Yasmani Grandal
Rumors

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.

Jason Churchill of espn.com recently took a look at the top collegiate players that could end up first-round draft picks when MLB amateur draft gets started in June. 

• Ranked #2 on Keith Law's Top 50 draft prospects, Anthony Ranaudo is an obvious choice for the first round.  His LSU teammates, Micah Gibbs and Leon Landry are less likely.
• Arkansas teammates Zack Cox and Andy Wilkins are both considered first-round possibilities, but teammates Brett Eibner struggled in 2009 and would need a good 2010 to move up draft boards.
• The SEC is loaded with the names listed above and Drew Pomeranz from Ole Miss and Justin Grimm from Georgia, both who could go in the first round.  Kentucky's James Paxton is also a first round possibility after being drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round in 2009, but choosing not to sign.  He is currently ineligible to play, but fighting the charges, based on alleged violations of his amateur status.
• From the Big 12, Brandon Workman and Sam Dyson figure to go in the first round.

Brandon Workman figures to be a first round pick come June

• Alex Wimmers from Ohio State figures to be the lone Big 10 player taken in the first round.  Same for Dixon Anderson out of the Pac-10.
• The ACC is not as loaded as the SEC, but could put four names in the first round: Deck McGuire (Georgia Tech), Jarrett Parker (Virigina), Yasmani Grandal (Miami) and Matt Harvey (UNC).
• Bryce Brentz from Middle Tennessee State and Austin Wates from Virginia Tech figure to be two outfielders who could go in the first round.
• Christian Colon (Cal State Fullerton) might not have the speed that scouts want, but he's still a consideration in the first round. 

Division 1 NCAA baseball got underway this past weekend with a number of top prospects getting their seasons started.  Here's a quick look at some of the highlights. 

Pitchers

• Anthony Ranaudo from LSU had a strong outing going 5IP, 6K, 0ER along with just three baserunners.  His fastball was clocked at 93-89mph.
• From Ohio State, Alex Wimmers, gave up just one hit and one walk over six innings and struck out nine in his debut.  According to Jason Churchill at espn.com, A former AL West scout now working for an agent said "he'd have to fall apart not be a first-round arm, but for me he could be anywhere from 10 to 30."
• Deck McGuire out performed both Ranaudo and Wimmers, with a 7IP, 5H, 0BB 0ER, 10K performance.  Though he gave up more baserunners than Ranaudo and Wimmers, the control he demonstrated with no walks was impressive.
• Ole Miss's Drew Pomeranz struggled a bit, yielding two earned runs on four hits and two walks in four innings pitched.  He did manage seven strikeouts.
• Chad Bettis from Texas Tech also had a nice line, going 7IP, 6H and induced 14 groundball outs.

Deck McGuire was very impressive in his 2010 debut

Hitters

• Austin Wates squared off against a possible high 2011 pick, Alex Meyer, and had a very nice 2-for-3 line with 2BB and a triple.  One large negative, however, was that Virginia Tech played Wates at first base rather than in the outfield.  Wates draft status depends upon his ability to be an outfielder, not a corner infielder.
• Though he's been crowned the top pick of the 2010 draft multiple times, scouts are still watching Bryce Harper closely to see how he handles improved competition.  Unlike Stephen Strasburg last year who had three years against the top competition in the country, Harper is largely untested.  He struggled against one hard throwing lefty, but had some better swings against other high velocity fastballs later in the weekend.
• LeVon Washington showed improvement at he plate, but struggled in centerfield.  If he can't play the outfield, his draft stock will suffer.
• Zack Cox, Bryce Brentz, Yasmani Grandal and Christian Colon all had solid performances in their debuts.

Austin Wates had a nice debut to start the season

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.

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