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 – Cody Thomas, Kohl Stewart, Kyle Serrano, Ivan Wilson, Ryan Boldt

Cody Thomas, OF, Heritage HS (TX) - Let me preface this one by saying the Cubs would most likely have to make a pretty sweet offer to the 6’-5”, 220-pound left-handed hitter with tremendous raw power. He has a commitment to play quarterback at Oklahoma and, with his size, rocket arm and athletic abilities, could be a great one. He passed for 4,221 yards and 46 touchdowns over 12 games his senior year and was also the team’s punter. On the diamond, he shows a lot of upside as he also has a good approach at the plate to go along with the massive power potential. Over 32 games this season for powerhouse Heritage, he has hit .485 with 12 doubles, 13 home runs, 45 RBI and has drawn 20 walks for a .579 OBP/1.061 SLG. He also has added 12 stolen bases, showing good speed for his size. link

Can you compare Kohl Stewart's current and potential to any HS pitchers from past few drafts? = Jim Callis: Talked to a scout who said he may be better than fellow Texan Jameson Taillon, who threw harder but couldn’t match the depth of Stewart’s repertoire. The same scout said on the Texas spectrum, he’d put Stewart behind Josh Beckett and ahead of Shelby Miller.

Kyle Serrano, RHP, Farragut HS (TN) - On Saturday, the 6’-1” right-hander allowed three hits over seven shutout innings, striking out 12 to two walks. Over his last seven games, he has a 0.49 ERA, 0.60 WHIP and 68 K/10 BB over 37 innings. He features a mid-90s fastball to go along with a plus curveball and is very polished on the mound. Committed to Tennessee. link

Unlike Kohl Stewart, there is no doubt that Ivan Wilson is going to end up playing baseball. An athletic 6'3", 220-pound wide receiver in high school, he doesn't project to play the position in college. Wilson brings that athleticism, solid speed, arm strength, bat speed and above-average power to this draft. He has a chance to stick in center field if his speed stays at the level it is at right now, though that seems unlikely since he isn't exactly a burner right now. link

Jim Callis - ‏@jimcallisBA

OF Ryan Boldt, possible 1st-rder, had arthroscopic surgery to repair small meniscus tear in rt knee. Not expected to play before 

Draft 13 – Ben McCoubrey, Kyle Serrano, Jonathan Gray, Rob Kaminsky, Phil Ruggiero

Prep Baseball Report‏ @prepbaseball

PA: '13 Ben McCoubrey (4-4, R, 2 2B, 4 RBI) & '15 Jamie Clauson-Wolf (2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) lead @gfsbaseball to 11-5 non-conf win over GAMP

Kyle Serrano, RHP, Farragut HS (TN) - Over his last four starts, the 6’-0”, 190-pound right-hander has allowed two runs on seven hits over 24.1 innings. He also has 43 strikeouts to just six walks over that span for a 15.9 K/9 ratio. He features a mid-90s fastball to go along with a plus curveball and is very polished on the mound. Committed to Tennessee.  link

Jonathan Gray positions himself in the middle of the rubber.  In the windup he stands at a 45 angle off the rubber.  He takes a small side step before he rocks into his delivery and drops his hands to his belt and up to his chest before positioning himself to make the pitch.  He has a high leg kick with a good drive from his back leg.  He gets good extension on his landing and lands with a slightly bent knee.  He keeps his is lead shoulder closed allowing him to hide the ball longer.  Gray shows a nice clean arm action from the ¾ arm slot.  He also shows good arm extension on his release of all of his pitches.

There will be an army of scouts again today in New Jersey to watch high school ace Rob Kaminsky pitch. Call it the Mike Trout Effect. They will see what Nana Wanda, Kaminsky’s grandmother on his mother’s side, has known all along. link

Prep Baseball Report ‏@prepbaseball

PA: CG from Phil Ruggiero @Ruggiero_24, 3-3, 3B, 3 RBI day from Tyler Buskirk @ty7buzz gives Pen Argyl 3-1 win over 2A #15 NDGP

Draft 13 – Devin Williams, Rob Kaminsky, Kyle Serrano, Cord Sandberg, Jonathan Gray

Devin Williams who’s from Missouri and plays for Hazelwood West High (Awesome High School name). He has a 90-94 fastball and a very intriguing changeup. Did I mention he’s also 6’2 and maybe 170lbs? So it’s fair to say there’s some room for muscle and maturity and that’s leading me to believe there’s more left in the tank for him. He’s committed to Mizzou and being it’s the hometown college and he hasn’t gotten a ton of draft love there’s probably a good shot they get him. - link

Dan Kirby ‏@DanMKirby

St. Joseph HS (NJ) LHP Rob Kaminsky has 38 Ks and has allowed 5 hits over 19 IP, including a no-hitter - 7th of his career

Farragut HS (TN) RHP Kyle Serrano over 6 starts: 1.84 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 64 K/15 BB, 12 H over 34.1 IP (16.8 K/9

Manatee HS (FL) 6'-3" lefty Cord Sandberg's last 8 games: 17-for-29 (.586) w/ 4 2B, 2 3B, 4 BB, 2 SB, .636 OBP/.862 SLG

The 100-mph-throwing University of Oklahoma right-hander Jonathan Gray, who rejected a Yankees offer for about $500,000 two years ago as a 10th-round selection, made a wise decision. He has shot up the board and is now projected to be a top-five pick in the draft, maybe even top two. One NL scout summed up like this: "Really good. Power arm rumored to have touch 103.'' The 103 figure couldn't be verified, but scouts said he hit 101 in several recent games, including a 7-2 win over Pepperdine on March 2 and a 1-0 victory over Northwestern (La.) State on March 15. What's more, in the shutout when he struck out 12 and walked none, he hit 99 in the last inning. He also has the ability to make his fastball sink or cut. link