Yordy Cabrera
Rumors

We've presented mock drafts from a number of different writers and publishers and multiple versions of their mock drafts.  With just a few hours left before the draft, it is time for Baseball Rumor Mill's shot at a mock draft of tonight's first round.

1) Washington Nationals: Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C
Little left to say here as this pick is set in stone.

2) Pittsburgh Pirates: Jameson Taillon, The Woodlands, RHP
Multiple reports have the Pirates taking Taillon

3) Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado, Brito HS, SS
This pick is down to Taillon or Machado, whomever Pittsburgh doesn't take

4) Kansas City Royals: Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast, LHP
Rumors about a pre-draft deal with Yasmani Grandal are falling apart.  The Royals have been rumored to want to keep costs down anyway, so Sale makes sense.

5) Cleveland Indians: Yasmani Grandal, Miami, C
If the rumors about the Indians upping the Royals offer are true, Grandal will go here.

6) Arizona Diamondbacks: Drew Pomeranz, Ole Miss, LHP
All reports have Pomeranz going here

7) New York Mets: Zack Cox, Arkansas, 3B
His rumored salary demands could send him tumbling, but the Mets have money and the big names have all gone in front of them.

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Keith Law of espn.com presents his most recent mock draft.  Here's his take on the first round.

1) Washington Nationals: Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C
2) Pittsburgh Pirates: Manny Machado, Brito HS, SS
3) Baltimore Orioles: Jameson Taillon, The Woodlands, RHP
4) Kansas City Royals: Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast, LHP
5) Cleveland Indians: Drew Pomeranz, Ole Miss, LHP
6) Arizona Diamondbacks: Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP
7) New York Mets: Matt Harvey, UNC, RHP
8) Houston Astros: Michael Choice, UT-Arlington, OF
9) San Diego Padres: Zack Cox, Arkansas, 3B
10) Oakland As: Stetson Allie, St. Edwards HS, RHP
11) Toronto Blue Jays: Gary Brown, Cal State Fullerton, OF

12) Cincinnati Reds: Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS
13) Chicago White Sox: Brandon Workman, Texas, RHP
14) Milwaukee Brewers: Alex Wimmers, Ohio State, RHP
15) Texas Rangers: Yasmani Grandal, Miami, C

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The annual Florida Athletic Coaches Association Baseball Classic in Sebring, FL was held over this past weekend with a lot of Florida's top high school talent on hand to play.  Unfortunately for many observers, Manny Machado and Nick Castellanos, two of the best young hitters in the draft from Florida, were not present.  However, as Conor Glassey from Baseball America reports, that left plenty of space for pitchers Karsten Whitson and AJ Cole to impress.

Karsten Whitson, Chipley HS, RHP

Although Whitson only had two innings of work pitching for the North team against the South team, scouts were excited to see him pitch.  According to Glassey, "Whitson sat 93-94 mph with his fastball and even touched 95 once and 96 once. He threw two 82 mph changeups and a nasty slider at 82-83." Whitson struck out two guys in his two innings of work, his second strikeout against fellow prospect Yordy Cabrera.

"I was just trying to get ahead and my stuff felt good," Whitson said after his two innings of work. "I was opening a little early on my fastball, but I felt like I made the correction. I threw two changeups that were good and my slider felt really good, so I was confident."

Creekside HS catcher Ladson Montgomery was afforded the luxury of catching Whitson for Team USA and did so again in Sebring.  "His two-seamer had a lot of run, a lot of bite on it," Montgomery said. "He's just one of those pitchers that throws hard enough to where guys out here, and for the most part every guy he faces, have to sit on that fastball and have to guess. So, when he can mix it up and throw that changeup for strikes and throw that hard slider for strikes, nobody's going to touch him."Continue Reading...

The Sporting News recently issued their mock draft of the first round.  Let's take a look.

1) Washington Nationals: Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada, C
2) Pittsburgh Pirates: Manny Machado, Brito HS, SS
3) Baltimore Orioles: Jameson Taillon, The Woodlands, RHP
4) Kansas City Royals: Drew Pomeranz, Ole Miss, LHP
5) Cleveland Indians: Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS
6) Arizona Diamondbacks: Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP
7) New York Mets: Yasmani Grandal, Miami, C

8) Houston Astros: AJ Cole, Oviedo HS, RHP
9) San Diego Padres: Karsten Whitson, Chipley HS, RHP
10) Oakland As: Bryce Brentz, Middle Tennessee State, OF
11) Toronto Blue Jays: Chris Sale, Florida Gulf Coast, LHP
12) Cincinnati Reds: Michael Choice, UT-Arlington, OF
13) Chicago White Sox: Zack Cox, Arkansas, 3B
14) Milwaukee Brewers: Josh Sale, Bishop Blanchett HS, OF
15) Texas Rangers: Brandon Workman, Texas, RHP

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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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Jonathan Mayo mlb.com gives his Top 20 2010 MLB Draft prospects heading into the start of the baseball season.  Today we take a look at #11-20.  For #1-10, click here.

11. James Paxton, Kentucky, LHP
12. Deck McGuire, Georgia Tech, RHP
13. AJ Cole, Oviedo High School, RHP
14. Kevin Gausman, Grandview High School, RHP
15. Brandon Workman, Texas, RHP
16. LeVon Washington, Chipola Junior College, 2B
17. Micah Gibbs, LSU, C
18. Stetson Allie, Olmstead Falls High School, RHP
19. Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS
20. Yordy Cabrera, Lakeland High School, SS

Deck McGuire lands at #12 on Jonathan Mayo's Top 20

Jonathan Mayo from mlb.com posted a report from the AFLAC All-Star game. Let's see what he had to say about some of the 2010 prospects in attendance.

Pitchers

Jameson Taillon, RHP: Hit 95 on both sides of the plate with his fastball along with a plus slider and a developing curveball. Likely Top 10 pick.
Stetson Allie: Needs to learn how to pitch vs. just throw, but hit 97
AJ Cole: Threw his fastball very well, but unimpressive with secondary pitches.
DeAndre Smelter: Very aggressive with hitters, throwing 95-94 with his fastball
Cam Bedrosian: Did not disappoint, but did not impress either.
Peter Tago: He got knocked around a bit, but Mayo says that "scouts liked his arm action." Hit 94 on his fastball with a good slider.

Hitters

Bryce Harper, C: Always the big name wherever he goes, the presumptive #1 pick of the 2010 draft underwhelmed at the game. He'll still likely be the #1 pick, but his swing demonstrated some flaws.
Tony Wolters, SS/2B: A solid defender who can hit for average. Not much power and slow.
Zach Alvord: SS/2B: A very good defender who Mayo compares to Jiovanni Mier.
Reggie Golden, OF: One of the best overall players available for 2010. Showed power, speed and defense.
Yordy Cabrera: A nice swing compliments his good power.
Brian Ragira: Very good plate discipline and had no trouble hitting fastballs.
Chevez Clarke: Disappointed with his speed, but had a nice swing.

Jonathan Mayo of mlb.com has a report from the 2009 East Coast Showcase and highlights who he was told stood out. Mayo claims that there will be several 2010 first round draft picks at the showcase and points to guys like Zach Wheeler, Bobby Borchering, Mike Trout and LeVon Washington

Hitters

• Stetson Allie, RHP/3B: Based off of his 97-92mph fastball and an 91-88mph slider, one would figure his future is as a pitcher. However, his command is below average and some scouts think he'll be a more productive hitter. Either way, he was an impressive athlete.
• Eric Arce, C/1B, Lakeland HS: Called the best hitter at the draft. Demonstrated good power along with an ability to use the entire field. His catching skills are questionable, so he may be a 1B professionally.
• Yordy Cabrera, SS, Lakeland HS: One of the rare prep shortstops who projects as a professional shortstop because of his excellent hands and strong arm. Also has a nice swing that results in solid contact.
• Chevez Clarke, OF/INF, Marietta HS: The epitome of a "tools" player as evidenced by his ability to play almost any position in the infield or outfield.
• Delino DeShields, OF/INF, Woodward HS: Like Bedrosian, he's got a former big league father in Delino DeSheilds Sr. Similar to Clarke, he's got the tools to play several different positions.
• Manny Machado, SS, Miami Brito HS: While he was probably not in the first round discussion before the showcase, he played really well and impressed scouts.

Pitchers

• Cam Bedrosian, RHP, East Coweta HA: Threw fastballs at 95-92 and a 79-77 breaking ball and has a great pedigree with his father as a former major league player.
• AJ Cole, RHP, Ovieda HS: Reminded scouts of Rick Porcello and threw up to 96 mph
• DeAndre Smelter, RHP, Tatnall HS: Draws comparisons to Edwin Jackson displaying a 95-92 mph fastball and a 77-75 breaking ball.
• Karsten Whitson, RHP, Chipley HS: Has thrown up to 96 mph, but only reached 92 at the showcase. Nevertheless, he still threw a solid breaking ball clocking in at 81-78.
• Bobby Wahl, RHP, West Springfield HS: Mayo downplays Wahl's ability by saying that he's riding on his command right now. He defends Wahl by by saying he still has plenty of "stuff." Frankly, I'd rather have the control.

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 (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