A few news and notes around the Internet concerning some of the draft prospects I thought were worth mulling over a little bit.
Baseball America is saying Tanner Scheppers has had some inflammation in his pitching shoulder. His coach has ridden him pretty hard, so hopefully it’s not a prelude to something more serious. Scheppers could be selected in the 6-12 range, I wonder if this news could slide him down a little. He’ll be pitching this week, I’m interested to see how he fares. UPDATE. Turns out he has a stress fracture in his shoulder. That’s not good, and will certainly shake things up a bit.
Keith Law says Melville’s stock is back up, as he’s been warming up with the weather. On the other hand, Kyle Skipworth’s stock sliding a little bit, as there are some concerns now about whether or not he can stick at catcher. Also in Keith Law’s top 30 is FR’s own favorite cheeseball and hometown hero Jake Odorizzi.
Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com takes a stab the first ten picks, and has all sorts of juicy nuggets of info along the way.
-The White Sox really like Arizona State 3B Brett Wallace.
-The Reds could take SS/RHP Casey Kelly in the first round. Kelly’s a top 30 prospect, but not a top 10 guy in most people’s minds. But, his dad is Reds bench coach Pat Kelly, and we know from drafts were Jocketty was the GM that his clubs can reach a bit to show some favor (read: nepotism) to his coaches and scouts.
-Despite concerns about his defense, the Marlins have been all over Kyle Skipworth.
If the buzz proves to be true, it could drop an interesting player down to the Cardinals than what we previously projected.
With the latest rumors de jour in mind, here’s my latest shot at mock draft mockery.
1. Tampa Bay-Buster Posey
2. Pittsburgh-Pedro Alvarez
3. Kansas City-Tim Beckham
4. Baltimore-Brian Matusz
5. San Fransisco-Justin Smoak
6. Florida-Kyle Skipworth
7. Cincinnati-Casey Kelly
8. Chicago-Brett Wallace
9. Washington-Aaron Crow (high price tag and injuries concerns, Nats will jump to get Crow)
10. Houston-Gordon Beckham
11. Texas-Eric Hosmer (will they open the wallet that much?)
12. Oakland-Tanner Scheppers
That leaves a few interesting choices at 13.
Can Yonder Alonso play another position? If the answer is yes, then the Cards have to seriously consider him. Are they willing to gamble on a high school pitcher? If so then Tim Melville could be the man. Shooter Hunt and Christian Friedrich seem like the obvious choices given past draft history. After hearing several glowing reviews of Jake Odorizzi and seeing a few videos of him on the web, I’ve been sold. Would the Cards reach down a little bit and grab him? Because he’s not likely to be there at 39.
So who could be at #39? Some names I could see the Cardinals calling is Josh Lindblom of Purdue, a right-hander who is widely considered as having one of the best sinkers in the draft. Adrian Nieto is a powerful switch-hitting high school catcher and teammate of Eric Hosmer.
Wade Miley of SE Louisiana and Tim Murphy of UCLA could be there if the Cardinals don’t get Friedrich but still really would like a polished, college lefty.
Niko Vasquez hales from the same HS as Tommy Pham, also a SS. He’s a projectable player with a strong arm, good defense and is said to have an Albert Pujols type of hitting style.
James Darnell plays opposite of Justin Smoak for South Carolina, who doesn’t portend to hit for a high average at the next level but has very good power.
We know one thing is certain and that is the Cardinals will have their own rankings that will differ from a lot of lists we’ll see. After seeing some of the early returns on the 2007 draft, I’m willing to not be quick to call “reach” and give them the benefit of the doubt.
Filed under: 2008 MLB draft
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
Yeah, I definitely will not be calling anyone a reach. I think Luhnow has done a solid job and desrves a lot of credit.
Keith Law on Tim Melville lastest outing.
I was there. Results were great - 13 K in 5 IP and a mercy-rule win. Stuff wasn’t quite what I expected: 88-93, mostly 89-91, with a good-not-great curveball. Whoever the pitching coach is who screwed up his delivery cost the kid some money.
The Cards are known to go by their own unique rankings and they love players who were great in the summer all-star campaigns..so there is still a shot.
But I think like fewgood has said….Melville is look more like a guy who will fall past the Cards.
The Scott Boras factor will be in play as well. Usually there’s one uber prospect that slides because of this. . .Pedro Alvarez? Eric Hosmer? Speaking of Hosmer, supposedly he has a cannon, but scouts are divided as to whether he can play the OF as well. Is it crazy to think the Cards will jump at the chance to add the best stick in the draft and go above slot? Draft history suggests it will be a college pitcher. *sigh*
erik, have you heard about the Tennessee football scholarship that C. Kelly has waiting for him? What are the chances that he takes it instead of baseball?
Kelly is probably in the Cubs, RedSox and Yanks tier of teams, that will probably buy out the footbal scholly and get a talented guy into their system.
That has to be a tough choice for the kid……someone is going to have to pay a bunch.
I suggested 2M was the magic number for Kelly….but that is purely a guess..havent read it anywhere.
It is questionable whether or not 3B Conor Gillaspie will still be around for St. Louis at 39, but if he is I’d love to see the Cardinals grab him. As for #13, personally I do hope the Cardinals take another College pitcher ala Clayton Mortensen. “There’s no such thing as a pitching prospect” and thusly you can never have too much pitching. Personally, I’d love to see Friedrich at 13, and Conor G. at 39.
Rumors are Gillaspie will be a near lock for the 1st round..with the Brewers really liking him in the top 20.
Rumors are just rumors though….
As for Hosmer…I think that would shock everyone if the Cards picked him. He will be a tough sign, over slot, is rep’d by Boras and his MLB position is likely 1B…that pretty much is everything the Cards dont want.
I do think if they did take Hosmer it would shut up people like me for good…b/c that would be about taking the best talent…with money being a non-factor in the choice.
Sadly money is one of the final grades in rating who to draft….just reality.
The reporting on Melville this year has been some of the most shoddy journalism I have ever seen. I have seen him three times this year and have come away unimpressed each time. Any scout who has seen him a few times this year cannot tell me they think the kid is anywhere near where his hype put him prior to the season.
Last 2 scouted and reported games on Melville have him going 12IP with 27 K’s
RHP, Tim Melville, Holt HS, 6′5 215, 7 innings on 4/29 with little effort and 14 punchouts, consistently 90-92, some 94’s and nothing less than 90 on his fb all day. Signable!!!!!!!!!
That is from a former scout who posts on pefectgame.org and has a pretty crediable track record.
I have seen his fastball all the way down to 87 and consistently around 89 this year. The kid has had his best starts performance wise lately, but look at his overall numbers .
Does a 2.71 ERA against the competition he plays scream top prep arm in the country? 17 walks and 7 HBP in 51.2 IP?
Very few swings and misses on the fastball…change used rarely and a distant third pitch? I know he is a local kid and everyone seems to love him…have you seen him in person?
Nope I had a lower HS ERA then that…and I am a ‘5′11 RHP with a mid 80’s blazin fastball:)
I know what I saw last year when he was at the Aflac game…but I also understand that people have said he doesnt look like that now.
Why that is…I dont know…..maybe the Cards draft him based on his 2007 performance and his projection..not sue.
I guess the good news is..if he looked as good as he did in 2007 now…the Cards wouldnt have a shot at taking at him #13.
Now they will at least have the option of taking him.
I agree with you there. I’d be shocked if he was off the board at 13. He just hasn’t been the same pitcher in 2008 that he was in 2007. I actually think his curve when it is on is his best pitch.
His fastball has been very straight and even some high school kids around here have been hitting that high 80s fastball.
People talk about around him hitting 94. I think he has had very few 94s this year if the truth be told. I had a gun on him every pitch of the three starts I saw. Someone will bank on his projection and take him, but all that top five overall stuff was nothing but hype.
Chris Perez did not come in for a save tonight. He has only pitched 1 inning since the 8th. so hes hurt or he is about to come up.
I think they’re going to send Parisi down and bring up Perez to take his place.
Mark McCormick has also been called up to Springfield.
Rumor is that Rauschenberger is retiring, but I haven’t seen it confirmed anywhere.
parisi isn’t going down. i hear he may be getting a start. if perez is coming up, izzy is going on the DL.
My next guess was that Izzy would go on the DL. I heard that Parisi wasn’t available today and they were hinting at him starting, but I assumed it was for Memphis.
no. they wouldn’t keep a guy from pitching in a big league game so that he could start in AAA. if he starts it would be for kyle lohse.
Parisi may start for Lohse (sore shoulder) so they are holding him out of games just in case, got this from a story on stlcardinals.com
How far do you think Scheppers will fall, now that he will be out roughly 6 weeks?
Tyson Ross would be a good fit for the Cards.
I see G Beckham is sliding…very nice.
I hope the Cards look at Ethan Martin at 13. He’s a HS pitcher who can touch 96. Bryan Smith likes him…I like him. Hell, when this is all over I think him and me ought to get an apartment together.
I Like Ike (Davis) at #39.
Grant, it isn’t just that Scheppers will be out for 6 weeks, it’s WHY he will be out. Stress fractures in the throwing shoulder are a Bad Thing for pitchers. That’ll knock him down in a way that a broken (non-throwing) fibula wouldn’t, despite similar recovery times.
As an ASU Alum and a current resident of the East Valley I have seen both Brett Wallace and Ike Davis play. They have the potential to be absolute monsters and carry on the rich ASU tradition of major leaguers. If Wallace can stay at 3rd I think the Cardinals should think about selecting. Wallace is incredibly strong and can hit the cover off the ball. Also, he has very very impressive arm strength.
Melville had an eye injury this year, maybe that is why he is down.
A pitcher I have been watching, Erik Davis from Stanford, is never mentioned.
Anyone know how he stands in the draft?