1. I’ve been working on an updated 2010 MLB Draft big board, but still haven’t quite found the right mix to get it published yet. Right now, my top 15 shakes out like this: Harper – Taillon – Cole – McGuire – Hahn – Whitson – Castellanos – C. Sale – Pomeranz – Paxton – Wilson – Machado – Harvey – Workman – Ranaudo. Sticking with the same top three I’ve had all along (I think), but Pomeranz and Machado both get considerable leaps up the board. I still have my questions about Pomeranz, but the results so far (almost 15 K/9 IP) are just too good to ignore.

2. I always debate on the relative merits of a posts chronicling the risers and fallers of the draft season, but always wind up shelving it for one reason or another. Looking back at an early season edition of an unpublished draft that never saw the light of day made me think back to an interesting tidbit I heard about one of this year’s biggest fallers. Georgia Tech closer Kevin Jacob = the new Josh Fields, Georgia’s old closer. Fields wound up going back to school his senior year in an effort to bump up his draft stock. Will Jacob, a pitcher widely considered to be at or near the top of the list of potential pro closers this year, go the same route?

3. A goal of mine this year is to predict as many of the draft-eligible D1 college players selected in the draft as possible. I wonder what a good target would be? 50% seems too low and, confident as I am, 100% seems flat out impossible. Split the difference and shoot for 75%? 80%? This year will be a trial run and set a baseline for what I’d like to do in the future. Should be fun.

4. In anticipation of said prediction, I’ve spent the past few days digging through my notes to get a feel for the draft-eligible talent on a conference-by-conference scale. Initial thoughts include the following gems: a) the Atlantic 10 has a real paucity of good hitting prospects, but a surprising number of interesting arms, b) the Sun Belt is headlined by Bryce Brentz, but a couple of shortstops could make some noise as defense-first mid-round draft prospects this June, c) at first glance, the ACC appeared to be lacking in talent compared to recent years, but it still has a pretty good overall blend of star potential (McGuire, Hahn, Harvey) and steady yet unspectacular potential regulars (any number of solid starting pitching candidates, plus bats like Grovatt, Dietrich, Wates, Grandal, Holt, Parker, and Wiswall). More on this to come…

5. I’m on spring break, so that means I’m now one day into three paid days off from work. Spring break falls this year in the week leading up to MLB’s Opening Day, a week otherwise known as the longest week of the year. That worked out pretty well, I’d say. Then again, if the break came next week then I’d be currently getting amped up for a road trip down to DC for Halladay v Lannan on Monday. With temperatures hitting the 80s this weekend and live baseball action back in Philadelphia (Phillies v Pirates on Saturday…hey, I’ll take what I can get), life is good. Of course, spring break isn’t all fun and games. Relax? Me? Never. Goals for spring break include watching baseball (hard work, I know), getting a tan (brutal), and doing some serious site maintenance (now we’re talking!). Time to update links, change up the layout a bit, and maybe start thinking about a full-scale redesign. An updated big board and an April mock draft are also both on the agenda.