Top 2008 Draft Prospects: Pedro Alvarez

[Fairfax Bird]

ha..I'm well aware. I'm just taking a heavy course load so I can meet my degree requirements. I need to complete my poly sci major, all my gen-ed's, and have a total of 96 credits by the end of my junior year. After that, the second part of my degree will kick in, and I'll be admitted to law school a year early. That mixed with a 30 min commute to and from school, working , and a girlfriend sometimes leaves me short on time.

I agree though, at this point it time, school sounds a lot better than chasing kids around after work. I have nothing but respect for people who manage to do that and remain semi-sane.

Good luck with it all Justin, just giving you a hard time.

[TJ Wrangler]

Good luck with it all Justin, just giving you a hard time.

Thanks, I can take a joke, so no offense was taken.

[wayne25]

First, thanks for doing this: About Alvarez, at least one report I read, can't remember who, but was BA or one of the respected sites, said that he strikes out alot (swings and misses alot), and that that was really a red flag. He might be concerned with pitch recognition. Be that as it may, as of right now, I'd be happy to have him.

[McLovin]

Here's Alvarez' NCAA player page.

And to put it in context, here's the 2007 SEC individual statistics.

EDIT: Oh, and great job Greg. Rep to you!

And don't get me started on Matt Laporta, who lead the SEC in several categories. The 'experts' had him 20th or lower and the Brewers shocked them by picking him 7th overall. He's gonna pull a 'Ron Kittle' for them next year.

Is pulling a 'Ron Kittle' a good thing or a bad thing?

[TakebackOPACY]

Is pulling a 'Ron Kittle' a good thing or a bad thing?

Kittle was the last guy to hit 50 HR's in a minor league season. LaPorta played 23 games in 'A' ball after being drafted last summer. He hit 10 HR's and 8 doubles (.750 slg%). Between NCAA (52 games), rookie ball (7 games), and the SAL league (23 games), he hit 32 HR's and 19 doubles in 284 ab's.

[Greg Pappas]

First, thanks for doing this: About Alvarez, at least one report I read, can't remember who, but was BA or one of the respected sites, said that he strikes out alot (swings and misses alot), and that that was really a red flag. He might be concerned with pitch recognition. Be that as it may, as of right now, I'd be happy to have him.

YW.

Alvarez will be very good, so I wouldn't worry too much.

[WebLink21]

Pedro Alvarez's first game is today at 2:00 vs. Oregon State. I will come back with his stats if someone doesn't beat me to it.

[WebLink21]

Alvarez is 0-1 - Reached on a throwing error

Alvarez is 0-2 - Struck out looking

Alvarez is 0-2 - Hit by a pitch

Alvarez is 0-2 - Walked

Alvarez is 0-2 - Walked

Alvarez finishes 0-2 - 2 walks, 1 HBP

Thanks alot Greg. Much better.

[Greg Pappas]

Alvarez is 0-1 - Reached on a throwing error

Alvarez is 0-2 - Struck out looking

Alvarez is still 0-2 so far today - Hit by a pitch

Greg, You should really change the title of this thread to match the others format. It is really hard to see that this thread is about Alvarez. It looks like it is just about the Top 10 2008 Draft Projects. Just a suggestion.

I sent a suggestion to a staff member not long after I realized that the thread was not Alvarez inclusive. To no avail as yet.

If a staff member could contact me, I'd like to format all the scouting previews to look the same.

[Battleship]

I sent a suggestion to a staff member not long after I realized that the thread was not Alvarez inclusive. To no avail as yet.

If a staff member could contact me, I'd like to format all the scouting previews to look the same.

Let me say I really enjoy the previews as well. Great work. Thanks a lot.

Edit: Never mind. I see they changed it.

[WebLink21]

"Just a bit of news here, Commodore star third baseman Pedro Alvarez was a late scratch in this game, due to an apparent arm injury. We're told it's just for precautionary reasons, but nontheless, that's never good news in Game Two of the seaosn for coach Corbin. In his place is Andrew Giobbi."

http://slog.cstv.com/touchingthebases/2008/02/game_of_the_weekend.html

[WebLink21]

2/24/08 - Scratched again due to arm injury

[allstar1579]

2/28/08

Broke a hamate bone in his hand, out indefinitely.

[bernie132000]

2/28/08

Broke a hamate bone in his hand, out indefinitely.

I was going to mention this. I saw that he was out for 6 weeks. He is a good player. Should still have half of April, and all of May before the draft.

[justD]

This might be posted in another thread (sorry; haven't had time to read them all the past few days) but just in case it's not, this is Jim Callis' take on Alvarez's injury and how it might (or rather, how it probably won't) affect the draft:

from Ask BA

The Commodores haven't released many details about Alvarez, other than to say that he'll be out at least six weeks after breaking the bone in his first at-bat of the season. Aaron Fitt says the buzz around the USD Tournament is that Alvarez may have a broken hamate bone, an injury that often leads to an extended decrease in power.

Whatever the injury, it should have zero effect on Alvarez' draft status. It won't affect his long-term production and he has shown more than enough in two years with Vanderbilt and Team USA. His situation is very similar to what happened with Mark Teixeira in his draft year in 2001. Teixeira missed almost three months at Georgia Tech after breaking his ankle in a collision with an outfielder. He still went No. 5 overall in the draft, dropping that far only because of signability, and landed a guaranteed $9.5 million major league contract from the Rangers.

Teixeira's status as college baseball's best hitter didn't diminish because he was sidelined, and neither will Alvarez'. And while some teams do wonder if Alvarez will wind up at first base rather than third base, it's a minor concern. Whichever team gives him millions of dollars to sign will be betting on his bat, assuming that he'll be a future No. 3 hitter in the big league lineup. If he's a third baseman, that's all the better.

Furthermore, while Alvarez ranked as the 2008 draft's No. 1 prospect entering the season Premium, that never meant that the Rays were a lock to take him with the first pick. They already have a stud third-base prospect in Evan Longoria, not to mention a first baseman coming off a 46-homer season in Carlos Pena.

Taking another corner infielder might not have been the best idea to begin with. Alvarez is No. 1, but he's not worlds better than the other top prospects. Even before the injury, I thought the Rays were just as likely to take Matusz, Missouri righthander Aaron Crow or Georgia high school shortstop Tim Beckham than to pick Alvarez.