Micah Gibbs
Rumors

Keith Law of espn.com has released his third version of the Top 100 players entering Monday's draft.  His most recent version can be seen here.

As always, these rankings represent talent alone, not where the player is projected to be drafted.  For mock drafts, click here.

Here are some of the changes:

• Georgia Tech pitcher Deck McGuire slips from #7 to #13.  Law doesn't cite a specific reason, but McGuire has been very average at the end of the season.
• Similarly former Kentucky pitcher James Paxton falls from #12 to #21 on the strength, or lack thereof, of his pitching this spring in the independent league.
• LSU pitcher Anthony Ranaudo rises from #20 to #16 on the strength of a handful of solid relief appearances at the end of the year.  Ranaudo has has been heavily linked to the Red Sox with the 20th event.

• McKinney HS SS Matt Lipka jumped from #75 to #54
• Georgia Tech SS Derek Dietrich jumps from #82 to #40
• Similarly LSU C Micah Gibbs leaped from #66 to #41
• Central Kitsap HS outfielder Drew Vittleson and Silverado HS position player Drew Robinson both make their debut on the Top 100 at #99 and #100, respectively.

To read the entire article, visit espn.com.

Unfortunately for teams, scouts, players and fans of baseball's amateur draft, the College World Series does not conclude until after June 7th draft.  However, we will be treated to a number of fun match ups this weekend in the College World Series Regionals.  Here's a look at some fun match-ups and top players to watch, broken down by region.

Tempe Region

If the higher teams advance, #1 Arizona State will face #2 San Diego.  That means Arizona State will face either Sammy Solis or Kyle Blair from San Diego.  Seth Blair will throw for Arizona State, but likely in their opening game against Milwaukee

Fayetteville Region

Top seeded Arkansas sports a likely Top 10 pick, Zack Cox, a likely first day pick, Brett Eibner, and a likely second round pick, Andy Wilkins.  Those three will dominate the conversation in this region

Auburn Region

Jimmy Nelson from Auburn faces off against Todd Cunningham from Jacksonville State in the opening round game.  Both could be Day 2 picks.  Other Day 2 picks include Auburn second baseman Brian Fletcher and first baseman Hunter Morris.

Atlanta Region

Possible Top 5 pick Deck McGuire and possible Day 1 pick Derek Dietrich will pace the Georgia Tech yellow jackets while Josh Rutledge hopes to keep Alabama's title hopes alive.

Charlottesville Region

Virginia is one of the best teams in the country and is headed by draft prospect Jarrett Parker.  Mississippi has possibly the top college pitcher in the country in Drew Pomeranz, someone expected to go in the Top 5.  St. John's sports a possible Day 2 pick, Daniel Burawa.

Norman Region

UNC's Matt Harvey seems likely to go in the first round while California's Dixon Anderson figures to be in the mix on Day 2.

Columbia Region

Pitching prospect Sam Dyson leads the top seeded South Carolina Gamecocks.  Likely first round picks Austin Wates and Asher Wojciechowksi lead Virginia Tech and The Citadel, respectively.

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Back in April Keith Law of espn.com listed his initial Top 100 prospects ranking.  Law recently updated his Top 100 list just a few weeks before the draft.  Let's see what the changes are.

• Ole Miss's Drew Pomeranz moved from #3 to #4 and Jameson Taillon moved up because of Pomeranz's minor injury.  No one expects the injury to limit Pomeranz at all.
• Law watched some video of Mel Rojas Jr. and talked to some scouts and moved him from #18 to #35.
• Delino DeShields Jr. is ranked #30 in Law's latest ranking after not being on the Top 100 at all back in April.  Law kept him off in April because no one expects him to sign, but put him back on because the list is just talent, not signability.
• Jacob Petricka from Indiana State also jumped into the Top 100 radar at #37 after being previously left off.  Petricka had a phenomenal outing while pitching against Missouri State's Mike Kickham sporting a fastball as high as 97 and an average curveball.

• SUNY-Oneonta's David Filak moved up 40 spots from #96 to #56 in Law's latest rankings.  According to Law, Filak's strong finish to the season had pushed him into the second round and possibly even a sandwich round pick.
• LSU catcher Micah Gibbs fell 26 spots from #40 to #66 on questions about his defense which is supposed to be his most important aspect.

To read the entire article, visit espn.com.

Bryce Harper is likely to be the #1 pick of the 2010 draft and thus is obviously the best catcher available.  With his red hot play over the past two months of the season Yasmani Grandal has established himself as the consensus #2 catcher available and a likely Top 10 pick himself.

While Kellin Deglin from Langley Blaze High School in British Columbia, Canada is considered the third best catcher available, but in terms of collegiate catcher who's behind Harper and Grandal?  Jason Churchill of espn.com writes that the debate is between Minnesota's Michael Kvasnicka and LSU's Micah Gibbs.

"Both are switch hitters, and both bring intangibles to the table that clubs require in catching prospects. But while Gibbs has put up the big numbers in the SEC, Kvasnicka's athleticism and arm strength, along with an above-average hit tool, put him in the conversation on day one," writes Churchill.

Their hitting numbers are very similar.  Kvasnicka is hitting .350/.462/.562 for the season while Gibbs is at .403/.478/.606.  "It may come down to projection," said one scout,  "Gibbs has more of a track record. It really depends on the club and what they are looking for."

Kvasnicka seems likely to be taken on the first day - if not in round 1, in the sandwich picks - while Gibbs is a possibility for the sandwich round, but could slip into the second day.

To read the entire article, visit espn.com.

There will be plenty of prospects in play as the conference tournaments roll on this weekend.  Jason Churchill of espn.com has another update on who's been playing well.

Chad Bettis, Texas Tech, RHP

Bettis has been idle for a few weeks, but that was hard to tell in his start against Texas.  The Aggie starter was very sharp going 7.1IP giving up one earned run on just eight hits and no walks while striking out 10.  Interestingly, fellow draft prospect Cameron Rupp of Texas had three of those hits, all singles.

Justin Wright, Virginia Tech, RHP

Although he's still not likely to be taken on Day 1, Wright made a case for himself with a splendid performance against Georgia Tech.  Wright threw a complete game, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks while striking out 15.  Even more impressive is how good Georgia Tech's lineup.

Derek Dietrich, Georgia Tech, SS

One Yellow Jacket batter who struggled against Wright was Dietrich, but so did all of his teammates, so it's excusable.  Despite going 0-for-4, Dietrich is still hitting .374/.479/.696 with 34 extra-base hits that include 15 home runs this season and has steadily improved his draft stock.

Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP

Wright's counterpart did not fare as well, giving up four earned runs on three hits and four walks.  Two of those three hits were home runs, which is where most of the earned runs come from.  McGuire did strike out seven batters, however.

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We recently reviewed some of the top catching prospects - high school or college - for the 2010 MLB Draft.  Jason Churchill of espn.com ranked the Top 10 collegiate catching prospects with some comments on the players.  Here's his list.

1) Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada

Not only the consensus #1 catcher, he's the consensus #1 player in the draft.  Churchill sums it up nicely: he "is having a huge season in a wood-bat Junior College conference at age 17. Repeat that line in your mind a few times -- let it settle in a bit. He should be a junior in high school and instead he's leading the conference in all three Triple Crown categories."

2) Yasmani Grandal, Miami

Has been on fire in the last month or so and is possibly making noise to make his way into the Top 10 of the draft.  Keith Law recently scouted him and wrote he "is a terror as a left-handed bat and is still an above-average defender, plus his arm remains plus and accurate, with a quick release."

3) Michael Kvasnicka, Minnesota

Churchill compares him to Tony Sanchez because of the possibility that he could make a pre-draft deal and potentially be drafted much higher than anticipated.  "He's the kind of kid you do flips over if you can get him after the first round," said one scouting coordinator.  "He will catch and it sure looks like there is enough bat there to support playing every day."

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We've already given you a full recap of the weekend's best battle, Ole Miss's Drew Pomeranz vs. Georgia's Justin Grimm.  Pomeranz came out on top in that duel - both on the scoreboard and in the pitching line - but his wasn't the only marquee performance of the weekend or the only hot duel.  

Below is a recap of the weekend compiled from reports by Jason Churchill at espn.com, Baseball America and media reports from various athletic departments.

Although Pomeranz vs. Grimm put on the best show, Virginia's Danny Hultzen faced off against Georgia Tech's Deck McGuire in another high octane match up over the weekend.  Much like with Pomeranz, Hultzen got the best of McGuire as #4 Virginia defated #2 Georgia Tech 7-4 in the opener of their series.  Although Hultzen's line - 7IP, 6H, 2BB, 4ER does not seem too impressive, he managed to strikeout eleven batters. 

McGuire's peripherals were impressive - maintained his 92-94 velocity into the seventh and threw an above-average curve and slider - but his pitching line was a bit more pedestrian - 6.2IP, 6H, 4BB, 6ER, 6K.

Although Georgia Tech's Derek Dietrich went 0-for-4 against Hultzen on Friday, he rebounded with a 2-for-5 with a HR (10) performance on Saturday and a 2-for-3 with a HR (11) performance on Sunday, providing his team's only offense in a 9-1 loss to Virginia in the rubber game of the series.

Anthony Ranaudo was solid if not unspectacular for LSU giving up 3 runs in five innings pitched, but most importantly was able to throw pain free for 86 pitches.  Ranaudo came away with the win as LSU held off Auburn, 14-10.  

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White the 2009 catching class was dominated by prep prospects, only one or two high school back stops are expected to be highly rated heading into the 2010 draft.  Instead a number of solid collegiate catching prospects will dominate the Day 1 draft picks.

Jason Churchill of espn.com gives a quick analysis of the catching prospects, in no particular order

Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada: He's crushing left-handed pitching in a wood bat league (.577/.645/1.038).  Any concerns about his hitting are gone.

Jake Hernandez, Los Osos HS: The only thing keeping him out of the first round is the plethora of high school pitching prospects which are likely to fill up the first round.  It isn't a knock against Hernandez, but more a compliment to the high school pitching prospects available.

Cameron Rupp, Texas: Although power is supposed to be Rupp's signature, he has only three home runs this season.

Micah Gibbs, LSU: A switch hitter, Gibbs is hitting .396 with 11 extra-base hits and a .461 OBP in 26 starts, batting over .400 versus right-handed pitching and is lauded for his work with the LSU pitching staff.

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Back in early February mlb.com's Jonathan Mayo gave us his Top 20 2010 MLB Draft prospects heading into the baseball season.  You can view the list #1-10 and #11-20. 

A few weeks ago, he took a look at how the Top 10 have performed so far this season.

Recently, he evaluated how numbers 11-20 have fared.

11. James Paxton, Kentucky, LHP: As Jason Churchill of espn.com mentioned recently, what happens to Paxton is one of the biggest draft questions right now.  So far, Paxton hasn't pitched as his independent league season does not start until mid-May.

12. Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP: He's gone 5-1 with a 1.53 ERA over seven starts. He's allowed just 40 hits (for a .215 BAA) and 12 walks while striking out 54.

13. AJ Cole, Oviedo HS, RHP: Consistently mentioned as one of the top high school pitching draft prospects.

14. Kevin Gausman, Grandview HS, RHP: Unlike Cole, Gausman's stock seems to be dropping.  Mayo heard a less than stellar report from a scout who saw him pitch recently. 

15. Brandon Workman, Texas, RHP: He's gone 5-1 with a 3.09 ERA over seven starts. In 46 2/3 IP, he's given up 46 hits (.251 BAA) and nine walks while striking out 44.

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A potential Top 5 draft pick, LSU's Anthony Ranaudo pitched for the first time since February 19th recently and looked solid in his return.  Ranaudo had missed five weeks of the season due to a stress reaction in his throwing elbow and his coach, Paul Mainieri, was extremely cautious with bringing his ace pitcher back.

"The biggest development of the day was the performance of Anthony Ranaudo," Mainieri said. "He felt great and pitched without pain, and he hit 93 (mph) with his fastball. We'll continue to monitor his progress, but I was very pleased with his outing today."

Ranaudo threw two scoreless innings and displayed good velocity and control.

Once considered a threat to Bryce Harper for the #1 overall pick of the upcoming 2010 MLB draft, Ranaudo is unlikely to go that high due to potential health concerns.  However, he remains a Top 5 talent and could still wind up with Pittsburgh at #2 if he can demonstrate an ability to consistently go seven innings throughout the remainder of the season. 

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