DRAFT 2008
Top 10 Rounds

Round 3 Supplemental (Picks 109-112)

HOUSTON (Compensation for Derek Dietrich, unsigned pick, 2007)
Rank Player Pos. YR B-T HT WT High School Hometown Commitment B’date
109 Ross Seaton RHP Sr. L-R 6-4 215 Second Baptist Sugar Land, Texas Tulane 9/18/1989
SCOUTING REPORT (3/1): Seaton has been one of the fastest-rising pitchers in the high school ranks this spring. His stock shot up with an early-season, five-inning perfect game in which he struck out 12, induced three ground balls back to the himself and was clocked at 96 mph. He is another in the long line of two-way prospects in the 2008 prep class and Tulane is looking forward to using him as both a righthanded pitcher and lefthanded-hitting outfielder—should he make it to school. Seaton’s best tools from a pro prospective are on the mound. He’s very loose and projectable, with a long, smooth arm action and very consistent stuff. His fastball sat at 88-89 mph last fall but he has been consistently in the 91-93 mph range this spring, and he complements the pitch with a nasty 79 mph slider that some scouts have called a curveball because of its depth. He also has a low-70s curveball and changeup that are quality pitches. Seaton is a polished pitcher in terms of his command and approach, and has added the strength and velocity to get scouts excited. He had 108 strikeouts in 73 innings as a junior to go with a 1.97 ERA and also hit seven home runs. He has big-time raw power, but swings and misses at a high rate. He can cover 60 yards in 6.75 seconds.—DAVID RAWNSLEY
UPDATE (5/15): Seaton maintained his low-90s stuff under close scouting scrutiny all spring, and seems poised to go in the first round as one of the first high school pitchers taken—a scenario that would have been hard to imagine at the start of the year. He posted incredible numbers this year, going 9-0, 0.91 with 112 K’s and only six walks in 61 innings. He also hit .390-7-30 as an outfielder.—DR
 
PHILADELPHIA (Compensation for Brandon Workman, unsigned pick, 2007)
Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT High School Hometown Commitment B’date
110 Jon Pettibone RHP Sr. L-R 6-5 195 Esperanza Yorba Linda, Calif. Southern California 7/19/1990
SCOUTING REPORT: Pettibone is a long, lanky righthander who projects well to add strength. He pitched in the upper-80s most of the spring and occasionally touched 90 mph. He has more of a finesse pitcher’s mentality right now, and tries to work the ball around the zone and change speeds rather than overpower high school hitters. He throws both a 2-seam and 4-seam fastball, curveball, split-finger and straight changeup, although none of them is true out-pitch at the moment. Pettibone can throw strikes. He walked only 17 hitters in 50 innings this spring, but also struck out 45, a low number for a high school pitcher with his stuff. He 5-3, 2.92 overall.—DAVID RAWNSLEY
 
SAN DIEGO (Compensation for Tommy Toledo, unsigned pick, 2007)
Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT College Hometown Prev. Drafted B’date
111 Sawyer Carroll OF Sr. L-R 6-4 209 Kentucky Tulsa, Okla. Nationals ’07 (18) 5/9/1986
SCOUTING REPORT (3/1): Carroll chose to turn down a reported six-figure bonus from the Washington Nationals in 2007 in favor of returning to Kentucky for his senior year. His decision may pay off handsomely as no hitter in the country enjoyed a faster start this spring. Through his first 18 games, all Kentucky wins, Carroll was hitting .532-7-32. He had already more than doubled his 2007 home run output. An impressive physical specimen at 6-foot-4 and 209 pounds, Carroll has a sound approach to hitting with good swing mechanics. But he showed below-average power production prior to his breakout senior year and scouts are concerned that may not change any time soon—with wood, at least. He hit .350 with only three home runs last season in his first year at the four-year college level, yet drove in 56 runs and had a team-high 23 doubles. His swing is geared more towards contact and a gap-to-gap, doubles-power approach. But he has gotten stronger since last year and has improved significantly on his modest home run total as a senior. Carroll has good overall athletic ability but is a below-average defender at any position. He was expected to be used primarily as a DH in 2008 after seeing extensive time at first base in 2007. He projects as a corner outfielder in pro ball.—ALLAN SIMPSON
UPDATE (5/15): Carroll continued to hit at a hot clip over the balance of the 2008 season and was batting .416-16-78 as Kentucky entered NCAA play. He led the Wildcats in batting, RBIs, slugging percentage (.756) and on-base average (.507). By adding 20 pounds to his 6-foot-4 frame, he was much stronger physically this season than a year ago, and the additional weight made a profound difference in his power production. Not only did he hit and hit with power at an accelerated clip, but Sawyer settled comfortably into a corner outfield position, handling the job well enough to convince scouts that he could be at least an everyday left fielder. He handled the move with such ease, in fact, that he could probably play any of the corner positions, both in the infield and outfield, in a pinch. With his added power and ability now to play a position in the field other than first base, Carroll will be one of the top senior signs in the draft—possibly in the first 100 picks, but more realistically in the next 100.—AS
 
LOS ANGELES-AL (Compensation for Matt Harvey, unsigned pick, 2007)
Rank Player Pos. Class B-T HT WT High School Hometown Commitment B’date
112 Zach Cone OF Sr. R-R 6-2 200 Parkview Stone Mountain, Ga. Georgia 12/14/1989
SCOUTING REPORT: Cone was a virtual unknown to all but area scouts coming into this spring as his Parkview High team plays together during the summer and Cone didn’t play in any major team events or showcases despite living in suburban Atlanta. Parkview is the same school that produced Atlanta Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur, and there are plenty of athletic similarities between the two. Cone is a plus-power/plus-speed type of athlete with excellent bat speed and a high ceiling offensively. On the season, he hit .419-6-23 with 16 stolen bases. He throws in the upper-80s off the mound so his arm strength is a potential plus tool as a center fielder as well. The athletic genes are there as well, as Cone’s father Ronnie was a running back at Georgia Tech and for the New York Jets, and his brother Kevin is a wide receiver at Shorter College. There has been no faster riser on the draft charts during the second half of the spring than Cone and it wasn’t uncommon to see 40-plus scouts at some of his games. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Cone move all the way up to the second round by draft day.--DAVID RAWNSLEY