Nick Castellanos
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

The COPABE "AAA" Pan American Championships began this past weekend and the 18-and-under squad from Team USA got off to a very hot 3-0 start with wins over Aruba, Argentia and Panama.  Three stars stood out offensively for Team USA:

Brian Ragira: In Game 1, Team USA beat Aruba 13-3 and Ragira went 2 for 3 with three RBI.

Bryce Harper: The well publicized SI coverboy lived up to the hype in Game 2 against Argentina.  Team USA crushed Argentina 14-0 and Harper had two doubles and two RBI.

Nick Castellanos: Team USA followed up their 14-0 drubbing of Argentina with an identical 14-0 win over Panama on Sunday.  Castellanos was the DH in that game and had an impressive 2 for 4 day with a double, two runs scored and three RBI.

While Bryce Harper and Jameson Taillon dominated the reports from the USA Baseball 18-and-under team trials, a number of lesser-known players also had good performances which landed them on the roster.

Though his speed was mediocre at best, outfielder Brian Ragira impressed scouts with solid swing. Ragira is also intriguing because at 6'2" and only 175 lbs, there's plenty of room to fill out.

Taillon may throw harder than Karsten Whitson, but one scout felt Whitson's fastball was the best because of its movement. Whitson was still throwing 94, not shabby at all. His slider was also impressive, but Whitson did not demonstrate good command of the pitch.

At 5'10" and only 165 lbs, Tony Wolters is not the ideal size for a major league prospect. However, Wolters showed a solid bat at the trials along with above-average speed. His defense is good enough to allow him to play second base and maybe even shortstop.

Nick Castellanos is currently playing third base, but will likely end up at first base as a professional. Nevertheless, Castellanos' hitting was very impressive, pulling the ball and going to opposite field with equal effectiveness.

Left handed batting Tony Wolters

Keith Law filed a report from Saturday's Under Armor All-Star Game. Let's take a look.

• Jameson Taillon from Woodlands HS, TX, was the most dominant pitcher with a fastball going 95-93 and a 84-83 splitter.
• Karsten Whitson was similarly dominant to Taillon throwing three solid pitches: a 94-91 fastball, 84-79 slider and a 80-79 change up. The only difference between Whitson and Taillon was Jameson's superior command.
• AJ Cole, a RHP from FL, had a nice 93-90 mph fastball, but did not locate the pitch very well and his breaking ball wasn't fooling hitters as much as it needs to be.
• Kevin Gausman was throwing harder than he did at the Area Code Games (for a review of those games, click here).
• While most pitchers tailed off after the third inning, it took Andrew Smith (RHP, Georgia) a few pitches to get into his grove in the first and improved as his outing went along. He displayed a nice 93-92 fastball with a good 76-74 curveball.
• While DeShaun Dixon is still playing "both ways" he was far better on the mound than at the dish. He threw two different curveballs - a short tight curve and a big Barry Zito-like slow one, but Law feels the shorter one will work better professionally.
• Stetson Allie struggled at the East Coast Showcase (for a review of those games, click here), but showed far better command at the All-Star game. Allie also plays both ways and unlike Dixon, Law likes him better as a third baseman.
• With four double, Nick Castellanos stole the show for the hitters.

USA Baseball's Tournament of Stars had plenty of 2010 draft talent in attendance and Keith Law of espn.com gives us a review of how they played.

• Bryce Harper lived up to his recent scouting report and struck out twice by not being patient with the pitchers attempting to pitch around him.
• Jameson Taillon from the Woodlands HS in Texas was tracking at 90-94mph on his fastball and a good slider. His curveball and changeup were also decent.
• Kris Bryant from Bonanza HS in Las Vegas showed plenty of power from the right side of the plate along with an arm to throw from third base.
• Brian Ragira out of Martin HS in Texas showed great wrists and the ability to stay inside the ball to generate power with his swing.
• Marcus Littlewood from Pineview HS in Utah was very deft at the shortstop position, demonstrating very smooth hands.
• Nick Castellanos out of Archbishop McCarthy HS in Florida had great power on anything below mid-thigh, but struggled with pitches up in the zone.
• Sam Wilson from El Dorado HS in New Mexico uses an upper cut swing to generate good power, but needs to adjust that to hit higher quality pitching and can do so without sacrificing power.
• Yordy Cabrera from Lakeland HS in Florida is very athletic, playing both thirdbase and RHP. While he has nice power he needs to improve his plate discipline.
• Justin O'Connor plays infield and pitches for Cowan HS in Muncie, IN and while considered more of a prospect as a pitcher, did not throw at the tournament. Nevertheless, he demonstrated one of the most disciplined swings at the tournament. "He is, in the words of one scout who has seen him aI few times, 'obnoxiously talented.'"

The 2010 MLB Draft class might not have the star power at the top that the 2009 MLB Draft class did (Stephen Strasburg, Dustin Ackley) or be as loaded as the 2011 draft class (Sports Illustrated coverboy Bryce Harper, Sonny Gray, Alex Meyer, Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole and Danny Hultzen) but there's plenty of talent to track.

College Bats

• Bryce Brentz, OF, Middle Tennessee State
• Christian Colon, SS, Cal-State Fullerton
• Derek Dietrich, SS/3B, Georgia Tech
• Yasmani Grandal, C, Miami
• Josh Rutledge, SS, Albama
• Ross Wilson, 3B, Albama
• Blake Forsythe, C, Tennessee
• Leon Landry, OF, LSU
• Andy Wilkins, 1B, Arkansas
• Micah Gibbs, C, LSU

College Arms

• Anthony Ranaudo, RHP, LSU
• Justin Grimm, RHP, Georgia
• Drew Pomeranz, LHP, Mississippi
• Nick Tepesch, RHP, Missouri
• Matt Harvey, RHP, UNC
• Kevin Rhoderick, RHP, Oregon State
• Josh Osich, LHP, Oregon State
• Kyle Blair, RHP, San Diego
• Chris Hernandez, LHP, Miami
• Brandon Workman, RHP, Texas
• Chad Bettis, RHP, Texas
• Alex Wimmers, RHP, Ohio State

High School Bats

• Trey Griffin, OF, Martin Luther King HS, GA
• Austin Wilson, Harvard-Westlake School, CA
• Kris Bryant, SS/3B, Bonanza HS, NV
• Krey Bratsen, OF, Bryan HS, TX
• Nick Castellanos, 3B, Archbishop McCarthy HS, FL
• Yordy Cabrera, SS/RHP, Lakeland HS, FL
• Reggie Golden, Wetumpka HS, AL
• Taylor Lindsay, OF, Desert Mountain HS, AZ
• Marcus Littlewood, SS, Pineview HS, UT

High School Arms

• AJ Cole, RHP, Oveida HS, FL
• Jameson Taillon, RHP, The Woodlands HS, TX
• Stetson Allie, RHP/SS, St. Edward HS, OH
• Zach Lee, RHP, McKinney HS, TX
• Justin O'Connor, RHP/SS, Cowan HS, IN
• Kevin Gausman, RHP, Grandview HS, CO
• Rudy Acosta, RHP, Mt. Miguel HS, CA
• Cam Bedrosian, RHP, East Coweta HS, GA