Yankees-Sox draft battle ROYALE!!!

[jacksonianmarch]

Highest ceiling pitcher taken: Brackman- NYY- You have a 6'11" guy with questionable mechanics who already hits 99 and has a plus spike curve. Put him in the minors, get him healthy (with or without TJ), and let Nardi Contreras get a hold of him to hone his mechanics and he could be sitting in the high 90s and regularly hitting triple digits. That is a monster. As we have seen in the past, the taller guys take a bit longer to perfect because repetitiveness is an issue. But they have the highest rewards if you get them there.

2nd place: Chris Carpenter: NYY- Throws upper nineties with regularity and if he can harness his off speed stuff, he could be an elite closer or a top of the rotation starter. Health and lack of a second plus pitch are concerns, but having an upper 90s fastball with movement is very promising. Extremely high ceiling, but will he reach it.

Pitcher most likely to reach ceiling- Nick Hagadone- BOS I really like this pick. A lefty who throws low 90s, has 2 advanced off speed pitches and can relieve and start. Not a top of the rotation talent, but very well could end up being a mid rotation guy. I'd consider this kid a fast mover a la Ian Kennedy.

2nd place: Ryan Pope- NYY- He was from a smaller school, so he was easy to miss. But the kid sits low 90s and has impeccable control of 3 off speed pitches. Doesnt have a true plus offspeed pitch, but his control and his velocity will be enough to nab him a mid to back end rotation ceiling and the thought around yankee land is that he certainly can reach it. Considered the fastest potential moving pitcher drafted by the yankees.

Best Prep Pitcher- Greg Peavey NYY Peavey is gonna be a bitch to sign and his frame brings to mind comparisons with Hudson. Hence, there is not much more power projectability left in the frame, but he has gotten every ounce he could thus far. He's been throwing 90+ since he was 14 and now sits in the low 90s, topping out at 95. He already has a plus slider and very well could fly up our system if he were to be relegated to pen work. He fell because he is expected to go to Oregon State regardless and his salary demands were at least 7 figures.

2nd place: Austin Bailey- BOS 94 mph fastball and a curve that is inconsistent, but when on is an above average pitch. Quite a nice arsenal to start a minor league career with. His curve, although solid, is not in the class of Peavey's slider, hence why Bailey is in second place.

Top 5 pitchers per team
NYY-
1. Brackman
2. Carpenter
3. Peavey
4. Pope
5. Olbrychowski

BOS-
1. Hagadone
2. Bailey
3. Grimm
4. Tepesch
5. Huntzinger

Best Pure Hitter taken:- Bradley Suttle- NYY- easy pick here, since he was rated as the best pure hitter in the entire draft. Dropped due to signability concerns.

2nd place: Damon Sublett- NYY- seeing as this is a pure hitter category, a HS kid just wont cut it unless he is amazing. And to this point, the other guys in this category are projection more than anything else. Sublett is a finished product. Short, compact, sweet swing, not much power, but makes solid contact and finds the gaps.

Best Projectable Hitter- Kade Keowen- BOS- People are drooling over Middlebrooks (see 2nd) but this kid is huge and has a HUGE power potential. Projectability has this kid as a 30+ homer kind of guy. But the folly of projectability is that it is rarely reached, especially with hitters. So, while he looks nice now, lets see if he can tighten that long swing up and use his natural frame to yank em out of the park.

2nd place- Will Middlebrooks- BOS Power projection, average projection, pure athlete. This kid's possibilities are endless and projects as a cornerstone 3b for any club.

Best Catcher taken - Toss UP- Austin Romine- NYY and Yasmani Grandal- BOS People will gripe about Grandal, but both have their warts. Romine has the better arm. Grandal has the better raw catching ability. But Romine's bat is a little more advanced than Grandal's. But, Grandal is a switch hitter. Overall, Grandal has a leg up on getting to the pros because he is just so far advanced as a defensive catcher, but in terms of projectability and total package, Romine may be ahead right now when you consider the offensive aspect.

Best Corner IFer- Bradley Suttle- NYY- Best pure hitter in the draft, right now is well ahead in maturation from the second place player on this list, but in terms of ceiling, Middlebrooks has him.
2nd Place- Will Middlebrooks- and in a yr or two, Middlebrooks could be the best corner IFer in either system, he has that kind of potential. But for right now, Suttle is well ahead of him.

Best Middle Infielder- Ryan Dent-BOS- Even though I hated this pick, it was more for the fact it was a 1A pick than the actual player itself. Kid can fly, kid can hit, power will likely be lacking. But this kid could really be something as he is one of the best athletes in the entire draft.

2nd place Carmen Angelini-NYY- fell due to signability concerns, but this kid is smooth and he can hit. Very solid in all aspects, but a master of none. He may project as more of a 3b though. He beats out Sublett in this spot because of projectability. Sublett is a what you see is what you get kind of player.

Best OFer- Kade Keowen- BOS I love projectability when the other options are well below solid picks. Keowen has the power potential that make scouts drool.

2nd place- Taylor Grote- NYY- I really like this kid. Fast, sweet swing, nice frame. Has power projection and a solid arm. Reminds me a lot of a David Murphy. Solid all around without having any one asset that stands out at this point. Has more power potential than Murphy at this point. But he cowers in power potential in comparison to Keowen.

Top 5 position players taken

NYY-
1. Suttle
2. Grote
3. Romine
4. Angelini
5. Sublett

BOS-
1. Middlebrooks
2. Keowen
3. Morris
4. Mailman
5. Dent

Overall- I think the yankees get the pitching edge. The two best projectability arms and the best prep arm will give you that. I also like the big sinkerballer out of Pepperdine and Pope out of Savannah. The sox on the other hand, have a deeper crop of prep kids in the rotation and if they sign and continue to better themselves, they could be looking back at 07 as a solid rotation rebuilding draft in terms of overall farm health. None project as aces or top of the rotation talents, but all can be solid nonetheless.

In terms of hitting, the yankees grabbed the best hitter, but in terms of overall draft, the sox win this one, and it isnt all that close. Keowen is the biggest bat but then the projectability and versatility of Dent, Mailman, Middlebrooks, Morris, Grandal, and Presley make the offensive side of the sox draft a high risk, high reward draft that could pay huge dividends in the future.


I'd love to see other people take a crack at this. BTW, for those who didnt have SR's, I watched the scouting videos. Hence why I loved Sublett and Grote and why I wasnt terribly impressed with Weems.

[CrespoBlows]

Impressive.

[jacksonianmarch]

if you really want to see a fundamentally sound swing, take a look at sublett's scouting video. His stance is weird, his first step is toward the plate instead of towards the pitcher, but all of that is non-sense anyway. Look at how compact his swing is and how deep he lets it go before he smacks it. Quick hands, fluid swing, minimal drift, compact. Great example of a perfect swing.

[CrespoBlows]

Does anyone know of a site that has college baseball stats?

[jacksonianmarch]

thebaseballcube.com has stats, but they lack this yrs. If you want to see this yrs stats, you are gonna have to go to the individual school webpages.

[example1]

Impressive indeed jacksonianmarch.

I would love to reply to your post with something equally thoughtful but I am simply incapable of it at this point. I need to digest who got what for a bit first. Very nice though.

[jacksonianmarch]

Originally Posted by example1

Impressive indeed jacksonianmarch.

I would love to reply to your post with something equally thoughtful but I am simply incapable of it at this point. I need to digest who got what for a bit first. Very nice though.

watch the scouting videos. I can tell a lot about a player after one solid swing. Watch him for a few more and you get a picture of what they need to work on and what kind of player they can be. That is why I think Sublett is more of a what you see is what you get kind of athlete. His swing is near perfect. There isnt any projection left.

[seabeachfred]

Well done Jackson; even if what you say is half-right you've given us a good lowdown on our two teams' prospects and projects. Of course, how many of these guys are going to sign instead of going to college, and how many of them will push those already in their respective systems out of the picture and take their place. Once they sign that contract and start riding the busses, eating at the greasy spoons, seeing wild and sometimes controless balls coming at their heads, playing every day under harsher conditions than they are used to----well, the men will get separated from the boys very quickly.

[Gom]

Jacko, you have way too much free time. So much in fact, I am starting to worry about you and have some "people" I would like you to talk to.

Nice report, btw.

[example1]

Originally Posted by jacksonianmarch

watch the scouting videos. I can tell a lot about a player after one solid swing. Watch him for a few more and you get a picture of what they need to work on and what kind of player they can be. That is why I think Sublett is more of a what you see is what you get kind of athlete. His swing is near perfect. There isnt any projection left.

I watch the scouting videos for the Sox guys because I know there is a chance they will one day play for my favorite team. I don't feel I have the patience to watch the mid to late round picks for the team I despise most. At least, not right now.