Jeff Hoffman, Aramis Garcia, Skyler Ewing, Sean Reid-Foley, Alex Jackson

2-21-14 – Project Insider - Jeff Hoffman, RHP — East Carolina - Hoffman, who was solid yet unspectacular last Friday, will be tested versus a strong Virginia lineup that includes potential first-round pick Derek Fisher, as well as Day 2 and 3 prospects Mike Papi, Nick Howard, Branden Cogswell and Brandon Downes. Let’s see how well Fisher, a left-handed bat, can handle Hoffman, whose changeup needs work and is an offering he hasn’t used a lot just yet. Hoffman will use the fastball up in the zone to get swings and misses, however, so Fisher will need to lay off and force Hoffman to throw him strikes. This is a terrific test for Fisher, who is adept at using the left-center field gap. http://prospectinsider.com/draft-prospect-watch-hoffman-vs-fisher

3-25-14 – 5. Aramis Garcia, Florida International Height 6'2", Weight: 200 DOB: 1/12/1993 R/R - Big time riser, here is his bio, here is a riser article and here is BA raving.  He has plus arm strength, decent speed for a catcher, great intangible sixth tool, can communicate well with pitchers.  He might go pretty well.  The Cardinals drafted him before, and those guys are never wrong about anything.  And as the guy has great pop times that would stick in pro ball right now, they might just be right. http://www.yougottalikethesekids.com/2014/03/ten-catchers-in-2014-mlb-draft.html

2-27-14 – TTF - 10 college players on the rise - Skyler Ewing, 1B/C, Rice (NR) - The 6’-1”, 220 pound right-hander hit just .226/.347/.342 over 57 games as a sophomore. He did show a good approach at the plate, however, drawing 23 walks to 30 strikeouts. After making some adjustments to his swing, he was impressive at the Cape Cod League, hitting .287/.374/.496 over 34 games for Hyannis with 14 extra-base hits. He then led the team in nearly every offensive category this fall and was set for a big year. Through his first eight games, he has been a monster for the Owls. He has gone 16-for-33 (.485) with two doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI. He has drawn four walks to three strikeouts, showing a continued progression in his approach while being more aggressive at the plate. He is most likely relegated to first base, putting a lot of pressure on his bat to produce, although he can fill in at catcher if needed. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-10-college-players-rise-2/41299#ldBBF8hRKzmaiy5H.99

2-11-14 – PG/Florida HS Dream Team – P – Sean Reid-Foley, Sr. Sandalwood - Reid-Foley had a strong summer, throwing well at most of the major events this year. Of the six events he threw at this summer, he touched at least 93 mph at five of them, topping at 95 at the East Coast Pro. On top of the big velocity, the fastball shows heavy arm-side run action, and it is his off-speed that sets him apart from some of the other power arms in this year's class. He works his slider into the mid-80s, a true slider with late bite, and he also owns a fading changeup which he can bring in on righthanded hitters, a devastating pitch against hitters at this level. When everything is working, Reid-Foley dominates the opposition and gets many empty swings. http://perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=9372

3-2-14 - I saw [Alex] Jackson in person twice this summer and way more than that on TV/video. With the everlasting caveat that I’m not a scout, I walked away each time surprised — well, surprised the first time and more confused thereafter — that everybody had hyped up his bat while downplaying his glove. Not doing the Charlie Contrarian shtick, but I was more impressed with his glove than I thought and not really wowed by the bat. It’s still a really impressive, first round quality stick, especially since I think he could stick at catcher, but not the Bryce Harper (not a comparison, just mentioning him as the most recent high profile catcher to outfielder conversion) kind of hit/power/approach combination that makes you want to rush him to the big leagues as a right fielder. I’d draft him with high confidence as a mid-first round pick — could rise to top ten, easily — as a catcher, obviously a little bit lower as an outfielder (where there’s way more competition in this draft class, both prep and college). Lots of rumblings that he wants to move to the outfield ASAP to speed up his developmental timeline. That’s a fun twist on the usual team-first approach to that kind of thing. http://baseballdraftreport.com/2014/02/27/emails/