2011 MLB Draft Thread: Day 2

high-upside high school guys. Pitching depth is great, so I figure an infusion of arms is coming.

Here are the players left from Baseball America’s Top 50:

No. 15. Josh Bell, of

No. 16. Daniel Norris, lhp

No. 28. Austin Hedges, c

No. 30 Andrew Susac, c

No. 31 Dillon Howard, rhp

No. 32 Matt Purke, lhp

No. 39 Jorge Lopez, rhp

No. 41 Josh Osich, lhp

No. 42 Alex Dickerson, of

No. 46 Dillon Maples, rhp

No. 50 Tony Zych, rhp

I really like Bell and Norris, but both are extremely expensive. Bell might require $6 million and Norris reportedly is asking for $4 million.

But we blinked when it came to Rhodes’ arb situation.

Expensive. I can see someone picking him late and hoping he’ll take a low-ball offer. Probably winds up at Clemson. It’s a tremendous gamble by the kid. He probably could have gotten $2 million in this draft. If his gamble pays off and he develops into a top-of-the-draft guy, maybe he gets $6 million in three years. If he blows out his arm or doesn’t develop, he might not even be a first-rounder.

so he can stay at TCU and probably will. The shoulder injury really bumped him down boards.

but the Nats might pay him 4 or 5 mil and he accepts. he wanted 6 out of high school.

I guess it’s safe to call the greater Lancaster-Hershey area a baseball hotbed.

He has a good body and runs 60 yards in 6.9 seconds. Stats are essentially non-existent. He has upside and is reportedly a high-character individual.

Baseball America had him as the top bat on the island.

A haven for scouts.

or such as last year’s second rounder Ryan LaMarre?

They are getting right down to business.

Sons of big-league players getting a chance.

I believe he was ranked higher than Chaz Roe and Colin Cowgill both.

I like.

BA ranks him the No. 23 prospect in Texas, which had a banner draft crop this year. He transferred to Rice from South Suburban JC, where he broke the strikeout record of former big leaguer Tim Byrdak. Cingrani is a reliever.

Cingrani (6-foot-5, 205) was a bust his first season at Rice, posting n 8.05 ERA. Coaches overhauled his motion this year and the results were dramatic as he posted a 1.74 ERA, went 4-2 and had 66 whiffs in 57 innings. A senior, he features a live fastball and a below average slider that has potential. Cingrani allowed 47 hits, walked 10 and foes batted .224.

A native of New Lenox, Ill., he’ll be 22 in July.

Look for its thinger.

While he’s short, McMyne is said to have a strong build and power stuff. Villanova’s No. 1 starter, he sits 92-93 with his fastball and has hit 96. McMyne has inconsistent breaking stuff and while he throws more strikes with his curve, his slider projects to be a better pitch.

McMyne could be a power bullpen arm as a pro, but will get a chance to start, in part, because he holds his velocity deep into games.

but was better than those numbers. In 14 games and 78 innings, he allowed 77 hits, struck out 94 and walked 49. If he can cut down the walks, he’ll help himself dramatically.

Glad we didn’t go Wong here.

Ba-dum-tish.

Wright plays well against strong competition, going 2-for-5 with a homer against Vanderbilt for example. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Wright majors in Sports Administration. His favorite team is the Cincinnati Reds! Wright’s dad played college baseball at Miami (Ohio) and his grandfather played pro hockey in the IHL.

Wright posted a line of 12-52-.346/.426/.598 this season. He stole 16 bases in 18 tries and fielded .972. As a freshman he went 5-66-.335. As a sophomore he was 16-80-.366.

which is nice.

I like it a lot. Seems like he could possibly move quickly and maybe be a candidate to replace BP at some point.

Just watched his scouting video. His throwing motion seems really accurate but not super strong (screams second base). Also, he has one of the more level swings I’ve ever seen. Not surprised he’s not a big power guy, but he seems like he’ll be a great line drive hitter.

234 AB, 12 HR, 33 BB, 32 K, .346/.426/.598

I don’t mind the lack of power at all if he combines a good hit tool with a good eye at the plate.

This isn’t a nepotism pick, though. The kid’s a legitimate prospect and the Reds probably stand a fair chance to sign him, don’t you think? Buckley has a chacne to stick at third, but can play right. The No. 45 prospect in Florida, Buckley brings right-handed power, an average-to-plus arm and is strong.

A native of Tampa, he began his career at South Florida, where he batted .250 in 60 at bats as a freshman. Buckley has a mature build, explosive power and runs 60 yards in 6.8 seconds. He went 10-52-.379 this season. Buckley could play first base.

JUCO ranks. That’s pretty good.

A reliever, he’s Kansas State’s all-time saves leader. His fastball is 90-to-92 and has hit 94. His smooth delivery makes the pitch what scouts call “sneaky fast,” getting on hitters quicker than they realize. He throws a solid slider and throws strikes.

He was 3-1 with a 1.35 ERA in 29 games this season. In 40 innings, he allowed 25 hits, struck out 45 and walked 11 as foes batted .179. He had 17 saves. As a sophomore he was 5-1 with a 2.58 ERA and nine saves. As a freshman he was 2-` with a 5.50 ERA.

Baseball America lists them all, too, on their blog and on their draft database.

might depend on whether they want to limit his innings. Maybe they wait until the Arizona Fall League.

perfectgame.com lists him as the 245th best player in the draft, which is 7th-8th round talent.

Bats right, throws right

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Rated as the number 5 JC player in Florida by Perfect Game USA, Matthews transferred to St. Petersburg from Charleston Southern and made himself into a big time prospect. He supposedly has a strong arm and runs a 6.5 60. A nice tools type pick for a team that can always use a few more athletes. This should hopefully be an easy sign for the team.

Easier for people to read through the thread later on.

At 14 he was run over by a trailer. It punctured his lung, lacerated his liver, ruptured a vertebrae, fractured a few ribs and left tread marks on his leg.

Appears to be a good character guy.

More, here

“You’ve got the strikeout pitchers in Jungmann and Workman, and even Ruffin can get a lot of strikeouts—but Green pitches to contact,” Garrido said. “It’s the movement and the change of speeds; the other guys are more like power pitchers, and he’s more like a young Greg Maddox. They just mis-hit it, they mis-time it, they don’t square it up as often. He gets his groundballs and he gets his flyballs.”

Green’s fading, sinking changeup is devastating against lefthanded hitters, and his slider can be a wipeout pitch against righties. His fastball velocity is average—around 88-92 mph—but Garrido said that might actually be his most effective pitch.

“His ball movement on his fastball is interesting. He’s one of the few pitchers that I’ve seen, as a righthanded pitcher, he can throw to the outside half of the plate, and the ball will come back, actually,” Garrido said. "The ball will come back, sink back toward the plate, and I haven’t seen that. Lefthanders, you’ll see that ball move a lot, and that’s kind of what he does. But it doesn’t do that unless he is just relaxed and confident, and his presence is his biggest gift. I think a lot of that is because he’s really matured academically as well as athletically, and he’s found balance between the two. He’s pretty much the same person wherever he is and whatever he’s doing. For a young college player, that’s pretty unusual.

He did indeed pitch a good amount as a freshman while showing good pitchability and command but a lack of elite stuff. He’s progressed for the last two by using those same qualities, just improving upon them. He has put together his best year as a junior, better than fellow 2010 draft prospect Brandon Workman, but he’s still considered the lesser prospect. His stuff is that of a middle reliever or a number five starter. His fastball is an average 89-91 mph pitch with above-average command, and he gets above-average movement on it while getting groundouts left and right. His best secondary pitch is a solid-average slider, and his changeup is also a solid-average pitch, which gives him three usable pitches. He also has a smaller frame, but he’s still expected to go in the third to sixth round range because of his exceptional pitchability and grinder makeup. He should be signable for slot money.

and the No. 161 player in the draft. He turned down $400,000 last year as a fourth-rounder of the Tigers. At 6-foot, 210, he’s stocky, but has good stuff. He throws strikes and competes well, featuring a sinker from 88-to-92, touching 94. He gets groundball outs. his change is very effective against LHH. He also throws a late-breaking slider that is decent.

Green has strong command and pitches to the bottom of the strike zone. He profiles as a back of the rotation starter.

Pinckard, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior at Baylor, was selected as a right-handed pitcher by the Reds. While playing for the Express in the summers of 2008 and ’09, he played outfield and showed some of his nasty stuff on the mound at the back end of the bullpen.

He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 18th round (550th overall) during last year’s draft but didn’t sign a professional contract.

Pinckard went 5-3 with a 3.57 ERA and three saves in 21 appearances (six starts) for Baylor this spring. He also batted .295 with two home runs and 16 RBIs.

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“His great speed creates offense for us more than anything,” said Smith. “He has phenomenal raw talent that is very hard to find.”

This raw talent is evident through his 95-mph fastball and 6.4 seconds 60-yard dash time. Because of this, Pinckard serves as the Bears’ centerfielder and closer. In 2010, this unique combination landed him on the watch list for the Olerud Two-Way Player Award.

“He has probably the rarest combination of skills I have seen,” Smith said. “You just don’t see someone throw 95 mph and have that kind of speed at the same time.”

“He takes losing harder than anyone, and puts a lot of it on himself, rather than the team,” said Smith. “He still gets over it and puts that stuff behind him.”

“He’s a goofball and makes the locker room and apartment an exciting place to be,” said senior pitcher and roommate Jon Ringenberg. “He always has fun, and is fun to be around.”

Coach Smith feels that with Pinckard’s combination of an upstanding attitude and raw talent, there is much potential for the two position star. In 2010, Pinckard was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball draft. All the while, he stays cool-headed and humble in regards to his talent and prospective future in the game of baseball.

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A slap-hitting CF, he stole 60 bases in 66 tries in three seasons, but his future is on the bump where his fastball ranges from 92 to 96 with life. His slider shows promise and he has a seldom-used change. Walks are a problem and he does get hit some, but scouts believe its because he’s so raw as a pitcher. Pro coaching likely will benefit him greatly.

A 6-1, 195-pound junior, he lacks consistency and has thrown just 106 innings in three seasons. An 18th-rounder by the Cubs last year, he was projected to go as high as the third round this season.

Vaughn Covington, rhp – Covington is not on the roster, because he is injured. Had he been healthy, he could have been one of the top arms in this year’s class, with reports of him touching 96 mph in short bullpen stints last year. "He’s very special, but he’s sitting here with us with an arm injury. But that’s a real legitimate arm. Last May, in the Dominican, he pitched 90-92 as just a kid turning 17 and he spins the breaking ball really well. He’s a kid that I think will get drafted even though he hasn’t thrown a pitch all spring. He had Tommy John surgery in September, so he’s not going to pitch prior to the draft, but I could see him being kind of like a Chris LeRoux-type guy. But if he was healthy, I could have seen him making a bid for the top couple rounds. He’s that good and you’re talking 6-foot-5 and a ton of leverage in the arm."

Throws a 90-92 mph FB with good sink, can touch mid 90s in short bursts. Has a CB with very good break.

He is being recruited by a number of junior colleges and won’t return to the mound until after the August signing deadline, meaning he’s a gamble for the Reds to sign. At 6-5 with tremendous projection, he might be worth it. His fastball generally is from 90 to 92, but has touched 96. Covington’s curve is quite promising.

Just kidding ’creds!

I like it. Sorry if I duplicate anything. I’m running a marathon at a dead sprint trying to catch up.

He is 6-foot, 185 pounds and won’t be an easy sign. He went 11-69-.541 this season, with 26 doubles and 22 walks. He holds some state hitting records. Aggressive on the basepaths, Serrano is ranked as the No. 29 player in Arizona.

He moved to the moound and last year was a 27th-round pick by Seattle. He dropped 35 pounds to 215 on his 6-foot-3 frame and improved his work habits this year. Fleece throws 90-92 out of the bullpen and has hit 95. His fastball has good sinking life. Fleece has an unconvention motion which adds deception. A senior, he throws strikes with his fastball and slider.

Fleese went 6-1 with a 1.55 ERA this sseason. H had three saves. In 40 IP, Fleece aLLOWED 38 hits, struck out 30, walked 10 and held opponents to a .244 batting average.

A two way player his first two seasons, Kemp was strictly a pitcher this year. Out of the bullpen he went 1-2 with a 3.14 ERA. In 25 relief appearances, he saved four games. In 28 2/3 innings, he alllowed 21 hits, struck out 42 and walked 12.

In 2009, he was 1-3 with a 5.09. He went 0-0 with a 6.46 ERA in 2010.

Dorton was the AAA player of the year in South Carolina. He also is a QB on the football team. He is 6-foot-3, 180. I’ll diog for more in a bit.

Biceps teninitis limited him as a junior, but he was strong as a senior and ranks as the No. 18 prospect in talent-rich Oklahoma. A right-hander, Costello throws 88 to 91. He has a feel for a curveball. Costello has a quick arm and is athletic.

A College of Charleston signee, he played SS in high school, but isn;t expected to stay there. He looks good in the uniform and has raw skills to go with strong wrists. He’s a slashing, top-of-the-order hitter.

this season for a mediocre team in Harlem. He has upside and is a hard-working kid with good makeup.

I can’t believe we drafted a player without a brain

so he has extra leverage. His dad was a MLB scout for 17 years. This season he went 4-1 with a 3.91 ERA out of the bullpen, allowing 23 hits, striking out 18 and walking 14 in 23 innings. Opponents batted .274. He is a transfer from Maryland-Baltimore County-Catonsville.

This guy is gonna be an RR favorite.

Joyce was recruited by some big programs before signing with Cal-Santa Barbara. He transferred to Santa Barbara City College, where he went 7-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 70 innings. He walked 25 and allowed 39 hits. Joyce was a 10th-round pick by the Dodgers out of high school.

A Bearcat. Anybody seen him play? He’s 6-foot-8, 225 pounds and BA ranks him as the No. 14 prospect in Ohio. It is a down year for prospects in Ohio.

A transfer from Sinclair CC, he threw 89 innings, gave up 87 hits, struck out 79 and had a 3.11 ERA this season. He was 4-2 with a 4.02 ERA in 2010. In 2009 he was 1-0 with a 1.89 ERA and 18 Ks in 23 IP in the Alaskan Summer League.

BA ranks him No. 79 in California. He went 1-4 with a 5.36 ERA. In 45 1/3 innings over 10 starts and 17 games, he allowed 56 hits, walked 28 and struck out 35. A transfer from Pierce JC, he’s a native of Granda Hills, Calif.

Garrett has signed with St. John’s … to play basketball. He’s an outstanding leaper and doesn’t play on a school baseball team. He began tinkering with baseball last year and worked out for scouts in May. He threw 90 to 94 consistently and hit 96. His change has life and he flashes a useable curve.

BA ranks him the No. 200 prospect available. He’ll undoubtedly be a difficult sign.

which has a tweet from him which is interesting. here’s the link:
http://beyondthearc.nbcsports.com/2011/06/07/reds-draft-st-johns-recruit-wholl-likely-end-up-in-mlb/

that further tells me he will be a tough sign, but this is a worthy gamble for the Reds in the 22nd round.

Romano is a Tennessee signee and ranks as the fourth-best prospect in Southern New England. Romano was projected as a top-10 pick, so he’ll not be an easy sign. Romano throws in the low 90s and offers plenty of projection. Just 17, he wears a size 16 shoe.

Romano has a feel for a change and an average curve. He has a funky delivery that will need to be smoothed out.

i can’t imagine the nicknames.

A sophomore, he is the Western State Conference, Southern Division player of the year. He led his team in nearly every offensive category, going 2-35-.400/.480/.564 with 15 stolen bases in 17 attempts. He fielded .946.

The Reds drafted him in the 33rd round out of Lakeland HS, but he opted for Manatee JC, from where the Padres selected him in the 25th round. Wrenn chose to go to USC, then transferred to Tampa. He is ranked as the No. 83 player in Florida. A sports management major, he went 1-18-.341/.394/.518 this season. He is 21. MLB lists him as a junior. Tampa lists him as a senior.