Draft Notes – ESPN POTW, S2S Mock, Top 20 H.S. Players

ESPN HS named the following “Players Of The Week”:

EAST - Clark Siebels, York (Yorktown, Va.)

SOUTHEAST - Kyle Miller, Estero (Fla.)

MIDWEST - Jake Flemmer, Orono (Long Lake, Minn.) 

MIDLANDS - Eric Gutierrez, Sharyland (Mission, Texas)

WEST - Joey Gallo, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)

Entire Seeding To Stars Mock List -

            1. Houston Astros (56-106) -  Mark Appel, RHP Stanford University

   2. Minnesota Twins (63-99) -  Kyle Zimmer, RHP, University of San Francisco

   3. Seattle Mariners (67-95)  -  Mike Zunino, C, University of Florida

   4. Baltimore Orioles (69-93) -  Byron Buxton, CF, Appling County HS, GA

  5. Kansas City Royals (71-91) -  Lucas Giolito, RHP, Harvard-Westlake High School, CA

                        (the surprise for me so far is Zimmer and not Kevin Gausman. I love Zimmer as a top ten pick, but not top 5)

  6. Chicago Cubs (71-91) -   Matt Smoral, LHP, Solon High School, OH

  7. San Diego Padres (71-91) -  Kevin Gausman, RHP, Louisiana State University

  8. Pittsburgh Pirates (72-90) -  Carlos Correa, SS, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, Puerto Rico

  9. Miami Marlins (72-90) -  3B Richie Shaffer, Clemson University

10. Colorado Rockies (73-89) - Deven Marrero, SS, Arizona State University

                                    (wow… look at Richie Shaffer! A top 10 pick!  If this was the real first ten picks, there’s a lot left for my favorite team at 12…)

 11. Oakland Athletics (74-88) - Max Fried, LHP, Harvard-Westlake High School, CA

12. New York Mets (77-85) - Zach Eflin, RHP, Hagerty High School, FL - Rationale: Eflin is a breaking ball away from being one of the better pitchers in this entire draft.  Eflin already has good feel for a change-up, which is rare to see for a high school talent. The Mets need just about everything in their minor leagues and having a potential #2 starter would help them start their rebuilding process.

MLB Draft Countdown -

1) Byron Buxton, OF, Appling County HS (GA) - Even without the injury to Giolito, Buxton has shown enough to warrant the top spot amongst high-schoolers. A true five-tool stud with equal parts Alfonso Soriano, Desmond Jennings, and brothers B.J. and Justin Upton.

2) Lucas Giolito, RHP, Harvard-Westlake HS (CA) - Even with an injury that has sidelined him for almost the entire 2012 season, Giolito doesn’t fall too far thanks to amazing velocity and a hammer curveball.  

3) Carlos Correa, SS, Puerto Rican Baseball Academy - The consensus now seems to be that Correa can stick at shortstop, making him an elite prospect. His bat would have profiled at third base, but at shortstop he could be the next Manny Machado.