Dylan Covey
Rumors

The 2010 high school pitching class is very talented and most of the talk has been centered around possible Top 5 pick, Jameson Taillon.  However, as Jason Churchill from espn.com points out, there are a number of other high school pitchers who could be selected in the first round.  One player who is threatening to break into the Top 10 along with Taillon is Karsten Whitson.

Though he took the loss in his first start of the season, Whitson struck out the side in the first two innings and threw his fastball 94-92, touched 96 and has a sharp slider.  "He was pretty much as advertised," said the scout who watched the outing. "The fastball was consistent, and he worked both sides."

Karsten Whitson could be a Top 10 pick in June

Other possible high school pitchers would could be taken in the first round include:

• AJ Cole, Ovideo High School, FL: Sits comfortably in the low 90s and has touched as high as 96 mph. He combines athleticism, velocity and movement with a decent curveball and developing change to dominate high school hitters
• Dylan Covey, Marantha High School, GA: Covey has one of the best breaking balls in the 2010 class; a sharp breaker with excellent depth and well above average velocity in the 78-81 mph range.

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We've already seen a number of reports from The Southern California Invitational Showcase from Keith Law at espn.com and Dave Perkin at Baseball America.  Jonathan Mayo of mlb.com also chipped in with a few comments heard heard from scouts in attendance about the performances.

Scouts really liked first baseman  Christian Yelich's left-handed swing and he has a great frame to build on.  Looks like a contender to have a big spring and improve his draft stock significantly.  Chad Lewis is another infielder (third base) who looked good at the Showcase.  He laced a couple base hits in the game and scouts liked his approach at the plate. 

Christian Yelich hopes to improve his draft position this spring

We've already heard plenty about Jake Hernandez's performance and Mayo heard the same positive reviews.  Other position players who had solid performances included Tony Wolters and Lonni Kauppila.

For the pitchers, Dylan Covey continues to impress and remain on the top of scouts draft boards.  As previously mentioned, Vincent Velasquez really made a name for himself at the showcase as did Griffin Murphy.  Cody Buckel "showed a really live arm" according to Mayo's report.  Aaron Sanchez looked like he was beginning to fill in a nicely projectable frame and threw well at the Showcase.

The Southern California Invitational Showcase took place on Saturday in Compton, CA.  Dylan Covey and Griffin Murphy headlined a good day for pitchers with less success for the hitters.

Pithers

Griffin Murphy: Fastball sat at 92-89 mph and while he struggled with his the consistency of his change up and curveball, he threw a few of each well.  Law was most impressed with Murphy's aggressiveness and command when he threw.

Dylan Covey: Though his fastball did not show much movement it sat around 93-90 and he threw his other four pitchers well and consistently, keeping hitters off balance.

Cody Buckel: Mound conditions may have impacted his delivery causing him to land awkwardly, but curveball was "tight" and his fastball sat at 92-90 mph.

Tony Amezcua: His fastball was one of the best at the Showcase, hitting 94 mph and sitting 90+ mph and had has a deceptive delivery.

Vincent Velasquez: Though it was unclear whether Velasquez was a better pitcher or hitter coming into the Showcase, he answered those questions with a phenomenal pitching performance.  His fastball hit 93mph and he threw the best change up of the pitchers in attendance.

Griffin Murphy made himself some money says espn.com's Keith Law

Hitters

Austin Wilson: Wilson excelled at last year's Showcase, but struggled this year.  Though he performed in batting practice, he struggled in his at-bats during the game.

Cory Hahn: Though his swing is flat and he's on the smaller side (5'10") he demonstrated his normal power and solid contact.

Chad Lewis: Had difficulty making good contact with balls during batting practice representing a regression from what scouts had seen in the past.

Derek Campbell: Small with a simple swing, Campbell still managed to sting a few balls during the competition.  His arm strength and defense were suspect at shortstop which means he might end up at second base.

Jake Hernandez: His time in batting practice was among the most impressive and threw a few lasers to second base while catching.

Christian Yelich: An opposite field triple to right-center really demonstrated what a solid swing Yelich has.

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

The Louisville Slugger 2010 Pre-Season High School All-America Team was announced on Friday.  Thirty-seven pitchers were selected to the first team.  The two biggest names on the list were Jameson Taillon and AJ Vanegas. 

Taillon is a 6'7" classic Texas hard throwing right handed pitcher expected to be the #2 pick behind Bryce Harper in the upcoming 2010 MLB draft.  Vanegas was Taillon's teammate on the Team USA 18-U team that won the gold medal this fall and is also expected to be a first round pick in this year's draft.

Other pitchers selected to the team who are expected to be first round picks include: Dylan Covey, Cameron Bedrosian, Robbie Aviles, Peter Tago and Cody Buckel.

AJ Vanegas was named to the 2010 Pre-Season High School All-America team.

In our Prospect Preview series, Baseball Rumor Mill will take a look at a number of prospects for the upcoming 2010 MLB draft who figure to be selected in the early rounds.  Today's preview: Dylan Covey.

Covey is a solidly built and athletic 6-2, 200 lb right hander from Southern California. He throws from a full hands over head wind up with a long two-piece arm action in back. Covey has one of the best breaking balls in the 2010 class; a sharp breaker with excellent depth and well above average velocity in the 78-81 mph range. Covey's fastball is consistently above MLB average in velocity as well at 91-94 mph, up to 96 and he's shown the ability to maintain his stuff deep into games. He has a verbal commitment to the University of San Diego. His ability to be a professional workhorse with plus stuff makes him a first round possibility.

Dylan Covey figures to be a high draft pick in the 2010 MLB Draft

After completing his Marantha High School in California last year, Covey was selected to play in the AFLAC All-American game held in San Diego on August 16th, 2009.  Being a couthern California native, San Diego was a very convenient location for the game and is also the location of Covey's collegiate commitment for 2010.  All of Covey's collegiate considerations were in southern California (USC, UCLA, Cal State Fullerton, and Long Beach State), but Covey got a strong, early commitment from San Diego and selected USD.

Another benefit to USD over some of the larger schools is the smaller spotlight at USD.  Despite being one of the top pitchers in the country, Covey hasn't experienced much attention at his small private high school and prefers it that way. 

Heading into his senior seasoin, Covey is looking to improve his consistency.  He notes that, at the next level, throwing strikes and throwing them hard is what allows a pitcher to succeed.  For more of Dylan Covey's interview, click here.