May
30
2009 Draft: BA’s Mock Draft v2.0
ByBaseball America released their second mock draft of the year yesterday (subscription req’d), and now have the Yanks taking Texas prep outfielder Slade Heathcott. In their previous mock draft they projected the Yanks to take Cal center fielder Brett Jackson. As you can see from his scouting report, Heathcott is a true five tool player that hits from the left side, and he’s also a good prospect on the mound. Lane Meyer at NoMaas interviewed him earlier this year, and Heathcott said the Yanks have been in contact with him.
He sounds too good to be true, Mike. Why isn’t he rated higher? The off-the-field stuff? Any details on that?
They say he has character/off-the-field issues, but I couldn’t find what they were. Also he had ACL surgery this year, but has shown plus speed running with a brace on this season and has still hit and fielded well.
Unless he is having Elijah Dukes type off the field issues, I don’t particularly care about it.
These are college kids after all. How many of us can say we didn’t do stupid things in college/still do stupid things?
actually high school, but your point is duly noted
Also, they say the off-the-field issues were in the past, but they are still questioning his character in the present.
For all we know he may have gotten caught shoplifting in like eighth grade and hasn’t done anything wrong since.
Stealing laptops FTW
“Character issues” can also mean guys who don’t have the dedication to really make the most out of their talent. A guy like Tabata who sulks when he doesn’t succeed, for example. Or Brien Taylor.
Something tells me that when Mark Teixeira was in college, he did nothing but work out and eat his Wheaties.
i concur
Here’s Keith Law’s take:
“Heathcott has first-round tools, but lack of polish and some questions about him off the field have pushed him down into the second/third-round range. Heathcott is a tremendous athlete, a plus runner with good bat speed and a strong build that should lead to average power down the road. His swing is rough, as he bars his front arm and drags the bat through the zone, which limits his ability to square up balls if he doesn’t recognize pitches very early. His front side is a little soft as well. He has the speed to play a plus centerfield and has plenty of arm strength, but could use work on his reads on flyballs. He’s probably going to be a slow developer in pro ball, but the upside is an impact power/speed bat in centerfield.”
what # was he rated?
72
ACL reconstruction is pretty serious in a High School prospect, I’d be concerned about his knee holding up long term.
This report says “ACL surgery” and Law doesn’t even mention any knee problems. So, I have a feeling into wasn’t a full reconstruction. Probably minor (if there is such a thing).
The MLB draft report says “He had ACL reconstruction in November”.
Is ACL surgery in HS any different then Yankees taking a pitcher who needs TJ?
And from Law’s blog on Friday:
“A lot of heat has been in to see Texarkana outfielder Slade Heathcott over the past week, including a lot of action from the Yankees (scouting director Damon Oppenheimer and two other Yankee execs), Diamondbacks and Phillies. The postponement of Texas high school games earlier this month due to the swine flu scare pushed the playoffs back to this week, and both Heathcott and his team are on a tear, so he’s continuing to play and draw more national scouts rushing in for last looks. The Phillies don’t have a first-round pick and aren’t likely to get a shot at Heathcott at No. 75.”
mannn all these exciting names! borchering, heathcott, davidson, renfroe, purke, turner, brothers, mier, tate, pollock, tootle…and so many more that i can’t remember.
i just want the draft to get here already!!
also mike and whoever else is interested: keep an eye on Purdue Boilermaker Dan Black in this draft. Big power, big K’s, big BB totals. Total Three True Outcomes player but I don’t think he’s that far behind someone like a Rich Poythress (University of Georgia) who should be a top 20 pick in the draft.
I don’t really understand getting so psyched about the MLB draft. The top guys (who might make an impact soon) never sign til near the deadline, and then still take a couple years to reach the bigs — if they do. The other guys are 3-5 years away from being in the majors.
that is true for many of them, but then there are always the rick porcello’s of the world who was in the league less than two years after being selected.
the fun of the draft is not in that they will be in the majors next but that you see the directions the organization is going in trying to construct the future. the more successful a team drafts the less they have to spend in FA or the more valuable the chips they have to trade for top quality proven players.
So if you only think short term then the draft is a waste.
“So if you only think short term then the draft is a waste.”
Hey, thanks for completely misrepresenting my point.
We already kind of know how the Yankees are building for the future, and it’s the right way: take the best players available to you. If they depart from that strategy, it’ll suck. If they don’t…good.
I’m just a lot more excited about guys who are closer to the bigs, because trying to make plans out beyond a couple of years in baseball is ridiculous…so much can happen with injuries and ineffectiveness. Let’s say they get Mier or Green. Cool…if things go well, they might have a legit in-house SS option for 2011 or 2012. It’d be kind of foolish to get excited about it NOW, because Green could easily not stick at SS or Mier could not hit well or someone could get hurt or or or or…
It just seems that getting psyched about draft day in MLB — unless you’re really into following the minors and understand the nature of prospects like Mike — is setting yourself up for disappointment and subsequent whining about how every Yankee prospect is the next Eric Duncan.
the fun of the draft is not in that they will be in the majors next but that you see the directions the organization is going in trying to construct the future. the more successful a team drafts the less they have to spend in FA or the more valuable the chips they have to trade for top quality proven players.
So if you only think short term then the draft is a waste.
exactly. i got more fun out of being a fan not only of the the yankees but of baseball in general once i started following the minor leagues and drafts. you can start to get excited for guys not only to see how they progress (or regress) through the system but then be even MORE excited to see these guys potentially crack the major leagues and maybe make an impact on the game.
I must admit, I like his name. Slade Heathcott. Sounds like someone who could sell you a gun.
+1
I’m pretty sure I saw him in a por…ahhhhh…low-budget film a while back.
Are there any good Shortstops that will be available when the Yankees pick?
Two that might be available are Jiovanni Mier and Grant Green.
Green: http://tiny.cc/cttcG
Mier: http://tiny.cc/wuk86
To clarify neither probably will be available when the Yankees pick. Most have Green going around 15 and Mier 20-25, but they may drop.
Law has Mier dropping out of the 1st
jiovanni mier might drop but in the MLB draft teams don’t typically take players based on need in the first round.
The Yankees’ need for a shortstop of the future is (at this point) tremendously dire. The CJ Henry pick a few years back didn’t really pan out to that effect.
I have to give a lot of credit to NoMaas for doing their homework with the draftee interviews.
The draft is always interesting, but it’s tough to get too excited about it, since we usually won’t get to see the kids play for awhile.
So so far we have heard that Yanks could be in on Tony Sanchez, Luke Bailey, Brett Jackson, Matt Purke, David Renfroe, and now Slade Heathcott. If we could get 2 of these players, this would be a great draft for the Yankees. Say that Tate keeps falling though, and he is sitting there with our 2nd pick, should we take him, or take Renfroe and hope that Tate falls to round 4? I think we have to take Tate and offer him a very high bonus and get him signed, that guy is a 5 tool player. Although it looks as though the Yanks are leaning toward Renfroe, who has impressed a lot of people lately.
Imagine this draft
1: Matt Purke 2: David Renfroe 4: Donovan Tate 5: Luke Bailey
That is impossible to happen, but imagine that? I’m glad I’m not the Yanks right now, because I don’t know who I would pick if so many good players fell into my lap. The way it sounds is that Purke is guaranteed to fall if he is asking in the 5 Million range. If Tate isn’t picked by the Pads, he could fall for rounds, not picks, rounds. Luke Bailey is falling because of TJ surgery. Kentrail Davis is falling because he had a terrible year and is a DES represented by Boras. We have a chance to take advantage of the Draft system, the yanks better not screw it up, that’s why they get paid the big bucks.
Bailey is NOT falling to the 5th round. He’s a supplemental/early 2nd guy.
Tate to the 4th would be insane. Possible, but insane.
i’ve been reading that if the pads don’t take tate at 3, he may slip rounds because of his contract demands
how about our DEF; chris Dwyer
To sign Purke, Renfroe and Tate with your first three picks it will cost about 12-14M. I don’t see that happening.
http://www.thenatsblog.com/200.....-pick.html
looks like jackson will be gone…
that is lame, i would go stras, crow/schepps
Draft everybody…it is the only way
if you draft everybody then you wont make a mistake
or like out free agency moves ….just buy everybody.
if you draft everybody then you wont make a mistake
or like our free agency moves ….just buy everybody.
When is the draft again?
the 9th
The “off-field issues” are a father in prison on drug charges, a mother out of his life because of drugs, and being academically ineligible for his teams playoffs last year.