9/1/10

2011 DRAFT: - Pete O'Brien, Dante Bichette Jr., Nick Burdi, Henry Owens... and Levi Michael

Pete O’Brien:



8-27 from: - link  - C Pete O'Brien Bethune-Cookman U 6'2 210 R/R - quality receiver with above ave arm and release, most are in the 1.9 or less pop time range, quick on his feet and alert, handles good velocity pitches well as evidenced during 2010 TEAM USA games. Has plus power and ability to hit for average at ML level - right handed version of Brian McCann. He's put his college team mates and the program at BCU on the map for years to come.



Dante Bichette Jr.


8-29-10 from: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2010/8/16/1625615/2010-under-armour-all-american#comments  – Bichette was lifting his front foot and basically hitting off of one foot all day. Not a fan of that. He starts very open (similar to but less pronounced than Brett Lawrie) and he often landed open when he put the front foot down, so anything on the outside half the plate leaves him helpless.



Nick Burdi:


8-12-10 from: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/high-school/events/under-armour-preseason-all-america-tournament/2010/2610524.html  - RHP - Downers Grove (Ill.) South HS Burdi is a righthander with an extremely quick arm. He pitches comfortably in the low 90s and has touched 95 mph. The ball gets in on hitters quickly and he throws from a nasty, low three-quarters arm slot that leads to plus movement. Burdi's slider has good tilt with some depth. He has committed to Louisville.


8-16-10 from: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2010/8/16/1625615/2010-under-armour-all-american#storyjump  - Nick Burdi, RHP, Downers Grove HS (Ill.) - Committed to Louisville, the MVP for the National Team was outstanding – striking out the side in the first on 13 pitches. Burdi comes at hitters from a low three-quarters arm slot and his fastball sat at 92-94 with natural sink and tail and good command of all quadrants. He also features a hard 83-85 mph slider that has good short two-plane break and a 79-82 mph change-up to keep hitters off-balance. Burdi understands how to pitch and executed his pitches brilliantly on Saturday. His mechanics aren’t the prettiest; however, as there’s a bit of habitual rushing going on that could suggest command issues, but there certainly was no problem in this game. At six-foot-four, 210 pounds, Burdi projects well and should be consistently sitting in the mid-90’s once he adds muscle to his frame.


8-16-10: - http://www.prospectwire.com/pw/article.php?id=130  - Nick Burdi, RHP, Downers Grove South HS (IL)- Burdi had a very impressive first inning for the National Team. He sat comfortably at 92-94, and featured a plus slider. He has no fear on the mound, and attacks hitters. His fastball has some life and movement on it, and his slider is sharp, coming in at 79-81. Burdi struck out the side.


Henry Owens:


8-18-10 from: - http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-2010-aflac-all-american-baseball-classic  - The other pitcher who impressed was left-hander Henry Owens (Huntington Beach, Calif.), who struck out the side in the ninth. He didn't throw exceptionally hard (scoreboard had his fastball at 86-90 mph), but at 6-foot-5, he gave hitters a different look—and clearly one they didn't like. I'll quote Rich on this one: ...his fastball plays up a bit due to the fact that he throws on a downhill plane. Moreover, his body offers lots of projection although a scout I spoke to noted that Owens' velocity is down a couple of ticks from his sophomore season in 2009. Nonetheless, he may be the most highly regarded prep pitcher in the country and could be drafted in the top half of the first round next June. Sounds like someone worth tracking to me.


8-19-10 from: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=4935  - Owens was one of the players I was most interested in seeing, knowing that he was more about his pitchability than raw stuff, although he still brought his heat into the 90-91 range. He has a Ryan Anderson “Space Needle” type build, with a tall and lanky stature and even a similar delivery. He obviously doesn’t throw as hard as Anderson does, and while he probably never will, it’s easy to envision him adding a few ticks to his heater in the next 2-3 years as he matures. His fastball has some nice sink to it, and he really commands the pitch well with the ability to paint the corners. Both his curveball and changeup are advanced pitches at this stage of his development as well, and he knows how to throw all three pitches to set up batters and upset their timing, lulling them asleep with soft stuff away before busting them up and in.


8-17-10 from: - http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2010/08/17/which-2011-mlb-draft-prospects-impressed-as-aflac-all-americans  - Henry Owens, LHP: The second most impressive lefty of the day aside from Daniel Norris, Owens showed off a crisp 90-91 mph fastball and reached 92 a few times. His lanky 6-foot-7 frame immediately stands out as well. There's going to be more velocity as he fills out and he already has a good feel for a slow 68-72 mph curveball and an upper-70s changeup. Owens has an advanced feel for his age, and the raw stuff will continue to catch up.


8-27 from: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com/  - LHP Henry Owens Edison HS, Huntington Beach Calif 6'6 190 - loosey goosey lefty with deception, fb runs up there as high as 93, most are 88-90/91, with life away from RHH and sink, backdoor type cb with sharpness at 72 and straight change that gets hitters out front in HS, will need to work with repeat and release points on cb & ch, has the control of body to do that and in a hurry. A little more mature than most HS pitchers, but has yet to fill out physically and has added 2-3 mph each year the last 3 years in HS. Should reach low 90's and sustain that in pro ball.



Levi Michael:


8-21-10 from: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2010/08/21/2010-cape-cod-wrapup  - I’ll warn you in advance, the man-crush that we at Project Prospect have for UNC infielder Levi Michael is just beginning and could blossom into full Mike Leake mode before next June. Michael hit .346/.480/.575 for the Tar Heels last spring and followed that up with a mediocre .252/.353/.370 line for Harwich. Michael is an athletic switch-hitter and versatile defender who has seen time all over the UNC infield. While some feel Michael could hold down short, he could be a plus defender at second base. Michael has a smooth, line-drive stroke from both sides of the plate with gap power and outstanding plate discipline. Michael drew walks in 15.8% of his plate appearances last spring while striking out just 9.3% of the time. Michael actually graduated early so as to begin his college career sooner and will only be 20 years old when drafted next June. Polished beyond his years, I would be shocked if Levi Michael doesn’t have a long, productive MLB career.

No comments: