Top 2008 Draft Prospects: Players #11-#30

[Greg Pappas]

This is a preliminary list of the remaining top players...

Key: (X) is their age at the time of the 2008 Draft

Key: *=lefty, #=switch-hitter, LHSP=Left-Handed Starting Pitcher, RHRP=Right-Handed Relief Pitcher

11 . Harold Martinez, SS/3B, High School (FL) Harold is the one guy outside the Top Ten that could jump to #1.

12 . Brett Hunter, RHRP, Pepperdine

13 . *Xavier Avery, OF, High School (GA)

14 . *Christian Friedrich, LHSP, Eastern Kentucky

15 . Gerritt Cole, RHRP, High School (CA)

16 . Buster Posey, C, Florida State

17 . Shooter Hunt, RHSP, Tulane

18 . #Adrian Nieto, C, High School (FL)

19 . *Kyle Lobstein, LHSP, High School (AZ)

20 . Luke Burnett, RHSP, Louisiana Tech

21 . Isaac Galloway, OF, High School (CA)

22 . Jake Thompson, RHSP, Virginia

23 . *Dennis Raben, OF, Miami

24 . Alex Meyer, RHSP, High School (IN)

25 . Michael Palazzone, RHSP, High School (GA)

26 . Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia

27 . *Brett DeVall, LHSP, High School (FL)

28 . Destin Hood, OF, High School (AL)

29 . *Brett Mooneyham, LHSP, High School (CA)

30 . *Scott Silverstein, LHSP, High School (DC)

[Duke2010]

Its interesting to see Gordon Beckham up so high, because I hope that he falls to the second round if we do draft Smoak/Hosmer. Also, I wonder if Crawford will be around in the second round. I saw him on tv yesterday, but didn't really see much of him to separate him from the pack. Finally, will Brendan Crawford be able to stick at short, or is he more likely to slide over to third?

[ChaosLex]

This is a preliminary list of the remaining top players...

Key: (X) is their age at the time of the 2008 Draft

Key: *=lefty, #=switch-hitter, LHSP=Left-Handed Starting Pitcher, RHRP=Right-Handed Relief Pitcher

11 . Harold Martinez, SS/3B, High School (FL) Harold is the one guy outside the Top Ten that could jump to #1.

12 . Brett Hunter, RHRP, Pepperdine

13 . *Xavier Avery, OF, High School (GA)

14 . *Christian Friedrich, LHSP, Eastern Kentucky

15 . Gerritt Cole, RHRP, High School (CA)

16 . Buster Posey, C, Florida State

17 . Shooter Hunt, RHSP, Tulane

18 . #Adrian Nieto, C, High School (FL)

19 . *Kyle Lobstein, LHSP, High School (AZ)

20 . Luke Burnett, RHSP, Louisiana Tech

21 . Isaac Galloway, OF, High School (CA)

22 . Jake Thompson, RHSP, Virginia

23 . *Dennis Raben, OF, Miami

24 . Alex Meyer, RHSP, High School (IN)

25 . Michael Palazzone, RHSP, High School (GA)

26 . Gordon Beckham, SS, Georgia

27 . *Brett DeVall, LHSP, High School (FL)

28 . Destin Hood, OF, High School (AL)

29 . *Brett Mooneyham, LHSP, High School (CA)

30 . *Scott Silverstein, LHSP, High School (DC)

It'd be nice if one of those guys falls to us in the second round.

[Stotle]

Its interesting to see Gordon Beckham up so high, because I hope that he falls to the second round if we do draft Smoak/Hosmer. Also, I wonder if Crawford will be around in the second round. I saw him on tv yesterday, but didn't really see much of him to separate him from the pack. Finally, will Brendan Crawford be able to stick at short, or is he more likely to slide over to third?

Crawford's stock is falling quickly. He should stick at short -- strong arm and great feet. The issue is his bat. He was, again, unimpressive against Bethune-Cookman. I'll post my full write-up tomorrow, hopefully, after I sit down and watch the game again.

Beckham should be gone late 1st / supplemental.

[napbow]

Watch out for Cole. From what I have read he has an incredible stuff (fastball and slider).

He could end up being a top 10 pick.

[NCRaven]

Thought Rickie Weeks little brother, Jemile, a switch-hitting, U of Miami, second baseman might be in this group. He's a BA Pre-Season All-American. If he falls to 2nd round, I would not mind seeing him on our draft board.

From his Miami bio:

Named a 2008 Baseball America Preseason First Team All-American ... 20008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List ... 2007 Brooks Wallace Award Preseason Watch List ... 2007 NCBWA Preseason Third Team All-America ... 2006 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American ... 2006 Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player ... 2006 Second Team All-ACC selection at second base ... had a phenomenal freshman year that peaked in the 2006 postseason ... Starter at second base this season ... Played the entire summer of 2006 on the U.S. National Team ... Might be the best all-around second baseman in the country ... Switch-hitter who has the best bat speed on the team from either side of the plate ... Has deceptive power with great hitting ability and speed ... Ranks third all-time at UM in career triples (14) and needs just four in 2008 to become the all-time leader ... Also ranks 20th all-time in career triples in the ACC ... Rated the No. 19 college prospect in the country by Baseball America in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft.

[Stotle]

Thought Rickie Weeks little brother, Jemile, a switch-hitting, U of Miami, second baseman might be in this group. He's a BA Pre-Season All-American. If he falls to 2nd round, I would not mind seeing him on our draft board.

From his Miami bio:

Named a 2008 Baseball America Preseason First Team All-American ... 20008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List ... 2007 Brooks Wallace Award Preseason Watch List ... 2007 NCBWA Preseason Third Team All-America ... 2006 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American ... 2006 Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player ... 2006 Second Team All-ACC selection at second base ... had a phenomenal freshman year that peaked in the 2006 postseason ... Starter at second base this season ... Played the entire summer of 2006 on the U.S. National Team ... Might be the best all-around second baseman in the country ... Switch-hitter who has the best bat speed on the team from either side of the plate ... Has deceptive power with great hitting ability and speed ... Ranks third all-time at UM in career triples (14) and needs just four in 2008 to become the all-time leader ... Also ranks 20th all-time in career triples in the ACC ... Rated the No. 19 college prospect in the country by Baseball America in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft.

Weeks should also be gone be the end of the 1st round. If not, certainly in the supplemental round. Great skill set, but most think he is not going to be as good as his brother. Solid 2b pick for whoever gets him.

[Duke2010]

Just be careful about your write-ups on Crawford. It was only one game, and while he was unimpressive, he could still hit .350 this year, so maybe you could do one report now, and then closer to the draft we can both put in thoughts as to where he will project.

[Stotle]

Just be careful about your write-ups on Crawford. It was only one game, and while he was unimpressive, he could still hit .350 this year, so maybe you could do one report now, and then closer to the draft we can both put in thoughts as to where he will project.

Yeah, he could turn things around. To his credit, he had a 2-5 game yesterday against USC and hit his first homerun of the season. The issue is more he just looks out of sync. Seven strikeouts in 26 ABs is flat out terrible for someone who has been considered one of the better SS in college ball. His OBP is .267. His hands are inconsistent in his load -- I haven't looked at his stride. Seems like there has to be something considerable that is out of whack.

[Duke2010]

He has not looked solid so far, and hopefully this is more of a rust factor though. The kid does have the look of a solid ballplayer, if you know what I mean. Sort of like when I see Billy Rowell or Brandon Snyder, they just have "it" about them. I'd like for Crawford to get back on track and maybe we can take him as our 2 rounder. Over his career he has managed to draw a walk once every ten plate appearances, and has hit for decent positional power and solid .320-.330 average at UCLA. His last two years do give up that he will improve throughout the course of the season, but 7 k's in 26 AB's is bad, I wonder what is career K numbers are?

[Stotle]

He has not looked solid so far, and hopefully this is more of a rust factor though. The kid does have the look of a solid ballplayer, if you know what I mean. Sort of like when I see Billy Rowell or Brandon Snyder, they just have "it" about them. I'd like for Crawford to get back on track and maybe we can take him as our 2 rounder. Over his career he has managed to draw a walk once every ten plate appearances, and has hit for decent positional power and solid .320-.330 average at UCLA. His last two years do give up that he will improve throughout the course of the season, but 7 k's in 26 AB's is bad, I wonder what is career K numbers are?

Crawford Strikeout rates:

2007

248 AB/58 SO -- SO every 4.28 ABs

2006

242 AB/46 SO -- SO every 5.26 ABs

[Greg Pappas]

Thought Rickie Weeks little brother, Jemile, a switch-hitting, U of Miami, second baseman might be in this group. He's a BA Pre-Season All-American. If he falls to 2nd round, I would not mind seeing him on our draft board.

From his Miami bio:

Named a 2008 Baseball America Preseason First Team All-American ... 20008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Preseason Watch List ... 2007 Brooks Wallace Award Preseason Watch List ... 2007 NCBWA Preseason Third Team All-America ... 2006 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American ... 2006 Lincoln Regional Most Outstanding Player ... 2006 Second Team All-ACC selection at second base ... had a phenomenal freshman year that peaked in the 2006 postseason ... Starter at second base this season ... Played the entire summer of 2006 on the U.S. National Team ... Might be the best all-around second baseman in the country ... Switch-hitter who has the best bat speed on the team from either side of the plate ... Has deceptive power with great hitting ability and speed ... Ranks third all-time at UM in career triples (14) and needs just four in 2008 to become the all-time leader ... Also ranks 20th all-time in career triples in the ACC ... Rated the No. 19 college prospect in the country by Baseball America in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft.

It's true that Weeks is a highly thought of 2B'man... just missing my Top 30.

It's possible that he'll fall into round two, but time will tell. I'd love to him at Delmarva/Frederick next season.

[Fred Manfraud]

I know it was just one play, but I thought I would pass it along anyway … I was watching a bit of Georgia vs. Oregon State on a Fox Sports Channel and the shortstop Beckham made an incredible play. He ranged far to his left, fielded the ball, and used his glove to flip the ball to the second baseman, who turned a double play. Yes, I understand it was only one play, but it looked like a play Omar Vizquel would make.

[Greg Pappas]

I know it was just one play, but I thought I would pass it along anyway … I was watching a bit of Georgia vs. Oregon State on a Fox Sports Channel and the shortstop Beckham made an incredible play. He ranged far to his left, fielded the ball, and used his glove to flip the ball to the second baseman, who turned a double play. Yes, I understand it was only one play, but it looked like a play Omar Vizquel would make.

It's moments like those that remind me of something I explained to the women in my family years ago, concerning the reason sports in general are so important, and why we enjoy the deeds of these athletic people; that being that "It's the thrill of the skill." In all walks of life, most of us admire those that can do things that awe us in ways that bring out "Oooooh!" and "Wow!" from us, as we take in the sights of unbelievable talent on display. It is a major component in the essence of sports, therefor > why we watch.

Good report... thanks.

[justD]

It's moments like those that remind me of something I explained to the women in my family years ago, concerning the reason sports in general are so important, and why we enjoy the deeds of these athletic people; that being that "It's the thrill of the skill." In all walks of life, most of us admire those that can do things that awe us in ways that bring out "Oooooh!" and "Wow!" from us, as we take in the sights of unbelievable talent on display. It is a major component in the essence of sports, therefor > why we watch.

Good report... thanks.

Hmmm. Guess we women just don't understand these things...

(Just kidding btw; I'm really glad I'm surrounded by three sisters who are all sports fans, particularly baseball, because I do know there are many who aren't... )