2014 Draft Discussion

[davell]

I think its very likely we'll try to acquire a comp pick or two, because its fairly likely we could lose our 2nd rounder this year, by signing a player like Choo, as well.

[Guest]

Couple of big time arms from small schools doing well in the Cape.

 

Jeff Hoffman (East Carolina) on the 4th:

 

@FPilierePG Hoffman in cruise control now. 94-95 in the 3rd, locating 81 mph CB and CH 87-88. Has it all working @harborhawks @ECUBaseball

 

@FPilierePG Jeff Hoffman's sequence to Wayne Taylor. 96 FB, 87 CH, 97 FB, 96 FB. Nasty @harborhawks pic.twitter.com/9LS376Q1O1

 

@FPilierePG Hoffman still sitting 94, touching 96 in the 5th. Spotting his CB at will now

 

‏@FPilierePG It was a pleasure to watch @hoff_23 work tonight. The title of best pitcher on the Cape is his to lose right now. Stuff was electric

 

Sean Newcomb (Hartford) today - was out for a few weeks with an undisclosed, minor injury:

 

@FPilierePG Looks like we might see Sean Newcomb tonight. Would be his first action since week one of the Cape season. Warming up in

 

@FPilierePG: Sean Newcomb up to 94 in first inning back. Looks like he's still building up. 88-93, but very easy

[weis21]

Should be really fun watching Hoffman next year. Just needs to say healthy...

[Guest]

Perfect Game[/url]"]Jeff Hoffman, RHP, East Carolina (Hyannis) - Scouts have been awaiting the arrival of the Jeff Hoffman show for a couple weeks, and the tall right-hander did not disappoint in his first time out. Even with all the pomp and circumstance in Hyannis for Independence Day, Hoffman’s 4th of July start still turned out to be the main attraction. The 6-foot-4 righty came out throwing smoke, living at 94-96 mph with his fastball, reaching 97 a few times as well. Hoffman never dipped below 93 mph in his six inning outing, and showed big darting action on that fastball. As advertised, Hoffman’s curveball was a knockout, plus offering with late 12-6 action at 79-82 mph. His third pitch, his changeup, may make the difference, however, in him being a first rounder and being a top five or ten overall selection. His changeup was superb in this outing, showing above average potential and good fading action at 85-88 mph. In other words, Hoffman has the potential for three better than average offerings. Right now, he has a clear stranglehold on the title of the league’s most exciting pitching prospect.

[davell]

Hoffman is generating a bit of 1-1 buzz from Piliere today, hitting 98 in the 5th or 6th.

[Guest]

Hoffman is generating a bit of 1-1 buzz from Piliere today, hitting 98 in the 5th or 6th.

 

Pilierie wasn't the only one talking up Hoffman yesterday. Kiley McDaniel, amongst others did too and said he'd have Hoffman on his next podcast.

 

Perfect Game rosters are out: http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=8817

 

The game is on August 11th at Petco Park.

[Redfoot]

I guess Touki backed out of his commitment to Miami because he's listed as uncommitted. Not that it matters that much but it would be good to have something as leverage. He'll probably commit to some Junior College in Florida.

[Guest]

Not to be outdone by Hoffman, Carlos Rodon was overpowering yesterday for Team USA against Cuba. He was still hitting 96 in the 7th, had his power slider and cutter working very well and struck out 14:

 

Baseball America[/url]"]Tuesday, they did it behind Rodon, who was in such command that N.C. State coach Elliott Avent, who was in attendance, said it was likely the best Rodon ever had thrown. The lefthander hit 96 mph on the stadium radar gun and sat at 93-95 mph with his fastball, commanding it more than usual. He also had excellent command of his power slider, which regularly hit 87, and his 89-90 mph cutter. Rodon added a changeup that Avent said was the best he’s ever thrown.

 

“I had David Price in 2006 (with Team USA), and David and Carlos have some similarities,” Schlossnagle said. “The bodies are different, but both guys were really fastball-slider guys. David had maybe a little bit better fastball command at a similar stage (of development), but he didn’t have that overhand power breaking ball like Carlos has. And tonight Carlos’ changeup was better than what David threw at that time. (Mississippi coach) Mike Bianco and Carlos have worked on that this summer and you saw tonight, Carlos really threw some nice changeups.”

[Guest]

Not to be outdone by Hoffman, Carlos Rodon was overpowering yesterday for Team USA against Cuba. He was still hitting 96 in the 7th, had his power slider and cutter working very well and struck out 14:

 

Baseball America[/url]"]Tuesday, they did it behind Rodon, who was in such command that N.C. State coach Elliott Avent, who was in attendance, said it was likely the best Rodon ever had thrown. The lefthander hit 96 mph on the stadium radar gun and sat at 93-95 mph with his fastball, commanding it more than usual. He also had excellent command of his power slider, which regularly hit 87, and his 89-90 mph cutter. Rodon added a changeup that Avent said was the best he’s ever thrown.

 

“I had David Price in 2006 (with Team USA), and David and Carlos have some similarities,” Schlossnagle said. “The bodies are different, but both guys were really fastball-slider guys. David had maybe a little bit better fastball command at a similar stage (of development), but he didn’t have that overhand power breaking ball like Carlos has. And tonight Carlos’ changeup was better than what David threw at that time. (Mississippi coach) Mike Bianco and Carlos have worked on that this summer and you saw tonight, Carlos really threw some nice changeups.”

 

MLB Network is currently re-airing this game.

[Guest]

Cape Cod League All-Star Game is on FOX College Sports today, 3:30 PM CT.

[Guest]

Matt Garrioch's extremely early 2014 MLB Draft rankings.

[imb]

Matt Garrioch's extremely early 2014 MLB Draft rankings.

 

how absurd that we're going to add one of these guys to our already stacked system.

[Guest]

Kiley McDaniel's top 30 high school prospects for 2014 (free):

 

I've covered my impressions of this class in the intros to some of the articles linked above, but the short version is that this year's high school class in improved over the 2013 crop. The prep pitching is significantly better and the hitter class is at least as good and probably a little better, making it an above average high school crop overall, though there's still over 10 months until the draft so a lot can happen. I'll be referencing the players' ages a good bit below and it may appear I'm making too much of it or mentioning it too often. Take a look at this ground-breaking two-part series at Baseball Prospectus by Rany Jazayerli breaking down why it matters so much. These players are ranked based on my evaluations and those of scouts with MLB organizations, projecting future ability by balancing upside and chance to hit that ceiling. The college compliment to this list will be coming on Monday.

 

1. Jacob Gatewood, SS, Clovis HS (CA)

2. Alex Jackson, C/RF, Rancho Bernardo HS (CA)

3. Tyler Kolek, RHP, Shepherd HS (TX)

4. Dylan Cease, RHP, Milton HS (GA)

5. Grant Holmes, RHP, Conway HS (SC)

6. Ti'quan Forbes, SS, Columbia HS (MS)

7. Michael Gettys, CF/RHP, Gainesville HS (GA)

8. Braxton Davidson, 1B/RF, T.C. Roberson HS (NC)

9. Jack Flaherty, 3B, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)

10. Touki Toussaint, RHP, Coral Springs Christian HS (FL)

11. Luis Ortiz, RHP, Sanger HS (CA)

12. Cobi Johnson, RHP, Mitchell HS (FL)

13. Nick Gordon, SS/RHP, Olympia HS (FL)

14. Mac Marshall, LHP, Parkview HS (GA)

15. Carl Chester, CF, Lake Brantley HS (FL)

16. Derek Hill, CF, Elk Grove HS (CA)

17. Jakson Reetz, C/RHP, Norris HS (NE)

18. Zach Shannon, RF/RHP, Anderson HS (OH)

19. Chase Vallot, C, St. Thomas More HS (LA)

20. Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Sandalwood HS (FL)

21. Sean Bouchard, 3B, Cathedral Catholic HS (CA)

22. Marcus Wilson, CF, Serra HS (CA)

23. Kodi Medeiros, LHP, Waiakea HS (HI)

24. Spencer Adams, RHP, White County HS (GA)

25. Justus Sheffield, LHP, Tullahoma HS (TN)

26. Greg Deichmann, SS, Brother Martin HS (LA)

27. Mitch Hart, RHP, Granite Bay HS (CA)

28. Trenton Kemp, CF, Buchanan HS (CA)

29. Brady Aiken, LHP, Cathedral Catholic HS (CA)

30. Ryan Castellani, RHP, Brophy Prep HS (AZ)

[Guest]

Kiley McDaniel's top 30 college prospects for 2014:

 

I've covered my impressions of this class in the intros to some of the articles linked above, but the short version is that this year's college class is very similar in overall quality to the 2013 crop with a chance to surpass it. The top end of the pitching crop has a chance to surpass last year, with Carlos Rodon and Jeff Hoffman matching up well with Mark Appel and Jonathan Gray and there's already some solid depth to the pitching crop that could develop later in the spring. The hitter crop has a number of solid prospects but no one that matches up to Kris Bryant yet. Bryant, Colin Moran and D.J. Peterson were all top 10 overall prospects for me with Turner, Fisher and Schwarber all having top 10 potential as well, so the classes look similar with almost a year for more names to emerge. These players are ranked based on my evaluations and those of scouts with MLB organizations, projecting future ability by balancing upside and chance to hit that ceiling. The high school compliment to this list is linked above.

 

1. Jeff Hoffman, RHP, East Carolina

2. Carlos Rodon, LHP, North Carolina State

3. Trea Turner, SS, North Carolina State

4. Derek Fisher, LF, Virginia

5. Brandon Finnegan, LHP, TCU

6. Kyle Schwarber, C/1B, Indiana

7. Chris Ellis, RHP, Ole Miss

8. Sean Newcomb, LHP, Hartford

9. Max Pentecost, C, Kennesaw State

10. Alex Blandino, 2B, Stanford

11. Tyler Beede, RHP, Vanderbilt

12. Luke Weaver, RHP, Florida State

13. Michael Cederoth, RHP, San Diego State

14. Kyle Freeland, LHP, Evansville

15. Michael Conforto, LF/1B, Oregon State

16. Taylor Sparks, 3B/RF, UC Irvine

17. Erick Fedde, RHP, UNLV

18. Dylan Davis, RF/RHP, Oregon State

19. Nick Burdi, RHP, Louisville

20. Brian Anderson, CF, Arkansas

21. Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU

22. Casey Gillaspie, 1B, Wichita State

23. Chad Sobotka, RHP, South Carolina Upstate

24. Brad Zimmer, RF, San Francisco

25. Matt Chapman, 3B/RHP, Cal State Fullerton

26. Austin Byler, RF, Nevada

27. Dillon Peters, LHP, Texas

28. Brandon Downes, CF, Virginia

29. Scott Squier, LHP, Hawaii

30. Karsten Whitson, RHP, Florida

 

The Cubs drafted Zimmer in the 23rd round back in 2011 and couldn't sign him; his older brother is Kyle Zimmer, the 2012 5th overall pick.

[JockJones]

I had no idea that Casey Gillespie was that highly thought of as a prospect. Probably because Wichita State's baseball program has been mediocre for the last 5 years or so, and I haven't really followed them that closely. Glad to see a Shocker getting some love though.

[JockJones]

I had no idea that Casey Gillespie was that highly thought of as a prospect. Probably because Wichita State's baseball program has been mediocre for the last 5 years or so, and I haven't really followed them that closely. Glad to see a Shocker getting some love though.

[Guest]

I had no idea that Casey Gillespie was that highly thought of as a prospect. Probably because Wichita State's baseball program has been mediocre for the last 5 years or so, and I haven't really followed them that closely. Glad to see a Shocker getting some love though.

 

From what I understand, he's had a good Cape.

[Guest]

Kiley on why he has Hoffman ahead of Rodon:

 

The separator between Hoffman and Rodon is size, athleticism and projectability as Hoffman has essentially the same stuff and is still just scratching the surface. Hoffman also has an ability to sequence pitches, hit his spots and keep his pitches down that shocked me for a guy that already has this much stuff. I wouldn't project him to be this, but the best case scenario here is Justin Verlander and it's still in play.

 

...

 

While he has the advantage of being left-handed and has solid command, he's physically maxed-out and has had enough medical issues in the past to make you pause, mostly on his back and muscles around his shoulder. Rodon likely won't get much better than this but I'm nit-picking as Rodon and Hoffman are the clear top two players in the draft right now by a good margin and are truly a coin-flip for me. Both have ace potential but Hoffman has the slightest of edges due more room to improve and less present concerns.

[imb]

ok how many games do we have to lose to get the no. 2 pick

[Redfoot]

5. Brandon Finnegan, LHP, TCU

Saw him play with the USA Collegiate Baseball Team. 5'11" lefty that was throwing 97 with a nasty breaking ball. 3B Matt Chapman and 1B Sam Travis (not listed for some reason) were also very impressive.

[Guest]

5. Brandon Finnegan, LHP, TCU

Saw him play with the USA Collegiate Baseball Team. 5'11" lefty that was throwing 97 with a nasty breaking ball. 3B Matt Chapman and 1B Sam Travis (not listed for some reason) were also very impressive.

 

Finnegan was also very impressive in the UCLA Super Regional two years ago.

[ScrubMD]

Do we have a fecal league tracking thread anywhere?

 

At the moment, looks like we could be anywhere from 4th to 14th. Currently 8th. Houston, Miami, and CWS seem like locks to end up worse, but we're within a game of the Padres, Phillies, Rockies, Angels, Blue Jays, and Mariners.

[Redfoot]

Area Code Games started yesterday:

 

RHP Tyler Kolek- 92-95. He's 6'5" 245 with a plus slider

 

RHP Touki Toussaint - 91-93 with a knee-buckling curveball

 

LHP Brady Aiken- 90-92. He dominated

 

LHP Alex Verdugo- 90-92. Showed plus breaking ball

[Guest]

Area Code Games started yesterday:

 

RHP Tyler Kolek- 92-95. He's 6'5" 245 with a plus slider

 

RHP Touki Toussaint - 91-93 with a knee-buckling curveball

 

LHP Brady Aiken- 90-92. He dominated

 

LHP Alex Verdugo- 90-92. Showed plus breaking ball

 

Mac Marshall was down in the upper 80s and supposedly was tired. Looked a lot better all spring.

 

Don't forget the Under Armour Game will be at Wrigley on Saturday, 8/24. Just a great HS crop.

 

Where did you get Aiken's velocity? I heard he was sitting 89 in his first inning of work but go no other reports on stuff, just his fantastic results. Of course it's not like he's getting to UCLA.

[Redfoot]

Someone tweeted it. Here's an article Nathan Rode wrote about him on PBR.

 

LONG BEACH, CA—A year ago, LHP Brady Aiken (Cathedral Catholic HS, CA) was a Division I recruit with a thick frame and modest arsenal. After an offseason of hard work, he’s moved to the front of the national stage and is arguably the top southpaw in the 2014 class thanks to improved stuff and a leaner frame. Aiken pitched on the summer circuit last year, participating in events like the Area Code Games and Under Armour All-America Game as an underclassman. He pitched in the mid 80s, touching a tick higher, and had a slow breaking ball that barely scraped 70 mph. Now, Aiken is pitching in the high 80s and can get into the low 90s while also featuring a sharp curveball in the mid 70s to go with a good changeup around 80-81.

 

Aiken dropped about 20 pounds since last summer and it’s evident on the mound as he weighs a much leaner 195-200 pounds than the 215 or more he says he weighed in 2012.

 

“I do Crossfit,” Aiken said of his conditioning. “I do that a lot, running. Last year at Under Armour I was over 215 (pounds) and now I'm down like to 195-200, right around in there. I've been working hard to keep that down and stay slim. That helps with everything I do. I have more flexibility. Just being smaller and more slim helps me out a lot.”

 

Aiken started for the Brewers (Southern California) against the Royals (Northwest) in the Wednesday nightcap of the 2013 Area Code Games. He pitched three innings and faced 10 batters. Just two reached, one of which was eliminated by a pickoff, and seven of his nine outs came via strikeouts. He used each of his pitches to record one, getting hitters to chase his offspeed stuff or simply watch it go by as they got locked up. He started the game off by hitting SS Trace Loehr (Rex Putnam HS, OR), but struck out the next two batters and then saw Loehr break for second so he made the move to first and started a 1-3-6 putout. Aiken got two more strikeouts in the second inning and would have had a stellar night to talk about if he was done, but he came back for one more inning. He struck out the first two batters before giving up the Royals’ first hit, a single on a pitch that OF Cooper Brunner was jammed on. Aiken quickly bounced back with his seventh and final strikeout.

 

The process of going through senior year classes and the baseball season is a whirlwind for prospects, but Aiken has had the benefit of experiencing it secondhand. He was teammates with LHP Stephen Gonsavles, a fourth-round pick of the Twins who signed for $700,000.

 

“I've learned a lot from him,” Aiken said. “He's a great guy. I basically got to do everything he did and got to learn from him. He taught me a lot and so I'm going to put all that to work this year and see what I can do.”