5/11/12

Building the first round of the 2012 draft by position




Building the first round of the 2012 draft by position- Help me out here.



I am in the process of building a comprehensive mock draft for next month’s amateur draft and I would like to enlist the help of anyone who reads this to work through the talent likely to go in the first round. Here is what I have so far:



The way I see it, the following players are locks to go in the first round:



College righties: Mark Appel, Kevin Gausman, Kyle Zimmer, Marcus Stroman, Michael Wacha



College lefties: Andrew Heaney



High school righties: Lucas Giolito, Walker Weickel, Lance McCullers Jr.



High school lefties: Max Fried, Matt Smoral



College outfielders: Victor Roache, Tyler Naquin



High school outfielders: Byron Buxton, Albert Almora, David Dahl, Courtney Hawkins



College infielders: Deven Marrero, Richey Shaffer



High school infielders: Carlos Correa, Gavin Cecchini, Joey Gallo



Catchers: Mike Zunino



Players I think will go in the first round but either late or will slip to the supplemental: Chris Stratton, Lucas Sims, Hunter Virant, Stryker Trahan, Steven Piscotty, Kenny Diekroger, Zach Eflin, Trey Williams, Nick Williams, Duane Underwood, Chris Beck, Adam Brett-Walker, Brian Johnson, Rio Ruiz, Corey Seager



So we have 24 who look like they are poised, at this point, to go in the first round and another 16 who are in that fringe category at the moment. Who else is a lock for the first round? Who should not be on here?

9 comments:

Sadiq Rahman said...

I just turned into a huge fan of Lance McCullers.

I hope the Mets like him a lot, because the more I see, the more I am seeing a stud.

Anonymous said...

Sadiq, I agree with mccullers. Ive also seen victor roache rated as low as #89. If we can snag him in the supplement round, we will be real happy.

Mack Ade said...

McCullers - everybody hates this guy for some reason... most project him as a middle reliever... I have never seen him (the same goes for most of the dudes that diss him)... go figure

Roache: has not healed properly and will not get a chance to showcase himslef in the playoffs... I HAVE seen him play and he's a big time bat speed guy, but there simply is too much money in the 1st round to take a chance on an injured guy... I don't see him being drafted on the first day anymore

Stephen Guilbert said...

There are a few players who I think should be first rounders who aren't projected to be. My favorite of the bunch is Duane Underwood. Both Trey and Nick Williams are going in the supplemental or early second. I would love all three of them in the system.

Stephen Guilbert said...

I like McCullers as well. He has allowed one run all season and his fastball has hit 100. He throws two breaking pitches, has the blood-lines, and pitches against good high school competition.

If a team were to jump the gun on him, my money is on Beane and the A's right before we pick.

Mack Ade said...

both of the Williams haven't got much positive press lately... why, I don't know.

I really like Underwood as a sup-1 pick - sits 94

Stephen Guilbert said...

and touches 97-98 with a good looking curve too.

Marcus Stroman could be our closer come July.

Mack Ade said...

I can't see the Mets picking either McCullers or Stroman at 12, and both will probably be gone before their sup-1 pick comes up.

Last night's 120-pitch complete game will probably elevate Lance back into a first round pick.

Marcus "struggled" according to the pundits... check the horrible stat line and get a good laugh.

But, some team will make the mistake of drafting Strman as a starter. It's not going to happen in the pros. His lack of height increases the amount of time the ball is in the air and his low trajectory angle will take away the high end of the strike zone.

Stephen Guilbert said...

You may be right Mack (although I disagree with you...tall pitchers have short strides and some come from low three quarters which can amount to the same "angle" as Stroman's given his height) and you might be wrong. Fact of the matter is he has the best pure stuff in this draft and so what if he ends up as a dominant closer?!? His floor is late-inning reliever and his ceiling is an SP1. That's as good a floor-ceiling in this draft and given the fact that 16 of the 30 major league teams bumped or lost their closer within the first month and a half of the season, he would be worth the first round pick regardless. I'd take him in a heartbeat.