1/20/12

Baseball: Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen, Devin Mesoraco, Brandon Belt



Gerrit Cole, Pirates: Look at Cole's size and pure stuff and it's easy to see why he was the No. 1 pick in the Draft. If he can harness his three plus pitches, he has everything a team wants from a top-of-the-rotation starter. He has three plus pitches with his fastball, slider and changeup. He gets into trouble when he overthrows, leaving everything too hard and straight. Outside of a rough Rising Stars appearance, he showed just how successful he can be when he stays under control while pitching in the Arizona Fall League. He has the stuff to move quickly and should do just that. Assuming he can learn to be consistent with his delivery, it shouldn't take him too long to make it to Pittsburgh. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120112&content_id=26330142&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26330142

Danny Hultzen, Mariners: While most thought the Mariners would go after Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, they actually had their sights set on Hultzen all along. The University of Virginia product is the kind of college lefty who is expected to move quickly, but he's more than just a command/pitchability type. Hultzen's velocity increased in his junior season, giving him a plus fastball from the left side as well as a plus changeup. His breaking ball -- a slider -- isn't quite as good as those first two, but it's a serviceable pitch, and Hultzen is the type of player who will work to improve it. If his performance in the Arizona Fall League is any indication, he should indeed be able to move quickly through the Mariners' system. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120113&content_id=26339048&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&tcid=tw_article_26339048

Catcher – Devin Mesoraco (23):  Barring some strange turn of events, Mesoraco is going to be the Reds Opening Day Catcher and with good reason. As I mentioned above he is the team’s consensus top-prospect and I regard him as the best catching prospect out there right now. Nathaniel, who ranked Devin 12th in his recently completed Top-100, agrees with me on that. In Mesoraco, I see a guy who will make his share of all-star teams during the course of his career.  I believe he will hit for a good average and his share of power. He’s solid defensively and intelligent in all aspects of the game. The fact that he looked into the “prospect bust abyss” and bounced back to become one of the best prospects in baseball makes me believe he’s going to be better than most people project and that’s saying something. When a guy’s floor is that of a solid major league regular, you know you have something special on your hands and Devin Mesoraco fits that description. http://seedlingstostars.com/2012/01/19/s2s-2012-team-prospect-lists-cincinnati-reds/#more-3181

Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants — Yes, Belt was on our sleeper list as well last year, but things didn’t quite work out for Belt who started the season as the starter, then got demoted.  His replacement, Aubrey Huff, was not able to duplicate his 2010 season, however, thus opening the door again for Belt.  Belt struggled to hit for average throughout the season but flashed some power, hitting seven homers after August 1.  Perhaps that’s an indication of his 2012 potential. http://www.fantasybaseballdugout.com/2012/01/20/sleepers-first-base-2012/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

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