Draft 2012 – Alex Bregman, Kyle Hansen, Brian Johnson, Ross Heffley, Addison Russell

 Alex Bregman — 5’-11”, C/INF, Albuquerque Academy (NM) - Bregman is an advanced hitter with an easy swing and power to all fields. As a junior, he hit .678 with 19 home runs, and his 6.8/60 speed allowed him to steal 23 bases as well. He is still raw as a catcher but has shown the ability to stay at the position at the next level. Hit .417 with seven RBI and five stolen bases for Team USA at the Pan Am Championships, coming up with clutch hit after clutch hit. Plays the game very hard and has a high understanding of the game. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/top-50-draft-prospects-for-2012-50-thru-26/15621/

Kyle Hansen / RHP / St. John’s – A 90-92 fastball from the 3/4 slot with good sink, Hansen has shown the ability to miss bats in his first two years in the Big East. There are some issues with his finish with the delivery, but Hansen is one of my sleepers to watch in 2012. http://mlbdraftinsider.com/2011/12/top-twelve-college-pitchers/

Brian Johnson has gotten looks as both a hitter and a pitcher with Florida and while he can hit a little, most feel he'll pitch at the next level. The left-hander has four pitches he can throw for strikes. His fastball sits mostly in the average range, though he can run it up to 92 mph, with pretty good sink to the arm side. His slider is his out pitch and should be an above-average offering in the big leagues. His changeup, which he doesn't always use, has the chance to be at least above-average. Johnson gets high marks for his mound presence and willingness to go right after hitters. College lefties are always a hot commodity and Johnson could be the first in this class to go off the board.http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2012/

Ross Heffley   Position:  2B   School:  Western Carolina   Date of Birth:  1/21/1990   Height/Weight:  5’8/175   Bats/Throws:  R/R   Class Of:  2012   Previously Drafted:  Scouting Report:  Ross Heffley earned All-American Honors in 2011 and won Western Carolina’s triple crown.  He is a small second baseman, listed at 5’8, but that may be generous.  He handles the bat well.  He has some pop and could provide plenty of doubles at the next level.  Heffley is an average runner.  He provides solid defense at second and has a strong arm  http://mlbdraftguide.com/

Addison Russell, SS, Pace (Fla.)  - Like Romero, Russell appears to be a candidate to move to third base at the next levels, and there's enough arm strength and athleticism to warrant a shot in the outfield if necessary. He possesses well above-average bat speed that may turn into enticing power come draft day. Russell, who signed on to play at Auburn, starred with Almora on the USA Baseball National Team that won the Pan Am title. http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/940/mccullers-jr-is-top-florida-diamond-star

Draft 2012: - Zeke DeVoss, Deven Marrero, Kyle Hansen, B J Zimmerman, Byron Buxton

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Zeke DeVoss, Miami, 5’9 1/2 170, L/L, gets on base, makes solid contact, 270 type hitter with fair power at best, good instincts and jumps in CF, enough arm to stick there, will goes as far as bat takes him. 4-7 round type guy at best for me.

9-8-11: - http://www.gacksports.com/65590/2012-mlb-mock-draft-update - 4. Seattle Mariners Deven Marrero Short Stop Arizona State You can make the case that Deven Marrero, Michael Wacha, or Nick Williams is worthy of being the #4 overall pick. Seattle usually takes college players over high school players. That leaves Devin Marrero and Michael Wacha by process of elimination. The Mariners are 17th in team ERA so you got to go with Marrero here.

http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/090811aaa.html   - Pitcher Kyle Hansen and outfielder Jeremy Baltz have both been named Top-30 prospects in the Cape Cod Baseball League, as announced by Baseball America. Hansen, who played with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, checked in at No. 22, while Baltz was listed as the No. 27 prospect after his season with the Falmouth Commodores. A Cape Cod All-League selection and a starter in the All-Star game at Fenway Park, Baltz (.321) was one of 15 players in the league that batted above .300 for the season. The outfielder had a league-best 13 doubles, and ranked third in RBI (23), fifth in on-base percentage (.434), tied for fifth in hits (45), seventh in slugging percentage (.457) and tied for eighth in runs scored (21). The outfielder also batted .393 (11-for-28) with two doubles and three RBI in seven playoff games as Falmouth, which finished fourth in the Western Division in the regular season, surged in the postseason and reached the Cape Cod Baseball League championship series. The Harwich Mariners, however, swept the Commodores in the best-of-three title series.

9-12-11: - http://www.collegesummerbaseball.net/2011/09/top-20-position-players-in-florida.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter  - In the six-team Florida Collegiate Summer League this summer, the Sanford River Rats downed the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs to earn them the title of FCSL Champions. Individually, there were at least 25 position players that turned in great seasons. Unfortunately, I had to narrow the list down to the top 20. - 2. B.J. Zimmerman 1B Winter Park—Tampa - Zimmerman, a big first baseman from the University of Tampa hit .355 in 110 at-bats this summer. A former Washington Nationals draft pick, B.J, led the league with 30 runs batted in and he also scored 20 for the Dawgs. He walked 21 times, stole 3 bases and smacked one double in the All-Star Game. He also hit .333, with 2 doubles in the playoffs. Perfect Game ranked him as the 18th best prospect in the league.

9-14-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/09/12/byron-buxton-draft-profile  - Byron Buxton is the consensus top prospect from the state of Georgia. He shot up drafts boards over the summer and is now mentioned as a possible top 5 overall selection in the 2012 draft. Buxton is a two way prospect, pitching and playing the outfield. He shows promise as a hitter and pitcher, but his bat will be his ticket at the next level. He is a top athlete and plays quarterback for Appling County in the fall. His long frame will allow him to add strength as he matures. Buxton has quick hands and an easy swing. A pull hitter, he makes consistent solid contact. He has plus speed, clocked from 3.89 to 4.12 from the right side and at 3.18 on a steal. Buxton is solid in the field, aided greatly by his plus speed. With his speed and strong accurate arm, he should remain in centerfield longterm.

Draft 2012: - Joey Rickard, Kenny Diekroeger, Lucas Giolito, Kyle Hansen, Freddy Avis

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Joey Rickard, Arizona, 6’1 180, R/R, runs well underway, 6.55, 60 guy, throws adequate, solid range, makes contact, short stroke with occ alley power, doubles type guy, could be quality 4th OF in time, 8-12 round type.

9-1-11: - http://projectprospect.com/article/2011/08/31/2012-mlb-draft-top-prospects  - Kenny Diekroeger, SS, Stanford - Stanford shortstop Kenny Diekroeger can be a frustrating player to evaluate. The good is that he has a compact and hand-oriented swing that's very short to the ball. He has a smooth trigger and has the hand strength required to make a hands dominant swing work. However, Diekroeger doesn't get anywhere near the bat speed he could out of his swing, nor does he maintain optimum angles through the zone. Diekroeger has similar hand rhythm actions to Jason Bay, but also has a pull side dominant plane like Bay. Diekroeger's hand rhythm helps pull his front shoulder back to an angle that usually is conducive to hammering the pitch away, but he doesn't maintain that plane when he launches. His strong hands should allow him to still be quick inside yet still cover away with the angle of hip-shoulder separation he achieves, but due to a heavy rolling top hand, Diekroger pulls his barrel off the pitch away and consistently into a pull dominant plane.

9-8-11: - http://www.gacksports.com/65590/2012-mlb-mock-draft-update  - 2. Baltimore Orioles Lucas Giolito Pitcher Harvard Westlake High School California This was such a tough pick to make. I felt like Lance McCuller’s Jr. still deserves to be a top pick, but there are too many numbers working in Lucas Giolito’s favor. Giolito managed to strikout batting prospect Trey Williams. Giolito weighs 6 foot 6 220 pounds. Giolito was 9-1 with an ERA of 1.00 last season during his junior season of high school baseball. You get a 95 MPH 4 seamer and a 92 MPH 2 seamer with Giolito. Another plus pitch that Giolito has is his hard breaking curve ball that he manages to deliver into the lower corners of the strike out zone so effectively.

Pitcher Kyle Hansen and outfielder Jeremy Baltz have both been named Top-30 prospects in the Cape Cod Baseball League, as announced by Baseball America. Hansen, who played with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, checked in at No. 22, while Baltz was listed as the No. 27 prospect after his season with the Falmouth Commodores. Hansen made 13 appearances, including two starts, for the Red Sox and went 0-1 with a 3.63 ERA. The righty finished tied for tenth in the league with four saves and racked up 28 strikeouts, while issuing just nine walks in 22.1 innings of work. Hansen also limited the opposition to a .214 batting average. The righty also made one playoff appearance, striking out four in 4.0 innings of one-run relief. - http://www.redstormsports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/090811aaa.html  

8-16-11: - http://sancarlos.patch.com/articles/freddy-avis-suddenly-a-sizzling-mlb-prospect  Freddy Avis’s summer has been a blur. And that’s how many an opposing batter would describe his mid-90’s fastball. How much has changed for Avis since he completed his junior year at Menlo School? At the time of the MLB draft in early June, Avis would’ve gawked at the possibility of weighing a lucrative offer to play professional baseball in a year. That was about the furthest thing from his mind as he was narrowing his college choices and eying a full slate of travel-ball games with the California Smoke.

Kenny Diekroeger , Kyle Martin, Albert Almora, Kyle Hansen, Evan Marzilli

Kenny Diekroeger:


7-8-11: - http://diamondprospects.blogspot.com/  - One of the top high school prospects in the 2009 draft Kenny Diekroeger stands out for his elite athleticism. He has plus speed and range at shortstop and has improved greatly at the position since his high school days. He should be able to remain there in the future as his slightly above-average arm is helped greatly by his superb athletic ability. Diekroeger has quick hands that allow him to have great bat speed. He projects to hit for solid power along with plus average. However he struggled at the plate this year for Stanford, which could partially be due to the new bats. If Diekroeger can return to his freshman year form at the plate and continue his excellent work in the field, he could be selected within the Top 5 picks in the 2012 draft. If his struggles remain, though, his stock could drop to the back end of the 1st round.



Kyle Martin:


6-20-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/740905-omaha-eye-openers-2012-mlb-draft-prospects-at-the-2011-college-world-series#/articles/740905-omaha-eye-openers-2012-mlb-draft-prospects-at-the-2011-college-world-series/page/7  - RHP Kyle Martin was one of the Aggies’ most effective relievers this season, helping to fill the huge hole left by John Stilson who moved into the rotation. Martin finished with a 3.60 ERA in 30 appearances and notched 37 strikeouts in 40 innings. He also picked up one save and served up only one home run the entire season. Martin was a 39th-round pick of the Washington Nationals back in 2009.


Albert Almora:


7-5-11: - http://diamondscapescouting.com/articles_2011_summercircuit_prospectclassic_07042011.html  - Defensively, Albert Almora stood out among the high school outfielders, showing consistently impressive reads off of the bat. He has the foot speed to close on balls and utilizes his athleticism and body control to consistently finish, be it to the gaps, over his head or charging in. Addy Russell has a strong arm and soft hands, displaying both on a backhand stab on a one-hop linedrive to the third base line. An excellent athlete with a chance to play up the middle, he showed off his athleticism before game two of the series, performing standing backflips along the right field line during stretches


Kyle Hansen:


7-5-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/07/05/kyle-hansen-2012-draft-profile  - Kyle Hansen, brother of 2005 first rounder Craig Hansen, is a tall, thin righthander from St. John’s. He shows flashes of dominance that could land him near the top of draft boards. Hansen throws his fastball from 89-92 and could add velocity as he fills out. His fastball has good sink. He throws a slider, at 79-80, that shows plus potential. Hansen also throws a change, at 81-82, and an occasional cutter. Hansen uses a 3/4 arm slot and sometimes has trouble with his command.


Evan Marzilli:


6-20-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/740905-omaha-eye-openers-2012-mlb-draft-prospects-at-the-2011-college-world-series#/articles/740905-omaha-eye-openers-2012-mlb-draft-prospects-at-the-2011-college-world-series/page/9  - OF Evan Marzilli exploded onto the scene as a freshman, hitting .385 in 91 at-bats. He came on strong as the season progressed and was named to the CWS All-Tournament Team after hitting .370 with seven runs scored in Omaha. And he was the Gamecock’s best hitter throughout the NCAA tournament, hitting .417. And in USC’s two-game sweep of UCLA, Marzilli went 4-for-9 with an RBI. Marzilli just about defines the term “spark-plug.” He was a central piece of USC’s SEC co-championship squad in 2011, hitting .299 with 12 doubles, two triples and 36 runs.