Round 3 - C Blake Forsythe - UPDATED - Mack Anaysis

Round 3 – 89th pick overall – C – Blake Forsythe – University of Tennessee – it’s no surprised that the Mets took a catcher here. Forsythe began the year projected as a first rounder, but had a miserable first half of the season. He did finish the season with 15-HRs (11th in SEC), but hit only .280 and struck out far too many times. Did have a hell of a season in 2009, coming in 2nd in the SEC in OBP and 9th in slugging. That being said, both Micah Gibbs and Cameron Rupp were still on the board when the Mets had this pick and I would have been much happier with either one of them being picked.


Projection: Look, the Mets need talented catchers in the system. You had Josh Thole going into this draft and, probably ranked second on the board right now is Kai Gronauer. Beyond that, is a lot of disappointment.

Draft Grade: C



13. Blake Forsythe – Tennessee -

7/07 from http://www.projectprospect.com/ : - Tennessee’s backstop Blake Forsythe and LSU’s catcher Micah Gibbs are potential first round picks. Both guys need to improve their contact abilities next spring but have good upside. Forsythe has more power while Gibbs has more defensive value…

7-09: Fr. Keith Law/ http://www.espn.com/  : Law critizes Forsythe by saying "he's Adam Dunn at the plate -- it takes an act of Congress to get the bat off his shoulder."

9-24: From: http://mlbresource.blogspot.com/ : Mock Draft Version 1 – #28 pick overall - Blake Forsythe, C – Tennessee

1-1-9 from http://www.draftsite.com/:  - #49 - Blake Forsythe C Tennessee 6'2" 220 R,R

1-31: Named to the 2010 Ping!Baseball All American Teams: - CATCHER - Second Team - Blake Forsythe, Tennessee

2-8 from http://www.pnrscouting.com/ : - mock drafted 125th

2-25 from: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/baseball : - Blake Forsythe Tennessee - Forsythe only hit .333 the first weekend but knocked in six runs for the Vols.

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."

5-10 from: http://baseballdraftreport.com/  – top 30 college catchers  - 10. Tennessee JR C Blake Forsythe - As one of my favorite players in the country heading in the year, Forsythe, no doubt already feeling the heat as a key bat on a top SEC school expected to compete in 2010, had the added pressure of keeping this faceless internet stranger happy with a big season at and behind the plate. He’s responded with a season reminiscent of Jose Iglesias’s 2009 – good, but certainly not top five round worthy like many had hoped. Like Iglesias, it may be in his best interest to return for a senior season to rehabilitate his slipping draft stock. As it stands, his stock isn’t completely down the tubes; legit power potential and super plate discipline will get a guy chances, down year or not. I also think he’s a better athlete and runner than he often gets credit for, but those skills aren’t going to be what gets him paid. If he hits like expected, he’s a big leaguer.

5-21 from: - http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/beyond-bryce  - To rank draft-eligible catchers, I used all that information (offense, defense and baserunning) for each of the last three seasons, with more recent seasons weighted more heavily. The familiar names land near the top, but not always in the order you'd expect. And a stats-only approach unveils some sleepers for draft day. 6. Blake Forsythe – Tennessee - These last three spots are separated by decimal points, so Forsythe, the least-hyped of the trio, may turn out to be the best deal on draft day. He has also been better than Rupp and Gibbs if you limit the analysis to 2009 and 2010, as his freshman year was below average.