The Mack Draft Report - Dec. 1, 2010

The Mack Draft Report - Dec. 1, 2010



Wood vs. Metal: - http://www.prospectwire.com/pw/article.php?id=182  - During my time scouting for the Atlanta Braves I became a proponent of wood bats, simply due to the nature of my job and looking for players that could hit with wood bats at the higher levels of the game. Coach Firenzi and I shared some of our opinions with each other, about the merits of kids using wood bats in high school, then the game was over and we went home. When I got home, I posted an article on my blog site (www.9County9.com) about our conversation and that was that, so I thought. Fast forward a few weeks later to Gunnar being injured and it seemed like I had somewhat foreshadowed a nearly tragic incident, but not one that hasn't happened before. The obviously weird thing was that I was at Marin Catholic, talking to their head coach about metal vs wood bats and just a few weeks later, at that very same field, a player from Marin Catholic was fighting for his life

Logan Verrett: - CBD  - We continue the countdown today at number 51 with junior RHP Logan Verrett from Baylor. The Corpus Christi TX native attended Calallen High School which was considered one of the best teams in the nation in 2008. As a senior, he went 18-0 with 0.67 ERA, 167 strikeouts, 12 complete game and three shutouts on the mound. His 18 wins was a school record and led the nation. At the plate, he ended up hitting .455 with seven home runs, 33 RBI and 46 runs as he helped lead the team to a 42-1 record bringing them to the Texas Class 4A state title. The team finished the season ranked ninth in the country according to the Collegiate Baseball/Easton Sports rankings.


TCU: - http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/baseball/news?slug=kr-bigeasttcu112910  - As expected, football is the primary reason the Frogs are moving to the Big East. The Frogs could play for the national title this season and will earn a BCS berth. However, the fact the Mountain West doesn’t have an automatic BCS berth has been a sore subject for conference members the past few seasons. The Big East provides security in football as the conference receives an automatic BCS bid. Though, it’s ironic the conference has an auto berth considering the two teams competing for the conference crown – Connecticut and West Virginia – have three or more losses, and will keep significantly better teams out of the BCS.


Wappinger Meet and Train Like The Pros - http://www.tossitaround.com/index.php?option=com_community&view=events&task=viewevent&eventid=18&Itemid=157  - Location:182 Old Route 9 Fishkill, NY 12524 - Time: FROM: Saturday, December 18, 2010, 9:00 am - UNTIL: Saturday, December 18, 2010, 1:30 pm - Saturday Dec 18 Come and meet Professional Scout Joe Nigro (Seattle Mariners), Former minor league hitting instructor Patrick Anderson (Kansas City Royals) and Current Pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays Wade Davis. Session 1 - Ages 7-12. 9:00 am – 11:00 pm - Session 2 – Ages 13-17. 11:30 am – 1:30 pm


Top Relief Prosects: - http://www.deepleagues.com/?p=2191  - Here are the top 25 relief pitcher prospects. Relivers are often overvalued in fantasy because it’s difficult to predict whether the pitcher will close (ex: Ryan Perry). This logic does not apply to the top three (Chapman, Scheppers, Sale) becuase they will probably start if they do not close.

1. Aroldis Chapman—Reds

2. Chris Sale—White Sox
3. Tanner Scheppers—Rangers
4. Kenley Jansen—Dodgers
5. Craig Kimbrel—Braves
6. Jordan Walden—Angels
7. Jeremy Jeffress—Brewers
8. Brad Boxberger—Reds
9. Tim Collins—Royals
10. Diego Moreno—Pirates

Duke: - http://baseballdraftreport.com/  - What I can tell you, I hope, is that Duke has four players who look like better than average bets to get drafted this June. That has to be good for something, right? The two best of the four are JR LHP Eric Pfisterer and JR OF Will Piwnica-Worms. Every year there are a number of pitchability lefthanders with three solid pitches and good command who get lost in the mid-round shuffle. Pfisterer, a big recruit two years ago who has lived up to the billing so far, could be part of that mix this year. Steven Proscia’s former high school teammate throws a high-80s/low-90s fastball (peaking at 92 MPH), good changeup, and decent low-70s curveball. Not sure if it is fair to call Piwnica-Worms a sleeper or not, but his combination of solid all around tools and quietly productive 2010 season (.323/.402/.530 – 21 BB/24 K – 217 AB) make him a potential top ten round player in my eyes


Derek Johnson: - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2010/11/29/vanderbilts-derek-johnson-named-abca-assistant-coach-of-the-year/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CollegeBaseballDaily+%28College+Baseball+Daily%29&utm_content=Twitter  - Vanderbilt Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach Derek Johnson has been named the ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year. The honor comes on the heels of one of the Commodores most successful seasons in school history. Vanderbilt was one win away from their first trip to the College World Series and appeared in the school’s second-ever Super Regional, eventually losing to Florida State. The team’s pitchers helped guide the Dores to 46 wins, second-most in school history, while posting the second-best team ERA (3.69) in the rugged Southeastern Conference.



Steve Rodriquez: - 11-11-10 from: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com/  - #34 - C Steve Rodriguez UCLA 6'0 1/2 190 L/R - quality receiver with quick release and ave ML arm strength, good quickness and range behind the dish, also quick bat speed with occ alley pop to drive in runs, 8-10 type HR frequency, raw power is there, just not a ton of it. 1.8 to 1.9 pop times common place! 1 - LHP Matt Purke TCU 6'4 190 - smooth lefty who has progressed each year that I've had the pleasure to see since 2008 at the TOS in Cary, NC when he was 16 yrs old. He's gone from throwing 86-89 mph as a soph in HS to presently up to 95-96 tops, mostly 91-93 with run and sink down in the zone and he's aggressive. Matt has good depth to a vastly improved cb that he throws confidently for strikes and gets hitters out in front with a straight change as well. Year to year his progression is one that warrants first player drafted type scenarios as he'll be a solid fixture in any ML rotation. He's yet to physically mature which is scary considering he's improved each year.

Kyle Twomey: - 11-5-10: - PG  – WWBA stars - LHP Kyle Twomey (ABD Bulldogs): The 6-3, 160 lbTwomey doesn’t throw 90 yet but he’s been virtually untouchable at high level events all fall, including 2 appearances in Jupiter. He is very advanced for location and movement and hitters just don’t seem to see his pitches. When he adds strength, the velocity will move from 86-89 up to the low 90’s.


C Rick Linton — Muncie, Ind. - http://blugrassbaseball.com/  - •2010 Stats: .415 BA, 9 2Bs, 2 HR, 17 RBI - •Rob Fisher: “He is a great kid who has invested a lot of time and hard work to get to this point. It is not unusual to see him by himself in the batting tunnel doing tee work on any given evening. I am proud of him and the effort he has made to become a better player, but I am more proud of the fact that he is a very good student and a kid I never had to worry about as far as making wrong choices.”


Preston Tucker 1B, Florida - http://www.draftsite.com/article/2011-MLB-Draft-Preview-College-Hitters/43  - Coming out of high school Tucker was passed over by all 30 teams in the 50 round draft in 2008. His swing is not the prettiest; he takes a hard step towards the mound, which can make him look like he is little off balance. However Preston Tucker is incredibly strong; He has tremendous strength in his forearms and wrist which allow him to hit towering homeruns. He may look foolish in his swing, but he stays back on the ball and has pretty decent weight transfer. If he was eligible to come out in 2010 he would have been a possible top ten pick, because no one could touch him in terms of power. The same could be said about 2011, and if Tucker continues to perform he will be one of the top bats off the board.