jacksonianmarch

another high schooler with good upside. I likey Aplin looks good. Watch the scouting vid. His arm is impressive and his swing is smooth. I hope we can get him Bruening is huge and was listed by BA as one of the best players left on the board

31st pick: Sean Webb LHP Palm Beach CC 32nd pick: Michael Clarke LHP Fla HS 33rd pick: William Tart RHP Fla HS 34th pick: James Patterson LHP Central Ariz College 35th pick: Matthew Milroy RHP Illinios HSer 36th pick: Mike Yaztremski OFer Mass HS

Here we go again... 31st round- Judd Golson OFer Alabama HS 32nd round- John Ebert 1B Univ South Carolina 33rd round- Andrew Aplin CFer CA HS 34th round- Jacob Petricka RHP ISU 35th round- Brett Bruening RHP Grayson Country Coll 36th round- Kyle Ottison LHP Ariz CC

he was right at 4, and he's in the AL East. A 4 ERA in the AL East is solid

Round 18 Renny Parthemore is a tall (6'5"), hard throwing righty who can touch mid 90s. He has a strong commit to PSU As far as picks 19 and 20, I smell a filler For the final 10 picks, the sox took 6 high schoolers. The best one being Cody Stubbs. He's a plus power infielder with a projectable frame.

exactly, why sell low? Thats just dumb. He's a 19 game winner X2 who just hasnt recovered from a pretty significant injury. If he ever recovers fully, he will be a hell of a guy to have in the top half of your rotation

Well, I did it for NY, so I guess I should do it for the sox, eh? Round 1 Reymond Fuentes, the HS kid out of PR was an interesting selection. He wasnt even on the first round radar until the past week or so. In terms of his skills, he is lightning fast and ranges CF very well. He is currently a slap type hitter with possible power projection if the mechanics of his swing are changed. Alex Cora had a good quote on the kid. "He may be Carlos' nephew, but he is Jacoby Ellsbury's clone". Round 2 Alex Wilson out of Texas A&M was a solid selection. He was expected to be a first rounder last yr until he went down with TJ the summer before the draft. He's a closer type who features a sinking fastball in the low 90s, topping out at 95 and a hard slider with plus potential. Round 3 David Renfroe out of high school in Mississippi. He's a true signability pick as he was ranked in the low 30s to early 40s range, which would have seen him selected in the latter part of the 1st round or in the 1st comp round. He's a tall, lean, athlete who plays slick D and has a cannon for an arm. As a matter of fact, he's similar to Casey Kelly in that he is a hard throwing pitcher as well, albeit not as hard as Kelly. He's got offensive projection through the roof, but he slipped due to signability. He is expected to request 3-4mil to sign Round 4 Jeremy Hazelbaker out of Ball State. The sox continue to go with athletic players in the draft. He's a speed burner with slight power projection and a good eye at the plate. He projects as a leadoff type hitter in CF. Round 5 Seth Schwindenhammer might be the best name taken. He's another two way player who will likely be used as a 1b or a corner OFer. He's huge and has a ton of power projection. He also has a cannon for an arm and a low 90s fastball from the mound. Round 6 Branden Kline is a HS pitcher with a tall frame and a good arm. He tops out in the 95 range, although he sits in the 88-92 range at this point. He has a strong commit to UVA and is asking for a 5 mil signing bonus to sign. He is not worth that kind of money at this point Round 7 Madison Younginer is another HS pitcher with a ridiculous upside. He tops out at 97mph from the right hand side and has a plus potential curveball. He has a Clemson commit and will not come cheap. To be honest with you, I like him better than Kline. If I had to give 5 mil to one guy, it would be this kid Round 8 Shannon Wilkerson came out of Augusta St. in Division II. He is a lesser known kid playing against competition that isnt quite the SEC, but he showed some 5 tool skills. He's got above average speed and the possibility to be a good hitter with pop. He's difficult to project at this point, but he is a guy to keep an eye on Round 9 Kendal Volz was the biggest dropper on the list. Last yr, he threw for Team USA and was just unhittable. But this yr, his velocity was down and he was hit pretty hard. Granted, he was a closer for team USA and he was converted to starting for Baylor. As a reliever, he has great stuff. Round 10 Brandon Jacobs has already signed for an apparent 800K. He is a big, athletic guy with 5 tool skills and speed to burn. He is incredibly raw, but that hasnt stopped the sox before Round 11 Jason Thompson is a switch hitting SS with a strong commit to Louisville. He was an AFLAC all american and was considered one of the top 100 prep players in the country. He will be a tough sign Round 12 Michael Thomas out of Southern U is a guy I dont know much about. A college catcher, he played sparingly this yr due to injury and was unimpressive. 13-15 look like filler picks unless I get any other info, I will not go in depth on them Round 16 Luke Bard, brother of Josh Bard, is another guy to follow. He is massive and throws very hard for a HSer. Round 17 Kraig Sitton is a DES from OSU who was a lefty reliever this past yr. He doesnt throw incredibly hard from what I can tell, but I may be wrong.

I think Wang will end up in the pen in time. His injury changed him significantly. He no longer has the durability or the repetition he had in the past where he could go 7 innings a night and just keep that sinker down at knee level all night long. Shorter bursts will be better for him this season, and when the time comes to stretch out, we can see if we want to come 2010.

Thanks man, I appreciate it. More good stuff on yankee signees. See, the thing about the draft is, that you know which guys are solid, you know which high schoolers to look for, but there are certain things you dont get exposed to, and those are draft eligible sophomores. These are guys who entered college at 19 or redshirted one of their seasons. Well, we took a TON of them. 5th Round Caleb Cotham 14th Round Graham Stoneberner 20th Round Thomas Keeling 28th Round Aaron Meade 29th Round Scott Matyas Most teams do not draft DES players because their leverage is supreme. It isnt like a HS kid who must wait until he's 21 or until after his Jr yr to go. These guys will be able to re-enter the draft for the next 2 seasons. That being said, the guys above are intriguing. Cotham actually just had his meniscus repaired. Turns out he was pitching on a bum knee for the past 6 months. He is a high ceiling kind of guy. When the Yankees scouted him, his FB was clocked in the 94-96mph range and his slider was clocked at 87mph. Thats power. Cotham could be groomed as a starter, but I think he ends up as a closer type. Stoneberner I talked about yesterday. Another power guy with a hard, bowling ball type sinker that sits comfortably in the mid 90s. He projects as a closer, IMO because his secondary stuff is pretty crude and he has difficulty repeating his delivery, yet he looked good out of the pen with Clemson Just saw a feature on Keeling over at nomaas. Turns out his scouting video is accurate in terms of his velocity and his movement. I saw that he threw across his body and his FB does sit in the 89-92 range. But he gets a ton of motion on it, making him very difficult to hit. His breaking ball is inconsistent and his repetition of his delivery had been difficult up until this yr. He is a project, but he is big (6'3") and he's got a good arm, so if they can mold him a bit, he could add some power to that movement and increase his stock. Scott Matyas is another DES out of University of Minnesota. He served as the closer. He brings a 89-91mph FB with a plus curveball and plus command. He is gonna be a tough sign, but he should be a pretty safe bet to project as a middle reliever right now. He's a big guy and if they can eek out a few more mph, he should project even higher.

I agree that they will have to deal with it. Thing is, they had Murphy, Stassi and Bailey available, all guys I would say were much more advanced and have a higher ceiling than Lavarnway et al.

thats what I'm here for. I am not a scout as you know, but I read as much as I can about these kids and gather info to make a more educated decision about them. It essentially takes me from shot in the dark to shot in the twilight. So anything said about these guys needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Still, I can give you standard stuff, like velocity, projection, "potential", etc. In terms of potential, I dont think any team aside from Washington has more. When you draft 14 of your 30 picks out of HS and of those, 3 or 4 are top round talents, then you had a good draft on draft day. Unfortunately for the sox, the draft will be evaluated again mid August, and if they didnt sign enough of them, then it will be a waste

It is interesting, though, that a draft supposedly deep with catching prospects sees a team in desperate need of catching draft only one catcher. And that one catcher is a filler at best.

He had injury concerns it turns out. Stassi was gonna be a tough sign to begin with, and when it was revealed that he had a shoulder injury, the sox passed.

from Lane Meyer at nomaas

surprised I havent seen one visit by ORS here. He typically has some info on these kids.

sox win. f***ing game, f***ing team.

Kline wants 5 million to sign. Renfroe wants 3.5 million to sign. Fuentes is gonna be a 1.5-2mil signing bonus. Jacobs just got 800K. Unless the sox plan on spending 30 mil on their draft, they are gonna let a LOT of these guys go

Just got back from softball. I see we made a poor decision pulling wang into the rotation and moving hughes out. Hughes sounds like he was impressive after the homer

That was quick. Great pickup for Boston. He's RAW. But he is strong with 5 tool ceiling.

I am intrigued by the yankees selections thus far. After going rather young the last 2 seasons, they seem to be reversing course. In 2008, 6 of their first 11 selections were high schoolers (they signed 5 of them) and they also signed 4 higher upside guys outside the top 10. In 2007, 5 of their top 12 picks were High Schoolers (all of them signed). This yr, they started with 2 high upside high school picks but then they went with 8 consecutive college players before starting to have an uptick in the HS players. I think this mostly has to do with the yankees needing to fill in some gaps in talent in the middle levels since they have a glut of talent in the lower levels. Overall.... First Round- Slade Heathcott is legit. He's a true 5 tool prospect who will likely demand somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5-2.2 million to sign. If and when he signs, He'll likely head to SI and then to Charleston next season. I would expect that he'll be our third highest rated offensive player behind Montero and Romine. Second Round- J.R. Murphy is a true talent, but not as talented as Slade. He will likely sign for somewhere in the mid 6 figure range. He's a gap power hitter with an advanced discipline and good raw mechanics and agility behind the plate. Fourth Round- Adam Warren- RHP from UNC, he is a college senior, so he should sign. He's a big framed righty who is just starting to see his velocity creep up into the low to mid 90s range. Fifth Round- Caleb Cotham- Draft Eligible Sophomore from Vandy who I expect to be our second toughest sign. He dominated in the Cape Cod league, and features a low to mid 90s FB and a plus breaking pitch. Sixth Round- Robert Lyerly first baseman from UNCC, is a left handed hitting 1b with power projection who is already a professional hitter. The hope is that he continues to maintain that approach Seventh Round- Sean Black out of Seton Hall was a second rounder in 2006 but did not sign. He has been inconsistent, but when he is on, his stuff is dynamite. Eight Round- Sam Elam out of ND. He's a lefty with a mid 90s fastball and nearly no command. If they can fix him, he'll be a hell of an 8th rounder Ninth Round- Gavin Brooks LHP out of UCLA. A guy with a moderate upside and can throw in the low 90s, he served as the UCLA closer. Tenth Round- Tyler Lyons LHP out of Okla St. He was a first round prospect until his velocity started to drop. His velocity came up at the end of the yr out of the pen, so the Yankees will have a decision to make. After the top 10.... 11th Round Neil Medchill, College OFer with power to spare. He was ranked in the 150 range from BA, not sure why he fell to the 11th round. The Yankees are hoping he becomes a big time power bat they are sorely lacking in the OF. 12th Round HS righty Brett Gerritse will be a signability pick. A big kid, who throws 91-92mph with a lot of sink, he looks like a potential horse with a bit more projection in his fastball 13th Round DeAngelo Mack is a college project, which seems to be the overwhelming theme. He is more advanced than a lot of the 5 tool HS guys, but he is a project nonetheless. He has raw power and a ton of speed. He also fared very well in Cape Cod. 14th Round Graham Stoneberner, RHP from Clemson. He was a starter and a reliever in college. He throws a hard, mid 90s sinker. But he is also a project who needs to work on his control and his off speed offerings. He has a ridiculously high ceiling, but he is also a junior and would love to improve his draft status should he not get a good offer 15th Round Shane Greene is an interesting story. He's a 20 yr old guy with a huge frame (6'5") who never threw higher than 88mph. He had TJS, was dropped from his college scholarship and decided to rehab at a local community college. He threw a bullpen and was clocked at 91mph. Shocked, his coach put him in the rotation and he showed a hard, improved slider. Now, he sits 92mph and tops out in the 94 range with a plus potential slider. He will be a signability guy, but could really be a good pick. 16th Round Bryan Mitchell is a high school projection pick. 6'2" and having recently put on 15 pounds of muscle, he features a low 90s heater with plus control and a good slider. He's got a strong commit to UNC, so he is gonna be one to watch 17th Round Chad Thompson has the highest upside of any player on this list, but he also has the farthest to go. 6'8" in high school and having just had Tommy John in May, he is a guy who has a lot of concerns. At the same time, he had a mid 90s fastball prior to tommy john as an 18 yr old. He is going to take a long time to develop, but his reward could be greater than anyone on the list Rabago and Murton are fillers for the most part in the 18th and 19th rounds. 20th Round Thomas Keeling, a lefty pitcher capable of throwing low 90s will be an interesting guy to follow. Not a great prospect, but a lefty who is young and throws well is better than nothing the only other guys I am excited about... 25th round Shaeffer Hall is a durable left handed starter who showed good command in Kansas, albeit with marginal stuff 26th round Stephen Bruno, a small high school SS who has solid average and defense ceiling. He is gonna be a tougher sign 28th Round Aaron Meade, a lefty with impeccable control and a plus changeup will be a tough sign as a draft eligible sophomore. 30th Round Kyle McKenzie, a righty HSer with low 90s fastball who has topped out at 94, has made strides with his curveball and his delivery this yr. He was considered a 5-8th round player who may be signable at the right price.

The sox dont have a deep system right now because a lot of their prospect talent made the transition to the bigs. That doesnt happen very often. When you dont have guys regurgitating back and forth through the AAA and MLB ranks, you dont typically have a lot of MLB ready talent. The sox do, though at least in the pitching side. Their offensive side is a bit drained without Pedroia, Ellsbury or Lowrie. They do have Anderson and Reddick, but they are a ways away.

You have to be f***ing kidding me. Roland "Cody" Stubbs, 1b/SS out of Tuscola HS. I wanted this kid too. Big time power projection, expected to ask for a 1 mil + signing bonus

They just took another one. Miles Head, a 3B from Atlanta. That makes 13 high schoolers out of 26 picks. Wow. EDIT Make it 14 of 27. Reed Gargnani SS from a VA HS

Daniel Kemp, SS another HSer. Incredible how many prep guys they are going with add another one Austin House RHP high schooler