Draft 13 – Austin Wilson, Andrew Knapp, Ryan Eades, Matt McPhearson, Preston Palmeiro

Austin Wilson, OF, Stanford - In his nine games since returning from an elbow injury he suffered in the first game of the season, the 6’-5” right-hander has gone 13-for-31 (.419) with five doubles, a home run, nine RBI and has drawn five walks to just two strikeouts for a .526 OBP/.677 SLG. His upside of a power hitting corner outfielder with speed should land him among the top-20 picks in the 2013 MLB draft. link

Andrew Knapp, California - Arguably the best college catcher available in the 2013 MLB draft, the switch-hitting Knapp has a lot of potential at the plate but is still inconsistent behind it. He does have a strong arm and is a good athlete, he just needs to settle down and rely on his instincts rather than trying to rush everything. He has a nice stroke from both sides of the plate and makes consistent, hard contact. Over 43 games this season, he is hitting .344 with 11 doubles, six home runs, 34 RBI and has drawn 19 walks for a .421 OBP/.521 SLG. I wouldn’t use a second-round pick on him, but if he is there the third time around, he could be a good value pick. -  link

When Ryan Eades was a sophomore in high school, scouts in Louisiana thought he would become a first-round pick. It turns out, they might be right—it just took a little longer than they expected for him to get there. As a junior at Louisiana State, the hard-throwing righthander is learning to harness the talent that spawned those bold prophecies five years ago. link

Dan Kirby‏  @DanMKirby

Another guy is 6'-0" L/L CF Matt McPhearson. Has +/+ speed (88 SB over last 55 G) Hit .476/.603/.677 this season

Preston Palmeiro, 3B/OF, Heritage HS (TX) - The son of the Cubs 1985 first-round pick (22nd overall), and 3,000-hit member, Rafael Palmeiro, Preston is a 6’-1”, 195-pound left-hander just like his pops. He also is a teammate of Cody Thomas. He makes great contact like his dad, and he also has a great approach at the plate. Over 33 games this season, he is hitting .385 with 12 extra-base hits and has drawn 26 walks for a .524 OBP/.594 SLG. An average runner, he relies more on his athleticism and instincts to steal bases and defend his position. He has a strong enough arm to remain at third but will probably end up in a corner outfield position. His bat is his best asset and he also has the bloodlines thing going for him. Could be a nice mid-round selection

   link

2013 Draft-Notes – Austin Wilson, Cavan Biggio, Colin Moran, Kevin Goldstein

Austin Wilson, OF, Harwich (Stanford) - Put together a great batting practice and also destroyed an Aaron Kubitza fastball oppo into the woods at Harwich. There’s a lot of swing and miss here and the approach is raw. As BB’s Pete Wardell put it to me - “he gives away AB’s.” He certainly does that. Soft approach really needs work. Monster tools... but he’s going to be a difficult guy to place in a soft college position player class. Pretty remarkable the contrast in styles of play, bodies and attitudes between teammates Ervin and Wilson.  BB

Infielder Cavan Biggio (St. Thomas High, Houston) has been a consistent performer in the last two weeks of Team USA events. He's made solid contact throughout, but put an exclamation point on his time in North Carolina in the fifth inning of the final Prospect Classic contest. With the Stripes down 4-1, Biggio stepped up with the bases loaded and no outs. Righthander Kevin Davis (Miller High, Brewton, Ala.) was on the hill throwing in the low 90s, but having trouble throwing strikes.  BA

The White Sox have agreed to terms with Johan Cruz, a shortstop from the Dominican Republic. Cruz, 16, is 6-foot-1, 175 pounds and has stood out in the field with good hands, footwork and arm strength. He's a righthanded hitter from Puerto Plata who trained with Victor Baez. - BA2

LHP Carlos Rodon is BA's Freshman of the Year

Bourne 3B Colin Moran exploded for 7 RBI and 10 total bases in a 11-6 win over Wareham. His two HR came in the league's toughest HR park.

Kevin Goldstein –

Q - News on an updated 50 is coming soon. RT @bigmetsfan123: How many prospects do the Mets have in your top 50

A - News on an updated 50 is coming soon.

Q – Have you ever considered answering all these questions drunk?

A – Considered?

2013 Draft-Notes – William Abreu, USA Baseball, JaCoby Jones, Austin Wilson, Stuff

JD Sussman - Three Prospects most likely to be traded this season:1) Mike Olt 2) Julio Teheran 3) Gary Sanchez

Player:  William Abreu   Position:  OF  School:  Mater Academy (FL)   Date of Birth:  3/21/1995   Height/Weight:  6’3/195   Bats/Throws:  L/L   2013 Class:  Senior   Committed To:  Miami   Scouting Report: …………. Link to free report:  http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2012/07/02/2013-mlb-draft-profile-william-abreu/  

Kendall Rogers‏ - Oregon State stud sophomore OF Michael Conforto went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBIs to lead one of the two teams… RHP Jake Reed had a solid showing, tossing two hitless frames in relief… Cavan Biggio went 2-for-3 with a grand slam and a run scored…

Frankie Piliere‏ - Jacoby Jones and Austin Wilson just putting on epic batting practice displays right now

Blue Jays Sign No. 13 International Prospect Richard Urena

Fresno State RHP Aaron Judge won the 2012 College HR Derby

USA Baseball:

    •Michael Conforto went 3-4 with a double and a stolen base

    •Austin Cousino and Michael Lorenzen each went 2-4

    •Cavan Biggio went 2-3 with a home run and 2 walks

    •Willie Abreu went 2-3

    •Keegan Thompson and Stephen Gonsalves each pitched a shutout inning.    Gonsalves had 2 strikeouts

    •Jake Reed and Trevor Williams each pitched 2 shutout innings

2013 Draft-Notes - Austin Wilson, USA Baseball 18U Team Trials

Player:  Austin Wilson   Position:  OF   School:  Stanford   Date of Birth:  2/7/1992   Height/Weight:  6’5/245   Bats/Throws:  R/R   2013 Class:  Junior   Previously Drafted:  2010, 12th Rd, Cardinals  Scouting Report:  Austin Wilson has top of the first round tools.  His improvement and performance in 2013 will determine exactly where he is drafted, but the tools will keep him from sliding very far. http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/2012/06/24/2013-mlb-draft-profile-austin-wilson/

The Texas Rangers have signed a trio of minor league free agents over the last week––outfielder Brandon Garcia, left-handed pitcher Ryne Slack, and right-handed pitcher Alex De la Cruz… 

Jonathan C. Mitchell -

Diamondbacks 1st pick Stryker Trahan hitting .500/.636/1.000 with 2 HR, 7 BB, & a 2B in first 5 pro games. Also 2 E & runners 12-12 in SB… David Dahl with good start to pro career: .321/.367/.536 with 2 2B and 2 3B… WhiteSox 1st pick Courtney Hawkins 6-25 with 0 BB and 8 Ks to start pro career.

Kendall Rogers‏ -

LBSU signee and RHP Ryan McNeil agreed to terms with the Cubs for around full pick value ($471K)

USA Baseball 18U Team Trials –

                        Blue Team 3 Red Team 1 

 •Andy McGuire and Drew Ward each went 1-3, with McGuire also taking a walk and Ward getting a double.

 •John Sternagel went 2-3 with a triple.

 •John Kilichowski pitched 3 hitless innings, walking 2 and striking out 5.

 •Garrett Williams pitched 3 innings, allowing 1 unearned run.  He gave up 3 hits and walked 1 while striking out 4.

                        Collegiate National Team 7, Wilmington 4

 •Marco Gonzales went 2-3 with a double.

 •Kris Bryant hit a home run for Team USA.

 •Adam Plutko pitched 4 shutout inning, allowing 1 hit and striking out 5.

 •Johnathon Crawford and Bobby Wahl each contibuted 1 shutout inning, with Wahl striking out the side in his 1 inning of work.

                                                                      http://bigleaguefutures.net/1/  

Buster Olney‏ -

Bert Blyleven says Roger Clemens shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame

Cost concerns about adding 5th ump to help replay system? Let's get real: Hiring 15 more umps costs less than what A-Rod makes in a month

D1 Notes 6-9-12 – Karsten Whitson- Super Regionals, Austin Wilson, William Abreu, Ryne Stanek

Karsten Whitson – http://mlbdraftcountdown.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/karsten-whitson-rhp-florida/

Class: College Junior   Hometown: Chipley, Florida   Height/Weight: 6-4/215  Born: August 25, 1991  Two years ago, Whitson was tabbed by the Padres with the ninth-overall pick in the draft. While many expected him to sign with San Diego, he shocked both the front-office and many more in the baseball world by turning down their $2.1 million offer. Whitson headed off to Gainesville and earned Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors from Perfect Game. He went 8-1 with a 2.40 ERA and tied for the team-lead with 19 games started. Against the toughest conference in the land, he went 4-0 with a 2.56 ERA. He posted an 18:4 K:BB ratio in four NCAA tournament games and even earned the start in game two of the College World Series championship series against South Carolina.

Jonathan Mayo’s draft winners –

            Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates: 

The Brewers have agreed to terms with Victor Roache, the second of their two first-round picks, for $1,525,000. An outfielder from Georgia Southern, Roache led NCAA Division I with 30 homers in 2011 but broke his left wrist diving to make a catch in February and missed most of this season. – BA 

Kyle Zimmer signed with Kansas City - $3mil. 

Baton Rouge Super Regional, Game 2 ESPN2 - #7 LSU 4, Stony Brook 4 -  Aaron Nola: 6IP-2R-9H (HR-3B)-HB-6K, 109 pitches (74 Ks)... CF Travis Jankowski 3-6, 1-R… 2B JaCoby Jones 2-5, 1-R, 1-RBI 

Tucson Super Regional, Game 1 (ESPN2) – Arizona 7, St. Johns 6 – SP Kyle Hansen 5-R, 4-ER,7-H, 4-BB, HB, 1-K… SP Kurt Heyer 9.1-IP, 6-ER, 4-K, 0-BB… LF Jeremy Baltz 2-5, 1-R, 1-RBI 

Austin Wilson –

   Class: College Junior   Hometown: Los Angeles, California   Height/Weight: 6-5/245   Born: February 7, 1992  While Stanford is known among the NCAA as one of the most prestigious college baseball programs around, they have a track record lately of turning highly thought of draft prospects into duds. The most recent example came in the form of shortstop Kenny Diekroeger. Drafted in the second-round of the 2009 draft, he chose to attend Stanford, partially in the hopes that three years later he would be a once-in-a-lifetime prospect. He had all the tools, and shortly after the 2011 draft he appeared on many watch lists for the 2012 draft. http://wp.me/p1D0JZ-t5

William Abreu –

   Class: HS Senior   Hometown: Hialeah, Florida   Height/Weight: 6-3/195  - Albert Almora went sixth-overall in this year’s draft, and while that should be an incredible source of pride for his baseball program, Mater Academy, the same team has another player who should figure into next year’s top picks as well. That player in question is Almora’s outfield-mate, William Abreu, who, as of right now could be looking at a top-five selection. http://wp.me/p1D0JZ-t1

Ryne Stanek

   RHP, Arkansas Class: College Junior Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas Height/Weight: 6-4/180 Born: July 26, 1991 photo courtesy of ncaa.com Scouts were disappointed when Major League Baseball declared the date for the first day of the draft to be June 4th, making redshirt sophomore Ryne Stanek ineligible for the 2012 draft. He will be, therefore, one of the most highly sought after players in the 2013 draft class. Stanek was drafted in the third-round of the 2010 draft by Seattle after a strong spring his senior season that saw him touch 96 mph. He spurned the M’s offers to attend Arkansas and he made an instant impact as a freshman, appearing in 15 games and holding opposing batters to a .213 average. http://wp.me/p1D0JZ-st

Q and A - Drafting a Catcher in June

An old anonymous catcher friend of mine who has asked to remain anonymous has asked me a question:

Hey Mack... I have to go back and tell you were right about Yasmani Grandal. Sure, we might now all be Matt Harvey fans right now, but if the Mets had drafted Yaz, we wouldn't be worrying about who was going to catch this team from 2012-2018.

So, will they make the same mistake again?



Mack:  Great hearing from you. Wish you were still wearing a Mets uniform.

In one sense, the Mets did try to address the problem last draft with the 3rd round pick of Blake Forsythe; however, to date, it hasn't panned out to be a great pick.

I can't see the Mets drafting with the 13th overall pick anything other than one of the quality arms out there. There may not be as talented draft for starters like this in a long time.

The 44th pick can go either another starter, a big bat, or a catcher. I'm sure Blake Swihart and C.J. Cron will be gone by then, but if Austin Hedges, Andrew Susac, or Peter O'Brien are still around, one could become a Met.

The problem is that this draft has no sure fire catcher like Grandal. The Mets could have put that position to bed for 10 years, but didn't.