The door has not been completely closed on the
2008 draft because of the grievance procedure between Major League Baseball and
the Players Association that centers on Pittsburgh draft pick Pedro Alvarez
(the second overall pick this year) and Seattle’s inability to come to terms
with Josh Fields, its first-round pick. But it’s time to turn our focus to
2009—and even 2010.
We’ve unveiled our list of the
Top 250 Prospects
in the 2009 draft class elsewhere on the PG Crosschecker site (available to
Insider-level subscribers), and we’ll take an early look at the Top 100
Prospects in the 2010 class next week. We’re also in the process of assembling
comprehensive state-by-state follow lists for both classes that will be posted
intermittently over the next 3-4 weeks.
As the accompanying Top 10 list for next year’s draft shows, pitching is
expected to be the overriding theme at all levels of the game. Led by San Diego
State righthander Stephen Strasburg, the unanimous choice to go No. 1 overall,
the top three prospects at the college level are pitchers. The top prospect in
the junior college ranks—Okaloosa-Walton (Fla.) righthander Daniel Webb, No. 45
overall—is a pitcher, and so is the best prospect at the high school level,
Spring, Texas, lefthander Matthew Purke.
The independent ranks will also yield two premium arms in 2009 with the
inability of Washington to sign Aaron Crow (the ninth pick overall this year)
and Pittsburgh to sign Tanner Scheppers (its second-round pick). Both those
players elected to forego returning to college for their senior seasons. Fields
could also return to next year’s draft pool if the Mariners are unable to sign
him. As a college senior, he was not subject to the Aug. 15 signing deadline
for this year’s draft picks.
It’s entirely possible that Alvarez could be returned to the 2009 draft pool if
the arbitrator who is overseeing the grievance procedure rules that the former
Vanderbilt third baseman was not signed by the Aug. 15 deadline and Pittsburgh,
as a result, forfeits its rights to the player. That grievance is not expected
to be resolved for months.
For the purpose of this exercise, we’ll exclude Fields and Alvarez. Here’s how
we see the top 10 prospects for the 2009 draft that we know will be available:
|
| |
PLAYER |
POS. |
CLASS |
B-T |
HT |
WT |
SCHOOL |
HOMETOWN |
| 1. |
Stephen Strasburg |
RHP |
Jr. |
R-R |
6-5 |
225 |
San Diego State U. |
San Diego |
| 2. |
Kyle Gibson |
RHP |
Jr. |
R-R |
6-6 |
195 |
U. of Missouri |
Greenfield, Ind. |
| 3. |
Alex White |
RHP |
Jr. |
R-R |
6-3 |
182 |
U. of North Carolina |
Greenville, N.C. |
| 4. |
Matthew Purke |
LHP |
Sr. |
L-L |
6-3 |
180 |
Klein HS |
Spring, Texas |
| 5. |
Grant Green |
SS |
Jr. |
R-R |
6-3 |
180 |
U. of Southern California |
Anaheim Hills, Calif. |
| 6. |
Andrew Oliver |
LHP |
Jr. |
L-L |
6-4 |
205 |
Oklahoma State U. |
Vermillion, Ohio |
| 7. |
Donavan Tate |
OF |
Sr. |
R-R |
6-3 |
200 |
Cartersville HS |
Cartersville, Ga. |
| 8. |
Dustin Ackley |
1B/OF |
Jr. |
L-R |
6-1 |
178 |
U. of North Carolina |
Walnut Cove, N.C. |
| 9. |
Aaron Crow |
RHP |
Sr. |
R-R |
6-1 |
195 |
*Fort Worth |
Wakarusa, Kan. |
| 10. |
Kentrail Davis |
OF |
So. |
L-R |
5-9 |
195 |
U. of Tennessee |
Theodore, Ala. |
*Member of independent American Association
|
| --ALLAN SIMPSON |
|
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