ace3113

http://mlb.mlb.com//news/article.jsp?ymd=20140314&content_id=69290466&notebook_id=69289964&vkey=notebook_mlb&c_id=mlb

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140318&content_id=69552214&notebook_id=69553420&vkey=notebook_mlb&c_id=mlb

Nooooo. Please fall to us.

That's some pretty heady praise. I don't know how to feel about this though. On the one hand I feel vindicated having rated him so highly since last season, but on the other hand, he may rise out of our pick range. I hope it's just early helium (like what Chris Anderson and Matt Krook got last spring) and that he's still available when we pick. I think if you're uber optimistic he could be a Clayton Kershaw lite or at worst a Tyler Skaggs clone. One other guy who's impressed me this spring is Bradley Zimmer from San Francisco. He's Kyle's brother, and he's loaded with tools. 6'4 lefty hitter with plus speed and arm, untapped plus raw power, and a feel to hit. Might be able to handle centerfield, but most likely a right fielder. I'm going to throw a Shawn Green comp on this guy, though he's a little more physical. He pitches too, like his brother. I think he throws low to mid 90s from the mound. I like him more than Fisher, for his hitting ability and defensive value. Here are his stats this year so far: 77ab .403/.446/.636 4hr 14rbi 4(2b) 1(3b) 4bb 12so 8sb 3cs

More 2014 Draft notes:

Baseball America 2014 Draft notes:

http://www.torontosun.com/2014/03/14/red-sox-prospect-jon-denney-arrested-was-looking-to-get-some-expletive

Some early stat lines from the HS draft prospects. http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/high-school-preview-preseason-high-school-all-america-team/

BA on Newcomb:

A couple other college players of note.

My boy Brandon Finnegan tearing it up so far. Nearly 62% k rate on the season.

Destiny? I think he plays for the Atlanta Blue Jays high school travel team.

This and the Hanigan trade I really like for them.

I'm curious about this also. Very nice under the radar pickup by Friedman and company. What the heck was Washington thinking. lol

Grant Holmes

There's definitely a hitch present there that could be a problem. But he's young enough and athletic enough that you can hope that's correctable. The fact that he's able to make consistent contact despite that, as well as catching up to premium velocity at the HS level speaks to his bat speed, and hand-eye. Also I remember when scouts were concerned about the hitch in Ryan Braun's swing. The lesson being that Forbes should immediately get on the juice once he signs. j/k:p http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/2005draft/firstround.html

One of my favorite prospects for the draft.

Some Norris footage from minor league camp.

Some footage of Phil Bickford from this year.

I could see him getting snagged in the 2nd round or even the comp balance/supplemental. Corey Knebel was taken by the Tigers 39th last year as arguably the top closer and I think Burdi is better than him. Heck, Detroit probably takes him if I had to bet. Them or the White Sox: lol

I like Gordon better than JP Crawford from last year, though I have to admit my read on Crawford was off, as I didn't really believe in the hit tool, that and there isn't really a long list of lefty hitting shortstops who have made it. So far he's proving me wrong. Still, I think the tools are just a grade better all-around for Gordon, in terms of speed, arm strength, power. You have a potential 4 or 5 tool shortstop (depending on how the power develops), with the fall back option of putting him on the mound (like Casey Kelly) if the hitting doesn't translate, since he already throws low 90s with a plus curveball. I still like a few players ahead of him, but I def would not be disappointed if we drafted. I learned my mistake from Crawford not to underrate the bat too much.

Just here to catch Stroman. Hopefully he hits the bump soon, I have some errands to run. lol

Great to hear!

Yeah, I agree on Pentecost. Should have included him as well. I like the bat, and he has a good chance to stay behind the plate. I haven't seen enough of him to have a good comparison, but he's apparently athletic enough to play second or outfield as well. It doesn't hurt that we don't have a lot of depth behind the plate in the minors either. As for Aiken, I don't think McGuire is a good comparison. McGuire was a college junior without a plus pitch or an out pitch. Aiken is one of the youngest players in the draft out of high school and has a plus curve, that can be a legit out pitch. Reminds me of Tyler Skaggs who was a top prospect once, or a guy like Nicolino (except with a good breaking ball). I think how much more velocity Aiken gets, or his ability to hold his top velocity longer will be the difference between being a 2/3 starter and a 3/4 starter. I never liked McGuire. I didn't agree with picking him and I didn't agree with the rankings that had him so high. If we're looking at a McGuire type pick in this draft it would be a guy like Luke Weaver or even an Aaron Nola I think.

Right now the players I really want for our picks 9 and 11 are Brady Aiken, Brandon Finnegan, Grant Holmes, and Luis Ortiz. Aiken to me seems like a no-brainer AA type pick. He's one of the youngest players in the class, but he's also pretty polished with tons of experience with Team USA. He's a big lefty with low 90s velocity and a little bit more projection, a big breaking curveball and advanced command and feel. I think he's a notch below a Max Fried in terms of over all upside, but he's also more advanced than him at the same stage I think. He reminds me a bit of Tyler Skaggs from when he was drafted. Finnegan can be either Scott Kazmir or Billy Wagner depending on whether he can stay in the rotation or has to move to the bullpen. His stuff is ridiculous from the left side. Plus-plus fastball velocity with deception cause of his delivery. He'll throw in the upper 90s through 3 innings before settling in the low to mid 90s from about the 4th inning on. There were questions about his secondaries, but if you watched any of his outings with Team USA, his slider looks like a plus pitch right now. Apparently, Rodon showed him a new grip to use, and he's been killing it with the slide piece ever since. I really like Finnegan as kind of a lefty version of Marcus Stroman. I think if he can stay in a rotation he has the stuff to be a number 2 type of starter and like Stro, he should be able to move fast up the ladder. Holmes is just a polished high school player with very good now stuff. He doesn't have a lot of projection left given his build, but low to mid 90s with a plus slider, the feel for a change, and advanced command doesn't grow on trees. I like him because he's a relatively low risk high school player but one with still considerable upside. I think he could be a 2/3 at his peak, probably a very good 3. Ortiz is similar to Holmes in that he doesn't have a lot of projection remaining but he has now stuff and relative polish for his age. Another guy who could be a 2/3. Kind of reminds me of an Osuna type. Him and Holmes are going to dominate the lower minors for whichever team drafts them. Other players I like are Kodi Medeiros, but probably not at 9 or 11. The guy is flashing 3 plus pitches already if you've seen him. Scouts are saying he could pitch in the MLB right now as lefty specialist and not look out of place. The down side is his size and arm action obviously. There's big time reward with this guy IMO if you're willing to take the risk. He looks like a pretty special arm. Ti'Quan Forbes is a name that's not getting a lot of play right now, but I've liked everything that I've seen from him. Big rangy high school shortstop. He's a big guy and might play himself off short eventually, but he looks pretty smooth there right now range wise. That bat has obvious power projection, and he shows a good approach at the plate. If you want to be super optimistic he's like Boegaerts lite. I hope he makes it to our second pick. I love Gettys too, but everyone knows about him already. Loud tools across the board. I'll believe in the hit tool. Reminds me of Hunter Renfroe. If he starts off spring hot with the bat, and people start believing in the hit tool, he's not there at 9 anyway. I have to say I've been really impressed by Justus Sheffield as well. I like his makeup, his confidence, and his advanced 3 pitch mix. Usually when they say a high school guy has a 3 pitch mix, they're talking about him flashing it every now and then, but Sheffield throws what consistently appear to be 3 above average pitchers in his fastball (90-94), changeup, and slider. People will probably cringe at the comparison, but he reminds me of Romero before he fell off the cliff with his command. This guy is really impressive for a high school lefty in the quality of his pitches, and shows the ability to throw all of them for strikes.