BA's Draft Report Cards

[CaliforniaRaisin]

They started with the AL, I'm guessing they'll do the NL Central on Friday. It's subscriber content

 

AL East

AL Central

AL West

NL East

[Mephistopheles]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/online/draft/features/262728.html

 

Central is up

 

a few quotes:

 

Best Athlete: RHP Jeff Samardzija (5) is an all-America wide receiver who set Notre Dame records for receptions (77) and touchdown catches (15) in 2005 and projects as a first- or second-round pick in the 2007 NFL draft. If he sticks with baseball, he'll collect a record $7.25 million bonus; if he walks, the Cubs are out only $250,000 at this point. In terms of baseball athleticism, Colvin has a chance to develop plus tools across the board. OF Drew Rundle (14) has similar tools.

 

Best Fastball: Samardzija has touched 99 mph a couple of times and usually pitches at 91-94 mph. If he turns to baseball full-time, he's expected to throw in the mid- to upper 90s with regularity. RHP Chris Huseby (11) barely pitched in the spring while coming back from 2005 Tommy John surgery, but showed enough to get a $1.3 million bonus. He throws 90-95 mph with good life.

 

Best Breaking Ball: Either Huseby's or RHP Billy Muldowney's (8) curveball, both of which need more consistency. There's more power to Huseby's hook.

 

if i posted too much, someone can edit out.

[BeerHere]

Fastest Runner: Andersen runs the 60-yard dash in 60 seconds and is a good all-around athlete.

 

Pssshhhhh I could beat that kid.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Best Pro Debut: Tyler Colvin, Jeremy Papelbon, Matt Camp

Best Athlete: Jeff Samardzija, Colvin, Drew Rundle

Best Pure Hitter: Colvin, then Rundle and Cliff Andersen

Best Raw Power: Colvin and Rundle

Fastest Runner: Andersen

Best Defensive Player: Josh Lansford

Best Fastball: Jeff Samardzija, then Chris Huseby, Rocky Roquet, Michael Cooper and Miguel Cuevas

Best Breaking Ball: Huseby and Billy Muldowney

Most Intriguing Background: Lansford and Matt Matulia

Closest to the Majors: No one is really close, possibly Samardzija or Colvin

Best Late-round Pick: Huseby and Rundle, cheaper: Cooper and Cuevas

The One Who Got Away: Marquez Smith

 

Assessment: The Cubs gave up their second- through fourth-round picks as free-agent compensation, but they made up for it with Samardzija, Huseby and Rundle. Wilken's drafts have the best track record among current scouting directors, and this was a typical Wilken effort with a concentration on power pitchers and multi-tooled position players.

[craig]

Re Samardizja, given that the college football season is well along, how does Sam's draft status look? Has he confirmed that he's solid first round stuff? Or has he slipped or been passed by rising speedy underclassmen so that he might slip out of the first round or lower?

 

Or, in simpler terms, has his chance of concentrating on baseball gone up or down or stayed about as fringey as it was?

[CubColtPacer]

Re Samardizja, given that the college football season is well along, how does Sam's draft status look? Has he confirmed that he's solid first round stuff? Or has he slipped or been passed by rising speedy underclassmen so that he might slip out of the first round or lower?

 

Or, in simpler terms, has his chance of concentrating on baseball gone up or down or stayed about as fringey as it was?

 

I just looked around some recently updated mock drafts for 2007, and Samardizja is going between 20 and 30 in the 3-4 I've looked in. No higher than 20, and he's always been in the first round. Of course, that could still change a great deal-and his baseball chances could impact his football stock substantially. He hasn't raised his draft status this year, but he hasn't hurt it significantly either.

[craig]

Re Samardizja, given that the college football season is well along, how does Sam's draft status look? Has he confirmed that he's solid first round stuff? Or has he slipped or been passed by rising speedy underclassmen so that he might slip out of the first round or lower?

 

Or, in simpler terms, has his chance of concentrating on baseball gone up or down or stayed about as fringey as it was?

 

I just looked around some recently updated mock drafts for 2007, and Samardizja is going between 20 and 30 in the 3-4 I've looked in. No higher than 20, and he's always been in the first round. Of course, that could still change a great deal-and his baseball chances could impact his football stock substantially. He hasn't raised his draft status this year, but he hasn't hurt it significantly either.

 

Thanks, Colt. Given how much easier it is to slip down in the draft then to move up from how high he was projected back in June, that sounds like somewhat bad news for the Cubs that he's still consensus first round.

[Outshined_One]

I've seen enough mocks slip him down to the second round to make me think his draft status is questionable. Plus, it depends on what junior WRs (see: Calvin Johnson) come out. That could hurt or help his stock.

 

However, there doesn't seem to be much of a chance of him falling out of the second round. :(

[Mark Priors Calves]

How does the NFL working with having an MLB contract? Can Samardzija see where he gets drafted and the decided to still play baseball? Or does he have to declare which sport he'll play? If he's gonna wait and see where he gets drafted to decide, I can see plenty of NFL teams passing because of the risk that he'll never play for them.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Samardzija still wants to try to play both and no rule forces him not to in the NFL. The problem is, there will be mandatory camps and whatnot during the minor league season. And of course, the first NFL game will conflict with the end of the minor league season.

 

As of now, most mock drafts I've seen have him going in the late first round or the second round.

[craig]

I wouldn't be surprised if his baseball situation might not depress his draft position a bit, even if not necessarily his likelihood of getting good money or actually committing to football.

 

But while Hendry was fine with no commitment, I'm not sure how many NFL teams would be as cool with a guy who isn't necessarily totally committed. Or, might not attend some of the many non-mandatory-but-still-expected camps.

 

If I had two kids on my draft board who were pretty close, I might opt for the guy who I knew was going to be committed to football and would be certain to attend every non-mandatory camp that he could in order to prepare himself for rookie season.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I wouldn't be surprised if his baseball situation might not depress his draft position a bit, even if not necessarily his likelihood of getting good money or actually committing to football.

 

But while Hendry was fine with no commitment, I'm not sure how many NFL teams would be as cool with a guy who isn't necessarily totally committed. Or, might not attend some of the many non-mandatory-but-still-expected camps.

 

If I had two kids on my draft board who were pretty close, I might opt for the guy who I knew was going to be committed to football and would be certain to attend every non-mandatory camp that he could in order to prepare himself for rookie season.

 

Yeah, I agree. I'm guessing that's going to either force Samardzija's hand or really hurt him in the draft.

 

I'm also hoping that underclassmen WR like Dwayne Jarrett, Calvin Johnson and Sidney Rice turn pro to knock Samardzija down some more. :)

[craig]

I'm also hoping that underclassmen WR like Dwayne Jarrett, Calvin Johnson and Sidney Rice turn pro to knock Samardzija down some more. :)

 

Don't the decent mocks usually include underclassmen who are good enough to compete for 1st round? So that mocks with Sam late 1st or early 2nd are already assuming these guys are in the draft?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I'm also hoping that underclassmen WR like Dwayne Jarrett, Calvin Johnson and Sidney Rice turn pro to knock Samardzija down some more. :)

 

Don't the decent mocks usually include underclassmen who are good enough to compete for 1st round? So that mocks with Sam late 1st or early 2nd are already assuming these guys are in the draft?

 

Yes, but sometimes they don't always properly rate underclassmen because a lot of NFL folks don't talk about them until they declare.

[TruffleShuffle]

I wouldn't be surprised if his baseball situation might not depress his draft position a bit, even if not necessarily his likelihood of getting good money or actually committing to football.

 

But while Hendry was fine with no commitment, I'm not sure how many NFL teams would be as cool with a guy who isn't necessarily totally committed. Or, might not attend some of the many non-mandatory-but-still-expected camps.

 

If I had two kids on my draft board who were pretty close, I might opt for the guy who I knew was going to be committed to football and would be certain to attend every non-mandatory camp that he could in order to prepare himself for rookie season.

 

Yeah, I agree. I'm guessing that's going to either force Samardzija's hand or really hurt him in the draft.

 

I'm also hoping that underclassmen WR like Dwayne Jarrett, Calvin Johnson and Sidney Rice turn pro to knock Samardzija down some more. :)

 

Johnson would very likely be the first overall pick, especially for a team that's set at QB. Jarrett also is almost certain to be a top 10 pick, probably top 5. I'd be stunned if Johnson didn't go pro after this year, and I expect Jarrett to go also. Rice is probably about 50/50.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Yeah, and Ginn could turn pro and some team might fall in love with his athleticism. I fully expect Johnson and Jarrett to turn pro.

[TruffleShuffle]

Yeah, and Ginn could turn pro and some team might fall in love with his athleticism. I fully expect Johnson and Jarrett to turn pro.

 

Ginn will turn pro after this year, I'm guessing. Why stay around for another year with a QB who has hardly taken a snap? Most of what I've heard and read suggests he'll come out, which if he's going to be a top 10-15 pick is the right move.

[CubinNY]

Well, they seem to really like Colvin. That's good.

 

The ND dude, I won't get excited about until I see where he's drafted. If he's a first rounder I think he plays football.

[WindyCity]

I've seen enough mocks slip him down to the second round to make me think his draft status is questionable. Plus, it depends on what junior WRs (see: Calvin Johnson) come out. That could hurt or help his stock.

 

However, there doesn't seem to be much of a chance of him falling out of the second round. :(

 

I've seen a mock that had him going as the last pick of the 1st round -- to the Chicago Bears -- so he might get a chance to attempt to play both sports in the same town....

 

Best part of that mock draft was seeing the Bears projected as the last pick. :D

[Outshined_One]

I've seen enough mocks slip him down to the second round to make me think his draft status is questionable. Plus, it depends on what junior WRs (see: Calvin Johnson) come out. That could hurt or help his stock.

 

However, there doesn't seem to be much of a chance of him falling out of the second round. :(

 

I've seen a mock that had him going as the last pick of the 1st round -- to the Chicago Bears -- so he might get a chance to attempt to play both sports in the same town....

 

Best part of that mock draft was seeing the Bears projected as the last pick. :D

 

That never gets old. 8)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

NL West

 

No Cub made the Draft All-Stars (a.k.a. Best Pro Debut).

 

Some Cubs made the rankings overall throughout baseball:

 

BEST ATHLETE

1. Drew Stubbs, of, Reds (1)

2. Jeff Samardzija, rhp, Cubs (5)

3. Desmond Jennings, of, Devil Rays (10)

4. Derrick Robinson, of, Royals (4)

5. Jermaine Mitchell, of, Athletics (5)

 

Baseball Relative Division

1. Jeremy Papelbon, lhp, Cubs (19) and Josh Papelbon, rhp, Red Sox (48)

2. Cory Rasmus, rhp, Braves (1)

3. Preston Mattingly, ss, Dodgers (1)

4. Kyle Drabek, rhp, Phillies (1)

5. Cole Figueroa, ss, Blue Jays (9) and Cory Figueroa, 2b, Blue Jays (42)

 

BEST LATE-ROUND PICK

1. Lars Anderson, 1b, Red Sox (18)

2. Tommy Pham, ss, Cardinals (16)

3. Desmond Jennings, of, Devil Rays (10)

4. Chris Huseby, rhp, Cubs (11)

5. Brandon Holden, rhp, Pirates (13)

 

And BA rated the 5 best drafts as of now as:

 

BEST DRAFT

1. Red Sox

2. Yankees

3. Diamondbacks

4. Orioles

5. Twins

 

Jim Callis was have a draft-related chat at 2 pm ET, get your questions in now.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Q: Navin from Los Angeles asks:

The Cubs seemed to take a few gambles to make up for their lack of draft picks. How do you see the gambles working out (Samardzija in the football vs. baseball decision, Huseby recovering to first round form after TJS)?

 

A: Jim Callis: That's exactly what the Cubs did. Samardzija has a tremendous arm and the Cubs think they can teach him to pitch if he comes to baseball full-time. If he doesn't, they're only out $250,000. Huseby has a lively 90-95 mph fastball and some power to his breaking ball, so he really could be something. Another late-round guy who got a lot of money, Drew Rundle, reminds the Cubs in a lot of ways of first-rounder Tyler Colvin. Chicago took a lot of gambles, but the Tribune Co. has money to spend and the farm system needs an infusion of talent.

[CubinNY]

What teams had the best draft according to BA. I thought I read somewhere it was Boston, NY, and Oakland.

[treebird]

Q: Navin from Los Angeles asks:

The Cubs seemed to take a few gambles to make up for their lack of draft picks. How do you see the gambles working out (Samardzija in the football vs. baseball decision, Huseby recovering to first round form after TJS)?

 

A: Jim Callis: That's exactly what the Cubs did. Samardzija has a tremendous arm and the Cubs think they can teach him to pitch if he comes to baseball full-time. If he doesn't, they're only out $250,000.

 

they're also out their first round pick, since they forfeited their legitimate one so they could get this guy without spending any extra money.

[CubColtPacer]

Q: Navin from Los Angeles asks:

The Cubs seemed to take a few gambles to make up for their lack of draft picks. How do you see the gambles working out (Samardzija in the football vs. baseball decision, Huseby recovering to first round form after TJS)?

 

A: Jim Callis: That's exactly what the Cubs did. Samardzija has a tremendous arm and the Cubs think they can teach him to pitch if he comes to baseball full-time. If he doesn't, they're only out $250,000.

 

they're also out their first round pick, since they forfeited their legitimate one so they could get this guy without spending any extra money.

 

What does that mean?