Chris Sale
Rumors

Baseball America announced its pre-season collegiate All-America teams last week.  Below is a look at the first team.  We'll look at the second team later in the week.

C: Micah Gibbs, LSU - A switch-hitter who possesses power from both sides of the plate
1B: Hunter Morris, Auburn - Lefty bat with raw plus-power potential
2B: Ross Wilson, Alabama - A middle infielder that hits with power.  Draws comparisons to Dan Uggla
3B: Anthony Rendon, Rice - Obviously Anthony is one of the top players in college baseball. An outstanding defensive and offensive player
SS: Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton - A very sure-handed and reliable middle infielder
OF: Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee State - Utilizes quick wrists and a short path to the ball to produce above-average power to all fields
OF: Todd Cunningham, Jacksonville State - Hit .339 with 10 homers and 47 RBIin 2009
OF: Jarrett Parker, Virginia Tech - An athletic kid with a strong, fundamentally sound swing
DH: Zack Cox, Arkansas - Combines his power potential with solid hitting ability and talent with the glove at third base
UT: Brett Eibner, Arkansas - A two-way player, Eibner will see time in center field and on the mound in 2010

Christian Colon                                          Jarrett Parker

SP: Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech - In just his first year as a weekend starter, he went 11-2 with a 3.50 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 118 while walking 41 in 100.1 innings
SP: Drew Pomeranz, Mississippi - Pomeranz is a big-bodied lefty with solid stuff across the board and two legitimate swing-and-miss pitches
SP: Anthony Ranaudo, LSU - Hard-throwing right-hander with mid-90s fastball who is considered one of the best pitching prospects in the country
SP: Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast - Sale's strength is throwing strikes with a 89-93 mph fastball, a good low-80s changeup and an above average slider
RP: Kevin Jacob, Georgia Tech - Has three pitches he throws for strikes, including a very good fastball

Jonathan Mayo mlb.com gives his Top 10 2010 MLB Draft prospects heading into the start of the baseball season.  Of most significant note is that Mayo does not have Bryce Harper as the #1 player available.

1. Anthony Ranaudo, LSU, RHP
2. Drew Pomeranz, Ole Miss, LHP
3. Jameson Taillon, The Woodlands High School, RHP
4. Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C
5. Dylan Covey, Marantha High School, RHP
6. Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast University, LHP
7. Jesse Hahn, Virginia Tech, RHP
8. Zack Cox, Arkansas, 3B
9. Manny Machado, Miami Brito High School, SS
10. Kaleb Cowart, Cook County High School, 3B

Anthony Ranaudo supplants Bryce Harper as the #1 available player according to Jonathan Mayo

Keith Law of espn.com ranked the 30 best prospects from the Cape Cod League this summer. 1-15 can be found here and 16-30 can be found here. Keith ranked 2010 and 2011 eligible players, but we're only concerned with 2010, so we have conveniently summarized the 2010 prospects in one post.

1. Zack Cox - 3B, Arkansas: A good defensive thrid baseman who also swings a big bat. Age-eligible sophomore means demands could be high.
2. Austin Wates - OF, Virginia Tech: His defensive position is unclear, but he's a super athlete with good plate discipline.
3. Brandon Workman - RHP, Texas: Good fastball at 94-92 and an unhittable "sharp spike curveball".
4. Alex Wimmers - RHP, Ohio State: Arguably the best curveball on the Cape, Wimmers was also in the top five in D1 in Ks last year.
5. Leon Landry - OF, LSU: A superior athlete who is blazing fast and actually had a higher average with wood bats on the Cape than in college.
6. Rob Rasmussen - LHP, UCLA: An aggressive pitcher with above-average command, he throws four pitches including an above-average fastball and curveball.
7. Bryan Morgado - LHP, Tennessee: Despite a difficult spring, Morgado excelled this summer and displayed an above-average fastball and breaking ball.
8. Brett Eibner - RHP, Arkansas: Good command with a low-90s fastball and a "promising" cutter.
9. Cameron Rupp - C, Texas: Plays like a true power hitter with solid slugging numbers and good walks.
10. Dallas Gallant - RHP, Sam Houston State: His "stuff" has not yet translated into success on the field, but he has good speed on his fastball and a very good curveball.
11. Justin Grimm - RHP, Georgia: Has hit 97 on the gun, but struggles with any other pitch.
12. Mickey Wiswall - 3B, BC: Swing is long and he struggles with his discipline, but good power.
13. Chris Sale - LHP, Florida Gulf Coast: Good movement on his fastball, decent change up, below-average curveball
14. Seth Rosin - RHP, Minnesota: Big 6'6", 220 lb frame with good command of his fastball
15. Kevin Rhoderick - RHP, Oregon State: Mid-90s fastball and a good slider are enticing. His command isn't.
16. Hunter Morris - 1B, Auburn: A big power hitter, who doesn't bring much else to the plate (figurative or literally).
17. Jarrett Parker - OF, Virginia: His power/speed combination draw comparisons to Brett Jackson, but he needs to improve consistency.
18. Dan Tillman - RHP, Florida Southern: While ERA can be erratic at the college level, 0.00 is hard to ignore.
19. Jedd Gyorko - 2B/3B, West Virginia: Despite diminutive size, he has great bat speed which will lead to good contact rates.
20. Micah Gibbs - C, LSU: Switch-hitter, good power, patient.
21. Josh Rutledge - SS, Alabama: Offense is lacking, but he's a rock at shortstop.
22. Kevin Munson - RHP, James Madison: Hard thrower (96-92), but struggles with control. Already a full-time reliever.
23. Nick Tepesch - RHP, Missouri: Very live arm, but struggles with command. Throws four pitches, but only changeup is above-average right now.
24. Michael Olt - 3B, UConn: Has moved from SS to 3B already and may have to move to the OF eventually.
25. Todd Cunningham - OF, Jacksonville State: Led the Cape in batting average, but little power.

Keith Law of espn.com has an update on the action in the Cape Cod League.  Everyone is getting excited for the Cape Cod League All-Star Game at Fenway Park in Boston on Thursday, July 23rd.  I'll be in attendance and have a report from the game afterward.

• LHP Chris Sale out of Florida Gulf Coast University has been one of the top pitchers in the Cape League this summer.  Sale's strength is throwing strikes (somehow one of the most underrated aspects for a pitcher in my opinion) wiht a 89-93 mph fastball, a good low-80s changeup and an above average slider.
• Brett Eibner, a RHP from Arkansas, made his second appearance of the summer.  His fastball was registered at 94-90 and he displayed a solid cutter in the upper 80s along with a 84-85 mph slider.  Law feels he needs to add another average secondary pitch to play professionally.
• Josh Rutledge is playing shortstop for Alabama and actually projects as a professional shortstop.  Clearly this means he's a superior defender and an average hitter.  Law rates him with an above average arm to go with good range and good hands.
• OF Jonathan Jones from Long Beach State has displayed above average speed and a plus arm with a good swing that produces solid contact, but lower power.  While he's solid mechanically, Law feels that he'll need to produce the rest of this summer and next spring to get any serious looks from teams for the 2010 draft.