Draft 2012 – Duane Underwood, Lance McCullers, Cullen Mahoney, Ty Hensley, Ronnie Freeman

 

Duane Underwood — 6’-2”, RHP, Pope HS (GA)  Duane Underwood is a hard-throwing righty whose fastball can hit 97 mph with ease. He also features a hard curve that projects to a plus pitch and a deceptive change-up that is still developing. His command can get away from him at times, but his strong arm, athleticism and high baseball IQ will have many teams flocking to Georgia to see his talents. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/top-50-draft-prospects-for-2012-50-thru-26/15621/

Lance McCullers Jr., RHP, Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)  - The son of former MLB pitcher Lance McCullers Sr., McCullers has potential as a power bat, but his fastball has sniffed triple digits and he’s flashed an above-average breaking ball. Scouts are split on his future as the spring nears, but he’s a surefire first-round arm — and could break into the top 10 — for clubs that view him as a long-term starter. The Florida commit struck out 79 in 52 innings last year while hitting .422 with seven homers and 24 RBIs. http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/940/mccullers-jr-is-top-florida-diamond-star

Cullen Mahoney was one of the best players in the Northwoods League this summer. The All-Star 2B spent this summer playing for the Thunder Bay Border Cats. He hit .347 in 213 at-bats, which placed him second in the league in batting average. He scored 33 runs, drove in 29 and he led the league with 5 triples. He also hit 7 doubles and smacked 4 home runs for TB.  His bb/k ratio of 27/47 and he stole 10 bases as well. He was named to play in the NWL All-Star Game and Perfect Game ranked him as the 66th best prospect in the league. In my rankings of the top position players in the league from 2011, I ranked Cullen as the 3rd best

This year, Oklahoma might not have the quantity of talent that Texas does, but the state is well represented by Sante Fe (Edmond, Okla.) right-hander Ty Hensley. Standing in at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Hensley is one of the most physically imposing pitchers in his class. Last season, he went 6-0 with a 2.26 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 31 innings. "He's got a power arm with a power delivery,” said Jason A. Churchill, who covers scouting, player development and the MLB Draft for ESPN Insider. “I had him up to 94 mph and sitting 91-92 at the Area Code Games and he used what appeared to be two different breaking balls — either a slider and a curve or a variation of one of them. He may end up in the bullpen, but I like to stay away from labeling a high school kid. You do have to dream on the command and off-speed stuff and hope he develops a changeup if he's to be a full-time starter, however.”  http://espn.go.com/blog/high-school/baseball/post/_/id/983/hensley-is-latest-oklahoma-star-hurler  

collegesummerbaseball   - 1.   Ronnie Freeman   C   Holyoke Blue Sox--Kennesaw State -  Ronnie was third in the league with a .373 batting average. He led the league with 56 hits and led the league with 12 doubles. Ronnie was second in the league with 32 runs scored and he also drove in 25 this season. To go along with his 12 doubles, he slammed 5 home runs and walked 17 times. He was given the leagues Sportsmanship Award this summer. PG ranked him as the 7th best prospect in the league while BA ranked him as the 2nd best in the league. On December 1st, I named  him one of my 2011 Top Performers.

Draft 2012: - Courtney Hawkins, Andrew Stumph, Josh Elander, Carson Kelly, Ronnie Freeman

9-1-11: - http://xmlbscout.angelfire.com - Courtney Hawkins from Corp Christi Carrol HS, Texas, 6'2 220, R/R, I've seen many times as a Dh and RHP, he's more of an athlete that is best suited to play the OF or potentially 1B in pro ball. Athletic build with strong shoulders and straight away speed, tends to lunge as a hitter which is not easily corrected, when he does square up the ball at the plate he has power and runs well once underway and shows near ML ave arm strength from the OF. He's a 2012, just a follow for me now or late 13-20 round type guy. Very rough around the edges.

10-10-11: - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/10/10/top-100-countdown-94-andrew-stumph-texas-state  - We continue the countdown today at number 94 in Texas State junior Andrew Stumph. The 6’0 210 pound catcher out of Katy, Texas had an outstanding prep career at Katy High School. He picked up four letters under Tom McPherson. He was named All-Greater Houston Co-Newcomer of the Year as a freshman in 2006 as he set a school record with 51 RBIs. He also earned three-time all-state honors and all-American honorable mention in 2008 and 2009 while being named 2009 district MVP. As a freshman in 2010, he played in 54 games, starting 46 of those contests mostly at catcher. He finished the season with a .277 batting average (51-for-184), five home runs, five doubles, two triples, 36 RBIs and 24 runs scored. He spent the summer of 2010 with the Texas Tomcats in the Texas Collegiate League. He appeared in 25 games with a .200 batting average while driving in three runs.

10-8-11: - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/10/09/josh-elander-2012-draft-profile - When Mike Zunino backed out of playing with USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team this summer, Josh Elander was called upon to take his place.  Elander is a solid batting prospect.  He has shown good plate discipline since arriving at TCU.  While he has hit only 7 home runs in his two college seasons, there is power potential in his bat.  Elander runs well for a catcher, stealing 20 bases in 28 attempts at TCU and running a 6.78 60 in high school. Elander has, at least, average tools defensively.  His recorded pop times in high school were from 1.90-1.96. Overall, Elander is an athletic catcher with good offensive potential.  Projections have his draft position from late first round to the third round.  His showing behind the plate this year will, in large part, determine where he is drafted in June.

10-16-11: - http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/2011/10/perez-will-head-to-central-arizona-early - Righthander Carson Kelly from Westview High in Portland was 88-91 mph in his first inning on the mound Saturday afternoon, topping out at 92. He mixed in a sharp 75-78 mph curveball and flashed a 79 mph changeup. Despite the impressive repertoire, he got squared up a few times by the Bayside Yankees from New York.

10-15-11: - http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/10/15/top-100-countdown-89-ronnie-freeman-kennesaw-state  - We continue the countdown today at number 89 with Kennesaw State junior catcher Ronnie Freeman. The Lawrenceville, Georgia native attended Brookwood High School where he was a four year letter winner. He helped the team win the region championship in 07 and to a national ranking of 3rd in 2008. Freeman stepped right into the starting lineup for the Owls appearing in 54 games including 52 starts. He led the team in hitting with a .365 batting average while hitting nine homers and 47 RBI. Ronnie continued his strong collegiate career last season leading the Owls in hitting for a second time. He finished the year with a .392 batting average while hitting ten homers and driving in 51 runs. He spent the summer of 2011 in the NECBL with the Holyoke Blue Sox playing in 45 games between the regular season and postseason. He finished the summer with a .349 batting average, six homers, and 27 RBI. Baseball America rated him as the second best prospect in the NECBL after the season was over. Freeman also served as an altenate on the 2011 USA Collegiate National Team playing in six games hitting .500 in ten at-bats.