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5/28/10

DRAFT: - Anthony Renaudo, Matt Perry, Angelo Gumbs, Kolbrin Vitek ... and Andrew Clark

Anthony Renaudo:

5-27 from: - link  - Professional baseball organizations got a crash course on why they shouldn’t doubt LSU right-handed pitcher Anthony Ranaudo. Ranaudo had one of his better and his longest starts of the season on Wednesday, as he guided the previously sputtering Tigers to a 10-6 win over top-seeded Florida at the SEC tournament. “It seemed like old times out there tonight with Anthony pitching the way he was,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “It was his best performance of the season. His curveball was really the pitch and made the difference for him. He didn’t hang too many breaking balls and had a lot of bite to his pitches. It was easy for him to pitch with an early lead, but he threw well.”

5-27 from: - http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/MLB_Draft  - The first inning of his 2010 SEC Tournament proved prophetic for Anthony Ranaudo. The LSU right-hander, who had struggled all season, threw his curveball for strikes. He even elevated a fastball. “I knew it was going to be a good day,” Ranaudo said. It wasn’t his best outing of his career, as the ace of the Tigers' 2009 national championship team scattered eight hits and allowed six runs – five earned – over 7 2/3 innings in LSU’s 10-6 victory over Florida. But it was a return to form for the pitcher who entered the game with an 8.49 earned run average.

Matt Perry:

5-25 from: - http://baseballdraftreport.com/2010/05/25/2010-mlb-draft-top-30-college-third-base-prospects-30-21 - Top 30 College Third Base Prospects - 26. Holy Cross SR 3B Matt Perry - Is it sad that one of the first things I thought about when looking at my notes on Perry was “gee, I bet Bill Simmons would get a kick out of having a fellow Holy Cross guy show up on some anonymous internet nobody’s top 30 college third base prospect list…”? Perry is one of my favorite 2010 senior signs because of his advanced strike zone knowledge, good defensive tools, and renowned drive to succeed. It’s a rare college senior who plays in the big leagues, so sometimes it’s alright to dig deep to find a small something extra about a player that you think sets him apart. Perry’s steady four year progression, strong performance under pressure as a legacy at Holy Cross, and success with wood in the summer makes me think he’s a guy worth gambling on.

Angelo Gumbs:

5-26 from: - http://baseballbeginnings.com/category/2010-draft  - I had one last look at Torrance’s Angelo Gumbs before the draft. The local knock I keep hearing on Gumbs is that he won’t hit. I’ve heard complaints that he has been beaten with soft pitching. Based on what I saw, that is not the case. I don’t care much for high school stats, but Gumbs hit about .450 this spring. I felt hitting for him was more important this spring than for many other players in Southern California, because I felt if he did, it would show more comfort and confidence in his hands. When I last interviewed Gumbs, he said he was pleased with how quickly he was getting his front foot down and how much deeper he was letting pitches get. Gumbs made good progress this spring, which is important, because when he signs, it’s going to get much tougher right away.

Kolbrin Vitek

5-27 from: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2010/5/27/1489645/top-5-by-position-second-basemen#comments  - Kolbrin Vitek was known equally as a pitcher and hitter coming into this spring, but his tools have been taken to another level, and scouts have focused in on him as a hitter with good athleticism. He’s played extensively at both third and second base in his career, and he’s at second base this year in order to keep his arm rested enough to pitch, as he’s still Ball State’s best starting pitcher. Scouts think he will work best in center field due to his athleticism and lack of aptitude in the infield, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility that he stays at second base in the long-term. Vitek’s tools are the most well-rounded of the second baseman group. He’s an above-average hitter with above-average raw power, and he’s a plus straight-line runner. While his hands and footwork at second base leave something to be desired, his quickness allows him to have adequate range to handle the position well. His arm is an obvious plus, and he can touch 93 on the mound. That’s more of a left side of the infield arm, and if he profiled for a little more power and better hands, he’d be thought of purely as a third baseman. Center field might be his long-term home, but he’s going to need to learn routes on the fly. He should go off the board somewhere in the middle third of the first round.

Andrew Clark:

5-27 from: - http://www.baseballrumormill.com/2010/05/chris-duffy-leads-senior-surprises/#more - Senior Surprises - Andrew Clark, Louisville, 1B - Clark is even more unusual than the average senior as he'll be 23 in August after transferring from Ole Miss. Unfortunately for baseball players, being older often is a detraction, not a benefit. Nevertheless, Clark's stats can no be ignored: .393/.497/.731 with 12 home runs and a 33-15 BB/K ratio in 38 games.

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