3/31/10

Bonus DRAFT: - Jonathan Gray, Randy Fontanez, Derek Dietrick, Mike Nesseth... and Blake Forsythe

Jonathan Gray:

3-31 from http://mlbbonusbaby.com/ : - RHP Jonathan Gray is a big-bodied right-handed pitcher from Chandler, Oklahoma, a town roughly equal distance from Oklahoma City and Tulsa in the middle of the state. Gray is a late riser up draft boards, and while he doesn’t offer a lot in terms of projection, he offers a durable body with solid current stuff. Using a pro body that profiles to eat innings, he brings an above-average fastball with average to above-average command, and it sits 88-92, touching 94. It plays up due to his command, so while it doesn’t have elite velocity, it is a solid first pitch to his arsenal. He only throws one other pitch consistently, a slider, but that doesn’t seem to be a major issue for most scouts. The slider flashes above-average potential, sitting 78-80, and he can spot it pretty well, too. There’s concern that he struggles with repeating it, and he might be prone to some elbow troubles as the result of some awkward deliveries of the pitch. He throws a variant of a splitter as his neutralizing pitch for lefties, but it’s fairly raw, and it’s likely to get scrapped in favor of a true changeup in the pros. Much of Gray’s value is in his body, and his raw stuff profiles best as a number four starter that eats innings at league average production. His Oklahoma scholarship may get in the way, but he profiles as a solid 6th-8th round prospect that could go a couple rounds higher if a team believes his stuff is a little better


Randy Fontanez:

3-31 from: - http://collegebaseball360.com/2010/03/31/cb360-primetime-performers-6-march-30  - Randy Fontanez fired the first 9-inning no-hitter in Division I baseball this season, during his team’s BIG EAST Conference opening 4-0 win over visiting Notre Dame (sparking the Bulls to a series sweep, as they look to challenge Louisville for the conference title). The 6-1, 195-pound righthander racked up a career-high 12 strikeouts, with only two walks, while throwing 80 of his 119 pitches (67%) for strikes. Fontanez did not allow a runner to reach second base until there was one out in the top of the 9th (thanks to the second catchers-interference call of the game). The gem is the third no-hitter in USF history and the first since 1992. Over the course of the nine innings, Fontanez faced 31 batters and allowed only three balls to reach the outfield - as his 27 outs includedthe 12 Ks (at least one every inning; half of them “looking”) along with 10 groundouts, a foulout to first base, a popup to the shortstop and three flyouts (leftfielder Junior Carlin never had to touch the ball in the game). Veteran outfielder Ryan Connolly (3-hole hitter) was the only Notre Dame batter that reached base multiple times and was ND’s only baserunner until the 9th.

Derek Dietrick:

3-31 from: link  - Derek Dietrick, SS, Ga Tech, L/R solidly built, reminds me a lot of Jeff Kent except he's a lefty hitter, and this guy will be an offensive player in the bigs and probably will get there as quickly as, former Georgia Dawg, Gordon Beckham. Derek has a short stroke with power to left alley and line and can go the other way when he goes for that opportunity and he can drive the ball to RF and the power alley well. Runs ok, not a burner, 4.38 very close to average, said to have ran 6.9,60 in fall ball handheld. I gave him a 55 arm from SS, he has ok hands, range is better for the corner or 2b, will get dirty to make up for lack of quickness/speed. 6'1 205, he has the ability to hit 280 plus, 20 HR plus, drive in 80-90 runs in the 3 hole or 5 hole in the bigs. He did make an error on a hot shot he should have handled better but he stayed composed, which is a plus.

Mike Nesseth:

3-31 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/  - Mike Nesseth, a junior RHP pitcher from the University of Nebraska will miss the remainder of the 2010 season with an elbow injury. A precautionary MRI revealed an injury in his right elbow, and the Nebraska medical staff is working with Nesseth, his family and the Husker coaching staff on evaluating potential options, either in a rehab program or surgery

Blake Forsythe:

3-26 from: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/draft/draft-tracker/2010/269724.html  - Blake Forsythe, c, Tennessee - After hitting a robust .347/.486/.663 last year, Forsythe is off to as slow of a start as anybody this year. The younger brother of Padres prospect Logan Forsythe, he has a somewhat similar profile to his brother with the added bonus of playing catcher. However, the younger Forsythe, like the 11-10 Volunteers, is off to a disappointing start, hitting .215/.395/.385 over his first 65 at-bats. "Right now he's really messed up at the plate," a National League area scout said. "He's trying to be a big power guy and he has that in there; you watch BP and he's launching balls all over the place—wood bat, aluminum bat, it doesn't matter. But, when he's had most of his success, it's been more of an up-the-middle approach and he'll run into a ball here and there and he's gotten away from that. He's trying to pull everything and he's out of sync at the plate. It's not really the type of season he'd be hoping for."

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