We’ve got a small army of links today, so let’s combine them all into one post.
- Jonathan Mayo at MLB.com posted his full first round mock draft. He has the Yanks taking Cal’s Brett Jackson, who Baseball America projected the Yanks to take in their first mock draft back in the middle of May. Mayo notes that the Yanks might be a little timid about going after a big bonus guy after losing out on Gerrit Cole last year.
- Jason Churchill posted his list of the Top 33 Draft Prospects over at his great site Prospect Insider, while John Sickels posted his top 50 at Minor League Ball.
- Writing for the big shots at ESPN, Churchill ran through the draft philosophies of all thirty teams (Insider only). “The Yankees don’t generally lean in one direction or another, but 12 of their first 14 picks the past two years have been college players, and they’ve been pitching-heavy the past four drafts,” he says.
- Jim Callis says that nine players from this draft class are “all but locks” to make BA’s Top 100 Prospects List next year, with Stephen Strasburg the odds on favorite to rank number one overall.
- Jayson Stark says that Scott Boras’ demand of $50M for Strasburg has murdered the history of baseball shows exactly what is wrong with the draft. He says we’re on our way towards having a cap on draft pick bonuses, and spoke to a club official that says it’s time for MLB to allow the trading of picks.
- Bryan Hoch caught up with Yanks’ scouting director Damon Oppenheimer, who stuck by his “we’ve been given a budget by ownership” story. I do believe it he’s been given a budget, but I’m guessing it’s still a mighty big number, $7-8M or so.
- You know the draft is close, because MLB.com’s Draft Tracker is up. Scouting videos for all!
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