Monday, May 26, 2008

Draft Tidbits

Here is what is making news in the draft:

  • Boras client and high school prospect Eric Hosmer might be leaning towards heading to college. He will likely be a late first rounder because of signability issues.
  • The White Sox are very interested in Gordon Beckham and Brett Wallace. Coincidentally, I had the White Sox taking Brett Wallace last week and Gordon Beckham this week.
  • The Brewers are interested in Anthony Hewitt, but will look to see if he is around in later rounds. His struggles with a wood bat will drop his back a couple of rounds.
  • Look for the Phillies to select Jason Knapp with their sandwich or second round pick. He is a pitcher with poor command, but has some upside.
  • One of the biggest sleepers in the draft in is Ryan Westmoreland, who has set his signing bonus demands very high, but has a lot of upside. His above average fielding and good bat make him a candidate to rise fast in any system. The Red Sox are known to be interested.
  • I talked with one scout who said the Cubs and Rockies are pondering taking Jake Odorizzi with their first round pick. For what it is worth, Odorizzi is a native of Illinois.
  • The Cubs are also interested in Zach Collier, but he is drawing serious interest from the Nationals, who invited him to their tryout in Washington.
  • The Mets are interested in catcher Adrian Nieto, but I talked with one scout who said he is not as high on the Mets draft board is people may think.
  • As for first pick speculation: It is all up in the air. From what I am hearing, though, it is down to four players: Tim Beckham, Pedro Alvarez, Aaron Crow, and Buster Posey.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hosmer as a late first round pick?

I've seen him go all over the place in mock drafts, but never any later than the Rangers at #11. I've seen him going to the Royals at #3, the Giants at #5, the Marlins at #6, and a couple other teams. His asking price is high, so I doubt he'd get chosen over Smoak, but I think he's clearly a step above Alonso and Wallace, and I think he's almost a lock to go in the top half

Anonymous said...

I had the chance to see Odorizzi throw this past Saturday and there were quite a few high level guys in attendance. He was sitting 91-93and threw a few 94's and 95's in there. He makes it look so effortless. Rockies heat was indeed there and I do know that every member of the Cubs scouting department has seen Odorizzi at his best. I have seen all the top prep pitching prospects in the country and if you include, their history, makeup and prjectability none of them compare to Odorizzi and Melville.

Anonymous said...

i wouldn't give him a major league contract