Kaleb Cowart
Rumors

Jason Churchill of espn.com recently took a look at the top high school players that could end up first-round draft picks when MLB amateur draft gets started in June.  Previously we reviewed Jason's analysis of collegiate first rounders.

• Jameson Taillon figures to be the top high school player, pitcher or hitter, taken in the draft.  He could likely go as high as the #1 overall pick depending upon how his spring goes.
• AJ Cole (Ovideo HS, FL) and Karsten Whitson (Chipley HS, FL) both made Keith Law's Top 50 and will go in the first round.
• Other high school pitchers expected to be selected in the first round include Kaleb Cowart (Cook County HS, GA), Andrew Smith (Rosewell HS, GA), Kevin Gausman (Grandview HS, CO) and Justin O'Connor (Cowan HS, IN).

Kevin Gausman figures to be a first round draft pick in June

• Stetson Allie (St. Edwards HS, OH) will likely go in the first round, the question is whether a team will select him as a pitcher or a hitter.
• Kris Bryant (Bonanza HS, NV) and Josh Sale (Bishop Blanchett HS) both figure to be taken in the top half of the first round.
• Nick Castellanos (Archbishop Mccarthy HS, FL), Manny Machado (Brito HS, FL), Marcus Littlewood (Pineview HS, UT) and Chad Lewis (Marina HS, CA) are all possibilities for the first round

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.  Twenty-three "multi-position" players were selected to the first team.  Multi-positional players are defined as players who pitch as well as play the field.  Often these players are being scouted by teams to be a pitcher or a hitter and the opinions vary considerably.  The two biggest names on the list are Stetson Allie and Kaleb Cowart.

Allie plays all over the field, lining up at third base, first base and on the mount.  As a hitter and a fielder, se has strong quick hands that get the barrel to the ball and result in power to all fields. His hands are soft and sure and his arm is a cannon across the diamond.  On the mound, Allie throws very hard, 96 mph, but needs to work on his control.

Similar to Allie, Kaleb Cowart plays both third base and is a right handed pitcher.  Cowart is an outstanding defensive infielder with quick feet and a cannon arm.  As a switch-hitter Cowart shows very good bat speed right-handed and a long and smooth swing left-handed with power both way.  Cowart has a fast easy arm with loose athletic actions on the mound.  His fastball sits at 90-92, but can get as high as 94-95.  Throws a hard spinning curveball with very good depth and two plane shape and is developing a change-up.

Other notable selections include DeAndre Smelter, Jacoby Jones and Drew Vettleson.

Kaleb Cowart could be drafted as a pitcher or a hitter

The 2009 World Wood Bat Association World Championships wrapped up its five day tournament recently in Jupiter, Florida.  With 85 teams in attendance and 13 games going on simultaneously at any one given time, there was plenty of talent that will be picked at the 2010 draft on display. 

One event of the championships that draws a lot of attenion is the Bo Jackson Five-Tool Championship.  Players show off their wares in different "tool" competitions: hitting for power, hitting for average, arm strength, fielding and running speed.  Unfortunately, the hitting competitions were held with metal bats, something professional scouts are not interested in watching.

Chevez Clarke and Kaleb Cowart were two of the standouts from the tool competition.  Specifically, Cowart was clocked with a 100-mph reading throwing from right field, clearly dominanting the "arm strength" tool competition.  Clarke did not have anything stand out quite as significantly as Cowart, but throughout all five tools submitted arguably the top performance. 

Chevez Clarke at the AFLAC All-America Game at Wrigley Field

Unfortunately, top prospect Jameson Taillon did not play at the tournament as many had expected.  For more on the 2009 Wood Bat Association World Championships, check out Baseball America's original report.

The 2009 MLB Draft is over and that means it's time to move on to the 2010 MLB Draft Previews.

High School

• Cameron Bedrosian, RHP, East Coweta HS, GA: The son of Steve Bedrosian has a low-90s fastball to go with a biting curveball and a decent changeup.
• Yordy Cabrera, SS, Lakeland HS, FL: Cabrera also pitches, but most predict is professional future is as an infield.  His father is a minor league coach with the Tigers.
• AJ Cole, RHP, Oveida HS, FL: At 6'5" and 190lbs, he's a scouts dream who can see him filling out his fram and improving on his 90-93 speed already.
• Kaleb Cowart, SS/RHP, Cook County HS, GA: Cowart would prefer to play the field, but scouts are split on whether he'd be a better hitter or pitcher. 
• Jameson Taillon, RHP, The Woodlands HS, TX: Taillon is already hitting mid-90s with his fastball and has a nice curve to go with it.

College

• Christian Colon, SS, Cal-State Fullerton: Colon played every game for an undefeated Team USA over the summer and is hitting .352 for the Titans this year.
• Matt Harvey, RHP, UNC: The current baseball factory, Harvey joins teammates Dustin Ackley and Alex White at the College World Series.
• Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Mississippi: In 2009 he was 8-4 with a 3.40 ERA over 16 starts. He struck out 124 and walked just 37 over 95 1/3.  Great numbers.
• Anthony Ranaudo, RHP, LSU: Another player who will be at the College World Series, Ranaudo was 10-3 with a 2.95 ERA, striking out 147 over 109 2/3 IP and keeping hitters to a .198 average in 2009.
• Victor Sanchez, 3B, San Diego: An injury limited his 2008 to just 28 games, but the pre-season All-American will be on everybody's radar next year.