Kris Bryant
Rumors

High school talent has been the most prominent feature of the 2010 draft class, but most of the discussion is regarding pitching.  However, there are a number of talent prep position players available, starting with the likely #2 pick, Manny Machado.

One area that has a plethora of high school position players who could go in the Top 50 is the west coast.  Jason Churchill recently provided some notes on how a number of the top west coast prep position players are faring. 

Josh Sale, Blanchet HS, OF

"He continues to impress me," said an NL area scout. "His swing is very consistent, which is one thing I came (into the season) worrying about some. It's kind of noisy, his hands are bouncing and it's like 'can he get to everything with all that going on every pitch?' But he can, and he does. Whoever takes him will clean that up a little bit, but he gets great loft and drives the ball with such authority. (Sale is) the best high school power bat I have seen since I came here."

Marcus Littlewood, Pine View HS, SS

"He's not going to play shortstop -- he's too big, he'll outgrow the position," the scout said of Littlewood's defensive future. "But he can play third -- and then it's (a question of) will he have the power. I think he might, I've seen him do it with the wood bat. What's that, Evan Longoria minus the (third base level) power? And a better defender, maybe, too."

Tony Wolters, Rancho Buena Vista HS, SS

Although he didn't believe he was violating any rules, his high school team has sat him out of games on fears the California state commissioner would rule Wolters ineligible after working out for the Toronto Blue Jays.  However, players work out for professional teams all the time, so to penalize one and not the many others seems hypocritical. The question, as Michael Huang of The Sporting News writes, is whether he participated in a legal "workout" or an illegal "tryout".

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In the alleged post-steroids era, teams are taking a broader view on how to evaluate a player's draft stock.  On one hand, traditional ways of evaluating a player in terms of tools remains a viable way to scout a player.  Can a player hit?  Can he run?  Is he a good defender?  How is his arm strength?

On the other hand, unless a team is drafting a five-tool player, there are some risks.  If team's draft a player who's known for his bat and it turns out he can not hit at the professional level, what is the team left with?

One recent alternative is to draft a player with impressive athletic ability, but possibly someone who is lacking the gaudy statistics of a player who has a "plus, plus" bat tool, etc. The theory is that a player who is very athletic is likely to be at least good at most of the tools and if one of them declines in professional ball, the player is able to adapt and easily develop their other tools.  

However, as one special assistant told Jason Churchill of espn.com, "If it a kid isn't a good hitter in high school, he's not likely to become one." 

The question of athletic ability vs. specific talent is most important with high school players who's ability is harder to judge on statistics because of the depressed competition.  So which players will be drafted for their hitting and which for their athletic ability?

Bats

Josh Sale, Blanchet HS, OF
Nick Castellanos, Archbishop McCarthy, 3B

Kris Bryant, Bonanza HS, infielder
Kaleb Cowart, Cook County HS, infielder
Christian Yelich, Westlake HS, 1B

Athletes

Austin Wilson, Harvard-Westlake HS, OF
Chevez Clarke, Marietta HS, OF
Ty Linton, Charlotte Christian, OF

One guy who fits on both sides of the fence is Manny Machado and that's why he's getting so much talk as the #2 overall pick.

To read the entire article, visit espn.com

We recently looked at the Top 10 west coast prospects.  Jonathan Mayo of mlb.com has some quick notes about some of the players the Blue Jays recently worked out on the west coast.

• Third baseman Kris Bryant showed some power.
• Kellen Sweeney from Iowa "looked very good."
• Shortstop Tony Wolters had a very good workout and there were rumors of a team trying to negotiate a pre-draft deal with Wolters for the second round.

• Outfielder Angelo Gumbs was just "ok."
• Marcus Littlewood from Pine View high school struggled.
• Michael Lorenzen has drawn interest from the Reds.
• UCLA's Dan Klien and Long Beach State's Jake Thompson are receiving the most interest among California college players.
• Sammy Solis from San Diego has played himself into the sandwich round picks.  

To read the entire article, visit mlb.com.

Draft prospects can come from anywhere in the country, but the three most prominent areas year after year remain the southeast, Texas (midwest) and California (west).  Perhaps it is a bit presumptuous to label Texas and California as "areas" when they're individual states, but the reality is they're very big states and produce a disproportionate number of prospects to the rest of their areas.

The irony for 2010 is that California is not living up to its usual billing of a baseball hot bed.  Only two college players from California rank in Keith Law's Top 50 and just ten in the Top 100.  This is the same region that produced eight of the top 32 picks in last year's draft. 

Nevertheless, as Jason Churchill of espn.com points out, California and the west region's strength this draft is in its high school players, specifically the pitchers. Oh yea, and some guy named Harper.

1) Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C

2) Josh Sale, Bishop Blanchett HS, RF

3) Dylan Covey, Marantha HS, RHP

4) Austin Wilson, Harvard-Westlake, OF

5) Aaron Sanchez, Barstow HS, RHP

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Let's take a look at how some of top high school prospects for the 2010 draft fared during the week of 4/19-4/26.

Below is a recap of their performances from Friday night compiled from reports by Jason Churchill at espn.com, Baseball America and media reports from various athletic departments.

• Dylan Covey continues to dominate for Maranatha HS.  He recently struck out eleven while giving up just one hit in a complete game shutout.  So far Covey has yielded just one earned run over 45.1 IP while striking out 90 against eleven walks.

• Although he has shot up draft boards recently, Dana Hills HS's Peter Tago had a bit of a hiccup recently giving up three earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out five.  Tago still has 46 strikeouts in 45.2 IP.
• Scott Frazier from Upland HS pitched two innings of relief recently allowing no runs, but giving two hits and two walks.  Frazier has a paltry 1.54 ERA this season and 64 strikeouts in just 36.1 IP against ten walks.

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Even in a weak year for hitting prospects, the ones that are getting first round consideration are typically not labeled as power hitters.  With Bryce Harper as the exception, the hitters who are likely to go in the first round will be selected because of their the ability to hit for average, defense, speed or other reasons, except for power.

Pair that with the abundance of quality pitching, especially high school pitching, and many of the early picks are expected to be pitchers while the bats fall further down the first round.  As Jason Churchill of espn.com writes, the teams that are drafting in the high teens and 20s may be able to pick up some quality hitters because they fall through the top of the round due to a perceived lack of strength. 

Zack Cox is one of the names who could be a top pick, were it not for questions about his power.  "I like the bat; don't love it. I question the power," said one scout.  "I'm not very high on Cox for the Top 15 so I could see him landing in the teens or early 20s."

Other hitters who are getting a similar evaluation include Kris Bryant from Bonanza High School and Christian Yelich from Westlake High School.  Although Yelich's bat won't get him into the Top 15 or 20 picks one scout said of his power "there are always unknowns, but I'm pretty sure this kid's power plays (in the majors)."

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High school draft prospects are so vulnerable to change, last year's scouting report could be wildly inaccurate on this year's player. 

Keith Law of espn.com recently got to see three top high school prospects: Kris Bryant, Marcus Littlewood and Kellin Deglan.  Here are some excerpts of his scouting report.

Kris Bryant, Bonanza HS, SS

Has one of the better swings seen on a prep kid in this draft, putting on a show in BP even with wood. He projects to have plus power and can already flash above-average power now, getting ridiculous leverage in his swing. He can get locked into that swing path, so if he doesn't square a ball up he'll get on top of it. Bryant needs to display his BP power in games more often to ensure himself of a first round draft selection.  Although he currently plays shortstop, his size - 6'5", 190lbs - means he's likely to move somewhere else, but has the arm to play anywhere. 

Marcus Littlewood, Pine View High School, SS

He has some of the best hands of any position player in this draft, college or high school. He has a plus arm but can get under the ball on throws cause the throw to sail.  An increase in muscle this off season raises questions about whether he can stay at shortstop.  A switch hitter, he already had good rotation in his left-handed swing, a little more than he shows right-handed, and he's cut down on the bat wrap he showed last summer, although now he's got his hands way back and sort of drifts on to his front foot instead of coming forward strongly to start his weight transfer. He's a fringe-average runner, but his fate in the field is more tied to his hands (which will play anywhere) and his physical growth.

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Hitting is considered one of the weaknesses of the 2010 MLB draft and power hitters, in particular, are in short supply.  Some prognosticators predict that we'll see eight pitchers taken in the Top 10 picks with only Bryce Harper and Bryce Brentz joining that parade.

Nevertheless, hitters pose less risk to clubs when making draft picks, so we could see a few more names slip into the first day draft picks than expected.  Jason Churchill of espn.com recently polled a few talent evaluators to see what power bats they were looking at. 

First Base: Andy Wilkins, Arkansas; Christian Yelich, Westlake, HS; Hunter Morris, Auburn; Cody Hawn, Tennessee

Third Base: Zack Cox, Arkansas; Nick Castellanos, Archbishop McCarthy HS; Jedd Gyorko, West Virginia; Chad Lewis, Marina HS; Kris Bryant, Bonanza HS; Stetson Allie, St. Edward HS; Derek Dietrich, Georgia Tech; Ross Wilson, Alabama; Rick Hague, Rice

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Jason Churchill of espn.com recently polled a number of talent evaluators to "rank the areas of depth in this year's class, weighing the impact talents within four categories: college bats, college pitching, high school pitching, high school bats."  Here's what Churchill found out:

• From one responder: "It's kind of even, including at the very top of the draft, but the first day may be filled with these high school arms, but I'm not sure a lot of them go early."
• Another criticized the available hitters "it seems all of these guys have pretty major questions, aside from [Bryce] Harper, who is basically a high school kid for us. [Arkansas' Zack] Cox may or may not play third, he strikes out, and [Virginia Tech's Austin] Wates ... I'd like to get the chance to see if he can play center, he's played everywhere but there so we haven't got the look we want yet. There's no safe bet this year [in terms of college hitters]."

Can Zack Cox improve his draft stock by proving he can play third base professionally?

• College hitters could be the weakest portion of the draft, especially if Harper is not included because he's basically a high school player at 17 years old anyway.  

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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