Just a quick reminder that the College Team Profiles are designed to be an ongoing project meant to be continously updated. They are published as incomplete works in-progress, so try not to be concerned if a guy isn’t listed. That said, I always appreciate somebody pointing out when somebody they want to see isn’t on yet, especially when they then go on to plead the case of the omitted player. The explanation for the process of the College Team Profiles was never made explicit by me here on the main page, and I apologize for any confusion. I suppose that doesn’t really make this a reminder, but rather a clarification. Sorry. From this point forward I’m going to start with 2010 prospects for each university and then fill in the 2011 and 2012 players when I can. When I finish the complete set of 2010 players, I’ll provide a handy link and some quick thoughts for anybody still interested. It may look a little something like this…

Virginia Cavaliers 2010 Draft-Eligible Prospects

I think I’m probably too high on Grovatt, too low on Cannon, and all over the place with the pitchers, especially the four draft-eligible arms that fall in behind Morey. You could probably randomly reorder those four pitchers and the outcome wouldn’t necessarily look better or worse than what I’ve currently got. Not exactly something I’d want to put on my dust jacket (“Rankings almost as good as randomized lists!”), but it’s the truth. I’m also pretty sure my guesses at what round each player will be drafted in aren’t worth any more than the digital ink they are printed in. That aspect of the reports should get better in time, however, as we begin to get a better feel of the draft’s overall talent level. Like Lastings Milledge, Parker has true star potential, but there is a sizable gap between where he is now and where he needs to be if he wants to hit his ceiling. I really like that comp, in case you haven’t noticed. Grovatt, Morey, and Wilson all speak to me in a way that is hard to explain. As much as I consider myself to be a “high upside trumps up all” kind of guy, I like the idea of filling up a system with valuable role players (often high floor prospects) almost as much. If you can save on the margins (4th outfielders, back of the rotation starters, above-average middle relief), then you can use that saved cash on either retaining your own star-caliber players or trying to obtain a missing piece free agent on the open market. Guess this is just a way of saying it’s best to diversify your drafting to maximize your return – some upside early, some high floor guys in the middle, some high upside signability concerns late, etc.

I’m a little worried that I mention ten potential players from Virginia (from Parker down to Cannon) as being draft-worthy, but the number seems to be in line with what some big schools have done in recent years. The SEC has a breakdown of players drafted listed by each school in the conference, and a quick look revealed Florida had 10 guys selected last year while Georgia had 11 players picked. I feel better now about my high number. This is a damn fine Virginia team, so it makes sense that they’d bombard the 2010 MLB Draft with high quality prospects.