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2015 MLB Draft Prospects – Big 10 Follow List
Illinois
JR LHP Tyler Jay (2015)
JR LHP Kevin Duchene (2015)
SR RHP John Kravetz (2015)
rSR RHP Drasen Johnson (2015)
JR LHP JD Nielsen (2015)
JR RHP Nick Blackburn (2015)
rSR LHP Rob McDonnell (2015)
rJR RHP Charlie Naso (2015)
SR RHP/1B Josh Ferry (2015)
rSR RHP/2B Reid Roper (2015)
JR C Jason Goldstein (2015)
SR 1B/SS David Kerian (2015)
SR 2B Michael Hurwitz (2015)
rSR C Kelly Norris-Jones (2015)
rSO SS Adam Walton (2015)
JR OF/1B Ryan Nagle (2015)
SR OF Will Krug (2015)
SR OF Casey Fletcher (2015)
SO RHP Cody Sedlock (2016)
Indiana
JR LHP Scott Effross (2015)
rSO RHP Jake Kelzer (2015)
rSO RHP Thomas Belcher (2015)
rSR RHP Ryan Halstead (2015)
rJR LHP Kyle Hart (2015)
SR RHP Luke Harrison (2015)
JR LHP Will Coursen-Carr (2015)
JR RHP Christian Morris (2015)
rSO RHP Kent Williams (2015)
JR LHP Sullivan Stadler (2015)
JR RHP Evan Bell (2015)
rSR OF Scott Donley (2015)
SR 2B/OF Casey Rodrigue (2015)
SR C/OF Brian Hartong (2015)
rSR OF Will Nolden (2015)
SR OF Chris Sujka (2015)
JR SS/2B Nick Ramos (2015)
rFR LHP Austin Foote (2016)
rFR C Brent Gibbs (2016)
SO 1B/SS Austin Cangelosi (2016)
SO OF Craig Dedelow (2016)
FR OF Logan Sowers (2017)
FR OF Larry Crisler (2017)
FR OF Laren Eustace (2017)
FR RHP Brian Hobbie (2017)
FR 3B Isaiah Pasteur (2017)
Iowa
JR RHP/C Blake Hickman (2015)
SR RHP Nick Hibbing (2015)
SR LHP Andrew Hedrick (2015)
JR RHP Calvin Mathews (2015)
JR LHP Ryan Erickson (2015)
JR RHP Tyler Radtke (2015)
rJR LHP/OF Taylor Kaufman (2015)
JR 1B/RHP Tyler Peyton (2015)
SR OF/2B Eric Toole (2015)
rSR 2B Jake Mangler (2015)
SR OF Kris Goodman (2015)
SR OF Dan Potempa (2015)
JR OF Joel Booker (2015)
JR C Jimmy Frankos (2015)
rSO SS/RHP Josh Martsching (2015)
Maryland
JR LHP Jake Drossner (2015)
JR LHP Alex Robinson (2015)
JR RHP Kevin Mooney (2015)
JR RHP Jared Price (2015)
rJR LHP Zach Morris (2015)
SR RHP Bobby Ruse (2015)
JR OF/LHP LaMonte Wade (2015)
JR 3B Jose Cuas (2015)
JR C Kevin Martir (2015)
rSO 2B Brandon Lowe (2015)
JR OF Anthony Papio (2015)
SO C/1B Nick Cieri (2016)
SO RHP Mike Shawaryn (2016)
SO LHP Tayler Stiles (2016)
rFR 1B Matt Oniffey (2016)
FR C Justin Morris (2017)
FR LHP Willie Rios (2017)
FR 2B/SS Andrew Bechtold (2017)
FR OF Zach Jancarski (2017)
FR SS Kevin Smith (2017)
FR RHP Taylor Bloom (2017)
FR RHP Tyler Brandon (2017)
FR OF Kengo Kawahara (2017)
FR RHP Brian Shaffer (2017)
FR OF Jamal Wade (2017)
FR LHP Jack Piekos (2017)
Michigan
rJR RHP Matthew Ogden (2015)
JR LHP Evan Hill (2015)
SR RHP Donnie Eaton (2015)
JR RHP/3B Jacob Cronenworth (2015)
JR 3B/SS Travis Maezes (2015)
SR C/OF Kevin White (2015)
SR OF Jackson Glines (2015)
SR 1B/OF Kyle Jusick (2015)
SO LHP Brett Adcock (2016)
SO RHP/OF Jackson Lamb (2016)
SO RHP Mac Lozer (2016)
SO OF Johnny Slater (2016)
SO RHP Keith Lehmann (2016)
SO INF/OF Carmen Benedetti (2016)
SO INF Ramsey Romano (2016)
SO RHP/SS Hector Gutierrez (2016)
SO C Harrison Wenson (2016)
FR C/3B Drew Lugbauer (2017)
FR RHP Jayce Vancena (2017)
FR LHP Grant Reuss (2017)
FR RHP Ryan Nutof (2017)
FR RHP Bryan Pall (2017)
FR 2B Jake Bivens (2017)
Michigan State
SR C Blaise Salter (2015)
SR 1B Ryan Krill (2015)
rSR 3B Mark Weist (2015)
rSR SS Ryan Richardson (2015)
SR OF Anthony Cheky (2015)
JR OF Cameron Gibson (2015)
JR 3B/SS Justin Hovis (2015)
SR RHP Mick VanVossen (2015)
rSR LHP/OF Jeff Kinley (2015)
rSO LHP Cameron Vieaux (2015)
JR LHP Anthony Misiewicz (2015)
rFR RHP Dakota Mekkes (2016)
SO LHP Joe Mockbee (2016)
SO RHP Jake Lowery (2016)
SO RHP Walter Borkovich (2016)
FR LHP Keegan Baar (2017)
FR LHP/OF Brandon Hughes (2017)
FR LHP Alex Troop (2017)
FR RHP Andrew Gonzalez (2017)
Minnesota
rJR RHP Lance Thonvold (2015)
JR LHP Dalton Sawyer (2015)
rJR LHP Jordan Jess (2015)
SR RHP Ben Meyer (2015)
rJR RHP Ty McDevitt (2015)
SR RHP Neal Kunik (2015)
rSR SS Michael Handel (2015)
SR OF Jake Bergren (2015)
JR 2B/SS Connor Schaefbauer (2015)
JR OF Dan Motl (2015)
SR 2B/OF Tony Skjefte (2015)
rSO OF Jordan Smith (2015)
rSO C/OF Troy Traxler (2015)
SO RHP/1B Tyler Hanson (2016)
SO RHP/OF Matt Fiedler (2016)
SO RHP Toby Anderson (2016)
SO RHP Cody Campbell (2016)
SO C Austin Athmann (2016)
SO RHP Brian Glowicki (2016)
FR OF Alex Boxwell (2017)
FR 1B/C Toby Hanson (2017)
FR 3B Micah Coffey (2017)
FR LHP Lucas Gilbreath (2017)
FR RHP Reggie Meyer (2017)
Nebraska
SR RHP Josh Roeder (2015)
SR LHP Kyle Kubat (2015)
SR RHP Chance Sinclair (2015)
JR RHP Jeff Chesnut (2015)
JR RHP Colton Howell (2015)
rJR LHP/1B Austin Christensen (2015)
SR C Tanner Lubach (2015)
SR OF Austin Darby (2015)
SR SS Steven Reveles (2015)
OF/LHP Christian Cox (2015)
SR 3B/1B Blake Headley (2015)
JR 2B/SS Jake Placzek (2015)
SO OF Ryan Boldt (2016)
SO LHP Max Knutson (2016)
SO RHP Derek Burkamper (2016)
SO LHP/1B Ben Miller (2016)
SO RHP Jake Hohensee (2016)
FR 1B/3B Scott Schreiber (2017)
FR OF Elijah Diday (2017)
FR OF Luis Alvarado (2017)
FR RHP Zack Engelken (2017)
FR RHP Garret King (2017)
Northwestern
SR 3B Reid Hunter (2015)
JR 3B/OF Jake Schieber (2015)
rSR C Scott Heelan (2015)
JR 1B/OF Zach Jones (2015)
SR OF Luke Dauch (2015)
JR OF Jack Mitchell (2015)
SR RHP Brandon Magallones (2015)
JR LHP Matt Portland (2015)
JR LHP Reed Mason (2015)
SO OF/C Joe Hoscheit (2016)
SO OF/LHP Matt Hopfner (2016)
SO RHP Joe Schindler (2016)
Ohio State
SO RHP Travis Lakins (2015)
SR RHP Trace Dempsey (2015)
rSO RHP Shea Murray (2015)
SR LHP Ryan Riga (2015)
JR RHP Jake Post (2015)
rJR LHP Michael Horejsei (2015)
JR 1B/OF Zach Ratcliff (2015)
SR C Aaron Gretz (2015)
SR C Connor Sabanosh (2015)
rJR 1B/3B Ryan Leffel (2015)
SR OF Patrick Porter (2015)
JR 3B/1B Jake Bosiokovic (2015)
JR 2B/3B Troy Kuhn (2015)
JR 3B Craig Nennig (2015)
rJR 3B Nick Sergakis (2015)
SO OF Ronnie Dawson (2016)
SO OF Troy Montgomery (2016)
SO LHP/OF Tanner Tully (2016)
SO RHP/1B Curtiss Irving (2016)
Penn State
rJR OF Greg Guers (2015)
JR OF James Coates (2015)
SR 1B JJ White (2015)
rJR OF Ryan Richter (2015)
rSO 3B Christian Helsel (2015)
JR RHP Jack Anderson (2015)
JR LHP Nick Hedge (2015)
rSR LHP Geoff Boylston (2015)
FR LHP Taylor Lehman (2017)
FR RHP Sal Biasi (2017)
FR RHP Nick Distasio (2017)
Purdue
SR RHP Brett Haan (2015)
SR RHP Joe Eichmann (2015)
rJR RHP Gavin Downs (2015)
rSR RHP Matt Gibbs (2015)
rJR 1B/LHP Kyle Wood (2015)
JR OF/RHP Kyle Johnson (2015)
JR C/OF Jack Picchiotti (2015)
JR 2B/OF Cody Strong (2015)
SR 3B/SS Brandon Krieg (2015)
JR 2B Michael Vilardo (2015)
SO RHP Matt Frawley (2016)
FR SS/2B Harry Shipley (2017)
Rutgers
SR OF Vinny Zarrillo (2015)
JR 3B/C RJ Devish (2015)
SR RHP Jon Young (2015)
JR LHP Mark McCoy (2015)
JR LHP Howie Brey (2015)
rSO LHP Max Herrmann (2015)
SO SS/RHP Christian Campbell (2016)
SO C/1B Chris Folinusz (2016)
SO OF Mike Carter (2016)
SO OF Tom Marcinczyk (2016)
SO RHP Sean Kelly (2016)
SO RHP/2B Gaby Rosa (2016)
SO LHP Ryan Fleming (2016)
2011 Quick Draft Thoughts – Rutgers Scarlet Knights
SR OF Michael Lang’s scouting profile screams potential fourth outfielder. Above-average in many phases of the game (speed, arm strength, range) with consistent strong production at the plate (.378/.471/.700 – 27 BB/39 K – 11/15 SB – 230 AB), not to mention one of the finest people I’ve talked to/people who say ridiculously nice things about him ratios I’ve come across. Yes, Lang’s PITT/PWSRNTAH stat is simply off the charts. Regular readers of the site know I try to straddle that fine line when it comes to makeup – not wanting to be completely dismissive of it, not willing to use it to make blanket statements defending or denouncing any particular prospect’s ranking – but I do think it makes an interesting tie-breaker during equally talented player comparisons, especially for prospects who aren’t expected to be regulars in the big leagues. Call me naïve, but sometimes I like to think of the business of baseball like I would any other job market that exists in our world. If I had final say on draft day, I’d always stop and ask myself this very simple question: Do you feel confident hiring this man to join your company? Lang’s done enough on the field, shown enough of a projectable skill set, and is by all accounts a potential model employee.
JR RHP Charlie Law is a projection pick all the way at this point. The potential for three big league average or better pitches (88-92 FB with sink, above-average CU that really impressed me when I saw him in high school, raw CB with promise) and a great frame (6-7, 235) make him one of college baseball’s most intriguing mystery men. With only 36 innings pitched through his first two seasons as a Scarlet Knight, Law has a lot to prove in 2011. I personally find his height interesting because it is one of those rare attributes that is both very clearly a positive (downward plane, some potential for more heat, better suited for durability, etc.) and a negative. I haven’t seen him since high school, so don’t take this as gospel, but his height often appeared to throw his mechanics out of sync which in turn hurt the way he commanded his fastball.
I really, really liked SR OF Brandon Boykin last year, but the more time he spends away from the infield the less I seem to like his prospect stock. Despite his plus speed and impressive pop for his size, I’d still rank him behind Lang. JR RHP Nathaniel Roe is well off the radar for many draft fans at this point, but he throws two good secondary pitches (low-70s CB and mid-70s CU) and might be able to get a look despite a below-average heater.
Those are the top four prospects on my Rutgers board at this point. Law and Lang are locks to get drafted. Boykin is a solid maybe. Despite my appreciation, Roe might be viewed as a 2012 senior sign more than anything else. After that, it’s lottery ticket time. The very athletic SR LHP Sean Campbell is probably the only other Rutgers pitcher with a shot to get drafted. Two grip and rip players, JR OF Ryan Kapp and JR 3B/1B Russ Hopkins, are both really strong college power hitters not exactly known for their plate discipline. Picking one over the other is tricky. I think Hopkins has a better chance of figuring things out at the plate, but the possibility he won’t stick at 3B in the pros is scary. Kapp’s strong track record with wood and enviable present power make me happy, but corner outfielders who can’t control the strike zone aren’t exactly in high demand these days, Dayton Moore excepted. Kapp by a hair, but the two are awfully close.
JR RHP Willie Beard, after throwing up a less than stellar 8.57 FIP in 35.2 IP last season, needs a better junior season to get back on the map. Insightful commentary, I know. The point I am clumsily trying to make is that Beard, a player who scouts actually said nice things about as a freshman, is not without talent despite his poor sophomore season. I don’t think he is a draftable talent – short righthanded pitchers either need above-average stuff, dominating numbers, or, in many instances, both to get noticed – but he can be filed away as a deep, deep, deep sleeper if you’re into that sort of thing.
Lastly we come to two draft-eligible sophomores with enough untapped upside to deserve mention. SO OF/LHP Steven Zavala and SO C Justin Olsen both flashed enough talent as prep players to warrant some consideration here in 2011. The key word there is some; do keep in mind that non-premium draft-eligible sophomores typically don’t hear their names called on draft day
2011 MLB Draft Prognosis
Lang and Law are definites, Boykin is a strong maybe, Kapp and Hopkins are weak maybes, and Campbell, Roe, Olsen, and Zavala are long shots. That covers the prediction part of things. As far as my own prospect tastes, I’d personally rank them Law, Lang, Boykin, Roe, Kapp, Hopkins, Olsen, and Zavala, in order.
Random College Plus-Plus Tools
So, I’ve got a 33-page Word document going with every notable college team listed (including junior colleges and D-II/D-III teams) that is now up over 11,000 words. I don’t say it to brag — I mean, come on, how big a dork would I have to be proud of something like that? — but rather to set up the next couple of days of posting. Since my current Word doc has real quick notes on a ton of college players, I thought it would be a good idea to share out some of the more interesting findings so far. I won’t have complete player profiles done on the major guys for a while, and I doubt I’ll ever have complete profiles written on some of the lesser names, so this gives me a chance to shine the spotlight on some lesser known guys who happen to feature a truly standout tool or two.
Rutgers
SR C Jayson Hernandez (2010) and his jaw-dropping throwing arm. The guy may have little to no power to speak of, and he may be considered one of the weaker hitters currently playing major college ball, but, man oh man, can this guy throw. If he can wake up the bat even a teeny, tiny bit, he could find himself drafted with the chance of someday being a shutdown all-defense big league backup.
South Florida
JR C Eric Sim (2010) and his almost as good as Hernandez’s plus-plus but not quite all the way there yet arm. Overall, Hernandez is the better defender; he is closer to a finished product defensively (his ability to block balls and his footwork are both currently ahead) and, as mentioned, has a slightly more impressive arm. Sim’s bat is more of a question mark at this point. I’ll be honest and say I’m not really sure how it’ll play in the Big East this spring. What I do know is that some scouts have already given up on Sim as a catcher and are instead dreaming of what kind of heat his arm could generate when getting reps throwing off the mound.
Texas A&M
SO RHP/SS Adam Smith (2011) and the bazooka launcher attached to the right side of his body. If you’ve been following the draft over the past few years the name Adam Smith should sound familiar. No, not the Wealth of Nations guy. The highly sought after 2008 recruit who wound up in College Station playing for the Aggies. Smith has always had a crazy strong arm, but only recently has he had the chance to showcase it regularly on the mound. I still believe he can play a capable SS/3B and hit enough to be productive at either spot, but I couldn’t fault a team that instead saw him as a potential closer-type throwing easy 97 mph fastballs off the bump.
San Diego
FR OF Matt Moynihan (2012) doing his very best Usain Bolt impression with legit plus-plus speed. A future piece here is definitely going to be about players who fit the ideal “leadoff man profile.” I must have wrote that phrase about 50 times when during the quick reports of college guys this year. Maybe I’m misremembering previous year’s talent bases, but it seems that 2010-2012 has a disproportionate amount of players with the potential for really good big league careers as lineup table setters and up the middle plus defenders. Moynihan has that potential, though he is obviously a few years off from getting there. He combines that plus-plus speed with good discipline along with superior range and an arm that fits well in CF to make himself an enticing prospect to watch.
Old Dominion
JR LHP Kyle Hald (2010) and his dominating split-fingered changeup. Hald doesn’t throw hard (sitting mid-80s), but he does everything else you could possibly want a pitcher to do well. The secondary stuff is solid (hard SL and decent show-me CB), he is an outstanding fielder, his pickoff move is a legit weapon, and his mechanics are clean, consistent, and repeatable. That alone would make him a potential mid-round get, even when factoring in the below-average fastball. It’s the inclusion of his unique split-fingered change that makes him a sleeper to watch in 2010. I may be wildly overrating him based on one great pitch, but it’s a pitch that impressed me so much I’m willing to stick my neck out for it.
Jacksonville State
SR RHP Alex Jones (2010) and his surgically repaired elbow’s nasty slider. Jones is coming off from Tommy John surgery and, unfortunately, is feeling the impact hard. His fastball that once topped out in the low-90s was only able to get up over 86 this past summer. Thankfully the procedure and subsequent time off had no negative consequences on his plus-plus slider, a pitch that may be the best of its kind in all of college baseball. If Jones can pick up some of that lost velocity, he’ll find himself as another potential mid-round college reliever sleeper. He’s got the pro body (6-6, 190 pounds) and financial advantage (he’d be a senior sign) that many similarly talented pitchers in the mid-rounds seem to lack.
The Baseball Draft Report 