Draft 14 – Tyler Beede, Mark Zagunis, Brad Zimmer, James Farris, Keith Weisenberg

3-4-14 - Okay, now that I got that out of my system, a lot remains to be seen on Tyler Beede. The tools are there and if you're willing to take the risk that his Command never fully develops you could get rewarded with one of the best Starters in baseball. I'll probably do a post late in the College season to talk about guys who might be available at 7 and maybe Beede has elevated himself out of that discussion by then, but if he hasn't we'll take a look at his chances and the Phillies chances of gettin ghim and fixing whatever delivery glitches remain. http://www.thegoodphight.com/2014/2/27/5449712/phillies-2014-draft-preview-tyler-beede-rhp

3-25-14 – 6.  Mark Zagunis, Virginia Tech Height 6'1", Weight: 200 DOB: 2/5/1993 R/R - Back to Virginia Tech again after watching Horan and his boy Chad Pinder the A's drafted.  Zagunis is a Jersey Boy with a bat first rep.  Here is his link to VT.  Zagunis has a lot of power, and is a very good athlete.  The knock is he might not be able to stick behind the plate but the good news is he's athletic enough for a corner spot. http://www.yougottalikethesekids.com/2014/03/ten-catchers-in-2014-mlb-draft.html

2-21-14 – Project Insider - Bradley Zimmer, OF — San Francisco - Zimmer and his Dons teammates are at No. 2 Cal State Fullerton where the outfielder will face the likes of right-handers Matt Chapman and J.D. Davis. Scouts wants to see Zimmer explode in the power department, which would assure him of a top-15 selection. He has three doubles early, but no long balls and he’s whiffed four times versus less-than-stellar pitching. http://prospectinsider.com/draft-prospect-watch-hoffman-vs-fisher

2-27-14 – TTF - 10 college players on the rise - James Farris, RHP, Arizona (NR) - The 6’-2”, 215 pound right-hander isn’t a power guy. His fastball sits in the 88-91 mph range and he isn’t going to blow anyone away with it. What he does, however, is mix his pitches well and keeps hitters off balanced. With his five-hit shutout against Alcorn State on Friday in which he had 10 K/1 BB, he now has allowed just one run over 16.2 innings with 19 K/2 BB. He adds a slider and change-up and has great command of his stuff. Much like former Wildcat, Kurt Heyer, he is a workhorse pitcher with an advanced feel for pitching despite not having a plus pitch. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2014-mlb-draft-10-college-players-rise-2/41299#ldBBF8hRKzmaiy5H.99

2-11-14 – PG/Florida HS Dream Team – P – Keith Weisenberg, Sr. Osceola - Each time he takes the ball at a Perfect Game event it is as though Weisenberg takes another step forward. The Stanford commit regularly sits in the low-90s and uses his 6-foot-4 frame and high three-quarters arm slot to get on top of the ball and generate very sharp downhill plane. Velocity comes easy for Weisenberg, and one shouldn’t be surprised when he continues adding to his fastball, which also has plenty of sink and run down in the zone. He already throws an above average slider in the mid-80s and shows a feel for a changeup, a pitch that shows big potential in the future. http://perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=9372

Draft 14 – Trae Turner, Luke Weaver, Carlos Rodon, Mark Zagunis

6-24-13   -  SS: Trea Turner, North Carolina State - A repeat member of this squad, Turner impressed me as much with his rare insightfulness as with his special baseball ability. Sure, he’s an electrifying player, with game-changing speed, a lightning-quick bat and the ability to dazzle on occasion at shortstop. But UCLA coach John Savage rightfully gushed about Turner’s analytical skills after Turner broke down Nick Vander Tuig’s performance against the Wolfpack. So Turner gets the nod over three other players who were a joy to watch this year, LSU’s Alex Bregman, Texas A&M’s Mikey Reynolds and Cal State Fullerton’s Richy Pedroza. LINK

6-10-13 - Luke Weaver, RHP, Florida State - The Florida State righthander has managed to remain somewhat under the radar, but he has the ability to climb draft boards over the next year.  His fasball sits low 90′s and touches 94.  His change is an above average pitch and his breaking ball shows promise.  Weaver’s also shows very good command. LINK

6-13-13  -  2. Houston Astros — Carlos Rodon, LHP, North Carolina State - Rodon has pretty much everything you want in an ace. At 6’-2” and 230 pounds, the southpaw definitely has the size to carry the workload and his legs look like tree trunks. He has a five-pitch arsenal that includes a mid-90s heater, a power slider, a lethal cutter, an above-average curveball and a change-up with nice fade. He commands all of them well and is comfortable throwing any of them in any situation. Over 16 starts so far this year, he has a 3.19 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 161 K/40 BB over 110 innings. Opponents are hitting just .190 against him. His junior season should be full of ridiculousness. The only knock I have heard on him is his size and if he will be able to maintain that kind of velocity for the long haul. He also tends to get into control issues at times. LINK

6-10-13 - Mark Zagunis, C, Virginia Tech - Zagunis is a good athlete with good tools across the board.  He has a line drive swing and shows a good eye at the plate.  Zagunis is versatile in the field, showing the ability to play behind the plate or in the outfield. LINK

Draft 14 – Mark Zagunis, Tyler Beede, Carlos Rodon, UNC/USC

Mark Zagunis, C/OF, Virginia Tech - One of the more athletic catchers you will find, the 6’-1”, 200-pound right-hander stole 17 bases in 22 attempts as a freshman. He also hit .344 with 13 doubles, five home runs, 34 RBI with a slash line of .430/.513/.943 over 49 games, striking out just 25 times. He has started the year out hitting .415 (22-for-53) for the Hokies with five doubles, a home run, 14 RBI and six stolen bases. It remains to be seen if he will stick at catcher or end up in a corner outfield position. His bat and athleticism will find a way into a lineup at the next level. 

LINK

6-10-13 - Tyler Beede, RHP, Vanderbilt - The 2013 SEC Pitcher of the Year looks like a top 10 selection in next year’s draft.  Beede’s stuff is dominant.  His fastball sits 93-95 and he can touch 98.  His curve can be a plus pitch and he also throws a good change.  The key for Beede will be improvement of his command.  He has walked 60 in 98.1 IP this season and when he misses, he can miss big. LINK

6-11-13 - 1. Carlos Rodon, LHP, North Carolina State: The Wolfpack are headed to the College World Series and Rodon is a big reason why. Even after starting slowly, the big lefty has gone 9-2 with a 3.19 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 118 1/3 innings. There is almost universal consensus that he's the early choice to be No. 1 in 2014. LINK

6-11-13 - UNC 5, #USC 4 - North Carolina advances to the College World Series – the Gamecocks learned a valuable lesson today that they are going to have to think about during this entire off-season. We spend so much time talking about arms and bats and we just forget about defense. I own a Mets web site and we Mets fans have suffered for years with shoddy ‘D’. The same cost South Carolina their season today. I hope they will deal with that in the off-season.