting player but I'm not sure if I like him as a leadoff CF type or a quality LHP and he could stand to develop a little more at each (he is a draft-elig soph)

Indiana OF Kipp Schutz is a nice sleeper here.  I like Cal OF/RHP Blake Smith here too

I am doodling around with a Reds Mock Draft Part 2 and a draft sleepers post and was going to mention Mike Leake so heavily I decided to give him a separate entry.

 

He isn't a sleeper in that he is an under-the-radar guy.  He was a high pick out of HS who is now the best pitcher for one of the country's best (and most visible) teams.  He is arguably the best amateur pitcher, as far as current ability and performance, not named Strasburg.

He is a sleeper because everyone seems to agree he is really good but no one quite want to go out on a limb with a small RHP whose velo is more good than great

------------

I am usually someone who likes to see big stuff out of first round pitchers.  I feel that, as often as not, the polished college arms that people feel are "safe bets" are actually less safe than the "risky" 95 MPH fastball guys who can' throw a changeup because many of these "safe bet" guys won't have the stuff to get good hitters out where as many of the "risky" first round types might never been good starting pitchers but at least are not too far from being decent relief pitchers.

All that philosophy out of the way.. I love Mike Leake.  I really feel that in a few years he is going to be the guy that we look back on and say, "How did so many teams pass on him?" and the answer is going to be "Well, everyone knew he was going to be a good pitcher but ... (insert excuse here)".

I once saw an HS scouting report on Greg Maddux that said "I feel that if this young man were just a little more physical and threw a little harder we would be talking about him as one of the first picks in this draft".  Maddux fell to the second round but is now just 5 years away from becoming a HoFer.

I am NOT one of those people who is comparing him to Maddux.  I HATE that crap.  Kind of how every changeup reliant LHP in the last decade has been "the new Tom Glavine" when most were really just Kirk Reuter (don't get me wrong, I love Kirk Reuter) or Abe Alvarez.

My whole point here is that Mike Leake is going to be underdrafted.  He is going to be one of those players who every one agrees is pretty good, but several teams are going to try to make a little more sexier pick and they are going to ignore the guy that is going to be a rotation rock.

Leake doesn't throw 96 but he DOES have good stuff, he is not a soft-tosser.  You don't get taken in the 7th round out of HS unless you have at least SOME tools and projection.  He isn't going to struggle to get the ball by good hittters.

Leake is athletic.  He has played a variety of IF positions for the Sun Devils and team USA.  If he was not a great pitcher he would be a legit prospect at SS, 2b or 3b.  He played 2b for Team USA this summer and was really, really nimble.  He hit .236 with a homer for them (decent numbers considering it was with wood).  He hit .340 in 47 ABs with a .500(!) OBP and 6 extra-base hits including 2 homers as a sophomore for ASU.  He was 10-30 (.303 avg) for ASU this spring with half of those hits going for extra bases.

Leake is accomplished.  The down side to this is he has a lot of milage on the arm, which is a legitimate concern but I am just sucker for a with a big track record.  Leake has been an ace, a guy his team relies on, since Day 1 of his freshman year.  If his career ended today he would finish with a career 39-6 record, about 375 innings and around 340 strikeouts in just three years plus a sub-1 ERA run for Team USA.  And Arizona State usually plays a good out-of-conference sced plus the Pac-10 plus they are always in the postseason (which means more good teams).

He throws strikes and has command as well as control.  He has good stuff, even if he is more low-90s than anything.  He can throw multiple pitches and throw them well, and for strikes.  He has pitched excellently against the best non-pro hitters around.  He is athletic.

Barring injury I just keep being struck with the inescapable gut feeling that he is a going to be a 200 IP stud at the MLB level, despite his size and relative lack of velo

 

 

Alright.  Reds picks are 8, 43, 57 and 88.

I'm not going to lie.. I like Donovan Tate at #8 if he is there and possibly signable.

 

I like Alex White at 8 too.  I don't love him, but I really like him.  He isn't a perfect pitcher, he can be real inconsistent, but his wonderful arm gives him a great upside as a front-of-rotation starter and he is a relatively safe bet too because he isn't too far away right now from being a solid setup man.  That combination of safe-bet and high-upside is appealing.  He could use better command and more consistency of secondary pitches but he really knows how to pitch off his fast ball, which is huge, and can show an awesome split or slider.

There should be some combo of the best prep arms available and maybe Grant Green too.

Who do you like?

 

who do you guys like lower down?  Alex Wilson is one power arm I am particularly fond of.

More funny videos like the "Jay Bruce Almighty" at Heavy.com

I don't know how this hasn't been kicked around baseball sites til now. How many rookies get random folks songs sung about em? I just stumbled on this as I was googling Jay Bruce to pull up his Baseball-Reference page. Figured I'd pass it along. a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

This happened a couple days ago and I didn't see anyone post it so I thought I'd throw it out there.  I'm kind of surprised no one posted anything about it yet (if someone did, my apologies).

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080722&content_id=436128&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

Braves prospect David Francis, 13th rounder out of JUCO power Walters (TN) State JC, struck out 16 batters in a 6 inning no-hitter. 

Thats a pretty freakin' dominant outing.

The 'pen threw another hitless inning before rain ended the affair.

On the year Francis has throw 24 IP, giving up just 9 hits and 5 walks while striking out 35 and going 3-1 with a 1.52 ERA in 5 games/3 starts.  In fact he gave up 3 of his 4 ERs in his 1st pro outing.. since then hes gone 22 IP with just 3 BBs, 32 Ks, 8 H and 1 ER.

Francis' college coach made his stuff sound good but not overpowering like he has shown this far, and keep in mind the coach is obviously biased in favor of his kid..

"College coach Ken Campbell described Francis to the Mississauga News as a "power pitcher" who can throw in the low-90s and also "has a good curveball and a pretty good change-up.""

Since he wasn't a highly drafted, his stuff sounds more "good" than "great" and short-season stats mean almost (but not quite) nothing I don't know if Francis is someone who is going to do big things pretty soon or what but 16k, 6ip, 0h is as dominant as anyone can pitch at any level.. so hes at least worth remembering.

Pretty significant story beyond the unfortunate events that happened to Mr. Oliver.  It gives you a good look-in on agent vs. agent crap coming back to hit a kid.

The great coverage from the Lorain(OH) Morning-Journal: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19829705&BRD=1699&PAG=461&dept_id=46370&rfi=6
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"Oklahoma State soon-to-be junior pitcher Andy Oliver, a former Vermilion standout, has filed a lawsuit in the Erie County Court of Common Pleas against the NCAA and his past adviser, Robert Baratta, it was learned yesterday.

The complaint, filed on June 9 and amended on June 25, names Baratta, his company, Baratta & Baratta, his partner, Tim Baratta, the Icon Law Group from Cincinnati and Icon representatives Robert G. Martin and Brian M. Goldberg, along with the NCAA. It alleges that Oliver was a victim of ''unethical and unscrupulous behavior'' caused by Baratta and his group after the pitcher notified them he was switching advisors.
...
Oliver was suspended indefinitely by the NCAA just prior to the Division I postseason and was not allowed to play for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The suspension came as a result of a chain of events, beginning with a letter filed on Oliver's behalf by sports agent Scott Boras on March 31, telling Baratta that Oliver was switching advisors to his firm."
----
Lots more good stuff in the article, including a really weak move on the ex-agents' part.  Baratta gave Oliver some trinkets (like every "advisor" does), knowing they were technically improper under NCAA rules, and then goes and rats of Oliver for taking the gifts.

Oliver, a power lefty, is a considered an mid-to-early first round prospect for the '09 draft and turned down almost 400k from the Twins out of Vermillion (OH) HS.

Just some fun oddities I've run across...

Tigers minor league OF Jeramy Laster might be on pace to set a professional record for strikeouts in a season.  Through 288 at-bats over 76 games he has struck out 121 times putting him on a pace for almost 240 strikeouts.  Yikes!  On the brighter side, Laster (a 2003 12th rounder from a Nashville HS) has 17 homers, 31 extra-base hits, 26 walks and 10 steals in the home-run-killing high-A Florida State League.  Pity he can't put that bat on the ball to save his life.  His overall line is .219/.287/.451

Tigers minor league shortstop Shawn Roof was 0-2 in stolen bases over 70 games as a freshman and sophomore at the University of Illinois.  Then, in 57 games as a junior he went 25-33 in steals and 40-48(!) in 58 senior year games.  But as a professional he is just 7-14 in 92 games.  He might want to find dig those cleats he was wearing senior year out of storage sometime soon.  Another oddity about him.. he had more hit-by-pitches as a senior and junior than he did walks, total extra base hits or strikeouts.

Wake Forest outfielder Brett Linnenkohl managed to go from hitting 8 homers, 23 extra-base hits and a .486 SLG% in 53 junior year starts to NO homers, NO extra-base hits and a .298 slugging % as a senior.. but did manage to steal 15 bags without getting caught in 14 starts.

Anyone else watching?

Yesterday saw FSU get a clutch game-typing HR from Jason Stidham to tie the game at 5 only to give up a CWS single-inning record of ELEVEN in the top of the 9th to lose 16-5 to Stanford.  Buster Posey was the first pitcher to fail FSU in that 9th

Tony Delmonico's defense was really a problem.  Defense was FSU's huge weakness coming in and it played a huge role yesterday.  BA made an apt Posey/Wieters comp as both were catcher/closer stars in the regular season but melted down in their first Omaha appearances after catching 8 innings.  Neither got hit terribly hard but they couldn't get the ball by anyone and gave up a string of hits and runs.

Then game 2, Miami/Georgia, was another game that was tight the whole way.  Freshman of the Year Chris Hernandez struck out 5 of the first 6 (only Beckham making contact) but lost effectiveness once the extreme shadows went away but still finished with a nice start.  Alonso hit a late homerun off 2009 prospect Alex McRee to give Miami a 4-3 lead.  Georgia won the game in a CRAZY ninth inning that I can't really do justice to if I try to describe it.  It involved a passed ball strikeout to keep the ball rolling, a TERRIBLE throwing error by Miami's first rounder closer and some clutch contact hitting and basrunning by UGA.

UGA closer Josh Fields was lights out.

Weeks and Tekotte also homered for Miami.

Now FSU and Miami will be playing a rivalry game with the loser going home.  Considering the brou ha ha the teams had earlier this year that game should be fought tooth and nails.

 

Today's game sees Fresno State, the lowest regionally seeded team to ever make Omaha, up 16-1 in a COMPLETE dismantling of Rice's vaunted pitching.  And they are shutting down Rice's O.

All 3 lower ranked teams have one... we will have to see if #7 LSU can keep that up against #2 UNC tonight to send the ACC to 0-3.

Anyone else watching?  Any thoughts/reactions?

Not trying to overblow anything but I am sure some would like to know that Rome Braves star OF Jason Heyward had an MRI done for his sore right shoulder and swollen right knee.  The results were "unclear"

http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/680/public/news908118.html

 

"

Heyward is scheduled to have more tests on Monday. The recently-named SAL All-Star has been out of the lineup for the past two games, and won’t return until Monday night at the earliest, Ingle said.

Heyward said on Friday that he had never before had problems with his shoulder or knee, and said he isn’t sure what caused the injuries to flare up.

For now, the extent of his injuries is anyone’s guess.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what the tests say on Monday,” said Ingle."

Kentucky was bringing in a big-time recruiting class including top prospects like pick #53 Seth Lintz, star Indiana RHP Alex Meyer, Colorado SS Andy Burns (round 25), Paducah's power-armed RHP Daniel Webb (round 12), Yanks fourth round IF Corban Joseph, hometown kid LHP Robbie Ross (57 overall) and others like talented Chicago area SS-P Braden Kapteyn (39th round, Giants), pitcher Blake Brewer (11th round, Marlins) and Cory Farris (43rd round, White Sox).

Some had said that they had talked to each other and decided that, unless seven figure first-round money was offered, they were all going to turn down the pros and go to Lexington together to take the 'Cats to Omaha soon.  Because of this some of these guys (Burns, Meyer and Webb in particular) went unpicked for longer than their talent would have indicated.

But now Coach John Cohen, in a huge move, has left Kentucky to take over Missippii State's retiring legend Ron Polk. Cohen had led Kentucky from the cellar into being a league power and this big class was set to turn Kentucky into a possible top 10 team.

But now Cohen is gone.  The coaching change could lead these talented prospects who were going to be tough signs into possibly easier signs if they decide the loss of the coach dampens their interest in becoming Wildcats.

Meyer's situation is extremely interesting as no team even bothered to waste a 50th round flyer on him since they were so sure he was unsignable.  Now if he decides he doesn't want to go to UK under a different coach he would be a free agent.

 

Polk by the way, showing that he is in peak form despite retirement, is hopping mad at the choice of hire and has threatened to take his name off the stadium and Miss St out of his will until they fire the AD.  Polk had wanted a former assistant to get the job.

The AP article has all of the juicy quotes an incensed Polk... http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3430009&campaign=rss&source=NCAAHeadlines

 

Since I was at a ballgame all day here are my draft thoughts for ya..
Note, I am not saying I know better. This stuff is all just my take on it. I could be wrong as hell about all of this...

-Who is the Mariner's third rounder, pick 98? It is missing from BA database.
-Take a chill pill guys.  I think a couple hours after a draft is way to early to say that your teams SD is an idiot.  It is one thing to critique a pick or picks, I think it is quite another to say that it is obvious a team is stupid because they picked (whoever) or say that the 08 draft is an example of how they suck at drafting.  Especially when you think the pick is bad only because it is a relative unknown.  I think it is one thing to pick a known mediocrity and be let down about it but just because you haven't heard the hype on some high pick does not make it bad.  I remember BP blasting the Giants for taking Matt Cain for that reason.  Plenty of unheralded HS that some teams do not think of drafting go on to great things

-I have to assume some of these guys that fell VERY far or went unpicked (Meyer, Gray, Hunt, Grossman, Putnam, Melville, Galloway, Maronde, Danks, Webb, others) did so for signability reasons even if a guy like Galloway was not buzzed as being a difficult sign. I guess a couple of those guys (Hunt, Putnam) could have fallen for talent-only reasons

-Lots of pint-size college IFs being picked. A few of these guys (Harrison, Miclat) I have liked but wondered if their small stature would discount their stock into being senior signs or something next year.

-I love Jacob Thompson when he is on.

-Azusa Pacific's CF over Miami's CF? Wow. I don't know anything about Azusa Pac (a d-II school) guy but I really like Tekotte at Miami.
Another D-II guy went in Round Three over big college stars like Jacob Thompson (UVA), Scott Green (Kentuck), Vance Worley (Long Beach), ect. NIce to see guys who were likely unrecruited by the big dogs get the last laugh.

-I don't get picking Alonso over Smoak. I also don't get Jason Castro in the top 10, Havens at 22 and Jeremy Bliech at 44. Some of these first basemen seem like reaches. I don't see Cooper as a top 20 guy, esp one pick in front of Ike Davis. I also don't think of Carlos Gutierrez of Miami as a Round One guy.

-USF's Evan Frederickson is still a big lefty who can K guys but he still can't throw a strike to save his life and he was mediocre in the WCC after sucking for 2 years in the ACC. As far as strong armed, K-getting college LHP go I'd have to go with Wade Miley

-I'm glad to see SIU RHP Cody Adam's still going in Round Two despite a rough start this year. I also like seeing Illinois CF/WR Kyle Hudson in round 4. Here to seeing IU CF/WR early tomorrow.

-Charlie Blackmon is athletic and interesting but Round Two seems high, especially since he went in front of Tekotte.

-Cole Figeroa was draft eligible?!

-Sounds like Jarret Parker could be a steal in round 6, havn't seen him though. I think Jordy Mercer in round 3 is a nice pickup too.

-Delaware's 2b went before Tony Delmonico? Hmm. I like Delmonico a little BTW.

-Clayton Shunick in round 5 is a steal. I like Coastal Carolina closer Pete Andrelcyzk but I can't see him as a better pitcher than Shunick

-GTs David Duncan has not improved his draft stock at all since HS despite 3 years as a Friday guy in the ACC and being draft-eligible in 05, 07 and 08.

 

So sorry guys to do this so late but I am going to need a replacement drafter for the Braves since real life has stolen my time away from this pursuit and my Deputy, Jfish, has a schedule conflict as well unfortunately.

I'm terribly sorry, since I was REALLY looking forward to doing this again this year and I had even (quite nerdily) assembled a pretty long list of candidates to pick but stuff came up, sad to say

Sadly we don't pick til #40 this year.

Our picks are:  40 - 64 - 70 - 96 - 130 - 160

Not a great selection of picks so it is important to find the right guys in the later rounds, which can be a fun effort.

Here is a ramshackle draft board of sorts.  Don't worry I'm not trying to pimp a blog, there isn't a blog there.  I just found blogspot the easiest way to put all this info out there for me and others to look at and debate.

College Bats

College Arms

HS Bats

HS Arms  (put your comments on this Diary/Fanpost, not the Draft Board links)

I generally underrated guys on purpose so I can move them up as I become more sure.

I have brief comments on alot of guys.  Guys with ? marks are the ones I am really interested to know more about.  Just cause I didn't write a comment out doesn't mean I'm not aware of a player (I probably just didn't feel like typing) but I;d love to know anyones take on any player.

And just because I didn't list a player doesn't mean I don't think he is good (though it might).  Theres probably players I ranked wrong or forgot about.. SO LET ME KNOW!

I;d love to know anyones take on guys we should target for these picks.

Sorry if it is hard to read or disorganized.  I originally created that draft board to use as a basis for doing my own Shadow Draft.

I don't have any very specific draft philosophies.  I'm ok with drafting pitcher or hitters, college or HS as long as it is generally the Best Player Available.  I'm not unreasonably risk averse.  I lean towards going for high upside guys. 

One big question I have is whether we should consider Lonnie Chisenhall.  Talent-wise he could be a steal at 40 or 64 but the Braves don't like guys with legal problems and stealing from a coach is an especially bad sin from a clubhouse perspective.  On the other hand the Braves have given guys 2nd chances and kept them clean.  Apparently Chisenhall has his act together now and the Braves were very fond of him out of HS

Poll

Should Lonnie Chisenhalls makeup/criminal problems eliminate him from consideration for the Braves at pick 40?

42%

Yes

18 votes

57%

No

24 votes

42 votes | Poll has closed

I saw this on Primer and just had to send it around for more exposure.  It is a reporter (Dan Graziano) blog entry.  This is the weirdest thing...

http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2008/05/breaking_news_delgados_agent_i.html

I don't want to give away the juicy hilarity but I will say that it is classic enough that it features an MLB agent saying "So is your mom" to a reporter because of (essentially) an accounting question.

It is a must read

Alvarez comes through with a 2-out RBI double in the 8th in front of a packed home crowd to win game 1 of the #15 Kentucky series for #17 Vandy 3-2.  The series could be crucial for SEC and NCAA seedings for both teams.  Looks like hes feeling healthy now

The double came off UK Jr LHP Chris Rusin, a pretty good pitcher.  Rusin, a potential 4th-5th rounder, went 8 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K for the complete game.. and the tough luck loss

From Vandy's site..
"He (Rusin) threw me a curveball my first three at-bats and so I was expecting it and was fortunate enough to hit it," said Alvarez.

Dom de la Osa, a high Tigers pick last year trying to salvage a regression of a Sr year, went 2-3 with a double for Vandy.

Vandy SS Jr Ryan Flaherty, a contact and doubles kind of hitter, struggled, going 0-4 with 2 Ks.

Vandy starter, Soph LHP Mike Minor struck out 9 in 6 IP and gave up two walks, five hits and one run (unearned).  Minor, a fastball/changeup guy, looks to be an 09 first rounder.  He managed to hold KYs Sawyer Carroll and Collin Cowgill, two of the NCAAs top hitters, to 1-7 with 3 Ks and one walk.

RS-Fr RHP Russel Brewer, who was drafted out of HS as a IF, closed the game with 1.2 scoreless innings, no hits, 1 walk and 1 K to get the win.  He is 3-0 with 5 saves and 1.12 ERA and 39 K, 6 BB in 32 IP this year

PS, I'll give anyone who called Mike Macias being Vandy's best hitter this year a dollar : )

Well, "reinterpretations" is what MLB is calling it.

The biggest news is 5th year college seniors, at least those not bound for the NCAA tourny, used to be able to sign as free agents.

No longer says the NCAA.  Its a shame, I would have liked to see what a strong draft talent could have fetched as a free agent.

Real top talents almost never happen to be 5th-year seniors but there are usually some interesting sluggers or relief pitchers.  Two closers last year, Stephen Clyne of Clemson and Tristan Manguson of Louisville, could have started small-scall bidding wars/skirmishes.  Both were guys with stuff that could play well in an MLB pen and who were having good years on the mound.  Neither of those guys were special, so we weren't going to see any big bonuses but they could have earned themselves 6-figures.

Oh well.  I'll be sad to see it go since most 5th year seniors are non-superstars and since seniors always get crap bonuses in the draft I thought it was a nice way for older guys to make themselves a few extra thousand as well as being able to find the best org for themselves

Also, due to some weird re-changing of how 2nd round comp picks are awarded Boston and Atlanta saw their comp picks drops 18 spots from the 50s to the 70s.  I can't explain really how this happened, its MLBs third different ruling on the issue.   BA's Jim Callis explains it here...

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

Side notes... since I hate short diaries

Some great college baseball games tonight.  #2 UNC used an ELEVEN RUN 8th inning (!) to beat #3 FSU in a monster show down.  I should add that 11 8th came in a strong pitchers park and featured only one homer.

---

#1 Miami beat a talented Virginia team in a 1-0 classic.  Freshman Chris Hernandez gave up only 2 hits in 8 IP.  The kid doesn't throw hard but he is a damn wizard out there.  He has a nice change and curve and can spot his pitches.  And as you would expect from a freshman who is already an ace, hes got a damn good idea of how to pitch.  I mean guys with great fastball like Matt Harvey, Kyle Blair and Greg Peavey can't hold a candle to what he is doing... and gosh knows he didn't get any of their hype.  And those guys (well Blair and esp Harvey) are pitching WELL.

Joey Terdoslavich got 2 hits, including the games only extra baser, and Jr CF Blake Tekotte (a good looking, speedy 4th OF - or better? - prospect) had two hits including the game's only RBI.

UVA senior P Pat McAnaney, who is in the top 10 in the NCAA in K/9, had a great start, and a complete game, but got the super tough luck loss.  He could be a really good senior value in the 5-9 round range

---

A couple solid offenses beat up on a couple very good pitchers as a good Texas A/M team rallied to beat Mizzou 9-8.  Mizzou RHP Nick Tepesch, a good prospect from last years draft who is now a great one for 2010, gave up his first college runs and got his first college L.  He has been Mizzou's closer but will probably start next year.  Mizzou's Aaron Crow went 6 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 BB, 5 K in the start.

The game featured 9 doubles, two by Ryan Lollis (an interesting mid round OF), and 2 homers

---

Az State soph RHP Mike Leake didn't pitch his best (he carried a sick 68-8 K/BB in 68 IP into the game) but battled and got a complete game 11-7 W against a big hitting Cal team.He was a top 10 rounder of the As out of HS and will go high next year.

Brett Wallace went 2-3, HR, HBP for AzSt

Tyson Ross, in what was supposed to be his healthiest start to date gave up 8 runs on 8 hits and 5 BB in 5+ IP, K-ing 5.

Cal's Kevin Miller, the out-of-nowhere freshman pitcher of the year, will start tomorrow.  Hes another guy who fits what I was saying earlier about Hernandez.  He wasn't the draft prospect other guys were out of HS but came to college more ready to pitch than most upperclassmen!

Cal's big 2 hitters (David Cooper, Josh Satin) went 1-8 with 2 walks but Jr C/OF Charlie Cutler, who was probably higher rated draft-wise out of HS than those two, went 3-4 w HBP.  He is Cali's career HS hits, runs, triple and RBI champ.  He hasn't hit for power in college but he makes good contact, walks a little, has a good arm and was liked as draftee out of HS.

He could be a decent later round pickup but probably will be back for year #4

 

That was the line of San Diego State sophomore pitcher Steven Strasburg in a 1-0 win over Utah.

Since his freshman year he has been considered a top prospect for the '09 draft but even with such high expectations that is a HELL of a breakout game.

Not to be too hyperbolic but I honestly do think that is the most dominant single game pitching line I can remember for a college or minor-league game in quite awhile.

Granted, Utah is not a great team but they are not bad either.. just mediocre.

 

A pair of teams usually known for their pitching had an INSANE game.. Missouri 31, Texas 12.  Was the wind blowing out to center at 50 mph or something?  Was there a tornado sitting above homeplate grabbing hits and throwing over the OF wall?  Were the umps making the strikezone the size of their belt buckle?

Missouri, a team whose offense has been their biggest question mark, had 31 runs against TEXAS.

You occasionally, much moreso this season, see scores like this in college baseball but it is usually from weaker pitching-less programs.  It is very, very rare for strong programs like this, especially with top-level pitching, to have such a retarded football game score.

MIssouri's Sr RF Jacob Priday, an excellent but unspectacular veteran slugger, might have had the game of the year going 5-5 with FOUR homers, NINE RBIs, 6 runs scored and a walk.

MIssou Jr 1b Steve Gray was 3-7 with 2 homers... eight MIzzou players had multiple hits, six had 3 or more hits.  Seven Mizzou players scored 3 or more runs with four scoring 4 or more

Texas, a team usually known for pitching and Augie Garrido small-ball, (though they have had more big hitters recently) at least managed to score 12 of their own including two homers on a 3-4 day from a Kyle Russell trying to revive his corpse of a bat.  The big day only managed to bring his line up to .260-7 on a team that hits .311

Aaron Crow had his scoreless inning streak, and pristine ERA for the year, spoiled by giving up 9 ERs on 9 hits and 2 BBs in 5 IP, striking out four (EDIT: i originally goofed and put 2 Ks, he had 4 Ks.  A bad outing, especially by a great pitcher, but really not all that bad when you consider how the game went.  Only Mizzou reliever Rick Zagone and Texas reliever Pat McCrory pitched better than him a game that saw 9 pitchers.  Missouri was good to only use two pitchers, despite giving up 12 runs, to save arms for later in the weekend

Also impressive, in the bad way, was Drew Bishop (Texas' final pitcher) managing to walk 7 in 2 innings.

Did the umps really not want to get out of there in the 9th in a 20 run game?

I was going to do a little college wrapup and I was looking at scores and I noticed two strong southern mid-majors turn their games with weak northeastern teams into absolute embarrassments.

The series themselves aren't notable but I thought others might get a laugh or a "wow" out of this...

Charlotte (Who beat South Carolina 11-2 earlier this year) and Stony Brook played a double header.
Game one goes to Charloote 23-5, game two goes to Charlotte 13-4.  So the scoring on the day went 36-9 Damn.  Somehow Charlotte got those 23 runs in Game One with NO home runs.
Charlotte has 4 hitters hitting .420 or better.

In another doubleheader Western Carolina (who beat top 5 Vandy this week 5-3 and was one run off from beating Rice) beat Hartford 32-3.  WCU scored those 32 runs on "only" 24 hits.
Hartford actually kept game 2 close, losing 5-3.

Hartford has had even more bad luck in that weather has only allowed them to play two of their first seven games this season.

After three weekends here are some hot starters from the college ranks.  I'm focusing mostly on draft prospects for the 08 draft, but I'm throwing in a few guys who are just killing it no matter what

Don't necessarily read too much into this as far as predictive value or anything.  College stats don't mean a whole lot to begin with, and 3 weekends worth mean next to nothing especially considering the very weak level of competetion many teams have played thus far
Anyway, some hot starters aside from those just mentioned in the Yonder Alonso thread.

Arkansas R-Jr OF/1b Aaron Murhpee, a JUCO transfer who was not hotly recruited has 11 homers, 4 steals and is hitting .467 through 11 games

Miami Jr. 2b Jermile Weeks .415/467/780 5 steals

UGA stud Jr. SS Gordon Beckham 524/545/1071 SLG!
Beckhams start is especially impressive considering UGA has played Arizona and Oregon State to start the year plus a solid Memphis team.. not the Siena's some teams (UVA I'm looking at you) are playing.
I've watched Beckham for awhile and he has been a #3 hitter and rock at SS since day 1 of his freshman year for a College World Series team.  Really impressive.  He is a legit SS, hit power is real and he has hit on the Cape.  He won't win any batting titles but he is very good

Beckham's teammate Rich Proythress, one of the best hitters in the CPL last year, his hitting .500 too.

UNC So. 1b/LF Dustin Ackley 451/508/765 plus 4 steals against decent (FAU/ODU/Winthrop/Kent/St Johns)
One of the best pure college hitters I have ever seen.

Indiana So C Josh Phegley (last years Cape Cod All Star) is hitting 483/529/724. LHP Matt Bashore and OF Kipp Schutz also off to good starts.  This is a team to watch in the future, they have some young talent and a great coach.

Virginia Fr LHP/OF Dan Grovatt is 14-21 and 6 2bs.
UVA 1b/3b Jeremy Farrel (son of Indians scouting dir.) is .467 through 30 abs with 3 2b, 3 3b and 2  HR.  David Adams also hot.  UVA hadn't played a series vs anyone not-horrible until NCSU this weekend though... and they got to pad their stats with a 19-1 midweek game vs Coppin St - maybe the worst NCAA baseball team ever

Jr 1b/3b Brett Wallace and transfer OF Jason Kipnis each have 5 homers and a few steals for Az State, playing a tough scedule, and SS Marcel Champainge is hitting .400

Vandy Sr IF Alex Fienberg is hitting .455 through 10 games vs good teams

You will need Internet Explorer 6.0 or later and you will, sadly, need to give cstv.com an email addy to register.  But its worth it.

It starts at 2pm central time...so pretty much the exact time I am writing this

GO to
http://vucommodores.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/vand-m-basebl-body.html

and you should see the link

Lots of interesting free things in here the non-subscribers might not get to usually see.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/chat/2008/265591.html

Random tidbits...
He loves the Mizzou staff..
" Mizzou or USD pitching staff?

Jim Callis: Missouri. This probably won't happen, but the Tigers theoretically could have the No. 1 overall picks in 2008 (Aaron Crow), 2009 (Kyle Gibson) and 2010 (Nick Tepesch)."

But likes Matusz very slightly over Crow.

He says Ga HS SS Tim Beckham isn't as a good a prospect as Justin Upton was out of HS but is on BJ's level out of HS. (high praise!)

East KY U LHP Christian Friedrich looks to go from 5-15.  I've made note of him since his freshman year, so its nice to feel right about something.
Gets Rich Hill comps as far as stuff goes.

For the #1 overall pick Tim Beckham looks signable but Pedro Alvarez and Boras will be tough.

Texas OF Kyle Russell might have made a bad move to turn down 7 figures from the Cardinals, as right now Callis' sees him falling out of the first round.

"jason from greenville, sc asks:
How do the top college bats from this year (Alvarez and Smoak) compare to the likes of Wieters, Gordan, Longoria from year's past? If they were all in the same draft, how would they rank?

 A:
Jim Callis: They compare nicely . . . this is a great crop of college bats. Factoring in defensive ability, I'd rank them: Longoria, Alvarez, Gordon, Wieters, Smoak."

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/awards/all-america-teams/2008/265573.html

This is also gives you a good idea of the top college prospects some were wondering about since BA's list is based on draft promise as well as projected promise this season (hence Ryan Perry but no Preston Guilmet).

FSU C Buster Posey's D and contact gets good marks.

UGA SS Gordon Beckham, your Cape Cop HR and RBI leader, gets good marks for strength, power, athleticism and arm.

BA likes Miami RF/RHP Dennis Raben's raw power over his teammate 1b Yonder Alonso's but thinks Alonso is a better hitter.

Michigan DH/OF/RHP Putnam gets mixed reviews, he is more of a pitching prospect now than hitter (despite plus power and arm)..but is inconsistant and looks like a reliever.

The pitchers here boast some serious heat.

The Giant's did a really good job on getting contributions on the cheap from some players, something I though baseball fans might like to hear.

The best part is several players from the Giants most recent draft were contributors, and everyone blasted their draft at the time as being mediocre to poor.

After losing Tiki Barber, the Giants did a great job of making "RB by committee" work this year instead of cashing out for one big name back.  Between Jacobs, Derrick Ward and Bradshaw they got 3 good backs in the late rounds.
I don't know if that is great coaching, great scouting or both.. probably both.
All three were kind of diamonds in the rough.

Jacobs has always been considered talented, even out of HS, but he has always had some obstacle in the way.  He was too thuggish and stupid coming out of a Louisiana HS, despite dominating the whole state, for LSU to offer a scholly. Auburn, having no standards, did offer but Jacobs didn't qualify.  So he went to a Kansas JUCO for 2 years and then transferred to Auburn.  At Auburn of course he was stuck behind two top picks in Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams.  So he transferred to Southern Illinois.  There not only did he lose exposure playing at a lower level but he still spilt carries with another great back (though not Brown/Williams great) - plus his body is more TE than RB - so he fell to round 4.

Ward was good as a freshman at Fresno State but got injured and then academically ineligible.
He transferred to some NAIA college in Kansas or Texas or something and dominated but at a VERY low level of competition.  But, it was NAIA, so whoo-dee-doo.  He was either a 6/7th rounder or undrafted.

I don't know Bradshaw's deal exactly but he was an unheralded 7th rounder from a crap team.  So props to the Giants scouts for following these guys all the way down to the lowest levels in the most remote areas and not letting em fall through the cracks.

Plus the Giants had a few other low profile guys contribute.
David Tyree was a 6th rounder in '03 who worked his way up on special teams.
Kevin Boss was evidently unrecruited out of even HS by anyone, despite being big and fast.  He got some pre-draft pub but still fell to the 5th round. Good job by the Giants scouts to get on someone from Western Oregon College.
Their starting FB, Hedgecock, was a waiver pickup who played as much DE as FB/RB in college.  Of course his college coach, John Bunting at UNC, wouldn't let Willie Parker start.

So, again, props to the Giants for identifying diamonds in the rough ("undervalued" players to use Moneyball terms) in the later rounds.  And prop to the coaching staff for developing them.

A's minor league catcher Landon Powell, who was having a good 292/385/525 year between AA and AAA, is going to be done for the year with ACL surgery on his knee.  He was an old junior when he was drafted, at 22.  The former first rounder then lost 2005, which would have been his first full pro year, to an injury.  He returned last year and played alright, but not especially well, at high-A while shaking off the yearlong layoffs rust.  He was kind of breaking out this year, but another horrible bit of misfortune bit him again. Next year he will be 26, and you can't assume he'll be 100% right away between the layoff and the weak knees. He could be almost 27 before hes ready now. These injuries have set him WAY back

What is his weight like now?  That was a HUGE (no pun intended) concern coming out of Apex (NC) HS and then after his draft-eligible sophomore year at South Carolina.  I'm pretty sure the injury he missed 05 with was a knee one too.  Carrying all that weight is going to make this newest knee problem even worse.  His dad is huge so the genes don't look good

Braves picks:
14
33
70
79
109
139
169

I strongly believe in picking the best available talent at each spot regardless of organizational need at a position.  If you have some guys about equal then you factor in who else youve picked and who else is in the organization but in baseball, with prospects being so unpredicatable, you've got to just get the best guy you can at each spot.

Guys I'm crossing off the list (as locks to be drafted before 14):
Vitters
Wieters
Price
Porcello
Detwiler

I think when looking at who else might be available its important to consider that this is a MOCK draft, so a guy like Brackman might be available at  14 with this audience of scouting directors but in the real big league draft it looks like he will be gone for sure
14 is a much higher pick than the Braves usually have so it'd be nice to add a stud to the system.
My personal preferences usually fall towards HS guys, since they are younger and usually more talented (since most top HS players dont ever go on to college) but if a guy can really show me tools in college I'm willing to go there.
In pitchers I like power arms and in hitters I look for middle of the diamond athletes with a chance to hit, though I'll take a bat-only guy if I really believe hes a big league hitter

Names for the first picks (may or may not be around):
Matt Harvey - HS RHP - Mystic, CT
-coming into this spring considered right there with Porcello as top prep arm.  Some still prefer him.  Supposed to have better command than Porcello, with still plenty good stuff.

Michael Main - HS OF/RHP - FL
-Really a guy I like, from what I've heard.  A year ago considered a top 5 draft lock as a RHP.  Lost some luster since then  Would be a very typical Braves pick as a HSer from Florida.  
Braves top pick last year Cody Johnson was a FL HSer who was also considered to be a top 10 pick as a Jr before losing ground.
Would he be a better pick as a 5-tool OF or a RHP throwing in the mid-90s with an athletic body?
Some think  hes a future closer, if he doesnt project well as a starting pitcher I might put him in the OF.
I think being able to dominate on both ends of the field speaks well of a guys overall feel for baseball.

Jarrod Parker - HS RHP - Norwell, IN
Small, skinny frame but an electric arm.  One scout says hes every bit as good as Porcello, but 4 inches shorter.

Andrew Brackman - RHP/Power Forward - NC State
You know the story.  6-9, athletic RHP who has throw in high 90s in the past though sat lower this spring.  I'm higher on him than most,at this site, are

Jason Heyward - HS 1b/of - McDonough, GA
Best prep hitter in Georgia.

Josh Smoker - HS LHP - Calhoun, GA
Lefty with good stuff and great feel for pitching.
Another Georgia prep.

Daniel Moskos - LHP - Clemson
Power stuff.  Hits 97 as a LHP with plus secondary stuff.  Former closer, now adjust to rotation with mixed results.

Blake Beavan - HS RHP - Dallas, TX area
Big, hard throwing prep RHP with Roy Halladay comps.

Madison Bumgarner - HS LHP - Lenior, NC
Hard throwing, big lefty needing better breaking stuff

Phillipe Aumont - RHP - Canadian HS
Big, hard throwing righty from Canada

Mike Moustakas - HS IF - Chatsworth (LA), CA
Set new Cali HS HR record.  Defensive future a question but his 96 mph arm makes 3b look like a possibility.

Other names for later picks (more just throwing these names out there for consideration..some of these guys I love, some i dont, some i dont know much either way on):
Luke Putkonen
Josh Horton
Dave Duncan
Andrew Carignan
Brett Cecil
Kyle Russel (in real life draft might be here at 33, but less likely on this site)
Jess Todd
Cory Gearrin
Danny Payne
Wendell Fairly
Devin Mesacaro
MIchael Burgess
Tony Thomas
Josh Fields
Matt Mangini
Josh Donaldson
Mitch Canham
Corey Brown
Matt Brown
Ben Revere
Angel Morales
Nevin Griffith
Chris Carpenter
Travis Banwart
Will Middlebrooks
Brad Suttle
Matt Latos/Jordan Walden (if not signed predraft)

I could go on forever but I'll stop there
what say you?