NORTH CAROLINA

2007 FOLLOW LIST  

OVERVIEW:North Carolina has two first-rounders this year—two physically-imposing power arms who have just scratched the surface of their ability, but one day could be among the hardest throwers in the 2007 draft class. Six-foot-11 righthander Andrew Brackman has already touched 99 mph—and is the one college arm most likely to reach 100, or better. Six-foot-5, 220-pound lefthander Madison Bumgarner has 96 on his resume—and scouts say he has the capability of adding another 2-3 mph in the future, which would make him one of the hardest throwers in this year’s high school class.

Those two power arms provide the quality in this year’s North Carolina draft class. But quantity is also in evidence this year, both at the college and high school levels. There is good depth in both demographics, particularly in college relievers, which parallels one of the national trends. As many as seven college relievers/closers could be picked in the top 10 rounds—High Point’s Tom Boleska, North Carolina’s Andrew Carignan, Western Carolina’s Greg Holland, East Carolina’s Shane Mathews, North Carolina State’s Eryk McConnell, and Wake Forest’s Eric Niesen and Josh Ellis. All will not be closers at the next level, but it won’t be for a lack of arm strength as each of the seven has reached, or approached the mid-90s.

There is good depth in the high school class, too—at least in the western half of the state. Traditionally, North Carolina’s top prep drafts have come from the eastern part of the state, but almost every elite prospect this year is in the west—notably from in and around the Asheville and Hickory communities.

STRENGTH: Depth of college closers/relievers.
WEAKNESS: Power bats.
OVERALL RATING (1-to-5 scale): 4.

Best Out-of-State Prospect, North Carolina Connection: Matt Mangini, 3b, Oklahoma State U. (Attended high school in Holly Springs ).
Top 2008 Prospect: Allan Dykstra, 1b, Wake Forest U.

Highest Pick, Draft History: B.J. Surhoff, c, U. of North Carolina (1985, Brewers/1^st round, 1^st pick); Brien Taylor, lhp, East Carteret HS, Beaufort (1991, Yankees/1^st round, 1^st pick); Josh Hamilton, of, Athens Drive HS, Raleigh (1999, Devil Rays/1^st round, 1^st pick).
Highest Pick, 2006 Draft: Andrew Miller, lhp, U. of North Carolina (Tigers/1^st round, 6^th pick).

Best College Team: North Carolina .
Best Junior College Team: Louisburg JC.
Best High School Team: East Rutherford HS, Forrest City .

TOP 40 PROSPECTS / By Allan Simpson

GROUPS (College, Junior College, High School)
      1   High-round draft (Rounds 1-3)
      2   Mid-round draft (Rounds 4-10)
      3   Late-round draft (Rounds 11-25)
      4   Chance draft / Player to follow

*Draft-and-follow; eligible to sign before 2007 draft

GROUP ONE
Rank  Player                                  Pos.       Yr     B-T      HT     WT     School                              Hometown                 Drafted/(Commit)       B’date
     1.   Andrew Brackman            RHP      Jr.     R-R   6-11     245     North Carolina State U.  Cincinnati, Ohio          Never drafted            12-4-85
SCOUTING REPORT: The 7-foot Brackman had always divided his loyalties between baseball and basketball, but decided to devote himself solely to baseball this season—given his pending selection as a high first-round pick. Predictably, he had his ups and downs. He ranged from brilliant at times to merely ordinary. He made his best start of the year in February at Coastal Carolina before 50-some scouts, when his fastball was 98 mph early and still 94 in the seventh. He had command of all his pitches with nothing above the knees—unless by design. But scouts saw only flashes of his best stuff and pinpoint command the rest of the way as he went 6-4, 3.81 with 74 strikeouts in 78 innings. He walked 37, hit 10 batters and served up 12 wild pitches—all team highs by wide margins. Brackman’s velocity peaked at 99 mph. He has tremendous upside and may throw consistently in triple-digits one day, but he still has a long way to go to become a complete pitcher. He doesn’t throw strikes or repeat his delivery consistently, but he is very athletic—even for his size—and the ball comes easily out of his hand on a ridiculous downhill plane. Brackman still must simplify his repertoire as he has five pitches, including three breaking balls—a cutter, spike curve and conventional curve. His changeup was 82-84 mph, but there were stretches when he abandoned it. Of more importance, he must throw his breaking stuff for strikes consistently in order for hitters to offer at it. The team that drafts Brackman, likely in the first 10 picks, will realize he’s a work in progress and will need to preach patience as it will take time for it all to come together.