2007 Draft Class

[Outshined_One]

I repeat since I don't have much information about Vitters offhand:

 

Jim Callis has the Cubs taking Josh Vitters now. It's in this week's Ask BA and he talked about it in the chat Wed.

 

How does he compare to Bill Rowell last year? I really liked Rowell, by the way.

 

Thanks. :D

[RichHillIsABeast]

Who's to say that Vitters sticks at 3rd (isnt that where he is playing currently?). I thought I had read some things about his defense needing improvement. The last highschool 1st rounder we drafted couldnt handle his possition either.

 

http://www.brewerfan.net/ViewAmateurPlayerProfile.do?playerId=659&draftId=5

 

Defensively he is sound, not special, at third base, with good enough lateral quickness and a strong arm. Even if he doesn't stick at the hot corner, and there is no reason to think he couldn't at this point in time, he should hit plenty enough to be a productive left fielder.

 

Defense - has feel for the game, strong arm, makes plays, can play on move, tools and reactions fit well at 3B, aggressive to ball, prototype at the position.

 

http://farmauthority.dcsportsnet.com/?p=903

[Mephistopheles]

Keith Law's a dumbass, but here goes nothing:

 

1. Matt Wieters, C, Georgia Tech

2. David Price, LHP, Vanderbilt

3. Andrew Brackman, RHP, North Carolina State

4. Josh Vitters, 3B, Cypress (Calif.) High School

5. Rick Porcello, RHP, Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J.

6. Phillippe Aumont, RHP, Ecole Secondary Du Versant, Gatineau, Quebec

7. Matt Harvey, RHP, Fitch High School, Groton, Conn.

8. Ross Detwiler, LHP, Missouri State

9. Jarrod Parker, RHP, Norwell (Ind.) High School

10. Jason Heyward, OF/1B, Henry County High School, McDonough, Ga.

11. Matt Dominguez, 3B, Chatsworth (Calif.) High School

12. Daniel Moskos, LHP, Clemson

13. Michael Main, RHP, Deland (Fla.) High School

14. Beau Mills, 3B/1B, Lewis-Clark (Idaho) State

15. Michael Burgess, OF, Hillsborough High School, Tampa, Fla.

16. Matt LaPorta, 1B, Florida

17. Tim Alderson, RHP, Horizon High School, Scottsdale, Ariz.

18. Mike Moustakas, 3B/C, Chatsworth (Calif.) High School

19. Madison Bumgarner, LHP, South Caldwell High School, Hudson N.C.

20. Blake Beavan, RHP, Irving (Texas) High School

21. Jack McGeary, LHP/1B, Roxbury (Mass.) Latin High School

22. J.P. Arencibia, C, Tennessee

23. Casey Weathers, RHP, Vanderbilt

24. Julio Borbon, OF, Tennessee

25. Mitch Canham, C, Oregon State

26. Brett Cecil, LHP, Maryland

27. Nick Noonan, SS, Francis Parker High School, San Diego

28. Jake Arrieta, RHP, TCU

29. Josh Smoker, LHP, Calhoun (Ga.) High School

30. Matt Mangini, 3B, Oklahoma State

31. Yasmani Grandal, C, Miami Springs High School, Hialeah, Fla.

32. Neil Ramirez, RHP, Kempsville (Va.) High School

33. Josh Fields, RHP, Georgia

34. Peter Kozma, SS, Owasso (Okla.) High School

35. Aaron Poreda, LHP, San Francisco

36. Jordan Walden, RHP, Grayson County CC, Denison, Texas*

37. Nevin Griffith, RHP, Middleton High School, Tampa, Fla.

38. Zach Cozart, SS, Ole Miss

39. Greg Peavey, RHP, Hudson's Bay High School, Vancouver, Wash.

40. Christian Colon, SS, Canyon High School, Anaheim, Calif.

41. Josh Donaldson, C, Auburn

42. Nick Schmidt, LHP, Arkansas

43. Kentrail Davis, OF, Theodore (Ala.) High School

44. James Simmons, RHP, UC Riverside

45. Kyle Russell, RF, Texas

46. Eric Eiland, OF, Lamar High School, Houston

47. Matt Latos, RHP, Broward County CC, Fla.**

48. Eddie Kunz, RHP, Oregon State

49. Matt Spencer, OF, Arizona State

50. Joe Savery, LHP, Rice

51. Ryan Dent, IF, Wilson High School, Long Beach, Calif.

52. Wes Roemer, RHP, Cal State Fullerton

53. Kevin Keyes, OF, Connally, Austin

54. James Adkins, LHP, Tennessee

55. Danny Rams, C, Gulliver Prep, Miami

56. Nathan Vineyard, LHP, Woodland High School, Emerson, Ga.

57. Tanner Robles, LHP, Cottonwood High School, Salt Lake City

58. Travis D'Arnaud, C, Lakewood High School, Long Beach, Calif.

59. Jordan Zimmerman, P, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

60. Kyle Lotzkar, RHP, Langley Blaze, Tsawwassen, British Columbia

61. Chris Withrow, RHP, Midland Christian High School, Odessa, Texas

62. Julian Sampson, RHP, Skyline High School, Sammamish, Wash.

63. Kevin Ahrens, 3B, Memorial High School, Houston

64. Justin Jackson, SS, Roberson High School, Asheville, N.C.

65. David Kopp, RHP, Clemson

66. Sean Doolittle, LHP/1B, Virginia

67. Todd Frazier, SS/OF, Rutgers

68. Jonathan Kaskow, 1B, Coppell (Texas) High School

69. Hunter Morris, OF, Grissom High School, Huntsville, Ala.

70. Kyle Blair, RHP, Los Gatos High School, Monte Sereno, Calif.

71. Kevin Patterson, 1B, Oak Mountain High School, Birmingham, Ala.

72. Matt West, SS/3B, Bellaire High School, Houston

73. Duke Welker, RHP, Arkansas

74. Andrew Lambo, 1B, Newbury Park (Calif.) High School

75. Danny Worth, SS, Pepperdine

76. Josh Horton, SS, North Carolina

77. Wynn Pelzer, RHP, South Carolina

78. David Newmann, LHP, Texas A&M

79. Matt Thompson, RHP, Santa Rosa JC, Calif.

80. Brian Friday, SS, Rice

81. Travis Mattair, IF, Southridge High School, Kennewick, Wash.

82. Drake Britton, LHP, Tomball (Texas) High School

83. Austin Bailey, RHP, Prattville (Ala.) High School

84. Grant Desme, OF, Cal Poly

85. Danny Payne, OF, Georgia Tech

86. Tommy Hunter, RHP, Alabama

87. Eric Farris, 2B, Loyola Marymount

88. Connor Graham, RHP, Miami (OH)

89. Angel Morales, OF, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Caguas, PR

90. Matt Rizzotti, 1B, Manhattan

91. Cole Rohrbaugh, LHP, Western Nevada CC, Nev.***

92. John Tolisano, SS/2B, Estero (Fla.) High School

93. Eric Sogard, 2B, Arizona State

94. Evan Danieli, RHP, Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J.

95. Ed Easley, C, Mississippi State

96. Kellen Kulbacki, OF, James Madison

97. Runey Davis, OF, Georgetown (Texas) High School

98. Evan Reed, RHP, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo

99. Justin Baum, 3B, Pacific

100. Charlie Furbush, RHP, LSU

 

I love Phillippe Aumont as much as anyone, but putting him ahead of Madison Bumgarner and Matt Harvey is going against the grain quite a bit. Jarrod Parker's a bit high, though he supposedly touched 98 this year. Madison Bumgarner's way too low. He's going in the top ten, easy.

 

Brian Friday's a kid I played with a few years back. He's got good speed, but his marginal power shouldn't make him an early second round pick. Justin Jackson would be a steal with our second pick if he's there. He's not the kind of player I'm used to liking, but this time last year he was arguably a top five pick. Kyle Lotzkar is a helium kid. He's real young, tall and has a power developing fastball.

 

In the CC circuit, I don't see how Latos isn't better than Walden. Walden's still a big fastball with nothing else to offer. Latos' offspeed stuff has come around much more.

 

With a bit more than a month to go, it's probably time to start matching up players to teams.

 

Rays - Price

Royals - Detwiler

Cubs - Vitters

 

That's the word around baseball, if I am not mistaken.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

No chance the Padres will sign Latos?

[Mephistopheles]

I read somewhere that it's likely they do. I'd imagine they would. Without him they have a BOAT LOAD of picks this year. They may have to go cheap on some of those picks. They usually don't spend a lot of money on picks.

 

They have

 

1. 23

1S. 40

1S. 46

1S. 57

1S. 63

1S. 64

2. 82

2. 88

 

They have their third and fourth round picks as well as a second fourth round pick. Latos is probably going to ask for a seven figure bonus, or $900,000. If he goes into the draft and is picked somewhere as expected (say 35th or so), slot money the last two years was $975,000. The Padres are reportedly willing to give him a million.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Hrm, looks like he wants 7-figures:

 

Scott (San Diego, CA): Speaking of draft and follow, how good is the kid from Broward CC that the Padres are trying to now sign for $1M+?

 

Jim Callis: Matt Latos is throwing very well, very high 90s. Always had a great arm, had a rep as being very flaky, and he has matured this spring.

 

And there's always Scherzer to consider.

[Mephistopheles]

I think the Latos stuff I read was in an Ask BA. Scherzer's probably going to re-enter. Max's first exhibition start is within a week, I think. I don't remeber the exact date. I want to say the 4th or the 6th.

[texascub]

I think the Latos stuff I read was in an Ask BA. Scherzer's probably going to re-enter. Max's first exhibition start is within a week, I think. I don't remeber the exact date. I want to say the 4th or the 6th.

 

I can tell you that his first regular-season start is tentatively scheduled for May 12th.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I think the Latos stuff I read was in an Ask BA. Scherzer's probably going to re-enter. Max's first exhibition start is within a week, I think. I don't remeber the exact date. I want to say the 4th or the 6th.

 

Found the Ask BA stuff (link for anyone who's interested: http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/askba/263810.html ). Thanks.

 

I just hope Scherzer allows Wieters or Vitters to drop. It's asking too much for a repeat of last season with Scherzer = Hochevar and Price = Miller.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

What are the odds that Russell lasts to 48? I know Meph said a couple pages back he's a first rounder or supplemental, but we're kinda at the back of the supplemental.

[texascub]

What are the odds that Russell lasts to 48? I know Meph said a couple pages back he's a first rounder or supplemental, but we're kinda at the back of the supplemental.

 

I believe that Mephistopheles also said that because of signability, Russell would drop quite a bit since he is only a draft-eligible Sophomore.

[Mephistopheles]

What are the odds that Russell lasts to 48? I know Meph said a couple pages back he's a first rounder or supplemental, but we're kinda at the back of the supplemental.

 

I believe that Mephistopheles also said that because of signability, Russell would drop quite a bit since he is only a draft-eligible Sophomore.

 

Bingo. He'll be there. He's similar to Micah Owings a few years back. Owings was an elite prospect that year, but he was a sophomore who demanded first round money so he fell to the 15th round. The same thing also happened for Tim Lincecum two years ago. He was a sophomore who demanded seven figs and the Tribe wouldnt budge.

[texascub]

What are the odds that Russell lasts to 48? I know Meph said a couple pages back he's a first rounder or supplemental, but we're kinda at the back of the supplemental.

 

I believe that Mephistopheles also said that because of signability, Russell would drop quite a bit since he is only a draft-eligible Sophomore.

 

Bingo. He'll be there. He's similar to Micah Owings a few years back. Owings was an elite prospect that year, but he was a sophomore who demanded first round money so he fell to the 15th round. The same thing also happened for Tim Lincecum two years ago. He was a sophomore who demanded seven figs and the Tribe wouldnt budge.

 

I would love to have his 1.349 OPS in our system, but he could really improve his strike zone judgment.

[Mephistopheles]

Kyle could improve a lot of things. There still are questions about his power with the wood. He sucked on the Cape last year, albeit as a Freshman. If he returns and has anything resembling a solid CCL he could be a top 10 pick next year.

[texascub]

What is your take on Stanford's Michael Taylor? When I saw him a few days ago against Oregon St. he looked pretty good, but he seems to be a very streaky player that is getting hot right now.

[Mephistopheles]

A long time ago he was a top ten college prospect. Obviously not anymore. He's got good power, always has. He's never really broke out, but the raw power is there. He's a huge guy, like 6'6 250 or something. I guess a good comparison for him is John Mayberry. I dunno if I want the Cubs to get him. He's dripping with power, but it hasn't materialized yet.

 

Ive never seen him play, so I have no idea about his swing, pitch recog etc and havent seen too much stuff on him this spring, other than how bad he looked in February. My guess is he's a second or third rounder. He may sneak into the supplemental if someone falls for his potential power production.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Keith Law:

 

Seton Hall Prep (West Orange, N.J.) has a tremendous one-two punch of right-handed pitchers in seniors Rick Porcello and Evan Danieli. Porcello is probably the top prep pitcher in this draft, but he could slip quite a bit due to his perceived bonus demands; he's a Scott Boras client and has a scholarship to North Carolina.

 

Signability aside, he's a tremendous prospect. On Friday, he touched 97 mph and settled in at an easy 92-94 for the rest of the day, throwing two different curves -- a plus hammer at 77-80 and a softer one at 67-70 that he used as a change-of-pace to his curve. Listed at 6-foot-5, he still has some room to fill out, and should have a workhorse build once he hits his mid-20s. He could go as high as No. 2, but if he doesn't go No. 3 to the Cubs he could easily fall out of the top 10 for financial reasons.....

 

• The other top non-Boras client among starting pitchers is Clemson's Daniel Moskos, also left-handed and newly relocated to the rotation after an abortive stint as the team's closer. Moskos is likely going in the back half of the top 10 picks, although the Cubs like him quite a bit and are considering him at No. 3.

 

• The Cubs are in the catbird seat, with the possibility that all four of the top Boras clients in this year's draft (Brackman, Matt Wieters, Porcello, and Matt Harvey) will be there for them. They also like Moskos and California high school third baseman Josh Vitters.

 

Scherzer's Ft. Worth exhibition debut was rained out today. He'll pitch on Friday now.

[UK1679666180]

 

Scherzer's Ft. Worth exhibition debut was rained out today. He'll pitch on Friday now.

 

Those Indy league hitters will have no idea how to hit his FB, if everything I've heard about the late life on his FB being true, they'll be in for a surprise.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/prospects/features/263794.html

 

As of May 3rd, Jim Callis has this happening:

 

1. Tampa: Price

2. KC: Detweiler

3. Cubs: Wieters

4. Pittsburgh: Vitters

5. Baltimore: Moskos

 

But then he says this in a chat yesterday:

 

Justin (Chicago): Who do you expect the Cubs to pick with their first pick? I know their trend is to go with pitching, but it would be great to see them pick a position player.

 

Jim Callis: (2:05 PM ET ) I keep hearing Josh Vitters' name the most at No. 3. He's the best pure hitter in the draft, HS 3B from California.

 

Justin (Chicago): Jim, follow-up on Vitters: Is he a longterm prospect at 3B or one of those types who'll likely get moved to 1st base or LF. Thanks!

 

Jim Callis: (2:12 PM ET ) Solid 3B, should be able to stay there.

 

Tim (Portland): Is Matt Wieters really in free-fall as far as his draft standing? Is this performance related or signability?

 

Jim Callis: (2:59 PM ET ) Not a freefall. Hasn't had a great year, but he's fine. Signability is the big question.

 

Steve (North Carolina): Jim, where do you see NC State's Andrew Brackman going in the draft considering he has been inconsistant all year with his results and stuff? Still see him as a top 5 type of guy, or more top 15?

 

Jim Callis: (2:20 PM ET ) That's been tough to nail down. He has been inconsistent and he might be looking for a Jeff Samardzija contract as a two-sport guy. I think his stock has slipped some, and his signability could cause him to slide to a high-revenue team.

[Mephistopheles]

the article continues through ten

 

6. Nationals. Rick Porcello, rhp, HS/New Jersey

7. Brewers Madison Bumgarner, lhp, HS/North Carolina

8. Rockies. Jason Heyward, of, HS/Georgia

9. Diamondbacks. Blake Beavan, rhp, HS/Texas

10. Giants. Beau Mills, 3b/1b, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)

[CubinNY]

the article continues through ten

 

6. Nationals. Rick Porcello, rhp, HS/New Jersey

7. Brewers Madison Bumgarner, lhp, HS/North Carolina

8. Rockies. Jason Heyward, of, HS/Georgia

9. Diamondbacks. Blake Beavan, rhp, HS/Texas

10. Giants. Beau Mills, 3b/1b, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)

 

Brackman has fallen like an anchor.

[texascub]

the article continues through ten

 

6. Nationals. Rick Porcello, rhp, HS/New Jersey

7. Brewers Madison Bumgarner, lhp, HS/North Carolina

8. Rockies. Jason Heyward, of, HS/Georgia

9. Diamondbacks. Blake Beavan, rhp, HS/Texas

10. Giants. Beau Mills, 3b/1b, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)

 

Brackman has fallen like an anchor.

 

His stats really haven't blown anyone away this spring. Right now he's sitting at 6-4 with a 3.65 ERA in 12 starts. He's been quite wild with 10 WP and he's only producing a K/BB ratio of around 2/1. Nearly a third of the hits against him have gone for XBHs as well.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

From Keith Law:

 

Q: Everyone is saying Vitters to the cubs at 3, is this what you are also hearing? Who can you offer as a MLB comparable?

 

A: Vitters or Matt Wieters, although their scouting director, Tim Wilken, has been seeing a lot of players lately, including Philippe Aumont and even Devin Mesoraco. Vitters reminds me a lot of David Wright (v. 2006) - high average, lots of doubles, but not a 40 HR guy, with good defense.

 

Q: Keith, if the Cubs go after Vitters and he rises through the minors quickly what do you do with the long-term committments to Lee, Ramirez, and Soriano clogging up 3 potential positions he could play? Does Weiters get an edge because of this?

 

A: I do think that's an edge for Wieters, as well as his speed to the majors. But Wilken's history has always been to just take the best player and let the surpluses work themselves out.

 

Q: If he ends up being draft eligible, where does Max Scherzer go?

 

A: Great question - I'm guessing a big-market team pops him in the sandwich round, Boston, Mets, Yanks, maybe Rangers or Cards (both teams with histories of taking Boras clients).

[Mephistopheles]

the article continues through ten

 

6. Nationals. Rick Porcello, rhp, HS/New Jersey

7. Brewers Madison Bumgarner, lhp, HS/North Carolina

8. Rockies. Jason Heyward, of, HS/Georgia

9. Diamondbacks. Blake Beavan, rhp, HS/Texas

10. Giants. Beau Mills, 3b/1b, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho)

 

Brackman has fallen like an anchor.

 

look at all of those teams. most have a history of not dealing with boras. matt harveys not in the top ten and theres no doubt hes a top ten talent. he might be the best hs pitcher

[Outshined_One]

Q: Keith, if the Cubs go after Vitters and he rises through the minors quickly what do you do with the long-term committments to Lee, Ramirez, and Soriano clogging up 3 potential positions he could play? Does Weiters get an edge because of this?

 

A: I do think that's an edge for Wieters, as well as his speed to the majors. But Wilken's history has always been to just take the best player and let the surpluses work themselves out.

 

That makes me happy.