2008 MLB Draft Discussion

[CrespoBlows]

Keith Law came out with his top 60 prospects today.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/draft2008/news/story?id=3388073

 

[table]NO. PLAYER POS. SCHOOL

1 Tim Beckham SS Griffin (Ga.) H.S.

2 Buster Posey C Florida State

3 Justin Smoak 1B South Carolina

4 Pedro Alvarez 3B Vanderbilt

5 Eric Hosmer 1B American Heritage H.S. (Plantation, Fla.)

6 Aaron Crow RHP Missouri

7 Gordon Beckham SS Georgia

8 Brian Matusz RHP San Diego

9 Tanner Scheppers RHP Fresno State

10 Gerrit Cole RHP Lutheran H.S. (Orange, Calif.)

 

11 Kyle Skipworth C Patriot H.S. (Riverside, Calif.)

12 Brett Wallace 3B Arizona State

13 Christian Friedrich LHP Eastern Kentucky

14 Aaron Hicks RF/RHP Wilson H.S. (Long Beach, Calif.)

15 Tim Melville RHP Holt H.S. (Wentzville, Mo.)

16 Ethan Martin RHP/3B Stephens County H.S. (Toccoa, Ga.)

17 Josh Fields RHP Georgia

18 Yonder Alonso 1B Miami

19 Shooter Hunt RHP Tulane

20 Jason Cooper 1B California

 

21 Casey Kelly SS/RHP Sarasota (Fla.) H.S.

 

22 Jason Castro C Stanford

23 Conor Gillaspie 3B Wichita State

24 Andrew Cashner RHP Texas Christian

25 Lance Lynn RHP Mississippi

26 Dennis Raben RF Miami

27 Reese Havens SS South Carolina

28 Jake Odorizzi RHP Highland (Ill.) H.S.

29 Petey Paramore C Arizona State

30 Jemile Weeks 2B Miami

31 Robbie Ross LHP Lexington (Ky.) Christian Academy

32 Aaron Weatherford RHP Mississippi State

33 Brad Holt RHP UNC Wilmington

34 Josh Lindblom RHP Purdue

35 Bryan Price RHP Rice

36 James Darnell 3B South Carolina

37 Ezekiel Spruill RHP Kell H.S. (Marietta, Ga.)

38 Daniel Webb RHP Heath H.S. (Paducah, Ky.)

39 Adrian Nieto C American Heritage H.S. (Plantation, Fla.)

40 Kyle Lobstein LHP Coconino H.S. (Flagstaff, Ariz.)

 

41 Michael Montgomery LHP Hart H.S. (Valencia, Calif.)

42 Cody Satterwhite RHP Mississippi

43 Niko Vasquez SS Durango H.S. (Las Vegas, Nev.)

44 Ryan Perry RHP Arizona

45 Alex Meyer RHP Greensburg (Ind.) H.S.

46 Vance Worley RHP Long Beach State

47 Destin Hood OF St. Paul's Episcopal School (Mobile, Ala.)

48 Wade Miley LHP Southeast Louisiana

49 Roger Kieschnick OF Texas Tech

50 Zach Collier OF Chino Hills (Calif.) H.S.

 

51 Brett DeVall LHP Niceville (Fla.) H.S.

 

52 Ike Davis 1B Arizona State

53 Aaron Shafer RHP Wichita State

54 Logan Forsyth 3B Arkansas

55 Isaac Galloway OF Los Osos H.S. (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)

56 Kyle Weiland RHP Notre Dame

57 Tim Murphy LHP UCLA

58 Brett Lawrie C/2B Langley (B.C.) H.S.

59 Nick Maronde LHP Lexington (Ky.) Catholic H.S.

60 Taylor Hightower C Cartersville (Ga.) H.S.

 

[/table]

 

I played soccer with Casey Kelly (No. 21) when we were both 11 year old kids. He's got a scholarship to play both football and baseball at Tennessee, but he's a much better baseball player.

 

Buster Posey, is my favorite for the number one selection. Catcher who can hit the ball for power, and average.

[Soxfan1]

Time for Yeszir to hype Pedro Alvarez much better then he actually is.

[CrespoBlows]

Forgot about that.

 

Does anyone have any first hand accounts of any of the prospects in the draft?

 

(Thumper probably played with Shooter Hunt in High School)

[ORS]

My first hand accounts date back to Bill Pulsipher, who I played against when I was 13 and 14.

[jacksonianmarch]

The most recent mock drafts I have seen have the sox taking a HS SS with pick #1, the name slips my mind right now, but apparently the sox love him. Power projection, fast and has a good eye for an 18yr old

 

The Yankees have had some interesting speculation. I have seen Ike Davis dropping to us in one, but the majority of the mocks have him going in the earlier picks. A few others have some interesting prospects.

 

Tanner Scheppers, one of the hardest throwing pitchers out there is reportedly asking for top 4 draft pick kind of money, signalling to some that he has already reached a deal. The speculation is that Scheppers is pushing himself out of the first round and the yankees may select him later.

 

The other names that keep falling are the HS lefty Lobstein and the HS righty with the best arm in the draft (but has criminal issues apparently) in Cole.

[yeszir]

Time for Yeszir to hype Pedro Alvarez much better then he actually is.

 

He's SOOOOOO good. I came into this thread specifically to do this.

[26 to 6]

So MLB.com is reporting that the Rays are gonna take Tim Beckham. The Pirates are probably gonna take Alvarez. Posey is a guy I've been following closely. I doubt he makes it past the Orioles at 4, with probably KC or Baltimore picking him up.

 

Anyway, we'll see soon enough. I'm also interested to see this Negro League "Draft" at 1. Should be interesting.

[26 to 6]

Apparently all of the picks for the Negro League draft have been determined.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080529&content_id=2795840&vkey=draft2008&fext=.jsp

[yeszir]

Decent pick by the sox but I feel that Colzie's lost something on his fastball in the 60 odd years since he last pitched.

 

The Colorado Rockies are clearly this year's draft winner.

[The Prodigy]

Do you think that the sox will trade for a SS like T. Beckham? What do you think it will take if they do?

[Soxfan1]

My T-Hawks are going up against Keith Landers today. He might be a middle 1st round pick.

[RedSoxRooter]

Sox need a catcher - a real one. They always pick the best talent available at the time, but I think they should just grab the best available catcher first this year.

[26 to 6]

 

Didn't see the other thread in the Minor League forum. If you want we can just take this discussion over there..

[Cocos Disciples]

Do you think that the sox will trade for a SS like T. Beckham? What do you think it will take if they do?

 

No. Besides, if you mean trade picks, you can't.

[yeszir]

I just merged the two threads on the draft

[jacksonianmarch]

Well, there goes Ike Davis. This kid has light tower power. The Mets got a good one here.

[jacksonianmarch]

Reese Havens to the Mets. This was the guy the sox were in love with

[Cocos Disciples]

Bud Selig looks/sounds like an absolute buffoon.

[CrespoBlows]

Red Sox take Casey Kelly with the top pick.

 

I now know a big league prospect. (other than Thumper)

[jacksonianmarch]

Interesting draft. I think the sox took a solid pick in Kelly and are going the developed route in terms of pitching. I dont love any one of their picks per se, but I think they did well for their location in the draft and the collection of talent they received should turn out a couple good prospects.

 

For the Yankees, quite an interesting draft.

 

Cole was the best HS pitching prospect, but Boras helped him get to the Yankees. High 90s heat with a plus slider already and a serviceable plus potential change. He'll need some mechanical tweaking, but his frame and arm have him slotted as a potential ace

 

Bleich is an interesting, low risk pitch. Lefty with 3 average pitches and impeccable control. Dominated PAC 10 comp this yr too. Reminds me a lot of the Kennedy pick.

 

Dont get the Bittle pick. We drafted him in the 48th last yr and must have liked what we saw. Drafted as a reliever, I think the yankees will try him in the rotation. Hard sinker in the 90 range with 2 good offspeed pitches. I think he'll have limited projectability because of his velocity

 

Adams is another interesting pick. Reminds me a lot of Pedroia. No true plus tool, but is a professional hitter who can field his position and is known as a "gamer".

 

Joseph and Smith are the big picks on the offensive side here. Both have 5 star ceilings and both are committed to big time baseball powerhouses. Signing them would be quite a coup.

 

The Marshall pick is likely going to be one of the more underrated picks. Marshall is a small framed (6'0") converted SS who just had a huge jump in velocity. He's 18 and throws 94-96 with an already hard plus slider. Has a very inconsistent change at this point and likely will need that to remain a rotation option.

 

I think the yankees passed on some high upside players in the supp round, to go with the low risk player in Bleich. Scheppers or Lobstein might have been better in that spot. Regardless, Cole is an excellent pick and the picks from Round 4-6 all have ridiculous upside. Signing them will be tough

[Gom]

Signing them will tough? For the Yankees? Apparently Jacko thinks that we are the Marlins.

 

I'm just waiting for Jacko to deign the entire draft for the Yankees to be full of future Hall-of-Famers, and how we shouln't trade any of them for Sabathia come July.

[26 to 6]

Signing them will tough? For the Yankees? Apparently Jacko thinks that we are the Marlins.

 

I'm just waiting for Jacko to deign the entire draft for the Yankees to be full of future Hall-of-Famers, and how we shouln't trade any of them for Sabathia come July.

We wouldn't be able to trade any of them.

 

...can't trade a player until 1 year after he signs his first professional contract

[Gom]

We wouldn't be able to trade any of them.

 

...can't trade a player until 1 year after he signs his first professional contract

Whatever. Trade last year's for Sabathia or Fuentes.

 

Sabathia will be in pinstripes by August. Either that or Dodger blue.

[jacksonianmarch]

if it were up to me, I'd sign em all

[jacksonianmarch]

Sox get Meyer late in the draft. Late 1st round talent, apparently wants top 5 money. If he doesnt get it, he goes to KY

[Soxfan1]

Pick	Team	Player	School	Pos	B/T	Ht	Wt	DOB	Class	
237		Barnes, Scott	St Johns U	LHP	L/L	6'03"	175	1987-09-05	JR	400K
536		Landers, Keith	St Peter Marian Central HS (MA)	LHP	L/L	6'07"	225	1989-11-12	HS	400K
553		Weismann, Scott	Acton-Boxborough Reg HS (MA)	RHP	R/R	6'01"	180	1990-02-08	HS	400K
644		Fuller, James	Southern Connecticut St U	LHP	L/L	5'10"	175	1987-06-01	JR	
661		Curran, Chris	Miami Dade CC Kendall	2B	L/R	5'09"	170	1987-12-21	J1	

 

Comments: The kind of body and arm those who like to project can dream about, Landers is raw, but shows just enough to keep people interested. He can reach the low 90s with his fastball and shows hints of a pretty nasty slurve. Like with most of his game, his command is inconsistent. The projectability, the size and the left-handedness had scouts heading north to see him when the weather turned warm in Massachusetts and he had been moving up charts due to his performance this spring. (Landers)

 

This guy is pretty dominate. Algonquin (My HS Team) went 20-2 and got the first round bye and got past the 2nd round last weekend. Yesterday we went up against Landers and the guy shut us out. Dominate pitching.

[BSN07]

So whats the projection of the SS the Sox took in round 1? And how soon can he replace Lugo? I Kid I Kid......

[jacksonianmarch]

He's a two way athlete who the sox drafted as a SS. He's signed on to play QB at Tennessee, so you can see what kind of athlete he is. Very smooth defender with a raw bat. Sounds like a boom or bust pick with the potential to hit it very big. But he will take some time.

[TheKilo]

All signs say they want him to be a pitcher but he's threatened to go to Tennessee if the Sox don't play him at SS.

[jacksonianmarch]

Big day 2 for the sox. 3 high end players who are going to be very difficult signings.