My first rounder. (Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

Every year over at Minor League Ball, John Sickels hosts a community mock draft. I acted as the Yankees mock scouting director way back in 2007 and while that was fun, it was incredibly time consuming. For the last few years I’ve just shadowed their mock draft, meaning I’ve gone back after the fact to look at who I would taken with each of the Yankees’ selection. This isn’t any kind of serious analysis or projection, it’s just for fun.

They used to do the first five rounds but have since knocked it down to three for what I assume are time-related reasons. Seriously, it sucks up the entire afternoon. The mock was conducted yesterday, so here are the links — first, sandwich, second, third — and here are my selections…

First Round (#30 overall)
Mock Draft: RHP Shane Watson, California HS
My Pick: 3B Carson Kelly, Oregon HS

Kelly is a big personal fave and I reached for him based on consensus rankings and the mock draft — he went 57th overall to the Reds. I really like him though. Here’s my write-up. Watson is one of the better prep pitchers in the class and a true back-half of the first round talent. He’ll sit anywhere from 90-96 with the fastball and can snap off nasty curveball every so often. Like most high schoolers, he’s working on a changeup and you’re dreaming on him adding velocity as he fills out. It’s worth noting that the Yankees have been connected to Florida HS SS Addison Russell in various mock drafts and he was still on the board for this pick.

Second Round (#89 overall)
Mock Draft: C Dane Phillips, Oklahoma City University
My Pick: RHP Duane Underwood, Georgia HS

This is the compensation pick the Yankees received after failing to sign second rounder Sam Stafford last season and I feel like I got a steal. Underwood’s a borderline first round talent and there’s a chance he’ll go in the back-half of the first round next week, so nabbing him nearly 100 picks in is a coup in my eyes. Between him and Kelly, I feel like I’ve got two top 30-35 talents. I wrote Underwood up last week, so check that out for more info. Phillips has climbed up draft boards as the spring has progressed because he’s crushing weak competition, though his ability to remain behind the plate is uncertain. A team would really have to believe in the glove to take him this high. Here’s my write-up on Phillips.

Second Round (#94 overall)
Mock Draft: OF Preston Beck, UT-Arlington
My Pick: LHP Alex Young, Illinois HS

Although the franchise’s history is littered with quality left-handers, the Yankees have done a pretty poor job of carrying on the tradition in recent years. Young has already shown three pitches — low-90s fastball, curveball, changeup — and has lots of room to grow in his 6-foot-3, 190 lb. frame. He has a strong commitment to TCU and is expected to be a tough sign, but with more than $500k in slot money to work with, I’m not going down without a fight. Young is the kind of kid that will come out of school in three years as a first round pick, assuming his coach doesn’t shred his arm first. Beck’s a solid selection; a corner outfielder with a strong left-handed bat and defensive skills. He had hip surgery last summer and there is some question about his power potential, so he’s a ‘tweener risk.

Third Round (#124 overall)
Mock Draft: Young
My Pick: RHP Zack Quintana, Nevada HS

Well, I jumped the gun on Young a bit. I like him though and didn’t want to miss out, plus we’re talking about a difference of $130k in slot money. Anyway, Quintana is an undersized kid that runs his fastball up to 95 with a power breaking ball and a changeup that is advanced for a high schooler. He strikes me as very undervalued because of his size (5-foot-11, 180 lbs. or so) in a draft class that is light on quality prep arms. I also considered Tennessee HS SS A.J. Simcox with this pick, a true shortstop who has grown up around the game because his father has coached at Tennessee for nearly two decades. He’s raw but has exciting power-speed potential.

* * *

I’m a high school prospect guy as you can tell. I’ve always felt that getting players under professional instruction as soon as possible is the best thing for their development because bad habits are easy to develop in college, where winning is the priority. Not development and growth. Had the mock draft continued for another round or two, I probably would have looked for a college relief arm or two to not only balance things out, but to also save some draft pool money to use elsewhere and perhaps get decent value relative to round.

(Mike Stobe/Getty)

We’re just nine days away from the draft now, so let’s round up the latest news and notes. Make sure you scroll back through our draft archive to make sure you didn’t miss anything, I’ve been posting player profiles, links to mock drafts, and all sorts of other stuff these last few weeks. Here’s the latest…

Sabathia to represent Yankees on Day One

The first day of baseball’s amateur draft will again be broadcast live on MLB Network this year, and the Yankees announced that their representative will be ace CC Sabathia. Apparently he drew the short straw. The Yankees do not have a game that day and Sabathia will be the only active player in attendance. Tino Martinez and Lee Mazzilli have represented New York in recent drafts. The broadcast will cover the first and supplement rounds on Monday, June 4th. The remaining rounds will be conducted via conference call over the following two days.

Scott Boras on the new spending restrictions

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Every team will have their draft spending limited this season — the Yankees can spend just under $4.2M on the top ten rounds — with harsh penalties in place for any overages. Front offices don’t seen very fond of the changes put in place by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement but agents aren’t happy either. The new rules are taking money from their clients (and themselves), after all. Kevin Goldstein spoke to Scott Boras about the changes and the game’s most powerful agents had some suggests for improving the system. You can read the article on either ESPN or Baseball Prospectus, but you need a subscription either way.

First, Boras suggests a five-year spending pool, allowing teams to funnel money from year-to-year as the talent pool varies. “A lot of people won’t like that just because it’s Scott’s idea, but I love it,” said an unnamed GM. “The current system is short-sighted. It takes away individuality and the concept of having competitive advantages though the evaluation of talent.” Boras also suggests that low-revenue teams that win should be rewarded, specifically by being able to spend whatever they want on one pick each year. Goldstein says that it could take years for teams to adjust to the new rules and find the most efficient way to procure talent, though I’m sure some loopholes with pop up along the way.

MLB.com’s Mock Draft

Jonathan Mayo posted his latest mock draft for MLB.com this past week, though that one only goes 20 picks deep. That means the Yankees are left out, but it’s still good to check out just to get an idea of who is projected to go where. Pretty much the only thing that can substantially change draft stock at this point is injury.

The 2012 amateur draft is less than two weeks away, so between now and then I’m going to highlight some prospects individually rather than lump them together into larger posts.

Clint Coulter | C

Background
A former state wrestling champion, Coulter hails from Union High School in Camas, Washington, which is right on the Oregon border and practically a suburb of Portland. His coach is former big leaguer Tom Lampkin, who spent parts of 13 seasons in the show and started over 400 games behind the plate. Coulter is committed to Arizona State.

Scouting Report
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 200 lbs. with a wrestler’s build, Coulter has some of the best power in the high school crop this summer. He hammers mistakes and has shown the ability to adjust to offspeed stuff and drive the ball to all fields from the right side. Although he has the arm and athleticism to catch, Coulter has a long way to go with his receiving and footwork before becoming a solid defensive backstop. He runs like a catcher but is a heady baserunner with strong instincts. Coulter is very coachable and an intense competitor who plays really hard, earning high grades for his intangibles.

Miscellany
Keith Law (35th), Baseball America (48th), and MLB.com (48th) all consider Coulter a fringy first round/firm supplemental round talent based on their most recent rankings. The Yankees pick 30th overall in the first round but do not have a sandwich round pick, so Coulter is one of those ‘tweener types who might not be worth a first rounder but won’t last into the second round. As I wrote two days ago, the Yankees prioritize offensive catchers in the minors and Coulter fits the mold to a tee.