12-2-11: - http://mlbdraftcountdown.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/2012-mlb-mock-draft-updated-top-15-with-final-mlb-standings - 8) Pittsburgh Pirates: Kenny Diekroeger, SS, Stanford The Pirates farm system is loaded, no doubt, but the one thing they truly lack is a superstar shortstop prospect. Chase d’Arnaud is all fine and dandy, but he’s no Kenny Diekroeger. If Diekroeger can have a bounce-back season, he could jump up draft boards as we near closer to draft day, and with an impressive squad behind him, he’ll likely be playing well into June, giving teams an even better look. Once upon a time, scouts had doubts about his ability to stick at shortstop, but he looked strong there last year, even as he continued to struggle at the plate. He’s a big-bodied guy, but he’s also one of the most impressive athletes in this draft class, so don’t count him out. After all, this is the same guy who bested all of the numbers put up by Mike Trout at a scouting combine at the Area Code Games prior to the 2009 draft.
12-18-11: - Cal second baseman Tony Renda is a leader on and off the field. He puts in the work to improve his game and is currently ranked number 36 on Baseball America’s Top 100 NCAA Prospects List. Renda led Cal in batting average in his first two college seasons. He shows good bat speed and has a good swing. Renda has gap power and should get plenty of doubles at the next level. He also has good speed and recorded a 6.7 60 while in high school. http://mlbdraftguide.com/1
12-21-11: - http://ht.ly/1giGk6 - We continue the countdown today at number 36 with Baylor junior Logan Vick. He went to Tivy High School in Kerrville, Texas for head coach Steve Rippee. As a freshman, he made 60 starts in left field batting leadoff in 58 games. He finished the season with a .329 (75-for-228) with 17 doubles, two triples, 10 home runs, 27 RBI and 59 runs scored. He also drew a school-record 59 walks while stealing 11 bases in 15 attempts. He was named a first-team Freshman All-American by Baseball America and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Second-team All-Big 12, and Waco Tribune Herald’s Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year.
12-21-11: - Tommy Coyle is an athletic second baseman who has shown solid improvement since arriving at North Carolina. He is the brother of 2010 Red Sox draft pick Sean Coyle. Coyle has shown strong on base ability at North Carolina. He brings a patient approach to the plate and has a nice line drive swing. Coyle also has the ability to steal a base. He had a recorded 60 time of 6.69 while in high school. Second base has been Coyle’s primary position at North Carolina. He looks smooth in the field and has a good glove. His arm is solid enough to make shortstop a possibility - http://mlbdraftguide.com/1/2011/12/18/tommy-coyle-2012-draft-profile
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.
Tommy Coyle:
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/8 - The same can be said of their 2012 draft crop, which will be led by 2B/SS Tommy Coyle. Coyle is the older brother of Sean Coyle, who was drafted by the Red Sox in the third round of the 2010 draft, and while he is arguably one of UNC’s top position players, he isn’t likely to break into that three-rounds territory. Coyle had a stellar sophomore campaign, hitting .318, second on the team, with 36 RBI, a 38:22 BB:K ratio and 18 steals. He led the Tar Heels with 83 base hits. On defense, he was solid, posting a .963 fielding percentage while splitting time at second base and shortstop.
Hoby Milner:
7-9-11: - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6002 - Hoby Milner, LHP, Texas - Built with a tall and lanky yet wiry strong frame, Milner was turned to pitch out of the bullpen in both games played in Omaha. He served as a stalwart out of the Longhorns' bullpen during his freshman year in 2010, and assumed a more crucial swing role last spring. Milner, who throws in the upper-80s with a big breaking curveball, may be looked upon as a weekend starter next year for a Texas team looking to redeem themselves after a quick exit from the College World Series this year.
Jayce Boyd:
7-19-11: - http://baseballdraftreport.com/ - Jayce Boyd - 2012 - ranked 25th
Florida State University - FR – .326/.394/.507 – 27 BB/38 K – 227 AB… SO – .335/.415/.515 – 34 BB/32 K – 233 AB - •“plus raw power, maybe a touch less” •“potential award winner with glove at first base” •“such a naturally gifted hitter that he could probably do it with his eyes closed”
Kevin Gausman:
7-21-11: - http://www.draftsite.com/article/College-Names-To-Know/92 - Strengths - Gausman is long limbed and lean, and, like Appel and Wacha, has plenty of room left to grow into his frame. Really closes his hips, which gives him good torque and produces a mid 90’s fastball – touching 97 mph. His fastball has very good late life and has a very good change-up. His delivery is smooth and balanced and he repeats it well. His mechanics are extremely easy and loose. A quick worker, gets it and goes. He is also a very good athlete and moves well off the mound to field his position.
Lucas Giolito:
7-21-11: - http://www.mockdraftmania.com/ - 4. Baltimore Orioles Lucas Giolito P Harvard Westlake High School California Trey Williams is a top 10 prospect in the 2012 MLB Draft who may go in the top 5. Lucas Giolito managed to strike out Trey Williams in a contest between Harvard Westlake ace Lucas Giolito and Valencia third baseman Trey Williams. Lucas Giolito is bound to go to UCLA unless he goes to the MLB. The Orioles need more pitchers to boost their team ERA and Baltimore is thin on pitching prospects. I’m not sold on Dylan Bundy and I really believe Lucas Giolito could become the ace of the Orioles rotation with the proper development.
Karsten Whitson:
6-13-11: - http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=20899 - Florida right-hander Karsten Whitson (Chipley, Fla.) was chosen as a first-team Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on Monday. Chosen to the SEC’s All-Freshman Team and as a Freshman All-American by Louisville Slugger, Whitson has been a fixture in the Gators’ weekend rotation and is 8-0 with a 2.45 earned run average. He leads the club with 83 strikeouts in 88.0 innings and has limited opponents to a .235 batting average. In his NCAA Tourney debut on June 3, Whitson did not permit any runs or walks as Florida overpowered Manhattan, 17-3. He worked 6.1 innings last Saturday in the second game of the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional against Mississippi State but was not involved in the decision after giving up two runs and four hits over 6.1 innings.
Tommy Coyle:
6-14-11: - http://baseballdraftreport.com - SO 2B Tommy Coyle (2012)
.337/.429/.451 – 37 BB/21 K – 19/25 SB – 255 AB Coyle played his high school ball about fifteen minutes from where I grew up, so I was lucky enough to catch him a couple of times during his senior season. He’s got above-average speed and athleticism, a really solid line drive swing, and an outstanding batting eye. It is still really early in the process, but I think we’re looking at a player with the ceiling of a big league regular with the possibility of a utility future a realistic backup option. I’m looking forward to seeing where he stacks up against the rest of the 2012 college middle infield crop, but I have a feeling he’ll be up there.
Branden Kline:
6-13-11: - http://www.virginiasports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=88827&SPID=10613&DB_OEM_ID=17800&ATCLID=205159611 In the decisive game of the Charlottesville Super Regional, No. 1 national seed Virginia scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to rally for a 3-2 win over UC Irvine Monday at Davenport Field. Sophomore Branden Kline got the win for Virginia, improving to 4-1. He pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing one unearned run on one hit. Cavalier starter Will Roberts went the first 7.1 innings, allowing one run on five hits.
Deven Marrero:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110608&content_id=20222396&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb&partnerId=rss_mlb Deven Marrero, SS, Arizona State: Part of an impressive crop of 2012 Draft talent at ASU, Marrero is a legitimate shortstop with great defensive actions and a playable bat for the next level.
Nick Williams:
6-11-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/722354-2012-mlb-mock-draft-early-predictions-for-next-years-top-10-picks#/articles/722354-2012-mlb-mock-draft-early-predictions-for-next-years-top-10-picks/page/6 - (Nick) Williams exploded onto the 2012 draft scene as a high school junior last summer at the Perfect Game World Wood Baseball Association National Championship Tournament. He went 12-for-26 with six home runs and 12 RBIs over eight games, including one 4-for-4 performance in which each of his hits came in the form of a homer. He also racked up seven RBIs in that contest. It wasn't too long after that that colleges starting knocking on his door. Scouts have already started to compare him to Ken Griffey Jr., with some likening his powerful swing to Darryl Strawberry's. After his sophomore year, all the talk about Williams was that while he had a lot of raw power, he was helpless against good breaking-balls. He worked very hard on that throughout the season and responded with his performance at the WWBA championship: All four of his home runs came on breaking balls. At 6'3" and 195 pounds, Williams has a very athletic-looking frame and has been described by Perfect Game as an "excellent athlete." He also shined at the Area Code Games and was a regular among the HR derby circuit last summer. He should be a competitor at more than a few showcases this summer, giving him greater exposure to the rest of the country.
