6/5/09

3 Draft Picks Moving UP Draft

Three Players Moving Up


Tony Sanchez, C, Boston College

Sanchez is the best catcher in this draft, though on pure talent, he's considered more of a late first-round type by consensus. But as the old draft cliché goes, it takes only one team to push a guy up, and in this case, there are several teams doing so with Sanchez, who some project as a Molina-like defender with a power bat. Kansas City has him in their mix at 12th overall, and there are wild stories of his going even higher than that. A lot of late-spring buzz is generated by who sees who and when, and San Diego brass were paying close attention to Boston College at last weekend's regional at North Carolina, but they were nowhere to be found for the Tar Heels' final game, leading to even further wild speculation.


Mike Leake, RHP, Arizona State

He just never stopped dominating. You can ding him a little for his size, but he's hardly tiny, and he's a fantastic athlete. Beyond all of the scouting tidbits, take in this quick statistical curiosity: Leake pitches in a very friendly hitters' park, he pitches in one of the toughest conferences in the game, and he had a brutal schedule. None of those three qualities apply to Steven Strasburg, yet Leake beats the top talent in the draft in ERA, with a 1.23 mark entering super-regional play versus Strasburg's 1.32. Teams unable to decide among the available high school arms, or turned off by their bonus demands (or both) could be turning to Leake with a single-digit selection.


Mike Trout, OF, Millville HS (NJ)

Trout has been the high school player attracting the most heat in private workouts, showing plus-plus speed, surprising strength in his bat, and very good outfield skills. None of that is a big surprise to anyone, but for a guy that has a reputation for being raw, he's looking very polished in front of decision-makers. In a draft with little separation among the top 30 talents, the recent workouts and off-the-charts makeup should move Trout up.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=8996

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