College Baseball Prospects: Part Deux!

Sorry, I know it has been a while since my last post, but I had to take my little cousin hunting. Anyway, let's get down to business. With the Rangers' season pulling a Terry Schiavo...too soon?.... and the draft fast approaching I figure its time for me to focus on the hurlers in this year's draft class. Check out what I said about some of the hitters.

Texas has 5 of the first 54 picks in next weekend's draft. With the system anemic at virtually every position, the Rangers should...I emphasis should because this is a team that historically doesn't do what it should, hence my reason for writing these columns... just focus on taking the best players available....A major cliche, I know, but it is more true baseball than in any other sport.

The last time the Rangers were in a similar position was in 1996, when they had four of the first 53 picks and used them all on pitchers. The Rangers ended up taking R.A. Dickey, Sam Marsonek, Corey Lee and Derrick Cook. Dickey, who has 16 Major League victories, is the only one of the four who pitched more than one game in the Major Leagues.

This is why I'm continuing my quest to spend no money and only a couple days researching/ranking players so I can give better player personnel advise than the Rangers scouting department with their far more time/resources/ability to actually see the players. Obviously since I have far fewer resources I won't be complaining about who the Rangers grab in the 42nd round. I'm focusing on the top picks, the money picks! where teams need to succeed. I also want to be the baseball Mel Kiper!

David Price LHP Vanderbilt - He's the Calvin Johnson of this draft, absolute stud in every way you can measure. He's going to go #1 to the D-Rays...which is great because if you add him to Kaz and Shields all of a sudden they have a strong front of the rotation to combine with the best collection of high upside young position players in the game. Yankees fans need to worry about the D-Rays.... I can't believe I just typed that, it makes me happy on several levels!

Andrew Brackman RHP NC State - Brackman is a really interesting guy in this draft. He's not the kind of guy I normally love going into a draft, but I think he makes sense for the Rangers on a couple of different levels. With so many picks at/near the top of this draft I think it makes more sense for Texas to have a higher risk tolerance than normal. Brackman is a risk. The Rangers also perennially have a need for top of the rotation pitching. Brackman can be an ace. Brackman is nearly 7 feet tall and as with virtually all very tall pitchers, they have problems with their mechanics early on which lead to bouts of wildness (37BB in 78IP) and even more problematic, injuries. I believe that pitching a baseball, done correctly, can result in a healthy arm. However done incorrectly, i.e. bad mechanics, and injuries will occur. Brackman pitches from low arm slot, slightly below 3/4, and he would be best served to increase his arm slot slightly, becoming more of a true 3/4 arm slot pitcher. When his arm drops low he loses break on his off speed stuff and downward movement on his fastball. With such long arms, it's easier for a guy like Brackman to make a tiny mistake. He has also faced some fatigue, missing his last couple starts...but personally I would rather see him sit out and not risk further damage to that million dollar arm. In terms of just pure stuff, nobody can match Brackman in this draft. He hits 97 with late downward movement with his fastball, he features a very effective knuckle curve that he throws 78-81 mph, Brackman throws his changeup in the 82-84 mph zone. It's an average offering he keeps around the strike zone. When he's on, he's unhittable. UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPSSSSSSSIIIIIIIDDDDDDDEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! He's a Boras guy, and his recent "tired arm" have caused him to slip in the draft...on upside/talent alone there aren't 5 guys better. He very well could be there when the Rangers pick...the second time.

Ross Detwiler LHP Missouri State - Widely considered the 2nd best college lefty, to Price, Detwiler has 2 plus pitches, fb and the old uncle Charley. However I won't spend much time on him since he's going to be a top 10 pick.

Daniel Moskos LHP Clemson - The guy I personally think is the 2nd best pitcher. But, alas, he too should be drafted before the Rangers are on the clock. Watch for him to be in the bigs in short order.

Brett Cecil LHP Maryland - Man, there's a bunch of good college lefties! Cecil has a nice fastball, low 90's, and his slider is virtually unhittable. Not very many amateurs have a big league pitch right now, Cecil does! Combine great stuff with flawless, repeatable mechanics, and dominating a high level of college play (8 saves, 62/19 K/BB) and you get a really, really good prospect. Some people view Cecil as just a LOOGY, but he did start for the Turtles late in the season and has the ability to get hitters out multiple times thru the order. Cecil for some reason could be had supplemental round, but he's legit.

Joe Savery LHP Rice - He may not have good enough stuff to succeed in the bigs, but Savery is one of the best all around players in college. A 2-way player for the Owls, Savery posted a 2.91 ERA while leading the team in batting. Joe has a prototypical pitcher's frame, 6'3'' 215, and is very athletic. His fastball and change are far and away his two best pitches at this point, but he's also never focused solely on being a pitcher. He already has great control with those two pitches, and if he curve develops into a decent offering he'll have an effective repertoire. Savery is just a baseball player, and I like taking chances on guys like him.

Sean Morgan RHP Tulane - I had a Spanish class with Sean, so **HOMER PICK ALERT**!!
But Sean also had 122K's which make him a legit prospect. Morgan has excellent movement on all of his pitches; fb, duce, slider. Sean also have very deceptive mechanics, he's very much "all arms and legs" flying at the hitter. Really the only thing stopping Sean from being one of the top prospects in the game is his control he walked 49 this year, which is way too many. If you can straighten out his mechanics, Morgan has the stuff and the makeup/desire/passion for the game to succeed.

Chance Chapman RHP Oral Roberts - Ok, so maybe I stumbled upon his name after a google search f-ed up. But I'm glad I found him because Chapman has put up some really sick numbers for the Golden Eagles this year. The 6'4'' senior righty threw 88 innings, splitting time between the bullpen and rotation. In those 88 frames, Chapman K'ed 121 opposing batters while issuing free passes to only 25. Me likey K/BB ratios of nearly 5/1! And guys who only surrender 2 long balls all year while playing in hitter's parks. Maybe that wasn't so eloquent, and I haven't seen anything about Chapman on any other site, meaning that Chance Chapman is a Sports Bully exclusive!

Justin Friend RHP Ok State - Another fellow that absolutely no one is talking about. Friend is pretty similar to Chapman in that despite posting amazing numbers while splitting time between closing and starting they haven't garnered much national attention. That's how I like my prospects, let's me know I'm onto somethin'. In the 53.2 innings that Friend pitched this last season he struck out 74 while only walking 13! Like Chapman, I have not seen any video of Justin pitching so I can not attest to his mechanics...but both of their remarkable control abilities lead me to believe that they have sound, repeatable mechanics.

James Simmons RHP UC Riverside - This is one guy whose eye popping stats have actually gotten noticed by others. A third team All-American by Baseball America, Simmons is a top-notch command right hander. He doesn't have over powering stuff, the scouts say, but he still somehow managed to strike out 113 batters while walking just 21. Simmons has a big pitcher's body, 6'4'' 215, which makes you think he could add a few more mph's onto his fastball which currently sits in the low 90's. Simmons deals with a low leg kick, making him quick to the plate which discourages the few who do reach on him from stealing, and keeps his leg fairly straight throughout the delivery. He has great arm position in the windup and a nice loose release.

Casey Weathers RHP Vanderbilt - We'll end this one alphabetically. Weathers was the closer for the #1 ranked Commodores this year. Weathers appeared in nearly half of the teams games, 28 of 62, and racked up an 11-2 record, not bad for a closer huh? Weathers also had 7 saves, probably representing the only 7 close games Vandy played all year. In 44.1 IP 67 opposing batters got a K next to their name in the scoresheet and only 18 got BB. If a guy was that dominate at that high a level you must think that he has great stuff, and with Weathers you'd be right. When the catcher throws down 1 finger the ball comes in at 95-97 mph and when he calls for the slide piece, he gets an 84-86 mph offering that breaks hard late and leaves hitters baffled. Casey hides the ball well in this delivery, with a very high leg kick that confuses hitters because he swings his glove side elbow along with it. While somewhat unconventional, I like Weathers' motion. He has good arm placement and despite a herky-jerky look, his head remains perfectly still. The mid-late first round pick projects as a potential closer in the Show.

I'll be back with a few high schoolers that I've seen enough to actually make an evaluation on, and my world famous 'Oh-my-God-I-really-really-hope-the-Rangers-aren't-stupid-enough-to-actually-pick-these-guys-but-I-kinda-think-they-are' picks. 'Til then.

Smell ya later.