Some lesser known 2011 Big West draft prospects

Mack's Mets have discussed some of the top 2011 potential draftees, namely Noe Ramirez, Nick Ramirez, Tyler Pill and Andrew Gagnon.

Today we are going to discuss three (3) lesser known prospects from the Big West:

Bobby Crocker-Cal Poly (OF)-

Crocker could potentially be a five (5) tool player. He is a physical specimen at 6'3" and 220lbs from Aptos, CA whose LL team went to the World Series in Williamsport, PA.

Bobby's strength's are his size, strength and speed. When looking at a college player I look for consistency and growth. His stats from his freshman year in 2009 and 2010 show growth and no holes, i.e. no fluke stats which are up one year and down drastically the next. He batted .323/.351 through his freshman/sophomore campaigns, 24/49 rbi, 10/18 SB's with an 85% success rate both seasons.

The downside is he still needs to learn to play a better OF taking marginal routes and committing 9 errors in RF. Another spot for improvement is his BB/K ratio striking out twice as many times as he walks and at a 20% rate.

 Still scouts are drooling over this prospect for the aforementioned reasons and I expect him to go in the top 3 rounds, perhaps higher.

Scott Lyman- UC Davis (SP, OF, CL)-

Lyman is another potential five (5) tool guy, but the question is whether he will pitch or be an OF. Similar to Crocker he is a big and strong 6'2" 210lbs. As a freshman he only pitched in relief getting 2 saves in 39 IP, but there are control problems walking more than he struck out and also nearly walking one per inning. On the flip side he sits 91-92 touching 94 and his velocity in the 7th inning isn't noticeably lower than the 1st inning. His secondary pitches are a work in progress as he gets in trouble while batter's sit on his fastball.

In 2010 he became a two way player displaying similar wildness (6+ ERA) to 2009, but with many more K's. In addition, he hit .356 in the middle of the line-up for the Aggies with 5 HR's in a cavernous Dobbins Stadium.

Scott's older brother Jeff is a SP in the Braves organization and to me is a for sure top 5-10 round pick depending on whether he goes position player or on the hill.

Matt Jensen- Cal Poly (2B)-

Jensen was a much heralded 2B out of Clovis, CA who has had two significant injuries each of his first two seasons. His true freshman year he batted .375 with nine (9) bombs in only 160 AB's before breaking a collarbone. Matt is known as a hit first (with power) average defender with average speed. He was a finalist to join Team USA and entered 2010 with a lot of fanfare. Unfortunately he started slowly and ended at .270 with a nearly 1:1 BB/SO ratio and this season ended in a wrist injury.

Therefore given my comments above about consistencey, I'm not sure what scouts will end up doing with him draft wise. If he retuns to his 2009 level he will go high, if not it is round 10-15.

Rich