Some stuff I've heard

[BRob51]

Strasburg

Ackley

J. Turner

Green

Tate

K. Davis

Those are the ones I know off the top of my head...

Thanks Trea. So this is just further evidence that it's Wheeler or White. Also, I'm surprised Matzek isn't a Boras guy.

[LAOSfan]

Hold on Trea...

Aren't you all in favor of making sure we get safe value out of our pick? I'm not at all in favor of drafting Leake but he's about the safest pick in the entire draft. He profiles as a Brad Bergesen (to me at least) with better secondary offerings.

Yeah, if you read my post in the mock draft forum last night, I was sitting in the second row on Saturday night at the Clemson v. ASU game and saw Leake up close. HIs fast ball was not very impressive but his curve ball was nasty and he has a great control.

Our only concern as to whether he could be a major league pitcher was his velocity but I have read that he can reach 91-92 and with his curve, that may be sufficient.

[JTrea81]

Here is another option that everyone else on this board would agree with. You can get over yourself and your anger and stop assuming that you know how to run an MLB team better than MacPhail. It won't happen but that is the one that I'm hoping for.

Just because MacPhail says it or does it doesn't make it gospel.

Now Matt Wieters on the other hand...

[LookinUp]

To be a #3...yes. I think we should be aiming much higher than a #3 though.

[JTrea81]

To be a #3...yes. I think we should be aiming much higher than a #3 though.

Especially with a first round pick. We don't need to put this guy in the system right away if he's a pitcher.

We've got pitching in spades, so we can take a higher ceiling guy that will take a little longer to get to the majors.

If this was a position player, I'd agree you'd want to get him into the system fast, but for a pitcher, it doesn't make sense...

[LAOSfan]

To be a #3...yes. I think we should be aiming much higher than a #3 though.

Yeah, that's about what my friend (ASU alum) and I (Clemson alum) thought he was: a back end guy.

But if you read all the reports on this draft, there may not be any that are much better than #3's.

[JTrea81]

Yeah, that's about what my friend (ASU alum) and I (Clemson alum) thought he was: a back end guy.

But if you read all the reports on this draft, there may not be any that are much better than #3's.

Turner, Wheeler, Miller and Matzek all have TOR ceilings.

[waroriole]

Just because MacPhail says it or does it doesn't make it gospel.

Now Matt Wieters on the other hand...

I agree, but just b/c you believe it doesn't mean that you're right. It's great to have an opinion, but over-criticizing judgment calls make you look like a whiner. You may think that Ackley is the BPA, but that doesn't mean that all scouts agree.

Also, how often have you seen Ackley play? How often have you seen the other possible draft picks play? I'm guessing you've seen video and read scouting reports. Nothing wrong with that, but it's absurd to be so adamant about someone without having even seen them play, especially multiple times. The guys doing the drafting do a fine job, and I have no reason to believe that Jordan is all of a sudden going to lose his ability to direct the draft.

[Hank Scorpio]

Especially with a first round pick. We don't need to put this guy in the system right away if he's a pitcher.

We've got pitching in spades, so we can take a higher ceiling guy that will take a little longer to get to the majors.

If this was a position player, I'd agree you'd want to get him into the system fast, but for a pitcher, it doesn't make sense...

I think you're getting a little too picky, here.

I think it's fair to say that you're looking to draft a major league contributor with your 1st round pick, regardless of education level or age.

To pigeonhole yourself into a situation where "it must be a top of the rotation talent" is unrealistic, IMO. You're not always going to have that luxury, buddy.

Ceilings are great, but only if they're likely to be reached.

[bej6789]

With this rotation now.... there's something to be said for a safe #3 starter in the bigs. You can have a ceiling of TOR, but if it takes 4-5 years to get there, alot of stuff can go wrong. When you have Arietta, Tillman and Matusz penciled in the rotation -- things get crowded.

[hoosiers]

Turner, Wheeler, Miller and Matzek all have TOR ceilings.

You mean the college guys have warts we can see, but people can still dream about the HSers being perfect?

You know, the three year college guys drafted by Joe Jordan all project pretty nice or have reached the majors - Olson, Bascom, Arrieta, Berken, Matusz, Zagone.

Pretty good success with that group overall so far.

[Moose Milligan]

With this rotation now.... there's something to be said for a safe #3 starter in the bigs. You can have a ceiling of TOR, but if it takes 4-5 years to get there, alot of stuff can go wrong. When you have Arietta, Tillman and Matusz penciled in the rotation -- things get crowded.

You can't expect Arietta, Tillman and Matusz to all pan out...as you said, a lot of stuff can go wrong.

If we can't get Ackley, I'm just hoping we draft someone for biggest board meltdown-ability.

I know it's a slight chance, but I'd also like to grab that Mendonca guy in a later round. Been reading up on him and I like what I've heard.

[JCK]

With this rotation now.... there's something to be said for a safe #3 starter in the bigs. You can have a ceiling of TOR, but if it takes 4-5 years to get there, alot of stuff can go wrong. When you have Arietta, Tillman and Matusz penciled in the rotation -- things get crowded.

The other argument is that, with Till, Mat, and Arr in the wings, you can afford to take a gamble at 1:5 and go for the high-ceiling guy.

My personal preference is somewhere in between: Balance ceiling and safe-ness. I think a guy like Turner, who will command huge bucks, and has a ways to go might be too much of a risk. And a guy like Leake, who projects as a safe #4 starter is not reaching high enough for a top-5 pick.

A guy like Matzek, who has the high ceiling, but also (reportedly) the poise and command of someone much older, seems like the ideal pick to me.

[napbow]

I like what I have read about Hobgood:

http://http://baseballbeginnings.com/2009/04/11/matt-hobgood-scouting-report/

[JCK]

I like what I have read about Hobgood:

Matt Hobgood

He could turn into a really nice pick for someone around 10-20. Don't think I like him at 5 though.