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PERFECT GAME CROSSCHECKER'S TOP TEN LIST |
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WEEK 37: 9/29/08 - 10/5/08 |
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2010 DRAFT: SNEAK PREVIEW |
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Friday October 5, 2008 |
Scouts have known for some time that the 2010 draft class is shaping up to be special,
with talent deep across the board on both the college and high school levels.
We are debuting a Top 100 list for the 2010 draft class for PG Crosschecker (Insider-level)
subscribers over the next couple of days, and have provided a sneak peak of the
top 10 prospects below. We’ll also be unveiling a lot more coverage on the 2010
class in the coming weeks.
It should surprise few that North Carolina sophomore righthander Matt Harvey is
the early leader to be the top pick in 2010. As a prep standout in Connecticut,
Harvey was on the short list to be a top 10 pick in 2007, but the combination of
a late winter in the Northeast that contributed to Harvey’s slow start and his own
strong commitment to North Carolina pushed Harvey out of that position. The Angels
took a flier on him in the third round, but were unable to convince him to start
his pro career out of high school.
The Tar Heels treated their prized recruit with kid gloves last spring, limiting
his pitch counts early and keeping his innings in check. In 67 innings, Harvey went
7-2, 2.79 with 80 strikeouts while showing a mid-90s fastball and a polished ability
to mix in a plus curveball and changeup. A solid showing during the summer in the
Cape Cod League only validated Harvey’s elite status.
The 2010 pitching class still has all of 20 months to mature and a lot will happen
between now and then, but many of the top arms are already displaying plus raw stuff
to go with very projectable arms and bodies. The high school class is particularly
deep in quality arms.
Though Harvey currently occupies the top spot, could 2010 become the first time
in draft history that a high school righthander is selected with the first overall
pick? Maybe, but it is difficult at this point to pinpoint exactly which pitcher
is the most likely candidate to ascend to that position. Cam Bedrosian, son of former
big league reliever Steve Bedrosian, has the best present stuff of any current high
school junior, but 6-foot-5 righthanders A.J. Cole and Rudy Acosta may have more
upside as they are both long and loose, and are already throwing in the low 90s.
North Carolina high school shortstop Connor Narron, son of former Reds manager and
current Rangers special consultant Jerry Narron, is the top high school position
prospect in the 2010 class, although there are an impressive group of multi-tooled
outfielders, headed by Alabama’s Reggie Golden, Texas’ Brian Ragira and Georgia’s
Trey Griffin.
One of the biggest shortcomings in the 2007 draft (when most of the elite college
talent in the 2010 class was last eligible for the draft) was the lack of college
hitters, with only four such selections in the first 30 picks. One school may solve
that problem almost by itself in 2010. Auburn secured three of the top unsigned
high school position players in the 2007 draft and has a wealth of powerful riches
at first base in sophomores Hunter Morris and Kevin Patterson, both projected to
be early- to mid- first-round picks. Outfielder Brian Fletcher gives the Tigers
a third potential 2010 draft standout..
Arkansas also has a trio of hitters with high-round aspirations in 2010 with the
presence of third baseman Zack Cox, outfielder Brett Eibner and first baseman Andy
Wilkins. Cox, one of the top high school bats in this year’s draft, will be a draft-eligible
sophomore in 2010.
In addition to Auburn and Arkansas, several other colleges have positioned themselves
to make an impact at the top of the 2010 draft list. San Diego has three potential
first-round selections in lefthander Sammy Solis, righthander Kyle Blair and third
baseman Victor Sanchez. Texas does, too, with righthanders Cole Green and Brandon
Workman, and outfielder Kevin Keyes. Georgia Tech has a pair of potential first-rounders
in shortstop Derek Dietrich and righthander Deck McGuire.
Notre Dame has made an early claim on having perhaps the best weekend rotation in
the country in 2010 with righthanders Evan Danieli, Brian Dupra and Evan Sharpley,
all projected early-round selections. But it’s possible that no college pitching
staff may impact the early rounds of the 2010 draft quite like Oregon State’s as
the Beavers have the potential to have as many as six pitchers drafted in the top
3-5 rounds.
Here’s how we line up the first 10 picks in the 2010 draft:
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Rank |
Player |
Pos. |
B-T |
Ht. |
Wt. |
School |
Hometown |
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1. |
Matt Harvey |
RHP |
R-R |
6-4 |
200 |
North Carolina |
Mistic, Conn. |
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2. |
A.J. Cole |
RHP |
R-R |
6-5 |
190 |
Oviedo HS |
Winter Springs, Fla. |
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3. |
Rudy Acosta |
RHP |
R-R |
6-5 |
180 |
Mount Miguel HS |
San Diego |
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4. |
Connor Narron |
SS |
B-R |
6-3 |
175 |
Charles B. Aycock HS |
Goldsboro, N.C. |
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5. |
Brandon Workman |
RHP |
R-R |
6-5 |
225 |
Texas |
Bowie, Texas |
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6. |
Cameron Bedrosian |
RHP |
R-R |
6-0 |
195 |
East Coweta HS |
Senoia, Ga. |
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7. |
Drew Pomeranz |
LHP |
L-L |
6-5 |
220 |
Mississippi |
Collierville, Tenn. |
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8. |
Reggie Golden |
OF |
R-R |
5-11 |
195 |
Wetumpka HS |
Wetumpka, Ala. |
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9. |
Sammy Solis |
LHP |
R-L |
6-5 |
210 |
San Diego |
Litchfield Park, Ariz. |
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10. |
Derek Dietrich |
SS/3B |
L-R |
6-1 |
195 |
Georgia Tech |
Parma, Ohio |
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--DAVID RAWNSLEY/ALLAN SIMPSON |
Top Ten List Archives |
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NATS WIN STRASBURG SWEEPSTAKES |
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Friday September 29, 2008 |
By losing nine of their last 10 games, the Washington Nationals won a spirited battle
for the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft—effectively the Stephen Strasburg Sweepstakes.
The Nationals finished the 2008 season with a 59-102 record, the worst record in
the big leagues. They edged out the Seattle Mariners, who scored a rare weekend
sweep of the Oakland A’s, to post a 61-101 mark. Five wins in their final nine games
also took the San Diego Padres (63-99) out of the running—a bittersweet development
for the Padres as Strasburg is a San Diego State product.
The No. 1 overall pick in the draft goes to the team with the poorest overall record
the previous season, and Strasburg is a heavy favorite to be the top selection next
June. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound righthander went 8-3, 1.57 with 133 strikeouts and
only 16 walks in 97 innings as a sophomore at San Diego State, starred this summer
for Team USA’s undefeated college national team and capped his summer season by
being the only college player selected to play for the U.S. in the Olympics.
Washington will have the No. 1 pick in the draft for the first-time in its brief
history, although the old Washington Senators picked first overall in 1969 (Jeff
Burroughs). Between them, the Mariners (4) and Padres (5) have had the top pick
nine times. The Pittsburgh Pirates were never really in the running for the top
pick in 2009, but they will pick fourth overall for the third time in the last four
years—the exception being this year when the Pirates picked second.
The conclusion of the 2008 major league season on Sunday essentially set the order
of rotation for the 2009 draft—at least through the first eight picks. The ninth
through 11th picks remain unresolved, pending Monday’s American League Central makeup
game between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. The Tigers (74-87, .460)
entered the day with the 10th poorest record, but will end up securing the ninth
pick with a loss and the 11th pick with a win.
The Tigers would tie Colorado for ninth at 74-88 with a loss, in which case the
Tigers would earn the tie-breaker and pick ninth as they had the earlier selection
between the two teams in this year’s draft. A win would tie the Tigers for 10th
with Kansas City at 75-87, but the nod for that selection would go to the Royals.
Although we are not attempting to match teams with potential draft picks, the accompanying
Top 10 list identifies the teams that have the top selections in the 2009 draft
(subject to a reshuffling of the order from picks 9-11), along with the top 10 prospects
in the 2009 class that we identified several weeks ago.
Over the next several days, PG Crosschecker will focus much of its coverage on the
2009 and 2010 draft classes. We’re in the midst of providing comprehensive state-by-state
2009 follow lists that not only rank the top prospects in every state but include
verbal college commitments for most of the top high school prospects (available
to Premium-level subscribers). We’ll also take our first look at the top 100 prospects
in the Draft Class of 2010 (available to Insider-level subscribers).
The 2009 draft’s order of rotation, and the top 10 prospects as we see them:
|
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Rank |
Team |
W-L Pct. |
Prospect |
Pos. |
School/Team |
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1. |
Washington |
.366 |
Stephen Strasburg |
RHP |
San Diego State |
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2. |
Seattle |
.377 |
Kyle Gibson |
RHP |
Missouri |
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3. |
San Diego |
.389 |
Alex White |
RHP |
North Carolina |
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4. |
Pittsburgh |
.414 |
Matthew Purke |
LHP |
Klein HS, Spring, Texas |
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5. |
Baltimore |
.422 |
Grant Green |
SS |
Southern California |
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6. |
San Francisco |
.444 |
Andrew Oliver |
LHP |
Oklahoma State |
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7. |
Atlanta |
.444 |
Donavan Tate |
OF |
Cartersville (Ga.) HS |
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8. |
Cincinnati |
.457 |
Dustin Ackley |
OF |
North Carolina |
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9. |
Colorado* |
.457 |
Aaron Crow |
RHP |
#Fort Worth Cats |
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10. |
Detroit* |
.460 |
Kentrail Davis |
OF |
Tennessee |
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11. |
Kansas City* |
.457 |
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--ALLAN SIMPSON |
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NATS WIN STRASBURG SWEEPSTAKES |
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Monday September 29, 2008 |
By losing nine of their last 10 games, the Washington Nationals won a spirited battle
for the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft—effectively the Stephen Strasburg Sweepstakes.
The Nationals finished the 2008 season with a 59-102 record, the worst record in
the big leagues. They edged out the Seattle Mariners, who scored a rare weekend
sweep of the Oakland A’s, to post a 61-101 mark. Five wins in their final nine games
also took the San Diego Padres (63-99) out of the running—a bittersweet development
for the Padres as Strasburg is a San Diego State product.
The No. 1 overall pick in the draft goes to the team with the poorest overall record
the previous season, and Strasburg is a heavy favorite to be the top selection next
June. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound righthander went 8-3, 1.57 with 133 strikeouts and
only 16 walks in 97 innings as a sophomore at San Diego State, starred this summer
for Team USA’s undefeated college national team and capped his summer season by
being the only college player selected to play for the U.S. in the Olympics.
Washington will have the No. 1 pick in the draft for the first-time in its brief
history, although the old Washington Senators picked first overall in 1969 (Jeff
Burroughs). Between them, the Mariners (4) and Padres (5) have had the top pick
nine times. The Pittsburgh Pirates were never really in the running for the top
pick in 2009, but they will pick fourth overall for the third time in the last four
years—the exception being this year when the Pirates picked second.
The conclusion of the 2008 major league season on Sunday essentially set the order
of rotation for the 2009 draft—at least through the first eight picks. The ninth
through 11th picks remain unresolved, pending Monday’s American League Central makeup
game between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. The Tigers (74-87, .460)
entered the day with the 10th poorest record, but will end up securing the ninth
pick with a loss and the 11th pick with a win.
The Tigers would tie Colorado for ninth at 74-88 with a loss, in which case the
Tigers would earn the tie-breaker and pick ninth as they had the earlier selection
between the two teams in this year’s draft. A win would tie the Tigers for 10th
with Kansas City at 75-87, but the nod for that selection would go to the Royals.
Although we are not attempting to match teams with potential draft picks, the accompanying
Top 10 list identifies the teams that have the top selections in the 2009 draft
(subject to a reshuffling of the order from picks 9-11), along with the top 10 prospects
in the 2009 class that we identified several weeks ago.
Over the next several days, PG Crosschecker will focus much of its coverage on the
2009 and 2010 draft classes. We’re in the midst of providing comprehensive state-by-state
2009 follow lists that not only rank the top prospects in every state but include
verbal college commitments for most of the top high school prospects (available
to Premium-level subscribers). We’ll also take our first look at the top 100 prospects
in the Draft Class of 2010 (available to Insider-level subscribers).
The 2009 draft’s order of rotation, and the top 10 prospects as we see them:
|
|
Rank |
Team |
W-L Pct. |
Prospect |
Pos. |
School/Team |
|
1. |
Washington |
.366 |
Stephen Strasburg |
RHP |
San Diego State |
|
2. |
Seattle |
.377 |
Kyle Gibson |
RHP |
Missouri |
|
3. |
San Diego |
.389 |
Alex White |
RHP |
North Carolina |
|
4. |
Pittsburgh |
.414 |
Matthew Purke |
LHP |
Klein HS, Spring, Texas |
|
5. |
Baltimore |
.422 |
Grant Green |
SS |
Southern California |
|
6. |
San Francisco |
.444 |
Andrew Oliver |
LHP |
Oklahoma State |
|
7. |
Atlanta |
.444 |
Donavan Tate |
OF |
Cartersville (Ga.) HS |
|
8. |
Cincinnati |
.457 |
Dustin Ackley |
OF |
North Carolina |
|
9. |
Colorado* |
.457 |
Aaron Crow |
RHP |
#Fort Worth Cats |
|
10. |
Detroit* |
.460 |
Kentrail Davis |
OF |
Tennessee |
|
11. |
Kansas City* |
.457 |
*Final order to be determined by outcome of Monday’s makeup game between Detroit
and Chicago White Sox
#Member of independent American Association
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--ALLAN SIMPSON |
Top Ten List Archives |
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