Kevin Gausman / RHP / LSU – A draft-eligible sophomore, Gausman struggled with his command in 2011, but a fastball that sits in the 94 range with an above-average change and breaking ball puts the former Colorado high-school star in the second slot to start the campaign. There’s very little wasted motion in the delivery, and scouts rave about his makeup. There’s plenty of projection here, and if the command improves, he’ll be gone before the first ten picks are made. http://mlbdraftinsider.com/2011/12/top-twelve-college-pitchers/
Jeremy Baltz — 6’-3”, OF, St. John’s - Baltz has one of the most polished bats in the draft. He hit .396 with 24 home runs and 85 RBI as a freshman in 2011, earning him NCAA Freshman of the Year honors. He then tore up the Cape Cod League hitting .321 with two home runs and 23 RBI over 42 games, including a league-leading 13 doubles. He also showed off his advanced plate discipline by walking 25 times while only striking out 22 times over that span. With another impressive sophomore campaign, Baltz could shoot up draft boards come June. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/top-50-draft-prospects-for-2012-50-thru-26/15621/
Already on radars following a sophomore season that saw him hit .364, Stephen Piscotty certainly helped his status with a strong Cape League season, where he won the batting title with his .349 average. Piscotty has an easy swing with good bat speed, making consistent hard contact and hitting to all fields. He's shown raw power to all fields as well and with some added strength there could be more there. An average runner, Piscotty is a good defender at third, with an accurate arm, good hands and decent range. He also can play the outfield, giving him a little flexibility. He hasn't shown much in-game home run power to date, but a team that thinks it will come with maturity will jump at the chance to add his bat and excellent baseball instincts to its system. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/
Dane Phillips decided to change majors after his sophomore season at Oklahoma State University and he cited that is the reason for his transfer to the University of Arkansas, but he was denied eligibility and chose to transfer to Oklahoma City University an NAIA school where Phillips will be eligible to play. Phillips is a somewhat promising prospect. He has a quick swing that he uses to hit a good amount of line drives, and he uses the entire field. He has power potential that hasn’t really surfaced as a collegiate athlete as he hit just 7 home runs in two seasons at OSU, although he did show some nice gap power in 2011, hitting 16 doubles and 8 triples in 2011 for the Cowboys. Phillips has a decent eye at the plate, although he does strike out too much. A lot of Phillips’ draft stock has to do with whether his power potential comes into fruition. We’ll have to see if that happens at OKCU in 2012. http://rayscoloredglasses.com/2011/12/21/taking-an-early-look-at-the-catchers-in-the-2012-mlb-draft-part-1
10-28-11: - http://orioles-nation.com/2011/10/26/wwba-2012-highlights - Ryan McNeil (Nipomo CA) – Solid frame and athletic build that should greatly improve lower half strength as he matures. He has an approach on the hill with solid pitchability. Nice solid repeatable delivery that will need to iron out the wrinkles to improve the plane. His foot tends to land slanted and being more inline would allow his hips to rotate into a better slot; it would improve command and increase effectiveness of his arsenal. Shows a nice heavy fastball with solid sink that is mainly 90-92 mph, but touched 93 mph. His power curve/slider in the 80-82 mph range is better over any other offering because of his arm slot, and the tight style will play better in the future. Foundation for the changeup is present, but will need to continue to improve this pitch in the winter/spring.
10-30-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/10/30/jesmuel-valentin-2012-draft-profile - Player: Jesmuel Valentin Position: SS School: Puerto Rico Baseball Academy Date of Birth: 5/12/1994 Height/Weight: 5’10/180 Bats/Throws: S/R Class Of: 2012 Committed To: LSU Scouting Report: Jesmuel Valentin is the son of long time Major Leaguer, Jose Valentin. He rose quickly up draft rankings after a stellar performance at the Under Armour All-American Game. Valentin is a legitimate switch hitter, though he looks a bit better righthanded. A line drive hitter with some pop, he has a short stroke with some lift. He has recorded 60 times of 6.68 to 6.88. Valentin should have no problem sticking at shortstop in the future. He has good range, sure hands, and a strong arm. Valentin has quick feet and looks good on the double play. Valentin is a tough player who hustles on the field. With his pedigree and tools, he figures to go high in the 2012 MLB draft.
11-2-11: - http://www.collegesummerbaseball.net/2011/11/top-35-position-players-in-cape-cod.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter - Top 35 Position Players in the Cape Cod League 1. Dane Phillips C Chatham Anglers—Arkansas Dane (6-1/200) spent his first two collegiate seasons at Oklahoma State. All he did this summer was hit. He second in the league with a .349 batting average in 129 at-bats. He found a way to get on base (.446 OBP) and he found a way to score runs (23). He also led the league with 34 runs batted in. Dane, a 2009 Seattle Mariners draft pick, finished the summer out by hitting 7 doubles, 2 triples and hitting 4 home runs. He was named both an All-Star and he was selected to the Cape Cod All-League team. Perfect Game ranked him as the 28th best prospect in the league, while Baseball America ranked him as the 29th best prospect in the league. Back on October 4th, I profiled Dane as one of my 2011 Top Performers.
11-3-11: - http://www.collegesummerbaseball.net/2011/11/top-30-position-players-from-coastal.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter - Top 30 Position Players From the Coastal Plain League 3. Joe Wendle 2B Edenton Steamers---West Chester University Joe, a Senior at West Chester broke the CPL single season hit record with 81. He finished the summer by hitting .377 and leading the league with 46 runs scored. He also had a .448 on base percentage this summer. Joe went 1 for 1 in the All-Star Game and Perfect Game ranked him as the 19th best prospect in the league. Baseball America ranked him as the 7th best in the league. On September 6th, I named Joe as one of my Top Performers from this season.
11-4-11: - http://ht.ly/1ftJsu - We continue the countdown today at number 76 with Ryan Dalton from UT San Antonio. The 6’1 185 pound infielder from Sugar Land, Texas has had an outstanding career at UT San Antonio. As a freshman, he appeared in 50 games hitting .305 batting average with team bests of 17 home runs and 51 RBI. He was named the 2010 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year while being named a NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. Hutson’s sophomore season saw him have a dropoff in stats with a .280 with seven doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 49 RBIs, and 30 runs scored. He was named a Third Team All Southland Conference after the season was over.
10-17-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1 - Dane Phillips, C, Arkansas - Dane Phillips’ bat should not be in question. He has hit in both years at Oklahoma State (.337/.413/.477 in 2009 and .339/.391/.518 in 2010) and earned All-Star recognition at the Cape this summer while batting .349/.446/.527 with 4 home runs in 129 at bats. Two questions face Phillips as he looks to improve his draft stock. First, teams believing in his ability to remain behind the plate will have a large part to play in where Phillips is drafted. He started only four games at catcher for Oklahoma State last season while starting at DH 47 times. Phillips got more time at catcher while on the Cape and reports on his defense were promising. The second question for Phillips is whether or not the NCAA will grant his waiver and allow him to play for Arkansas this season. The opportunity for more time behind the plate was rumored to be one of the reasons for his transfer, but he has to be able to take the field for the move to pay off.
10-23-11: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2011/10/smoral-stands-out-among-big-arms - • Canes Baseball has gotten good outings from a few arms this week. Nathan Kirby, a lefthander from James River High in Midlothian, Va., showed some improvements in his outing on Friday, sitting 90-91 down in the zone and a good, hard curveball in the high 70s. Righthander Josh Sborz—brother to former Tigers righthander Jay—also stepped up his game, sitting 90-92 and mixing in a mid-70s curveball with depth as well as an 81 mph changeup. He attends McLean (Va.) High. RIghthander Mitchell Brown of Century High in Rochester, Minn. came on in relief and was 89-91 with a mid-70s slurve.
10-24-11: - http://ht.ly/1fi1JH - We continue the countdown today at number 82 with North Carolina’s Tommy Coyle. The Chalfont, Pennsylvania native attended Germantown Academy where he earned all conference in each of his four seasons. He was named 2009 preseason Louisville Slugger All-American while graduating as Germantown’s all-time hits leader. He help lead team to 2008 Pennsylvania Independent Schools State Title. As a freshman, he appeared in 58 games with 52 starts making 42 at second base and 10 as the designated hitter. He had a .282 average with 48 runs scored and 25 RBI. He spent the summer of 2010 in the Northwoods League with the St. Cloud River Bats. He finished the summer with a .310 average scoring 40 runs.
10-24-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/10/22/wyatt-mathisen-2012-draft-profile - Player: Wyatt Mathisen Position: C/SS/RHP School: Calallen HS (TX) Date of Birth: 12/30/1993 Height/Weight: 6’2/215 Bats/Throws: R/R Class Of: 2012 Committed To: Texas Scouting Report: Wyatt Mathisen is one of the top prep prospects from the state of Texas. Although he has played primarily at shortstop and pitcher in high school, Mathisen spent time behind the plate during the summer and that is where he profiles best moving forward. At the plate, Mathisen has a nice swing with good power potential. He shows good patience and makes consistent contact. Despite spending most of his time at other positions, Mathisen shows good skills behind the plate. Mathisen has a strong and accurate arm, with a recorded pop tome of 1.94. He shows rust in some areas, but that is to be expected until he moves behind the plate fulltime.
10-1-11: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com - Matt Carasiti, St John's, 6'2 200, closer with low 90's fb, shows flashes of two off-speed pitches, slider and change that get by at this level but need work still. 10-24-11: - Aaron Fitt - Twitter by BaseballAmerica - St. John's RHP Matt Carasiti has been 93-96 with tighter SL this fall, and coach Ed Blankmeyer says he's really turned corner with command.
Ty Blach:
7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments - Ty Blach, Creighton, 6’1 200, nice lefty with fb up to 91, 92 on occ, most are 88-89, some arm side run and good change up, cb a bit sloppy at times, needs more consistency with cb and command to be effective and move up in draft status. 8-12 guy on paper with potential to go 4-7 rounds, keys will be overall command and if fb ticks up in velo any. Comparisons to former Jay, Brad Kucera former high rounder of the Brewers in the late 80’s for coach Hendry.
Rio Ruiz:
8-12-11: - http://www.prospectwire.com/pw/article.php?id=290 - Other position players I have been interested in were Rio Ruiz and he once again showed that he can hit and is going to hit. He hit a ball that looked to be a sure home run to right field but at Blair Field, that was just a BFO... Blair Field Out. Almost any other park in America and it was a home run. I see pro hitter written all over Ruiz.
Courtney Hawkins:
8-12-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/AllAmerican/News.aspx?num=6123 - Two-way talent Courtney Hawkins was up next, working the top of the third for the West. As impressive as Hawkins bat was earlier in the day during batting practice, he also shows easy arm strength, working at 88-90 with a sharp 75 mph curve while also flashing a change. The first run of the scrimmage came after Carlos Correa reach on an error, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on a single by Seager.
Dane Phillips:
8-14-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/08/10/the-good-the-disappointing-from-the-cape - Dane Phillips, C, Oklahoma State- I started paying more attention to Phillips when I was talking with Tyler Ogle earlier this year. Asked who the top players he had played against were, Dane Phillips was one of the two players that Ogle named. Phillips had a great summer, putting up a .349/.446/.527 line with 4 home runs in 129 at bats. he was named to the Cape’s All-Star Team and won the batting title. Used primarily as a DH so far at Oklahoma State, Phillips got on the field more this summer, playing both catcher and right field. Reports are that he showed improvement behind the plate and had a plus arm.
Nick Travieso:
7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments - Nick Travieso, Archbishop McCarthy, Pembroke Pines, Fla, 6’2 200, has arm strength, up to 90 on fb, most were straight and has sharp breaking ball that lacks command but has good bite to get hitters swinging at this level. W7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#commentsill be a strongly watched pitcher in Fla next spring.
Steven Rodriguez:
7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments - Steven Rodriguez, Florida, 6’2 220, bulldog lefty with fb up to 93 out of pen, may move into starter role this fall, but consensus is he’ll be a closer for the Gators. Hard slider lacks only consistency but has good dropping action in on RHH. Could be top 4-7 rounder.
Brent Suter:
8-9-11: - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/08/09/cape-cod-baseball-league-players-of-the-week-august-9th - Brent Suter (Harvard) is this week’s Coca Cola Pitcher of the Week after recording what might be the defining clutch pitching performance of this year’s playoffs. In Game 1 of Wareham’s opening round series at Bourne, the southpaw went the distance and surrendered only two runs. Suter struck out eight Braves in the 12-3 win. In his other start this week, Suter threw five shutout innings in a no-decision versus Falmouth, scattering four hits and striking out five. Suter is a junior at Harvard, where he was named first team All-Ivy as a sophomore.
David Dahl:
8-9-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/allamerican/News.aspx?num=6107 - Dahl, who will be a senior this fall at Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham, Ala., will be in San Diego from Thursday through Sunday with 45 other top prospects in the class of 2012 to take part in the Perfect Game All-American Classic presented by Rawlings. Dahl is ranked the No. 13 top prospect overall and No. 3 outfield prospect in the country. He is one of three Alabama prospects on the All-American Classic East Team roster, joining right-hander/outfielder Jameis Winston from Hueytown and right-hander Tucker Simpson from Oxford.
Dane Phillips:
8-9-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/08/05/dane-phillips-2012-draft-profile - Dane Phillips followed up a successful sophomore season at Oklahoma State with an All-Star summer at the Cape. Phillips bat is the strength of his game. He has an easy swing with good bat speed. Phillips hits to all fields. There is pop in his bat and a jump in home runs could come. During his sophomore season, Phillips started 47 games at DH and just 4 at catcher. He received more time behind the plate at the Cape and reportedly showed improvement. He also showed off a strong arm from the outfield during the summer
Mikey White:
7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments - Mikey White, Spain Park HS, Hoover AL, 6’1 185, R/R, plays both 2b & SS, could play 3b if needed, puts the bat on the ball, solid ave runner, 4.3 runner out of box, shows the type of arm to improve with maturity, definitely must see again.
Already on radars following a sophomore season that saw him hit .364, Stephen Piscotty certainly helped his status with a strong Cape League season, where he won the batting title with his .349 average. Piscotty has an easy swing with good bat speed, making consistent hard contact and hitting to all fields. He's shown raw power to all fields as well and with some added strength there could be more there. An average runner, Piscotty is a good defender at third, with an accurate arm, good hands and decent range. He also can play the outfield, giving him a little flexibility. He hasn't shown much in-game home run power to date, but a team that thinks it will come with maturity will jump at the chance to add his bat and excellent baseball instincts to its system. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/ 
