There’s a kid out of Crest High School, in Shelby, North Carolina, that we all need to keep an eye on. His name is Mason McCullough a 6-3, 220 pound RHP that can hit 93 and sits in the 90-92 range, with sink.
He is committed to North Carolina but we all know what that’s worth at this point.
McCullough also pitched American Legion ball in 2009 and led the league with a 1.56 ERA. He’s also been sort of a local hero dating back to Little League.
The first I heard about him was immediately after the Impact Futures Games on August 28th.
Remember the name.
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The WWBA produced a lot of new names, one of which was 6-9, 225-pound Taylore Cherry, out of Vandalia Butler.
Cherry won’t be eligible for the draft until 2012, but the kid turned a few heads, hitting 92 on his fastball. Scouts on the scene all agreed that more speed will come as he matures.
He also throws a side-arm fast ball, a curve, and a change-up.
Critics will tell you that he has a lot of work to do on his mechanics and his arm slot is inconsistent.
Wildness is also one of his pitches, which he was quoted to say in an article in his local newspaper as: “I’d just say that sometimes I’m effectively wild.”
Look, the kid’s green, but he’s also 6-9 as a junior in high school.
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Being a Mets writer, I am very familiar with the name of pitcher Henry Owens. The problem is this isn’t him.
A brand new Owens is one of the top pitchers in the upcoming draft and is an odds on favorite to go in either the first or supplement first round in 2011.
Owns is a lefty out of Edison High School, in Huntington Beach, California.
The 6-6, 195-pounder throws a 77-79 change up that not only fades, but sinks, a 68071 curve with a 1-7 break, a plus slider… but his fastball only sits in the high-
Everybody has this kid on their mock list. Right now, he’s the 4th top left handed pitcher on my composite list, behind Matt Purke, Daniel Norris, and Danny Hultzen.
The Sully Draft had him as the 13th overall pick, and both MyMLB and MLB Prospect had him 17th, and his lowest slotting was 68th by PG Tracker.
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As of November 1, 2001, there are 21 players in the top three tiers of the upcoming 2011 baseball draft.
The first group, tier one, consists of six players that will most probably all be gone in the first ten picks.
They are, in no particular order, 3B Anthony Rendon, RHPs Gerrit Cole, Sonny Gray, and Taylor Jungmann, and LHPs Matt Purke and Daniel Norris.
Tier two consists of five more players that are almost guaranteed to be first round picks. They are, RHPs Dylan Bundy and Archie Bradley, and outfielders Jackie Bradley, Travis Harrison, and George Springer.
Lastly, comes the ten tier three players, who will all be gone halfway through the first supplement round. They are, RHPs Alex Meyer, Jack Armstrong, Trevor Bauer, Matt Barnes, and Michael Kelly, LHP Danny Hultzen, C Blake Swihart, 2B Josh Tobias, SS/3B Jason Esposito, and outfielder Mickie Mahtook.
One caveat. All us mock pundits think we got this figured out every year, and then guys like Barrett Loux get drafted and we all shake our heads. This is not an exact science, but the work we do hopefully gives you all the opportunity to become more educated to the process.
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Coming up this weekend...
The Northern California Showcase - November 6-7 - Banner Island Ballpark - Stockton, California
This showcase is intended for high school players who will graduate in 2011, 2012, 2013 or 2014, and players from all four classes have enrolled in the event.
There is still time to get an invite.
Go to: http://www.perfectgame.org/ for details.
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