2013 draft

[Captain Adama]

He's a safety pick at this point IMO.

[GD]

He's a safety pick at this point IMO.

 

*cough* DeckMcGuire *Cough*

 

Isn't Nevada a hitter's haven, though?

[Captain Adama]

*cough* DeckMcGuire *Cough*

 

Isn't Nevada a hitter's haven, though?

 

As far as a hitter's haven is concerned yes, but the dry air doesn't seem to affect his HR totals against him.

[GD]

As far as a hitter's haven is concerned yes, but the dry air doesn't seem to affect his HR totals against him.

 

Yeah, just figured it made his stats marginally more impressive. Still would rather taking someone else.

[TheHurl]

Kiley McDaniel on Scout's draft chat. Haven't read it yet. I let my Scout.com account expire when Frankie P left so I can't see his Mock. I really like Kiley though.

 

http://sbb.scout.com/2/1289799.html

 

one of the interesting ones. I often wonder when people are downgrading someone's D so much. We all remember what happened with Lawrie. I watched Moran play last Saturday but didn't see enough of him at D and actually missed two of his AB's playing poker.

 

Comment From Ari

Can you explain to me the appeal of Colin Moran? He has to hit like hell to make up for his ceiling defensively as a below-average defensive 3B, possibly a guy who moves to first. Am I underrating his defense or is his bat really that special?

1:28

Kiley McDaniel: Underrating defense. Check out my video from last month (http://sbb.scout.com/2/1279540.html) and tell me he looks below average defensively. I graded him out as average to slightly above with fringy to average power (15+ HR annually) and a chance to hit .280 with walks. Go check how many MLB 3B are better than that and let me know.

Edited May 8, 2013 by TheHurl

[TheHurl]

actually i can read his mock http://sbb.scout.com/2/1289798.html

 

Pick

10

CF Austin MeadowsGrayson HS (GA)

Click for more details [+]

ANALYSIS: The Jays would like to get McGuire here but he goes right in front of them in this scenario. With their huge scouting staff, Toronto seems to get tied to more players than most teams and many of them are off the board here but this makes sense as the spot for Meadows. It may seem like a slider given the 1-1 hype coming into the spring, but I never bought Meadows as that kind of talent and after all the conversations I had this week, the industry seems to agree. It only takes one team to pick him higher than this, but more than one scouting director said this week they could see Meadows making it to the Pirates second pick at 14, which is likely his floor. Toronto likes to go best player available and collect as much talent as possible and Meadows fits the bill at #10.

[GD]

Damn, I'd be pretty happy with Meadows.

 

Wait, we want McGuire? Over Denny? wat

[GeorgiaPeach]

does it really matter at this point

AA has proven he cannot evaluate minor league talent. I can't name one superstar he has groomed and or traded for through the minors. Deck? Beede? Norris? Stroman aka Pedman?

We need a new scouting department and fast

 

Don't you mean Amateur talent?

[GD]

Don't you mean Amateur talent?

 

That's the only problem you can find with his post? Don't feed the troll lol.

[ace3113]

He's a safety pick at this point IMO.

 

I don't think he's a safety pick at all. In fact, I think there's a good amount of risk/reward with Shipley. On the one hand he doesn't have a long track record, and for a college pitcher he's quite raw. On the other hand he's super athletic with free-and-easy delivery and a fastball that sits 93-95 with a peak of 97. His changeup is a plus pitch, and his curve has flashed plus. That's pretty good upside. With more experience and instruction, you could be looking at a #2 starter with 3 plus pitches. Here's Keith Law's take for what it's worth.

 

 

Kirk (Las Vegas)

 

What is the ceiling for Braden Shipley and what is the most reasonable expectation for him?

 

Klaw

(1:53 PM)

 

Great athlete, chance for three plus pitches. If that's not a potential ace, it's pretty close. He doesn't have the command or the present breaking ball to be that, but that's his best-case scenario outlook.

[GD]

I can't find any video on him.

[ace3113]

actually i can read his mock http://sbb.scout.com/2/1289798.html

 

Pick

10

CF Austin MeadowsGrayson HS (GA)

Click for more details [+]

ANALYSIS: The Jays would like to get McGuire here but he goes right in front of them in this scenario. With their huge scouting staff, Toronto seems to get tied to more players than most teams and many of them are off the board here but this makes sense as the spot for Meadows. It may seem like a slider given the 1-1 hype coming into the spring, but I never bought Meadows as that kind of talent and after all the conversations I had this week, the industry seems to agree. It only takes one team to pick him higher than this, but more than one scouting director said this week they could see Meadows making it to the Pirates second pick at 14, which is likely his floor. Toronto likes to go best player available and collect as much talent as possible and Meadows fits the bill at #10.

 

I'd be ecstatic if Meadows was available, and there seems to be a good chance of that happening apparently. Stanek may also be there, which would be a good problem to have.

[GD]

What's everyone's draft board looking like at this point?

[ace3113]

Braden Shipley was recognized as a special two-way player early in his development as a ballplayer at North Medford High School in Medford, Ore. A right-handed pitcher and top-notch shortstop, it was widely believed he could do both once he reached college, even at the NCAA Division I level.

 

The 2009 Perfect Game West Uncommitted-November Showcase in Mesa, Ariz., was the only Perfect Game event that Shipley attended, but he made an impression. He was named the top prospect at the event and a PG scout wrote:

 

“Shipley is a quality 2-way prospect with loads of Division I quality tools on both sides of the ball. His best ceiling appears to be on the mound, where he topped out at 90 mph with a hard spinning, mid-70s curveball, but the 6-1, 170-pound athlete can hit as well.”

 

Perfect Game ranked Shipley the No. 374 national prospect in his high school class of 2010 after he graduated from North Medford High, and he went undrafted out of high school. He had originally committed to Western Nevada College (a junior college) and considered an offer from Oregon State before deciding to join head coach Gary Powers at the University of Nevada in Reno.

 

Powers and his staff recruited Shipley as a pitcher but also told him he would be given the chance to play shortstop if the opportunity presented itself. Due to changes within the Wolf Pack’s roster during his freshman year, Shipley was moved into the starting shortstop position simply because he was Powers’ best option at the time.

 

“We needed him to play shortstop and really he was the only guy that could adequately play there, and he did a tremendous job,” Powers told PG this week. “But our initial intention was that we saw his potential as a pitcher and that’s what we wanted him to do.”

 

Shipley responded by becoming one of the Pack’s leading hitters in 2011, batting .287 (39-for-136) with nine extra-base hits and 19 RBI while playing outstanding defense; he was named second team all-Western Athletic Conference as a shortstop. Shipley also pitched in five games that spring (two starts) and finished 1-0 with an 8.71 ERA in 10 1/3 innings.

 

“It wasn’t too hard because I had done both in high school,” Shipley said this week of the transition from the mound to fulltime shortstop. “I did feel like coming in that I was going to get a little more pitching time but Coach and I talked … and he needed me to fill that spot. I was just trying to do the best I could to help the team out and at the time that was me playing shortstop.”

 

At that point in his year-old collegiate career, it probably looked like Shipley’s future was as a position player. But easy now, not so fast.

 

Shipley came back in the fall of 2011 for his sophomore year and was given an opportunity to work as a starting pitcher every week during the short fall season. He spent very little time at shortstop that fall, although he continued to take batting practice so he could still the swing the bat if called upon.

 

By the time his sophomore season in 2012 was in the books, Shipley had emerged as the Wolf Pack’s Friday night ace. He finished 9-4 with a 2.20 ERA – the nine wins and ERA led the Western Athletic Conference – and he was named the WAC Pitcher of the Year. His 98 1/3 innings-pitched ranked second in the league and his 88 strikeouts ranked third.

 

“Going from short to pitching my sophomore year wasn’t too hard for me just because of the fact that I had pitched before and I had done both,” Shipley said. “I like both positions so it was fairly easy to make that transition. I had talked to Coach after my first year here and I told him I wanted to throw on Friday nights. He agreed that was something I had to work for.”

 

After that breakout season on the mound, Shipley headed to the Great White North to play in the Alaskan Summer League with the Anchorage Bucs. Working as the Bucs’ closer and restricted by an innings-pitched limit of 25 over the entire summer, PG’s national cross-checker Allan Simpson named Shipley the ASL’s Top Prospect.

 

That recognition came despite the fact Shipley didn’t even work his 25 innings; he threw 17 innings in 17 appearances, picked up seven saves and enjoyed an outstanding 29-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. It was in the ASL that Shipley first saw his fastball touch 97 mph. Simpson wrote:

 

“Though Shipley does not have an overly physical frame, he is very athletic and generates his superior velocity with a very quick arm from a high three-quarters release point, enabling the ball to explode out of his hand.”

 

“That was a big thing for me,” Shipley said of the ASL experience. “I know that (Powers) was really hesitant about me going up there and throwing because he didn’t want me to log a bunch of innings. But I told him I was going to go up there and close and get 20, 25 innings or so, and work on my breaking ball; I needed to get my feel back for that. I had lost a whole year of pitching my freshman year … and I also needed to put on about 15 or 20 pounds.”

 

Shipley, listed at 6-foot-3, 190-pounds at Nevada, said early in the summer the velocity on his fastball had jumped to around 95 mph, up from the 92-93 he threw during his sophomore season in Reno. He attributed that increase to his closer role when he could just go out there and “let her rip a little bit.”

 

“The most important thing was for him to go into the summer and be able to work on what he wanted to work on and not be playing for somebody who was more focused on what he could do for them,” Powers said. “They let him work in the weight room and used him as a closer so he could continue to work on getting stronger and still pitch for them, but not in the same role that he had here.”

 

A lot was happening quickly for Shipley, and he came into his junior season widely recognized as the top pitching prospect in the WAC; he was ranked as the No. 88 overall prospect in the 2013 MLB amateur draft. He didn’t disappoint: after his first 12 starts this season, Shipley stood 7-2 with a 2.49 ERA, with a 78-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 86 2/3 innings.

 

“He’s such a tremendous three-pitch guy; he’s got three pitches that he can throw at any time for strikes,” Powers said. “It’s all to his credit. He’s worked extremely hard on all the little things that make a difference and he’s stayed committed to that. It’s his commitment, his work ethic and his dedication to continually trying to find ways to get better.

 

“His intentions are to pitch in the big leagues someday – not to just go and play professional baseball but to pitch in the big leagues someday. He’s always looking for things that will help him have a better chance of doing that.”

 

The scouting community certainly took notice of Shipley’s improvement and PG’s Simpson jumped him up to No. 17 overall in the latest 2013 draft prospect rankings (up from his previous position at No. 88). PG national scouting supervisor Todd Gold named Shipley the No. 1 prospect in this year’s draft with ties to Nevada. Gold wrote:

 

“His stuff isn’t quite as electric as the power arms that are projected for the top five picks but Shipley’s stuff is strong in its own right and his ability to utilize it will likely make him a first round pick.”

 

In Perfect Game’s first mock draft published on April 18, Baseball Prospectus’ Nick Faleris, representing the Kansas City Royals, selected Shipley with the No. 8 overall pick, For his part, Shipley has completed almost all of his coursework for the school year and is now able to focus on nothing but baseball and his future, which includes his rising draft status.

 

“It was actually a big surprise to me,” he said of his rise in the rankings. “Not being drafted out of high school; that was what I wanted. I knew I had to develop – I was a small kid coming out of high school, only about 160 pounds or so, so I knew I had to fill out and develop. After last summer I kind of figured I might get some mentions for maybe the first 10 rounds or so, but it’s still kind of unreal to me that I’m getting mentioned as possibly going in the first round. I’m super excited about it and really excited to see what happens.”

 

Powers, who has been the head coach at Nevada for the last 30 years, takes a little more of a wait-and-see approach:

 

“That’s totally out of everybody’s control,” he said. “I know how that works and I’ve seen goods and bads come out of that, so we can only control what we can control and he can only control what he can control, and that’s all his focus is on until that day comes. All he can do is go out and do what he does every day, and he does it pretty well.”

 

Shipley’s three years in Reno have breezed by like a warm Friday night. He progressed from all-conference shortstop as a freshman to WAC Pitcher of the Year as a sophomore to potential first-round draft pick as a junior. His ceiling is so high it needs wings and the three years he spent in Reno will always be near and dear to him.

 

“It’s been a great experience,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of help from my pitching coach (Pat Flury) and he’s really helped me progress and develop as a pitcher. The atmosphere with all the guys here is great … and all the coaches are very helpful; I’ve built a lot of great relationships.”

[GD]

Hmm, that's a pretty nice report. I still need to see some legit footage but he sounds like a nice pick.

[TheHurl]

"and many of them are off the board here"

 

This scares me a lot.

[ace3113]

Hmm, that's a pretty nice report. I still need to see some legit footage but he sounds like a nice pick.

 

I know eh. This guy is like freakin Bigfoot or the Lockness Monster. I've seen footage of every potential first rounder except him. Come on Bullpen Banter guys, surely a trip to Vegas for "scouting" wouldn't be too bad.

[Angrioter]

Scott Boras Likely To Advise Kris Bryant

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/05/scott-boras-likely-to-advise-kris-bryant.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

now, out of Jays radar

[GD]

I know eh. This guy is like freakin Bigfoot or the Lockness Monster. I've seen footage of every potential first rounder except him. Come on Bullpen Banter guys, surely a trip to Vegas for "scouting" wouldn't be too bad.

 

Hahaha, indeed.

 

Who else do you have your eye on?

[GD]

Scott Boras Likely To Advise Kris Bryant

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/05/scott-boras-likely-to-advise-kris-bryant.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

now, out of Jays radar

 

Well, f***, but a.) he wouldn't have made it to us and b.) wouldn't he need to sign something saying we can draft him again? We got him in 2010.

[TheHurl]

Scott Boras Likely To Advise Kris Bryant

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/05/scott-boras-likely-to-advise-kris-bryant.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

now, out of Jays radar

I think he would have been long gone. Jays had to ask for permission to re-draft him, I'm guessing that would be a fun conversation now.

[TheHurl]

Hmm, that's a pretty nice report. I still need to see some legit footage but he sounds like a nice pick.

 

Who Shipley? That's odd considering his UNLV game was televised and is in the CBS College Sports archive. I had an account for a long time (not my own) but it was found out that it wasn't being paid for.

[GD]

Who Shipley? That's odd considering his UNLV game was televised and is in the CBS College Sports archive. I had an account for a long time (not my own) but it was found out that it wasn't being paid for.

 

Yeah, I can't find anything on him, it's weird.

[TO1]

New mock out from May 7.

 

http://sbb.scout.com/2/1289798.html

[ace3113]

Hahaha, indeed.

 

Who else do you have your eye on?

 

Hmmmm. I'm not saying I'd want us to draft him, because he scares the heck out of me as a prospect, but I'm intrigued by the potential of Mississippi State outfielder Hunter Renfroe. The guy is a major tool bag (in a good way). He has 5 tools that rate 55 or better (Arm: 98mph from the mound; Speed: 6.60 second dash time; Power: 60; Defence: said to be plus in right). My only concern is that his hit tool had not really been there (save a few summer leagues), until this season where he's now hitting a gaudy .394/.488/.781 15hr 49rbi 13(2b) 2(3b) 29bb 27so 9sb 3cs in the SEC, which is widely considered the top baseball conference in the NCAA. Now is it the case of a guy with a lot of talent and tools finally putting it all together or is it a one year mirage. I'd be scared to find out, but he could be a pretty nice player for someone willing to take the risk.

 

Mostly though I'm looking at players I like in the later rounds.

 

High school:

 

Phil Bickford, RHP

Riley Unroe, SS

Billy McKinney, OF

Nick Longhi, 1B

Andrew Church, RHP

Brian Navarreto, C

Ryan McMahon, 3B

Terry McClure, OF

Derik Beauprez, RHP

Dustin Hagy, RHP

Christian Arroyo, 2B

Connor Heady, SS

Jordan Paroubeck, OF

Edwin Diaz, SS

Tyler O'Neill, C (Canadian)

 

NCAA/JUCO:

 

Cody Reed, LHP

Hunter Dozier, SS/3B

Stuart Turner, C

Corey Knebel, RHP

Steve Tarpley, LHP

Jake Johansen, RHP

Ryon Healy, 1B

 

That's all I can think of for now.

[GD]

I'm really surprised you don't have C Jeremy Martinez on your list. Where's Renfroe projected to go?

[TheHurl]

http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2013/05/08/2013-mlb-draft-profile-braden-shipley/#comment-3134

 

Kevin Gallo says in the comment from yesterday that they will have Shipley video up soon.

[TheHurl]

Big League Futures has all the mocks too, their site is so improved of late.

 

http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/mlb-mock-draft-central-2013/

[ace3113]

I'm really surprised you don't have C Jeremy Martinez on your list. Where's Renfroe projected to go?

 

Ooops. Forgot about him. I don't think he'll be a star, but Martinez seems like a sure fire big leaguer to me for some reason. He's pretty much solid in all aspects of the game, and pretty polished for a high school player. Renfroe is expected to go in the 11-20 range. That Mock by McDaniel's has him going 11th to the Mets.

[GD]

Ooops. Forgot about him. I don't think he'll be a star, but Martinez seems like a sure fire big leaguer to me for some reason. He's pretty much solid in all aspects of the game, and pretty polished for a high school player. Renfroe is expected to go in the 11-20 range. That Mock by McDaniel's has him going 11th to the Mets.

 

His defense looks pretty damn good to me, I'd love to pick him up with our second.

 

Renfroe definitely could be an option.. but I think we need someone with a plus hit tool right now.

 

What are your thoughts on Dylan Covey?