3/24/14

Draft 14 – Jacob Gatewood, Slade Heggen, Matt Chapman, Matthew Rainey, Nick Gordon


2-5-14 - Continuing our profiles of some of the top high school hitters available in the 2014 MLB Rule IV Draft brings a look at Jacob Gatewood, a Short Stop from Clovis High School in Clovis, CA. Do you like your up the middle players tall, lanky and wiry? Do you like them with plus raw power? Do you like them to wrists that would make Connor MacLeod envious? If you answered yes, you’ll probably like Gatewood. If you answered no to any of those three questions then I’ll remind you that Chuck Knoblauch ain’t coming through that door, and you really, really need to go watch Highlander. Gatewood works from a tall set-up, allowing his length and wiry strength to be used to his advantage. As I’ve discussed in regard to Joey Gallo, depth and distance from the plate in a hitter’s stance as well as angles through the zone become an ever-present concern for tall hitters with long limbs. Too much ‘hunch’ in their set-up will lead to an inability to get the bat head through the zone and anything less than an absolutely direct lines will lead to plenty of sad-faced calls to their bat supplier. http://projectprospect.com/article/2014/02/04/2014-mlb-draft-jacob-gatewood-hitter-profile

1-27-14 – BP - Positional Preview: High School Catchers - Slade Heggen | C/OF/3B | Loyola Sacred Heart (Missoula, MT) | Commit: Oregon  Height/Weight: 6-foot/195 pounds  B/T: R/R  Draft Day Age: 18y 6m  Heggen is an interesting blend of athleticism, raw ability, and now performance. The Treasure State standout utilizes a short swing path with lots of pitch-plane overlap to produce hard contact, and showed the ability to square quality arms at multiple stops along the showcase circuit. He has a tendency to pop the clutch when transitioning from load to swing, but it is not a long-term concern. Heggen moves well behind the plate, but regularly struggles with his catch-and-throw game due to inconsistencies in his transfer and release (leading to lots of bounces into the bag). Further, some question whether his frame and build will prove capable of handling the grind of a long pro season behind the dish. If he does have to shift out from behind the plate he moves well enough to hold down an outfield corner. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=22662

1-3-14 – TTF Baseball - 40. Milwaukee Brewers — Matt Chapman, 3B, Cal State Fullerton - The 6’-2”, 200 pound right-hander has a plus arm and enough range to stick at the hot corner. Whether or not the power will show up and remain there is up for debate. He does show an advanced approach at the plate, having drawn 34 walks to 29 strikeouts over 55 games as a sophomore. I got to see him play with The Collegiate National Team and really liked his line-drive swing. He wound up leading Team USA in RBI with 20 over 23 games and drew 14 walks for a .396 OBP. If the power comes this year, he could move up draft boards. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-2/40753#ppGUqI6CbWFvzsPf.99


11-21-13 – BA Top 100 High School Players - 42 Matthew Railey OF L/L 5-11* 195 North Florida Christian, Tallahassee, Fla. Florida State http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/2014-high-school-top-100-with-commitments/

3-20-14 – Cubs Insider - • Nick Gordon, Olympia High School (Orlando, Fla.) shortstop/pitcher: Good bloodlines as the son of Tom/“Flash,” who lasted 20-plus years in the big leagues, and younger brother of Dee, who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Committed to Florida State University. http://www.csnchicago.com/cubs/mlb-draft-cubs-identifying-targets-no-4-overall-pick

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