Tyler Holt
Rumors

We are just hours away from today's deadline to sign player selected in June's amateur draft and the rumors are starting to swirl about who will sign and for how much.  In the interim, a number of non-first round draft picks continue to sign for over market value.

As always, Jim Callis and Aaron Fitt from Baseball America leads the pack in breaking this news.

• Pepperdine RHP Cole Cook signed with the Indians for $299K.  As a fifth round pick, the 150th overall, the recommended slot bonus is $169,200.
• Florida State outfielder Tyler Holt, a 10th round pick by the Cleveland Indians, also agreed to a $500K signing bonus with the Indians ($350K over).

• The Marlins signed high school shortstop/catcher JT Realmuto to a $600K signing bonus.  Realmuto was the 104th pick of the draft in the third round, a slot bonus recommendation of $309,600.
• High school catcher Will Swanner, a 15th round pick by the Rockies, agreed to a $490K signing bonus, $340K in excess of the recommendation.  
• Jake DePew, a high school catcher and ninth round pick by the Rays, signed for $460K, $310K over the slot recommendation.
• Jared Lakind, a high school first baseman, agreed to a $400K signing bonus with the Pirates.  A 23rd round pick, Lakind's deal was $250K over slot recommendation.
• The Padres have signed high school outfielder Jose Dore to a $450K signing bonus, three times the slot recommendation for an eighth-round pick.  

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Michael Huang of The Sporting News posted his most recent stock watch: a look at who's draft position is rising and falling.

Rising

Tyler Holt, Florida State, OF

Holt's strength is not a moon shot home run or blazing speed or flashy play.  Instead, Holt just does everything well and does it quietly too.  Huang writes that "Scouts who have seen Holt several times say he's about above-average across the board and reminds many of them of Aaron Rowand." At the plate, Holt has been solid: .341 average with 71 hits, 18 doubles and 71 runs scored.  Huang feels he projects to be a 20HR player in the major leagues.  Holt's defense is no different.  He's not a speedster, but has great instincts on the ball and close to above-average arm strength.  Even though he's not known for his speed on defense, he still has 26 stolen bases this season. 

Kevin Gausman, Grandview HS, RHP

Consistency is the big concern surrounding Gausman who has been brilliant at times during the season and struggled at other times with no pattern to his pitching.  Unfortunately for Gausman, one of his most recent starts was his worst: nine earned runs on eight hits and five walks, including two homers, over six innings. Nevertheless, Gausman is still a likely first round or sandwich round draft pick because of numbers like striking out strike out 76 batters and walk just 17 in 52 2/3 innings.

To read the entire article, visit www.sportingnews.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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As Jason Churchill of espn.com writes, very few teams are going to make decisions one way or another on a prospect a week out before the draft.  However, a few guys put together solid performances on Memorial Day, solidifying their draft status.

Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS

Two more hits for Colon bring his season totals to .347/.436/.606 with 14 home runs.  After a really tough start to the season, Colon has rebounded nicely and his defense has always been a selling point.  He'll likely be a first round pick regardless of how he performs in the College World Series Regionals, but he could bump himself up a few slots with increased offense.

Asher Wojciechowski, The Citadel, RHP

Wojciechowski has had some up and down outings recently, but found himself with a good performance on Monday.  Asher went eight innings giving up two runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out eight.  He now sports an impressive 144-31 K/BB ratio in 119 innings this season.  Churchill writes that Wojciechowksi "has sustained his stuff deep into games and well into the schedule, making him a probable first-round selection next Monday."

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Though power hitters always get the publicity, a handful of high on-base percentage speedsters that are likely to be first-day picks in the 2010 draft could prove to be lead off hitters professionally.

Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton: He needs to improve his walk rate, but is incredibly fast and runs a sub-4.0 to first base. 

Tyler Holt, Florida State: As fast as Brown, but with much better discipline at the plate. 

Tyler Holt is speedy player with good plate discipline

Leon Landry, LSU: Another above-average runner, Landry has better power than Holt or Brown.  He's a nice, intriguing talent," said an American League scout. "He runs, and brings some punch to the plate. I like the way he plays the game, and he might fit at the top of the lineup with his patience and plate skills."

Austin Wates, Virginia Tech: Impressed scouts this summer in the Cape Cod league and is considered the best overall prospect of the group.  "If you want a bat for the top of your lineup, he might be the best guy for that job," said one scout. "He might be able to drive in runs for you, though."

Here's a review of on-field hitting performances by notable 2010 draft prospects for February 28th through March 5th.

Tyler Holt: The outfielder from Florida State walked twice, stole his second base and scored against Hofstra on 2/28.  Holt finally struck out on 3/2, three times, but also added two hits.

Cameron Rupp: Texas' first baseman had a single and a walk vs. Stanford on 2/28 to raise his numbers to .364/.533/.455.  Cameron finally hit his first home run of the season on Tuesday.

Micah Gibbs: The LSU catcher hit a double and three singles, walked, had a RBI and stole a base in Sunday's Game 1 win over William & Mary.  Went 0-fer in Game 2.

Micah Gibbs

Leon Landry: Gibbs' outfield teammate at LSU went 3-for-7 in the double header with five stolen bases on the day. 

Andy Wilkins: Arkansas' first baseman had two hits prompting a scout to say "I learned...this weekend [that] Wilkins can hit."  On Tuesday, Wilkins had two doubles in three at-bats, raising his batting average to .435.  On Friday, Wilkins went 2-for-4 with a homerun against Cal.

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Though the 2010 college baseball season has only just begun, the early performances of a few players will only help their draft stock. Here's a look at some of the top performers so far:

Jedd Gyorko: He's hitting .370/.485/.741 with six extra-base hits and a 6 to 1 BB/K ratio in his first seven games.  While he's glove at shortstop is not professional quality, some team will find a place for his bat in their organization.

Tyler Holt: Sports an impressive .545 OBP through his first seven games.  Though he struck out three times in his last game, it was the first time he had struck out all season.

Andy Wilkins: So far he has hit three home runs and three doubles while walking ten times and hitting .435.  "He can hit the fastball, that's for sure," said an area scout. "But I think anyone will tell you that he's got to prove himself in the SEC to make a move (up the draft boards)."

Andy Wilkins hopes his early season performance will move him up draft boards

Cameron Rupp: He has reached base in 17 of his 34 plate appearances for an impressive .500 OBP, but hit just his first home run the other day and has nine strikeouts already.

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Jason Churchill of espn.com continues his review of the opening weekend of D1 college baseball play.  For more on opening weekend, click here.

• After struggling in 2009 and falling to the 10th round, Sam Dyson from South Carolina started out 2010 on a high note striking out six in 3.2IP with just one walk and no hits.  Most importantly was that it only took Dyson 48 pitches to get the eleven outs.  Dyson struggled with high pitch counts in 2009.
• Leon Landry will need a big spring to get into the first round, but had a good start going 1-for-3 with a double in LSU's opening win.
• Cal State Fullerton's Christian Colon went 0-for-4, struggling against Pepperdine's Matt Bywater who threw a complete game shutout with 10 Ks, two walks and four hits.  Churchill feels that Bywater's questionable velocity does not make him a first-day draft consideration.

Christian Colon struggled in his season debut

• In his first two games Tyler Holt from Florida State reached base five times and is solidifying himself as a viable leadoff-type hitter.  He is very fast and had a great BB-K ratio in 2009: 54-47.
• Bryce Brentz from Middle Tennessee State was 2-for-5 in his debut. 
• Another top collegiate bat, Zack Cox, went 1-for-5 for Arkansas against Ball State.  Kolbrin Vitek an intriguing prospect from Ball State had three singles and a triple against Arkansas.
• Miami's Yasmani Grandal was 1-for-3 with 2BB against Rutgers, but his teammates Chris Hernandez and David Gutierrez really impressed.  Hernandez struck out five batters in four innings while Gutierrez struck out the side in the ninth.

Yasmani Grandal's teammates overshadowed his opening performance

• Kyle Blair struggled in his debut, inconveniently in front of espn.com's Keith Law.  Despite eight strikeouts, Blair walked four in four innings against a moderate Indiana lineup.
• Similar to Blair, Brandon Workman of Texas also struggled, but didn't get much help from his defense.  Workman allowed nine hits and three earned runs in six innings, but did have seven strikeouts.

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

Keith Law of espn.com dubbs the 2009 Team USA "easily the worst...in terms of prospects for the following year's MLB draft" since 2003.  Nevertheless, there are a few prospects worth paying attention to for the 2010 MLB Draft.

• Bryce Brentz, LF/RHP, Middle Tennessee State: In 230 ABs so far Brentz sports 465/535/930 ratios and 28 home runs.  Even as a pitcher he had 63Ks in 88.2 IP and a 4.57 ERA.  "He was by far the best player on Team USA," according to Law
• Chad Bettis, RHP, Texas Tech: While Bettis has been both a starter and a reliever, he figures to come out of the pen as a pro and has done so for Team USA.  He been clocked at 94-90 and has a very good slider.
• Yasmani Grandal, C, Miami: Grandal sports an above average arm, but really gets scouts attention with his ability to hit effectively from both sides of the plate.
• Christian Colon, SS, Cal State Fullerton: His speed is suspect and that's usually a red flag for playing shortstop, but Law insists that he can play the position at the pro level. 
• Blake Forsythe, C, Tennessee: Law critizes Forsythe by saying "he's Adam Dunn at the plate -- it takes an act of Congress to get the bat off his shoulder."  Maybe I'm missing something, but that's a pretty good comparison.  
• Michael Choice, OF, Texas-Arlington: He has below average speed and arm strength, so his only available defensive position is likely left field, but he has shown great power.

Drew Pomeranz from Ole Miss is on Team USA, but Law missed his start and was thus unable to give an update.  Other Team USA prospects include Tyler Holt a CF from FSU, TJ Walz a RHP from Kansas, Andy Wilkins a 1B for Arkansas and Rick Hague a thirdbaseman for Rice.