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2013 MLB Draft: Top 75 College Shortstop Prospects

2 Jun 2013 11:30 PM / 3 Comments on 2013 MLB Draft: Top 75 College Shortstop Prospects

1. Stats are park/schedule adjusted from College Splits. I dug around for stats for all junior college and non-Division I players; those numbers are obviously as is, i.e. not park/schedule adjusted.

2. If your favorite player is missing, then chances are a lot higher it was a copy/paste fail and not my complete and utter lack of baseball knowledge. I mean, sure, it could still be the latter, but if there’s somebody obvious that I’ve ignored, please give a gentle reminder in the comments or via email (robozga at gmail dot com). It’s also possible I mentally shifted a guy’s position in my head, so don’t rule out your player suddenly popping up on another position list.

3. Players designated as FAVORITEs were given that tag prior to the season, or, in some cases, upon enrolling in college. In other words, just because a guy is a FAVORITE doesn’t mean he’s automatically guaranteed a high placement on the list. I’m stubborn about which players I like, true, but I’m also quite cognizant of the fact prospect status is fluid.

4. Final opinions are all mine, but information has been culled from a variety of sources. Like anybody likely reading this site, I’m an avid follower of all things Baseball America and Perfect Game. Seriously, if you are into the draft/prospects at all, I highly recommend getting subscriptions to both sites. I also have a small but trustworthy network of friends in the game I occasionally call upon for information on prospects, especially those off the beaten path. Consider the little scouting notes section on each player a synthesis on what I’ve read, heard, and seen about each player. I’m in no way an expert and literally nothing I write, positively or negatively, influences what pro teams actually do on draft day. I’m just a baseball loving guy who has taken a hobby way, way, way too far.

5. I’m happy to answer any and all questions I can over email or in the comments. Also, for the sake of my already waning sanity, I didn’t include everything I had on every player — you’ll see some blank spots sprinkled throughout — so please don’t hesitate to ask if there’s something about a specific guy you want answered.

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This year’s class of college shortstops is…not so good. As pro prospects go, the group is so thin that I personally feel the need to get the fact that all of these players are quite good at the game of baseball relative to the rest of the world (myself included, obviously)out there. It should also be noted that each player on the list has worked his tail off to get to this point in his career. Some work harder than others, of course, but you don’t make it this far without devoting a whole lot of time and energy to the game. So, kudos to all of the shortstops on the list below.

Tim Anderson has the look and feel of a future star at the position, though I remain unsold that he’s a slam dunk to stay at shortstop. The odds are in his favor enough that I’m comfortable projecting him there going forward. If he sticks, his blend of athleticism, speed, and freakishly quick wrists should make him an above-average offense asset. The only draft-related questions I have about him are 1) how high will he go? and 2) will he/should he go higher than top prep shortstop JP Crawford? I don’t know the answer to either question — what, you come here for actual draft analysis? — but I will say that I’d be more than fine if the Phillies, my hometown team, took a chance on Anderson at pick 16, even with Crawford still on the board. That’s my non-answer answer.

After Anderson, things are bleak. I’m bullish on both Pat Blair and Adam Frazier as guys just good enough to profile as decent starting shortstops. If you don’t like them like I do, that’s fine. I think we can at least agree that both have the advantage of relatively high floors (backup big league infielders). After Anderson, Blair, and Frazier, well, your guess is good as mine. I think we’re looking at a giant group of mid-round picks who profile best as org guys with the slight chance to one day break through as utility infielders. Like catchers, shortstops will always be picked earlier than probably deserved because of positional scarcity and the need to fill out low-level minor league rosters. Unless I had a pressing need to fill, I’m not sure I’d spend a top five or six round pick on any college shortstop this year outside of the top three.

1. East Central CC SO SS Tim Anderson: good athlete; plus bat speed; plus-plus speed, uses it very well; very capable defender, plenty of range and average or better arm; others prefer him in CF or 2B; average raw power; hits predominantly fastballs at this point; some pitch recognition issues to be ironed out; have heard Mariano Duncan comp; BA comps: Brandon Phillips and Orlando Hudson; personal comp: Roman Quinn; 6-1, 180 pounds

2013: .495/.568/.879 – 17 BB/12 K – 41/45 SB – 182 AB

2. Wake Forest SR SS/2B Pat Blair: great approach; steady glove has grown into more than that, very dependable up the middle; average arm; some pop, mostly to gaps; above-average speed that plays up due to smarts; like his upside as utility infielder; old BA comp: Steve Lombardozzi; 5-10, 180 pounds

2011: .275/.453/.410 – 55 BB/39 K – 178 AB
2012: .288/.416/.389 – 48 BB/30 K – 23/28 SB – 226 AB
2013: .293/.473/.440 – 60 BB/38 K – 20/22 SB – 191 AB

3. Mississippi State JR SS Adam Frazier: great approach; solid defender; above-average speed, maybe a touch less; bat is a little light, but I think there’s enough to work with; arm may push him to 2B, but release is quick enough to stick at SS for me; reminds me some of poor man’s Nolan Fontana; very accurate arm; FAVORITE; 5-11, 175 pounds

2011: .274/.293/.274 – 3 BB/13 K – 95 AB
2012: .367/.484/.441 – 53 BB/23 K – 9/15 SB – 245 AB
2013: .355/.404/.465 – 21 BB/24 K – 7/11 SB – 256 AB

4. Mississippi JR SS Austin Anderson: average speed; nice glove; 6-0, 190 pounds

2012: .248/.364/.321 – 20 BB/8 K – 1/2 SB – 109 AB
2013: .305/.386/.415 – 20 BB/12 K – 3/10 SB – 200 AB

5. Texas A&M SR SS Mikey Reynolds: some pop; plus speed; good range up the middle; average arm; steady defender; 5-10, 170 pounds

2012: .301/.415/.394 – 32 BB/30 K – 22/24 SB – 216 AB
2013: .352/.419/.438 – 20 BB/22 K – 19/24 SB – 210 AB

6. Oregon SR SS/3B JJ Altobelli: some pop; good glove; above-average arm; chance to be well above-average at SS; average speed; intriguing hit tool; 6-1, 190 pounds

2011: .251/.302/.320 – 14 BB/23 K – 203 AB
2012: .300/.387/.380 – 21 BB/11 K – 6/13 SB – 200 AB
2013: .322/.412/.366 – 25 BB/20 K – 8/11 SB – 183 AB

7. Oregon State SR SS/2B Tyler Smith: very good glove; strong enough arm for left side; above-average speed; gap power; 6-0, 195 pounds

2011: .230/.389/.265 – 28 BB/22 K – 113 AB
2012: .347/.440/.432 – 31 BB/30 K – 9/11 SB – 213 AB
2013: .311/.398/.406 – 20 BB/30 K – 9/11 SB – 180 AB

8. Texas Christian JR SS Paul Hendrix: promising power to gaps; good athlete; strong arm; average speed; 6-2, 180 pounds

2013: .308/.403/.471 – 27 BB/38 K – 4/7 SB – 172 AB

9. Feather River JC SO SS Justin Bohn: good speed; legit defender; strong arm; 6-0, 165 pounds

2013: .413/.482/.645 – 23 BB/17 K – 18/20 SB – 172 AB

10. Oregon State JR SS/3B Kavin Keyes: average hit tool; good defensive tools; average speed plays up; average arm; 5-11, 200 pounds

2011: .313/.372/.385 – 18 BB/35 K – 182 AB
2012: .232/.319/.299 – 19 BB/27 K – 3/4 SB – 177 AB
2013: .312/.392/.424 – 18 BB/28 K – 2/2 SB – 170 AB

11. Stanford JR SS/2B Lonnie Kauppila: plus defender at second, very good at short; like the bat a lot, but more inconsistent as expected as an amateur; average at best speed; 6-0, 175 pounds

2011: .307/.350/.385 – 12 BB/25 K – 205 AB
2012: .280/.339/.350 – 10 BB/15 K – 0/0 SB – 100 AB
2013: .280/.381/.331 – 17 BB/20 K – 3/4 SB – 118 AB

12. East Carolina JR SS Jack Reinheimer: really good glove; strong arm; average speed, maybe a touch more; 6-0, 180 pounds

2011: .311/.385/.330 – 25 BB/29 K – 212 AB
2012: .294/.345/.374 – 15 BB/28 K – 9/10 SB – 238 AB
2013: .267/.354/.335 – 30 BB/42 K – 10/13 SB – 221 AB

13. Washington State rSO SS Trace Tam Sing: big upside with glove, makes mental lapses but has the physical ability; average speed; average arm; 5-11, 190 pounds

2013: .264/.368/.378 – 20 BB/35 K – 4/8 SB – 148 AB

14. Miami JR SS/2B Alex Hernandez: strong arm; defends like a big leaguer; good instincts; good range; steady glove; 5-8, 175 pounds

2013: .277/.371/.366 – 26 BB/27 K – 4/11 SB – 213 AB

15. UCLA JR SS Pat Valaika: strong arm; average at best range; much improved bat; steady defender; gap power; 5-11, 205 pounds

2011: .231/.317/.313 – 12 BB/25 K – 160 AB
2012: .258/.313/.354 – 18 BB/30 K – 5/6 SB – 229 AB
2013: .257/.357/.411 – 30 BB/35 K – 8/10 SB – 214 AB

16. New Mexico JC SO SS Mike Bernal: good athlete; good defensive tools; Oklahoma State transfer; 5-11, 190 pounds

2013: .325/.458/.542 – 27 BB/19 K – 4/5 SB – 120 AB

17. Central Arizona JC SS David Masters: above-average range; strong arm; average speed; junior college’s version of Lonnie Kauppila; Arkansas transfer

2013: .284/.386/.408 – 20 BB/29 K – 7 SB – 169 AB

18. Florida JR SS/OF Taylor Ratliff: complete upside gamble; ineligible in 2013 after transferring; above-average speed; has also played 3B; plus arm strength; 6-1, 165 pounds

2011: .325/.420/.393 – 30 BB/33 K – 206 AB
2012: .289/.382/.368 – 14 BB/23 K – 17/19 SB – 114 AB

19. Angelo State (TX) JR SS Christian Summers: plus defensive tools; iffy hit tool with clear contact issues but enough speed and raw power to remain intriguing; Texas transfer

2013: .339/.447/.548 – 33 BB/58 K – 17/22 SB – 186 AB

20. Long Island-Brooklyn JR SS John Ziznewski: average speed; average hit tool; 6-2, 190 pounds

2013: .361/.428/.546 – 22 BB/28 K – 17/18 SB – 205 AB

21. Marist SR SS Zach Shank: plus arm; steady glove; love his approach; has SS tools defensively; sneaky pop; smart on bases; FAVORITE; 6-1, 180 pounds

2012: .358/.425/.437 – 11 BB/11 K – 7/12 SB – 190 AB
2013: .393/.452/.545 – 19 BB/13 K – 6/10 SB – 211 AB

22. Maryland JR SS Kyle Convissar: good athlete; plus arm; 6-2, 205 pounds

2011: .259/.400/.296 – 10 BB/11 K – 81 AB
2012: .301/.404/.409 – 17 BB/24 K – 6/10 SB – 186 AB
2013: .331/.432/.439 – 10 BB/22 K – 7/11 SB – 157 AB

23. Texas Wesleyan SR SS David Kiriakos: good speed; good approach; good arm; will stick at SS; well-traveled; FAVORITE; 6-0, 180 pounds

2013: .351/.477/.457 – 27 BB/26 K – 15/19 – SB – 208 AB

24. Illinois JR SS Thomas Lindauer: good defensive tools; 6-2, 170 pounds

2012: .264/.357/.333 – 27 BB/26 K – 15/24 SB – 201 AB
2013: .284/.335/.450 – 18 BB/26 K – 13/14 SB – 211 AB

25. Texas Christian SO SS/2B Derek Odell: strong arm; average power upside; below-average speed; old Taylor Featherston comp; good athlete; good enough to stick at SS, steady at 2B; 6-1, 185 pounds

2012: .322/.383/.471 – 17 BB/25 K – 6/8 SB – 174 AB
2013: .280/.333/.324 – 15 BB/24 K – 1/1 SB – 182 AB

26. Rutgers JR SS/2B Nick Favatella: 5-10, 175 pounds

2011: .317/.408/.407 – 20 BB/25 K – 145 AB
2012: .342/.424/.491 – 22 BB/39 K – 8/13 SB – 222 AB
2013: .333/.416/.466 – 31 BB/45 K – 12/14 SB – 234 AB

27. Sacred Heart SR SS John Murphy: 6-0, 185 pounds

2012: .337/.427/.461 – 25 BB/26 K – 24/29 SB – 178 AB
2013: .353/.427/.551 – 25 BB/23 K – 28/36 SB – 207 AB

28. Radford rSR SS Jeff Kemp: good defender; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .228/.314/.362 – 13 BB/37 K – 149 AB
2012: .318/.384/.521 – 14 BB/37 K – 9/9 SB – 192 AB
2013: .284/.444/.588 – 33 BB/35 K – 8/13 SB – 148 AB

29. Western Oregon State SR SS/2B Blake Miller: good approach; steady glove; interesting power; enough arm for 3B; 6-2, 200 pounds

2013: .372/.457/.528 – 26 BB/28 K – 22/26 SB – 199 AB

30. Louisiana-Lafayette JR SS Ryan Leonards: 6-0, 180 pounds

2012: .352/.424/.448 – 19 BB/29 K – 10/16 SB – 165 AB
2013: .332/.405/.418 – 17 BB/23 K – 7/12 SB – 184 AB

31. Clarendon SO SS/2B Galli Cribbs: really good defender

2013: .359/.425/.558 – 13 BB/24 K – 19/25 SB – 181 AB

32. Southern Mississippi SR SS/2B Isaac Rodriguez: has played mostly 2B, but I believe in him at SS; impressive defensive tools; quick release; fancy footwork; steady glove; 5-10, 190 pounds

2011: .278/.384/.371 – 28 BB/21 K – 205 AB
2012: .270/.337/.309 – 13 BB/16 K – 3/4 SB – 152 AB
2013: .338/.435/.438 – 27 BB/14 K – 3/3 SB – 201 AB

33. Ohio State SR SS/2B Kirby Pellant: average arm that plays up due to quick release and good footwork; above-average speed; not much pop; 5-10, 175 pounds

2012: .283/.385/.349 – 29 BB/24 K – 32/39 SB – 212 AB
2013: .312/.357/.403 – 11 BB/14 K – 12/21 SB – 186 AB

34. Illinois State rSO SS Brock Stewart: strong arm; 6-4, 200 pounds

2011: .250/.333/.426 – 14 BB/32 K – 108 AB
2013: .330/.402/.496 – 14 BB/29 K – 2/3 SB – 115 AB

35. San Diego JR SS Logan Davis: plus defender; 6-3, 180 pounds

2013: .333/.390/.380 – 9 BB/11 K – 3/3 SB – 108 AB

36. Cal State Fullerton SR SS/3B Richy Pedroza: very strong defender; good range; strong arm; great bunter; good speed; 5-6, 150 pounds

2011: .319/.383/.393 – 14 BB/20 K – 163 AB
2012: .329/.415/.385 – 27 BB/16 K – 1/2 SB – 213 AB
2013: .263/.393/.351 – 43 BB/20 K – 8/12 SB – 205 AB

37. Rhode Island JR SS Joe Landi: can play any infield spot capably; great approach; above-average to plus speed; strong arm; like his swing; not a ton of raw power; FAVORITE; 6-0, 175 pounds

2012: .273/.347/.295 – 9 BB/17 K – 2/4 SB – 88 AB
2013: .298/.383/.319 – 18 BB/19 K – 7/14 SB – 141 AB

38. Auburn JR SS Dan Glevenyak: steady defender; 6-1, 190 pounds

2012: .319/.410/.414 – 26 BB/27 K – 14/18 SB – 191 AB
2013: .236/.356/.329 – 25 BB/40 K – 5/9 SB – 161 AB

39. Duke JR SS Angelo LaBruna: solid defender; good approach; 5-10, 165 pounds

2012: .219/.305/.237 – 18 BB/17 K – 7/12 SB – 169 AB
2013: .236/.348/.327 – 5 BB/9 K – 0/1 SB – 55 AB

40. California JR SS Derek Campbell: good athlete; strong arm; good glove; not much with the bat; 6-0, 175 pounds

2011: .281/.305/.351 – 2 BB/15 K – 57 AB
2012: .272/.357/.312 – 11 BB/22 K – 0/1 SB – 125 AB
2013: .256/.383/.359 – 3 BB/9 K – 1/1 SB – 39 AB

41. Seton Hall SR SS Giuseppe Papaccio: 6-1, 185 pounds

2012: .297/.348/.410 – 16 BB/37 K – 5/5 SB – 229 AB
2013: .399/.441/.597 – 18 BB/36 K – 9/10 SB – 233 AB

42. Lee JR SS Josh Silver: really good defender; good speed; questionable hit tool; San Jose State transfer; 6-0, 190 pounds

2013: .384/.444/.512 – 17 BB/12 K – 5/5 SB – 211 AB

43. Illinois State SR SS Brett Kay: really good defender; good speed; 5-11, 165 pounds

2012: .284/.342/.358 – 10 BB/28 K – 14/16 SB – 134 AB
2013: .301/.409/.412 – 32 BB/45 K – 10/11 SB – 216 AB

44. Rhode Island rSR SS/RHP Mike LeBel: good power; good speed; strong arm; can stick up the middle; has hit 92-93 with FB; 5-11, 175 pounds

2011: .302/.360/.516 – 14 BB/30 K – 215 AB
2013: .286/.371/.442 – 25 BB/40 K – 19/24 SB – 224 AB

45. Charlotte SR SS/3B Shane Basen: plus arm; versatile defender; strong hit tool; lots of line drives; 6-2, 185 pounds

2011: .270/.389/.386 – 43 BB/33 K – 215 AB
2012: .327/.405/.462 – 26 BB/21 K – 6/10 SB – 199 AB
2013: .299/.356/.402 – 18 BB/25 K – 16/18 SB – 244 AB

46. Canisius JR SS Ronnie Bernick: 5-9, 175 pounds

2012: .264/.410/.320 – 14 BB/33 K – 2/2 SB – 125 AB
2013: .270/.437/.426 – 24 BB/36 K – 2/2 SB – 122 AB

47. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M JC SO SS Kevin Meyers: 6-2, 190 pounds

2013: .314/.410/.577 – 21 BB/25 K – 8/8 SB – 156 AB

48. Georgia State SR SS/2B Greg Bowder: 5-9, 170 pounds

2012: .295/.373/.371 – 8 BB/16 K – 2/3 SB – 105 AB
2013: .340/.440/.453 – 15 BB/26 K – 3/5 SB – 106 AB

49. Alcorn State JR SS Angel Rosa: good athlete; strong arm; good range; good overall defensive tools; 6-2, 180 pounds

2011: .242/.327/.360 – 20 BB/47 K – 178 AB
2012: .240/.294/.363 – 13 BB/44 K – 5/9 SB – 171 AB
2013: .231/.316/.331 – 17 BB/30 K – 16/20 SB – 160 AB

50. Belmont SR SS Jared Breen: 5-10, 180 pounds

2011: .294/.363/.399 – 23 BB/40 K – 218 AB
2012: .200/.303/.320 – 16 BB/30 K – 9/11 SB – 150 AB
2013: .297/.388/.469 – 29 BB/42 K – 9/10 SB – 209 AB

51. Wright State SR SS Justin Kopale: good defender; strong arm; quick bat; plays above tools; 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .296/.367/.420 – 15 BB/21 K – 162 AB
2012: .246/.274/.374 – 8 BB/22 K – 1/1 SB – 203 AB
2013: .262/.308/.333 – 12 BB/24 K – 3/3 SB – 168 AB

52. Southern Illinois JR SS/2B Jake Welch: good athlete; 5-10, 170 pounds

2011: .246/.327/.277 – 22 BB/31 K – 195 AB
2012: .300/.363/.426 – 21 BB/39 K – 16/19 SB – 237 AB
2013: .273/.358/.329 – 28 BB/26 K – 20/24 SB – 249 AB

53. Louisiana Tech JR SS Ryan Gebhardt: 5-11, 200 pounds

2011: .329/.409/.350 – 18 BB/19 K – 140 AB
2012: .327/.399/.399 – 25 BB/25 K – 5/7 SB – 223 AB
2013: .282/.316/.359 – 7 BB/9 K – 1/3 SB – 142 AB

54. Texas-Arlington JR SS Ryan Walker: 6-1, 170 pounds

2011: .335/.401/.390 – 29 BB/34 K – 236 AB
2012: .380/.435/.428 – 24 BB/39 K – 14/18 SB – 250 AB
2013: .336/.387/.372 – 21 BB/40 K – 6/10 SB – 247 AB

55. Texas State SR SS Nick Smelser: above-average arm; good range; good overall defender; 6-0, 190 pounds

2012: .220/.318/.293 – 20 BB/32 K – 4/5 SB – 150 AB
2013: .253/.330/.367 – 17 BB/32 K – 0/0 SB – 158 AB

56. Wheaton JR SS Eric Jensen: good speed; average at best glove; strong hit tool; 6-3, 200 pounds

2013: .373/.437/.485 – 11 BB/12 K – 18/20 SB – 169 AB

57. Minnesota rSR SS Troy Larson

2011: .267/.303/.328 – 6 BB/22 K – 116 AB
2012: .333/.400/.391 – 13 BB/17 K – 8/10 SB – 138 AB
2013: .351/.385/.417 – 10 BB/18 K – 8/12 SB – 168 AB

58. Illinois-Chicago rJR SS Andres Ortegano: plus defender; 5-6, 150 pounds

2013: .237/.333/.361 – 10 BB/20 K – 4/4 SB – 97 AB

59. Minnesota rSO SS Michael Handel: average speed; quick bat; 6-1, 170 pounds

2012: .290/.371/.361 – 18 BB/26 K – 8/12 SB – 155 AB
2013: .281/.361/.385 – 20 BB/31 K – 9/10 SB – 192 AB

60. Oregon State JR SS Andy Peterson: 5-10, 170 pounds

2013: .351/.409/.376 – 17 BB/33 K – 11/16 SB – 205 AB

61. Youngstown State JR SS/2B Phil Lipari: 6-0, 185 pounds

2012: .238/.351/.302 – 29 BB/21 K – 2/7 SB – 172 AB
2013: .242/.355/.309 – 33 BB/25 K – 9/12 SB – 194 AB

62. Connecticut JR SS Tom Verdi: 6-2, 185 pounds

2012: .330/.397/.436 – 12 BB/36 K – 10/13 SB – 218 AB
2013: .278/.417/.354 – 25 BB/36 K – 19/28 SB – 223 AB

63. Vanderbilt rSO SS/3B Joel McKeithan: plus speed; potential plus glove with all the defensive tools needed to excel at short; intriguing raw power; has never put it all together and time is beginning to run out; 6-3, 210 pounds

2012: .171/.292/.195 – 6 BB/12 K – 1/2 SB – 41 AB
2013: .195/.244/.195 – 3 BB/8 K – 0/0 SB – 41 AB

64. Louisville JR SS/3B Alex Chittenden: good arm; good defender, may be better suited at 3B; limited power upside; 6-0, 190 pounds

2011: .233/.335/.264 – 21 BB/28 K – 163 AB
2012: .303/.395/.344 – 16 BB/24 K – 5/7 SB – 122 AB
2013: .212/.435/.303 – 6 BB/8 K – 0/0 SB – 33 AB

65. St.Mary’s (TX) JR SS/RHP Derek Hamilton: good speed; good defensive tools; Rice transfer

2011: .257/.312/.288 – 18 BB/32 K – 226 AB
2013: .260/.316/.320 – 4 BB/4 K – 5/6 SB – 50 AB

66. Wichita State rJR SS/3B Erik Harbutz: 6-0, 180 pounds

2012: .250/.326/.344 – 24 BB/35 K – 6/9 SB – 212 AB
2013: .276/.363/.347 – 32 BB/47 K – 13/19 SB – 239 AB

67. Arkansas State JR SS Dustin Jones: 5-10, 150 pounds

2012: .296/.337/.352 – 11 BB/30 K – 1/1 SB – 179 AB
2013: .279/.351/.368 – 18 BB/43 K – 6/6 SB – 204 AB

68. New Mexico SR SS Alex Allbritton: steady glove; 6-2, 185 pounds

2011: .234/.283/.303 – 13 BB/41 K – 218 AB
2012: .222/.247/.280 – 8 BB/54 K – 2/4 SB – 207 AB
2013: .270/.307/.362 – 11 BB/35 K – 3/6 SB – 196 AB

69. Louisiana Tech SR SS/2B Taylor Terrasas: 5-10, 170 pounds

2011: .137/.286/.176 – 9 BB/14 K – 51 AB
2012: .330/.435/.509 – 15 BB/15 K – 0/0 SB – 106 AB
2013: .282/.347/.361 – 15 BB/20 K – 2/3 SB – 202 AB

70. UC Davis JR SS Adam Young: good defender; 5-11, 165 pounds

2012: .227/.375/.250 – 6 BB/7 K – 0/0 SB – 44 AB
2013: .242/.308/.326 – 4 BB/8 K – 0/2 SB – 95 AB

71. Santa Clara JR SS Greg Harisis: 6-0, 170 pounds

2012: .366/.435/.447 – 13 BB/19 K – 6/9 SB – 123 AB
2013: .263/.374/.359 – 25 BB/45 K – 13/15 SB – 167 AB

72. UC San Diego SO SS Dillon Moyer: good speed; good defensive tools; transfer from UC Irvine; 6-0, 185 pounds

2011: .143/.351/.214 – 8 BB/5 K – 28 AB
2013: .298/.355/.408 – 15 BB/31 K – 15/17 SB – 191 AB

73. Oklahoma JR SS/2B Hector Lorenzana: good defender; 5-11, 190 pounds

2013: .242/.304/.318 – 18 BB/26 K – 1/5 SB – 223 AB

74. UC Riverside SR SS Eddie Young: 5-10, 185 pounds

2012: .275/.405/.332 – 42 BB/21 K – 2/6 SB – 193 AB
2013: .208/.465/.354 – 22 BB/10 K – 4/6 SB – 48 AB

75. High Point SR SS Willie Medina: good defender; good athlete; plus range; plus speed; leadoff approach; 5-10, 160 pounds

2012: .320/.385/.386 – 18 BB/27 K – 19/25 SB – 197 AB
2013: .272/.337/.335 – 20 BB/34 K – 10/15 SB – 257 AB

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And because I can’t help myself, here are 12 extra players to keep tabs on for draft day and beyond…

76. Stetson JR SS/2B K’Shawn Smith: plus arm; good athlete; good defensive tools; 5-10, 175 pounds

2013: .259/.349/.295 – 10 BB/25 K – 3/5 SB – 112 AB

77. Temple SR SS Jordan Queja: 5-7, 165 pounds

2012: .269/.354/.306 – 19 BB/26 K – 11/15 SB – 186 AB
2013: .229/.393/.349 – 22 BB/10 K – 16/17 SB – 109 AB

78. Kennesaw State rSR SS Peyton Hart: plus defender; bat is very light; decent approach; average speed; 6-1, 190 pounds

2011: .307/.410/.387 – 23 BB/28 K – 212 AB
2012: .270/.353/.291 – 21 BB/37 K – 230 AB – 14/19 SB
2013: .247/.312/.264 – 15 BB/30 K – 8/13 SB – 227 AB

79. Kansas SR SS Kevin Kuntz: 6-1, 190 pounds

2012: .247/.341/.278 – 30 BB/28 K – 10/13 SB – 223 AB
2013: .304/.362/.339 – 15 BB/11 K – 12/13 SB – 168 AB

80. Morehead State SR SS Chase Greenwell: plus arm; 5-10, 185 pounds

2012: .267/.319/.336 – 15 BB/22 K – 5/10 SB – 217 AB
2013: .264/.320/.339 – 18 BB/29 K – 4/7 SB – 227 AB

81. Central Connecticut State JR SS Anthony Turgeon: steady defender; good arm; gap power; average speed; 6-0, 185 pounds

2011: .303/.368/.393 – 11 BB/24 K – 122 AB
2012: .237/.294/.349 – 15 BB/35 K – 4/6 SB – 186 AB
2013: .163/.253/.203 – 16 BB/42 K – 4/5 SB – 172 AB

82. Pittsburgh SR SS Evan Oswald: good defender; plus arm

2012: .280/.375/.325 – 19 BB/30 K – 5/10 SB – 157 AB
2013: .248/.337/.320 – 19 BB/24 K – 7/9 SB – 222 AB

83. Bucknell SR SS/3B Robb Scott: really good present defender; strong arm; lack of foot speed may move him to 3B; 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .282/.312/.359 – 6 BB/35 K – 3/5 SB – 131 AB
2013: .182/.239/.255 – 12 BB/38 K – 0/2 SB – 165 AB

84. Old Dominion JR SS Tyler Urps: good defender; 5-10, 185 pounds

2013: .218/.343/.251 – 23 BB/30 K – 3/6 SB – 179 AB

85. Missouri State rSR SS Travis McComack: very strong arm; good defender; 5-9, 160 pounds

2011: .298/.386/.346 – 26 BB/23 K – 191 AB
2013: .231/.326/.277 – 27 BB/41 K – 1/2 SB – 195 AB

86. Florida SR SS/2B Cody Dent: good speed; 6-0, 190 pounds

2011: .220/.359/.256 – 18 BB/19 K – 82 AB
2012: .146/.237/.146 – 8 BB/20 K – 1/2 SB – 82 AB
2013: .176/.288/.214 – 18 BB/22 K – 2/3 SB – 131 AB

87. Hofstra SR SS/2B Dalton Rouleau: good defender; strong arm; 5-9, 170 pounds

2012: .287/.394/.431 – 30 BB/34 K – 26/33 SB – 195 AB
2013: .105/.261/.105 – 4 BB/5 K – 0/0 SB – 19 AB

2013 MLB Draft: Top 75 College Third Base Prospects

31 May 2013 10:58 PM / 6 Comments on 2013 MLB Draft: Top 75 College Third Base Prospects

1. Stats are park/schedule adjusted from College Splits. I dug around for stats for all junior college and non-Division I players; those numbers are obviously as is, i.e. not park/schedule adjusted.

***

I’ve always been a “once you show a skill, you own it” kind of guy. A huge part of player evaluation is the ability and willingness to change one’s mind, but it also can pay to be stubborn at times. Sticking with talented players through ups and downs — I suppose the ups are easy, so we’re really talking just downs — over multiple seasons, often spanning both high school and college years, is a practice too often ignored in our current instant-analysis, “what have you done for me lately?” world. This is all a long way of justifying what I feel are relatively aggressive rankings of players who haven’t developed as expected over the past few seasons, mainly Erich Weiss and Dominic Ficociello. Disappointing junior seasons aside, both players are viable draft prospects good enough to warrant a quick fist pump if/when your favorite team scoops them up in the mid- to late-rounds. On the other side of the coin, you’ve got a nice group of “risers” like Hunter Dozier, Cody Gunter, and Dustin DeMuth, all potential everyday third basemen if things go as planned.

1. North Carolina JR 3B Colin Moran: great approach; gorgeous lefthanded swing; average defender at present, but significant defensive tools; defense made great strides in summer 2011; true plus hit tool; no clear above-average tool but bat, but can really hit; intrigued by his raw power, think it’ll play average or better professionally; average arm, probably better; my own Chase Headley comp; has put on 30+ pounds since enrolling; improved defender, now at least average; PG Paul O’Neill comp; have heard unique comp: Ryan Klesko upside with bat; struggled some on Fridays; FAVORITE; 6-3, 215 pounds

2011: .351/.462/.577 – 51 BB/31 K – 248 AB
2012: .341/.417/.471 – 22 BB/23 K – 1/3 SB – 170 AB
2013: .411/.534/.687 – 55 BB/18 K – 1/1 SB – 214 AB

2. Stephen F. Austin State JR 3B/2B Hunter Dozier: good athlete; plus arm; well above-average to plus power upside; very good defensive tools; great speed for his size, average overall; good approach; quick bat; hits it to all fields; FAVORITE; 6-4, 220 pounds

2011: .335/.381/.492 – 12 BB/34 K – 197 AB
2012: .396/.467/.656 – 30 BB/41 K – 8/14 SB – 227 AB
2013: .462/.540/.885 – 35 BB/34 K – 12/17 SB – 208 AB

3. Virginia Tech JR 3B/2B Chad Pinder: good athlete; could be plus defender at third; strong arm; big raw power, average likely upside; above-average speed; good hands; natural hitter, above-average hit tool; Ryan Zimmerman and Evan Longoria comps from HS; reminds me of college version of Cavan Biggio; FAVORITE; 6-2, 190 pounds

2011: .317/.368/.510 – 7 BB/18 K – 104 AB
2012: .321/.378/.533 – 15 BB/40 K – 6/11 SB – 212 AB
2013: .352/.435/.512 – 21 BB/33 K – 5/9 SB – 213 AB

4. Youngstown State JR 3B Drew Dosch: average present power, above-average raw; intriguing bat; great approach; average arm; average speed; average upside at 3B; potential 1B or LF for some; 6-2, 190 pounds

2011: .241/.304/.248 – 14 BB/17 K – 145 AB
2012: .339/.396/.513 – 23 BB/21 K – 5/7 SB – 224 AB
2013: .343/.439/.493 – 36 BB/25 K – 3/6 SB – 201 AB

5. Grayson County JC FR 3B Cody Gunter: intriguing power; quick bat; good athlete; plus arm; average defensive tools; love his approach; below-average speed; FAVORITE; 90-92 FB, 94 peak; average SL; 6-3, 200 pounds

2013: .321/.500/.541 – 57 BB/33 K – 1 SB – 159 AB

6. East Carolina JR 3B/SS Zach Houchins: strong hit tool; strong arm, plus for many; some power upside, but mostly to gaps; quick bat; love his approach, but can get too aggressive at times; average at best speed; Louisburg JC transfer; 6-2, 185 pounds

2012: .394/.471/.587 – 26 BB – 16/18 SB – 218 AB
2013: .333/.385/.548 – 17 BB/16 K – 1/1 SB – 177 AB

7. Indiana JR 3B/SS Dustin DeMuth: big power upside still largely untapped; above-average or better arm; average or better defensive tools; very good speed for size; too aggressive; hit tool a question mark; athletic enough to stay up the middle if a pro team felt daring; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .331/.389/.394 – 20 BB/37 K – 236 AB
2012: .250/.310/.325 – 10 BB/46 K – 6/13 SB – 228 AB
2013: .413/.469/.582 – 16 BB/29 K – 10/15 SB – 196 AB

8. Texas JR 3B/OF Erich Weiss: plus hit tool; little bit of pop; solid defender, but nothing special; professional approach; not afraid to hit behind in count; good athlete; pro frame; average at best speed; average arm; could be outfielder in pros; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .384/.514/.558 – 55 BB/36 K – 224 AB
2012: .409/.481/.635 – 23 BB/41 K – 10/12 SB – 203 AB
2013: .333/.431/.424 – 25 BB/41 K – 7/7 SB – 177 AB

9. Miami-Dade JC FR 3B/C Victor Caratini: good athlete; plus defensive tools at 3B; strong arm; intriguing bat; average at best power; 6-1, 200 pounds

2013: .377/.467/.549 – 28 BB/26 K – 10/11 SB – 175 AB

10. Arkansas JR 3B/2B Dominic Ficociello: very quick hands; plus potential hit tool; plus power upside, but yet to show it; extremely devoted worker; crazy bat speed; whole field approach; might have to play 1B professionally, but he’s good there; some think he is playable at SS or 2B; 6-4, 185 pounds

2011: .326/.355/.455 – 6 BB/43 K – 224 AB
2012: .282/.384/.421 – 37 BB/40 K – 4/8 SB – 252 AB
2013: .254/.325/.345 – 13 BB/26 K – 2/3 SB – 142 AB

11. College of the Canyons FR 3B Trey Williams: above-average power, plus raw for some; quick bat; good instincts at third, but still plenty rough around the edges; well above-average arm, but still far too inconsistent; below-average speed; 6-1, 210 pounds

2013: .324/.370/.514 – 5 BB/30 K – 142 AB

12. Everett CC FR 3B Dylan LaVelle: strong arm; good defender; big raw power; 6-2, 200 pounds

2013: .295/.393/.445 – 23 BB/20 K – 5 SB – 146 AB

13. Kirkwood SO C/3B Dairo Gonzalez: strong arm; interesting bat; average speed; 6-2, 200 pounds

2013: .413/.522/.699 – 30 BB/18 K – 4/6 SB – 143 AB

14. Louisiana State JR 3B/SS Christian Ibarra: really good defensive tools; strong arm; undersized, but strong utility future; 5-7, 180 pounds

2013: .361/.457/.536 – 29 BB/29 K – 0/3 SB – 183 AB

15. Auburn JR 3B/RHP Damek Tomscha: plus arm strength; good power; great athlete; good at third; 6-3, 220 pounds

2013: .296/.405/.484 – 27 BB/36 K – 0/2 SB – 186 AB

16. Texas-Pan American JR 3B Alberto Morales: plus defensive tools; plus arm all the way around, strong and accurate; great instincts; power to gaps; great approach; FAVORITE; 6-2, 215 pounds

2013: .270/.374/.516 – 19 BB/29 K – 2/3 SB – 159 AB

17. Long Beach State JR 3B/SS Michael Hill: really quick bat; good defensive tools; plus arm strength; love his hit tool; good athlete; FAVORITE; 6-2, 200 pounds

2012: .160/.250/.200 – 5 BB/17 K – 0/1 SB – 50 AB
2013: .403/.421/.612 – 2 BB/14 K – 6/9 SB – 134 AB

18. Southern California JR 3B Kevin Swick: interesting power; steady defender; can also play some OF; high baseball IQ; 6-0, 180 pounds

2012: .274/.325/.353 – 8 BB/31 K – 5/6 SB – 190 AB
2013: .372/.449/.506 – 20 BB/24 K – 4/6 SB – 156 AB

19. Texas Tech JR 3B/SS Jake Barrios: good athlete; arm and range fit at SS, but likely 3B in long run; really big power upside; 2B also a possibility; LSU transfer; also played at Seward County JC; good athlete; FAVORITE; 6-0, 200 pounds

2013: .299/.355/.437 – 12 BB/14 K – 2/4 SB – 174 AB

20. Tulane SR 3B/SS Garrett Cannizaro: solid speed; good defender; potential plus glove at third

2011: .275/.348/.350 – 21 BB/34 K – 200 AB
2012: .323/.394/.442 – 18 BB/24 K – 6/9 SB – 226 AB
2013: .319/.407/.466 – 26 BB/22 K – 2/4 SB – 191 AB

21. Miami JR 3B Brad Fieger: personal favorite who I’m admittedly biased for since he’s done something useful in every game I’ve seen; best baseball is ahead of him; 6-1, 195 pounds

2011: .307/.360/.400 – 19 BB/23 K – 225 AB
2012: .299/.345/.415 – 18 BB/34 K – 3/4 SB – 224 AB
2013: .319/.375/.400 – 15 BB/24 K – 2/4 SB – 160 AB

22. James Madison JR 3B/RHP Ty McFarland: 6-3, 190 pounds

2011: .259/.326/.358 – 19 BB/43 K – 212 AB
2012: .303/.426/.385 – 20 BB/14 K – 2/3 SB – 109 AB
2013: .361/.473/.473 – 42 BB/17 K – 2/6 SB – 205 AB

23. Florida State SR 3B/SS Justin Gonzalez: average speed, maybe a touch more; good range; can drill a fastball and seemingly only a fastball, but raw power is intriguing; good athlete; good arm; I like his defense more than most, think he has a chance to stick at SS potentially; 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .268/.388/.450 – 33 BB/69 K – 231 AB
2012: .251/.375/.431 – 32 BB/69 K – 14/16 SB – 211 AB
2013: .278/.409/.722 – 3 BB/6 K – 0/0 SB – 18 AB

24. UC Davis JR 3B/2B Steve Patterson: great approach; may be best at 2B long-term; 5-10, 200 pounds

2013: .378/.439/.480 – 16 BB/9 K – 1/1 SB – 196 AB

25. Austin Peay State SR 3B/SS Reed Harper: average speed; steady defender at SS, but fits best at 3B; strong arm; good range; some pop; patient approach; good hit tool; smart on bases; 6-2, 185; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .288/.328/.428 – 13 BB/26 K – 222 AB
2012: .286/.346/.391 – 24 BB/33 K – 9/13 SB – 266 AB
2013: .314/.390/.457 – 25 BB/26 K – 13/19 SB – 210 AB

26. Hinds CC SO 3B/SS Beau Wallace: good athlete; intriguing raw power; plus arm; average speed; 6-1, 200 pounds

2013: .328/.429/.550 – 15 BB/16 K – 17/18 SB – 131 AB

27. Texas Christian rSR 3B Jantzen Witte: very good defender with plus skill set; love his approach; some doubts about his bat, but all he’s done is hit; 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .370/.434/.516 – 28 BB/31 K – 254 AB
2012: .364/.419/.500 – 11 BB/20 K – 1/2 SB – 162 AB
2013: .332/.419/.490 – 32 BB/24 K – 3/5 SB – 196 AB

28. Duke JR 3B Jordan Betts: big raw power; plus arm strength; can handle SS in a pinch; 6-3, 220 pounds

2012: .251/.326/.425 – 23 BB/40 K – 5/5 SB – 207 AB
2013: .323/.376/.539 – 19 BB/44 K – 0/0 SB – 217 AB

29. Charleston Southern JR 3B/SS Alex Tomasovich: average defensive tools; strong arm; 6-2, 165 pounds

2011: .328/.387/.440 – 12 BB/17 K – 134 AB
2012: .244/.335/.316 – 22 BB/20 K – 6/10 SB – 193 AB
2013: .340/.426/.433 – 27 BB/17 K – 8/8 SB – 203 AB

30. Mississippi JR 3B/OF Preston Overbey: big power potential; good defensive tools; tools have far surpassed production to this point; 6-4, 210 pounds

2011: .233/.282/.331 – 12 BB/38 K – 172 AB
2012: .255/.321/.345 – 10 BB/39 K – 1/2 SB – 145 AB
2013: .306/.352/.452 – 12 BB/40 K – 0/0 SB – 186 AB

31. Wisconsin-Milwaukee JR 3B Sam Koenig: intriguing bat; lots of moving parts in swing; inconsistent contact skills; has raw power but hasn’t shown it yet; average defensive upside; strong arm; decent athlete; 6-5, 220 pounds

2011: .229/.297/.283 – 15 BB/36 K – 166 AB
2012: .289/.363/.384 – 21 BB/34 K – 7/10 SB – 190 AB
2013: .285/.385/.439 – 14 BB/25 K – 5/6 SB – 123 AB

32. JC of Marin SO 3B Casey Levy-Tulloch: good approach; above-average raw power; needs defensive polish; 6-1, 200 pounds

2013: .258/.431/.455 – 40 BB/21 K – 6 SB – 132 AB

33. Southern California JR 3B/RHP Jimmy Roberts: above-average arm; below-average present power; gap power upside; below-average speed; good athlete; very quick bat; 92 peak FB; above-average CB; 6-0, 175 pounds

2011: .302/.410/.341 – 18 BB/25 K – 179 AB
2012: .310/.375/.364 – 8 BB/24 K – 4/6 SB – 187 AB
2013: .360/.416/.478 – 16 BB/16 K – 0/6 SB – 203 AB

34. Virginia Commonwealth JR 3B Joey Cujas: 6-0, 180 pounds

2011: .321/.373/.402 – 16 BB/18 K – 209 AB
2012: .413/.494/.570 – 27 BB/16 K – 2/4 SB – 223 AB
2013: .384/.451/.481 – 15 BB/13 K – 1/1 SB – 216 AB

35. Seton Hall JR 3B Chris Selden: good speed; good athlete; strong hit tool; needs defensive polish; 6-2, 185 pounds

2012: .304/.396/.304 – 4 BB/7 K – 5/5 SB – 46 AB
2013: .366/.397/.460 – 9 BB/18 K – 16/19 SB – 161 AB

36. Holy Cross JR 3B/RHP Mike Ahmed: average speed; strong arm; capable defender; good athlete; has struggled against advanced pitching; can be too aggressive for his own good, but plate discipline remains strong; 89-91 FB; good SL; very good splitter; 6-2, 185 pounds

2011: .245/.348/.398 – 10 BB/30 K – 98 AB
2012: .271/.373/.459 – 30 BB/33 K – 7/11 SB – 207 AB
2013: .279/.391/.407 – 25 BB/25 K – 14/16 SB – 140 AB

37. South Carolina SR 3B/1B LB Dantzler: above-average raw power; steady glove; chance for average hit tool; 5-11, 200 pounds

2013: .344/.460/.672 – 38 BB/44 K – 2/3 SB – 189 AB

38. Kansas State rJR 3B RJ Santigate: good approach; gap power upside, but little there presently; really good defender; strong arm; good athlete; average at best speed; 6-2, 210 pounds

2012: .195/.293/.274 – 16 BB/21 K – 2/3 SB – 113 AB
2013: .354/.440/.397 – 26 BB/24 K – 10/14 SB – 189 AB

39. Florida rSO 3B/2B Zack Powers: strong defender; above-average power upside, others have it less; good approach; good arm; might not be quite athletic enough for 3B; smart hitter; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .266/.329/.359 – 5 BB/18 K – 64 AB
2013: .298/.413/.391 – 24 BB/32 K – 5/7 SB – 161 AB

40. Baylor SR 3B/OF Cal Towey: good plate discipline; high marks for work ethic; strong arm; solid power; average speed; 6-1, 210 pounds

2011: .237/.405/.389 – 30 BB/46 K – 131 AB
2012: .299/.435/.473 – 41 BB/60 K – 9/16 SB – 224 AB
2013: .318/.444/.495 – 34 BB/38 K – 9/11 SB – 192 AB

41. West Virginia JR 3B Ryan Tuntland: mature approach; pretty swing

2013: .319/.411/.426 – 28 BB/33 K – 7/11 SB – 188 AB

42. Rice JR 3B Shane Hoelscher: average speed; really good glove; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .290/.354/.400 – 16 BB/43 K – 210 AB
2012: .253/.348/.359 – 27 BB/34 K – 5/7 SB – 217 AB
2013: .359/.427/.402 – 11 BB/18 K – 3/3 SB – 117 AB

43. Georgia SR 3B/2B Kyle Farmer: good defensive tools, just enough to stick at SS in a pinch; strong enough arm, average overall; average to just above-average range; good athlete; some pop; slightly below-average speed; not much power to speak of; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .320/.378/.490 – 21 BB/30 K – 253 AB
2012: .290/.326/.437 – 8 BB/25 K – 3/3 SB – 245 AB
2013: .314/.339/.438 – 13 BB/11 K – 0/2 SB – 210 AB

44. Central Florida SR 3B Chris Taladay: can also play catcher and LF; average power; 6-1, 215 pounds

2012: .298/.340/.393 – 15 BB/28 K – 1/1 SB – 262 AB
2013: .386/.450/.505 – 24 BB/18 K – 6/9 SB – 220 AB

45. Southern Illinois JR 3B Donny Duschinsky: power upside; plus range; good arm; good speed; 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .200/.292/.209 – 11 BB/21 K – 115 AB
2012: .260/.375/.410 – 36 BB/41 K – 2/2 SB – 227 AB
2013: .191/.313/.206 – 8 BB/13 K – 0/0 SB – 68 AB

46. Cal Poly JR 3B/2B Jimmy Allen: good athlete; average speed; average arm; intriguing defensive tools; 5-11, 190 pounds

2011: .261/.307/.395 – 6 BB/24 K – 119 AB
2012: .345/.372/.507 – 13 BB/38 K – 9/13 SB – 229 AB
2013: .291/.329/.371 – 5 BB/39 K – 5/9 SB – 213 AB

47. Tennessee Wesleyan SR 3B/1B Jake Stone: good hit tool; average power; decent athlete; average at best defender; great approach; strong plate discipline; bat-only player; slow; average at best arm; 6-0, 200 pounds

2013: .361/.444/.621 – 31 BB/18 K – 219 AB

48. State College of Florida-Manatee SO 3B Conner Hale: good athlete; average speed; 6-2, 180 pounds

2013: .366/.415/.493 – 20 BB/25 K – 9/11 SB – 227 AB

49. Furman JR 3B Alex Abrams: strong arm; 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .275/.423/.331 – 36 BB/32 K – 142 AB
2012: .240/.379/.298 – 35 BB/46 K – 1/1 SB – 171 AB
2013: .339/.410/.520 – 24 BB/35 K – 1/3 SB – 177 AB

50. Minnesota SR 3B/OF Ryan Abrahamson: 6-4, 190 pounds

2011: .148/.324/.259 – 7 BB/17 K – 27 AB
2012: .167/.250/.219 – 9 BB/38 K – 0/0 SB – 96 AB
2013: .341/.428/.494 – 24 BB/28 K – 1/3 SB – 164 AB

51. Illinois State SR 3B Zac Johnson: smart approach; 6-2, 210 pounds

2012: .344/.413/.542 – 23 BB/29 K – 3/3 SB – 192 AB
2013: .333/.409/.512 – 31 BB/37 K – 2/2 SB – 213 AB

52. George Mason JR 3B Blaise Fernandez: average raw power; strong arm; quick instincts; 6-1, 175 pounds

2011: .251/.332/.405 – 24 BB/36 K – 195 AB
2012: .245/.315/.365 – 22 BB/44 K – 2/3 SB – 208 AB
2013: .330/.399/.464 – 24 BB/34 K – 3/5 SB – 209 AB

53. Mississippi SR 3B Andrew Mistone: gap power; good approach; great defender; good arm; could play 2B; 6-0, 190 pounds

2012: .248/.312/.304 – 11 BB/27 K – 3/6 SB – 214 AB
2013: .348/.417/.414 – 18 BB/16 K – 1/4 SB – 210 AB

54. Western Kentucky JR 3B/SS Scott Wilcox: 5-11, 180 pounds

2012: .267/.404/.373 – 47 BB/20 K -1/2 SB – 217 AB
2013: .359/.433/.450 – 30 BB/28 K – 2/2 SB – 231 AB

55. Marist JR 3B Nick McQuail: 6-0, 180 pounds

2012: .326/.413/.388 – 13 BB/35 K – 4/6 SB – 178 AB
2013: .370/.477/.445 – 23 BB/23 K – 4/4 SB – 173 AB

56. Sacramento State JR 3B Will Soto: 5-8, 180 pounds

2012: .302/.363/.413 – 20 BB/29 K – 3/4 SB – 225 AB
2013: .307/.357/.468 – 17 BB/23 K – 0/1 SB – 218 AB

57. State College of Florida-Manatee rFR 3B/OF Sean Trent: plus arm; strong hit tool; good speed; Florida transfer; 6-1, 200 pounds

2013: .287/.325/.434 – 9 BB/14 K – 4 SB – 143 AB

58. Delaware State JR 3B/C Cameron Cecil: 5-9, 180 pounds

2012: .251/.389/.327 – 25 BB/31 K – 8/12 SB – 199 AB
2013: .306/.429/.406 – 26 BB/18 K – 15/18 SB – 160 AB

59. Gardner-Webb JR 3B/OF Scott Coleman: 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .299/.368/.421 – 18 BB/24 K – 8/10 SB – 221 AB
2013: .290/.386/.414 – 21 BB/18 K – 6/9 SB – 186 AB

60. Alabama SR 3B/C Brett Booth: 5-11, 210 pounds

2011: .277/.355/.351 – 18 BB/30 K – 202 AB
2012: .245/.295/.335 – 10 BB/29 K – 1/1 SB – 200 AB
2013: .316/.408/.448 – 28 BB/33 K – 5/6 SB – 212 AB

61. Santa Fe CC SO 3B Connor Castellano: Vanderbilt transfer

2013: .344/.432/.406 – 5 BB/10 K – 1/2 SB – 32 AB

62. Southern Mississippi SR 3B Travis Creel: plus defender; 6-2, 190 pounds

2012: .217/.284/.315 – 14 BB/36 K – 2/2 SB – 143 AB
2013: .273/.382/.331 – 18 BB/22 K – 3/5 SB – 121 AB

63. Missouri JR 3B Shane Segovia: plus defender, one of the best in all of college ball; 6-0, 210 pounds

2013: .256/.379/.364 – 17 BB/36 K – 1/2 SB – 121 AB

64. UC Davis SR 3B Paul Politi: 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .380/.426/.480 – 15 BB/25 K – 3/6 SB – 229 AB
2013: .301/.386/.457 – 25 BB/16 K – 2/3 SB – 219 AB

65. Eastern Kentucky JR 3B Bryan Soloman: 6-4, 225 pounds

2012: .241/.295/.498 – 11 BB/52 K – 0/1 SB – 203 AB
2013: .283/.345/.470 – 18 BB/37 K – 0/0 SB – 198 AB

66. Sam Houston State SR 3B Kevin Miller: plus defender; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .303/.391/.339 – 22 BB/23 K – 165 AB
2012: .315/.369/.384 – 16 BB/25 K – 1/2 SB – 219 AB
2013: .371/.424/.439 – 10 BB/13 K – 1/1 SB – 205 AB

67. Maine JR 3B Alex Calbick: versatile defender; good approach; 6-0, 190 pounds

2011: .280/.337/.413 – 13 BB/30 K – 189 AB
2012: .297/.364/.459 – 19 BB/24 K – 0/1 SB – 209 AB
2013: .277/.363/.419 – 24 BB/30 K – 1/2 SB – 191 AB

68. Cincinnati JR 3B Matt Williams: 5-10, 180 pounds

2012: .241/.321/.322 – 21 BB/63 K – 11/14 SB – 199 AB
2013: .323/.409/.425 – 25 BB/36 K – 12/16 SB – 167 AB

69. St. Bonaventure SR 3B Billy Urban: 6-0, 180 pounds

2012: .314/.370/.404 – 15 BB/11 K – 1/2 SB – 188 AB
2013: .352/.410/.451 – 12 BB/9 K – 3/3 SB – 182 AB

70. Longwood JR 3B Alex Owens: 6-3, 220 pounds

2012: .265/.359/.417 – 18 BB/27 K – 3/3 SB – 132 AB
2013: .309/.400/.484 – 29 BB/46 K – 0/1 SB – 188 AB

71. Pittsburgh SR 3B Sam Parente: 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .284/.362/.340 – 13 BB/22 K – 2/2 SB – 162 AB
2013: .315/.381/.498 – 12 BB/45 K – 3/4 SB – 203 AB

72. Hawaii SR 3B/SS Pi’kea Kitamura: good defender; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .250/.387/.333 – 38 BB/20 K – 192 AB
2012: .359/.418/.417 – 16 BB/29 K – 4/4 SB – 206 AB
2013: .313/.365/.369 – 15 BB/12 K – 2/4 SB – 179 AB

73. Baylor SR 3B Jake Miller: decent pop; good defender; strong enough arm; average speed; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .289/.343/.401 – 16 BB/49 K – 187 AB
2012: .282/.322/.368 – 11 BB/55 K – 3/3 SB – 234 AB
2013: .303/.354/.388 – 16 BB/38 K – 4/6 SB – 188 AB

74. Georgia SR 3B Curt Powell: good defender; 5-11, 170 pounds

2012: .340/.424/.429 – 22 BB/35 K – 13/17 SB – 203 AB
2013: .408/.456/.454 – 16 BB/29 K – 6/11 SB

75. Miami JR 3B Tyler Palmer: patient approach; plus arm; Florida transfer; 5-11, 190 pounds

2012: .263/.387/.401 – 25 BB/42 K – 11/14 SB – 152 AB
2013: .276/.346/.293 – 11 BB/18 K – 11/14 SB – 116 AB

***

And because I can’t help myself, here are 12 extra players to keep tabs on for draft day and beyond…

76. UCLA SR 3B Cody Regis: strong defender; good athlete; good approach; strong arm; interesting power; 6-2, 235 pounds

2011: .278/.382/.443 – 36 BB/53 K – 194 AB
2012: .234/.362/.282 – 32 BB/43 K – 3/5 SB – 188 AB
2013: .254/.365/.306 – 24 BB/27 K – 1/7 SB – 134 AB

77. Mercyhurst SR 3B/SS Zak Blair: can also play 2B and OF; strong hit tool, lots of contact; Winthrop transfer; 5-10, 190 pounds

2013: .329/.398/.410 – 18 BB/9 K – 6/7 SB – 173 AB)

78. Chandler-Gilbert JC SO 3B Bryce Greager: some pop; too aggressive; raw defender, but plus tools; plus arm strength; St. Mary’s transfer

2013: .268/.389/.327 – 28 BB/35 K – 2/3 SB – 153 AB

79. Dayton JR 3B/SS Robby Sunderman: 6-0, 185 pounds

2012: .269/.360/.376 – 18 BB/28 K – 14/16 SB – 186 AB
2013: .293/.376/.383 – 24 BB/24 K – 17/18 SB – 188 AB

80. Kentucky JR 3B/2B Paul McConkey: improved approach; steady defender; might be even better at 2B; 5-11, 190 pounds

2012: .323/.463/.355 – 4 BB/9 K – 0/0 SB – 31 AB
2013: .263/.340/.358 – 8 BB/27 K – 0/2 SB – 95 AB

81. Miami (OH) JR 3B Dan Walsh: 6-2, 180 pounds

2012: .270/.325/.330 – 14 BB/12 K – 0/0 SB – 185 AB
2013: .280/.319/.378 – 12 BB/14 K – 5/7 SB – 193 AB

82. Houston JR 3B/OF Jonathan Davis: has improved a lot defensively; interesting power; 6-0, 225 pounds

2012: .323/.417/.395 – 19 BB/27 K – 1/2 SB – 124 AB
2013: .266/.372/.395 – 11 BB/27 K – 2/3 SB – 124 AB

83. Mercer SR 3B/SS Evan Boyd: good defender; 6-3, 185 pounds

2011: .240/.369/.325 – 31 BB/27 K – 200 AB
2012: .295/.433/.455 – 42 BB/27 K – 6/9 SB – 200 AB
2013: .242/.372/.335 – 35 BB/31 K – 3/6 SB – 194 AB

84. Oral Roberts SR 3B/SS Nathan Goro: good defensive tools; Wichita State and Jefferson JC transfer; 6-0, 180 pounds

2012: .204/.256/.272 – 14 BB/52 K – 9/16 SB – 235 AB
2013: .294/.343/.379 – 13 BB/31 K – 6/7 SB – 211 AB

85. Nebraska SR 3B/OF Josh Scheffert: good athlete; strong; intriguing raw power; questionable hit tool; 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .220/.286/.340 – 11 BB/39 K – 150 AB
2012: .352/.405/.553 – 15 BB/24 K – 5/5 SB – 179 AB
2013: .265/.308/.350 – 7 BB/19 K – 3/3 SB – 117 AB

86. Oregon SR 3B/OF/RHP Ryan Hambright: mature approach; strong arm; steady glove; 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .203/.286/.216 – 6 BB/12 K – 74 AB
2012: .294/.348/.363 – 9 BB/20 K – 0/0 SB – 102 AB
2013: .209/.278/.252 – 8 BB/24 K – 3/4 SB – 115 AB

87. Xavier SR 3B Patrick Paligraf: 6-2, 190 pounds

2012: .272/.394/.296 – 33 BB/30 K – 3/8 SB – 206 AB
2013: .304/.399/.422 – 29 BB/33 K – 7/10 SB – 204 AB

2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College Second Base Prospects

30 May 2013 8:47 AM / 10 Comments on 2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College Second Base Prospects

1. Stats are park/schedule adjusted from College Splits. I dug around for stats for all junior college and non-Division I players; those numbers are obviously as is, i.e. not park/schedule adjusted.

***

This year’s college group of second basemen very closely resembles the college catching class profiled just a few days ago, especially when considering the prospects perched at or near the top of each list. There are a handful of guys I think who can be average or better big league regulars at the position (Kemp, Asuaje, Mazzilli, maybe Riddle), but I think the most realistic projection for any college second baseman this year — most years, really — is useful multi-position backup. That’s one of the factors heavily considered in these rankings: can this player handle a position other than 2B? We all know there is no room for a straight backup 2B in today’s game, so it is imperative that young second base “prospects” coming up show the ability to play at least passable defense at multiple spots, whether that’s SS (ideally), 3B, or even the OF.

2B

1. Vanderbilt JR 2B/OF Tony Kemp: easy plus speed, but needs to pick spots and read pitchers better; well above-average range at both 2B and CF; not much power, but enough punch to keep pitching honest; leadoff profile as hitter; takes mighty hacks, but does it with a pretty, compact swing; great athlete; reminds me a little bit of Zeke DeVoss, third round pick in 2011; love the shortness in his swing, very quick to the ball; 5-6, 165 pounds

2011: .337/.444/.425 – 39 BB/30 K – 252 AB
2012: .266/.402/.402 – 42 BB/39 K – 22/26 SB – 241 AB
2013: .427/.508/.546 – 31 BB/24 K – 28/40 SB – 218 AB

2. Nova Southeastern JR 2B Carlos Asuaje: strong hit tool; quick bat; surprising pop; good speed; good defender at both second and third, playable at SS; patient approach; could be plus at 2B with more reps; very smart hitter; level swing plane; line drive machine; FAVORITE; 5-8, 165 pounds

2011: .355/.432/.498 – 28 BB/15 K – 13/16 SB – 211 AB
2012: .389/.480/.611 – 30 BB/18 K – 15/18 SB – 190 AB
2013: .320/.441/.449 – 38 BB/13 K – 32/35 SB – 178 AB

3. Connecticut SR 2B LJ Mazzilli: above-average speed; good athlete; chance to be really good defender; no discernible platoon split; average power upside; chance to hit for enough power and show enough speed to play regularly; 6-1, 190 pounds

2011: .375/.425/.535 – 21 BB/28 K – 275 AB
2012: .389/.451/.619 – 23 BB/29 K – 16/21 SB – 239 AB
2013: .392/.436/.560 – 22 BB/23 K – 28/32 SB – 232 AB

4. Kentucky JR 2B/SS JT Riddle: good approach to hitting; solid power to gaps; could be good defender at 3B with time, some think he could be above-average or better at SS or CF; good speed; pretty swing; good arm; 6-3, 180 pounds

2011: .294/.369/.405 – 17 BB/31 K – 163 AB
2012: .279/.350/.407 – 17 BB/25 K – 3/4 SB – 226 AB
2013: .327/.408/.399 – 23 BB/13 K – 6/9 SB – 208 AB

5. Iowa Western SO 2B Grant Kay: good defensive tools; above-average power; all he does is hit; uses whole field; above-average speed; can also play 3B; average at best arm; can get too aggressive; good athlete; Louisville transfer; FAVORITE; 6-0, 185 pounds

2013: .381/.447/.619 – 7 BB/10 K – 10/12 SB – 97 AB

6. Austin Peay State JR 2B/C Jordan Hankins: strong hit tool; some pop; average defender; above-average arm; could also play 3B; FAVORITE; 5-10, 190 pounds

2011: .303/.394/.447 – 26 BB/22 K – 188 AB
2012: .292/.406/.480 – 37 BB/16 K – 3/5 SB – 250 AB
2013: .322/.432/.505 – 37 BB/22 K – 7/9 SB – 214 AB

7. Houston JR 2B Frankie Ratcliff: plus runner; sneaky pop; good defender; kicked off Miami team; Pensacola JC transfer; 5-9, 185 pounds

2013: .311/.426/.490 – 38 BB/33 K – 11/12 SB – 196 AB

8. Kansas State JR 2B Ross Kivett: plus speed; plus-plus instincts in field and on bases; great base runner; love his approach; sneaky pop; has to clean up defense, but has athleticism and reactions to do so in time; 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .277/.390/.366 – 34 BB/26 K – 25/29 SB – 224 AB
2013: .372/.447/.475 – 23 BB/22 K – 27/37 SB – 223 AB

9. Clemson JR 2B Shane Kennedy: strong hit tool; emerging pop, really impressive power upside; 55 speed; can play anywhere in infield; 6-3, 190 pounds

2013: .358/.453/.487 – 38 BB/44 K – 19/24 SB – 193 AB

10. Clemson JR 2B/SS Steve Wilkerson: above-average speed; great athlete; good defensive tools; really good at 2B; power hasn’t come on; strong arm; FAVORITE; 6-1, 190 pounds

2011: .192/.333/.192 – 11 BB/13 K – 52 AB
2012: .310/.369/.399 – 23 BB/37 K – 11/13 SB -258 AB
2013: .348/.428/.490 – 28 BB/44 K – 10/14 SB – 198 AB

11. Arizona JR 2B Johnny Field: future average bat without much power, some to gaps; below-average arm, but accurate; below-average speed, but uses it as well as one can; transition to 2B will be one to watch, but should be fine there once re-acclimated; LF only in outfield; good approach; 5-10, 195 pounds

2011: .257/.337/.411 – 18 BB/21 K – 175 AB
2012: .323/.441/.455 – 45 BB/26 K – 12/20 SB – 257 AB
2013: .297/.384/.446 – 26 BB/22 K – 16/22 SB – 222 AB

12. UC Santa Barbara JR 2B/SS Brandon Trinkwon: fantastic approach; fearless hitter, no problems swinging hard with two strikes; thin; good athlete; good defensive tools; not the strongest arm, but quick release; others worry about his arm strength, but I think he’s got enough to hang some at SS; defense is legit; average speed; FAVORITE; 6-2, 170 pounds

2012: .322/.440/.465 – 40 BB/24 K – 7/10 SB – 202 AB
2013: .290/.380/.400 – 28 BB/26 K – 10/12 SB – 210 AB

13. CC Southern Nevada FR 2B Evan Van Hoosier: love his approach; good speed; good defender; good enough arm; like his power upside; FAVORITE; 6-0, 190 pounds

2013: .369/.454/.608 – 20 BB/15 K – 16/21 SB – 176 AB

14. Louisville JR 2B/SS Ty Young: plus arm, others have it barely average but I like what I saw; good speed; smart baserunner; good defender; can also play 3B; employs a wide stance with a little bat waggle; intriguing opposite field power; little bit of a physical resemblance to a lefty Mike Young; 5-10, 180 pounds

2011: .209/.331/.295 – 22 BB/42 K – 139 AB
2012: .339/.463/.533 – 23 BB/34 K – 15/19 SB – 180 AB
2013: .392/.472/.593 – 23 BB/35 K – 26/31 SB – 199 AB

15. Tampa JR 2B/3B Zach Alvord: quick bat; strong arm; above-average speed; good glove; some pop; can also play SS when needed; Auburn transfer; FAVORITE; 6-0, 185 pounds

2011: .211/.282/.296 – 6 BB/23 K – 71 AB
2012: .253/.306/.404 – 14 BB/40 K – 1/4 SB – 178 AB
2013: .344/.404/.490 – 11 BB/10 K – 1/2 SB – 96 AB

16. Long Beach State JR 2B/OF Jeff McNeil: good approach; short to ball; solid defender; has also played SS; 6-1, 165 pounds

2011: .313/.366/.349 – 10 BB/20 K – 166 AB
2012: .299/.370/.345 – 13 BB/12 K – 6/12 SB – 194 AB
2013: .419/.466/.529 – 12 BB/10 K – 14/19 SB – 210 AB

17. Virginia SR 2B/OF Reed Gragnani: gap power; defense will have to be brought along; has always been able to hit, just needs pro at bats to show it; 5-11, 180 pounds

2011: .287/.406/.353 – 20 BB/14 K – 136 AB
2012: .391/.447/.420 – 2 BB/10 K – 0/1 SB – 69 AB
2013: .359/.426/.500 – 22 BB/9 K – 4/7 SB – 184 AB

18. Northwestern JR 2B/RHP Kyle Ruchim: gap power; great approach; solid defender; average speed; strong arm; makes all the plays; can also play some SS and CF; legitimate prospect on mound with 88-92 FB, 93 peak; flashes plus SL; 5-10, 180 pounds

2011: .219/.268/.318 – 13 BB/26 K – 192 AB
2012: .284/.369/.407 – 22 BB/23 K – 10/13 SB – 204 AB
2013: .389/.462/.563 – 23 BB/24 K – 10/14 SB – 167 AB

2011: 12.05 K/9 | 18.2 IP
2012: 11.57 K/9 | 2.41 BB/9 | 2.34 FIP | 18.2 IP
2013: 9.87 K/9 | 4.67 BB/9 | 3.21 FIP | 34.2 IP

19. North Carolina A&T JR 2B/SS Luke Tendler: gap power; good athlete; should stick up the middle; 5-11, 180 pounds

2011: .347/.370/.563 – 10 BB/16 K – 213 AB
2012: .285/.323/.466 – 10 BB/34 K – 2/3 SB – 221 AB
2013: .379/.442/.626 – 20 BB/27 K – 17/20 SB – 195 AB

20. Florida Gulf Coast JR 2B/3B Brandon Bednar: average speed; can also play 1B, SS, and all OF spots; intriguing size and upside; 6-4, 185 pounds

2012: .329/.411/.375 – 29 BB/34 K – 2/4 SB – 216 AB
2013: .399/.452/.527 – 15 BB/23 K – 7/10 SB – 243 AB

21. Regis SR 2B/OF Nick Billinger: gap power; above-average to plus speed; strong hit tool; little power; can play 2B, 3B, LF, and RF; average defender; strong utility future; 6-0, 170 pounds

2013: .403/.450/.511 – 19 BB/12 K – 8/10 SB – 186 AB

22. UNC Wilmington SR 2B Michael Bass: good speed; 5-9, 185 pounds

2011: .297/.383/.410 – 22 BB/46 K – 195 AB
2012: .339/.400/.407 – 20 BB/40 K – 20/23 SB – 221 AB
2013: .431/.517/.609 – 29 BB/26 K – 25/26 SB – 197 AB

23. Brigham Young rJR 2B/SS Adam Law: good speed; strong arm; can literally play anywhere; 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .202/.279/.240 – 13 BB/25 K – 3/4 SB – 129 AB
2013: .381/.456/.536 – 28 BB/33 K – 14/17 SB – 194 AB

24. Oklahoma City SR 2B/SS Chase Jensen: good athlete; big power upside; lots of swing and miss; another worthy size and upside gamble; Houston transfer; 6-3, 185 pounds

2013: .332/.380/.610 – 14 BB/32 K – 15/17 SB – 205 AB

25. Cal State Bakersfield JR 2B/SS Tyler Shryock: average hit tool; average speed; gap power; steady glove; 6-0, 170 pounds

2012: .270/.341/.373 – 19 BB/39 K – 2/5 SB – 185 AB
2013: .341/.399/.410 – 23 BB/26 K – 4/6 SB – 249 AB

26. UC Davis rSO 2B Tino Lipson: plus speed; plus defender; might not be signable, but one to watch; 5-10, 150 pounds

2012: .338/.376/.375 – 9 BB/14 K – 3/7 SB – 160 AB
2013: .386/.444/.438 – 13 BB/10 K – 9/11 SB – 153 AB

27. Mississippi State JR 2B Brett Pirtle: 55 speed; strong arm; good glove; 5-9, 175 pounds

2013: .333/.448/.424 – 19 BB/20 K – 10/10 SB – 165 AB

28. Rice SR 2B Christian Stringer: average speed; solid defender; impressed with hit tool; 5-11, 185 pounds

2012: .356/.460/.470 – 39 BB/27 K – 6/11 SB – 236 AB
2013: .322/.427/.436 – 33 BB/25 K – 2/3 SB – 211 AB

29. Wake Forest SR 2B/3B Mark Rhine: strong hit tool; little power; good speed; strong arm; 6-1, 185 pounds

2011: .180/.276/.210 – 7 BB/15 K – 100 AB
2012: .275/.347/.339 – 16 BB/20 K – 5/7 SB – 171 AB
2013: .337/.476/.436 – 33 BB/20 K – 6/7 SB – 181 AB

30. Indiana State rSR 2B Koby Kraemer: surprising pop; above-average speed; capable defender all over diamond, strong at 2B; great athlete; 5-9, 190 pounds

2011: .322/.371/.466 – 18 BB/28 K – 236 AB
2012: .262/.319/.360 – 14 BB/45 K – 3/3 SB – 225 AB
2013: .294/.380/.450 – 22 BB/24 K – 6/10 SB – 180 AB

31. Ave Maria SR 2B/SS Alex Sanchez: steady defender; gap power; plus arm; average at best speed; 6-1, 190 pounds

2013: .386/.428/.488 – 19 BB/21 K – 19/24 SB – 246 AB

32. Seminole State CC SO 2B/SS Angelo Amendolare: plus speed; sneaky pop; average at best arm; 5-9, 165 pounds

2013: .366/.416/.421 – 9 BB/9 K – 23/28 SB – 183 AB

33. Louisville SR 2B Nick Ratajczak: good defender; average speed; swing geared for contact; don’t think he is as big as listed; makeup makes him potential org guy who should stick; 5-10, 180 pounds

2012: .339/.462/.392 – 28 BB/9 K – 6/11 SB – 245 AB
2013: .295/.409/.364 – 26 BB/8 K – 9/9 SB – 217 AB

34. Georgia Tech SR 2B/OF Sam Dove: above-average speed; steady defender; strong arm; 6-2, 190 pounds

2011: .322/.411/.368 – 21 BB/32 K – 171 AB
2012: .333/.400/.421 – 25 BB/41 K – 12/13 SB – 228 AB
2013: .304/.384/.430 – 28 BB/41 K – 6/9 SB – 214 AB

35. Arizona State JR 2B Mike Benjamin: good defender; too aggressive; some pop; solid speed; 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .322/.408/.438 – 7 BB/20 K – 5/7 SB – 121 AB
2013: .375/.403/.611 – 8 BB/43 K – 4/8 SB – 216 AB

36. Villanova rSR 2B Tyler Sciacca: steady glove; impressive pop; runs everywhere; 5-10, 175 pounds

2012: .373/.441/.518 – 24 BB/54 K – 17/21 SB – 220 AB
2013: .371/.461/.547 – 21 BB/33 K – 8/11 SB – 170 AB

37. Georgia Tech JR 2B/SS Mott Hyde: strong arm; slightly above-average speed; steady glove that could be really good in time; gap power; whole field approach to hitting; 5-11, 180 pounds

2011: .288/.366/.410 – 24 BB/48 K – 229 AB
2012: .271/.329/.421 – 16 BB/48 K – 11/15 SB – 214 AB
2013: .255/.368/.433 – 28 BB/40 K – 6/10 SB – 203 AB

38. Alabama SR 2B Kenny Roberts: strong hit tool; 5-8, 190 pounds

2012: .169/.242/.254 – 9 BB/43 K – 3/3 SB – 142 AB
2013: .281/.384/.419 – 27 BB/41 K – 7/11 SB – 217 AB

39. Indiana SR 2B Michael Basil: steady glove; 6-1, 210 pounds

2011: .241/.286/.397 – 8 BB/43 K – 174 AB
2012: .272/.331/.379 – 16 BB/42 K – 4/8 SB – 224 AB
2013: .318/.413/.449 – 22 BB/25 K – 6/12 SB – 198 AB

40. Richmond JR 2B Adam Forrer: 5-7, 190 pounds

2012: .242/.385/.379 – 39 BB/25 K – 8/11 SB – 182 AB
2013: .272/.413/.451 – 37 BB/30 K – 3/8 SB – 162 AB

41. Longwood JR 2B/SS Matt Dickason: 5-11, 175 pounds

2012: .261/.309/.347 – 14 BB/36 K – 4/6 SB – 199 AB
2013: .363/.398/.450 – 11 BB/11 K – 2/3 SB – 181 AB

42. Alabama State SR 2B/SS Leo Rojas: good first step; above-average speed; good defensive tools; sneaky pop, stronger than you’d think; 5-9, 170 pounds

2012: .238/.306/.321 – 15 BB/33 K – 11/14 SB – 193 AB
2013: .320/.393/.459 – 13 BB/26 K – 13/15 SB – 172 AB

43. South Carolina SR 2B/3B Chase Vergason: steady glove; 5-11, 180 pounds

2013: .278/.370/.394 – 23 BB/21 K – 1/2 SB – 198 AB

44. Miami SR 2B/3B Michael Broad: above-average speed; refined approach at expense of some first pitch pop; has gotten stronger over years; not a very good defender; 5-11, 200 pounds

2011: .272/.401/.440 – 24 BB/24 K – 125 AB
2012: .249/.342/.393 – 19 BB/36 K – 9/14 SB – 173 AB
2013: .283/.388/.354 – 12 BB/18 K – 2/4 SB – 99 AB

45. Mississippi State rSO 2B/OF Demarcus Henderson: great athlete; plus speed; good range at SS, plus range at 2B; solid arm; might yet be moved to CF, but tools still play at 2B if focus improves; 5-10, 170 pounds

2012: .235/.339/.265 – 14 BB/24 K – 6/9 SB – 102 AB
2013: .298/.406/.314 – 20 BB/25 K – 2/6 SB – 121 AB

46. Wichita State JR 2B/SS Dayne Parker: strong hit tool; gap power at best; not much of a defender at present, but think he could be very steady with time; average at best speed; strong arm; can play 3B; great bat control; 5-10, 185 pounds

2012: .267/.331/.355 – 19 BB/20 K – 0/2 SB – 217 AB
2013: .244/.335/.259 – 15 BB/16 K – 0/0 SB – 135 AB

47. Cal State Bakersfield JR 2B Oscar Sanay: 5-7, 185 pounds

2011: .355/.384/.418 – 8 BB/20 K – 220 AB
2012: .312/.385/.337 – 18 BB/25 K – 7/8 SB – 205 AB
2013: .364/.448/.493 – 23 BB/22 K – 4/6 SB – 217 AB

48. San Jose State JR 2B Jacob Valdez: 5-9, 185 pounds

2011: .307/.402/.396 – 22 BB/24 K -192 AB
2012: .230/.309/.290 – 13 BB/21 K – 4/6 SB – 183 AB
2013: .351/.412/.434 – 16 BB/12 K – 8/11 SB – 205 AB

49. St. Bonaventure SR 2B Jason Radwan: 5-10, 185 pounds

2012: .311/.403/.425 – 29 BB/27 K – 1/2 SB – 193 AB
2013: .422/.493/.514 – 23 BB/20 K – 2/4 SB – 185 AB

50. Monmouth JR 2B/SS Jake Gronsky: 6-1, 185 pounds

2012: .308/.371/.432 – 12 BB/38 K – 4/5 SB – 227 AB
2013: .327/.396/.478 – 16 BB/25 K – 3/5 SB – 205 AB

51. North Dakota State JR 2B Wes Satzinger: 6-3, 200 pounds

2012: .281/.380/.371 – 23 BB/32 K – 6/6 SB – 210 AB
2013: .296/.366/.489 – 10 BB/22 K – 3/3 SB – 135 AB

52. Cal Poly SR 2B Denver Chavez: 5-10, 180 pounds

2011: .277/.379/.345 – 16 BB/14 K – 119 AB
2012: .288/.429/.388 – 16 BB/22 K – 8/11 SB – 80 AB
2013: .384/.443/.484 – 16 BB/18 K – 17/18 SB – 219 AB

53. Ohio State rSR 2B Ryan Cypret

2011: .318/.396/.423 – 21 BB/25 K – 201 AB
2012: .245/.359/.312 – 37 BB/57 K – 5/7 SB – 237 AB
2013: .287/.387/.426 – 25 BB/25 K – 5/10 SB – 188 AB

54. Sacramento State SR 2B Andrew Ayers: 5-11, 200 pounds

2012: .377/.433/.518 – 17 BB/27 K – 3/5 SB – 220 AB
2013: .348/.395/.570 – 12 BB/28 K – 4/5 SB – 207 AB

55. Oregon JR 2B Aaron Payne: above-average speed; plus defender; 5-11, 180 pounds

2012: .311/.434/.396 – 28 BB/40 K – 17/23 SB – 235 AB
2013: .291/.419/.343 – 27 BB/31 K – 14/19 SB – 172 AB

56. Baylor rJR 2B Lawton Langford: plus defender; 5-10, 150 pounds

2012: .301/.424/.354 – 39 BB/39 K – 7/10 SB – 206 AB
2013: .297/.427/.326 – 33 BB/26 K – 6/9 SB – 172 AB

57. Kentucky JR 2B Matt Reida: good glove; 5-11, 180 pounds

2012: .235/.296/.310 – 16 BB/44 K – 4/5 SB – 213 AB
2013: .275/.371/.330 – 26 BB/29 K – 5/8 SB – 182 AB

58. Southern California SR 2B/SS Adam Landecker: 6-1, 180 pounds

2011: .307/.416/.347 – 16 BB/27 K – 150 AB
2012: .349/.438/.375 – 17 BB/17 K – 4/6 SB – 152 AB
2013: .432/.475/.584 – 8 BB/22 K – 5/7 SB – 185 AB

59. Stanford JR 2B/SS Danny Diekroeger: average at best speed; steady glove; 6-1, 190 pounds

2012: .365/.431/.521 – 9 BB/6 K – 1/1 SB – 96 AB
2013: .329/.374/.419 – 11 BB/24 K – 6/8 SB – 210 AB

60. Tulane SR 2B Brennan Middleton: solid speed; good defender; can play some SS; strong utility future; 6-0, 190 pounds

2011: .291/.379/.381 – 16 BB/17 K – 134 AB
2012: .378/.436/.454 – 17 BB/32 K – 14/18 SB – 196 AB
2013: .360/.432/.408 – 13 BB/28 K – 9/13 SB – 211 AB

61. Loyola Marymount SR 2B Cullen Mahoney: pretty swing; can get too aggressive; gap power; steady defender; good hit tool; 6-2, 190 pounds

2012: .277/.405/.376 – 34 BB/34 K – 4/7 SB – 173 AB
2013: .305/.357/.399 – 16 BB/37 K – 7/13 SB – 203 AB

62. Gonzaga SR 2B Clayton Eslick: 5-11, 170 pounds

2011: .273/.329/.326 – 10 BB/21 K – 132 AB
2012: .350/.469/.447 – 33 BB/15 K – 0/1 SB – 197 AB
2013: .289/.399/.404 – 23 BB/19 K – 0/1 SB – 166 AB

63. UCLA JR 2B/OF Kevin Williams: interesting yet underdeveloped hit tool; great athlete; plus defensive tools; average speed; all the pieces are there, but hasn’t put it together yet; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .210/.261/.226 – 4 BB/17 K – 62 AB
2012: .289/.405/.358 – 20 BB/26 K – 4/7 SB – 159 AB
2013: .229/.319/.289 – 10 BB/22 K – 1/2 SB – 83 AB

64. Howard JC SO 2B/SS Josh Ake: good range; UNC transfer

2013: .278/.363/.356 – 12 BB/11 K – 3/5 SB – 90 AB

65. New Mexico State SR 2B Parker Hipp: 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .272/.407/.396 – 38 BB/17 K – 169 AB
2012: .258/.424/.344 – 59 BB/30 K – 4/6 SB – 209 AB
2013: .208/.350/.337 – 35 BB/17 K – 6/8 SB – 178 AB

66. Kent State JR 2B/SS Derek Toadvine: good athlete; plus speed; leadoff profile; 5-11, 180 pounds

2012: .244/.305/.267 – 20 BB/42 K – 8/11 SB – 225 AB
2013: .288/.375/.332 – 26 BB/49 K – 26/27 SB – 226 AB

67. Maine SR 2B/SS Mike Fransoso: 6-0, 180 pounds

2011: .311/.387/.518 – 16 BB/25 K – 164 AB
2012: .341/.424/.529 – 27 BB/25 K – 19/27 SB – 223 AB
2013: .364/.438/.513 – 18 BB/21 K – 18/22 SB – 195 AB

68. James Madison SR 2B/SS Casey Goss: good defender; some power upside; 5-11, 180 pounds

2012: .270/.335/.333 – 17 BB/22 K – 21/29 SB – 222 AB
2013: .379/.446/.480 – 20 BB/16 K – 4/7 SB – 177 AB

69. San Diego State JR 2B Tim Zier: 5-10, 200 pounds

2011: .311/.382/.338 – 19 BB/26 K – 219 AB
2012: .313/.389/.374 – 22 BB/31 K – 10/14 SB – 211 AB
2013: .366/.432/.446 – 16 BB/29 K – 14/16 SB – 224 AB

70. Maine JR 2B/SS Troy Black: 6-1, 165 pounds

2011: .373/.454/.470 – 10 BB/14 K – 83 AB
2012: .350/.398/.382 – 10 BB/15 K – 17/19 SB – 157 AB
2013: .377/.425/.437 – 14 BB/22 K – 12/15 SB – 167 AB

71. Arkansas-Little Rock JR 2B Chris Burk: 5-8, 180 pounds

2012: .254/.389/.416 – 23 BB/53 K – 7/10 SB – 173 AB
2013: .355/.453/.533 – 23 BB/42 K – 6/11 SB – 197 AB

72. Saint Louis SR 2B Mike Levine: 5-8, 170 pounds

2011: .281/.371/.331 – 19 BB/18 K – 178 AB
2012: .290/.421/.378 – 30 BB/21 K – 6/11 SB – 217 AB
2013: .365/.433/.453 – 18 BB/15 K – 3/6 SB

73. Sam Houston State SR 2B Jessie Plumlee: 5-11, 200 pounds

2012: .277/.333/.309 – 20 BB/21 K – 4/6 SB – 191 AB
2013: .340/.451/.436 – 21 BB/23 K – 5/5 SB – 156 AB

74. Seattle SR 2B Nick Latta: 6-3, 190 pounds

2012: .225/.317/.326 – 8 BB/21 K – 3/3 SB – 89 AB
2013: .352/.425/.560 – 12 BB/30 K – 5/7 SB – 125 AB

75. Stephen F. Austin State SR 2B Freddy Villalobos: average at best defender; 6-0, 190 pounds

2012: .330/.376/.447 – 7 BB/35 K – 3/6 SB – 206 AB
2013: .341/.397/.505 – 10 BB/33 K – 1/2 SB – 208 AB

76. Arkansas SR 2B Jacob Mahan: 6-0, 185 pounds

2012: .250/.319/.271 – 13 BB/18 K – 2/2 SB – 144 AB
2013: .278/.394/.361 – 26 BB/16 K – 1/2 SB – 158 AB

77. Wake Forest JR 2B Conor Keniry: 6-2, 190 pounds

2012: .273/.369/.338 – 29 BB/40 K – 12/16 SB – 198 AB
2013: .273/.379/.360 – 24 BB/29 K – 2/6 SB – 150 AB

78. James Madison SR 2B/C Brad Shaban: 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .252/.373/.376 – 26 BB/35 K – 210 AB
2012: .249/.362/.392 – 21 BB/27 K – 6/8 SB – 181 AB
2013: .297/.357/.492 – 5 BB/18 K – 2/2 SB – 118 AB

79. Nicholls State JR 2B Phillip Lyons: 6-0, 170 pounds

2012: .340/.407/.396 – 16 BB/29 K – 16/23 SB – 212 AB
2013: .303/.395/.375 – 30 BB/27 K – 14/21 SB – 208 AB

80. Binghamton JR 2B Daniel Nevares: 5-10, 180 pounds

2012: .336/.403/.455 – 14 BB/19 K – 0/2 SB – 143 AB
2013: .339/.369/.483 – 10 BB/25 K – 0/2 SB – 174 AB

81. Virginia Commonwealth SR 2B/SS Jordan Weymouth: Texas transfer; 5-11, 180 pounds

2012: .294/.371/.382 – 14 BB/32 K – 8/11 SB – 228 AB
2013: .335/.399/.447 – 14 BB/22 K – 3/3 SB – 179 AB

82. San Francisco SR 2B Jason Mahood: 5-9, 185 pounds

2012: .289/.361/.378 – 17 BB/21 K – 1/5 SB – 201 AB
2013: .308/.395/.370 – 18 BB/25 K – 3/7 SB – 208 AB

83. North Florida SR 2B Joe Wielbruda: good glove; 5-11, 180 pounds

2012: .312/.354/.362 – 6 BB/13 K – 4/6 SB – 199 AB
2013: .352/.415/.383 – 15 BB/16 K – 8/13 SB – 230 AB

84. Delaware SR 2B DJ Long: 5-11, 190 pounds

2011: .261/.354/.394 – 28 BB/34 K – 218 AB
2012: .264/.359/.421 – 32 BB/31 K – 2/4 SB – 235 AB
2013: .261/.332/.440 – 24 BB/33 K – 2/2 SB – 218 AB

85. Lafayette SR 2B/RHP Kevin Casey: 6-1, 180 pounds

2012: .290/.393/.420 – 15 BB/31 K – 0/0 SB – 100 AB
2013: .311/441/.421 – 32 BB/38 K – 9/9 SB – 164 AB

86. Fordham SR 2B Mike Mauri: can play anywhere but SS and C; 5-9, 175 pounds

2012: .335/.412/.415 – 23 BB/38 K – 9/12 SB – 200 AB
2013: .286/.417/.323 – 39 BB/17 K – 12/20 SB – 189 AB

87. Middle Tennessee State SR 2B Johnny Thomas: New Orleans transfer; 5-10, 170 pounds

2011: .250/.317/.309 – 20 BB/23 K – 220 AB
2012: .277/.324/.442 – 14 BB/22 K – 231 AB – 9/15 SB
2013: .284/.372/.362 – 29 BB/20 K – 5/7 SB – 218 AB

88. Liberty SR 2B Bryan Aanderud: strong hit tool; steady defender; 5-10, 190 pounds

2012: .364/.467/.450 – 32 BB/18 K – 5/6 SB – 220 AB
2013: .342/.421/.388 – 24 BB/20 K – 3/3 SB – 219 AB

89. Appalachian State SR 2B Hector Crespo: plus speed; 5-10, 175 pounds

2011: .295/.412/.379 – 38 BB/29 K – 190 AB
2012: .269/.388/.368 – 45 BB/46 K – 30/33 SB – 234 AB
2013: .318/.372/.444 – 18 BB/33 K – 21/27 SB – 223 AB

90. Missouri JR 2B Dillon Everett: good defender; 5-11, 185 pounds

2011: .205/.286/.227 – 5 BB/10 K – 44 AB
2012: .200/.326/.231 – 22 BB/24 K – 2/4 SB – 195 AB
2013: .281/.348/.356 – 10 BB/25 K – 1/2 SB – 146 AB

91. Siena JR 2B Vince Citro: 6-3, 200 pounds

2012: .285/.366/.325 – 24 BB/29 K – 4/10 SB – 200 AB
2013: .326/.409/.405 – 22 BB/15 K – 14/19 SB – 190 AB

92. Massachusetts JR 2B Rob McLam: 5-9, 165 pounds

2012: .296/.412/.337 – 15 BB/15 K – 7/11 SB – 98 AB
2013: .288/.371/.356 – 16 BB/15 K – 11/14 SB – 177 AB

93. Nebraska-Omaha JR 2B Caleb Palensky: good approach; 6-1, 190 pounds

2012: .233/.329/.339 – 19 BB/34 K – 3/5 SB – 180 AB
2013: .266/.351/.350 – 17 BB/17 K – 2/4 SB – 143 AB

94. Wright State SR 2B Sam Picchiotti: 5-8, 180 pounds

2012: .235/.310/.302 – 15 BB/21 K – 4/5 SB – 149 AB
2013: .308/.367/.442 – 11 BB/11 K – 2/3 SB – 120 AB

95. Furman SR 2B/OF Will Muzika: 5-11, 185 pounds

2011: .257/.352/.400 – 27 BB/32 K – 210 AB
2012: .264/.368/.375 – 28 BB/41 K – 18/21 SB – 208 AB
2013: .300/.384/.457 – 25 BB/48 K – 22/28 SB – 223 AB

96. Manhattan SR 2B/SS Nick Camastro: good speed; 6-0, 190 pounds

2011: .327/.437/.381 – 18 BB/26 K – 168 AB
2012: .319/.438/.410 – 24 BB/18 K – 20/26 SB – 210 AB
2013: .315/.413/.404 – 17 BB/16 K – 15/20 SB – 203 AB

97. Creighton SR 2B/SS Alex Staehely: 6-0, 180 pounds

2011: .281/.336/.447 – 12 BB/48 K – 228 AB
2012: .216/.276/.269 – 13 BB/42 K – 2/3 SB – 208 AB
2013: .275/.386/.392 – 26 BB/29 K – 1/5 SB – 171 AB

98. East Tennessee State SR 2B Derek Niesman: 5-11, 200 pounds

2012: .263/.355/.331 – 12 BB/19 K – 6/8 SB – 118 AB
2013: .289/.359/.378 – 15 BB/15 K – 3/6 SB – 180 AB

99. Buffalo SR 2B Jon Mestas: 6-0, 185 pounds

2012: .277/.358/.404 – 20 BB/36 K – 1/3 SB – 188 AB
2013: .268/.386/.361 – 26 BB/26 K – 7/9 SB – 183 AB

100. North Dakota SR 2B Kris Kwak: 6-3, 200 pounds

2012: .298/.407/.423 – 38 BB/28 K – 1/2 SB – 208 AB
2013: .277/.405/.343 – 29 BB/23 K – 8/13 SB – 137 AB

***

And because I can’t help myself, here are 10 extra players to keep tabs on for draft day and beyond…

101. Central Arkansas SR 2B/SS Blake Marchal: 5-10, 185 pounds

2012: .274/.397/.298 – 30 BB/32 K – 19/23 SB – 168 AB
2013: .256/.387/.340 – 35 BB/35 K – 25/29 SB – 203 AB

102. South Dakota State SR 2B Andrew Melton: 5-10, 165 pounds

2012: .232/.335/.317 – 22 BB/27 K – 3/3 SB – 142 AB
2013: .255/.385/.329 – 31 BB/29 K – 2/4 SB – 161 AB

103. Valparaiso SR 2B/3B Tanner Vavra: smart hitter; 6-0, 190 pounds

2012: .323/.418/.406 – 16 BB/35 K – 15/19 SB – 229 AB
2013: .332/.419/.388 – 14 BB/27 K – 11/16 SB – 196 AB

104. Cornell SR 2B Brenton Peters: 5-9, 150 pounds

2011: .305/.397/.438 – 14 BB/12 K – 105 AB
2012: .292/.440/.398 – 33 BB/26 K – 5/8 SB – 161 AB
2013: .283/.368/.375 – 14 BB/25 K – 5/8 SB – 120 AB

105. Tennessee Tech SR 2B Michael Morris: 5-10, 190 pounds

2012: .292/.368/.415 – 22 BB/41 K – 0/1 SB – 195 AB
2013: .302/.386/.390 – 22 BB/29 K – 6/6 SB – 159 AB

106. North Carolina State SR 2B/SS Matt Bergquist: good defender; has shown big improvement; gotten stronger; 6-0, 180 pounds

2011: .294/.362/.438 – 22 BB/48 K – 201 AB
2012: .222/.333/.313 – 22 BB/33 K – 2/2 SB – 144 AB
2013: .167/.266/.204 – 6 BB/11 K – 1/1 SB – 54 AB

107. Texas A&M JR 2B/SS Charlie Curl: good athlete; good speed; can play all over, including outfield; good strength; average arm, maybe a touch better now; strong; some pop; solid defender all over; good instincts; quick bat; 5-11, 180 pounds

2011: .276/.336/.336 – 5 BB/28 K – 116 AB
2013: .222/.298/.287 – 6 BB/31 K – 4/4 SB – 108 AB

108. Rhode Island rSR 2B Pat Fortunato: 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .284/.356/.355 – 18 BB/39 K – 155 AB
2012: .289/.382/.384 – 29 BB/44 K – 11/13 SB – 211 AB
2013: .307/.349/.414 – 13 BB/41 K – 6/7 SB – 215 AB

109. Delaware State SR 2B/3B JP Frey: plus speed; 6-1, 185 pounds

2012: .276/.332/.321 – 13 BB/27 K – 9/11 SB – 196 AB
2013: .304/.345/.348 – 7 BB/26 K – 24/31 SB – 207 AB

110. Holy Cross SR 2B/SS Alex Maldonado: good glove, not so good bat; above-average speed; average at best arm; 5-9, 175 pounds

2011: .274/.316/.325 – 11 BB/40 K – 197 AB
2012: .269/.345/.335 – 21 BB/44 K – 14/21 SB – 212 AB
2013: .239/.330/.290 – 20 BB/25 K – 9/13 SB – 176 AB

2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College First Base Prospects

29 May 2013 9:05 AM / 5 Comments on 2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College First Base Prospects

1. Stats are park/schedule adjusted from College Splits. I dug around for stats for all junior college and non-Division I players; those numbers are obviously as is, i.e. not park/schedule adjusted.

***

The one thing that may stand out off the top in my first base rankings is the conservative placement of many players otherwise known as 1B/3B/OF. There are some that believe in Peterson at either 3B or LF, Jagielo at the same two spots, and Palka in RF. Those people aren’t wrong per se, but I tend to always err on the side of caution when it comes to a defensively questionable amateur player’s professional position, especially if said amateur has enough bat to serve as a carrying tool. Peterson, Jagielo, and Palka aren’t exactly Alonso, Smoak, and Wallace as draft prospects — funny how that turned out, by the way — but they all should be able to hit enough to become league average or better big league first basemen in time.

After those first three I think you’re looking at value picks the rest of the way. I wouldn’t love Healy in the second or even third round, but if he falls down to five or later? Sign me up. Same goes for Mancini, Ragira, and Yezzo anywhere in that round five to ten range. Taking shots on bat-first guys in those rounds has always been a favorite draft practice of mine. All things being equal you’d rather have a toolsy, athletic prospect perched atop the defensive chain (C/SS/CF), but those guys aren’t always hanging around in the middle rounds waiting to be signed easily. Bringing in a handful of guys you know can hit in every draft seems like a smart idea as well. Drafting is such an inexact science/art that you can’t point to any one player as the model prospect for a given strategy, but I’m going to do it anyway. The Diamondbacks drafted the tenth college first baseman off the board in 2008 with pick 246 in the eighth round. Paul Goldschmidt could never hit another ball hard for the rest of his career — spoiler: that won’t happen — and they would still have gotten tremendous value for the pick. Heck, move up a few rounds and you’ll find Brandon Belt to the Giants in the fifth. There are equal and opposite examples that knock down the argument a bit — still waiting on AJ Kirby-Jones to hit — but too often college first basemen are knocked unfairly as throwaway picks outside of the first few rounds. There will always be a need for guys who can hit. These guys can hit.

1B

1. New Mexico JR 1B/OF DJ Peterson: legitimately exciting power upside, plus to plus-plus raw; average at best defender at third, fits much better at 1B; special hand speed as hitter; below-average speed has improved, I’d call it average now; mature approach; above-average arm; sticking with my Billy Butler comp; 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .285/.350/.488 – 16 BB/49 K – 246 AB
2012: .367/.446/.645 – 34 BB/29 K – 1/2 SB – 248 AB
2013: .364/.486/.744 – 43 BB/28 K – 5/6 SB – 195 AB

2. Notre Dame JR 1B/OF Eric Jagielo: quick bat; good approach; below-average arm; plus power upside, plus-plus for some; average or better hit tool; some think he can hang at 3B, could be average there in time but I prefer him at first; PG Jim Thome comp; 6-3, 215 pounds

2011: .269/.358/.418 – 26 BB/29 K – 201 AB
2012: .301/.392/.533 – 28 BB/33 K – 4/8 SB – 229 AB
2013: .412/.519/.670 – 32 BB/29 K – 2/5 SB – 182 AB

3. Georgia Tech JR 1B/OF Daniel Palka: plus-plus raw power; gifted natural hitter; plus arm; will always strike out too much, but power makes it worth it; might have the athleticism for a corner outfield spot, but best at first; 90 peak FB; FAVORITE; 6-2, 225 pounds

2011: .310/.389/.586 – 22 BB/67 K – 232 AB
2012: .303/.382/.550 – 18 BB/47 K – 6/7 SB – 238 AB
2013: .374/.473/.705 – 30 BB/54 K – 4/4 SB – 212 AB

4. Oregon JR 1B/3B Ryon Healy: advanced hit tool; smart hitter; plus raw power; below-average speed; was once a questionable defender at first, but now quite good; doesn’t get cheated; one time 95 peak FB; Longoria and Rolen comps out of HS; 6-5, 215 pounds

2011: .344/.396/.541 – 9 BB/20 K – 122 AB
2012: .352/.415/.466 – 24 BB/43 K – 3/5 SB – 253 AB
2013: .395/.466/.673 – 27 BB/21 K – 5/7 SB – 205 AB

5. Notre Dame JR 1B Trey Mancini: plus raw power, uses it well thanks to present strength and swing geared towards deep flies; patient approach, willing to take until he gets a pitch to drive; good athlete for his size; good enough defender; main issues are too many swings and misses and 1B or bust defensive future; 6-5, 225 pounds

2011: .328/.390/.582 – 19 BB/36 K – 189 AB
2012: .312/.391/.540 – 22 BB/36 K – 202 AB
2013: .415/.457/.632 – 21 BB/20 K – 2/2 SB – 212 AB

6. Stanford JR 1B Brian Ragira: really strong hit tool; well above-average raw power, but hasn’t manifested much at all just yet; almost all power to gaps presently; average arm; average speed, maybe a touch less; really underrated athlete; really good defender at 1B; makes the most sense at RF or 3B if he can handle either spot; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .333/.377/.469 – 15 BB/44 K – 213 AB
2012: .337/.394/.460 – 19 BB/45 K – 3/5 SB – 251 AB
2013: .354/.410/.541 – 13 BB/21 K – 4/5 SB – 209 AB

7. Delaware JR 1B/3B Jimmy Yezzo: above-average raw power; improved defensively at 3B, but still a 1B in the pros where he should be at least average; like his compact swing a lot; uses the whole field, goes with pitch; big opposite field power; slow; average at best arm; 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .326/.372/.513 – 16 BB/22 K – 0/0 SB – 187 AB
2013: .397/.443/.705 – 20 BB/29 K – 1/1 SB – 224 AB

8. Vanderbilt JR 1B/OF Conrad Gregor: above-average power upside; plus defender at first, pretty good in outfield; average speed once he gets a full head of steam; good arm, but slow release; very strong hit tool; great approach; physically strong; smart hitter, but still chases too many bad balls; plus bat speed; can get pull happy; pretty swing; that raw power is still there, but has been slow to manifest; FAVORITE; 6-3, 220 pounds

2011: .365/.471/.488 – 34 BB/28 K – 170 AB
2012: .336/.452/.472 – 44 BB/38 K – 11/11 SB – 229 AB
2013: .308/.449/.418 – 50 BB/21 K – 19/21 SB – 182 AB

9. South Alabama JR 1B/LHP Jordan Patterson: good athlete; surprising speed; above-average power upside; plus glove at first; can get him to chase; might work in OF; strong arm; mid- to high-80s FB, now up to 89-92, 93 peak; good SL; 6-4, 200 pounds

2011: .270/.382/.384 – 23 BB/41 K – 211 AB
2012: .313/.421/.498 – 24 BB/44 K – 2/3 SB – 217 AB
2013: .380/.511/.563 – 40 BB/30 K – 4/6 SB – 208 AB

10. North Carolina SR 1B Cody Stubbs: good approach; love the easy power; can fake it in the OF, but really good at first; 6-4, 215 pounds

2012: .240/.335/.369 – 28 BB/46 K – 6/7 SB – 233 AB
2013: .388/.472/.627 – 31 BB/31 K – 4/6 SB – 209 AB

11. Oklahoma JR 1B/OF Matt Oberste: strong hit tool; average or better power upside; touch below-average speed; strong; good athlete; 6-2, 210 pounds

2012: .288/.397/.480 – 14 BB/25 K – 6/7 SB – 125 AB
2013: .359/.440/.607 – 19 BB/27 K – 9/13 SB – 206 AB

12. Longview CC FR 1B/OF Brandon Dulin: physically strong; strong arm; good defender; average speed; well above-average power upside; might be able to hang in LF; 6-3, 230 pounds

2013: .378/.449/.756 – 19 BB/25 K – 4/5 SB – 156 AB

13. Wake Forest rJR 1B/LHP Matt Conway: plus power upside; solid approach; underrated hit tool; 6-7, 240 pounds

2011: .272/.361/.451 – 27 BB/31 K – 195 AB
2013: .383/.435/.543 – 18 BB/19 K – 4/4 SB – 188 AB

2013: 7.88 K/9 | 2.17 BB/9 | 4.79 FIP | 45.2 IP

14. Duke rSO 1B Chris Marconcini: missed 2012 season recovering from torn ACL; good raw power; solid defender; 6-5, 230 pounds

2011: .301/.404/.490 – 24 BB/38 K – 206 AB
2013: .326/.420/.611 – 29 BB/39 K – 8/10 SB – 190 AB

15. East Carolina JR 1B Chase McDonald: like his approach; well above-average raw power; average at best defender; super slow; bat will carry him; little righthanded Preston Tucker vibe; 6-4, 260 pounds

2011: .314/.398/.436 – 24 BB/29 K – 188 AB
2012: .283/.339/.395 – 13 BB/18 K – 0/0 SB – 152 AB
2013: .318/.410/.574 – 28 BB/30 K – 0/0 SB – 176 AB

16. Auburn SR 1B Garrett Cooper: plus defender; 6-6, 225 pounds

2012: .324/.422/.462 – 18 BB/29 K – 1/1 SB – 173 AB
2013: .387/.511/.586 – 38 BB/29 K – 1/1 SB – 186 AB

17. Oregon State SR 1B Danny Hayes: natural hitter; doubles power with chance for more; has also seen time at 3B, but 1B in the pros; give him a lot of credit for playing through torn labrum in shoulder; 6-4, 210 pounds

2011: .286/.423/.443 – 32 BB/34 K – 140 AB
2012: .316/.467/.553 – 33 BB/21 K – 0/1 SB – 114 AB
2013: .293/.393/.437 – 28 BB/20 K – 2/2 SB – 167 AB

18. Elon JR 1B/C Ryan Kinsella: above-average power; decent athlete; 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .254/.373/.437 – 24 BB/32 K – 142 AB
2012: .311/.410/.495 – 34 BB/48 K – 0/0 SB – 212 AB
2013: .343/.431/.727 – 31 BB/47 K – 7/8 SB – 216 AB

19. East Tennessee State JR 1B/LHP Clint Freeman: strong arm; interesting power; good athlete; 6-2, 200 pounds

2012: .338/.380/.505 – 14 BB/24 K – 1/2 SB – 222 AB
2013: .335/.398/.595 – 25 BB/31 K – 2/4 SB – 215 AB

2012: 5.23 K/9 | 1.96 BB/9 | 4.20 FIP | 41.1 IP
2013: 7.89 K/9 | 2.45 BB/9 | 4.20 FIP | 51.1 IP

20. Louisiana-Lafayette JR 1B/3B Chase Compton: really strong hit tool; great approach; power is coming; much debate about his defense – some think good enough for 3B, others think even 1B is a stretch; think he’s playable at first, at worst; strong; FAVORITE; 6-2, 210 pounds

2012: .354/.427/.487 – 23 BB/29 K – 2/4 SB – 195 AB
2013: .317/460/.513 – 27 BB/21 K – 1/4 SB – 122 AB

21. Montgomery CC-Germantown SO 1B Jake Taylor: interesting power; average glove; 6-4, 230 pounds

2013: .392/.446/.777 – 15 BB/17 K – 2 SB – 166 AB

22. Shoreline (WA) CC SO 1B Kainol Ahsing-Kaahanui: quick bat; big raw power; good approach; average speed; 6-4, 240 pounds

2013: .363/432/.493 – 18 BB/15 K – 3/8 SB – 146 AB

23. UC Santa Barbara rSO 1B Tyler Kuresa: plus raw power; slow; very good defender, plus upside; loud tools, but production has been more good than great; Oregon transfer; 6-4, 225 pounds

2013: .313/.366/.466 – 12 BB/30 K – 1/5 SB – 208 AB

24. Maryland JR 1B Tim Kiene: big power upside, plus for some; poor defender; too aggressive at plate; needs to play; 6-4, 245 pounds

2011: .279/.306/.404 – 5 BB/22 K – 136 AB
2012: .255/.361/.428 – 17 BB/37 K – 1/2 SB – 145 AB
2013: .280/.429/.440 – 4 BB/4 K – 0/0 SB – 25 AB

25. Oklahoma State JR 1B/RHP Tanner Krietemeier: was once a really good defensive CF, has transitioned well to first; good speed; plus arm; intrigued by bat; Nebraska transfer; 6-2, 200 pounds

2013: .362/.440/.507 – 26 BB/35 K – 6/7 SB – 207 AB

26. Virginia rSR 1B Jared King: good organizational depth for a team in need of a professional-quality hitter with a patient approach and solid punch at the lower levels; good speed; 6-0, 205 pounds

2011: .339/.430/.479 – 25 BB/46 K – 165 AB
2012: .306/.457/.503 – 49 BB/37 K – 13/19 SB – 183 AB
2013: .332/.425/.438 – 36 BB/48 K – 8/10 SB – 208 AB

27. Tennessee JR 1B/OF Scott Price: 6-3, 215 pounds

2013: .366/.432/.464 – 21 BB/20 K – 4/10 SB – 183 AB

28. Florida SR 1B Vickash Ramjit: good defender; can also hold his own in OF; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .408/.451/.513 – 5 BB/13 K – 76 AB
2012: .305/.361/.469 – 11 BB/19 K – 3/5 SB – 128 AB
2013: .332/.389/.431 – 16 BB/19 K – 1/4 SB – 202 AB

29. North Carolina State SR 1B/OF Tarran Senay: plus raw power; iffy arm; slow; underrated athlete; really good glove at 1B; 6-1, 220 pounds

2011: .271/.401/.388 – 26 BB/38 K – 129 AB
2012: .222/.327/.415 – 21 BB/48 K – 2/3 SB – 171 AB
2013: .318/.384/.493 – 24 BB/41 K – 3/5 SB – 211 AB

30. St. Anselm SR 1B Rob Kelly: good approach; big raw power; strong; strong arm; 6-2, 200 pounds

2013: .310/.447/.519 – 49 BB/29 K – 1/2 SB – 210 AB

31. Troy SR 1B/3B Logan Pierce :6-1, 215 pounds

2012: .327/.433/.478 – 43 BB/28 K – 0/0 SB – 226 AB
2013: .375/.475/.602 – 41 BB/18 K – 2/2 SB – 216 AB

32. Cal State Los Angeles rSR 1B James Wharton: improved defender; strong

2013: .311/.415/.584 – 30 BB/35 K – 6 SB – 209 AB

33. Stanford SR 1B/OF Justin Ringo:6-1, 200 pounds

2013: .346/.423/.514 – 22 BB/22 K – 8/8 SB – 185 AB

34. Washington State rJR 1B/3B Adam Nelubowich: pretty swing; average raw power; quick bat; average speed; average defender; might be able to stick at 3B, potentially some OF; 6-2, 185 pounds

2011: .221/.265/.312 – 3 BB/18 K – 77 AB
2012: .243/.300/.365 – 13 BB/33 K – 3/4 SB – 181 AB
2013: .291/.341/.429 – 12 BB/33 K – 2/3 SB – 196 AB

35. Canada JC SO 1B Steven Knudson: big power; quick bat; lots of swing and miss; big man

2013: .303/.395/.531 – 19 BB/29 K – 2/4 SB – 145 AB

36. West Virginia JR 1B Ryan McBroom: interesting bat speed and power; average speed; 6-3, 220 pounds

2011: .223/.286/.331 – 9 BB/26 K – 130 AB
2012: .273/.349/.410 – 18 BB/25 K – 3/4 SB – 205 AB
2013: .262/.317/.500 – 12 BB/34 K – 5/7 SB – 206 AB

37. Cal State Fullerton rSR 1B/OF Carlos Lopez: interesting power potential, but more of a line drive guy; professional hitter who could hit a single first thing in the morning; average speed that plays up, though knee injuries have sapped him of some speed and athleticism; 6-2, 220 pounds

2011: .329/.389/.468 – 16 BB/11 K – 158 AB
2012: .321/.409/.422 – 33 BB/21 K – 7/8 SB – 218 AB
2013: .348/.415/.478 – 20 BB/19 K – 14/17 SB – 207 AB

38. Kansas SR 1B/C Alex DeLeon: big power; decent at best defender; inaccurate arm; 6-2, 230 pounds

2011: .309/.400/.546 – 12 BB/26 K – 97 AB
2012: .261/.349/.386 – 19 BB/28 K – 0/1 SB – 153 AB
2013: .344/.424/.589 – 19 BB/32 K – 4/4 SB – 180 AB

39. Long Beach State JR 1B/OF Ino Patron: 5-11, 190 pounds

2011: .324/.407/.426 – 19 BB/24 K – 188 AB
2012: .321/.417/.389 – 29 BB/14 K – 0/4 SB – 190 AB
2013: .365/.423/.528 – 18 BB/17 K – 1/3 SB – 197 AB

40. Hawaii JR 1B Marc Flores: 6-4, 225 pounds

2013: .362/.439/.520 – 19 BB/24 K – 2/3 SB – 152 AB

41. Presbyterian JR 1B/C Brad Zebedis: strong hit tool; good defender at first; average at best arm; reminds me a little bit of Eric Arce; slow; strong; 6-1, 215 pounds

2011: .425/.492/.717 – 16 BB/22 K – 212 AB
2012: .270/.335/.434 – 12 BB/30 K – 1/1 SB – 159 AB
2013: .321/.379/.448 – 20 BB/24 K – 3/5 SB – 212 AB

42. Wichita State rSR 1B Johnny Coy: quick wrists; really good athlete; above-average speed underway; strong arm; big raw power potential even after all the years and struggles; too aggressive; way too many swings and misses; 6-7, 225 pounds

2011: .274/.344/.421 – 25 BB/52 K – 259 AB
2012: .330/.404/.537 – 31 BB/51 K – 0/0 SB – 227 AB
2013: .250/.299/.333 – 13 BB/45 K – 0/0 SB – 192 AB

43. North Carolina A&T SR 1B Kelvin Freeman: 6-4, 235 pounds

2011: .304/.351/.505 – 13 BB/30 K – 194 AB
2012: .319/.369/.417 – 15 BB/39 K – 4/6 SB – 216 AB
2013: .352/.432/.694 – 26 BB/39 K – 14/15 SB – 193 AB

44. Tampa JR 1B/OF Mike Danner: strong hit tool; can get too aggressive; good speed; chance to play LF in pros; 5-10, 185 pounds

2013: .356/.459/.545 – 35 BB/24 K – 13/17 SB – 191 AB

45. Kent State SR 1B/3B George Roberts: big power; free swinger; above-average arm strength; short swing; hasn’t played much 3B, but could be good there; 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .360/.388/.545 – 16 BB/50 K – 2/3 SB – 264 AB
2013: .353/.466/.507 – 26 BB/21 K – 9/11 SB – 150 AB

46. Marist SR 1B Mike Orefice: 5-10, 190 pounds

2011: .289/.420/.402 – 40 BB/31 K – 194 AB
2012: .351/.456/.515 – 26 BB/20 K – 0/1 SB – 171 AB
2013: .392/.496/.527 – 38 BB/18 K – 1/1 SB – 186 AB

47. Canisius JR 1B Jimmy Luppens: 5-11, 245 pounds

2012: .320/.380/.477 – 13 BB/28 K – 5/5 SB – 153 AB
2013: .383/.474/.533 – 16 BB/16 K – 3/6 SB – 180 AB

48. Southeast Missouri State JR 1B Matt Tellor: above-average power; average at best defensive upside; short to ball, nice swing; cleaned up approach last summer, but still expands the zone too often; 6-5, 210 pounds

2013: .329/.373/.532 – 15 BB/47 K – 3/3 SB – 216 AB

49. New Mexico State rJR 1B/OF Tanner Rust: great athlete; plus arm; good speed; power upside is there, but not yet tapped into; could play RF in pros, but might also stick at either 3B or C with coaching; unique college 1B with chance to make it as utility guy; 6-3, 215 pounds

2012: .236/.360/.333 – 24 BB/28 K – 0/0 SB – 144 AB
2013: .275/.389/.410 – 33 BB/38 K – 8/10 SB – 200 AB

50. Grand Valley State JR 1B Giancarlo Brugnoni: really big power; patient approach; below-average defender across the board (hands, feet, reactions), but has improved a bit; 6-3, 225 pounds

2013: .317/.414/.647 – 24 BB/48 K – 6/6 SB – 167 AB

51. Western Carolina SR 1B Tyler White: 5-11, 235 pounds

2011: .269/.374/.345 – 20 BB/27 K – 197 AB
2012: .321/.417/.401 – 29 BB/21 K – 3/9 SB – 212 AB
2013: .361/.420/.630 – 17 BB/25 K – 3/5 SB – 238 AB

52. Mercer JR 1B Nick Backlund: 6-1, 225 pounds

2012: .341/.437/.592 – 33 BB/37 K – 3/4 SB – 223 AB
2013: .314/.419/.578 – 33 BB/46 K – 0/0 SB – 223 AB

53. Charlotte JR 1B Justin Seager: 6-2, 200 pounds

2012: .221/.359/.359 – 15 BB/25 K – 0/1 SB – 131 AB
2013: .368/.461/.515 – 30 BB/26 K – 5/6 SB – 204 AB

54. High Point SR 1B/OF Ryan Retz: 6-0, 215 pounds

2011: .279/.339/.445 – 10 BB/40 K – 229 AB
2012: .294/.349/.396 – 14 BB/27 K – 7/9 SB – 235 AB
2013: .369/.455/.528 – 26 BB/22 K – 0/3 SB – 214 AB

2011: 7.04 K/9 | 23 IP
2012: 5.40 K/9 | 2.14 BB/9 | 4.95 FIP | 80 IP

55. Niagara rSR 1B Ryan McCauley: 6-5, 225 pounds

2012: .378/.429/.714 – 18 BB/33 K – 0/0 SB – 185 AB
2013: .361/.464/.544 – 27 BB/37 K – 3/4 SB – 180 AB

56. Tennessee Tech JR 1B Zach Stephens: 6-0, 225 pounds

2012: .328/.444/.623 – 29 BB/52 K – 0/0 SB – 204 AB
2013: .336/.441/.626 – 37 BB/68 K – 0/0 SB – 214 AB

57. Butler SR 1B Jimmy Risi: 5-11, 215 pounds

2012: .244/.375/.481 – 24 BB/42 K – 1/3 SB – 156 AB
2013: .357/.447/.620 – 21 BB/42 K – 3/4 SB – 171 AB

58. Georgia Southern SR 1B TD Davis: 6-4, 235 pounds

2012: .299/.370/.431 – 21 BB/43 K – 7/8 SB – 211 AB
2013: .306/.387/.550 – 28 BB/56 K – 3/3 SB – 209 AB

59. Lee SR 1B/OF Corey Davis: well above-average raw power; strong arm; above-average speed; way too aggressive; more talent than most potential late round picks, but still very raw; 6-3, 235 pounds

2013: .357/.416/.590 – 19 BB/54 K – 24/27 SB – 210 AB

60. Lewis-Clark State SR 1B Eric Peterson: good athlete; Washington transfer; 6-5, 215 pounds

2013: .402/.508/.660 – 16 BB/18 K – 0/0 SB – 97 AB

61. Eastern Michigan JR 1B Adam Sonabend

2013: .380/.466/.480 – 27 BB/31 K – 3/6 SB – 200 AB

62. UAB SR 1B John Frost: 6-1, 185 pounds

2012: .276/.357/.346 – 21 BB/40 K – 1/2 SB – 214 AB
2013: .341/.410/.477 – 24 BB/26 K – 10/13 SB – 214 AB

63. Dallas Baptist JR 1B Chane Lynch: 6-4, 200 pounds

2013: .279/.364/.538 – 12 BB/24 K – 1/2 SB – 104 AB

64. Eastern Michigan JR 1B Lee Longo: 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .341/.377/.507 – 6 BB/25 K – 138 AB
2012: .318/.379/.427 – 18 BB/39 K – 0/1 SB – 192 AB
2013: .332/.405/.541 – 17 BB/36 K – 1/2 SB – 205 AB

65. Texas State JR 1B Austin O’Neal: 6-4, 220 pounds

2013: .321/.390/.500 – 12 BB/20 K – 0/0 SB – 106 AB

66. Alabama JR 1B Austen Smith

2011: .324/.411/.479 – 24 BB/36 K – 219 AB
2012: .247/.321/.360 – 16 BB/41 K – 3/6 SB – 150 AB
2013: .303/.373/.467 – 21 BB/45 K – 3/4 SB – 195 AB

67. South Carolina rJR 1B Brison Celek: power upside but hasn’t come to fruition; 6-0, 225 pounds

2013: .304/.409/.392 – 13 BB/15 K – 0/0 SB – 79 AB

68. UC Davis rSO 1B Nick Lynch: 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .329/.415/.483 – 13 BB/23 K – 0/2 SB – 149 AB
2013: .416/.490/.506 – 8 BB/25 K – 2/4 SB – 166 AB

69. Pacific rSO 1B/LHP Erik Lockwood: gap power presently, but more there; mid-80s FB; good CB; CU; 6-3, 190 pounds

2012: .339/.400/.424 – 12 BB/26 K – 2/3 SB – 165 AB
2013: .320/.386/.409 – 14 BB/33 K – 0/2 SB – 181 AB

70. South Florida SR 1B/OF Jimmy Falla: 6-2, 215 pounds

2012: .293/.356/.398 – 14 BB/42 K – 3/4 SB – 181 AB
2013: .317/.393/.439 – 27 BB/40 K – 8/9 SB – 221 AB

71. Pepperdine SR 1B Sam Meyer: 6-4, 235 pounds

2012: .305/.373/.429 – 22 BB/41 K – 1/2 SB – 203 AB
2013: .289/.376/.458 – 19 BB/29 K – 0/0 SB – 190 AB

72. California rJR 1B Devon Rodriguez: 6-1, 215 pounds

2011: .300/.363/.433 – 13 BB/26 K – 233 AB
2013: .309/.343/.452 – 11 BB/28 K – 0/0 SB – 217 AB

73. Minnesota rJR 1B/OF Dan Olinger: pretty swing; gap power; good approach; no standout tool, but no clear weakness; 6-2, 190 pounds

2011: .284/.354/.353 – 9 BB/11 K – 102 AB
2012: .348/.401/.418 – 13 BB/18 K – 7/10 SB – 201 AB
2013: .296/.370/.370 – 12 BB/14 K – 7/9 SB – 162 AB

74. Louisville SR 1B/LHP Zak Wasserman: raw power remains, but too long swing keeps him inconsistent; 6-6, 240 pounds

2011: .204/.292/.269 – 9 BB/14 K – 93 AB
2012: .291/.372/.456 – 15 BB/26 K – 1/1 SB – 158 AB
2013: .230/.322/.291 – 14 BB/24 K – 1/2 SB – 148 AB

75. Marshall SR 1B Nathan Gomez: some power upside, but more hitter than slugger; really good defender; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .252/.384/.387 – 24 BB/32 K – 119 AB
2012: .320/.414/.447 – 29 BB/34 K – 0/0 SB – 206 AB
2013: .275/.354/.358 – 23 BB/35 K – 0/4 SB – 193 AB

76. Bethune-Cookman JR 1B/LHP Anthony Stokes: above-average power; 6-3, 225 pounds

2012: .242/.320/.478 – 17 BB/33 K – 2/2 SB – 157 AB
2013: .298/.348/.482 – 11 BB/25 K – 0/0 SB – 168 AB

77. South Carolina Upstate SR 1B/C Trey Richardson: 6-2, 210 pounds

2011: .273/.361/.378 – 21 BB/46 K – 209 AB
2012: .247/.317/.386 – 16 BB/41 K – 0/0 SB – 166 AB
2013: .309/.381/.515 – 21 BB/34 K – 0/0 SB – 194 AB

78. Dartmouth JR 1B Dustin Selzer: 6-3, 220 pounds

2012: .324/.414/.535 – 19 BB/17 K – 0/1 SB – 142 AB
2013: .290/.392/.428 – 20 BB/23 K – 0/0 SB – 138 AB

79. Northern Illinois JR 1B Jeff Zimmerman: good approach, smart hitter; plus defender; 6-3, 220 pounds

2011: .307/.382/.516 – 23 BB/64 K – 215 AB
2012: .262/.342/.410 – 15 BB/45 K – 3/3 SB – 195 AB
2013: .338/.395/.452 – 18 BB/25 K – 5/7 SB – 210 AB

80. Florida Atlantic SR 1B/OF Mark Nelson: 6-2, 200 pounds

2012: .271/.369/.410 – 33 BB/25 K – 1/1 SB – 210 AB
2013: .288/.406/.452 – 33 BB/32 K – 0/1 SB – 177 AB

81. Florida Gulf Coast rSR 1B Brooks Beisner: Auburn transfer

2013: .380/.456/.537 – 21 BB/37 K – 1/2 SB – 216 AB

82. South Alabama SR 1B Dustin Dalken: 6-6, 233 pounds

2012: .259/.357/.367 – 17 BB/40 K – 1/1 SB – 147 AB
2013: .358/.433/.586 – 17 BB/45 K – 2/3 SB – 162 AB

83. Miami (Ohio) SR 1B Kevin Bower: above-average power; strong; average at best defender; 6-4, 215 pounds

2011: .255/.305/.356 – 12 BB/41 K – 149 AB
2012: .348/.416/.467 – 27 BB/37 K – 0/1 SB – 210 AB
2013: .323/.400/.448 – 20 BB/39 K – 2/3 SB – 192 AB

84. Bradley JR 1B Greg Partyka: 6-3, 235 pounds

2012: .282/.346/.485 – 19 BB/46 K – 0/0 SB – 206 AB
2013: .331/.421/.494 – 23 BB/44 K – 0/1 SB – 172 AB

85. Western Carolina JR 1B/C Adam Martin: some contact issues; average at best arm; good power; 6-2, 235 pounds

2011: .269/.368/.448 – 16 BB/35 K – 134 AB
2012: .257/.357/.414 – 25 BB/39 K – 2/4 SB – 191 AB
2013: .281/.394/.516 – 16 BB/31 K – 0/0 SB – 128 AB

86. Dartmouth SR 1B Ennis Coble: 5-11, 170 pounds

2011: .340/.417/.490 – 14 BB/18 K – 147 AB
2012: .311/.419/.356 – 15 BB/17 K – 3/10 SB – 135 AB
2013: .325/.401/.457 – 13 BB/11 K – 10/10 SB – 151 AB

87. Stony Brook JR 1B/LHP Kevin Courtney: 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .273/.343/.397 – 9 BB/33 K – 121 AB
2012: .264/.376/.408 – 24 BB/39 K – 1/5 SB – 174 AB
2013: .237/.386/.432 – 33 BB/39 K – 2/2 SB – 169 AB

88. San Jose State JR 1B Matt Carroll: quick bat; solid defender; untapped power upside; 6-6, 235 pounds

2012: .222/.364/.267 – 6 BB/9 K – 0/2 SB – 45 AB
2013: .373/.405/.483 – 10 BB/35 K – 5/8 SB – 201 AB

89. Illinois State SR 1B Kyle Stanton: 6-2, 220 pounds

2013: .357/.443/.500 – 30 BB/46 K – 4/5 SB – 196 AB

90. Penn SR 1B Spencer Branigan: average raw power; good defender; 6-5, 235 pounds

2011: .280/.362/.512 – 10 BB/28 K – 125 AB
2012: .234/.331/.379 – 16 BB/33 K – 2/2 SB – 145 AB
2013: .315/.393/.413 – 18 BB/27 K – 0/1 SB – 143 AB

91. Prairie View A&M JR 1B Dominiq Harris: 6-0, 210 pounds

2012: .285/.331/.412 – 9 BB/26 K – 2/2 SB – 165 AB
2013: .302/.362/.497 – 19 BB/36 K – 3/3 SB – 189 AB

92. Samford JR 1B/OF Caleb Bryson: quick bat; above-average power; average at best speed; 6-1, 200 pounds

2013: .271/.367/.452 – 25 BB/51 K – 3/4 SB – 188 AB

93. North Carolina Greensboro SR 1B Lloyd Enzor: 6-3, 215 pounds

2012: .274/.308/.413 – 9 BB/33 K – 0/0 SB – 208 AB
2013: .293/.375/.476 – 26 BB/49 K – 0/2 SB – 208 AB

94. Fairfield SR 1B Anthony Hajjar

2011: .223/.289/.266 – 8 BB/18 K – 139 AB
2012: .317/.376/.401 – 15 BB/27 K – 2/2 SB – 202 AB
2013: .304/.371/.418 – 13 BB/11 K – 5/6 SB – 184 AB

95. Belmont SR 1B/OF Judah Akers: 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .312/.384/.466 – 20 BB/39 K – 189 AB
2012: .340/.380/.465 – 13 BB/40 K – 6/9 SB – 241 AB
2013: .312/.408/.537 – 23 BB/39 K – 2/5 SB – 205 AB

96. Southern Illinois Edwardsville SR 1B Joel Greatting: 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .312/.386/.445 – 12 BB/24 K – 173 AB
2012: .328/.429/.529 – 22 BB/31 K – 0/2 SB – 204 AB
2013: .356/.471/.539 – 23 BB/35 K – 1/4 SB – 180 AB

97. Central Connecticut State SR 1B Tyler McIntyre: 6-4, 220 pounds

2012: .267/.323/.488 – 14 BB/37 K – 0/0 SB – 172 AB
2013: .330/.417/.508 – 28 BB/49 K – 0/2 SB – 185 AB

98. Navy JR 1B Kash Manzelli: 6-3, 210 pounds

2012: .277/.361/.377 – 15 BB/34 K – 0/0 SB – 159 AB
2013: .361/.431/.450 – 17 BB/29 K – 1/1 SB – 191 AB

99. Northern Colorado JR 1B/LHP Nick Miller: 6-4, 200 pounds

2013: .309/.375/.469 – 18 BB/24 K – 2/5 SB – 175 AB

100. Lamar SR 1B Brad Picha: good approach; plus defender; 6-2, 220 pounds

2013: .319/.376/.423 – 18 BB/38 K – 4/4 SB – 213 AB

***

And because I can’t help myself, here are 22 extra players to keep tabs on for draft day and beyond…

101. Air Force JR 1B Seth Kline: 6-1, 225 pounds

2012: .271/.400/.415 – 25 BB/29 K – 1/2 SB – 118 AB
2013: .314/.399/.422 – 25 BB/39 K – 6/7 SB – 185 AB

102. Longwood SR 1B Justin Lacy: too many swings and misses; good power; good defender; 6-2, 220 pounds

2011: .309/.354/.470 – 10 BB/29 K – 181 AB
2012: .370/.458/.532 – 24 BB/34 K – 0/0 SB – 173 AB
2013: .307/.331/.429 – 7 BB/27 K – 0/0 SB – 163 AB

103. Buffalo SR 1B/3B Alex Baldock: 6-3, 215 pounds

2011: .320/.410/.490 – 20 BB/29 K – 194 AB
2012: .294/.405/.486 – 15 BB/20 K – 1/2 SB – 109 AB
2013: .259/.327/.420 – 15 BB/32 K – 0/0 SB – 174 AB

104. Central Michigan rSO 1B Cody Leichman: above-average raw power; good natural hitter; good defender; 6-3, 220 pounds

2013: .347/.428/.437 – 16 BB/41 K – 6/6 SB – 167 AB

105. Stephen F. Austin State rJR 1B Max Lamantia: 6-4, 230 pounds

2012: .367/.448/.567 – 17 BB/29 K – 1/1 SB – 120 AB
2013: .290/.353/.459 – 17 BB/44 K – 4/5 SB – 183 AB

106. Old Dominion JR 1B Joey Burney: 6-3, 210 pounds

2011: .243/.283/.453 – 6 BB/29 K – 148 AB
2012: .255/.325/.431 – 8 BB/18 K – 0/2 SB – 137 AB
2013: .287/.385/.426 – 15 BB/23 K – 1/2 SB – 129 AB

107. Old Dominion SR 1B Austin McGowan: 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .254/.346/.351 – 15 BB/18 K – 0/2 SB – 114 AB
2013: .264/.355/.406 – 16 BB/12 K – 0/0 SB – 106 AB

108. Jacksonville JR 1B Brady North: 6-3, 225 pounds

2013: .265/.365/.413 – 31 BB/41 K – 0/1 SB – 196 AB

109. St. Bonaventure SR 1B Austin Ingraham: 6-2, 215 pounds

2012: .243/.340/.370 – 28 BB/28 K – 3/3 SB – 173 AB
2013: .298/.365/.404 – 20 BB/23 K – 7/9 SB – 178 AB

110. Murray State SR 1B Mike Kozlowski: 5-11, 215 pounds

2012: .297/.371/.410 – 23 BB/38 K – 0/1 SB – 222 AB
2013: .285/.369/.425 – 23 BB/36 K – 0/1 SB – 221 AB

111. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR 1B/RHP Jonathan Gonzales: 6-0, 250 pounds

2012: .293/.364/.477 – 15 BB/34 K – 2/4 SB – 174 AB
2013: .311/.349/.453 – 10 BB/26 K – 1/2 SB – 212 AB

112. Wofford rJR 1B Seth Neely: Clemson transfer; 5-10, 200 pounds

2013: .338/.387/.380 – 16 BB/38 K – 17/23 SB – 216 AB

113. Tennessee-Martin SR 1B Wade Collins: 6-4, 215 pounds

2012: .241/.365/.379 – 14 BB/31 K – 0/0 SB – 87 AB
2013: .322/.391/.496 – 12 BB/40 K – 2/3 SB – 121 AB

114. Southern Mississippi SR 1B Blake Brown: average power; strong; 6-5, 225 pounds

2012: .260/.374/.438 – 30 BB/63 K – 1/2 SB – 192 AB
2013: .250/.327/.448 – 15 BB/49 K – 2/2 SB – 192 AB

115. Hofstra SR 1B Jared Hammer: 6-1, 235 pounds

2011: .328/.399/.403 – 10 BB/12 K – 134 AB
2012: .324/.436/.441 – 39 BB/20 K – 12/14 SB – 213 AB
2013: .265/.380/.354 – 29 BB/29 K – 5/7 SB – 189 AB

116. Toledo SR 1B Matt Delewski: 6-0, 180 pounds

2011: .266/.324/.362 – 16 BB/17 K – 188 AB
2012: .301/.344/.364 – 10 BB/22 K – 2/4 SB – 173 AB
2013: .345/.380/.399 – 10 BB/20 K – 4/7 SB – 223 AB

117. San Jose State JR 1B/OF Matt Lopez: 5-11, 200 pounds

2012: .296/.444/.383 – 23 BB/13 K – 2/4 SB – 115 AB
2013: .283/.403/.313 – 19 BB/15 K – 1/3 SB – 99 AB

118. Kent State SR 1B/C Jason Bagoly: average power; strong arm; not a good catcher, but can fake it; built like a bull; 6-3, 235 pounds

2011: .237/.308/.342 – 10 BB/31 K – 114 AB
2012: .277/.333/.468 – 6 BB/21 K – 0/1 SB – 94 AB
2013: .264/.349/.349 – 14 BB/38 K – 0/0 SB – 129 AB

119. Sacramento State SR 1B Clay Cederquist: interesting upside with bat; above-average raw power; good defender; has been tried in OF, but not successfully; missed 2013 season; 6-3, 190 pounds

2012: .337/.355/.391 – 5 BB/20 K – 0/0 SB – 184 AB

120. Valparaiso SR 1B John Loeffler: 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .274/.393/.393 – 32 BB/28 K – 0/1 SB – 201 AB
2013: .286/.404/.360 – 28 BB/32 K – 2/2 SB – 175 AB

121. Pacific SR 1B Tyger Pederson: can also play 2B; 6-0, 185 pounds

2012: .270/.379/.315 – 18 BB/16 K – 2/5 SB – 111 AB
2013: .287/.343/.363 – 15 BB/28 K – 3/7 SB – 157 AB

122. Coastal Carolina SR 1B/OF Alex Buccilli: patient approach; not much power; not a great defender; famous for bizarre swing mechanics and setup; 5-8, 180 pounds

2012: .318/.432/.422 – 36 BB/15 K – 10/10 SB – 192 AB
2013: .276/.428/.337 – 35 BB/22 K – 6/8 SB – 163 AB

2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College Catching Prospects

28 May 2013 10:45 AM / 18 Comments on 2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College Catching Prospects

A few quick notes before we get this thing kicked off. If you commented or emailed in the past few days, I’ll have a response by this evening. Here we go…

1. Stats are park/schedule adjusted from College Splits. I had to use a different cutoff for each list, but the catchers numbers should all be correct as of last Monday (5/20/13). I dug around for stats for all junior college and non-Division I players; those numbers are obviously as is, i.e. not park/schedule adjusted.

Finally, this is just the college catching group. High school catchers will get their time in the sun soon.

***

I don’t think it is all that controversial to say that there’s a chance we won’t have a single average or better long-term big league starting catcher from this year’s college class. This is actually a very freeing possibility. Instead of picking apart the top guys like we so often do, we can instead focus our collective energy on finding good fits. You have projects with upside, high-floor players on the precipice of long careers as big league backups or third catcher insurance at AAA, and multi-position utility guys capable of helping a creative team use a bench spot. There is also the typical blend of prospects who fall into specific prospect archetypes: all glove/little bat, big bat/iffy glove, well-rounded but no plus tool, plus athleticism but still relatively new to catching, and, an old favorite, huge arm strength/tantalizing raw power but little else to offer.

You’ll notice in going through the list that I value athleticism a great deal when evaluating catching prospects. Defense is also prioritized, though I take the minority view that catchers can be made as easily as they are born. Good pro coaching can iron out a lot of the supposed “innate skills” that a college catcher may struggle with, provided the catcher has the requisite athleticism and makeup to make the adjustments. With a good athlete and willing student, things like receiving the ball, the glove to hand transfer, release, and all things footwork can be significantly cleaned up in the low-minors. Athleticism, approach, and all-around defensive acumen are probably my top three qualifications for the catching spot. With that in mind, here’s a great big ranking…

C

1. Georgia Tech JR C Zane Evans: uses whole field; solid defensive tools; strong arm; gap power at present, but more there; above-average raw power; late inning potential as reliever as fallback; 2012: 88-93 FB; flashes plus SL; good 76-80 CB; 81-83 CU with promise; 2013: 93-95 FB, 97 peak; plus mid-80s SL; 6-2, 215 pounds

2011: .279/.337/.412 – 21 BB/50 K – 226 AB
2012: .299/.369/.438 – 25 BB/42 K – 1/1 SB – 224 AB
2013: .396/.460/.668 – 29 BB/31 K – 0/0 SB – 217 AB

2012: 8.84 K/9 | 1.96 BB/9 | 4.02 FIP | 36.2 IP
2013: 6.87 K/9 | 5.40 BB/9 | 3.55 FIP | 18.1 IP

2. Mississippi JR C Stuart Turner: very good defender, plus upside; excellent athlete; strong arm; average at best speed, but smart on bases; love his power upside, at least average for me but others aren’t sold; crazy quick transfer and release, impressive agility behind plate; LSU-Eunice transfer; FAVORITE; 6-2, 220 pounds

2013: .412/.479/.583 – 26 BB/31 K – 2/5 SB – 199 AB

3. North Carolina JR C Brian Holberton: picture perfect swing mechanics; great athlete; has also seen time at 2B and OF; wears out the gaps; love his approach to hitting; may not be a catcher forever, may not be a catcher long-term, but has shown enough ability behind plate to warrant a shot in pro ball; FAVORITE; 5-11, 190 pounds

2011: .261/.356/.386 – 14 BB/14 K – 88 AB
2012: .280/.394/.373 – 21 BB/13 K – 1/1 SB – 118 AB
2013: .330/.455/.551 – 39 BB/22 K – 7/13 SB – 185 AB

4. California JR C Andrew Knapp: big upside with bat; above-average defender; above-average arm; love his approach; smart hitter, makes adjustments well; good power; some don’t like his defense like I do; uses whole field well; average speed; defense will come just needs experience; good athlete; 2013: defense has been disappointing, but I stubbornly believe he can at least hold his own; would rank in similar range (5-8) on college first base prospect list; FAVORITE; 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .227/.307/.318 – 7 BB/22 K – 66 AB
2012: .270/.354/.422 – 24 BB/33 K – 4/7 SB – 211 AB
2013: .406/.481/.634 – 26 BB/33 K – 4/6 SB – 202 AB

5. Pittsburgh SO C Elvin Soto: good defender; quick hands; above-average arm strength; average at best hit tool; fits the well-rounded across the board mold nicely; 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .236/.302/.384 – 14 BB/51 K – 1/2 SB – 216 AB
2013: .320/.415/.524 – 33 BB/34 K – 2/2 SB – 206 AB

6. Louisiana State JR C Ty Ross: big raw power, but has never hit much at all; impressive arm; much improved defender; well above-average glove now; defense could carry him to big leagues while development of bat remains difference between starter and backup; FAVORITE; 6-3, 210 pounds

2011: .223/.295/.277 – 13 BB/37 K – 148 AB
2012: .303/.369/.395 – 23 BB/22 K – 2/2 SB – 185 AB
2013: .230/.309/.303 – 19 BB/22 K – 1/2 SB – 165 AB

7. Dartmouth JR C/3B Jeff Keller: plus athlete; great approach, shows controlled aggression as a hitter; above-average present power; not a long-term catcher for many, but I think he’s skilled enough and more than athletic enough to give it a go; failing that, his positional versatility should keep him getting work; FAVORITE; 5-11, 180 pounds

2011: .310/.385/.524 – 9 BB/16 K – 84 AB
2012: .352/.436/.541 – 13 BB/18 K – 3/4 SB – 122 AB
2013: .376/.456/.730 – 19 BB/24 K – 7/7 SB – 141 AB

8. New Mexico SR C Mitchell Garver: some of the best bat speed of any college catcher; above-average pop; good approach; average or better hit tool; average arm, currently plays down to slow throwing motion and choppy footwork; average at best overall defender; good athlete; might be able to handle OF; 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .274/.362/.370 – 30 BB/26 K – 230 AB
2012: .332/.397/.541 – 25 BB/28 K – 6/9 SB – 268 AB
2013: .357/.434/.534 – 27 BB/39 K – 10/13 SB – 221 AB

9. Vanderbilt JR C Spencer Navin: excellent defender; plus arm; quick release; great footwork; good athlete; should hit enough to be quality backup; 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .309/.441/.420 – 32 BB/41 K – 10/16 SB – 188 AB
2013: .324/.457/.441 – 21 BB/33 K – 7/8 SB – 145 AB

10. Oregon State JR C/2B Jake Rodriguez: strong hit tool; good approach; solid defensive tools; definite utility future; good speed; plus arm; converted infielder; can also play some OF; gap power; has improved behind plate a great deal; strange comp, but he reminds me of Chace Numata; 5-9, 200 pounds

2011: .333/.400/.467 – 5 BB/8 K – 75 AB
2012: .295/.379/.375 – 13 BB/33 K – 4/5 SB – 176 AB
2013: .306/.420/.401 – 30 BB/27 K – 2/3 SB – 147 AB

11. Kirkwood CC SO C/3B Dairo Gonzalez: strong arm; interesting bat; average speed; 6-2, 200 pounds

2013: .413/.522/.699 – 30 BB/18 K – 4/6 SB – 143 AB

12. Cal State Fullerton JR C/1B Chad Wallach: good power upside; plus arm strength, but still figuring out how to use it behind plate; bat has a ways to go, but I’m a believer; relatively new to catching, but upside defensively is evident; slow; 6-3, 225 pounds

2012: .221/.295/.279 – 6 BB/11 K – 1/1 SB – 68 AB
2013: .328/.414/.482 – 13 BB/15 K – 1/3 SB – 137 AB

13. The Citadel JR C Joe Jackson: underrated offensive player; wish he hit better on Cape; competition a question, but has produced for three years; 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .337/.403/.414 – 20 BB/19 K – 169 AB
2012: .297/.364/.415 – 22 BB/36 K – 4/4 SB – 229 AB
2013: .423/.517/.712 – 37 BB/27 K – 3/8 SB – 215 AB

14. Texas-Arlington JR C Greg McCall: above-average arm; solid defender; strong hit tool; like his measured approach to hitting; 6-1, 215 pounds

2011: .198/.317/.279 – 14 BB/28 K – 86 AB
2012: .200/.298/.263 – 22 BB/45 K – 0/0 SB – 175 AB
2013: .293/.431/.504 – 27 BB/23 K – 3/3 SB – 123 AB

15. Florida State rJR C Stephen McGee: good glove; average arm; consistently underrated bat; pros may not agree come draft day, but he’s my kind of hitter; 6-3, 220 pounds

2012: .230/.435/.275 – 65 BB/30 K – 2/6 SB – 204 AB
2013: .310/.475/.552 – 49 BB/29 K – 4/4 SB – 174 AB

16. Auburn JR C Blake Austin: good power upside; plus arm; good defender; good looking swing; 5-11, 215 pounds

2012: .296/.369/.448 – 9 BB/16 K – 125 AB – 3/3 SB
2013: .318/.358/.457 – 9 BB/24 K – 0/0 SB – 173 AB

17. New Mexico JC FR C Marcus Greene: physically strong; strong arm; improved defender; really good athlete; above-average speed; intriguing bat; FAVORITE; 5-11, 200 pounds

2013: .384/.465/.727 – 21 BB/32 K – 16/21 SB – 172 AB

18. Weatherford JC SO C/1B Hunter Lockwood: strong hit tool; might not stick at catcher; I like his defense enough; good arm; good speed; defense improving; plus power upside; might be able to stick in OF; still rough behind the plate; Oklahoma transfer; like the Andrew Knapp of the junior college ranks

2012: .227/.283/.459 – 14 BB/63 K – 6/10 SB – 185 AB
2013: .333/.423/.559 – 21 BB/32 K – 6/8 SB – 177 AB

19. Louisville JR C/1B Jeff Gardner: good power; can also play OF; 6-2, 220 pounds

2012: .293/.393/.407 – 15 BB/32 K – 2/5 SB – 167 AB
2013: .356/.430/.674 – 14 BB/16 K – 1/3 SB – 132 AB

20. Rutgers SR C Jeff Melillo: good approach; good defender; not much projection left, but value found in his steadying influence on a staff and mature approach to hitting; 6-2, 200 pounds

2012: .322/.435/.443 – 30 BB/31 K – 0/1 SB – 183 AB
2013: .325/.415/.500 – 29 BB/32 K – 3/3 SB – 194 AB

21. Cal State Bakersfield JR C/1B Cael Brockmeyer: good arm strength; average or better power upside; good approach to hitting; better than expected defensive tools for a big man; 6-5, 220 pounds

2011: .244/.299/.382 – 8 BB/34 K – 123 AB
2012: .285/.380/.460 – 22 BB/36 K – 0/0 SB – 200 AB
2013: .338/.414/.484 – 20 BB/37 K – 6/6 SB – 213 AB

22. UC Riverside SR C Clay Prestridge: versatile defender; good behind plate; excellent approach; good speed; 5-9, 180 pounds

2012: .269/.419/.327 – 37 BB/33 K – 9/10 SB – 171 AB
2013: .357/.458/.432 – 24 BB/32 K – 15/18 SB – 185 AB

23. Air Force SR C Garrett Custons: great athlete; good speed; plus-plus arm; 5-11, 200 pounds

2011: .282/.371/.469 – 19 BB/42 K – 209 AB
2012: .269/.359/.421 – 17 BB/34 K – 7/12 SB – 171 AB
2013: .332/.424/.473 – 19 BB/32 K – 14/19 SB – 205 AB

24. Duke SR C Jeff Kremer: great approach; steady glove; 5-11, 210 pounds

2011: .357/.472/.452 – 41 BB/27 K – 199 AB
2012: .310/.427/.386 – 25 BB/24 K – 1/2 SB – 171 AB
2013: .359/.466/.427 – 33 BB/16 K – 4/9 SB – 206 AB

25. Texas JR C Jacob Felts: average arm; average power upside; solid defensively, I like him here even more than most; been told he has a clear “backup catcher hit tool”; high marks for defensive skills that go unnoticed by many; like that he knows his strengths and weaknesses as a hitter; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .242/.321/.274 – 15 BB/33 K – 186 AB
2012: .324/.381/.372 – 11 BB/20 K – 2/4 SB – 188 AB
2013: .306/.378/.361 – 10 BB/20 K – 3/4 SB – 147 AB

26. North Carolina JR C Matt Roberts: well above-average defender with plus upside; intriguing raw power; tools remain, but hasn’t put it together at college level at all; 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .111/.219/.148 – 3 BB/6 K – 0/0 SB – 27 AB
2013: .190/.265/.340 – 9 BB/23 K – 2/2 SB – 100 AB

27. Harford CC SO C Norm Donkin: good athlete; good speed; good arm; good power; could also play OF or 3B; 6-3, 220 pounds

2013: .379/.446/.538 – 20 BB/10 K – 30/31 SB – 182 AB

28. Alabama JR C/1B Wade Wass: strong arm; good defender, but others not sold; quick bat; power upside; too many swings and misses; injuries ruined his 2013 season; 6-0, 210 pounds

29. Fresno State SR C Austin Wynns: excellent defender; really good athlete; 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .337/.426/.423 – 24 BB/22 K – 175 AB
2012: .289/.361/.407 – 20 BB/24 K – 1/1 SB – 194 AB
2013: .286/.370/.429 – 20 BB/22 K – 1/1 SB – 161 AB

30. Shippensburg SR C Tyler Shover: plus defender; plus arm; good approach; interesting raw power; 6-2, 185 pounds

2013: .357/.436/.491 – 24 BB/13 K – 5/8 SB – 171 AB

31. Fairfield JR C Ryan Plourde: average glove; intriguing bat; 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .323/.425/.495 – 30 BB/35 K – 2/3 SB – 186 AB
2013: .360/.460/.503 – 30 BB/23 K – 14/15 SB – 175 AB

32. UC Irvine rSR C Ronnie Shaeffer: average arm; above-average defender; intriguing bat that needs polish; 6-2, 215 pounds

2011: .274/.326/.317 – 15 BB/33 K – 208 AB
2013: .322/.355/.420 – 10 BB/14 K – 1/4 SB – 205 AB

33. Baylor SR C Nathan Orf: 5-9, 170 pounds

2012: .303/.456/.389 – 35 BB/31 K – 18/21 SB – 234 AB
2013: .400/.490/.493 – 24 BB/23 K – 4/14 SB – 205 AB

34. Tennessee JR C Ethan Bennett: 6-0, 215 pounds

2011: .254/.354/.476 – 17 BB/24 K – 126 AB
2012: .179/.290/.330 – 10 BB/30 K – 112 AB – 2/2 SB
2013: .321/.455/.605 – 13 BB/17 K – 5/6 SB – 81 AB

35. San Diego SR C Dillon Haupt: plus arm strength; 6-5, 225 pounds

2012: .274/.384/.441 – 23 BB/32 K – 3/4 SB – 179 AB
2013: .313/.399/.594 – 19 BB/52 K – 2/2 SB – 192 AB

36. North Florida JR C/1B Ryan Roberson: 5-9, 215 pounds

2012: .301/.359/.451 – 11 BB/14 K – 1/1 SB – 153 AB
2013: .376/.447/.547 – 21 BB/11 K – 0/1 SB – 170 AB

37. Manhattan rSR C Ramon Ortega: plus defensive tools; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .356/.422/.469 – 18 BB/30 K – 160 AB
2012: .275/.377/.436 – 31 BB/27 K – 2/2 SB – 204 AB
2013: .356/.443/.550 – 26 BB/29 K – 2/2 SB – 180 AB

38. Louisville JR C Kyle Gibson: plus athlete; above-average speed; strong arm; raw defender, but getting there – considered at least average now; 5-9, 200 pounds

2011: .227/.297/.273 – 5 BB/8 K – 66 AB
2012: .285/.371/.343 – 10 BB/16 K – 3/4 SB – 137 AB
2013: .349/.388/.407 – 6 BB/8 K – 2/2 SB – 86 AB

39. Missouri JR C Dylan Kelly: plus defender; 5-11, 200 pounds

2013: .333/.400/.409 – 15 BB/21 K – 0/1 SB – 171 AB

40. Seattle rJR C/OF Ryan Somers: 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .305/.396/.381 – 15 BB/21 K – 2/5 SB – 118 AB
2013: .321/.436/.442 – 38 BB/35 K – 6/8 SB – 190 AB

41. Arizona State SR C Max Rossiter: good defender; strong arm; 5-11, 185 pounds

2012: .319/.364/.442 – 9 BB/13 K – 0/0 SB – 138 AB
2013: .307/.404/.399 – 22 BB/21 K – 2/2 SB – 163 AB

42. Southern California JR C Jake Hernandez: plus defensive tools; good power upside; definite untapped upside here, but another guy like Felts and Roberts who hasn’t had the success many expected at the college level; 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .233/.242/.267 – 1 BB/9 K – 60 AB
2012: .308/.360/.352 – 5 BB/10 K – 2/3 SB – 91 AB
2013: .255/.289/.340 – 5 BB/25 K – 1/1 SB – 106 AB

43. Huntington JR C/1B Joseph Odom: big power; strong arm; not a natural catcher, but much improved behind plate; 6-3, 200 pounds

2013: .369/.468/.706 – 31 BB/28 K – 6/8 SB – 160 AB

44. Dallas Baptist SR C/1B Duncan McAlpine: good approach; good defender; average but accurate arm; some power upside; 5-10, 215 pounds

2011: .224/.322/.362 – 25 BB/43 K – 174 AB
2012: .224/.339/.376 – 36 BB/51 K – 1/4 SB – 210 AB
2013: .305/.416/.615 – 33 BB/43 K – 3/3 SB – 200 AB

45. Washington State JR C/OF Collin Slaybaugh: good raw power; good speed; average defender; good athlete; plus arm; 6-1, 185 pounds

2011: .288/.382/.375 – 15 BB/19 K – 104 AB
2012: .280/.353/.352 – 13 BB/23 K – 6/7 SB – 125 AB
2013: .299/.365/.339 – 11 BB/34 K – 10/12 SB – 174 AB

46. Lee SR C Danny Canela: NC State transfer; not sure he’s strong enough behind plate to be a consistent viable option professionally – if I’m wrong, that’s great news for Canela’s prospect stock; at third, he’s a good enough defender who plays the position as you’d expect a part-time catcher would (i.e. often steady, never spectacular); interesting power potential; quick bat; great arm is biggest defensive asset; 5-10, 235 pounds

2011: .267/.349/.443 – 17 BB/26 K – 131 AB
2012: .339/.448/.522 – 38 BB/30 K – 0/0 SB – 180 AB
2013: .332/.443/.495 – 38 BB/17 K – 0/0 SB – 202 AB

47. Louisiana-Lafayette rSO C Mike Strentz: great athlete; quick bat; above-average arm; big raw power; strong; TJ survivor; 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .237/.331/.374 – 17 BB/42 K – 139 AB
2012: .167/.235/.200 – 2 BB/14 K – 30 AB – 0/0 SB
2013: .358/.462/.648 – 16 BB/40 K – 5/7 SB – 176 AB

48. Saint Louis SR C/3B Grant Nelson: good athlete; strong arm; good defensive tools; average or better power upside; 6-2, 220 pounds

2012: .329/.419/.443 – 28 BB/48 K – 2/2 SB – 210 AB
2013: .384/.474/.535 – 33 BB/51 K – 3/5 SB – 198 AB

49. Virginia Tech rJR C Chad Morgan: big power potential; plus arm; great defender; bat is a question mark; kept waiting for him to make a leap, but never happened; 5-11, 185 pounds

2011: .237/.333/.360 – 16 BB/34 K – 139 AB
2012: .184/.263/.255 – 9 BB/18 K – 0/1 SB – 98 AB
2013: .276/.333/.379 – 11 BB/23 K – 3/5 SB – 145 AB

50. Chipola JC FR C Ian Rice: great approach; plus raw power; solid defender

2013: .323/.437/.458 – 18 BB/21 K – 4/5 SB – 96 AB

51. San Francisco JR C Zachary Turner: 6-4, 200 pounds

2013: .391/.432/.604 – 17 BB/41 K – 1/2 SB – 202 AB

52. Duke JR C Mike Rosenfeld: 5-10, 185 pounds

2012: .329/.403/.476 – 16 BB/48 K – 170 AB – 7/8 SB
2013: .393/.465/.557 – 8 BB/9 K – 2/3 SB – 61 AB

53. San Bernardino Valley JC SO C/RHP Ryan Miller: above-average to plus speed; above-average to plus arm; quick release; strong; 95 peak; would love to see him tried both ways next year at D-1 level; FAVORITE; 6-3, 215 pounds

2013: .345/.446/.475 – 20 BB/28 K – 11/12 SB – 139 AB

54. Southern Mississippi SR C Chase Fowler: very reliable defender; strong arm; 6-1, 180 pounds

2012: .224/.305/.276 – 10 BB/23 K – 2/2 SB – 134 AB
2013: .339/.407/.443 – 16 BB/16 K – 4/6 SB – 174 AB

55. Sam Houston State JR C Anthony Azar: 5-11, 185 pounds

2012: .354/.402/.497 – 14 BB/33 K – 1/1 SB – 175 AB
2013: .335/.401/.526 – 17 BB/24 K – 4/4 SB – 194 AB

56. San Diego State SR C Jake Romanski: really good defender; average arm; 5-10, 180 pounds

2012: .282/.329/.345 – 8 BB/23 K – 2/2 SB – 142 AB
2013: .342/.435/.403 – 28 BB/17 K – 6/9 SB – 196 AB

57. Texas State SR C Andrew Stumph: big raw power; very raw defensively; 6-0, 215 pounds

2011: .294/.336/.403 – 15 BB/33 K – 238 AB
2012: .236/.313/.339 – 19 BB/30 K – 0/0 SB – 174 AB
2013: .313/.396/.417 – 23 BB/15 K – 2/2 SB – 163 AB

58. Rice SR C Geoff Perrott: plus arm; good defender; 6-2, 200 pounds

2013: .316/.412/.392 – 14 BB/20 K – 2/3 SB – 158 AB

59. Georgia SR C/OF Brett DeLoach: good speed; has tools to catch, but arm might not be up for it health-wise; some power upside; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .276/.339/.447 – 12 BB/34 K – 152 AB
2012: .291/.388/.389 – 22 BB/20 K – 6/6 SB – 175 AB
2013: .290/.409/.426 – 32 BB/17 K – 6/9 SB – 176 AB

60. Mt. Olive SR C Geno Escalante: once a highly sought after high school prospect who has since bounced around; I don’t have much in the way of updated information on him outside of the numbers (below), but here’s what I wrote back when he was a prep catcher: “defense-first catcher, with a bat that needs plenty of polish to even be considered average; name makes it sound like he should be an East Coast prospect, but he’s a California kid who is committed to attend Cal State Fullerton if he doesn’t get paid; lesser version of Steve Baron in my mind”; 5-11, 215 pounds

2012: .436/.500/.662 – 21 BB/26 K – 4/8 SB – 225 AB
2013: .353/.453/.625 – 19 BB/32 K – 10/12 SB – 184 AB

61. Loyola Marymount SR C Colton Plaia: above-average defender; average arm, plays up thanks to footwork and accuracy; average power; 6-3, 225 pounds

2012: .332/.420/.466 – 23 BB/36 K – 1/5 SB – 193 AB
2013: .332/.394/.466 – 16 BB/34 K – 4/5 SB – 193 AB

62. Missouri State SR C Luke Voit: above-average power upside; good athlete; strong arm; defense remains the big question; 6-3, 230 pounds

2011: .296/.378/.448 – 23 BB/26 K – 203 AB
2012: .310/.387/.456 – 27 BB/43 K – 9/11 SB – 248 AB
2013: .317/.408/.422 – 25 BB/21 K – 8/10 SB – 199 AB

63. Purdue JR C/1B Sean McHugh: 5-11, 200 pounds

2013: .343/.396/.500 – 15 BB/21 K – 5/5 SB – 198 AB

64. Towson SR C Andrew Parker: 6-0, 220 pounds

2011: .269/.395/.433 – 20 BB/35 K – 171 AB
2012: .181/.305/.316 – 27 BB/50 K – 2/4 SB – 177 AB
2013: .261/.442/.510 – 35 BB/39 K – 1/6 SB – 153 AB

65. Siena SR C Larry Balkwill: 6-4, 210 pounds

2012: .299/.397/.473 – 22 BB/26 K – 0/0 SB – 167 AB
2013: .296/.404/.522 – 26 BB/41 K – 0/1 SB – 186 AB

66. North Carolina Greensboro rSR C/1B Trevor Edwards: 6-2, 210 pounds

2011: .296/.419/.531 – 25 BB/45 K – 179 AB
2012: .278/.376/.567 – 23 BB/35 K – 0/0 SB – 187 AB
2013: .296/.370/.546 – 23 BB/30 K – 1/1 SB – 216 AB

67. Elon SR C/RHP Alex Swim: good defender; plus arm; needs to put on weight; above-average speed; can play some OF; good bat control; 93-96 FB; wild; 6-0, 180 pounds

2011: .275/.312/.352 – 12 BB/11 K – 236 AB
2012: .353/.396/.444 – 20 BB/13 K – 7/10 SB – 241 AB
2013: .268/.323/.364 – 18 BB/14 K – 14/17 SB – 228 AB

68. Angelina JC C Matt Sinclair: big raw power; good enough defensive tools, but raw; needs some good coaching, swing revamped; 6-3, 225 pounds

2013: .343/.422/.400 – 9 BB/12 K – 2 SB – 70 AB

69. Riverside CC rFR C David Schuknecht: good power upside; good speed; strong arm; raw defender, but tools are there; missed 2012 season (labrum); Arizona transfer

2013: .248/.378/.444 – 16 BB/39 K – 3/7 SB – 117 AB

70. Kansas State rJR C Blair DeBord: 6-0, 195 pounds

2012: .251/.328/.335 – 16 BB/23 K – 0/0 SB – 167 AB
2013: .333/.421/.405 – 23 BB/19 K – 5/5 SB – 168 AB

71. San Jacinto JC SO C Braden Mattson: plus defensive tools; plus arm; strong; good athlete; legit plus speed; may not hit a ton; above-average power upside; questionable approach; I like his defense better than others; incredibly enticing tools package, but waiting on tools turning into skills offensively; TCU transfer; FAVORITE; 6-3, 200 pounds

2013: .268/.314/.390 – 9 BB/32 K – 7/7 SB – 164 AB

72. St. John’s JR C/1B Frank Schwindel: average defender at best; iffy arm; power upside; 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .234/.268/.312 – 3 BB/10 K – 77 AB
2012: .322/.350/.416 – 6 BB/13 K – 0/0 SB – 202 AB
2013: .348/.368/.502 – 5 BB/17 K – 1/1 SB – 227 AB

73. Kansas JR C/SS/2B Kai’ana Eldredge: average speed; above-average arm; great athlete; gap power; raw behind plate, but agile enough to figure it out; plus arm; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .255/.331/.376 – 15 BB/45 K – 157 AB
2012: .178/.245/.199 – 11 BB/37 K – 3/7 SB – 146 AB
2013: .226/.333/.267 – 22 BB/29 K – 4/6 SB – 146 AB

74. Mississippi State SR C Mitch Slauter: really good defender, fun to watch; 6-1, 210 pounds

2012: .232/.359/.327 – 35 BB/44 K – 0/2 SB – 220 AB
2013: .247/.383/.355 – 15 BB/26 K – 2/2 SB – 93 AB

75. Mississippi JR C Will Allen: strong defensive tools; skilled hitting it all over the field, but not a ton of pull-side power; 6-3, 220 pounds

2011: .227/.265/.402 – 5 BB/29 K – 97 AB
2012: .307/.338/.396 – 7 BB/30 K – 2/3 SB – 202 AB
2013: .262/.299/.351 – 10 BB/32 K – 2/2 SB – 191 AB

76. South Carolina SR C Dante Rosenberg: plus defender; 5-11, 180 pounds

2013: .352/.400/.481 – 3 BB/8 K – 0/0 SB – 54 AB

77. Pepperdine rSR C Nate Johnson: very pretty swing; below-average runner; solid defender; average arm; 6-1, 210 pounds

2011: .263/.356/.339 – 17 BB/25 K – 118 AB
2013: .350/.409/.550 – 3 BB/8 K – 0/0 SB – 40 AB

78. San Diego rSR C/OF Austin Green: plus arm; very raw defensively behind plate, but has improved a ton; promising bat; good athlete; arm works really well, very quick release; 6-2, 200 pounds

2012: .200/.256/.275 – 2 BB/10 K – 0/0 SB – 40 AB
2013: .301/.352/.490 – 8 BB/26 K – 1/2 SB – 143 AB

79. Western Oklahoma State JC rFR C Sicnarf Loopstok: strong arm; good agility; can also play 2B and 3B in a pinch; interesting power; 5-10, 200 pounds

2013: .370/.436/.655 – 11 BB/26 K – 6/8 SB – 119 AB

80. Wake Forest JR C Charlie Morgan: 6-3, 210 pounds

2011: .232/.318/.366 – 15 BB/31 K – 112 AB
2012: .246/.329/.391 – 24 BB/37 K – 2/3 SB – 179 AB
2013: .293/.399/.420 – 25 BB/22 K – 1/1 SB – 150 AB

81. Wake Forest SR C Brett Armour: good athlete; average speed; strong arm; really like his actions behind plate; 6-2, 190 pounds

2011: .197/.300/.274 – 19 BB/41 K – 157 AB
2012: .236/.285/.364 – 10 BB/35 K – 4/5 SB – 165 AB
2013: .297/.354/.417 – 14 BB/30 K – 1/3 SB – 175 AB

82. Stanford JR C Brant Whiting: 5-11, 180 pounds

2013: .398/.453/.487 – 11 BB/24 K – 0/0 SB – 113 AB

83. North Florida SR C/1B Paul Karmeris: 5-11, 190 pounds

2012: .261/.333/.373 – 11 BB/26 K – 5/7 SB – 134 AB
2013: .340/.405/.443 – 23 BB/19 K – 7/11 SB – 212 AB

84. Bowling Green JR C/1B Jeremy Shay: 6-0, 220 pounds

2012: .229/.333/.367 – 21 BB/44 K – 6/8 SB – 166 AB
2013: .309/.409/.500 – 22 BB/33 K – 1/4 SB – 162 AB

85. Santa Clara SR C Quinton Perry: 6-3, 210 pounds

2012: .198/.271/.375 – 8 BB/34 K – 1/3 SB – 96 AB
2013: .279/.354/.523 – 11 BB/27 K – 4/4 SB – 86 AB

86. Florida Gulf Coast SR C Mike Reeves: untapped power; improved defender; FAVORITE; 6-0, 200 pounds

2011: .331/.423/.440 – 28 BB/24 K – 175 AB
2012: .272/.392/.289 – 32 BB/24 K – 0/1 SB – 180 AB
2013: .391/.464/.456 – 27 BB/24 K – 0/0 SB – 215 AB

87. Bowling Green JR C TJ Losby: 6-1, 210 pounds

2012: .275/.356/.390 – 17 BB/33 K – 1/4 SB – 182 AB
2012: .330/.386/.457 – 13 BB/19 K – 3/5 SB – 188 AB

88. Mississippi State SR C Nick Ammirati: really strong defender; Seton Hall transfer; 5-9, 190 pounds

2013: .301/.371/.350 – 12 BB/19 K – 2/3 SB – 123 AB

89. Coastal Carolina rSO C Will Remillard: solid defender; strong arm; Temple transfer; 6-1, 190 pounds

2013: .290/.343/.403 – 12 BB/17 K – 2/3 SB – 186 AB

90. Chattahoochee Valley CC SO C Cody Walker: good defensive tools; strong arm; quick transfer; receives ball well; bat lags behind, but good 2013 season gives hope; 5-11, 190 pounds

2013: .348/.493/.438 – 16 BB/19 K – 2 SB – 112 AB

91. Montevallo JR C Jackson Slaid: raw defender, but good tools; solid arm; slow release; average speed; strong hit tool; LSU transfer; 5-9, 190 pounds

2013: .329/.385/.514 – 15 BB/34 K – 13/16 SB – 216 AB

92. St. John’s SR C Danny Bethea: 6-1, 215 pounds

2012: .251/.371/.335 – 25 BB/22 K – 1/2 SB
2013: .285/.367/.392 – 22 BB/18 K – 6/9 SB – 186 AB

93. Boston College SR C Matt Paré: 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .267/.425/.418 – 25 BB/37 K – 0/1 SB – 146 AB
2013: .295/.405/.425 – 16 BB/23 K – 0/0 SB – 146 AB

94. Texas A&M JR C Troy Stein: 6-1, 210 pounds

2012: .304/.390/.411 – 22 BB/43 K – 1/2 SB – 158 AB
2013: .335/.388/.492 – 13 BB/35 K – 3/3 SB – 179 AB

95. Arkansas JR C Jake Wise: really good defender; plus arm; 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .238/.335/.335 – 20 BB/38 K – 2/3 SB – 164 AB
2013: .206/.308/.288 – 24 BB/20 K – 3/5 SB – 170 AB

96. Bradley JR C Austin Jarvis: plus-plus arm; quick release; great footwork; questionable hit tool; 5-9, 190 pounds

2012: .242/.294/.336 – 5 BB/19 K – 1/2 SB – 149 AB
2013: .232/.314/.280 – 7 BB/21 K – 1/1 SB – 125 AB

97. Oklahoma State rJR C Rick Stover: plus defender; plus arm; 5-10, 225 pounds

2013: .300/.333/.475 – 1 BB/9 K – 0/0 SB – 40 AB

98. Liberty JR C/RHP Danny Grauer: flashes interesting power, but still may be best long-term on mound; 88-92 FB, 93 peak; 6-2, 225 pounds

2012: .239/.379/.326 – 10 BB/9 K – 0/0 SB – 46 AB
2013: .327/.409/.551 – 17 BB/36 K – 0/0 SB – 156 AB

99. UNC Asheville SR C Ian Graham: 5-11, 210 pounds

2012: .273/.386/.344 – 23 BB/26 K – 0/0 SB – 154 AB
2013: .331/.438/.477 – 31 BB/25 K – 0/1 SB – 172 AB

100. South Carolina Upstate JR C Luke Weber: 6-3, 220 pounds

2012: .283/.361/.361 – 26 BB/30 K – 0/0 SB – 205 AB
2013: .327/.399/.477 – 17 BB/35 K – 0/0 SB – 199 AB

***

And because I can’t help myself, here are 49 extra players to keep tabs on for draft day and beyond…

101. Marist JR C Zach Passerelle: 6-4, 220 pounds

2013: .305/.404/.422 – 24 BB/30 K – 3/4 SB – 154 AB

102. Austin Peay State JR C PJ Torres: 5-11, 200 pounds

2012: .217/.333/.362 – 20 BB/37 K – 0/1 SB – 138 AB
2013: .266/.378/.468 – 24 BB/35 K – 1/4 SB – 158 AB

103. Seminole State CC SO C Darryl Knight: aggressive; above-average arm; both raw defensively and at plate; 6-2, 200 pounds

2013: .263/.376/.453 – 17 BB/39 K – 3/4 SB – 137 AB

104. TCU JR C Kyle Bacak: really good defender; strong arm; 5-9, 180 pounds

2013: .288/.363/.317 – 14 BB/17 K – 0/0 SB – 139 AB

105. South Alabama SR C Whitt Dorsey: 5-10, 180 pounds

2012: .327/.398/.410 – 13 BB/18 K – 3/4 SB – 205 AB
2013: .346/.446/.406 – 19 BB/8 K – 0/2 SB – 133 AB

106. George Mason JR C Tucker Tobin

2013: .332/.388/.560 – 14 BB/35 K – 6/8 SB – 184 AB

107. Michigan State JR C/1B Joel Fisher: 6-2, 215 pounds

2011: .245/.326/.323 – 15 BB/34 K – 155 AB
2012: .295/.336/.394 – 4 BB/20 K – 0/0 SB – 132 AB
2013: .253/.330/.416 – 17 BB/38 K – 0/0 SB – 178 AB

108. Minnesota rSR C Kurt Schlangen: 6-0, 185 pounds

2012: .259/.302/.309 – 10 BB/18 K – 5/9 SB – 162 AB
2013: .376/.421/.409 – 7 BB/13 K – 6/12 SB – 149 AB

109. Wisconsin-Milwaukee SR C Will Fadness: 5-11, 200 pounds

2012: .305/.346/.474 – 8 BB/19 K – 1/2 SB – 190 AB
2013: .333/.413/.469 – 13 BB/12 K – 3/4 SB – 147 AB

110. Lynn JR C/3B Sal Giardina: raw defender; plus arm strength; interesting raw power; 6-4, 200 pounds

2013: .283/.384/.480 – 8 BB/24 K – 1/2 SB – 127 AB

111. Miami-Dade JC rFR C Mario Amaral: power upside; 6-1, 210 pounds

2013: .352/.392/.445 – 10 BB/23 K – 9/11 SB – 128 AB

112. Nebraska SO C Tanner Lubach: strong hit tool; improving behind plate; 6-0, 180 pounds

2013: .294/.369/.364 – 15 BB/28 K – 2/3 SB – 143 AB

113. Wright State SR C Garrett Gray: 6-1, 225 pounds

2012: .311/.339/.457 – 8 BB/19 K – 0/0 SB – 164 AB
2013: .328/.365/.489 – 12 BB/21 K – 8/8 SB – 186 AB

114. North Dakota JR C Zack Trygstad: 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .248/.349/.355 – 18 BB/28 K – 141 AB
2012: .260/.332/.333 – 17 BB/24 K – 3/3 SB – 177 AB
2013: .311/.397/.424 – 18 BB/15 K – 2/4 SB – 132 AB

115. North Florida SR C Corey Bass: good defender; strong arm; bat isn’t much; 5-9, 200 pounds

2011: .306/.404/.371 – 16 BB/24 K – 124 AB
2012: .214/.309/.275 – 14 BB/33 K – 1/2 SB – 131 AB
2013: .320/.396/.472 – 20 BB/45 K – 4/8 SB – 178 AB

116. Miami (Ohio) JR C John Crummy: 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .299/.343/.341 – 8 BB/29 K – 0/0 SB – 167 AB
2013: .365/.397/.485 – 5 BB/19 K – 0/0 SB – 167 AB

117. Mercer JR C Austin Barrett: good defender; good arm, plays up due to release; no real standout tool, but solid across board; 6-2, 200 pounds

2012: .271/.399/.400 – 31 BB/23 K – 2/3 SB – 140 AB
2013: .284/.353/.431 – 20 BB/36 K – 2/4 SB – 197 AB

118. Fresno State rSR C Trent Garrison: plus-plus arm; could be tried on mound; missed 2011 due to ACL injury; 6-0, 190 pounds

2012: .344/.396/.436 – 15 BB/28 K – 0/1 SB – 195 AB
2013: .290/.344/.369 – 13 BB/28 K – 3/6 SB – 176 AB

119. Southern Illinois JR C Matt Jones: 6-0, 185 pounds

2013: .302/.368/.428 – 21 BB/32 K – 1/1 SB – 222 AB

120. Western Kentucky SR C Devin Kelly: 6-3, 225 pounds

2012: .236/.304/.366 – 12 BB/24 K – 1/1 SB – 123 AB
2013: .281/.425/.416 – 40 BB/47 K – 4/5 SB – 185 AB

121. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi SR C/OF Eric Weiss: 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .261/.352/.372 – 29 BB/44 K – 8/15 SB – 199 AB
2013: .327/.401/.480 – 24 BB/39 K – 9/14 SB – 202 AB

122. Hofstra JR C Matt Reistetter: 5-10, 180 pounds

2012: .246/.327/.304 – 14 BB/16 K – 5/12 SB – 138 AB
2013: .315/.374/.416 – 15 BB/23 K – 6/13 SB – 178 AB

123. Polk State JC C Erik Hindmon: plus defender; not a ton of power

2013: .289/.358/.321 – 15 BB/25 K – 5/5 SB – 187 AB

124. Longwood JR C Scott Burkett: 5-11, 210 pounds

2012: .344/.431/.599 – 16 BB/26 K – 4/6 SB – 157 AB
2013: .339/.384/.452 – 11 BB/33 K – 0/0 SB – 186 AB

125. North Carolina Greensboro SR C/OF Zach Leach: 6-2, 200 pounds

2012: .303/.373/.436 – 18 BB/25 K – 6/8 SB – 165 AB
2013: .322/.379/.448 – 13 BB/33 K – 9/12 SB – 143 AB

126. Furman SR C/1B Paul Nitto: 6-1, 200 pounds

2011: .271/.342/.418 – 16 BB/38 K – 170 AB
2012: .287/.380/.416 – 24 BB/31 K – 2/3 SB – 178 AB
2013: .292/.358/.436 – 13 BB/35 K – 0/0 SB – 202 AB

127. Maine JR C/RHP Fran Whitten: 6-4, 210 pounds

2011: .241/.318/.421 – 13 BB/31 K – 133 AB
2012: .301/.365/.425 – 11 BB/27 K – 3/5 SB – 186 AB
2013: .300/.366/.450 – 5 BB/15 K – 2/2 SB – 100 AB

2012: 8.24 K/9 | 4.26 BB/9 | 3.93 FIP | 31.2 IP

128. Portland rSR C Beau Fraser: 6-1, 220 pounds

2012: .245/.333/.330 – 12 BB/17 K – 0/0 SB – 94 AB
2013: .268/.351/.315 – 17 BB/26 K – 0/2 SB – 127 AB

129. Maryland SR C Jack Cleary: 6-2, 205 pounds

2012: .336/.410/.405 – 8 BB/13 K – 2/3 SB – 116 AB
2013: .230/.354/.328 – 12 BB/16 K – 0/0 SB – 122 AB

130. Minnesota JR C Matt Halloran: good defender; 5-10, 175 pounds

2011: .125/.152/.219 – 1 BB/12 K – 32 AB
2012: .340/.415/.440 – 12 BB/23 K – 0/1 SB – 150 AB
2013: .260/.319/.386 – 7 BB/21 K – 1/1 SB – 127 AB

131. Presbyterian rSR C Robby Swab: good approach; 6-0, 200 pounds

2012: .302/.406/.326 – 21 BB/18 K – 1/4 SB – 129 AB
2013: .315/.419/.382 – 14 BB/10 K – 0/0 SB – 89 AB

132. Lehigh JR C Joe Abeln

2012: .270/.349/.388 – 17 BB/19 K – 7/9 SB – 152 AB
2013: .317/.432/.384 – 18 BB/21 K – 7/9 SB – 164 AB

133. Grambling State SR C Jose Longoria: 6-0, 170 pounds

2012: .307/.375/.392 – 12 BB/15 K – 2/4 SB – 153 AB
2013: .270/.350/.326 – 19 BB/17 K – 6/7 SB – 178 AB

134. Butler SR C Radley Haddad: plus defender, does everything well behind dish; plus arm; ML-ready glove; quick feet; ball gets out in a hurry; Western Carolina transfer; questionable bat; 6-1, 190 pounds

2012: .253/.352/.331 – 19 BB/29 K – 0/1 SB – 166 AB
2013: .249/.369/.355 – 27 BB/38 K – 0/2 SB – 169 AB

135. Iowa SR C Dan Sheppard: really good defender; some pop; TJ survivor; 6-0, 190 pounds

2012: .234/.318/.287 – 8 BB/22 K – 3/3 SB – 94 AB
2013: .253/.307/.297 – 4 BB/19 K – 2/3 SB – 91 AB

136. North Dakota State JR C/OF Kyle Kleinendorst: 6-1, 200 pounds

2012: .200/.301/.366 – 17 BB/34 K – 0/0 SB – 145 AB
2013: .326/.405/.449 – 10 BB/41 K – 7/8 SB – 138 AB

137. Holy Cross SR C/1B Stephen Wadsworth: 6-2, 230 pounds

2011: .283/.348/.428 – 14 BB/28 K – 145 AB
2012: .228/.287/.329 – 9 BB/32 K – 1/1 SB – 149 AB
2013: .277/.359/.385 – 13 BB/29 K – 6/8 SB – 148 AB

138. Toledo JR C James Miglin: 6-4, 230 pounds

2012: .269/.351/.381 – 17 BB/21 K – 0/1 SB – 197 AB
2013: .281/.328/.400 – 6 BB/25 K – 0/0 SB – 185 AB

139. Penn State JR C Alex Farkes: 6-3, 215 pounds

2011: .233/.421/.256 – 10 BB/10 K – 43 AB
2012: .205/.280/.277 – 7 BB/21 K – 1/2 SB – 83 AB
2013: .284/.346/.328 – 6 BB/21 K – 0/1 SB – 116 AB

140. Albany rJR C/1B/OF Josh Nethaway: 6-2, 220 pounds

2012: .282/.353/.399 – 14 BB/28 K – 1/3 SB – 163 AB
2013: .284/.347/.415 – 8 BB/25 K – 1/1 SB – 176 AB

141. Arkansas-Little Rock SR C Blake Johnson: 6-0, 190 pounds

2012: .285/.372/.497 – 19 BB/43 K – 3/4 SB – 165 AB
2013: .321/.413/.510 – 29 BB/50 K – 8/12 SB – 196 AB

142. Towson SR C Zach Fisher: 5-9, 190 pounds

2012: .284/.376/.414 – 22 BB/29 K – 5/6 SB – 162 AB
2013: .307/.403/.366 – 29 BB/46 K – 14/20 SB – 205 AB

143. Cal Poly JR C Chris Hoo: really, really good defender; strong arm; 5-9, 185 pounds

2012: .253/.337/.359 – 15 BB/35 K – 0/1 SB – 170 AB
2013: .211/.278/.296 – 5 BB/13 K – 0/0 SB – 71 AB

144. UAB SR C/1B Harry Clark: 6-2, 200 pounds

2011: .240/.342/.271 – 19 BB/19 K – 129 AB
2012: .292/.380/.333 – 15 BB/10 K – 1/1 SB – 120 AB
2013: .273/.376/.295 – 17 BB/18 K – 1/2 SB – 139 AB

145. Illinois State JR C Mike Hollenbeck: good power; strong arm; defense a question; 6-2, 210 pounds

2011: .259/.371/.389 – 28 BB/24 K – 162 AB
2012: .316/.427/.435 – 35 BB/28 K – 1/1 SB – 177 AB
2013: .297/.377/.331 – 22 BB/34 K – 1/2 SB – 172 AB

146. McNeese State SR C/1B Michael Sullivan:

2012: .212/.272/.321 – 11 BB/40 K – 0/0 SB – 156 AB
2013: .292/.345/.366 – 11 BB/23 K – 0/0 SB – 161 AB

147. San Diego State rSO C Brad Haynal: good defensive tools; broken leg kept him out in 2012; 6-3, 200 pounds

2011: .248/.358/.384 – 15 BB/29 K – 125 AB
2013: .255/.318/.389 – 11 BB/45 K – 1/3 SB – 157 AB

148. Texas State rJR C Tyler Pearson: solid defender; well above-average arm; Rice transfer; 6-1, 190 pounds

2013: .250/.373/.292 – 21 BB/38 K – 1/2 SB – 168 AB

149. Central Arkansas JR C Kraig Kelley: strong arm; great footwork; really strong defensive tools; bat is a question; Oklahoma Wesleyan transfer; 6-0, 180 pounds

2012: .180/.307/.213 – 10 BB/27 K – 1/1 SB – 61 AB
2013: .234/.400/.266 – 16 BB/18 K – 0/0 SB – 64 AB

Draft Prep Update

22 May 2013 8:04 PM / 3 Comments on Draft Prep Update

Things are about to get crazy around here, I promise. The lists and scouting notes that will appear on these pages will be bigger and better than ever before. Well, certainly bigger…better is up for debate, but bigger is undeniably true. The completed lists (C and 1B) are currently so massive, I’m actually contemplating editing myself, something I rarely do. Here’s what I mean when I say I think my lists this year are literally too long:

College catchers (all levels, junior college included) drafted in the past five years: 76, 85, 90, 71, 75 (79.4 average)

College first basemen (all levels, junior college included) drafted in the past five years: 34, 52, 53, 57, 53 (49.8 average)

So, a good list for each position would be, say, 100 for college catchers (90 being the max over the past five years, plus a little wiggle room) and right around 50 for college first basemen. My college catcher list is currently at 149 draftable names. I have 122 draftable college first basemen. Do I cut a few of the guys off the back end for the sake of a “better” list? I say better because many of the names at the end are either a) players I’ve taken a liking to based solely on intriguing production (always a dangerous game), or b) players I’ve received a “tip” on from assorted area pals who haven’t given me much more than “I just like him and think he’s worth a late pick.” I tend to believe the more the merrier, but I don’t want to delude the list and potentially discredit the whole endeavor. Unfortunately, there are some who look at a mega-long list and think it’s just an aggregation of multiple, professionally published lists. That’s obviously not the case here, but it’s something to think about. I think ultimately I’ll keep the lists long. If I’ve got a scouting note, however brief, on some 50th round pick, then that’s a net positive for my fellow draft obsessed brothers and sisters. This was a good talk. Thanks for listening.

An out-of-town wedding figures to burn up the entirety of my Memorial Day weekend, but that’s in terms of non-work intensive days for me. Prepare yourselves for a word avalanche beginning next Tuesday. Here’s the tentative schedule going forward (dates in parentheses are my “work days” included only for my own sake, so feel free to ignore them):

May 28: Catchers (ready)

May 29: First Basemen (ready)

May 30: Second Basemen (almost ready)

May 31: Third Basemen (5/23 + 5/27)

June 1: [fighting the urge to be social and enjoy nice late spring weather]

June 2: [see above]

June 3: Shortstops (5/28 + 5/29)

June 4: Outfielders (5/30, 5/31, 6/1)

June 5: Pitchers (6/2, 6/3, 6/4)

June 6: Great Big Giant Super Duper Big Board

If you made it this far, here’s a treat. Of course, when I say treat I mean something that is almost certainly of no interest to anybody but myself, especially when shown with little context like this. But, since today is 5/22/13, here are my 5th, 22nd, and 13th top college catching prospects (note: rankings are subject to change…I need to do one last run through before next Tuesday’s publication):

5. California JR C Andrew Knapp: big upside with bat; above-average defender; above-average arm; love his approach; smart hitter, makes adjustments well; above-average power; some don’t like his defense like I do; uses whole field well; average speed; defense will come just needs experience; good athlete; FAVORITE; 2013: defense has been disappointing, but I remain a believer in him being able to stick behind plate; 6-1, 200 pounds (2011: .227/.307/.318 – 7 BB/22 K – 66 AB) (2012: .270/.354/.422 – 24 BB/33 K – 211 AB – 4/7 SB) (2013: .406/.481/.634 – 26 BB/33 K – 4/6 SB – 202 AB)

22. Air Force SR C Garrett Custons: great athlete; good speed; plus-plus arm; 5-11, 200 pounds (2011: .282/.371/.469 – 19 BB/42 K – 209 AB) (2012: .269/.359/.421 – 17 BB/34 K – 7/12 SB – 171 AB) (2013: .332/.424/.473 – 19 BB/32 K – 14/19 SB – 205 AB)

13. The Citadel JR C Joe Jackson: underrated upside with bat; competition a question, but little to dislike about production; wish he showed better on Cape; 6-1, 200 pounds (2011: .337/.403/.414 – 20 BB/19 K – 169 AB) (2012: .297/.364/.415 – 22 BB/36 K – 4/4 SB – 229 AB) (2013: .423/.517/.712 – 37 BB/27 K – 3/8 SB – 215 AB)

College Shortstops to Know

15 May 2013 11:02 PM / Leave a comment

This, this right here, is not a particularly inspiring list. I’m hard-pressed to find a single potential regular middle infielder in this group. That leaves us with a collection of players with the chance to make it as utility infielders in the pros. That’s where things get interesting. It’s a fine line between starting shortstop/second baseman and quality utility man, I think. I’m not sure anybody outside of a few voices in the Twins organization who viewed Nick Punto as anything more than a potential above-average backup infielder. Guys like Pat Blair and Adam Frazier may not be quite good enough to warrant 500+ PA in any given big league year, but if they take to pro coaching and land in the right organization and hang around long enough to maybe see an injury or two ahead of them on the depth chart…well, you just never know.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The list only includes players from the conferences I’ve profiled so far. That would be the Big 10, SEC, ACC, Big East, Ivy, Mountain West, WCC, Sun Belt, Pac 12, WAC, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, and Big 12. As referenced above, players from the rest of college ball will be added in the very near future.

Clemson JR SS Steve Wilkerson
Wake Forest SR SS Pat Blair
Mississippi State JR SS Adam Frazier
Oregon SR SS JJ Altobelli
Oregon State SR SS Tyler Smith
Florida State SR SS Justin Gonzalez
East Carolina JR SS Jack Reinheimer
Texas A&M SR SS Mikey Reynolds
Oregon State JR SS Kavin Keyes
Texas Christian SO SS Derek Odell
Vanderbilt rSO SS Joel McKeithan
UCLA JR SS Pat Valaika
Texas Christian JR SS Paul Hendrix
Tulane SR SS Garrett Cannizaro
Mississippi JR SS Austin Anderson
Auburn JR SS Dan Glevenyak
Maryland JR SS Kyle Convissar
Miami JR SS Alex Hernandez
Southern California JR SS Jimmy Roberts
California JR SS Derek Campbell
Southern Mississippi SR SS Isaac Rodriguez
Texas State SR SS Nick Smelser
Texas-Arlington JR SS Ryan Walker
Rutgers JR SS Nick Favatella
Louisville JR SS Alex Chittenden
Louisiana Tech JR SS Ryan Gebhardt
Duke JR SS Angelo LaBruna
Washington State rSO SS Trace Tam Sing
Stanford JR SS Danny Diekroeger
Oregon State JR SS Andy Peterson
Louisiana-Lafayette JR SS Ryan Leonards
San Diego JR SS Logan Davis

Myles Smith, California Catchers, and the 2005 BA Prospect Handbook

13 May 2013 11:16 PM / Leave a comment

1. My love of Braden Shipley is pretty well established at this point (see below for the quick burst of excitement I wrote about him from February, way before he was a potential top ten pick let alone first round lock), so please allow me to champion the NAIA version of Shipley in this year’s draft class, Myles Smith from Lee University. The well-traveled Smith is a well known commodity at this point in the draft process, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve an extra shot of attention heading into June. Just about everything I wrote about Shipley below applies to Smith: easy plus velocity (90-95, 96-97 peak all spring), plus low-80s change (my favorite pitch), a much improved 78-82 slider, and, just as importantly, outstanding athleticism and a plus fielder. I don’t yet know how brave I’ll be when it comes down to final rankings, but I do know this: if my favorite team decides to shock the world and take Smith with the 16th overall pick, I won’t complain one bit. That’s bold, right?

Braden Shipley is going to rank very, very high up on my overall ranking of college pitchers (coming soon!). If I was better at searching this site, I’d look up every pitcher that I’ve described as my “ideal” pitching prospect or a pitcher “invented in a lab” to suit my needs or whatever other dumb phrase I’ve used to describe my idea of a “perfect” pitching prospect. Shipley rings every bell: easy velocity (92-95 as starter, has hit upwards of 97 in short bursts), low-80s change with above-average upside, solid upper-70s curve, good athleticism, improved command, good glove, effective pickoff move, sturdy frame with room to build on (6-3, 180 pounds), and experience as a hitter (.265/.351/.346 in 136 AB in 2011). I think he’s likely one of those guys I like a lot more than professional talent evaluators, but that’s alright: he may not be a first round, household name come June, but I still think he’s a future big leaguer.

2. I’m honing in on and finalizing high school positional lists now. I like doing the prep prospects first because it gives me a chance to wait until the end of the college regular season before evaluating those guys. I’ll probably be popping in and out over the next few days with seemingly random observations about this year’s high school class. One such example: damn, California is loaded with high school catching this year. Everybody knows about the quality and depth of prep catching across the country this year, but California alone has enough prospects of interest behind the plate to make it a good year for young catching almost by itself. It is looking highly unlikely I’ll have a California catcher in my top five (leaning WA, OK, SC, FL, and BC as of now), but there could be 5 in the top 11, 7 in the top 16, and 11 in the top 28. Sorting them out is a whole other issue, of course. You’ve got the strong, athletic, powerful yet raw defender in Jacob Nottingham. Francis Christy is similar, though arguably a little less powerful and a little more agile. Jake Sweaney is in a similar situation. There’s yet another raw defender in Tyler Alamo, but he’s a favorite thanks to one of the most mature approaches at the plate of any high schooler this year. And this all says nothing of a pair of rock solid, realistic big league floor guys (obvious caveat: the floor for any prospect is flaming out in A-ball, so we use a “realistic” floor to represent a best-case worst-case scenario, if that makes sense) in the dissected to death but still a damn good ballplayer Jeremy Martinez and Arden Pabst.

3. This likely qualifies as “too much information,” but my go-to bathroom reading over the past year or two has been my copy of the 2005 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. Many of my best (and worst!) comps have come from the pages of that particular book. My most recent comparison is a bit of a stretch, but not crazy if you keep an open mind. Here we go…

6-2, 225 pounds (when drafted)
R/R
14th overall draft pick (underslot predraft deal)
“patient approach and line-drive mentality”
“quick hands and excellent hand-eye coordination”
“uses the whole field and generates natural loft”
“must improve flexibility to enhance his range at third base”
“eventually may have to move to first base”
“below-average runner but not a base-clogger”

The 2013 prospect in question fits much, if not all, of these statements. Plus, he’s listed 6-1, 205 pounds, he’s R/R, and he could go off the board around the 14th pick (probably lower, which would fit the underslot thing). Slow start to the 2013 season aside, Billy Butler, the player described in the bullets above, has turned himself into an excellent big league hitter. If you’re taking DJ Peterson in a similar range in 2013, then you’re doing so with the hope that he hits as a pro like Butler has to this point. The one major difference between the two players is their respective paths to the pro game: Butler signed out of high school while Peterson obviously went the college route. That’s pretty important here, especially when you consider Butler was a big league regular at the same point in Peterson’s current development. So, don’t the comp too seriously. Just a ceiling thing, and a potential rationale for a team selecting Peterson higher than you or I might currently expect.

2013 MLB Draft Top 20

13 May 2013 12:44 AM / Leave a comment

Draft is close enough that I think it is high time to revisit some first round prospects to keep in mind. It’s not a real big board, but it might as well be. It’s a work in progress.

1. San Diego OF Kris Bryant
2. Oklahoma RHP Jonathan Gray
3. Stanford RHP Mark Appel

After that, I’m still very much undecided. Heck, even that third spot is still a bit of a mystery to me. The temptation to move up one of the prep guys — the guy in fourth below, most notably — is one I may just give in to between now and draft day. Turns out that current indecision leads to me getting all excited about upside, so let’s go with the top three high school prospects next…

4. St. Pius X HS (TX) RHP Kohl Stewart
5. Grayson HS (GA) OF Austin Meadows
6. Loganville HS (GA) OF Clint Frazier

I feel pretty good about the top six, but that’s about as far as I can go without getting the shakes when thinking about putting this thing together. Long-term readers of the site know I’m much, much more comfortable going 50 deep on a college catching prospect list than ranking the top ten overall prospects in the draft.

7. Indiana State LHP Sean Manaea
8. Nevada RHP Braden Shipley
9. Arkansas RHP Ryne Stanek

I’m still of the belief that Manaea’s recent hiccup in stuff is a temporary concern and not a long-term worry. I admittedly don’t have a whole lot of evidence to currently back up my claim, but I may have some more to share on that in the coming days. Call it a semi-educated hunch for now.

10. North Carolina 3B Colin Moran
11. Serra HS (CA) 1B Dominic Smith

You know, I get why people are down on this year’s class, but, damn, I think the quartet of Bryant, Frazier, Moran, and Smith stacks up quite nicely with any four bats at the top of any draft in recent memory. I’m cheating by swapping out Meadows for Smith, but I’m using my own specific rule of “best bat” as a guideline. Meadows is an exciting prospect, no doubt, but Smith’s bat is easily 1 or 1A (to Frazier’s 1B) in this year’s high school class. So if that’s our top four, let’s see if there is any legitimacy to the aforementioned historical claim:

2012 (mine): Correa/Buxton/Zunino/Almora
2012 (draft): Correa/Buxton/Zunino/Almora

Very comparable group, I think. Bryant is a better prospect than Zunino, and the high school hitters all are closely bunched. Buxton, of course, appears to have separated himself quite a bit from the pack, but that’s a development that can’t really be taken into account when talking draft stock. After pondering it a bit more, I think the 2012 group is better, though I’m not sure if I can explain why. I guess Correa + Buxton > Frazier + Smith explains it some.

2011 (mine): Rendon/Starling/Swihart/Lindor
2011 (draft): Starling/Rendon/Lindor/Baez

Rendon vs Moran is an interesting draft case study, but I think I’d call it for Rendon. The remaining 2011 group has the edge in positional value, but if we’re talking bat only, I like the 2013’s.

2010 (mine): Harper/Wilson/Castellanos/O’Conner
2010 (draft): Harper/Machado/Choice/Sale

Harper alone makes me want to go 2010, so that’s what I’ll do. A better question would be which of the 2010 groups is better: Machado is a huge win for the real draft order, but Wilson and Castellanos give my list a little bit of intriguing depth. Then again, Choice has done almost exactly what was expected of him and Sale did have a better than you’d believe 2012 season, ugly 2013 suspension notwithstanding.

2009 (mine): Ackley/Borchering/Green/Tate
2009 (draft): Ackley/Tate/Sanchez/Green

This is a no contest win for 2013, right? Right. Moving on…

12. Mississippi State OF Hunter Renfroe
13. Lakewood HS (CA) SS JP Crawford
14. Kentwood HS (WA) C Reese McGuire
15. New Castle HS (IN) LHP Trey Ball
16. Stanford OF Austin Wilson
17. Fresno State OF Aaron Judge
18. Yukon HS (OK) C Jonathan Denney

Sorting out the three big bat college right field prospects is a fun chore. A breakdown of the three of them may be a good post for the future. I really, really, really like Reese McGuire (I’m stunned the comp hasn’t been made yet as far as I can see, but he reminds me so much of the good version of Jason Kendall), but prep catchers are the one position group where I buy into conventional draft wisdom. I’d stay away from them if at all possible, though I think McGuire, Denney, and Nick Ciuffo are all talented enough all-around ballplayers to take the gamble at the right spot in the round.

19. St. Joseph Regional HS (NJ) LHP Rob Kaminsky
20. Bandys HS (NC) RHP Hunter Harvey

I reserve the right to move some prep arms up after more study, but I will say for now that I think this class has a really intriguing collection of depth in this area. Again, that’s something that is probably true of all draft classes — it really is incredible to think about many teenage human beings keep popping up throwing at least 88-92 every single year — but it feels like a relative strength in this year’s draft. Maybe it is because there isn’t a ton of separation between the top tier guys and the pitchers who may still be around past round five or so.

College Second Basemen to Know

7 May 2013 11:32 PM / 12 Comments on College Second Basemen to Know

Using older scouting reports and numbers that don’t include 2013 performances isn’t exactly a recipe for great prospect lists. However, with a few notable exceptions (Elvin Soto!), the lists have held up pretty well so far, something that should come as no surprise to anybody who buys my “once you show a tool, you own it” philosophy of prospect evaluation.

After the catcher and first base lists, I was feeling pretty good. Then…second base happened. I don’t move guys around too much for this exercise — big shifts are coming soon, what with the draft in less than a month — but this second base group was so hard to look at, I had to make some little tweaks. The top name on my pre-season list is/was…Lonnie Kauppila. I still like Kauppila just fine — he’s such a good glove that he may wind up with the shortstop group after more thought — but, man, he hasn’t hit a lick this year. Same goes for original number two (Riddle) and five (Williams). For the sake of both time and my sanity, I bumped up a few names and kept the struggling guys in the same order but down a few pegs from their preseason perches. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’ll have to do for now.

Connecticut SR 2B LJ Mazzilli
Clemson JR 2B Shane Kennedy
Kansas State JR 2B Ross Kivett
Houston JR 2B Frankie Ratcliff
Virginia SR 2B Reed Gragnani
Princeton JR 2B Alec Keller
Louisville JR 2B Ty Young
Stanford JR 2B/SS Lonnie Kauppila
Kentucky JR 2B JT Riddle
UCLA JR 2B Kevin Williams
Wichita State JR 2B Dayne Parker
Rice SR 2B Christian Stringer
Tulane SR 2B Brennan Middleton
Georgia Tech SR 2B Sam Dove
Georgia SR 2B Kyle Farmer
Georgia Tech JR 2B Mott Hyde
Arizona State JR 2B Mike Benjamin
Texas Christian SR 2B Josh Gonzales
Baylor rJR 2B Lawton Langford
Stanford JR 2B Brett Michael Doran
Indiana State rSR 2B Koby Kraemer
New Mexico State SR 2B Parker Hipp
Oregon JR 2B Aaron Payne
Sacramento State SR 2B Andrew Ayers
Southern California SR 2B Adam Landecker
Gonzaga SR 2B Clayton Eslick
Loyola Marymount SR 2B Cullen Mahoney
Miami SR 2B Michael Broad
North Carolina State SR 2B Matt Bergquist
Middle Tennessee State SR 2B Johnny Thomas
Kentucky JR 2B Paul McConkey
San Diego State JR 2B Tim Zier
Louisville SR 2B Nick Ratajczak
Cornell SR 2B Brenton Peters
Wake Forest SR 2B Mark Rhine
South Alabama rSO 2B Logan Kirkland
Texas A&M JR 2B Charlie Curl

Phillip Ervin

1 May 2013 3:52 PM / Leave a comment

I’m good at compiling notes and making lists and churning out content in the days immediately preceding the draft. I think I can retrieve and process information from a variety of sources with the best of them. When it comes time to actually sitting down to write, I can string together a few sentences (occasionally typo-free!). I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me. Or at least these are the things that I tell myself in the mirror each day to affirm my value to the world as a draft site writer guy. There are days when the responsibilities of real life back me into a corner where I desperately need a reason to keep doing what I do here, and those reasons typically suffice.

One thing I’m terrible with, as if you haven’t yet noticed, is the inspiration/creativity/good writer-ing (definitely a real word, look it up) part. I have lots of fun information (109,000+ words on college prospects, 11,000+ on prep players) that I want to share with fellow draft obsessives, but rarely can I think of a clever way of presenting said info. I like lists and team profiles and conference profiles and all that good stuff, but the site would get boring if that’s all I ever did. Or at least that’s how I think people reading would feel. Long story short, on those rare and beautiful occasions that inspiration strikes, I’m really going to make and effort to just turn off the doubting part of my brain and just go with it. I woke up this morning thinking a little bit about Phillip Ervin — is that normal? — so, doggone it, that’s who I’m going to write about today.

I like Phillip Ervin a lot. Is it crazy to suggest that he’s a little teeny tiny bit like the college version of everybody’s favorite high school hitter, Clint Frazier? Both are praised for, in order, their 1) electric bat speed, 2) well-rounded overall skill sets, 3) above-average arm strength (pre-injury for Frazier), 4) picture perfect pro-ready swings, 5) above-average speed on the base paths, and 6) advanced pitch recognition skills. The main concern for both is that they are maxed-out physically. Additionally, both can hack it in center (Ervin more than Frazier), but profile best defensively in right field (again, assuming Frazier’s bum arm bounces back in time). This is all far too simplistic a comparison and I’m clearly not taking into account the crucially important differences in their hair, but you can kind of see how the two share some things if you keep an open mind, right?

More reputable organizations have come up with very interesting comps in their own right. Baseball America quoted a scout who relayed a Ron Gant comp for Ervin. Interesting. Perfect Game’s Frankie Piliere (always a favorite of the site, but he’s been better than ever this year) went with a pretty and thought-provoking Ian Kinsler comp. Interesting x2. I like both comps for a variety of reasons (swing/body/athleticism), but my own close viewing of Ervin (keep in mind, I’m not a scout) brought to mind a former favorite of mine, Reggie Sanders. A friend who has seen Ervin more than me — and a guy who, unlike me and my reliance on a shaky images from when I was a kid (not all my fault: I was 5 when Sanders debuted in the bigs), has clear memories these players from watching them up close and in person — offered up his own righthanded Mark Kotsay comp. Let’s go to the career numbers (using B-R 162 game average) for some context:

Gant: .256/.336/.468 with 28 HR and 21 SB
Kinsler: .273/.351/.462 with 25 HR and 27 SB
Sanders: .267/.343/.487 with 28 HR and 28 SB
Kotsay: .278/.334/.409 with 11 HR and 9 SB

A few thoughts…

1) The Kotsay comp jumps out as being particularly light in terms of both power and speed projections. This jibed with what my guy said about Ervin, a player he believes is a great college hitter but likely an average at best big league bat. He did concede that totals more like Kotsay’s best year (17 HR and 11 SB) were more in line with the kind of upside Ervin possesses. Worth noting that our conversation discounted Kotsay’s strong on-base skills and defense: we were strictly talking power, speed, and overall batting lines during our talk. Also worth noting that average at best big league bat is nothing to get down about, especially in this year’s draft, and especially if you believe Ervin can stick in center as a pro.

2. Damn, Reggie Sanders was a good player. I normally don’t have a great feel for “underrated” or “overrated,” but his is a name you don’t hear enough these days. Then again, I guess it would be weird if people were just walking around talking about Reggie Sanders, but still. Very good player.

3. Outside of the Kotsay outlier, you can see some basic trends with these comps. We’re talking 20/20 potential (see above) with almost perfectly above-average BB% (see below).

Gant: 10.5 BB% and 19.3 K% with .212 ISO and .351 wOBA
Kinsler: 9.8 BB% and 12.1 K% with .189 ISO and .355 wOBA
Sanders: 9.6 BB% and 22.9 K% with .220 ISO and .357 wOBA

Gant and Sanders are close enough — not super close, mind you, but close enough — but Kinsler stands out as being a little more prone to contact while having less raw power. That sounds more like Ervin from a scouting standpoint, at least to me. Each player’s ultimate production matched up quite nicely, but those are interesting differences to keep in mind. Getting too deep into amateur stats is often a mistake — I feel like I do it as much as just about anybody, and I’d like to think I tow the line between stats/scouting reports carefully — so take Ervin’s 2013 walk and strikeout numbers (so far) with a grain of salt: 16.6 BB% and 12.2 K%. Far from a perfect match, but the strikeout numbers match better with Kinsler than the others. Not for nothing, but Kinsler’s draft season’s numbers (9.9 BB% and 11.6 K%) align pretty damn well with what he’s done as a big leaguer. Weird and probably meaningless and in no way predictive for Ervin’s career, but there it is.

Anyway, I like the Kinsler comp by Perfect Game so much that I did a little digging on similar players/prospect from recent history. In what was far from an exhaustive search of all comparable talents, one player’s scouting and statistical profile jumped off the page to me. This comp is pretty far out there, so don’t say I didn’t warn you when you find yourself shaking your head while reading. Before we get to that, a quick tangent…

I’m sure smart guys have already done studies on stuff like this, but the correlation between minor league stats and big league stats is fascinating to me. There are so many external factors (age, league, park factors, etc.) to take into account that it isn’t reasonable to expect any breakthrough finding (e.g. statistic X is the best indicator of success or X% remains constant throughout a player’s minor league progression), but it still amazes me when players have numbers in the minors that wind up matching up perfectly with their major league production. Long story short: Alex Ochoa hit .289/.354/.414 (.768 OPS) in the minors. In the bigs, he hit .279/.344/.422 (.766 OPS). That’s a little freaky, right? Any age, any environment, any level of competition = same rate of production.

The tangent may be over, but the Alex Ochoa talk is just beginning. That would be a great tag line for the site if I ever hit it big. I oh so subtly dropped Ochoa into that tangent only to now reveal that it is none other than former Oriole and Met top prospect Alex Ochoa who reminds me of what I think Phillip Ervin may become. First, the scouting report via a June 14, 1995 article in the Baltimore Sun written by Kent Baker. Why they used a rating scale from 1 to 5, I’ll never know. Here’s how they graded his five tools:

Hitting: 5. An excellent gap-to-gap hitter. Has a solid line-drive stroke but also can turn on inside pitches and pull them. Is strong at taking pitches away from him to right-center.

Power: 4 1/2 . Not a pure slugger but has the strength to clear the fences. Projects to 15- to 20-home run production in the majors.

Speed: 4 1/2 . Has stolen 34 and 31 bases in two of his minor-league seasons. Knows when to advance from station to station.

Defense: 5. Has worked hard in this area and even took ground balls at third base when asked. A high school shortstop, he always has been good with grounders to the outfield and has improved in retreating on balls over his head.

Arm: 5 plus. The last generation raved about the great arms of Roberto Clemente and Rocky Colavito. Ochoa is in that class. Now that he has discovered when to use it and when not to and his accuracy has become pinpoint, there are no flaws.

Excellent gap-to-gap hitter. Solid line-drive stroke. Hmm, that sounds familiar. I actually have “hitter more than slugger” in my notes on Ervin. On Ochoa, it says “not a pure slugger but has the strength to clear the fences.” Projects to 15- to 20-home run production. Plus to plus-plus right field arm. Not a natural outfielder, but has improved. My notes on Ervin: “will take some questionable routes and fight some routine fly balls, but enough speed/instincts/coachability to stick in CF. Will be good RF otherwise with plenty of arm to handle the spot.” Hmm, indeed.

Now a look at the career numbers:

Ochoa: 8.5 BB% and 12.1 K% with .143 ISO and .336 wOBA

Fewer walks than Kinsler, but in the same neighborhood overall. The power also doesn’t really compare, but that’s likely true when stacking up Ervin with Kinsler as well. If you’re buying the Kinsler comp from PG, then there ought to be some validity to the Ochoa one as well, right? More numbers:

Ochoa (162 game average): .279/.344/.422 with 9 HR and 11 SB

Off the top, it’s a little bit of a mystery to me why Ochoa didn’t get more of a chance to hang around in the bigs. I vaguely remember him getting some decent money to go to Japan, but it shouldn’t have come to that. After settling in with the Brewers in 1999 (once some of his prospect sheen had worn off, a blessing in disguise for some players), the man did nothing but produce: 2.2 WAR in 1999, 2.4 WAR in 2000, 0.6 WAR in 2001 (this was probably his big chance, as he got by far the most PA of his career), and then 1.1 WAR in 2002. WAR isn’t the be-all, end-all, but the consistent positive scores do paint a pretty good picture of an average or better big league player in Ochoa, especially when you consider the tools that made him a top prospect were still a part of his game.

More relevant to our conversation is the realization that these numbers are a lot closer to Kotsay than Kinsler, Sanders, and Gant. Consider the above line a potential “worst case scenario” for Ervin’s big league career. Note the scare quotes: Ervin, and, any amateur prospect for that matter, have a real worst case scenario much closer to AA flameout than productive big league player with 807 games played in the big leagues under his belt. I hope that the high likelihood of any prospect crashing and burning can continue to be one of those known but not often said aspects of our draft discussion. Risk (i.e. how likely a prospect is to achieve meaningful professional success) is always a consideration when discussing a young player, so know that we’re operating under the assumption that these guys will do enough to keep advancing in pro ball.

If Kinsler is Ervin’s best case scenario ceiling, then Ochoa is his most realistic big league floor. Either way, I think we’re looking at a starting caliber outfielder who will give you value in a variety (speed and arm are both above-average; hit, power, and glove all at least average depending on the day) of ways. Selfishly, I can’t help but to translate his stock into the context of what I’m hoping to see the Phillies do at pick 16. I think there will be more enticing upside plays still on the board — Austin Wilson the first name to come to mind — and with a rare early-ish pick, upside is the way to go. That said, depending on how the board falls, I wouldn’t complain one bit if Ervin was the choice at 16. Middle of the first is likely his draft ceiling, and deservedly so.

College First Basemen to Know

30 Apr 2013 11:09 PM / 2 Comments on College First Basemen to Know

I hate having to preface posts with little updates about my life away from the site, but I ultimately prefer going this route than having to live with the guilt of not updating for multiple days on end. Last week’s excuse was a grad school paper hanging over my head; no sooner did that fifteen-page pile of words get turned in did I come down with a rare and not so beautiful case of double pink eye (love my job, but the threat of maladies like that are a clear downside). I’m not really the type to “get sick” and “stop working,” but, damn, it turns out your eyes are really important when it comes to keeping up with most day-to-day activities. Time spent working on a few projects for the site turned into time sitting around doing nothing but holding a warm compress to my face.

To make life a little simpler for me while I catch up, here’s a quick and dirty list of college first basemen that have caught my eye thus far. Same rules for the catching list last week apply: the list only includes players from the conferences I’ve profiled so far. That would be the Big 10, SEC, ACC, Big East, Ivy, Mountain West, WCC, Sun Belt, Pac 12, WAC, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, and Big 12.

I do promise to have any recent comment or email responded to by the end of the day on Wednesday.

New Mexico JR 1B DJ Peterson
Notre Dame JR 1B Eric Jagielo
Oregon JR 1B Ryon Healy
Notre Dame JR 1B Trey Mancini
Georgia Tech JR 1B Daniel Palka
South Alabama JR 1B Jordan Patterson
Vanderbilt JR 1B Conrad Gregor
Oregon State SR 1B Danny Hayes
Louisiana-Lafayette JR 1B Chase Compton
Washington State rJR 1B Adam Nelubowich
Cincinnati JR 1B Justin Glass
Wichita State rSR 1B Johnny Coy
Portland JR 1B Turner Gill
East Carolina JR 1B Chase McDonald
Florida SR 1B Vickash Ramjit
Marshall SR 1B Nathan Gomez
Rice JR 1B Michael Aquino
Louisville SR 1B Zak Wasserman
North Carolina SR 1B Cody Stubbs
Duke rSO 1B Chris Marconcini
Wake Forest rJR 1B Matt Conway
Maryland JR 1B Tim Kiene
Virginia rSR 1B Jared King
Auburn SR 1B Garrett Cooper
Sacramento State SR 1B Clay Cederquist
Dartmouth JR 1B Dustin Selzer

Let’s Talk College Catching

22 Apr 2013 1:05 AM / 8 Comments on Let’s Talk College Catching

1. Apologies for not being around much of late, but a handful of side projects and the seemingly constant stream of grad school research/paper writing has left me with little time to write for the site. As always, be assured that there’s been lots of updating of materials going on behind the scenes, so get excited for what I like to think is my annual strong content push in the weeks leading up to draft day.

2. Huge thank you to the two individuals who emailed me asking me, in so many words, if I was still in one piece after the recent attacks in Boston. I’ve obviously sent personal emails back — seriously, thanks again — but, egomaniacal fellow that I am, figured that if two strangers were concerned enough to ask then there might be one or two less vocal worriers out there as well. I’m good. My undergrad days in Boston are long gone and I’m a few hundred miles south now. Scary, unimaginably horrible stuff all the same, but I’m good.

3. Personal bookkeeping finally out of the way, how about a list? Here are some ground rules before this thing gets picked apart:

I’ve updated the list as much as possible based on any and all updated scouting information (note: this is still not perfect, as evidenced by the too high ranking of Matt Roberts and the too low ranking of Elvin Soto), but haven’t had a chance to run each prospect’s 2013 numbers through any kind of meaningful statistical testing. Because of this, I strongly considered scrapping the whole ranking aspects of the list and going with a generic alphabetized “follow list” like I’ve done in the past. I’m going with the tentatively ranked list for now because I do think it shows a decent snapshot of where certain players were ranked by me heading into the season.

I’m happy to answer any specific questions and provide any answers about forthcoming changes (e.g. Roberts down, Soto up) in the comments or via email. I’m also planning on slotting in players from elsewhere around college ball, including the juco ranks, in the coming days.

California JR C Andrew Knapp
Mississippi JR C Stuart Turner
LSU JR C Tyler Ross
North Carolina JR C Matt Roberts
New Mexico SR C Mitchell Garver
Texas JR C Jacob Felts
Dartmouth JR C Jeff Keller
Vanderbilt JR C Spencer Navin
Auburn JR C Blake Austin
Loyola Marymount SR C Colton Plaia
North Carolina JR C Brian Holberton
Air Force SR C Garrett Custons
Oregon State JR C Jake Rodriguez
Washington State JR C Collin Slaybaugh
San Diego SR C Dillon Haupt
Arizona State SR C Max Rossiter
Southern California JR C Jake Hernandez
Louisville JR C Kyle Gibson
Pittsburgh SO C Elvin Soto
Fresno State SR C Austin Wynns
Virginia Tech rJR C Chad Morgan
Cal State Bakersfield JR C Cael Brockmeyer
Duke SR C Jeff Kremer
Rutgers SR C Jeff Melillo
Fresno State rSR C Trent Garrison
Missouri State SR C Luke Voit
Missouri JR C Dylan Kelly
Illinois State JR C Mike Hollenbeck
Bradley JR C Austin Jarvis
Georgia SR C Brett DeLoach
Mississippi State SR C Mitch Slauter
Arkansas JR C Jake Wise
Mississippi JR C Will Allen
Alabama JR C Wade Wass
Wake Forest SR C Brett Armour
St. John’s JR C Frank Schwindel
Florida Atlantic SR C Mike Spano
Central Florida SR C Ryan Breen
Texas State rJR C Tyler Pearson
Louisiana Tech rJR C Kyle Arnsberg
Texas State SR C Andrew Stumph
Dallas Baptist SR C Duncan McAlpine
Baylor SR C Nathan Orf
Kansas JR C Kai’ana Eldredge
South Carolina SR C Dante Rosenberg

If you’ve made it this far, thanks. Here’s a quick idea of what the immediate future holds. First, I’ve got a paper that needs to be written between now and Thursday. Once that’s out of the way, things will pick up for a bit. In the meantime, I’m hoping to a) continue updating the college catcher rankings and perhaps move on to other positions, b) finish my thoughts on the SEC, and c) do a little MLB Draft/NFL Draft mock draft remix before Thursday’s first round.

Potpourri

12 Apr 2013 1:04 PM / 3 Comments on Potpourri

1. I think the ongoing Austin Meadows vs Clint Frazier debate remains too close to call. I wish I had a stronger opinion on the matter than that weak take, but it’s the truth – I won’t pretend that one has the clear cut advantage at this point because they really are as close as it gets. I do think the two guys have gotten engulfed in a little bit of easy narrative typecasting — not that there’s anything wrong with that as it is a narrative (Meadows is tools/upside/flash, Frazier is advanced/hitter-ish/red-haired) that I have used to describe the two to the bored people in real life who can’t run away in time — but the differences between Meadows and Frazier are really what makes the comparison so damn compelling. It’s worth noting that the the one obvious edge often given to Meadows — the combination of speed/athleticism/instincts that presently allows him to effectively roam center field — isn’t as much of a sure thing going forward as the narrative may have you believe. If you can guarantee Meadows will play an above-average center through at least his late-20s, then I think he’s the pick. If both are right fielders professionally, then the door is very clearly open for fans of Frazier to proclaim him the best high school hitter in all the land.

Also, very important hair comp that came to me at the ballpark watching Phils/Mets on Wednesday: Frazier is Justin Turner 2.0. This realization helped me relate the draft, a topic I rarely broach in real life despite what I may have written earlier, to my old man. “There’s a high school guy from Georgia in this year’s draft who should go in the first few picks with hair that looks a lot like that (points to Phan-A-Vision when Turner was announced as a pinch-hitter).” The last time I brought up the draft to my dad was when talking about Nick Noonan’s Utley-like swing many years ago. Pretty sure my Frazier/Turner comp will stand the test of time a little better.

2. One thing that I don’t think has been discussed enough (by me, mostly) with respect to this specific draft class is the depth of quality prep arms likely to be available outside of the first round. I know, I know…with so many available arms and so many different team scouting perspectives on pitching, there’s never a bad year for prep pitching. We’re talking guys like Kaminsky, Clarkin, Krook, Brentz, Gonsalves, Wesely, Williams, Puk, Kohler, Alexander, Keys, McKinney, Taylor, Green, Burnett, Allen, Kilichowski, Moss, Bowden, Flores, Brady, Farmer, Jackson, Rogers, Wright, Gilson, Nicely…and those are just a fraction of the lefthanders with top ten round draftable stuff. Typing out the names of the righties would take all weekend. I’m guilty of not writing enough about high school guys, especially the non-first round prospects, so I’ll do what I can to shift the focus on some of the mid- to late-round potential steal types over the coming weeks.

3. I really, really wanted to do a mock this year. It’s been a few years since my last one and I’ve grown antsy. I started to write one on New Year’s Day, but scrapped it in favor of a few other more pressing projects. Long-time readers of the site know my stance on mocks by now: outside of Jim Callis’, mocks as predictive tools are pointless. That doesn’t mean I don’t love them, of course. Mocks are a lot of fun, and, when treated right, can be a great way to learn about the draft’s top players. Mocks can also serve as an exercise in recalibrating one’s self with the pro game. You can’t discuss Houston’s pick without going into their most recent draft classes, their current big league setup, and, most importantly, the emerging talent biding time down in the farm. Well, I guess you can just write “Houston – Mark Appel” and call it a day, but what’s the fun in that? Long story short, I may yet do a mock, but I already feel we’re too late in the process to make it worth the while. Since my mocks aren’t based on real sources — Jim Callis, I ain’t — they read best before teams begin to make their real deal short lists for each pick. For fun, here were some of the high notes from that 1/1/13 mock…again, this is NOT a current mock (note the dated draft order in places) and shouldn’t be treated as such.

1. Houston Astros | Indiana State LHP Sean Manaea

2. Chicago Cubs | Arkansas JR RHP Ryne Stanek

3. Colorado Rockies | Grayson HS (GA) OF Austin Meadows

4. Minnesota Twins | Loganville HS (GA) OF Clint Frazier

5. Cleveland Indians | Stanford SR RHP Mark Appel

6. Miami Marlins | Lakewood HS (CA) SS JP Crawford

7. Boston Red Sox | Florida JR RHP Karsten Whitson

8. Kansas City Royals | Florida JR RHP Jonathan Crawford

9. Pittsburgh Pirates | Stanford JR OF Austin Wilson

10. Toronto Blue Jays | San Diego JR OF/3B Kris Bryant

11. New York Mets | Red Wing HS (MN) OF Ryan Boldt

12. Seattle Mariners | Kentwood HS (WA) C Reese McGuire

13. San Diego Padres | St. Pius HS (TX) RHP Kohl Stewart

14. Pittsburgh Pirates | New Castle HS (IN) OF Trey Ball

15. Arizona Diamondbacks | Gaither HS (FL) SS Oscar Mercado

16. Philadelphia Phillies | St. Joseph Regional HS (NJ) LHP Robert Kaminsky

17. Milwaukee Brewers | Mississippi JR RHP Bobby Wahl

18. Chicago White Sox | Terrebonne HS (LA) OF Justin Williams

19. Los Angeles Dodgers | Woodford County HS (KY) RHP Clinton Hollon

20. St. Louis Cardinals | Cathedral Catholic HS (CA) LHP Stephen Gonsalves

21. Detroit Tigers | North Carolina 3B Colin Moran

22. Tampa Rays | Junipero Serra HS (CA) 1B Dominic Smith

23. Baltimore Orioles | Fresno State OF Aaron Judge

24. Texas Rangers | Riverwood HS (GA) OF Terry McClure

25. Oakland Athletics | James Madison HS (VA) SS/3B Andy McGuire

26. San Francisco Giants | Washington HS (IA) LHP AJ Puk

27. New York Yankees | St. Thomas HS (TX) 3B Cavan Biggio

28. Cincinnati Reds | Gonzaga LHP Marco Gonzales

29. Washington Nationals | Riverdale Baptist HS (MD) OF Matthew McPhearson

Supplemental First Round

30. St. Louis Cardinals | LSU SS/OF JaCoby Jones

31. Tampa Rays | Wenatchee HS (WA) RHP Dustin Driver

32. Texas Rangers | Yukon HS (OK) C Jon Denney

33. Atlanta Braves | Parkview HS (GA) OF Josh Hart

34. New York Yankees | LSU JR RHP Ryan Eades

35. New York Yankees | Venice HS (FL) 1B Nick Longhi

36. Washington Nationals | Elk Grove HS (CA) 1B Rowdy Tellez

Competitive Balance Lottery Round A

37. Kansas City Royals | Vanderbilt JR LHP Kevin Ziomek

38. Miami Marlins | Virginia Tech JR 3B Chad Pinder

39. Arizona Diamondbacks | Samford OF Phillip Ervin

40. Baltimore Orioles | James Madison HS (CA) LHP Ian Clarkin

41. Cincinnati Reds | King HS (FL) RHP Brett Morales

42. Detroit Tigers | Arlington County Day HS (FL) C Brian Navaretto

For good measure, here’s what I wrote up about the Houston pick…

1. Houston Astros | Indiana State LHP Sean Manaea

Houston has done an admirable job of restocking the organization’s hitting depth, but remains short on starting pitchers worth getting excited about. Lance McCullers, Mike Foltynewicz, and Nick Tropeano are a good foundation to build on, but that one starting pitching prospect who blends big league readiness with front of the rotation stuff remains elusive. I get that this could be said about 29 other farm systems — hey, did you know ace starting pitching prospects are rare? — but the lover of team building in me appreciates a projected rotation so much more when pitchers are slotted in where they “should” be. Sean Manaea as the future staff ace knocks all those other arms down a peg, and that’s something my brain appreciates. I know I shouldn’t get that caught up in Number 1 Starter, Number 2 Starter, Number 3 Starter, Number 4 Starter, Number 5 Starter designations, but it is something that helps increase my fandom rather than decrease my ability to discuss prospects. Anyway, if the Astros decide to hone in on pitching then it will almost certainly restrict their search to college arms, specifically the big three of Manaea, Ryne Stanek, and Mark Appel. I’ve gone back and forth on all three guys since last June, but am now pretty confident that Manaea is the pick to click. No pitcher in this class — or any others for the foreseeable future, despite what I’ve read a few fellow indy draft writers write about Carlos Rodon — compares to Stephen Strasburg, the ultimate in amateur pitching prospects in every possible way. However, if pressed to choose one name that even gave some kind of outside resemblance to the Nationals ace, I’d go Manaea. Part of the reason for such a silly comparison is based on each guy’s respective transition from soft bodied high school afterthought to top of the prospect class after just two years of collegiate life. Just another example of how often we, myself included, tend to overrate prospect accumulation while underrating player development.

Back to that hitting depth for a minute: potential above-average regulars Jonathan Singleton, George Springer, and Delino Deshields should join Jose Altuve in Houston within the next year or so. Last year’s draft prizes, Carlos Correa and Rio Ruiz, offer legit star upside. Lottery ticket Domingo Santana remains intriguing, as does the cadre of steady yet unspectacular future contributors like Tyler Heineman, Preston Tucker, Matt Dominguez, Nolan Fontana, Jonathan Villar, and Robbie Grossman. Adding a young outfielder like Austin Meadows or Clint Frazier would further strengthen the Astros collection of up the middle talent: you’d have MIFs Correa, Deshields, Altuve, Fontana, and Villar, as well as CFs Springer and Meadows/Frazier. That would be fun.

As I’ve said before, I have heard that certain high-ranking decision makers within the Astros front office like JP Crawford a ton. If I had to name one “sleeper” to go first overall — we’ll define sleeper as not being one of the big three college arms (Manaea, Stanek, Appel) nor one of the two hugely hyped prep outfielders (Meadows, Frazier) — then Crawford would be the easy pick. Choosing Correa and Crawford back-to-back with number one overall selections would be some kind of ballsy.

2013 MLB Draft March Madness Prospect Tournament

8 Apr 2013 12:45 AM / Leave a comment

Next year I’m going to give this idea the proper amount of effort it deserves. Until then, behold the half-baked 2013 MLB Draft March Madness Prospect Tournament unveiled just in time for March Madness to wrap up with tonight’s championship game. Seeds were determined by combing the lists compiled by the four current leaders in the industry: Baseball America, Perfect Game, ESPN (Keith Law), and Scout (Kiley McDaniel). The lists are obviously quite dated by now — Perfect Game is the oldest, and I started this before Baseball America’s most recent update — but what’s done is done. Besides (positive spin alert!), using older lists helped create some fun matchups, as well as demonstrate how much some prospects have risen or fallen in the past few months. Here we go…

West (Stanford) Region

1 Mark Appel
16 Karsten Whitson

8 Jordan Sheffield
9 Kevin Ziomek

5 Ryan Boldt
12 Billy McKinney

4 Oscar Mercado
13 Hunter Harvey

6 Phillip Ervin
11 Stephen Gonsalves

3 Colin Moran
14 Travis Demeritte

7 Chris Anderson
10 JaCoby Jones

2 Austin Wilson
15 Matt McPhearson

How interesting is that very first matchup? Prior to his injury, Whitson could have given Appel a run for his money. Well, I guess we could change that to “prior to his injury AND Mark Appel consistently showing off top of the rotation big league stuff every Friday all spring long,” but that would be a little wordy. Sheffield (future Vandy ace?) and Ziomek (current Vandy ace) give us a 8/9 “upset” made easy by Sheffield’s questionable health status. Boldt vs McKinney is a fascinating contrast of loud athletic tools (Boldt) and a bat-first prep corner outfield prospect (have heard “poor man’s Frazier” mentioned his way, though I’m not saying I endorse such talk). Mercado and Harvey give us what seems like a yearly tradition in the real deal NCAA tournament: a 4/13 upset. Talk about two players with respective arrows going the opposite directions there. I like Ervin over Gonsalvez, Moran over Demeritte (fun plus bat over plus glove battle there), Anderson over Jones, and Wilson, injured or not, over the stupid fast McPhearson.

***

South (SEC) Region

1 Ryne Stanek
16 Rowdy Tellez

8 Andrew Mitchell
9 Justin Williams

5 Bobby Wahl
12 Garret Williams

4 Reese McGuire
13 Aaron Blair

6 Ryan Eades
11 Matt Krook

3 Jonathon Crawford
14 AJ Puk

7 Eric Jagielo
10 Dustin Driver

2 Austin Meadows
15 Carlos Salazar

I swear I didn’t stack the deck to get so many big time SEC arms into one regional. Can’t say I’m too bummed out things worked out this way, though. Life is good for the SEC when it comes to most of these first round draws: Stanek whoops Tellez, Wahl topples Williams (lots of inconsistent stuff featured in that matchup), and Crawford (current Florida star) edges the underrated Puk (future Florida star?). The one matchup that gives me major pause is Eades vs Krook. A pairing that close calls for a breakdown:

Fastball: Crawford (90-94, 98) ties Krook (87-93, 95) with the latter evening things up thanks to his lefthandedness
Breaking Stuff: nasty mid-80s sliders for both, call it another tie
Changeup: big win for Crawford, who has an underrated mid-80s offering that takes care of Krook’s underdeveloped (i.e. I’ve got nothing on it) change
Size/Physical Projection/Future Role: Krook (6-4, 200) by virtue over Crawford (6-2, 200) getting dinged in the past for perhaps not having the body, arm action, and command to start in pro ball (not saying I agree)

I could keep going with categories, but it’s late so let’s call it for Krook by the skin of his teeth. Beyond the SEC, we’ll go with Mitchell over Williams (very, very close), McGuire over Blair (I just like McGuire too much, so don’t take this as a reflection on not liking Blair, who has been truly great this year), Driver over Jagielo (upside play), and Meadows over Salazar.

Midwest (Manaea) Region

1 Sean Manaea
16 Chris Okey

8 Andrew Thurman
9 Dillon Overton

5 Aaron Judge
12 Connor Jones

4 Kohl Stewart
13 Hunter Renfroe

6 Jonathan Gray
11 Andy McGuire

3 Dominic Smith
14 Chris Kohler

7 Ian Clarkin
10 Jason Hursh

2 JP Crawford
15 Conrad Gregor

This region should be proof enough that I didn’t game the results of the rankings to create interesting matchups. We’re going chalk all the way. I could maybe see arguments in favor of Jones over Judge (this goes against everything I’ll say in the next parenthetical distraction, but Jones may actually be a “safer” pick than Judge at this point) or Renfroe over Stewart (only if you a) are scared off by Stewart’s medicals/signability, or b) really don’t like risking high picks on risky high school pitchers). One nice thing about all the favorites moving on is that you get better quality matchups (in theory) in ensuing rounds. I, for one, love that Gray is lurking as a sixth seed…

***

East (because the last region gets stuck with an illogical geographical title) Region

1 Clint Frazier
16 Cavan Biggio

8 Rob Kaminsky
9 Michael Lorenzen

5 Marco Gonzales
12 Tom Windle

4 Trey Ball
13 AJ Vanegas

6 DJ Peterson
11 Colby Suggs

3 Jonathan Denney
14 Tucker Neuhaus

7 Trevor Williams
10 Braden Shipley

2 Kris Bryant
15 Hunter Green

Rob Kaminsky plays in the east, right? So the name isn’t that bad. I like the Jersey lefty over the endlessly frustrating Lorenzen. It probably doesn’t much matter as either is like a lamb to slaughter with Frazier looming large in round two. A part of me was hoping Vanegas would be a 16 seed, so we could pair him up against teammate Appel. As a 13 he’s plenty dangerous, but Ball is a touch too talented to make gambling on Vanegas a smart play. Peterson takes care of Suggs (wildly overrated, but that could just be my anti-reliever bias showing), Denney smacks down helium guy Neuhaus, and Bryant makes quick work of the interesting Green.

Speaking of Green, I would imagine anybody reading over 1,000 words on a weird draft related piece like this knows all of the names featured above. The one exception may be the little hyped prep lefty from Kentucky. Green already can hit the low-90s with his fastball and just oozes projection (gross, sorry) in his 6-4, 170 pound frame. He’s also one of the smarter young pitching minds in this class. I don’t remember which list liked him enough to get him into the tournament, but I think it was Law. Good name to know going forward.

The two unsettled matchups are our 5/12 and 7/10 contests. Shipley is on an entirely different level than Williams for me, but it stinks that an “upset” like that doesn’t carry any weight now that Shipley has emerged as a legitimate top ten threat. Gonzales vs Windle is worth a breakdown, right? Let’s close out the first round by stacking these two quality college lefthanders against one another in a blind test:

87-92 FB (94), above-average 78-84 SL (plus upside), average 80-85 CU (above-average upside), good athlete, 6-4, 210 pounds

2011: 7.62 K/9 | 41.1 IP
2012: 8.27 K/9 | 3.70 BB/9 | 4.20 FIP | 41.1 IP
2013: 8.10 K/9 | 1.62 BB/9 | 3.47 FIP | 50 IP

87-91 FB (92), average 75-81 CB, plus 77-82 circle CU, plus athlete, 6-1, 185 pounds

2011: 7.80 K/9 | 105 IP
2012: 9.13 K/9 | 2.14 BB/9 | 3.34 FIP | 92.2 IP
2013: 8.12 K/9 | 1.76 BB/9 | 3.26 FIP | 51 IP

Wow, that’s close. I need to sleep on that one…

The Baseball Draft Report

Yearly Archives: 2013

2013 MLB Draft: Top 75 College Shortstop Prospects

2013 MLB Draft: Top 75 College Third Base Prospects

2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College Second Base Prospects

2B

2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College First Base Prospects

1B

2013 MLB Draft: Top 100 College Catching Prospects

C

Draft Prep Update

College Shortstops to Know

Myles Smith, California Catchers, and the 2005 BA Prospect Handbook

2013 MLB Draft Top 20

College Second Basemen to Know

Phillip Ervin

College First Basemen to Know

Let’s Talk College Catching

Potpourri

2013 MLB Draft March Madness Prospect Tournament

West (Stanford) Region

South (SEC) Region

Midwest (Manaea) Region

East (because the last region gets stuck with an illogical geographical title) Region

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