I’m pretty sure this is my favorite list so far because of how wide open it is. For the sake of discussion, let’s say the consensus industry top five consists of Cron, O’Brien, Bandy, Susac, and McCann, in some order. Assuming that’s true, how much really separates the sixth best prospect (using my list as a guide, that could be Kometani, Casali, Maynard) from a prospect currently ranked in the mid- to late-teens (any of the smaller school prospects work, so insert names like Rosado, Dowd, and Escalante here)? Without getting too much into my relatively low ranking of McCann (for now), I can at least acknowledge that this general viewpoint (the lack of separation between any two prospects within the top 20ish) played a large role.
Judging catching is also fun because it opens up the always entertaining debate of floor vs. ceiling. Top ranked CJ Cron has a high ceiling (plus bat, capable catcher), but a low floor (if it turns out he can’t catch as a pro, will the bat play anywhere else?). Steve Rodriguez, a player ranked way down at 17th, has a much lower ceiling (plus defender, just enough bat to play everyday), but a more traditional backup catcher skill set that should serve him well when teams come looking for a cheap, defense-first backup catcher. What an interesting group of catchers…
- Utah JR C CJ Cron
- San Diego JR C Zach Kometani
- Bethune-Cookman JR C Peter O’Brien
- Arizona JR C Jett Bandy
- Vanderbilt SR C Curt Casali
- North Carolina State JR C Pratt Maynard
- North Carolina JR C Jacob Stallings
- Oregon State SO C Andrew Susac
- Oklahoma JR C Tyler Ogle
- Kentucky JR C Mike Williams
- Florida JR C Ben McMahan
- Pittsburgh SR C Kevan Smith
- California JR C Chadd Krist
- College of Charleston JR C Rob Kral
- LSU-Eunice FR C Hommy Rosado
- Arkansas JR C James McCann
- UCLA JR C Steve Rodriguez
- Franklin Pierce JR C Mike Dowd
- Chipola JC SO C Geno Escalante
- Central Florida JR C Beau Taylor
- Tulane JR C Jeremy Schaffer
- Samford JR C Brandon Miller
- Virginia JR C John Hicks
- Georgetown SR C Erick Fernandez
- Wofford JR C Mac Doyle
- Michigan JR C Coley Crank
- Western Kentucky SR C Matt Rice
- Virginia SR C Kenny Swab
- Auburn SR C Tony Caldwell
- Mississippi JR C Taylor Hightower
The Baseball Draft Report 
I’m fine with it. I was fine with the first list. They don’t make a difference to me.
Zunino’s camp might be a little pissed. You are showing him no respect. Have you not read any Florida reports or heard coaches comments. You don’t even have the right guy penciled in. How do you have a non-starter ranked? If he can’t win his college job should he even be on the list? And if he does make the list as a non starter, is he really your #11 college catcher. Probably not.
I’m sticking to my guns and going to say it over and over. McCann will be one of the top 5 catchers taken in this year’s draft.
Ark’s on TV a dozen times this year. Watch a game.
This list is only for prospects eligible for the 2011 MLB Draft. Mike Zunino is not eligible for the 2011 MLB Draft. Mike Zunino will not be on any ranking of top 2011 MLB Draft prospects. Mike Zunino will rank very highly on next year’s list of top 2012 MLB Draft prospects.
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I probably wouldn’t bet against McCann being among the top five college catchers taken in this year’s draft. I just don’t want to see my favorite team taking him that high…at this point. It is a little funny to me that McMahan got brought into the discussion because I’ve always linked the two prospects in my mind. To me, the difference between McCann and McMahan is negligible. Both could be plus defenders professionally (McMann is the better catcher today, but I think McMahan closes the gap in short order) and their sophomore year triple slash lines (park/league adjusted) were incredibly similar:
McCann: .286/.377/.441
McMahan: .347/.367/.467
I’d be fine with swapping the two on the list, but wouldn’t go into the top ten with either guy. At this point…
I’m saying you have a non starter/dh at 11, nothing more.
I hope your favorite team doesn’t take McCann that high either. I hope they take one of the other catchers. I hope my team takes an arm.
Also, is #15 really a draft eligible Fr? That’s crazy!
Hello Rob first off I would like to say that you guys do a great job covering the draft. What I am contacting you about is because Victor Gomez is never mentioned or even looked upon as a legit prospect. The kid has put up monster numbers for three years at Marshall and is now in his senior season and has yet gotten any notoriety from your website. He is no longer a Catcher they moved him over to first, but he should still be on this list Here are some quick numbers. Victor Gomez ranks in the top-10 amongst active players in Division I college baseball in four separate categories. He is the only player in the nation to be listed in the top-10 in hits, homers, RBI and total bases.
Total Bases (2nd) – 418
Homers (T-2nd) – 46
RBI (3rd) – 173
Hits (10th) – 232
Not to mention doing all that with a career .351 BA.
Isnt that impressive? I mean I am just upset the kid hasnt gotten the respect he deserves around the nation. Hopefully you can help me out here and let me know why he is not talked about good in your website. Thank you, I hope to hear from you soon. Henry
Hey Henry, thanks for commenting. Gomez is a phenomenal college slugger, no doubt about that, but there are enough doubts about his plate discipline, defense behind the plate, and wood bat power that keep me hyping him up as much as I’d like. That’s not to say he won’t make it in pro ball, but I do think he’ll have an uphill battle when it comes to changing the minds of pro scouts, awesome college production notwithstanding.
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Rob,
It’s mid-April and about time to review your crystal ball predictions from your ’11 Top College Catcher Draft candidates in February. We’re all sure by now you’ve had a chance to see many of the catchers on your list.
I hope you agree with the following suggestions:
1) You can’t put CJ Cron in with the “draft eligible catchers”. If a player isn’t catching the majority of games for his college teams then it isn’t fair to rank him with the guys that are. Granted Cron is a big hitter, but should be with 1st basemen to be fair to the guys who squat & block week in and out. That same qualifier should be used for some of the other guys on your Feb. list if they play more innings at the DH position than behind the dish as well.
2) Suppose by now you’ve heard Susac broke his humate bone in his wrist. Not sure how long he’ll be out. He was doing well batting .384 but really didn’t get tested by draft ready pitchers going through his conference. Recall he was only a .260 hitter last yr. after his freshman campaign.
3) McCann is batting around .304 with 5Hrs, SLG% of .491 and fielding .993 – all very respectable numbers for the #2 position. His many SEC supporters sort of gave your readers the impression he’d be stronger for a top 3 rd pick.
4) Peter O’Brien is batting .288 with 10HRs, SLG % of .376 and fielding .977 with 7 errors and 4 PBs. Something tells me the MLB team drafting Mr. O’Brien will fit him for a 1st baseman’s glove pretty quickly.
5) OU’s T. Ogle is batting .342, with 7HRs, SLG% of .595 and fielding .990 giving him the edge for the Big 12’s top catcher if he can keep up the pace.
6) Jeff Brandy is batting .288 with 0 HRs, SLG% of .356, and fielding .997. Jeff continues to be very strong defensively and shows gap power. Curious if this formula makes for a Top MLB pick?
There’s my mid-season input. Please share your insights…