DRAFT: - Mike Foltynewicz, Tyler Holt, Bryan Harper, Zach Varce... and Zach Cox

Mike Foltynewicz:

4-17 from: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2010/4/17/1426860/interesting-high-school-pitchers-a  - Mike Foltynewicz, RHP, Minooka Community HS (Illinois) - A cold-weather high school arm, Foltynewicz is listed in various sources at 6-4, 190 and 6-5, 200; I'm assuming that the smaller size is from last year and that he's grown this spring. A University of Texas signee, he's another prep with a 90-94 heater topping out at 95. His curve and change are better than most cold-weather kids. Depending on what happens this spring, he could get into the supplemental or early second round, and such a position may be necessary to keep him away from the Longhorns.

4-19 from: - http://perfectgame.atinfopop.com/4/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=114295945&f=6174069131&m=4361060202&p=4  - Add Mike Foltynewicz, 6'4 plus and touching 200 lbs soaking wet, room to fill out, ala, Roy Halladay when he was in HS in Colorado. Mike is lean and has a quick arm with a short arm swing, fastball vs Oswego East was 91 consistently with loud pop when down in the zone, hit 97 on a few guns several times. Committment to U of Texas isn't going to scare clubs off after this performance, he was in the zone and has good downward tilt on his pitches and loves being out there. Definite top 50 which would put him in the first round including compensation picks, but my guess is he'll probably go in top 30 picks, last factor would be signability, which I don't see as a problem for a club who will bring him along slowly, but in 3-4 years he could explode, just as Porcello did with the Tigers.

Tyler Holt:

4-19 from: http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/19/acc-weekly-baseball-honors-2  - Florida State’s Tyler Holt has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Week. Holt hit .500 in five games last week, which included an ACC road series victory over Duke and a win over No. 7 Florida at home. The junior centerfielder registered a hit and scored a run in all five games including multiple hits in four of the five games. He finished the week posting a 1.000 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .600. He was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases and was perfect from the field in 12 fielding opportunities. Holt started the week scoring two of the three runs in FSU’s 3-2 win over Florida giving the Seminoles their third win over the Gators in four games this season. Against Duke, Holt batted .545 and slugged 1.364 as five of his six hits over the weekend went for extra bases. The Gainesville, Fla., native opened the weekend with his first multi-home run game of the series, slugging two home runs in his first two at-bats vs. Duke on Friday. He finished game one with three RBI and tied a career-high with four runs scored. On Saturday, Holt went 2-for-4 with a double, single and two runs scored, while wrapping up the weekend with a double, a run scored, two stolen bases and two walks as FSU claimed its third road ACC series of the season with an 8-3 victory over the Blue Devils.

4-20 from: - http://thecollegebaseballblog.com/2010/04/20/tcbb-players-of-the-week-2  - The College Baseball Blog continues our weekly Players and Pitchers of the Week honors this week with Tyler Holt from Florida State being the CBB Pitcher of the Week. Holt hit .500 in five games last week, which included an ACC road series victory over Duke and a win over No. 7 Florida at home. The junior centerfielder registered a hit and scored a run in all five games including multiple hits in four of the five games. He finished the week posting a 1.000 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .600. He was a perfect 5-for-5 in stolen bases and was perfect from the field in 12 fielding opportunities. Holt started the week scoring two of the three runs in FSU’s 3-2 win over Florida giving the Seminoles their third win over the Gators in four games this season. Against Duke, Holt batted .545 and slugged 1.364 as five of his six hits over the weekend went for extra bases. The Gainesville, Fla., native opened the weekend with his first multi-home run game of the series, slugging two home runs in his first two at-bats vs. Duke on Friday. He finished game one with three RBI and tied a career-high with four runs scored. On Saturday, Holt went 2-for-4 with a double, single and two runs scored, while wrapping up the weekend with a double, a run scored, two stolen bases and two walks as FSU claimed its third road ACC series of the season with an 8-3 victory over the Blue Devils.

Bryan Harper:

4-20 from: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2010/4/20/1431880/casing-the-states-nevada#storyjump : - LHP, CC of Southern Nevada - Bryce isn't the only Harper worth mentioning this spring. Bryan, a Cal State Northridge transfer, has really hit his stride since transferring in to CSN, and he's reestablished draft value that had diminished in limited use at Northridge. He has been CSN's most consistently dominant starter, and that's saying a lot on a pitching-heavy squad. This Harper doesn't feature the plus-plus raw talent of Bryce, but there's plenty to like, starting with his frame. He stands at an easy 6'5'', and he has the type of frame that scouts look for when seeking left-handed pitchers. He's lanky with broad shoulders, an excellent fit for projectability. He features a solid-average fastball that sits 88-90, touching as high as 92, and he offers above-average command when he's on. If you believe he can add velocity, he could easily sit in the 91-93 range. He throws a pair of breaking balls, both of which are usable pro pitches that are solid-average on their own. His changeup is probably his weakest pitch, but he's done an effective job of shutting down right-handed hitters anyway. Harper's total package is quite attractive, though there's still more work to be done. He has a scholarship to pitch at South Carolina if he wants to use it, but it could very well be that the Nationals re-draft him as a complement to Bryce this June, and it will be much higher than the 31st round pick they used on him in 2008. Projected Draft Range: 6th-10th Round

Zach Varce:

4-20 from: - http://perfectgame.atinfopop.com/4/OpenTopic?q=Y&a=tpc&s=114295945&f=6174069131&m=4361060202&p=5  - 6'0 190 RHP. First look and you see an undersized, athletic future bullpen guy. Which may be correct. Here is what I saw a few weeks ago. FB: Sat 90-93, topped at 94 all game in a complete game victory. Last pitch was 91. Great run and feel on his FB. He pitched where he wanted and commanded the strike zone. SL: Decent bite, threw it around 76-77. Acts more like a cutter, and gets lots of ground balls. Split: Threw at 80-82, great feel for this and is a true ground ball pitcher. This kid was very advanced and someone will get a good steal on him in the draft. Read he was up to 95 in northwoods league this past summer.

Zach Cox:

4-20 from: - http://web.goldenspikesaward.com/index.html?page=news_archive&article_id=66  - Zack Cox, a sophomore third baseman for Arkansas, has been red hot during the Razorbacks' 11-game winning streak. Cox has a 12-game hitting streak, and he has registered multiple hits in nine straight games to raise his overall line to .444/.538/.616 with six home runs and 42 RBIs.