Sonny Gray
Rumors

Most draft related news recently has centered around either the Cape Cod League and its recent All-Star game at Fenway Park or the signings (or lack thereof) of the 2010 class.  However, there's still plenty of information to pass along about next year's draft class, the Class of 2011.

We'll start off with some pieces about high school players eligible for the 2011 draft courtesy Conor Glassey of Baseball America.

• Lakeland Christian HS (FL) Left-handed pitcher Corey Stump threw well at the East Coast Pro Showcase in his hometown of Lakeland, FL.  There are also notes on some of the other top performers on the day.
• Lake City HS (SC) outfielder Shon Carson is fast.  Very fast.  Also, more news from the East Coast Pro Showcase
• Catholic HS (LA) pitcher Aaron Nola did not think he'd be at the East Coast Pro Showcase, but he made the best of his unlikely appearance.  Also included is a list of the top 60-yard dash times.

ESPN recently profiled some of the top players for the 2011 draft class. 

• UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole passed up on over a $1M signing bonus as the 28th pick of the 2008 draft to improve his stock for 2011.  It worked. 
• The early favorite for the #1 pick of 2011 is Anthony Rendon. 

• Similar to Cole, TCU pitcher Matt Purke passed up #14 pick signing bonus money in 2009 to enter the 2011 draft.  Purke has plenty of top flight competition.
• Science Hill HS (TN) pitcher Daniel Norris is rated the top high school pitcher of the 2011 class.

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The Tournament of Stars - a showcase event for USA Baseball held every June in North Carolina - is designed to be a forum to compile an 18-and-under team to represent the United States in the IBAF 18U World Championships this July.  What it has also become is a widely attended scouting event because of the plethora of high school talent that could potentially be available at next year's draft.

Keith Law from espn.com recently filed two reports from the event.  Here are some highlights from Keith's reports.

• If Indianapolis RHP Christian Montgomery can slim down (6'1". 240) his stuff could make him first round material.
• Pitchers Joe Ross and Dillon Maples both did not pitch phenomenally and threw 91-90, but Law likes their projectability.
• RHP Tyler Beede and LHP Phillip Pfeifer are both first round material, but could be hard to pull away from their Vanderbilt commitment.  The pitchers are a contrast in style with Pfeiffer being raw, but with potential and Beede being the more polished of the pair.

Vanderbilt commit, Tyler Beede

• El Paso high school pitcher Ricky Jacquez is drawing comparisons to Vanderbilt's Sonny Gray.
• Law was very impressed with LHP Henry Owens noting that "Hitters didn't get good swings off him at all."
• Francisco Lindor is being called "one of the best defensive shortstops in the country."
• Outfielder Brandon Nimmo needs to get out of Cheyene, WY where he can find a high school baseball team to play with and show his talent.

To read Law's articles, 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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In a match up of two of the best prospects for 2011, UCLA's Gerrit Cole out-pitched Vanderbilt's Sonny Gray.  UCLA won the game 9-2 as Cole moved to 2-0 while Gray took the loss for Vanderbilt.

Cole's pitching line was decent - 5IP, 4H, 2BB, 2ER, 8K.  Gray, on the other hand, struggled allowing five earned runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.1 innings pitched, though he did manage six strikeouts.  As Jason Churchill from espn.com points out, neither pitcher threw particularly well. 

Gerrit Cole out-dueled Sonny Gray in a match up of two top 2011 prospects

Keith Law of espn.com recently annoited Anthony Rendon the (very early) top ranked player of the 2011 draft class.  Here's a quick look at some other top players for 2011 (in no particular order).

• Gerrit Cole: Tall righty whose fastball sits around 94-95 mph and tops out at 96. Also mixes in an above aberage low 80s slider and a 80 mph changeup. Smooth, effortless delivery. Aggresive with the strike zone.
• Taylor Jungmann: His fastball sits in the low-90s and can touch 95. He also shows the foundation for a knock-out slider and a plus-changeup. His mechanics need some work, as he can get a little out of rhythm at times making his delivery look like his arms and legs are all over the place, but that’s nothing a little refining and maturation at the next level can’t cure.
• Danny Hultzen: Very athletic lefty. Throws upper 80s will touch low 90s occasionally. Real nice breaking ball and can hit his spots. He's a legit pitcher with a deceptive motion.  His curve was also an above-average second pitch. He spins a tight breaking pitch, and also mixes in a changeup and a split finger pitch as well.
• Jack Armstrong: He has many things going for him: big league lineage (his dad, Jack, was a Major League pitcher), athleticism (he's a legitimate college basketball prospect) and a tall and lean projectable frame. He's also shown two good offerings he can throw for strikes.  He's got some life to the fastball, with some sink down in the zone.

Jack Armstrong could be a Top 10 draft pick in 2011

• Sonny Gray: Gray is a phenomenal athlete with tremendous pure stuff. He displays one of the easiest arm actions around, with a whip-like delivery that allows him to touch the mid-90s with ease, sitting in the low-90s deep into ballgames. He also throws a nasty slider that has touches the mid-80s on occasion, a pitch that is virtually unhittable when it is working as it well as it often does.
• Alex Meyer: A 6-foot-9, 220-pound right-hander who possesses electric stuff, including a high-velocity fastball and an excellent curveball, with his changeup and two-seam fastball developing.

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Baseball America announced its pre-season collegiate All-America teams last week.  Below is a look at the second team.  We did a review of the first team yesterday.

C: Yasmani Grandal, Miami - Grandal is one of the, if not the, best defensive catcher in the draft class
1B: Andy Wilkins, Arkansas - Can hit for power and average and will likely see time at either first base or designated hitter
2B: Kolbrin Vitek, Ball State - Displays excellent bat speed through the hitting zone with occasional loft and power to all fields
3B: Tony Thompson, Kansas - Has an electric bat with good leverage
SS: Rick Hague, Rice - His potential is fairly high, though some may not see him as a sure-thing first rounder
OF: Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton - Gary Brown is the fastest guy in the country, his speed shows up in defense all over the place
OF: Michael Choice, Texas-Arlington - Batted .350 (21-for-60) with 13 runs, three doubles, three home runs, 13 RBI in 2009
OF: Tyler Holt, Florida State - Holt profiles as a top-of-the-order bat with plus on-base skills and the ability to wear-out the gaps
DH: Mickey Wiswall, Boston College - Power plays for corner at ML level. Hands should allow him to be average hitter.
UT: Danny Hultzen, Virginia - Very athletic lefty. Throws upper 80s will touch low 90s occasionally.  Also UVA's DH.

Yasmani Grandal                          Gerrit Cole

SP: Gerrit Cole, UCLA - Tall righty whose fastball sits around 94-95 mph and tops out at 96
SP: Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt - Despite his smallish 6’0”, 185 pound frame, Gray is a phenomenal athlete with tremendous pure stuff
SP: Taylor Jungmann, Texas - Has a very good fastball and shows the ability to spot it extremely well
SP: Alex Wimmers, Ohio State - A hard-throwing right hander whose fastball ranges from 90-93 mph
RP: Kevin Rhoderick, Oregon State - Saved nine games, posting a 3-3 record and 4.18 ERA in 2009 for Oregon State

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 (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 Lindsey, 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

Jason Churchill of espn.com took Jonathan Mayo's list of prospects playing in the NCAA tournament a bit further, highlighting the specific match ups.

• Mike Leake RHP of Arizona State is taking on Brad Stillings RHP of Kent State.
• Mike Minor LHP and Sonny Gray (2011) LHP of Vanderbilt square off against Bryce Brentz (2010) OF of Middle Tennessee State.
• Indiana's dynamic trio of Josh Phegley C, Eric Arnett RHP and Matt Bashore LHP welcome Justin Marks LHP and Chris Dominguez 3B.

While the match ups alone are intriguing, the real value to major league clubs comes with additional opportunities to see a guy who they're considering drafting. The Reds indecision on Alex White (UNC) and Kyle Gibson (Missouri) may be made for them if a club before their pick - #8 - takes one or the other. But, if both are available, how these guys perform in the NCAAs may ultimately decide who they select.

High School Notes:

• Max Stassi finished his spectacular season with another sectional championship and is now a lock to be a first round pick.
• Similarly Matt Davidson continued his push into the first round going 2-2 with a HR in the state quarterfinals.