348 replies to this topic

[Cuzittt]

The Draft begins today at 2:00plm Eastern, and the first four hours will be televised by ESPN2. First 5 (or so) rounds will happen today, with the rest happening tomorrow.

A Draft signing thread will be put up on Saturday Morning.

Some Articles:

Greenville News

Jason Place's emotions ran the gamut on draft day a year ago.

Considered one of the top high school baseball players in the country, the former Wren High School player was confident he would be selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft.

But you never know.

Place, now the center fielder for the Greenville Drive, the Class A South Atlantic League affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, was in Albuquerque, N.M., to play in a high school All-American game when the draft took place. He found it hard to relax on the eve of the draft.

"I wouldn't say I got much sleep," Place said, smiling. "I had a roommate I had known for a long time who was a pitcher. We pretty much stayed up the whole night talking because we couldn't sleep. We were pretty antsy."

Portland Press Herald

Boston did get compensation picks when it lost Type B free agents Alex Gonzalez and Keith Foulke. Those picks are sandwiched between the first and second round. The Red Sox will have the 55th and 62nd overall picks. Their second-round pick is the 85th overall.

"You never know who is going to fall," said Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein. "You prepare for the unexpected."

Epstein has good reason to be optimistic. Look at some of their home-grown talent:

• Kevin Youkilis, eighth round, 2001.

• Jon Lester, second round, 2002.

• Jonathan Papelbon, fourth round, 2003.

• Dustin Pedroia, second round, 2004.

"We think we can make an impact," Epstein said.

Expect the Red Sox to go after kids.

"The strength of this year's draft is high school," said Jason McLeod, Boston's director of amateur scouting. "The top of the college pitching is OK. At the positions, it's one of the weakest (years for college players)."

[Razor Shines]

My buddy at NoMass thinks the Yanks have a decent shot at netting Rick Porcello at #30, due to his Borasity.

Baseball Prospectus has the Sox getting 6-11 Andrew Brackman (basically the Dan Bard of this year's draft).

[Cuzittt]

More articles:

Boston Globe

The plan, at least, is that by the time the game between the Red Sox and A's starts this afternoon, Beau Mills will know his fate.

If that's the case, and just about everyone in the Red Sox dugout hopes it is, there will be quite the celebration going in the luxury suite reserved for about 20 family members in McAfee Coliseum, donated by the A's.

With baseball's amateur draft scheduled to start at 11 a.m., Pacific time, and the game scheduled to start at 12:35 p.m., Mills -- the son of Red Sox bench coach Brad Mills -- would have to go high to make it before the game. After setting an NAIA record with 38 home runs at Lewis-Clark State, and leading his team to the NAIA title, Mills should be a first- round pick.

"This is a fun day in a baseball player's life," Brad Mills said. "You remember your draft day."

The Indians and Red Sox called Beau yesterday. The junior third baseman worked out for the San Francisco Giants Tuesday and hit for the Athletics Monday. The highest he may go is to Pittsburgh, which holds the No. 4 pick.

Mills said the Pirates' choice appears to be either his son or a high school player.

Boston Herald

Jack McGeary was sitting in his living room one night last week, savoring a brief time without books or umpires. His prep school baseball season is finished and he has no exams. Instead, as his senior project, he went back to the fourth grade at St. John's, his old elementary school in Wellesley, to be a teacher's aide.

"It's fun to go to recess again," McGeary says with a smile. "Roxbury Latin for six years has been a tough place. It's nice to end on a relaxing note."

All that will change Thursday afternoon when McGeary likely will hear his name announced on ESPN2 late in the first round of the major league baseball draft.

"It's almost here now and it's real," he says. "It's something I've been dreaming about for a long time."

The dream, though, comes with a dilemma. Does McGeary take the bonus money, which figures to be somewhere around $1.5 million? Or does he take a full ride to Stanford and wait for another signing chance in three years?

Boston Herald

Some of the players taken within that range of picks over the past seven years have included Reds infielder Brandon Phillips, Blue Jays pitcher Brian Tallet, Red Sox pitcher Manny Delcarmen, Brewers infielder J.J. Hardy, Angels infielder Dallas McPherson, Brewers pitcher David Bush, Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester and potential Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton.

The top of this year’s draft is heavily loaded with high school pitchers, although many feel that the first round doesn’t figure to be as strong as in years past. Last year there were 964 college players selected compared to the 538 high schoolers taken.

One of the Red Sox’ advantages in recent years has been their ability to draft players with signability issues, understanding that they can meet the player’s asking price without fear of losing their rights to him after a year. That strategy seemingly came into play in 2005 when they took Scott Boras client Craig Hansen with the 26th overall pick.

Major League Baseball has taken steps, however, to limit the fear teams might have of losing a player to high signing-bonus demands. This year, if a player doesn’t sign with his assigned team, that club will be awarded a compensatory draft pick immediately following the number at which the player was taken.

[yecul]

Can this be pinned? I don't want to miss it.

[Cuzittt]

I don't see Porcello dropping all the way to 30. His Borasity may make him fall, but I don't think it will make him fall that far.

[DirtyWaterGirl]

Baseball Prospectus has the Sox getting 6-11 Andrew Brackman (basically the Dan Bard of this year's draft).

That could be a risky pick right now:

Nobody is falling farther than Andrew Brackman. The big North Carolina State right-hander hasn't pitched since May 12 with what was described as arm fatigue. Everyone was looking forward to a planned start in one of N.C. State's regional games this weekend in Columbia, S.C. Brackman evidently had some elbow inflammation and when he threw a brief bullpen session on Wednesday, he experienced some elbow discomfort. The release on the N.C. State Web site was the first public acknowledgement of an injury, and the decision was made to not have Brackman on the roster during regional play.

His removal from the Regional roster deprives scouts the one final look they were hoping to get at Brackman, who has been an enigma for most of the year. He showed his plus raw stuff early on, including a fastball in the upper 90s, but as he piled up innings for the first time, his stuff suffered and then he was shut down. There was hope that the time off and a good start this weekend would put him back firmly into the first-round picture. Now, by Avent not wanting to "jeopardize his future," Brackman's Draft future is very much up in the air.

"It would've been huge," a scouting director said of Brackman's scheduled start. "That's why we know he's hurt. They know it would've been huge. They know it would've been a big, big start. There would've been a ton of guys coming in, sitting in to see if he was OK, how free and easy he was, if he was maintaining his velocity, that sort of thing. Knowing he's not on the roster now is about as big a red flag as you'll see."

The "they" isn't just N.C. State. Even further muddling the situation is the fact that Brackman has Scott Boraas as his advisor. Information about injuries isn't always shared publicly, but there's enough to read between the lines that something is not right with Brackman's right arm.

Link

He is also a Boras advisee.

[Jack Sox]

I can't see Porcello sliding past the Tigers.

[DJnVa]

I have heard in local circles that the Sox are interested in Robert Morey, RHP, from Cape Henry Collegiate. He's seen locally as someone that could go in the top 3 or so rounds, and possibly as high as late first. The Sox had a number of scouts at recent workouts here in Virginia Beach and were apparently impressed.

Quick link:
Pair of aces ready to go head to head

Morey's pitching career didn't start well.

A former first baseman and outfielder, Morey remembers hitting the first batter he faced as an 8-year-old. He also walked a few.

"I always had a good arm, so they stuck me out on the mound to see what I could do," said Morey, now a 6-foot-1 senior righthander. "I just had a knack for it."

Soccer was his favorite sport, but two years later Morey was pitching regularly.

Morey stayed with soccer - he played center midfielder this past season at Cape Henry - but he progressed through AAU baseball. He credits Towny Townsend, who died recently after a long bout with cancer, with tweaking his mechanics and helping him become a top pitcher.

Morey cracked Cape Henry's varsity starting lineup in seventh grade, and by his sophomore season he was the squad's top pitcher.

Now his fastball is clocked in the low 90s, and he mixes in a curveball and changeup. Morey signed with Virginia after also considering Boston College and Maryland. This season, he is 4-1 with a 0.39 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 36 innings.

Edited by DJnVa, 07 June 2007 - 10:25 AM.

[mt8thsw9th]

That could be a risky pick right now:
Link

He is also a Boras advisee.

Sounds like Brad Sullivan circa 2003, minus the Boras link. The A's certainly haven't gotten much value out of that pick.

[LondonSox]

That could be a risky pick right now:
Link

He is also a Boras advisee.

I think this is the kind of guy that the Sox might target but hope to get late, if he can really slip and everyone knows he won't be cheap you try him like an Anderson or a Laporta (and as you can see those can work out weither way) but sure these guys might bust but if he can be fixed or it's a temp injury problem that how you get top talent low down.

I point at Joba on the Yanks as an example great risk, he works out he's a frickin' steal he doesn't so be it. We don't need numbers we need impact

[templeUsox]

I'll take a huge pass on Brackman. He's got nothing but red flags sticking up around him:

[redinchicago]

I just want to know when Rob English decides to put his foot down and tell Epstein/McLeod to draft a player out of the state of Georgia/South Carolina...

You knew that comment was coming sooner than later, right? Though Baseball America does rate the state of Georgia 4 out of 5 stars, as far as talent in the state compared to years past.

I'm going to guess pick #85 overall, David Duncan out of Georgia Tech.

Though their first pick will be Jordan Zimmerman. Another wild guess.

Edited by redinchicago, 07 June 2007 - 10:37 AM.

[Drocca]

I'll take a huge pass on Brackman. He's got nothing but red flags sticking up around him:

With all the great work you've done in the draft thread I'd love to hear(read) a small list of guys that you'd love to see them get. Anyone else with a strong familiarity should do the same; it would make following the draft today a lot more fun for those of us who haven't had the time or inclination to invest as much as others.

[BigMike]

I think this is the kind of guy that the Sox might target but hope to get late, if he can really slip and everyone knows he won't be cheap you try him like an Anderson or a Laporta (and as you can see those can work out weither way) but sure these guys might bust but if he can be fixed or it's a temp injury problem that how you get top talent low down.

I point at Joba on the Yanks as an example great risk, he works out he's a frickin' steal he doesn't so be it. We don't need numbers we need impact

Joba was a great risk. He is a guy who had some issues, and a mediocre draft year.

Brackman is a bad comparison to Joba, because not only has Brackman had some issues, there is significant fear he need major arm surgury. Who knows maybe you draft him, and it turns out he needs tommy John, and is willing to sign for 800K (instead of the 3-5 mil), then at that point he is a good risk in the 3-8th round range.

But you can't pay him what he reportedly wants if he needs major surgery.

[SouthernBoSox]

With all the great work you've done in the draft thread I'd love to hear(read) a small list of guys that you'd love to see them get. Anyone else with a strong familiarity should do the same; it would make following the draft today a lot more fun for those of us who haven't had the time or inclination to invest as much as others.

Temple has a crush on Crosby. Crosby's film is rather unimpressive, those his potential is pretty intriguing. I really wouldn't be suprised to see the Sox take him with there first pick.

[templeUsox]

My favorite prospects (who we might have a chance at in rounds 1S-5):

Hitters:
Brian Rike (OF, La. Tech)
Bradley Suttle (3B, Texas)
Chad Jones (Louisiana high school)
Blake Murphy (C, Western Carolina)
Eric Eiland (Texas high school)

Pitchers:
Nevin Griffith (RHP, Florida high school)
Wynn Pelzer (RHP, South Carolina)
Casey Crosby (LHP, Illinois high school)
Jess Todd (RHP, Arkansas)
Jake Arrieta (RHP, TCU)

[redinchicago]

Temple, what's your take on Jordan Zimmerman (#97 overall prospect by BA)? It seems as though he's got a little less 'mileage' on his arm and well, probably some less experience. But the talent is there and has decent stuff.

edit: Oh, and Chris Carpenter out of Kent St. He's already went through TJ surgery and seemed to perform quite well lately. Another guy with less 'mileage' and a draft eligible soph.

Edited by redinchicago, 07 June 2007 - 11:35 AM.

[TheRealness]

What is it about Casey Crosby that has you so enamored? I'm curious about his skill set, repetoire, etc.

And if we could draft Blake Murphy, would he fill the gap we have at C in our minor leages (Kottaras has had serious difficulties in AAA)? i.e. Is he a power guy, hits for average, how is his defense? I know very little about these guys outside of what the BA guys say in the chats I can access at ESPN.

Edited by TheRealness, 07 June 2007 - 11:47 AM.

[Lucen]

This draft is going to seriously impede on my ability to work today. As always, great work on the coverage, guys... I'll learn a whole lot more here than I ever would watching ESPN's coverage, or even milb.tv's coverage. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to contribute.

[SouthernBoSox]

What is it about Casey Crosby that has you so enamored? I'm curious about his skill set, repetoire, etc.

And if we could draft Blake Murphy, would he fill the gap we have at C in our minor leages (Kottaras has had serious difficulties in AAA)? i.e. Is he a power guy, hits for average, how is his defense? I know very little about these guys outside of what the BA guys say in the chats I can access at ESPN.

Well, he is a 6'4 lefty who can throw 94 as a high school player with bad mechanics. If you help that guy with his mechanics added with natural growth he is going to be throwing in the mid-90's with consistency from the left-side. He is intriguing, but he’s all projection.

[reggiecleveland]

Well, he is a 6'4 lefty who can throw 94 as a high school player with bad mechanics. If you help that guy with his mechanics added with natural growth he is going to be throwing in the mid-90's with consistency from the left-side. He is intriguing, but he’s all projection.

So he has major upside?

[Lucen]

Well, he is a 6'4 lefty who can throw 94 as a high school player with bad mechanics. If you help that guy with his mechanics added with natural growth he is going to be throwing in the mid-90's with consistency from the left-side. He is intriguing, but he’s all projection.

BP has him ranked 38th on their draft prospect list. They don't have him going in the top 30 of their mock draft, so is there a decent chance he falls to 55?

[Doza]

I think they have had their fill of hard throwers with poor mechanics and no control. (yes I know its still early yet for some of them) I see them primarily focusing on power hitters early in the draft, unless someone unexpected falls.

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Quick question: Do teams tend to actually take the full five minutes in the first round in the MLB draft? I've never followed it before, but I imagine that since you can't trade picks there really isn't much of a point of taking extra time once you have identified your guy.

[Cuzittt]

Quick question: Do teams tend to actually take the full five minutes in the first round in the MLB draft? I've never followed it before, but I imagine that since you can't trade picks there really isn't much of a point of taking extra time once you have identified your guy.

This is all a new age. They used to take no time at all between picks... and would rush through the first round in an hour.

With television and analysis of the picks, the full five minutes will be taken. Not so much for the teams, but for ESPN.

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

This is all a new age. They used to take no time at all between picks... and would rush through the first round in an hour.

With television and analysis of the picks, the full five minutes will be taken. Not so much for the teams, but for ESPN.

Ahhh...that makes sense. Thanks!

[Razor Shines]

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo claims to have some inside scoop, and says the #2 pick for the Royals (after obvious #1 David Price) will be Mike Moustakas, 3B from CA high school.

He also guesses that the Tigers will be going with HS right-hander Tim Alderson with #27, who he claims they covet, and Porcello falling to NY at #30. Hope he's wrong.

Edited by Razor Shines, 07 June 2007 - 12:54 PM.

[Worst Trade Evah]

Is the draft on the radio anywhere?

edit: answering my own question -- it's free at the baseball channel at mlb.com, no subscription required. Nice. Dunno about regular radio.

Edited by Worst Trade Evah, 07 June 2007 - 01:03 PM.

[Ortizzleforshizzle]

is there any kind of draft ticker that we can follow online? Thanks.

[Lucen]

is there any kind of draft ticker that we can follow online? Thanks.

http://mlb.mlb.com/m...draftcaster.jsp

No results yet, but should keep those of us unable to watch updated.

[mt8thsw9th]

is there any kind of draft ticker that we can follow online? Thanks.

Just go to MLB.com.

So how long is the first round now? I liked that it used to take 3 minutes. I think a draft recap show would have been a lot cooler than this. It's not like these players have the same name recognition as they do in the NFL and NBA draft.

[Mike in CT]

I'm going with

55. Neil Ramirez
62. Casey Crosby

Also love Will Middlebrooks & Dan Duffy (the LH pitcher),

[Cuzittt]

First Round should go about 2 1/2 hours.

[grinwell]

In a shocking development...TBA selects....David Price.

[Ortizzleforshizzle]

Thanks, man.

http://mlb.mlb.com/m...draftcaster.jsp

No results yet, but should keep those of us unable to watch updated.

[SouthernBoSox]

So he has major upside?

Sorry about taking so long. Yes, he had very very high upside, but he needs a lot of work.

And yes there is a great chance he falls to 55.

[redinchicago]

Sorry about taking so long. Yes, he had very very high upside, but he needs a lot of work.

And yes there is a great chance he falls to 55.

Why is there a great chance he falls to 55?

[ese718xc]

Josh Vitters goes #3 to the Cubs.

[Lucen]

Sorry about taking so long. Yes, he had very very high upside, but he needs a lot of work.

And yes there is a great chance he falls to 55.

From what I just read about him at BA (they list him at 6'5, 200 lbs and have him topping out at 93 but consistently working in the low 90's.), I'd love to see the Sox take a chance on him. If I knew more about amateur ball players, I'd be able to do more than gush about Crosby's upside and talk about some of the power hitters... but since I'm afraid I don't know much about the top hitting talent in the draft that has a chance to fall into the supplemental round, I'll have to ask who might still be around at that point? Any signability guys who might slip? I don't imagine LaPorta has a chance to get out of the first round, or at least not as far as we'd need to redraft him... who else is there that some of you think the Sox should be going after?

[Rasputin]

http://mlb.mlb.com/m...draftcaster.jsp

No results yet, but should keep those of us unable to watch updated.

This is ridiculous. The IT nazis don't even give us enough permissions to install the stupid update to use this thing.

[SouthernBoSox]

Why is there a great chance he falls to 55?

Because there aren't any reports of other teams looking at him. I wouldn't be shocked if he is there at 62. He just hasn't drawn much interest from other teams. I don't really get it, but I think he'll be there at 55. Temple knows more about the situation than I.

But, the draft is an unpredictable beast, just look at Pit taking Moskos 4th.

Edited by SouthernBoSox, 07 June 2007 - 01:35 PM.

[Doza]

This isn't good. Each team is taking the full 5 minutes to draft. At this rate, the Sox won't be up until 6:30.

[Razor Shines]

This is ridiculous. The IT nazis don't even give us enough permissions to install the stupid update to use this thing.

Me too, Ras. I need "admin" status to install the flash player.

However, Baseball Prospectus has a live blog going: link (Might be premium material, though)

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Wieters to the Os. I wonder if the Nationals will look at Porcello now.

[templeUsox]

Very interesting pick by the O's. Definitely the BPA, but Angelos is very cheap.

[Seabass177]

Detwiler to the Nats. Solid pick for them there.

[SouthernBoSox]

Very interesting pick by the O's. Definitely the BPA, but Angelos is very cheap.

Great pick IMO. I think he'll sign.

[Mike in CT]

Detwiler has to be happy he's going to the NL to get away from Josh Reddick.

[philly sox fan]

Weiters to the Os is almost like a test run for whether or not Angelos is really serious about getting bent over by Boras for Teixeira in a couple of years.

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

LaPorta to the Brewers? That's a head scratcher.