Heyman: Top 25 players in the upcoming draft

[Hardheaddan]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/jon_heyman/05/02/draft.top.players/index.html?eref=sihp

The list contains the names that everyone is throwing out there for our 1st round pick (Gray, Bundy, Hultzen, Barnes, Starling, etc), but there are a few names that I saw that I havent read much about, and Heyman seems to think highly of them.

Whats the deal with Francisco Lindor or Trevor Bauer? It says they have been shooting up the boards lately....

[Scrat1]

Lindor number 2? Good gravy. Not that I know anything about scouting, but that certainly seems aggressive. I certainly won't complain if Rendon is available at 4.

[eb45]

Lindor being described as "power-hitting" explains why Heyman has him at #2. Not sure how accurate that is (my prior understanding was "not very").

[RVAbird]

Lindor being described as "power-hitting" explains why Heyman has him at #2. Not sure how accurate that is (my prior understanding was "not very").

Very strange list IMO.

As for Lindor's power, 12-16 HRs maybe? 20 HR ceiling? Nothing special in that department. He'll hit for average and play good defense, though.

Bauer is a fantastic college pitcher, but I don't see him turning into more than a mid-rotation arm in the big leagues.

[tennOsfan]

Norris is our local boy here. I'd love to see the O's give him a shot although it looks like he's too far down the board (13th). He's a good kid and shouldn't have many issues down the line. I've umped a couple of his high school games.

[RVAbird]

I like Norris almost as much as I like Bundy. For whatever reason he hasn't gotten as much national attention this year. I know he doesn't have the drool-over velo, but he's a lefty with a low-mid-90s FB with good tailing action, the chance for a plus change down the line and an above average slider. Good bit of projection left as well.

[Stotle]

Norris is our local boy here. I'd love to see the O's give him a shot although it looks like he's too far down the board (13th). He's a good kid and shouldn't have many issues down the line. I've umped a couple of his high school games.

Norris is one of my personal favorites. I think if he was just a little more projectable he'd be getting more national love. I still have him as the top HS arm, primarily because I believe he'll learn to throw his curve a little harder, which will help his overall stuff. Change-up command is solid. I wonder if he ultimately ditches the slider in favor of a cut fastball -- he doesn't get the same consistent bite/shape out it as he does with his slow curve. In any event, he's the best HS arm for me right now. The only guy I could see bumping him come June (on my list) would be Bundy.

As you've stated, he's a top notch character kid, too.

[panick]

How can the Nimmo kid from Wyoming be so highly thought of if scouts can't see him play due to the lack of a high school team? Does he play baseball anywhere during the spring?

[Stotle]

How can the Nimmo kid from Wyoming be so highly thought of if scouts can't see him play due to the lack of a high school team? Does he play baseball anywhere during the spring?

Plays with his legion team and has also traveled to workout in front of clubs. He was on a couple of the "big" stops last summer. But, yeah, the looks have been limited compared to other HSers (though you can argue how useful it is to see some of these kids beat up on uneven HS talent).

[TGO]

Does Heyman actually have any amateur draft scouting/ranking bona fides? I am not saying he doesn't, just truly am unfamiliar with his work other than MLB-level stuff.

[Stotle]

Does Heyman actually have any amateur draft scouting/ranking bona fides? I am not saying he doesn't, just truly am unfamiliar with his work other than MLB-level stuff.

Well, he know has contacts. It's not a crazy list by any means -- a lot the names are the names floating around as Top 25 types. I don't know anything about his history of accurately ranking draft prospects, or anything like that. I think most of his Top 25 + 10 was in in my preseason Top 40, eyeballing it (Mahtook for sure wasn't and I might have had Cron a little lower). All of these guys are in my updated Top 40, I believe.

[RVAbird]

Well, he know has contacts. It's not a crazy list by any means -- a lot the names are the names floating around as Top 25 types. I don't know anything about his history of accurately ranking draft prospects, or anything like that. I think most of his Top 25 + 10 was in in my preseason Top 40, eyeballing it (Mahtook for sure wasn't and I might have had Cron a little lower). All of these guys are in my updated Top 40, I believe.

The names are all right. Order at the top seems weird to me.

[rhall]

The names are all right. Order at the top seems weird to me.

This was my thought as well, but to single out a specific ordering, I'm a little surprised to see Jungmann down so low, and a lot surprised to see Jungmann and Meyer back-to-back. In my mind, there is a sizeable gap between the two.

[Stotle]

The names are all right. Order at the top seems weird to me.

This was my thought as well, but to single out a specific ordering, I'm a little surprised to see Jungmann down so low, and a lot surprised to see Jungmann and Meyer back-to-back. In my mind, there is a sizeable gap between the two.

My board would look different, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me this was a ML preference list. I think Heyman has been speaking with someone in the PIT scouting dept.

[RVAbird]

My board would look different, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me this was a ML preference list. I think Heyman has been speaking with someone in the PIT scouting dept.

But this is what bugs me about national boards from guys who aren't really doing much (if any) scouting. Is this a list of the top 25 players in the draft, or is it a list of the 25 most coveted players (according to sources) in the draft, or is it a mock draft? The lines get blurry and the criteria are inconsistent.

Just a pet peeve.