Day 1 draft thread

[tilgaham]

Any idea what any of this is supposed to mean?

Reggie Bush tweeted "it's been fun New Orleans" when the Saints picked Mark Ingram. He was making a joke that he'd lose his spot to Bundy. :laughlol:

[sangar]

I apologize if this has already been discussed but how did Tampa do with all those picks? Next week is finals and I don't have time to read the whole thread.

[Vandy]

During last night's broadcast, Flanagan asked Jordan if he had his eye on any left handed pitching. Jordan emphasized that there were some lefties that they really liked, but they had to wait and see if they would fall to them. I believe his comment was made sometime during the end of the first round, so some of those potential targets could be gone by now, but I'm hoping he's high on Daniel Norris in particular. Getting the top rated HS RHP and LHP would be a great get, but I'm sure cost will get in the way.

It would be a shame if Norris isn't a viable option, but outside of him, I'd prefer to see us nab Alex Dickerson (hopefully his back issues go away), Andrew Susac, Matt Dean, Aaron Westlake, or Dillon Maples. John Stilson would be a steal as well if his medicals check out. The SLAP tear is never good news, but apparently Dr. Andrews determined that the best course of action would be a 6 week rehab process rather than surgery. He may be to high of a risk for us to take in round 2, but if he's still available later on he'd definitely be worth a flyer if you believe he can regain his stuff after rehab.

[Vandy]

I would love to see us take a Daniel Norris with pick #64, but realistically...No. I like Dillon Howard (RHP - ARK HS), Matt Dean (3B - TX HS), and Josh Osich (LHP - Oregon St.). With the third round pick, I like Cody Asche (3B/OF* - Nebraska), Tyler Gibson (OF/3B* - GA HS) and Mason Hope (RHP - OK HS).

I don't know anything about Julius Gaines (SS - GA HS). I saw on Diamondscape that Nick likes him a lot. Anyone have info on him?

I totally forgot about Howard. He'd be an interesting pick and BA discussed him as a potential first round pick. I like Osich, but I'm not sure I'd take him if he profiles as a reliever over some of these other arms. If he could be in the rotation as a pro, I'd take him in a heartbeat.

[RVAbird]

I would love to see us take a Daniel Norris with pick #64, but realistically...No. I like Dillon Howard (RHP - ARK HS), Matt Dean (3B - TX HS), and Josh Osich (LHP - Oregon St.). With the third round pick, I like Cody Asche (3B/OF* - Nebraska), Tyler Gibson (OF/3B* - GA HS) and Mason Hope (RHP - OK HS).

I don't know anything about Julius Gaines (SS - GA HS). I saw on Diamondscape that Nick likes him a lot. Anyone have info on him?

Could absolutely see Baltimore grabbing Josh Osich at 2:4. Fully recovered from TJ, Osich sits 91-94 with the FB and shows an above average change and usable slider. Pretty maxed out, could be fast tracked in <2 seasons, mid-rotation upside. That would be a very nice pick in my opinion.

There should still be college bats and signability over-slots in rounds 3-5.

[Scrat1]

Could absolutely see Baltimore grabbing Josh Osich at 2:4. Fully recovered from TJ, Osich sits 91-94 with the FB and shows an above average change and usable slider. Pretty maxed out, could be fast tracked in <2 seasons, mid-rotation upside. That would be a very nice pick in my opinion.

There should still be college bats and signability over-slots in rounds 3-5.

I was just coming here to post that I hope Osich is on their radar. Meo intrigues me as well. Obviously, I'm just reading second and third hand stuff, though.

[weams]

2011 MLB Draft Day 2 Big Board: http://t.co/WxUzR72

2011 MLB DRAFT

2011 MLB Draft Day 2 Big Board

FILED UNDER 2011 MLB DRAFT

LHP Daniel Norris (Science Hill HS, Tennessee)

OF Josh Bell (Jesuit College Prep School, Texas)

Oregon State SO C Andrew Susac

RHP Jorge Lopez (Academia la Milagrosa, Puerto Rico)

3B Matt Dean (The Colony HS, Texas)

OF Granden Goetzman (Palmetto HS, Florida)

Oregon State JR LHP Josh Osich

RHP Dillon Howard (Searcy HS, Arkansas)

RHP John Curtiss (Carroll HS, Texas)

2B Phillip Evans (La Costa Canyon HS, California)

2B Johnny Eierman (Warsaw HS, Missouri)

OF Senquez Golson (Pascaagoula HS, Mississippi)

Texas State JR RHP Carson Smith

RHP Pat Connaughton (St. John’s Prep, Massachusetts)

LHP Jake Cave (Kecoughtan HS, Virginia

[ChaosLex]

This writer was less than impressed with the Blue Jays draft...

With their first five picks in the books, The Blue Jays look like one of (or the) this draft’s biggest disappointments. Outside of Dwight Smith at 53 (who isn’t a great fit for the club anyway), their picks were all stretches. Making matters worse, the Blue Jays don’t seem to be simply passing on a stocked draft class in order to save money. Tyler Beede and Jacob Anderson have commitments to Vanderbilt and Pepperdine and both will be difficult signs with expensive price tags. Despite their unexciting profiles, Musgrove, Smith and Comer all have plenty of negotiating leverage as well, and each will demand big money.

While Beede is a solid high school righty out of Massachusetts with good command and a nice delivery, he doesn’t offer the upside that Meyer, Stephensen, Purke, Ross, Owens and a handful of other pitchers available at the time do. Even if the Blue Jays do drop the signing bonus to lure him away fro his commitment to Vanderbilt’s lauded program, it would be a stretch to call this pick a good one.

Musgrove and Comer could be future bullpen guys or backend starters but probably nothing more, while Dwight Smith is a bat-only prospect. Anderson has plenty of upside, but he wasn’t even the best first baseman left on the board.

http://baseballnewshound.com/?p=850

[RVAbird]

I was just coming here to post that I hope Osich is on their radar. Meo intrigues me as well. Obviously, I'm just reading second and third hand stuff, though.

Either Osich or Meo could make for a very solid pick.

Here's a report and vid on Osich:

http://baseballbeginnings.com/2011/05/17/josh-osich-video

and a rather glowing scouting report on Meo:

http://baseballbeginnings.com/2011/04/28/anthony-meo-report

I fear Meo might end up in the bullpen without the development of a better 3rd/4th pitch, but he's got an electric FB/SL combo. If he can refine his total package he's got the upside of a 2/3 starter.

[RVAbird]

I would either go mid-rotation college pitcher or overslot, high ceiling HS arm at 2:4. It appears that some of those college bats (Esposito, Dickerson, Skole and a host of other) might slip into the third round. I think they may have been a bit overrated to begin with, as they each have significant holes in their games.

[weams]

RT from the morning who? thread

Josh Osich, LHP: Osich, from Oregon State, is Scout.com’s No. 23-rated prospect in the draft. His fastball lives in the low- to mid-90s.

Daniel Norris, LHP: The southpaw is committed to Clemson and seems set on heading to college, but he also can touch the 90s with his fastball.

Alex Dickerson, OF, Indiana: Dickerson did not have a great season this year at Indiana. That's partly because the team disappointed, going 30-25 and partly because a back injury limited his effectiveness early in the season.

He has rebounded, though, and finished the season with the highest batting average and most home runs on the Hoosier team. The big lefty hit .367/.440/.540 in 215 at-bats with nine home runs, 10 doubles, 49 RBIs, 21 strikeouts and 25 walks.

The biggest question mark with the outfielder is where he plays in the pros. He's not the best fielder in the world and those back issues will probably scare some teams off, thinking it'll relegate him to left field or first base. His swing will get him drafted highly. He's got quick hands and the bat stays in the zone for a while. He's also got a nice, natural uppercut to his swing so he can generate easy power.

Floor

The problem with guys who can't play defense, or who aren't fast enough to play in the outfield is that they have a harder shot at making the majors. That puts their floor pretty low. Add in Dickerson's injury history, and his floor gets even lower. Still, his bat and the fact that he swings from the left side should give him the chance to carve out a niche as a pinch-hitter at the very worst. After all, Russell Branyan has played for a long time.

Ceiling

Adam Dunn's name, feels more appropriate for Dickerson. He may struggle to hit for a high average, but those quick hands mean he won't get jammed very often. If he fills out a little on his long frame, he could hit a good number of home runs, too, and be a nice No. 5 or 6 hitter in a lineup. Dunn may be the more well-known comp, but Daryle Ward may also be a nice one.

[weams]

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[Sports Guy]

I would either go mid-rotation college pitcher or overslot, high ceiling HS arm at 2:4. It appears that some of those college bats (Esposito, Dickerson, Skole and a host of other) might slip into the third round. I think they may have been a bit overrated to begin with, as they each have significant holes in their games.

If you had your choice of players, who are you taking? Norris?

[86this]

I apologize if this was discussed but with all the picks that Tampa had, I'm sure it's possible that not all of their 1st round/supplementary picks sign. Won't they get a corresponding pick in next year's draft? They can certainly spread the load between this year and next year. Obviously, if this is the case they need to sign all those replacement picks or lose them entirely.

[RVAbird]

If you had your choice of players, who are you taking? Norris?

If I knew I had the budget to sign him and keep getting good ones later, Daniel Norris without a doubt. He was 11th (!) on my draft board, ahead of Lindor, Guerrieri, Josh Bell, CJ Cron and a lot of other better known names. The kid had a shot at becoming the top HS pitcher in the draft, and despite a just "good" showing this season, is still the top HS lefty on my board.

BPA is Daniel Norris, and I'd guess most boards agree with that.

However, giving 10 MM to your first two picks handicaps you in the rest of the draft. Given how hit or miss the draft can be in the later rounds, you might just take two of the best four HS pitchers, pay them, pack up your draft board and start filling out MiL depth.

However, there are other avenues. You can grab a good college arm here like Meo or Osich and still hope for (less pricey) overslots in the 5,000-1,000,000 range in the later rounds. Grabbing a good, safe, mid to late rotation arm here allows you to look for the next Bobby Bundy in the 8th round for 600K.

I don't think I would reach for Dickerson or Skole here, but it's justifiable.