Baseball America Draft Preview: Aaron Crow / Conor Gillaspie

by Deaner on May 30, 2008 9:35 PM EDT

I just got the 2008 draft preview of Baseball America in the mail today. Jim Callis is projecting that the Reds will select RHP Aaron Crow out of the University of Missouri with the seventh pick overall. Crow has a 13-0 record this year which is VERY impressive considering the competition that he faces in the Big XII. Today he shutout Ole Miss for 7-0 win and struck out 10 batters in the opening round of the NCAA Regional. This certainly looks like a good pick to me.

I would also like to the Reds take a serious look at Conor Gillaspie, 3b, out of Wichita State. BA rates him as the number 3 "Best Pure Hitter" ... probably wouldn't be a bad move considering EE isn't exactly panning out.

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Gillaspie = Meh

Crow’s the pick if he’s there. I think Tim Beckham, Posey, Smoak, Matusz and Alvarez are gone when the Reds pick. If one of those guys are there, I think you have to take them My next 3 look like this:

1) Crow
2) Gordon Beckham, SS, U.Georgia
3) Aaron Hicks, OF-RHP, California HS

Kyle Skipworth would be there, but I can’t imagine taking a HS Catcher 2 years in a row. I’m all for “Best Player Available,” but I think you can reach 1 or 2 spots when you already have an exact copy of a player already in the system.

I haven’t seen Gillaspie discussed as anything more than a late first-rounder. Sickels has him outside his top 30 draft board, and outside his top 10 college hitters. He may be a good “pure hitter,” but he sure as hell doesn’t do anything else well.

"Karma - there it was. The meaning of life, straight from Carson Daly's lips to my morphine-laced ears." -Earl Hickey

by BLee2525 on May 30, 2008 10:12 PM EDT reply actions

I would be thrilled with Yonder Alonso-1B-Miami.

Crow would be a good pick, as would Gordon Beckham. I also like Brett Lawrie, a Canadian HS 3B. He might be a reach at No. 7, but I sure like his bat.

I liked Hicks a lot more before the season. As the draft gets closer, I keep thinking Hicks is exactly the kind of player Jim Bowden would draft and that scares me for no rational reason.

We Are ... Marshall!

by Thundering Turtle on May 30, 2008 10:24 PM EDT reply actions

Gordan Beckham

Yeah I like him

by Deaner on May 30, 2008 11:48 PM EDT up reply actions

I have no idea

but I’m going with what ever the Turtle says here.

Hope Springs Eternal! Go Reds

by Caleb on May 31, 2008 9:11 AM EDT up reply actions

Crow

just shutout Ole Miss on three hits in the opening round of the tournament. Anyone know if the baseball tournament as important to scouts as the basketball tournament is?

by ken on May 30, 2008 10:51 PM EDT reply actions

The tournament can have a fairly significant

impact on a player moving up or down within the first round. Scouts are pretty much set on who is a first rounder, except maybe for a couple of players, but they can bump a guy up or down a few notches based on a performance against a strong opponent. that’s particularly true is a scouting director or cross checker happens to be in attendance. I suspect Crow helped his cause significantly and earned himself a few hundred thousand dollars more by dominating tonight.

We Are ... Marshall!

by Thundering Turtle on May 30, 2008 11:12 PM EDT up reply actions

I've seen Crow pitch at Mizzou...

He’s the real deal.

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on May 30, 2008 11:32 PM EDT reply actions

Hey Crolfer

how did your season end up? Did your team do well?

Hope Springs Eternal! Go Reds

by Caleb on May 31, 2008 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions

my season?

The summer league went well, but I haven’t played since then…

Got mono just before tryouts at the high school…

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on May 31, 2008 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions

(although the high school team had a good year with 15 seniors...)

Should have a decent chance at making it next year…

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on May 31, 2008 9:43 AM EDT up reply actions

mono

that’s too bad. Will you be a Sr next season? Are you playing any this summer league this year?

Hope Springs Eternal! Go Reds

by Caleb on May 31, 2008 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions

yeah, I'll be a senior.

This summer I’m really busy though… Going to Ohio with my dad and then going on a church mission trip to New Orleans, so I really don’t have a whole ton of time to play this year… I’ll probably focus on building up some muscle…

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on May 31, 2008 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

where in OH-IO?

will you get a chance to swing in and see the Reds?

Hope Springs Eternal! Go Reds

by Caleb on May 31, 2008 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions

actually yes I will... I'll be in Greenville...

Get to see the June 10th Reds-Cards game in section 125 (Row M)

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on May 31, 2008 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Joe Nuxhall night

The Dusty Path to the World Series!*

*Note this is not an endorsment of Dusty Baker.

by justin007000 on Jun 2, 2008 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

ouch

i had mono a year ago and it was awful. My girlfriend (who gave it to me) went to work last summer before she was completly recoeved, her mono came back last fall and she had to drop out of pharmacy school.

The Dusty Path to the World Series!*

*Note this is not an endorsment of Dusty Baker.

by justin007000 on Jun 2, 2008 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions

dang... that sucks...

People Don't Kill People. Burning Couches Kill People.

by crolfer on Jun 3, 2008 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Gordan Beckham, SS, Georgia

What do you all think about him?

by Deaner on May 30, 2008 11:47 PM EDT reply actions

The bat is legit.

If he can stick at SS long-term, he’s probably a top-4 talent in the draft. Scouts are split on that, though. His stock takes a hit if he has to move to 3B, but his bat is good enough that he’s still a top 10 guy.

"Karma - there it was. The meaning of life, straight from Carson Daly's lips to my morphine-laced ears." -Earl Hickey

by BLee2525 on May 31, 2008 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions

probably wouldn't be a bad move considering EE isn't exactly panning out.

teams shouldn’ t draft by need, especially at the mlb level, they should draft either the most polished and likely to make the big leagues or the most talented with the highest ceiling no matter what position he plays. If the Reds are looking to the 2008 draft to fix their current “problem” at thirdbase they are in trouble, considering that his ETA would be 2011 or later.

The Dusty Path to the World Series!*

*Note this is not an endorsment of Dusty Baker.

by justin007000 on May 31, 2008 12:02 AM EDT reply actions

agreed, except

College hitters can make a quick impact. Ryan Zimmerman was drafted in ‘05 and debuted when rosters expanded that September.

by Red Menace on May 31, 2008 9:56 PM EDT up reply actions

Sickels' mock draft

John Sickels has the Reds taking Crow. They passed on Gordan Beckham (#8) and Hicks (whom Bowden takes at #9). Yonder Alonso fell to #17, and Conor Gillaspie fell all the way to #27.

Weird that players projected in round one include guys named Josh Fields and Chris Carpenter.

by Brian B on Jun 2, 2008 10:15 PM EDT reply actions