8/15/11

Draft 2012: - Christian Jones, A.J. Kennedy, Mathew Crownover, Mark Appel, Carson Fulmer



Christian Jones:


7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Christian Jones, Oregon, 6’3 195, strong armed lefty from H 3/4 to 3/4 slot, fb up to 93, most are 90 with some sink when down, arm side run and command is ok, tends to throws lots of pitches, nibbles way too much. Could be early round guy with good fall and spring.


A.J. Kennedy:


8-12-11: - http://www.prospectwire.com/pw/article.php?id=290  - The other catcher who did some things I liked was A.J. Kennedy (6'0" 180, R/R, Anaheim, CA). The one thing Kennedy has that the other two catchers don't is a plus arm and it is a legitimate plus arm. I tend to think his catching/receiving actions behind the plate are a bit too showy for my tastes and think he could certainly quiet down some of that stuff because his arm stands out plenty well. He was 1.91 in the game and was below 1.90 between innings and that plays. Kennedy struggled with the bat a bit due to a swing that gets too long but if he can figure out a way to shorten that up, be happy making hard contact and hitting for some average with some extra base pop, his catch/throw ability could move him up draft lists.


Mathew Crownover:


8-12-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/AllAmerican/News.aspx?num=6123  – Lefty Matthew Crownover took the mound for the East in the first inning and made quick work of the West with a crisp 1-2-3 inning. Crownover struck out two batters using a 88-90 fastball, a mid-70s curve and an upper-70s changeup showing his usual mastery of the strikezone.


Mark Appel:


8-13-11: - http://bullpenbanter.com/  - Mark Appel is a RHP from Stanford that will be entering his Junior season in the fall. He is widely regarded as one of the top 5 talents in the 2012 MLB Draft and I would agree with that. In fact, Appel is the most impressive amateur in this draft I've seen live so far. He was hitting upper 90's this game and the velo comes easy. His skinny, athletic build looks like it could add a lot of muscle still, too, especially in the legs and calves. The 4 seam is a strong pitch - if fairly straight. The velo alone makes it tough and he challenged up with it a few times with good success. The 2 seam has some run to it and he pounded the bottom of the zone with it. SL is filthy... plus plus pitch. It looks like it takes a left turn and then becomes a 12-6 curve. I'd want to call it a CB but he clearly gave the catcher a slider sign with his glove before throwing it in the pen. He didn't throw all that many CUs but he threw a few very nice ones. The pitch doesn't have much lateral movement but its got good separation from the FB that hitters didn't see at all. Probably half of the CUs had a fantastic tumble to them but he just didn't have consistency with it this game. I'm told that a longstanding concern with Appel is that he never has his whole repertoire working on any given day and that may have been what I was seeing here


Carson Fulmer:


7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Carson Fulmer, All Saint’s Academy, Lakeland FL 6’1 190, quick arm with pop, up to 92, some effort to delivery and lacks life to fb when up, fb down has sink and is heavy, cb has good break and rotation, command was ok and control was good on the day for 2 innings, could be a good one in time, 4-7 rounder type.

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