Jun
09
2009 Draft: Latest Buzz
ByFive hours away now…
- Stephen Strasburg cards are already going for $200 apiece. Insane.
- Maury Brown gives you a complete draft primer if you’re unfamiliar with how this thing works.
- Tanner Scheppers was flirting with triple digits in his last start over the weekend.
- Jonathan Mayo tweets that Jacob Turner, Shelby Miller and Mike Leake look like the Tigers’ targets at #9.
- Klaw says the Braves are deciding between Alex White and Mike Minor at #7. In other news, I’m deciding between filet mignon and McDonalds for dinner. The Reds will take the Braves’ sloppy seconds one pick later.
- The Royals are in on Grant Green at #12. That’s mighty high for a guy without much pop and questions about his ability to stay at short.
- Lane Meyer at NoMaas is chatting about the draft right now.
- The signing deadline has been pushed back to August 17th since the 15th is a Saturday. Two more days for Boras to bleed the Nats dry.
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Ahh, Draft Day. It’s like Christmas, only better! And with fewer jolly old men!
Come now…plenty of gms are old men!
Yes, but they’re not jolly, ARE THEY?!?!
but they’re not jolly…
(Actually I think the average age of GMs is quite young)
We just updated our draft coverage at Pending Pinstripes to cover some rumors. We also have scouting reports and availability for guys who should be around at 29 later today. Check it out.
http://mvn.com/pendingpinstripes/
slade heathcott…sounds like an ice cream flavor sold at the home depot
+1
Hey Mike any appealing sophmores out there we could take a stab at?
DJ LeMahieu and Kentrail Davis are the best. I love me some Jake Cowan, but he’s a JuCo kid.
Can you imagine if we came out of this with Heathcott, Davis and Tate? Outfield of the future baby!
I can’t fathom how this could happen…Tate falls to 29 and then Heathcott falls 50 more picks?
I think more realistic would be Slade/Tate with Davis coming later.
The trio would be awesome & a miracle
Yeah, between Heathcott and Tate, I think Tate’s super-high bonus demands and rawness makes him the better candidate to slide to #76.
I think the reason all these mocks have us on Heathcott in the first (bypassing the falling Tate, Purke, Crow, Scheppers, etc) is they expect us to gamble on the super-prospects falling all the way into the second round and beyond, which they probably will.
29-Heathcott
76-Tate/Purke/Crow/Scheppers
135-Another falling 1st rounder
5th, 6th, or 7th round – Davis (his bonus + his draft eligible sophomore makes him a super-faller)
I’m sorry, but Purke, Crow, and Scheppers to #76 is a pipe dream.
We’ll find out soon enough.
They probably ALL won’t fall there but I wouldn’t be shocked to see one or two of them there. I could definitely see both Purke and Scheppers there
Everyone in the draft is going to fall.
Not Strasburg
http://s285.photobucket.com/al.....4fc96f.gif
Purke 29, Renfroe 76 seems much more realistic and basically the same as Heathcott Purke.
Except that Heathcott isn’t really asking for a huge bonus, so there’s a better chance someone else takes him before we come up again at #76.
Heathcott has a smaller chance of falling far, IMO.
Tate can fall to 76 or beyond, he’s a major signability issue. If he doesn’t get drafted in the top 10, I imagine a lot of teams will consider him unsignable.
I love me some Kentrail Davis
Cowan’s video at mlb.com doesnt show him above 87.. What do you like about him so much?
I’ve seen reports that had him up to 92-94. Love the big projectable frame and command.
Im sorry for the off-topic question, but can anyone point me to the newfangled website that tracks every pitcher’s pitch fx data by day and provides easy charts on velo, etc? I’ll bookmark it and never ask again. Thanks tons.
brooks baseball
thank ya
fangraphs.com
Up to what round does a team recieve a pick compensation for not signing a pick the previous year.
I.e. the Yanks got a first rounder this year from Cole, but how far does that go 3rd round, 4th?
3rd.
thanks
With all these rumored high bonus demands coming out, this could be a historic draft where lots of elite talent falls to us in the later rounds. I sincerely hope we remain on the attack and take advantage of the situation aggressively, using our strengths (money) to our best advantage, just like we did this winter in acquiring CC, AJ, Tex, and Swisher.
I’m dreaming of at least a 4 player haul out of the Heathcott-Renfroe-Purke-Matzek-Miller-Gibson-Scheppers-Crow-LeMahieu-Davis-Marsinek-Fuentes-Everett Williams-Hobgood-Brothers-Davidson-Mier-Green-etc.-etc.-etc.
Crap, there’s a lot of good players in this draft, and many of them will still be there at pick #135 and below.
If this draft goes bannanas and players are falling all over the place then they Yanks have to go big.
I’d rather be buying bonus demands left and right than signing anyone who is a FA next year.
It’s a nice dream but I think financial matters may stand in the way of a haul like that. Whether the Yankees have a hard limit or not, there comes a point where a team can only take (and then, more importantly, sign) so many high-demand guys.
Although I guess if you take Purke out of that group, it might be possible, since Purke’s demands are reportedly very high.
Mike, when does the draft chat start?
5:30ish. I’ll be out for a bit this afternoon, but I’ll be home around then.
Just had a terrifying nightmare (is it bad that I dreamt about the draft?).
Draft starts, Nats pick Ackley, pandemonium ensues. Strasburg starts sliding, and then realization strikes- Boston picks ahead of the Yankees. He gets picked by Boston, I wake up in a cold sweat.
I need to get out more.
http://www.bunnyranch.com/index1.html
My wife would probably not be too pleased if I explored that link.
We won’t tell her
Tools – Internet Options – Clear history
Nats intentionally pick a player they don’t think/ want to sign to have the #1 pick next year to go after Harper.
If there wasn’t Strasburg, I could see this happening. And if Harper isn’t draft eligible next year, whoever has the #1 pick should do this.
If Strasburg somehow got by both the Nats and the Mariners, the Padres would pick him in a nanosecond and then trade Peavy to the Cubs or Dodgers for pennies on the dollar to be rid of his contract and give Strasburg the 50M deal he wants.
They get a smaller contract and possibly a better pitcher, who’s a hometown kid and a local legend to boot. Instant excitement and butts in the seats.
Calm down, buddy, your nightmare can’t possibly come true.
Economy = Worst in years
Draft Talent pool = Worst in years
Bonus demands = Highest in years
Something is off.
This talent pool is better than a lot of people give it credit for, though it isn’t particularly great.
I would dare say it is the worst in the last five years. I don’t recall what the ’04 class looked like, but 05>06>08>07>09.
Eh, every year, people say the draft class sucks (I remember 2006 being called suckitude, and look at the pitching that came out of that). We won’t know for a few years.
The older drafts look better because more guys have made it since then, you can’t really tell how good a draft is for at least 5 years. That being said, how can you not like this talent pool? I mean Strasburg/Purke/Turner/Gibson could all be aces one day in the majors. Guys like Kentrali Davis and Tate could learn to hit breaking pitches and produce like Manny. You just never know
04 was very meh; I’d say it was worse than this year’s group.
Oh, the economy’s in the crapper, huh? F$%# YOU, PAY ME.
Havin troubles selling out your stadium? F$%# YOU, PAY ME.
Lost millions in the Madoff scandal, eh? F$%# YOU, PAY ME.
The Mets didn’t hear you on that last one.
Oh, and GoodFellas reference, ftw.
Yea. These kids sense of entitlement.
which players in the first round besides Strasburg can make a major league impact in the next 24 months?
College closers.
Minor or drew storen
Or an elite hitter that gets drafted by a shitty team like ackley to SEA,
Indy league guys as well. Crow and Scheppers.
since i’m going to a friend’s house who unfortunately doesn’t have mlb network, will they be showing the draft online at mlb.com?
Make your friend come to your house and watch the draft on TV.
Also, since I’m in a “hopeful” mood for the draft, I’m listening to Dream to Make Believe.
Yes, they have a thing that updates as the picks are made.
anyone know of a site that will send draft updates to your phone? i unfortunatley work the late shift on tuesdays.
The draft is awesome. Stupid appointment at 5.
sounds like a lot of us are somewhat up the creek tonight! i’ll be checking in with RAB constantly.
I should be back in time to watch it. Problem is catching up on the draft while watching the Yanks vs Sox.
$200 a piece? I thought people have already learned that these cards are basically worthless. That is beyond insane, it is stupidity.
If I told you that each card was infused with the scent of Steven Strasburg’s rugged, masculine musk, would you be interested then?
Only if I knew that inhaling that musk would give me the ability to throw 98-100mph on the black!
I hear each card is made from bits of real panther.
Look at that subtle off-white coloring. The tasteful thickness of it. Oh my God, it even has a watermark!
(golf clap)
Damn it, I have to work and there is no MLB Network there, just ESPN. Hopefully they come up with updates.
Oh no….John Flaherty just said to Mike Francesa that Joba should go back to the pen because he was so great at it and is a must for this team.He is like Goose Gossage and must be idiots to some people for thinking that.
Goose and Flaherty know one thing that most journalists(Pete Abraham) and bloggers don’t.How to win because unlike us Flaherty actually played Major league baseball.We are a better team with Joba in the pen….no question.
your attempts to rabble rouse = epic fail.
GIVE IT UP WE HAVE NO TIME FOR YOUR DOUCHEBAGGERY ITS DRAFT DAY BABY!!!!!!!!
If you scramble the letters of Joba-to-the-pen, you get touchtoneterrorist. Trust me, its true. We are a better blog without you…..no question.
there is no c in joba-to-the-pen, or even an r let alone 3
Again, people, his name is “touchtoneTERRIOST”.
It’s TERRIOST. Stop correcting his ridiculously dumb typo that he doesn’t even know is in his own name and make him look smarter by default. Misspell his name properly… or improperly, however the hell that works.
[ facepalm ]
I’m sorry. I’ll try to misspell better next time.
I know.
It’s not easy. Your intelligent mind forces your fingers to type it the right way. You have to try and put yourself in touchtoneterriost’s mindstate, as impossible as it sounds. Do your best.
I think Flaherty should pitch the 8th.
Come on, it doesn’t make any LESS sense than Joba not starting …
IETC
Reading through NoMaas chat, found the greatest comment ever:
12:58 [Comment From Dustin Pedroias brother]
You seem to be as infatuated with boys as I am.
12:59
I knew you were a fan. Tell your brother he’s an asshole.
dammit, didn’t mean to go here. I should actually pay attention once and awhile
Did anyone else see John Kruk say Phil Hughes might have found a way to be successful for years to come after his relief appearance yesterday? Kruk smart = FAIL.
Yeah, that was pretty amusing
I think Kruk will basically admit that he has no idea what he is talking about. He gets paid to go on TV and just spout off any nonsense that comes to his mind at the time. It is really a great gig. I doubt these guys truly have strong feelings, or even give a shit at all, about what they say night in and night out.
“He is like Goose Gossage and must be idiots to some people for thinking that.”
That doesn’t make sense.
http://iwanttobeinyou.files.wo.....leazy1.jpg
I don’t get the argument that it would be better for the team to move Joba to pen right now. Forget long term development for a second. Joba may very well be our best pitcher by the end of the year. Even if I concede that CC is better, Joba can make a very strong case that he our second best starter. Why would we move our second best starter to the 8th inning? How could that possibly help. Pettitte has clearly been pitching through pain and it seems an ERA in the low 4′s is the best he can do; Wang has not yet pitched even a single good game, and even if he does come back to form, I think Joba is better; AJ can be dominant, but can also get hit up, and I personally have more faith with Joba going out there. Even CC has had well documented problems with the Red Sox and in the playoffs. Joba may very well be the guy I want to have on the mound if my life depended on it. The guy is an excellent starter right now.
Valiant effort, my friend, but logic is useless on a B-Jobber. The only thing they understand is “deciding with your gut”.
And yelling, lots and lots of yelling. The less coherent the better.
You are right. I will try to put it in words that a B-Jobber will understand:
Joba plays with such great emotion and passion, and during a pennant race and/or playoff games, I like to see the excitement and pain on my players faces. I need to see that they care and that it is the biggest game of their life. Joba can singlehandedly pump up the crowd and rally the rest of the Yanks with his emotion. I have a gut feeling that if Joba starts in the playoffs, it will energize this entire team of obscenely rich ball players. The team will feel like kids playing a game again. The Yanks need that.
Brilliant.
In a related story, Bernie Williams was the most feared baseball player of his era.
I’m digging the love for Melvin on Lane Meyer’s livechat
Couple of Yankee items from Klaw’s just-ended chat:
Q: Slade Heathcott sounds pretty similar to AJAX in your draft description. How does he compare to AJAX?
A: Stronger. A lot stronger, actually. Football build, whereas Jackson was a basketball guy and still looks it.
Q: Heathcott or Renfroe?
A: Heathcott. But I think the Yanks could grab him in the first and still get Renfroe in the 2nd if that’s what they want.
Wow – he seems high on Heathcott.
moved him up from 70 to 51 on his final top 100
I’d be quite alright with those picks.
True, looks like those are the Yankees back-up picks if none of Crow/Scheppers/Turner/Green/Gibson fall to them
Law has Crow, Scheppers, and Gibson all falling to us. And us continuing to let them fall.
Can anyone please confirm the scouting report that I read on Slade Heathcott?
It states that, as well as being well-equipped to be a future center fielder, Heathcott is also a very good pitcher with a low 90s fastball, a very good curveball, & a serviceable changeup.
AND…
He’s throws left-handed!!
If this is true & he’s also capable of making the majors as a southpaw pitcher, then Heathcott should definitely be the Yankees’ choice at #29. That’s assuming he’ll be available when the Yankees select.
To me, the fact that he can pitch & pitch well from the left side is a huge bonus. It doubles our chances of a return on investment. If Heathcott doesn’t pan out as a position player, you can still try him out on the pitcher’s mound. Lefties who throw in the 90s are a rare & precious commodity, especially in the Yankees farm system.
Plus, the Yankees already have experience with converting position players into pitchers in their minor league system. Just look at Wilkins De la Rosa, who is currently pitching well in AA Trenton after failing as a outfielder.
As an 18-year old high-schooler, Heathcott has the benefit of age & youth. Should he fail as a position player, he will still be young enough to develop into a left-handed pitcher. Finally, starting out as a position player before transitioning into a pitcher also adds the benefit of less wear & tear on the arm & shoulders.
Law just posted that the Pirates have a pre-draft deal done with Tony Sanchez. A major reach at 4. And that’s why they’re the Pirates.
Just when I was ready to praise them for trading the flawed McLouth at the peak of his value for three good prospects, they go and do something like this…
[ facepalm ]
yeah, for a fleeting moment there, they resembled an organization who knew what they were doing.
ri-fuckin-donkulous
checks watch 3:38
waits impatiently
checks watch 3:39
waits impatiently
checks watch 3:40
WHY ISN’T MY BURRITO DONE YET?!?!?!?!?!?