Draft 13 – Will Haynie, Corey Ray, Kyle Serrano, Collin Moran, Jonathan Gray

 

Will Haynie, C/3B, Brentwood Academy (TN) - The 6’-5”, 225-pound right-hander is a catcher now, but will most likely end up at third or a corner outfield position due to his size. He has very good power and has been showing a great approach at the plate this season. Over his last five games, he has gone 9-for-12 (.750) with two home runs, six walks and an .842 OBP. On the season, he is hitting .470/.613/.790 over 35 games with eight home runs, 31 walks and just 12 strikeouts. Committed to Alabama. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2013-mlb-draft-ten-high-school-players-on-the-rise/32935#ukjIhwu7UDCzZKTx.99

 

Corey Ray, OF, Simeon HS (IL) - The 5’-11” left-hander just keeps mashing the baseball. On Friday, he went 2-for-3 with a double, triple, two RBI, two walks and a stolen base as Simeon beat Lane Tech — my old stomping grounds — 10-5 in the Public League playoffs. Over his last 11 games, he is hitting .485 with four doubles, four triples, two home runs, 14 RBI and has stolen 12 bases. He has also drawn 12 walks for a .630 OBP/1.030 SLG. A quick-twitch athlete who can play all three outfield positions due to his strong arm and speed, Ray has been flashing his five-tool ability at the right time. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2013-mlb-draft-9/33241#WdxR2YIG1GzGdJCZ.99  

 

Kyle Serrano, P, Tennessee 50%- Serrano's Dad is the new coach at Tennessee and the SEC is growing all the time. It could be a good step for the elder Serrano's coaching career if his son came aboard and helped turn around Tennessee. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2013/5/20/4344286/2013-mlb-draft-players-with-signability-questions

 

Castle‏@TheACastle - IF Colin Moran goes to Astros, Cubs will surely be in war with Scott Boras for Appel, Gray, or Bryant.

 

The Cubs are finalizing prep work for the First-Year Player Draft, to be held June 6, and Theo Epstein, president of baseball operations, led a group of front office executives to Oklahoma to meet Wednesday with right-handed pitcher Jonathan Gray. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130522&content_id=48302062&notebook_id=48323968&vkey=notebook_chc&c_id=chc&tcid=tw_article_48302062

Draft 13 – Hunter Green, Collin Moran, Keegan Thompson, Sean Manaea, Clinton Hollon

Hunter Green, LHP, Warren East HS (KY) - At 6’-4” and 170 pounds, Green has reportedly touch 95 mph this season and will add more velocity once he matures. He adds a deceptive change-up and a power curveball with nice depth. He locates his pitches well and has a good feel for his pitches. He has 28 strikeouts over his 12 innings and now has 89 K/26 BB over 41.2 innings, allowing one run on just 13 hits. A ton of upside who could be a major steal if he is available at 41. link

How high will Colin Moran go in the draft? = Jim Callis: I think somewhere from the No. 6 and No. 10 overall picks.

Keegan Thompson, RHP, Cullman HS (AL) - In his last start, the 6’-3” right-hander struck out 16 over seven shutout innings. Over 15 starts this season, he now has 1.60 ERA, 0.77 WHIP and an eye-popping 124 K/8 BB over 73 innings, allowing just 48 hits. He features a mid-90s fastball, plus curve, a developing change-up and has superb command of all three. He is as polished a prep arm as there is having pitched for Team USA baseball multiple times and seems to always play his best in the biggest games. Committed to Auburn. link

Sean Manaea has the combination of pure power stuff, size and left-handedness teams often covet. He had a dominant summer season. But has he shown the kind of consistency scouts like to see to be No. 1? His numbers have been good: 5-3, 1.57 ERA, a .195 BAA in 57 1/3 innings with 72 strikeouts, though he has walked 20. A hip issue has impacted his performance lately. - link

Nathan Rode ‏@NathanRode

87-pitch no-no for RHP Clinton Hollon tonight. 11 Ks, 1 BB. 7 IP.

Draft 13 – Aaron Judge, Corey Simpson, Clint Frazier, Collin Moran

Aaron Judge, OF, Fresno State - Over his last 17 games, the 6’-7” right-hander has gone 28-for-66 (.424) with seven doubles, a triple, four home runs and has stolen five bases. He has also drawn 10 walks for a .500 OBP/.742 SLG. He is now hitting .347/.434/.597 over 37 games. His long swing leads to a lot of strikeouts but the power potential is scary with his size.  link

Dan Kirby  @DanMKirby 

Sweeny HS (TX) 6'-3" 220 lb C- Corey Simpson over 24 G: .578 w/ 11 2B, 10 HR, 16 BB/5 K, .659 OBP/1.183 SLG. Possible #Cubs target

The Player: Clint Frazier (OF, Loganville High School) – Hit .424 with 24 home runs, 55 runs scored, 58 RBI, 14 steals and 31 walks as a junior in 2012. Broke Brandon Moss’ single season school record for RBI and home runs and also set the school mark for runs scored. Already owns the career home run mark at Loganville and has almost doubled Moss’ previous school best. As of April 8th, Frazier was hitting .561 with 11 home runs so far this season. - link

Collin Moran - Contact/Approach - You won't see too many "grip and rip" hitters at North Carolina, and Moran is no exception. He has plus pitch recognition and a line drive swing that should allow him to hit for a high average as a professional. Power - Moran's power was a major question mark coming into the year, but he's turned it on this season. If he had to move to first, his power production would probably be below-average, but at the hot corner he should get enough extra-base hits. link