Draft 2012: Max Fried, Adam Brett Walker, Hunter Virant, Avery Romero

Max Fried, LHP, Harvard-Westlake, CA  Max Fried should make scouts happy. He pitches as the same high school as Giolito and is a crazy good prospect. He is 6'3", 170 LBS and is the definition of projectable. He is thin and loose in his delivery and can already touch 95. He may even gain a couple MPH as he gains strength. That is scary from a lefty.  That isn't even to mention his impressive secondary pitches. He almost floats through his delivery. His breaking ball is a bit loopy and inconsistent as well but we are talking about an 18 year old here. It could be a 70 pitch, as he commands it well. His change also flashes plus potential.  A lefty with 3 average to well above average pitches projects as a #3 starter all the way up to an Ace. There are a variety of outcomes that could happen here but the potential for a top of the rotation lefty shouldn't last long. I would be surprised if he isn't taken in the top 10 picks. If he opts for college, UCLA is his destination. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/2/6/2773435/2012-baseball-draft-high-school-prospects-1-5

DH Adam Brett Walker  School: Jacksonville  Cl.: Junior, Ht.: 6-5, Wt.: 222  Hometown.: Milwaukee, Wis.  High school: Milwaukee Lutheran Walker is having an exceptional collegiate career. He had a good freshman campaign and went a step further last season with an amazing sophomore campaign. He has involved into an elite hitting prospect. In 2011, he batted .409 with 23 doubles, 13 home runs and 75 RBIs.  http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6498  

Hunter Virant, Camarillo (Calif.)   Virant, who could join Fried and right-hander Giolito at UCLA next season, is a first-round talent heading into the spring schedule. He sits in the 88-92 mph range and has topped out at 93, and the pitch carries some late life. He has good arm speed, which bodes well for his changeup. http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/1086/max-fried-leads-class-of-2012-left-handers  

Avery Romero is one of the top prep prospects from talent rich Florida.  Romero has a smooth balanced swing that produces power to all fields.  He has good bat speed and makes consistent hard contact.  Pitch recognition is another strength for Romero. Romero shows good actions in the infield.  He has soft hands to go along with a strong accurate arm.  Some see a move to third base in the future due to Romero lacking ideal quickness for a middle infield spot. Romero is a competitive player with a very strong work ethic.  He looks to be a high round selection in the 2012 draft. http://mlbdraftguide.com/

Draft 2012 – Josh Elander, Jake Barrett, Hunter Virant, Avery Romero, Robert Refsnyder

Josh Elander — 6’-0”, C, TCU  Elander is an offensive catcher with great plate discipline. He hit .333 with five home runs, 38 RBI and nine stolen bases over 48 games for TCU in 2011. He also added 28 walks, showing his advanced approach at the plate. Just average defensively, Elander is athletic enough to improve enough behind the dish to stay at his position. A strong 2012 could push him to a late-first-round pick. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/top-50-draft-prospects-for-2012-50-thru-26/15621/

Jake Barrett / RHP /Arizona State – Barrett’s repertoire is good enough to start, but the delivery screams reliever, as does the command. His size (6-4, 220) gives him the chance to be a durable innings eater, but a beyond maximum delivery makes this very unlikely. Still, there’s a chance he can be next years John Stilson, hopefully without the injury to end the year. http://mlbdraftinsider.com/2011/12/top-twelve-college-pitchers/

Hunter Virant hasn't been pitching for all that long, but he's shown the potential and projectability to get scouts very excited about his future. Virant has the chance to have four at least Major League average offerings. While his fastball sits in the 87-88 mph range, he'll touch 90 mph and with his projectable frame, there should be more in the tank. There's the typical lefty sink in to left-handed hitters on his two-seamer. His curve is inconsistent right now -- he'll drop his arm angle to make it too slurvy -- but that will improve with time and experience. He doesn't always command his changeup now, but it should be a solid offering in the future. He'll also cut his fastball for a slider-like look. He throws the fastball for strikes and competes well. And he does it all with a very smooth delivery. Those raw ingredients, along with his ideal pitcher's frame and his handling of the big-spotlight events should have many scouts watching his progress this springhttp://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/

Avery Romero, 2B/SS, Pedro Menendez (St. Augustine, Fla.)  - Generally speaking, scouts believe Romero has to move off shortstop as a pro, likely sliding to third base where his plus arm and sound fundamentals should play well. His hit tool is his calling card at present and more power should develop as he improves his plate skills. Romero, a potential top 50 selection, is also committed to the University of Florida. He hit .458 last year with five homers, 18 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/940/mccullers-jr-is-top-florida-diamond-star

We continue the countdown today at number 28 with Arizona junior outfielder Robert Refsnyder. The Laguna Hills High School alum starred at the school being named First team All-CIF, Pacific Coast League MVP as a senior, and named to the All-PCL First Team as a junior. He currently still holds school records for highest career batting average and highest single season batting average. Refsynder stepped right into the Arizona Wildcats lineup as a freshman in 2010 making 57 appearances including 55 starts while playing defensively at designated hitter, second base, third base, left field and first base. He finished with a .344 average with two homers and 40 RBI while stealing six bases. He was named a 2010 Pac-10 Honorable Mention member for his performance.  http://ht.ly/1grZBu

Draft 2012: - Avery Romero, Ty Hensley, Jake Stewart, Austin Aune, Nick Dolsky

9-18-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/09/18/avery-romero-2012-draft-profile  - Player:  Avery Romero

                Position:  SS/2B

                School:  Pedro Menendez HS, FL

                Date of Birth:  5/11/1993

                Height/Weight:  6’0/195

                Bats/Throws:  R/R

                Class Of:  2012

                Committed To:  Florida

                Scouting Report: -  Avery Romero is one of the top prep prospects from talent rich Florida. Romero has a smooth balanced swing that produces power to all fields.  He has good bat speed and makes consistent hard contact.  Pitch recognition is another strength for Romero. Romero shows good actions in the infield.  He has soft hands to go along with a strong accurate arm.  Some see a move to third base in the future due to Romero lacking ideal quickness for a middle infield spot. Romero is a competitive player with a very strong work ethic.  He looks to be a high round selection in the 2012 draft

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments

Ty Hensley, Santa Fe HS, Edmond OK, 6’4 1/2 220, tall righty with plus arm strength, fb very straight and no deception, delivery out of synch on this day, up to 93 on fb, most were 91, cb has proper bite not much deception as he slows delivery down to get it over, will be someone to watch. Good bloodlines.

9-8-11: - http://www.gacksports.com/65590/2012-mlb-mock-draft-update - 19. San Francisco Giants Jake Stewart Outfielder Stanford Jake Stewart is an outfielder for Stanford.    His dad James played baseball at Virginia Tech before being a minor league player for the Minnesota Twins. His high school team won 3 straight state championships before being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 14th round following high school.  He won state championships in 2007 and 2008 while playing football and basketball in high school.  Williams had a .511 batting average during his senior year of high school.

9-21-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6253 – Comment From Larry - Who is the top 2012 HS player out of Texas. Williams and Hawkins both seem to have very high ceilings. Anybody else?  - Texas is loaded this year, even with the probable withdrawl of SS C.J. Hinojosa, a Anthony Rendon clone, from the 2012 draft to enroll early at Texas. Williams and Hawkins certainly stand out, but there is a depth of players around the state. One of my favorite sleepers is Argyle HS 3B/CF Austin Aune, who is also a top QB going to TCU. He has first round tools in my opinion if everything falls right for him next spring.

9-1-11: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com   Nick Dolsky, Nebraska, 6'7 235, tall righty, draft eligible due to age, turns 21 in December, comes downhill from H 3/4 arm slot, has some life on his fb down on the knees that will touch 91-92 on occ, most fb upper 80's, had a very solid summer thus far in the N'woods League and seems to have found his breaking ball over the summer. With new pitching coach Silva working with him this fall, the sky is the limit with this kid. Right now projects to be a 4-7 rounder but could move up with added velocity and better command next spring. You don't get many tall righties with good coordination like this kid has.