I don't want to say anything but.....

[TheBandit]

I'm not going to argue whether or not he will ever rise through the ranks unscathed, because that's certainly possible for anyone, but if you haven't seen this kid hit - with a wood bat, by the way - then you haven't seen 80 scouts/area supervisors/scouting directors drool all over themselves in awe, which is what happened when Harper showed up a year ago at an MLB scouting bureau workout and proceeded to hit complete bombs while making beeline sub 2.00 throws down to second. I've seen him play on three occasions and he's absolutely legitimate. He has great plate discipline and a rocket arm, and in my opinion, he's certainly on track to being a "Strasburg-level" counterpart, both behind and at the plate. He's also a polite young man with a good attitude about the game and his fellow ballplayers. Works for me. I wish him all the best and look forward to watching him develop over the years.

I fully believe the kid is a legitimate prospect, but he is still not Strasburg-level. Sub 2.00 throws to second are mandatory for pro catching prospects, so I would hope he can do that. He still isn't facing college level or pro competition with wooden bats (yes, showcase leagues he does but we don't have those stats), so I'd have to see how he does next year at JuCo. I'm sure his numbers will still be solid, but he is receiving a crazy amount of hype and could very easily fall short of expectations if he isn't in the majors by the age of 20 or so.

The other thing is I have heard in more than a couple scouting reports that they are not sure he can stay at catcher for two reasons. One, he has a 6'3" 215lb frame already. At 16, I'd assume he'd continue to grow from here and could grow out of a catcher's body. The scouts assume he'd be able to play 3rd or a corner OF position since he does have such a great arm and good skills.

A catcher with this hype is big but a 3B is not as big.

The other reason is his bat is so good that teams won't want to burn him up behind the plate a la Craig Biggio (too much offensive potential to only play 2/3 or 3/4 of the season).

He'll be a great prospect for sure, but he is receiving a ton of hype and may not be able to live up to the savior type expectations he'll have by the time he's drafted.

[paulcoates]

Where will Ackley fit into next year's draft if Strasburg and Bryce are in the draft? We could be in a position to nab him.

We really wanted him this year, so it could be nice to get him next year

[wickedwitch]

Ackley and Strasburg are going to be signed.

Think about the Wieters signing. It never looked like he would sign ahead of time, but it ended up getting done. That's what happens with most Boras clients.

[crawdad]

Ackley and Strasburg are going to be signed.

Think about the Wieters signing. It never looked like he would sign ahead of time, but it ended up getting done. That's what happens with most Boras clients.

Ditto. I just do not see how putting off free agency for a year is going to be made up for in any increase in signing bonus for next season. They have to sign.